Chapter 36: Tightening the knot

The door of the room opened, and a figure wearing white robes entered the room, and Zar'rac stared at him for a split second before he bent down as a sign of respect. The woman strapped to the chair, the strange human rider also stared at the figure in surprise after which the figure's powerful disposition forced her to bend her neck as well.

"Greetings, my lord, we have the captive, a Rider from Alagaesia . . . just as you wished." Zar'rac said, but the figure didn't respond. Instead, it walked over to the chained Rider and stared at her, her marvelous beauty meaningless to him. His body was covered by a white cloak, and he had a hood over his head, which hid his face in shadow.

"You have the Rider . . . where is the dragon? I told you, I need both, and they need to be paired . . ." The figure said, and the voice was masculine, extremely strong but somehow attractive to those who didn't know that the person was the worst of the worst creatures of evil that had ever walked the land.

The Rider shuddered when she heard his voice, and Zar'rac gave him an helpless look, "But my lord, the dragon is huge, and Orúm couldn't get big enough a spot for the-"

"I do not need explanations, Zar'rac, you know my orders and it is your responsibility to see to it that they are carried out . . . How? That is up to you, I trust you are capable to make those judgments on your own?" The lord asked, and Zar'rac bent his head again in acceptance.

"Very well . . . but now that you have got this Rider as a captive, I think I can do something to her . . . have her sent to my private quarters tonight, I shall do my work there." He said, and then turned to the Rider, who seemed to be frightened, her beautiful face had gone extremely pale and her eyes were wide.

"Ah, where are my manners?" He said, then stood in front of the prisoner and pulled back his hood. In the next second, the rider seemed to have gone numb with fear, her mouth fell open and eyes began to close.
"Rider, I am the lord of this land, and you may call me . . . Crugan." He said, and the Rider fainted, fear had overcome her, and Crugan laughed, a horrible yet pleasing laugh.

Zar'rac stood quietly as Crugan continued to laugh for a while, then turned to look at him. The two shades stared at each other for a moment. Crugan had bone white skin, a bald head, and black eyes in contrast to his skin. And his sword was black as well, in contrast to the color of his robes. His fingers were a little darker shade of white than his head, but in truth, he was truly intimidating. The other shade wasn't as frightening as him.

He had green hair, which were longer than average, horrible purple eyes and his fingers were black, even though his skin seemed normal. His sword also seemed normal, as did his clothes. Zar'rac was Crugan's right hand man, the one who did almost anything and everything Crugan told him to do. He usually got the most difficult missions, and he was the one who usually managed to get things done without even drawing a sword, although he didn't stand much of a chance against Crugan.

"Zar'rac, now I have another mission for you . . . one you must do yourself and not send others to do it for you . . ." Crugan said, and Zar'rac nodded.

"Yes, my lord, I shall do what you wish."

"I need you to invade Alagaesia . . . from the north, into the realm of the elves, and capture or kill their king. If it is possible, then try to find out who the lead Rider is, but don't challenge him or try to fight him. The power of the dragons is a lot, they are the toughest and smartest creatures, and we need to use all of our cunning to get the best of them . . . From here on, it is your responsibility, take as many men as you require and take whichever city you think is best, but do not attack the capital directly." Crugan told him, and Zar'rac nodded again.

"Of course my lord . . . I shall attack a city near the capital first, then attack the capital, whatever it is. I don't think it will be much of a challenge. " Zar'rac said, but Crugan shook his head.

"Don't expect them to be weak, they are much stronger than they appear to be. It seems that the lone rider and two dragons that were left behind in those caves forced Orúm to flee to the dwarves where his reinforcements are." Crugan told him, then stroked the face of the Rider roughly, his fingers scraping her pure skin.

"Leave tonight, as soon as possible, and take all the men with you. The spot exactly north of edge of Du Weldenvarden has a place for you to enter. I expect you to take a city within the week. Is that agreeable?" Crugan asked.

"Yes my lord, I and my men will leave within the hour, and probably reach Alagaesia within three hours." Zar'rac said, then turned around and began to leave for the transportation point.

Leaves rustled, and the stream continued to flow softly, while the elves at the city of Nadindel began to enter the sleep like trances, eager to rest after their tiring day. But one of them was wide awake, and meant to go ahead and meet someone whom she had to talk to. A hundred years she had waited for a chance for vengeance, and now finally, she could see it as a candle suddenly lighting up in the dark.

A hooded figure slowly approached the city, careful to keep himself to himself and avoid looking at any other living being. Elves could listen to the thoughts of other animals and even talk to them if they so wished. This would mean that he would be caught by the next day if he tarried too long in the city. As it was, he had come there for a special reason, to get an elf under him, an elf who had decided to betray her own people for the sake of revenge, to satisfy her own fury and bloodlust directed at one person, Eragon.

He had found her, when he had tried to explore the city with his mind the previous night. It had almost ended when this elf, whom he suspected never slept, had discovered and almost indulged him into a mental battle. She probably would not have stood much of a chance, but then she recognized his true intentions and he recognized hers, which led to a mutual understanding between them, and they agreed to meet at the edge of the city the next day, and that was where he was now.

Almost two days had passed since he had left Alalea, and most of the first day had been listening to sleep bringing reports from his men, and also to interesting controversies taking place at the capital with the arrival of Anurin and Garjzla.

But now, he was going to meet this elven lady, whoever she was. He was curious, which was uncommon for shades like him. Crugan would have laughed if he would have seen his right hand man now, curious of the little things of the elves. But then again, Zar'rac's curiosity was one of the reasons why he was so efficient. If he needed to know something, he tried to find out everything about it. He sometimes considered it as a part of his work, whenever he had to scout an area or attack any place, he took a couple of days to take a look around on his own, ignoring everything that his officers told him, just out of curiosity and to check whether all the information he had got was right or not. In most cases if would be right, in other cases it would be wrong by a small margin.

He was standing below a pine tree then, which had three branches bending downwards as if to grab and scoop out the earth below. This was the place they had agreed to meet, alone. If the elf brought someone with her, he would refuse to have a conversation with her.

There was something really different about the shades Crugan had created, and about other shades that are formed by accidents or the purpose of sorcerers. The shade latter always considered themselves as multiples, always regarded themselves as 'we', and always had second or third thoughts about each and every decision they made.

But the shades created by Crugan, like him or Orúm or even Durza to some extent, were quite different. They considered themselves as a single living entity, even though there were multiple spirits inside them. They had a sense of unity, and they always remained adamant at their own decisions, not giving a thought to the perspective of others, and never having second thoughts about anything or anyone. Their first decision was their final decision.

A soft wind blew towards the south, and his hood nearly came off, but he pulled the cords tightly and made a casual knot. He kept a hand on his sword, and he kept his ears strained for any sound. His eyes were also quite keen, he could see quite well even in the dark around them.

Where is she? Has she made a plan to ambush me or something similar? She will regret it if she even tries. Zar'rac thought, then looked around.

Suddenly, he heard soft footsteps coming towards him, and he turned around, his hand on his sword. Behind him was the elven lady who wanted to meet him, or he hoped. She was wearing a dark green cloak, which covered her body, and had a hood pulled up so that he could only see her lips and chin. Even by the small portion that he saw, he could tell that she was quite beautiful to behold, and any mortal would do anything to win her hand.

"Are you the person who I am supposed to meet here?" Zar'rac asked, his voice a whisper of trees.

"Aye, I am the elf . . . are you the invader?" She asked back, and her voice was extremely soft and entrancing, though it didn't have any effect on Zar'rac, who only noted these features of her and the way in which they would be useful.

"Yes, I am the invader . . . I mean you no harm as of now, and I trust you don't mean to attack me either." Zar'rac told her, speaking in the Ancient language.

The elf nodded and also replied in the ancient Language, "I don't mean you any harm either . . . I suppose we can trust each other with our names."

"Perhaps . . . I am Zar'rac, and I am the loyal servant of the lord of the land of Alalea." Zar'rac told her, and the elf jumped slightly when she heard the name of the land.

"Alalea? Isn't that where-"

"Aye, that is where you elves came from, but now, things have changed there, but that is not your concern. You live in Alagaesia and it is where you belong . . . do you agree?" Zar'rac asked her, and she nodded.

"Well then, who are you? What is your name?" Zar'rac asked her, and she was quiet for a while. Then she slowly reached up to her hood with thin, delicate fingers and pulled it down.

Zar'rac saw the elf before him, and he himself was dazed for a matter of seconds. She was an elf with thin lips, fair hair, a beautiful face that hid rage and sorrow, and shocking blue eyes. Her hair was straight and long and streaming down to her waist. Her eyes were extremely deep and proved that she was extremely old.

"I am Lady Enaevia . . . Lady of Nadindel."

Deaother yawned mightily, then stood up straight and stretched. It was morning, and he had finally had a good night's sleep. The past few days had been quite nice for him, he had been spending almost every hour with Vaelia, they even had lunch together.

Kielle seemed to be quite distressed about the fact that Worian had left them, and Deaother had suspicions that the true reason for Kielle to tell him all those things about Worian might have been because she herself had passionate feelings for him, and didn't want Vaelia to get to him first. When he weighed them both out, Deaother knew that Vaelia had always stood a better chance of becoming Worian's mate, and he was sure Kielle knew that, which was why she did what she did.

Deaother rubbed his forehead, still a little drowsy, then went over to wash his face. He had planned to go to the tallest pines in Ellesmera with Vaelia, and also visit the Menoa Tree again. The last time he had visited it, he had been surprised by the fact that the tree had contacted him and had conversed with him. He had been even more surprised when the tree had seemed to know a great deal about his heritage, especially about Eragon. He had no idea why.

Splashing his face with cold water, he looked back to all the time he had spent with Vaelia in the past several weeks, and also the promise he had given King Dathedr to always be with Vaelia. That promise certainly had forced him to do things that he normally wouldn't have done, in terms of getting close to her.
Deaother finally stood straight, then changed his cloths, donning a light lamarae and black leggings. He began to take his sword, but then thought better of it and strapped on a belt knife.

He could always use magic to defend himself if the unlikely event of a fight came up. But ever since the Ra'zac and the Lethrblaka had invaded Ellesmera, Deaother had been carrying his sword everywhere and getting many awkward looks from the elves.

Deaother walked out his room after a few minutes, heading for the king's quarters. He knew Vaelia was waiting for him there, and began to hurry towards their room in the Tialdari hall. His footsteps were loud in the silent surroundings. Wherever the other elves were, they were really quiet and probably didn't want to disturb other people. Deaother could even hear a small stream flowing nearby.

After several minutes, he reached the grand room, and knocked thrice, waiting for someone to open the door.

After a few seconds, a hand suddenly came to his shoulder, and he jumped in surprise.

"Hello Deaother, I trust you rested well?" A voice said from behind him, and he jumped in surprise.

"Vaelia?" Deaother asked, turning around. He had recognized her voice immediately, but he didn't want things to seem odd. Vaelia stood right behind him, a pleasant and fresh look on her face.

"Yes, its me . . . you are early today." Vaelia said. "You usually take longer time to come here and call me out."

"Well . . . I got up early, but you've never surprised me like that from behind." Deaother told her and

Vaelia smiled at him, then stroked his cheek and said, "You have surprised me a lot in your time here, I thought I should surprise you as well, although it wouldn't be a big thing anyway."

Deaother nodded at her, smiling back and began walking towards the gate of the hall. Vaelia also walked along side him, looking much more pleasant than before. Something very odd was at work, and Deaother noticed it. Vaelia had seemed happier and happier when she had spent time with him here and there, but she had never been so enthusiastic. Deaother smiled to himself and turned to her, just to find that she was looking directly at him with her captivating eyes.

"Where shall we go first?" Deaother asked her.

"Let us go the Menoa tree," Vaelia said, still staring right into his eyes. "After that we can head for the pines. They are way towards the west, and we will have to hurry if we want to come back in time."

"I agree, let us do that . . . I dunno why, but whenever I go close to the Menoa tree, she always enters my mind and asks me things about my mother and Vroengard, and also about dragons and their populations. Some questions she asked me were horribly difficult to answer . . ."Deaother told her, and she turned to him, worried.

"If you don't want to go there, then we can just head for the pines and spend the rest of the day on the tree tops . . . if you want, that is." Vaelia said, and Deaother had to stop himself from raising his eyebrows. She had never offered to spent the entire day alone with him in any one place, she would take him around the entire city, sometimes to places which she herself had discovered as a child and had not disclosed it to anyone else, not even Kielle.

"Of course its fine, I don't have any problem." Deaother told her, and she smiled widely and nodded.
Deaother noticed the change in her behavior, now more clearly than earlier. Was she shy? She had never before asked things in such a soft voice, stared at him so openly and tried to let him have his way before. She would just say the name of the place which they were heading for, and they would go there and talk about something, spar or explore the place.

Sometimes Kielle would be with them, and they would try cheering her up. Deaother was sure he had seen King Dathedr observing them almost every time he and Vaelia would spend time together, and he was sure there would be a smile on his face. As far as he was concerned, Vaelia was in safe hands, and that mattered to him the most.

They set off towards the west, heading for the spot. The pines that they were heading for were very old, they had been present even before the Du Fyrn Skulblaka, and had survived for a long time ever since.

They walked out of the city, their footsteps soft on the grass. The pine filled forest seemed quite safe to Deaother, it had become his home now, and he hoped he would live there for quite a long time, maybe forever.

"How far is it from here?" Deaother asked her after a while, as they were almost out of the city.

"We will have to run, it is about an hour's sprinting from Ellesmera, and that too at my speed . . . if you can keep up that is." Vaelia said playfully, then suddenly began to run forward, chuckling merrily. The sound of her laugh made Deaother look at her, surprised at her sudden weird behaviour, by which time she had gone quite far away. After that, she turned around and stared at him, and seemed be surprised to see him just standing there.

"I thought you were slow, but not as slow as a snail, Deaother, come on hurry up." Vaelia shouted, and Deaother jumped slightly, startled out of his reverie.

"Oh yeah . . . I was just seeing how far you could go without looking back." Deaother told her and sprinted after her.

He seemed to be faster than she had anticipated, because she gave him one look of surprise, then turned around and ran into the thicket of pines. Deaother took a deep breath, then put on another burst of speed.

"So, Ellesmera is extremely difficult to capture, eh?" Zar'rac asked Enaevia. They were at Zar'rac's camp north of the city of Nadindel, discussing the best way to infiltrate both the cities. Enaevia had told them the way both the cities were planned and the places where the elven guards were mostly supposed to be stationed.

The plan to capture Nadindel had already been made, and now they were just going to lightly discuss Ellesmera.

"Aye, Ellesmera is the toughest city to capture, which I think is obvious . . . Its tough because of the way it has been planned. It hasn't been made by looking at a piece of parchment with the positions of the buildings marked on it. In truth, it has been made using the natural position of the trees, unlike the other cities. And the elves have adjusted themselves to those positions, so that they can guard the capital to the best of their abilities." Enaevia told them, and Zar'rac nodded. After a few seconds, a sly grin came to his face.

"Maybe, instead of complicating things too much, I can just send some of my . . . . companions there so that they can find out all these things and we can get a clearer picture. You can tell us the details when we get the images from their minds." Zar'rac said.

Enaevia turned around and was quiet for a few seconds, then said, "I suppose that is better, but tell your companions to not go too close to the city. Ellesmera has a guardian, an elf called Gilderien. He is extremely powerful and it would be nearly impossible for you to cut past him."

Zar'rac smiled wickedly and said, "I think I know the solution to that problem."