Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or places. They belong to Christopher Paolini

A/N: Ok, I'm really sorry that not much has happened so far. It begins to get a little more interesting in this chapter, I promise. Please tell me how you like it! Also, for purposes of climate, Ellesméra it about the same latitude as the middle of the lower peninsula in Michigan. Therefore, it is still mostly a deciduous forest, but it does have birch trees. Coniferous forests are off the edge of the map in Eragon. It's a particularly cold year in Alagaësia, and they use Fahrenheit for temperature, even though Celsius makes a whole lot more sense.

Eragon's feelings were mixed. He was about to go into a village with a girl he had met only a day before, not to mention that she had almost shot him. How on earth would they be able to go undetected in Hedarth?

Eragon assumed that Kela would be no help. She was terrified of her own shadow. There was no way she would be able to help with deceiving anyone- she'd be afraid to talk to them. Eragon sighed and put his hand up to rub his eye.

"Stop!" Kela called softly. "You'll smear the paint." Eragon nodded. Kela's voice had reminded him of something. Her accent was slight, but definitely present. How could they be siblings if they talked differently? He pointed this out to Kela.

"Don't worry. I can change my voice like this," she said, exactly as girls in Carvahall talked. Eragon nodded, pleased.

"Shall we go?" he asked, impatient to get started.

"Not like that. You can't take Zar'rac into Hedarth." Eragon was startled to see that his sword was still belted onto his waist. He took it off and handed it to Arya. All he had now to defend himself was a small dagger and his bow. Kela, who usually carried a long dagger at her waist and a bow on her back, went unarmed.

"No woman would be armed," Arya explained. "Not around here. It would bring suspicion to you."

Kela looked unhappy, but didn't make a fuss. She looked at Eragon judgingly, and picked up some dirt to rub onto his face. "You look better now."

Kela and Eragon left Arya, Saphira, and the rest of their gear by the river as they started towards the town. They were both silent. Eragon felt he had to break the silence.

"Why do you have all of the paints and clothes?" he asked, hoping for more than a one word answer.

"People shouldn't know who I am. I have to disguise myself so they don't. It's a lot less fuss over me." Her voice was soft and gentle.

Wow, Eragon thought. Three sentences!

They drew towards the main entrance of the village. Eragon could see two guards, one bearded and the other amazingly tall. Both had swords on their hips and bows on their backs, not to mention what Eragon thought was an ax in the bearded man's hands.

As they drew closer, the guards looked on them with weary eyes, their hands creeping to the hilts of the swords or tightening on an ax handle. Eragon looked at the men and decided that they could easily talk their way thorough. Kela must have had the same thoughts, for she walked up to the men with her back straight.

"Who are ya, and what's yer business?" the tall one asked, his dark eyes glinting at them.

"I'm Evan, and this is my sister, Sara. We need some supplies." Eragon replied.

"Where'd ya come from?" asked the other guard.

"About ten leagues upstream," Eragon explained. "We're going back home after getting our supplies.

The guards seemed satisfied. They let them through into Hedarth. Eragon marveled that the guards had just let them through like that. Evidently, things were not as bad on this side of the desert as in the Empire.

An icy wind blew down the street and Eragon shivered. He had forgotten how cold it could be when winter was drawing to a close. He glanced at Kela and realized she didn't even have a shawl. "Aren't you cold?" he asked her.

Kela just looked at him strangely. "It fifty degrees at the lowest," she commented, in her Carvahall voice. "How can you be cold? You grew up in the north, right?"

"Yes, but I have grown to like the desert weather. Being warm is a lot better than being cold," he insisted.

"You can only take off so many clothes for warm temperatures, but you can put on as many clothes as you want when it is cold." Kela led Eragon to a store packed with just about anything you could want.

The owner greeted them with a large welcome. He was the common large man they had seen throughout the town, although he was a bit larger around the stomach then others they had seen.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, smiling warmly. "My name's Andrew, though most folk call me Drew for short."

Eragon began listing items they would need for the journey. Kela walked around the store, eyeing various wares. She came to a roll of woven wool. Looking at the weave, Kela made a face and returned back to Eragon's side. Spotting some yarn, she asked Drew to add three skeins to the pile on the table.

After the addition of the yarn, Eragon announced that they had finished shopping. Drew added up the prices, and Eragon handed over the coins. Kela piled the non-food items in her bag which, even if they had less volume, weighed about the same as all the food together. Eragon placed the food in his pack.

They headed out the door, a wind slamming the door behind them. "I have to go next door," Kela explained, gesturing to a sign with a large spool of thread and a needle. "I want to get some fabric and need some more needles."

Eragon nodded. "I'll head over to the tavern then, see what the men are talking about." They split ways, Eragon going across the street.

As he reached the tavern, a large sign proclaimed that he was entering "The Fearful Dragon". Smiling at the irony, he stepped in. The room was large and filled with tables and chairs. A large fireplace crackled in the corner, making the room warm. Eragon didn't care what Kela said, warmth felt good!

Most of the men were gathered around the fireplace, sipping mugs of ale. Eragon ordered a small drink and sat back to listen.

Local gossip was fairly interesting. The year had been oddly cold, and was not so good for the crops that needed to be planted fairly soon. Also, a man named Dan had done the unthinkable and married Susan. That could only mean bad luck on his part.

Eragon heard another conversation about a certain Mary who had bedded two men, neither of which knew about the other.

A gust of air startled Eragon. The door had opened and an eager young man rushed in. "You won't believe what I just heard!" he exclaimed.

"Look, Keth- if it's about Mary, we've aready heard," called a man from the corner, engaged in a card game.

"No, Tom. It's much more exciting then that." The men stopped. Many looked very curious. Keth knew he had an audience. He smiled and leaned across the table. "I heard that," he lowered his voice for effect, "there is a Dragon Rider!"

Eragon stopped dead. He could feel the blood drain from his face. They don't know it's you, he tried to convince himself. They could be mistaken. Eragon didn't believe himself.

The Men clambered around the young Keth, eager for more. Eragon joined in, so he wouldn't stick out too badly.

"Where is the rider?"

"What's his name?"

"What's he look like?"

"Is he with the Varden?"

"What's his dragon look like?"

"How do you know this?"

The questions flew from all over. Keth just leaned back, a smug look on his face. Tom, the card player, saw what he wanted and ordered him a drink. Eragon shook, hoping this was just a story and had nothing to do with him or Saphira. Keth took a long drink and decided to answer the last question first.

"Now," he began. "I learned this from an old traveler passing though. He didn't know exactly what he looked like, bur he said the Rider had dark hair. The traveler didn't know if he was human or not. He could be an elf!"

This can't be happening!

"What about the dragon?" someone asked.

"The dragon's huge! It's got monstrous claws and teeth and it has blue scales. It could tear apart this village with one swoop of its tail!"

Crap! Eragon thought to himself. They actually know what they're talking about! They may exaggerate some, but they've got the basic facts.

"I bet Galbatorix would give big money if he got this rider," a man speculated from the back of the group. The men agreed. The room burst with ideas on how to catch him.

"Wait!" a blue-eyed man called. "How do we know if he's around here?"

"Ah," Everyone was silent as Keth began to speak once more. "The traveler said he was no more than a day's ride away. He could be in this very room!"

CRAP!

The door burst open. A breathless Kela ran in. Her hair had come undone from its twin braids and was now hanging down her back.

"Quick!" she yelled. "I just saw the Rider!"

Eragon stared at Kela in surprise. He had not known she even possessed the ability to yell, not to mention she was saying she had seen the rider.

"Which way did he go?" The men clambered at Kela for answers.

"That way!" She pointed away from the river, into the hills. The men took off running.

Kela took Eragon by the wrist. "Run now," she ordered him. "I'll keep them busy so you can get away. Arya will know what to do."

Eragon was about to argue when she dashed after the men. "No!" he heard her yell. "More this way!"

Eragon took off as a reckless pace as he went out of the town. The guards had joined in the pursuit, so no one saw him leave. Somehow, he managed to dodge most trees and roots, although he nearly fell twice. Panic clogged his brain. He simply wanted to get away from Hedarth. He covered the distance that he and Kela had taken an hour to walk in a few minutes.

He burst into camp. Arya jumped up and caught him when he almost lost his balance again.

"What happened?" she asked franticly. Saphira looked alarmed and tried to support Eragon.

"Rumors… have been told…about me….They almost…discovered me…before Kela… led them on a… wild goose chase," he gasped.

Arya handed him some water and donned her pack. She grabbed the extra gear and stashed it in Kela's kayak.

"Grab the canoe," she requested. Eragon took the canoe and followed Arya to the river bank. She almost ran, but was slow enough that Eragon could keep up. Saphira followed on the ground.

When they got to the river, Arya took her knife and slashed a rune into the bark of a tree. Eragon jumped into the canoe and followed Arya as she paddled the kayak across the river. Saphira slipped into the water after she was sure she wouldn't swamp the boats. They crossed over the joined river and drew up their boats on the other side.

Arya gestured to the Edda River. "The current is too strong for us to go upstream. We have to walk now," she explained.

They stashed their boats in some brush that wasn't very covering, considering it had no leaves. Eragon buckled Zar'rac once more to his waist. The weight was comforting.

They took off though the forest, pausing for Arya to slash more runes into trees. Their pace had slowed to a fast walk, but they still covered an amazing distance. By the time the sun had set, they had managed to get far away from Hedarth.

Eragon sighed. He was safe, and so was Saphira, but was Kela?

A/N: Just in case you're wondering, yes I go out in jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt in 50 degree weather, sometimes even 40. Tell me how you like it, please!