Free Riders
Author's Note: Eragon is not mine. Char, Blaster, and Saranya are. Comment as you see fit. Title a reference to "When The Saints Come Marching In."
Chapter 36: When the Urgals Come Marching In
I am still not going to repent, Blaster said. He and Sara were flying, checking the path ahead and behind for Murtagh. I know I killed him, but I was protecting that which is mine. She is my friend and future wife.
Sara growled. I dunno why you are bothered by it. Let it go.
Bank back to vector two-niner-zero, Blaster said. As they turned, Blaster saw Murtagh, and then further back, and his stomach flip-flopped. Camped by a streambed that they had crossed the previous evening were the Urgals. Dive! Keep safe descent angle between six-zero and eight-zero. Sara's dove to the ground. Watch the deck. As they dropped, Blaster began to think to himself. Their chieftain must be pushing them at break-neck speeds.
Hopefully, they will die of exhaustion before we do, Sara said. They pulled up and landed right by Murtagh.
"What now?" Murtagh grumbled. His temper hadn't improved.
"The Urgals are overtaking us," Blaster said simply, pointing towards the enemy camp.
"How far do we still have to go?" Murtagh said, using hands to measure the hours before sunset.
"Normally, I would say maybe five-days to our destination," Blaster said. "At the speed we've been going, maybe three days. But, unless we get there sometime tomorrow, the Urgals will probably have us, and both Arya and Char will certainly die."
"They might last another day," Murtagh said.
"I'm not going to gamble on that," Blaster objected. "The only way we can get to the Varden in time would be if we don't stop for anything, least of all sleep. That is our only chance."
"How do you expect we do that?" Murtagh protested. "We've already gone days without sufficient rest. Unless Riders are made of different stuff than us mortals, you're as tired as I am. We've covered a staggering distance, and the horses are about ready to drop, if you haven't noticed. Another day of this might kill us all."
"It's a gamble we'll have to take," Blaster said. "My energy reserves are full, and, if necessary, I will give up some of my energy to the horses so that they can continue. We might have a chance then. But, just so you know, Murtagh, I am not leaving you. These guys seem faster on foot than we are on horseback. We must get to the Varden and find sanctuary there."
Murtagh thought it over. "I'll escape later," he finally said. "When we get to the Varden, I can disappear down a side valley and find my way to Surda. I can hide there without attracting too much attention."
"So you will join us?" Blaster asked. "Maybe give Brom the benefit of the doubt?"
"With or without rest, I will see you to the Varden," Murtagh promised.
FRFRFRFRFR
After a day's work, the Urgals were a third closer than at the start of the day. Blaster led the horses while Murtagh slept, while Murtagh did the same while Blaster slept. The whole time, Blaster was half-meditating and gathering the energy from the stars again. His energy was transferred to the horses on a regular basis so they weren't as tired as they would have been. Occasionally, they got lost because Blaster was relying on Brom's directions. He saved himself several headaches by pulling up his map. They continued in the right direction until the sun rose. Looking back, the Urgals were far behind.
"This is the last day," Blaster said. "If we're not reasonably close to the Varden by noon, I'm gonna fly ahead with Arya and Char. Murtagh, you'll be free to go wherever you want then, but you'll have to take Phillip with you. I won't be able to come back for him."
"We could still get there in time," Murtagh said.
"We could," Blaster repeated, nodding. He put a hand on Arya's forehead and found that she was running hot. He placed a damp cloth on her brow to try and cool her down. Char was beginning to heat up as well. "Almost there, Char," he said. "We'll get you better in no time."
Late morning, they saw the Beartooth River flowing out of a small valley that was easy to miss if one wasn't paying attention. With their heading revealed, they looked back and saw that the Urgals had cut their lead to just over a league. How they were keeping it up was beyond them.
"We can slip into here," Blaster said, pointing to the valley. "If we can manage doing that without being seen, then we could confuse them and stall them enough to gain a lead."
"It's worth a try," Murtagh said, skeptical. "However, they've been able to follow us this easily so far. Not sure how effective it might be."
They approached the valley, passing under the knotted branches of the forest of the mountains. Trees had a dark bark, sometimes black, and the dull needles looked the same color. The roots of the trees occasionally emerged to the surface. Cones the size of horse heads littered the ground. High above, squirrels chattered in the treetops, and eyes seemed to follow them from every hollow of every tree. Wolfsbane hung from the branches in green sheets.
This place is even creepier than Dracenor's lair, Blaster thought. These trees are old, but all the more unfriendly. The further in they got, the denser the forest seemed to get. The lack of space had forced Sara to take off, and the underbrush slowed Blaster and Murtagh. Beside them was the gurgling water of the Beartooth. By now, the sun had hidden behind one of the mountains.
Though it looked small, the valley was as wide as many of the vales in the Spine. Once again, the mountains monstrous size worked to distort their perspective. The shear sides of the mountains had waterfalls, and, when they looked up, the sky was only a thin strip, mostly covered in grey clouds. Fog rose from the ground, and it soon got cold enough for the trio to see their own breath. The underbrush, including strawberries, grew in entangled vines, fighting to get what little sunlight the valley offered.
It surprised them when and Sara landed. The rush of her wings was strangely muted.
Strange things linger in these mountains, Sara said. I saw a black and green bird with red markings.
I've seen stranger things, Blaster said. I want to get a birds-eye view of these Urgals. Mind if I get a ride.
Not at all.
"The Varden are hidden at the end of this valley," Blaster said. "If we hurry, we might get there before nightfall."
"Well, how am I to get out of here?" Murtagh asked. "I haven't seen anything resembling a side valley joining with this one. The Urgals are going to block the entrance, and I need an escape route."
"There will be an exit," Blaster said. "It's a big valley." He took Char off Sara and lashed her to Phillip's saddle. He did the same to Arya. "Take care of them. We're going to go flying for a bit. We'll catch up to you later."
"Be careful," Murtagh warned as Blaster scrambled onto his dragon.
"Always am," Blaster said. Murtagh led the horses away, back into the forest.
As Sara took to the skies, Blaster thought for a moment. Wouldn't it be nice to fly up to the peaks? We might be able to catch some sort of view of our destination, as well as a side valley for Murtagh.
We can try, Sara replied. It will get rather cold, though.
I'm good, Blaster said. Just watch that altimeter. We get too high, we won't have enough air to breathe.
Okay, hang on.
Sara began to climb through the air. Blaster checked his own altimeter and watched as their height exceeded three thousand feet. At around five thousand, they entered the clouds. Cold water droplets hit them as their vision was diminished to less than ten feet. Within a few seconds, Blaster's clothes were soaked.
A quick dart of grey shot past Blaster. It turned out to be a dove, flapping frantically with a white band around its leg. It squawked as Sara tried to eat it out of the air, but missed. It flew away, frantically. Blaster wasn't concerned with that. His wrist computer was giving him temperatures below freezing, and they were climbing past twelve thousand. Finally, at around eighteen thousand feet, they exploded out of the cloud layer. Tiny rainbows came from the water droplets on Sara's scales.
The only things visible at this height were the clouds and the snow-capped peaks. All of the peaks were much higher than Blaster expected. He was accustomed to the glare, so he could see clearly. Smiling, he got slowly colder as the water droplets solidified into ice. As ice began to coat Sara's wings, he looked at the altimeter once more.
Okay, Sara, Blaster said. Descend. Maximum twenty degree angle. The air up here isn't sufficient for even human life.
Sara complied, her breathing slowly becoming labored. They plunged back into the cloud layer, then emerged under the cloud layer a few moments later.
How come it was so hard to breathe up there? Sara asked.
Pressure, Blaster said. You still had air up there, but it wasn't dense enough to breathe. You'd need to compress the air in order to fly that high. He was busy looking at the Urgals behind Murtagh. They had reached the valley mouth. Taking a closer look, since they were closer than ever, Sara noticed something different.
They are larger than I had anticipated, she said. I would imagine they would stand much taller than a man. They must come from a fierce place to be such brutes.
They'll overtake Murtagh at this pace, Blaster said. An idea came to him. We may have the advantage.
How so?
We are above them. They wouldn't expect a sudden attack from the air. I need to get my grenades again. Go find Murtagh.
They finally found Murtagh stopped in a small clearing, kneeling before a large track in the ground.
"What's wrong?" Murtagh asked. He sounded worried, angry, and exhausted at the same time.
"The Urgals are now in this valley," Blaster said. He fished out a small vial of blue potion, and he picked up his small bag that he got from Gil'ead. Murtagh thumbed the print behind him.
"Just found some wolf tracks," he said, "but the prints are as wide as both my hands and an inch deep. There might be animals around here that could be dangerous to dragons." He turned to them. "I know you can't enter the forest, but you could circle above me and the horses. That should scare the beasts away. Otherwise, there might only be enough left of me to roast in a thimble."
"Was that a hint of humor there, Murtagh?" Blaster asked, a weak smile on his face.
"Only on the gallows," Murtagh said, rubbing his eyes. "I can't believe the same Urgals have been following us all this time. They would have to be birds to catch up with us."
"Sara said they look larger than any we've ever seen," Blaster said. Murtagh cursed.
"Well, that would explain it," Murtagh said. "If what you saw is correct, then those are Kull, the Urgal elite. They don't ride because horses are unable to carry their massive bulk. Not one is less than eight-foot tall, and they are good endurance runners, able to run for days without sleep and still be ready for battle. They never leave their caves except for war, so they must expect a great slaughter if they're out in such force. They are resilient too; it could take five men to kill one Kull. I should have guessed the chieftain was in charge of them."
"Is it possible to stay ahead of them?" Blaster asked.
"Who knows?" Murtagh said. "They are strong, determined, and large in numbers. It's possible that we may have to face them. If that should happen, I hope that the Varden have men posted nearby who'll help up. Despite our skill and Sara, we can't hold off the Kull."
"Well, I suggest we get going," Blaster said. He pulled out some old bread from Sara's saddle bags. Murtagh was looking at the valley walls, looking for a way out. "There will be one further in. If not, then I suggest you get ready to humor Brom."
"Of course," Murtagh said with forced optimism.
"How are they doing?"
"Their fevers are getting worse," Murtagh said. "Arya's been tossing and turning, but Char hasn't started that yet. Their strength is failing. You should fly them to the Varden before the poison does anymore damage."
"And leave you to the Kull?" Blaster said. "No, I will not leave you behind."
"As you wish," Murtagh said. "But I warn you, they won't live if you stay with me."
"If they get too bad, smash one of the blue vials in my bag on their heads," Blaster said. "The potion will get absorbed, and they should get enough strength back to survive until we reach the Varden. If that doesn't help, smash one of the green vials on their heads." Blaster checked his bag before strapping it to his hip.
Murtagh swung onto Tornac and trotted away. Once Blaster was strapped back in, they took to the skies.
Will the girls survive? How long can Blaster halt the Kull's progress? Or will it be too late for everyone? Find out in the next, boring...I mean exciting chapter of Free Riders. Returning Tuesdays and Fridays.