Arya and Eragon made their way to Orrin's chambers, thoroughly confused. If Orrin had wanted to see them, he would have just come to them, but instead he sent a messenger for them.
Sharing one last glance with Eragon, Arya knocked gently on the door.
"Come in." came the broken sounding voice of Orrin. Eragon and Arya did come in, and were surprised to see Nasuda hovering nervously around.
"They're here. Now, tell us what happen that Islanzadi contacted you about." Nasuda commanded. Arya and Eragon automatically stiffened at the news of why they were here. Orrin looked tired, and like he might burst into tears at any moment, something odd for the usually strong king.
"Islanzadi contacted me to inform me that I might want to send you, Arya and Eragon, out to find Kendra. Kendra took her own incentive to find Murtagh, ignoring Islanzadi." They all gasped, although none of them were surprised. It sounded just like something Kendra would do.
"Of course we will." Eragon immediately started heading back to the door, but Arya grabbed his shoulder to keep him in place.
"Do we have any idea where she actually is searching for him?" Arya attempted to get some information. Nasuda laughed dryly.
"Arya, where do you think Murtagh is?" she asked rhetorically.
"Galbatorix has him." Orrin stated bluntly, and Eragon winced slightly. Everyone had been thinking that was where he disappeared to, but no one had wanted to say it out loud and confirm it. Nasuda shook her head slightly.
"Well, now that we all acknowledge that, I think you two should head out now. You might still be able to head her off. She left before you, but you're closer." Nasuda assured them. They both nodded in sync and took off.
-2 Weeks Later-
Kendra had retraced the trail from Surda to Ellesmera three times without luck of finding Murtagh. She refused to believe that he had been capture. Murtagh was all will power. He would never cave. Kendra paused, tilting her head.
"What are you thinking?" Ice asked curiously, noting how her thoughts were unintentionally blocked.
"Murtagh was weak because of the first attack from Alex and Shruikan, and he probably wouldn't fare well if he ran into them, and if he did run into him, Thorn would be leeching off of his energy, so he wouldn't be able to do much either. He probably figured it would be a lose-lose. If he continued fighting, he'd pass out. If he gave in, he'd be taken. Murtagh is stubborn...on any other occasion I think he would continue to fight, but I think he would give in. This isn't just some case of Murtagh getting lost on the way here. No. Galbatorix is after the riders, if only to even the odds." Kendra informed Ice, and waited a few moments for her to process all that she said.
"There's a small chance that they didn't even run into Shruikan and Alex." Ice pointed out hopefully. Kendra stared at her silently, and Ice unfortunately sighed and nodded her agreement.
"Well then, it seems like we've been searching in the wrong area, we'll start with Helgrind, and move on to each major city that she might have taken him." Kendra decided. Ice looked up to the dark sky then back to Kendra who understood. "Okay, we'll start tomorrow." she grumbled, sitting back down in front of the fire she had started earlier in the evening.
Kendra's thoughts were ravaging inside her mind and Ice didn't like it. They were coming and going quicker than she could comprehend, and it confused her. Kendra's eyes were cold and calculating, and Ice stood, curling herself around her rider to attempt to offer some sort of silent comfort. Kendra simply nodded, patting her on the head to acknowledge her presence.
"This is useless!" Eragon threw his boots around the camp site. Brock jumped sideways to avoid getting hit and looked indignantly at Arya.
"Sorry." Arya offered in her mind to him, so Eragon wouldn't end up snapping at her. Saphira looked up at them in confusion.
"I assume that means you haven't been able to find Kendra and Ice or even Murtagh, little one?" she questioned, treading carefully. Eragon glared silently at the darkened forest around their camp site, and that was the only reply she needed. Arya sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind him.
"We'll just keep trying to find her. She can't disappear forever." Arya pointed out causing Eragon to snort.
"She can if she's already been captured. It's been two weeks since we started searching for her. She's probably already been captured." Eragon hissed pessimistically. Arya winced. She contemplated his words for a moment, before sighing.
"I think...you're right." Eragon obviously wasn't expecting that, because he turned to face her with his eyes wide, causing her arms to drop to her side, "This isn't doing us any good. As much as I would love for Kendra to magically appear at one of these cities, I think you and I both know that's not going to happen. We should simply wait in Surda, and help the Varden while waiting." she explained, "We're doing no good, wasting time." she continued, and he slowly nodded.
"Poor Orrin..." he mumbled, although he felt the same as Orrin in this case. It was like loosing two of his siblings at one time.
A/N: Okay, I know, I know. I hate this chapter too. I really couldn't do much, and this is really just a filler of sorts. Sorry! Deal with it, until next chapter, which will have a bit more action.
