Sorry for the late update and Sherwen is not Sherwin incase you guys think I have made a mistake
(Sherwen – Sirhwen)
Chapter 6: Slavers!
A lonely Arya was riding between the Beor Mountains that stood a mile to her right and the Hadarac desert which spread endlessly on her left.
Arggggg! She thought angrily why didn't I tell him?
Yes why didn't you? Her consciousness replied just as angrily you know Eragon would have understood, he is a sensible person.
I just don't know how he would take it. Arya told herself He might be angry with me not to mention that this might degrade the elven race in his eyes.
Like I said Eragon is a sensible person. Her thoughts replied He will understand.
But what if he doesn't, the elves need him at this crucial moment. Arya told herself He needs the protection now.
But the elves need it more. Her thoughts replied we are very weak with out it.
But Eragon is coming to Esselmera soon, Arya told her consciousness He will need it on the journey.
But the elves need it now Her thoughts said we shall let them go back when Eragon gets ready to starts his journey.
They are not mules Arya said we cannot expect them to do everything we say.
The argument continued for several hours but stopped abruptly when Arya went up a foot hill and realized that there were no foothills in the desert.
It took her a few minutes to realize that she had slowly wandered closer to the beor mountains. When she looked at the place in front of her she realized this place as the foothills in front of the underground dwarven city of Buragh.
She thought with amusement how the dwarf priests fought with Arya.
I Love annoying them. Those fools believe rocks grow! Ha! Arya said laughing out loud they are so stupid!
Then the thoughts about telling Eragon came back to her and she regained being angry. She swung her sword at a nearby tree and managed to fell it with one. But when the tree's feeling left her consciousness she was hardly able to control her self from crying. She had no problem in killing if it was for a grater cause or even killing to save an animal from pain but removing life from something so innocent...
She shook her head, letting a few tears fall from her eyes. Suddenly she saw something on the horizon, a small dot on the desert. Fear gripped her, another army from Galbatorix? She thought the Varden are doomed if Galbatorix strikes again.
Then she relaxed again it was probably just some stupid animal.
She kept riding towards the shape just to make sure; as she got closer two more shapes appeared near the first shape. They appeared to be running from something.
If they are enemies of the empire then I will try to help them but if they are being chased by dwarves then I will kill them she decided and rushed towards them. As she went closer she saw that about 40 people were chasing them. She went even closer so that she could identify who they were.
"Slavers!" she cursed and made her horse charge while she drew her sword. She extended her consciousness to the people and felt that they were very tired. They had a little amount of energy left and the horses had also lost most of their energy. Arya kindly gave her own energy to the horses while drawing some from the three jewels inserted on her bracelet.
With a sudden burst of energy the horses ran faster to Arya carrying their surprised owners.
The slavers, realizing that their prey was getting away, shot arrows.
Arya watched, helplessly, as the arrows buried themselves inside the bodies of the escaping people. Six arrows found the back of one of the runaway. He fell down and was immediately run over by the horses on the slavers. Arya watched horrified as the victims body was broken into bits by the metal horseshoes the slavers' horses wore. The biggest piece that was left of him, after being trampled over, was his wrist. The other rider on the left side shared a similar fate. Fortunately the person in the middle was not hit by the arrows because of Arya's newly places wards. The last survivor was now near enough that Arya could see it was a girl. The girl's horse was slowing down and the slavers horses were coming closer to her. The other rider's horses had survived the rain of arrows so Arya removed most of the energies from the horses and gave it to the girl's horse. The girl's horse, with a burst of energy made it towards Arya. While the other horses fell down and made some of the slavers trip.
The girl ran past Arya, retreated behind a big rock and started crying in fear. Arya raised a hand but the slavers didn't falter they just continued moving towards her. Arya smiled…
Letta Arya said mentally to the slavers horses, suddenly the slavers horses went rigid and the riders flew of their horses.
They all straightened up and drew their swords.
Fear flashed in their eyes but as soon as they saw that Arya was a woman, it was replaced with confidence.
"Well, well" Said their leader mockingly "instead of three we get two, people will pay a lot for you pretties!"
The men behind the leader roared with laughter, but stopped suddenly when Arya also laughed
"What's so funny" The leader asked in an angry voice
"You don't know who I am" Arya said simply with a laugh "your horses are smarter than you. They stopped because, they were afraid of me"
Angry retorts from the slavers followed Arya's statement.
"How dare you pathetic woman. How dare you challenge men? We will teach you your place; you will pay for this unforgivable crime!"
The other slavers roared supportively to their leader's words.
"You stupid dogs!" Arya said to the shocked soilders "did you really expect me to be scared of your stupid threats. If you did you must be much stupider than I thought. It will be I who is going to teach you ignorant fools a lesson."
The slavers roared with anger.
"But I'll give you some credit" Arya said trying to control her laughter "you are not as stupid as you look, because if you were you wouldn't be able to walk and talk at the same time!"
The girl behind Arya giggled but the slavers were not amused by Arya's words.
A slaver drew on his bow string and let an arrow fly towards Arya, but fortunately Arya saw the arrow and inclined her head slightly so that the arrow narrowly missed her eye.
"IS THAT ALL YOU"VE GOT?" Arya asked with a laugh. Then her bandana, which she was using to cover her pointed ears, fell down and the surprised slavers gasped, she cursed.
"Bloody Hell" The leader said "This one is an elf!"
"She is going to cost us a fortune!" One of the other slavers said with a greedy grin.
"Get her boys" The leader pointing at Arya with his sword and charged while others tried to get up on their horses, but thanks to Arya's command, the horses wouldn't move. Finally they gave up on the horses and charged alongside their leader.
Arya quickly killed about half of them with magic then she drew her sword. The slavers stopped when they saw what happened to their comrades…
"Oh look what a pathetic woman just did to you big strong men" Arya said mockingly "Bring it on!" she added signaling them to come closer
Arya felt like causing them pain, she didn't want to kill them quickly with magic, she was still angry about not telling Eragon she thought this will cool her nerves.
While the slavers were cautiously coming closer towards Arya, Arya threw all caution to the wind and, knowing that she would win, she charged.
Her first strike was against the leader but, surprisingly, he quickly lifted his swords up to block Arya's strike. Arya was too powerful for him and he was knocked to the ground due to the strength of Arya's strike.
Arya quickly whirled around to remove the head from a slaver's body. She jumped twenty feet into the air, flipped and put her sword in front of her then she dove while she was falling she thrust her sword through the eye of a slaver. He screamed in pain before he died. She quickly killed all of the surviving slavers. She sighed and put her sword back in it's sheath. She looked around and saw the bodies of all the people she had killed; she wondered where the girl she had saved when suddenly…
"I will not be defeated by a woman" a voice said
Arya turned and saw a man who had raised his sword above his head and was about to kill Arya. Arya, reacting on pure instinct, kicked the man in the chest. He flew back several yards and landed on his back. It took a few seconds for Arya to realize that it was the leader of the slavers.
Arya drew her sword and started moving in for the kill, when the man knelt before of Arya. Arya, who was fully expecting him to beg, laughed.
"Not be defeated by a woman, eh?" Arya said teasingly "Go on beg and I might just spare your li-"
"I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A WOMAN" the leader shouted and made the point of his blade touch his chest.
Arya was shocked "Sto-" she tried to say but it was too late. The man had already pushed his sword into his chest. His face broke into a small smile "I am not defeated by a woman" he whispered before he fell side ways.
"Idiot" Arya said to the body of the slaver, and then she started looking for the girl. She made her way to the big rock ignoring the bodies of the dead slavers. She was close to the rock when she heard a muffled voice. She quickly expanded her mind and found a slaver behind the rock. The girl with a slaver, was I led into a trap? She thought
She drew her sword for the third time and moved behind the rock, to where the slaver and the girl were.
There stood the slaver with his sword drawn and placed at the throat of the girl. The girl was crying uncontrollably because the slaver was threatening her. But when he saw Arya walk in front of him, fear flooded his face.
"D-don't try a-anything funny!" He shouted trying to pretend that he was not scared. But he failed miserably
"I will not harm the girl if you let me get a horse and leave" he said more confident now
"You will not get away" Arya said trying to buy some time
The man looked angry "We'll see about that" he said, pressing his blade harder against the girl's neck and making a small line of blood escape.
Before the man could say anything else, Arya quickly said a word in the ancient language making the slaver's heart stop. A shocked look came over his face then he fell down, face in the dirt.
The girl screamed as the head came to rest by her foot. She jumped and ran behind Arya. For the first time Arya noticed that her skin was dark but not like the tanned color that everyone else had but dark like Nasuda's skin.
Arya let her away from the corpses and, when they came to a place that didn't reek with the stench of death, she told her to sit. As soon as the girl sat down, she released a contented sigh. She moved her hands on the floor as if reassuring herself that she wasn't dreaming.
Arya put her hand on the hilt of her swords.
"Who are you?" Arya asked, she didn't trust the girl and she didn't care if the girl knew. Then she noticed how tired the girl looked, for the first time she felt pity for her…
"I have changed my mind." Arya said before she could realize how hard her tone was "Would you like to sleep first?" she added with a kinder voice.
The girl looked at her with disbelief in her tear strained eyes, and then she gave a small smile and nodded and curled up to sleep.
000
It was cold desert night and there was no moon. In the middle of complete darkness there was a figure in front of the fire. Arya was boiling some vegetables when a gust of wind blew through the desert, making her hair fly in all direction and making her shiver. She pulled her blanket more tightly around her the she heard something behind her.
More slavers? She thought
She drew her sword and quietly crept towards the sound which seemed to come from somewhere near the sleeping girl. Arya gave a small laugh when she saw the source of the noise. She saw the girl lying in the grass with her hands holding her bare shoulders. Arya glanced at the blanket that was wrapped around her…
000
At dawn the sound of Arya sharpening her blade filled the air. Arya sat with her back against a tree, sharpening her sword when the girl stirred. Arya, apparently noticing this, sheathed her sword, went to the girl and knelt beside her.
The girl opened her eyes and the first thing her blue eyes saw were the emerald green ones of Arya. She sat straight and saw the blanket that had appeared on her. She immediately realized that Arya had put it there…
"Thank you" she whispered
Arya nodded and gave her some water to drink. She accepted it gratefully and drowned it.
"Now back to business" Arya said but not harshly "Who are you and who were your accomplices?"
The girl looked down sadly and said
"My name is Sherwen and the people with me were…. They were my guardians and the closest thing I had to parents" hesitantly
"I see" Arya said, she knew if she was serious enemies of the empire then Arya would have to kill her "but that does not explain why the slavers were chasing you"
The girl sighed and said "I will tell you my whole story but may I have another cup of water please?"
Arya nodded and gave her the water; after she drank it she began her story. Arya knew that Sherwen's life depended on what she told Arya...
"This started about two or three months ago" she started determined to stare at the dirty ground "I come from the village of Therinsford, a few months ago people from Galbatorix's army came and started recruiting soilders, they promised us if our men went to battle against the enemy our families will be left alone. Naturally most of our soilders joined Galbatorix including my brother…" she looked up at Arya tears filling her eyes before she continued "They went to fight in the hope that their families would be safe, they did not even know who they were up against. But Galbatorix's bastardly soilders didn't keep their promise. No doubt on Galbatorix's orders, after the volunteers had left they started conscripting from the families" She said with disgust in her voice "a man from each family was to go to war. We knew we stood no chance if we resisted so we had to agree but that was not the end of it, oh no, the conscripts and the soilders left for Galbatorix's army at the same time but a day after they had left, slavers arrived, they claimed that they were paid by Galbatorix, they had been sent to capture us. The old men would become slaves and help in the making of swords and serving the army, the young women would serve as entertainment for the soilders" she looked up at Arya again, the disgust in her voice had been gradually replaced by anger "You know what kind of entertainment I am talking about?"
Arya nodded her reply that was one of the most disgusting things about human solders.
"The young men who didn't volunteer or were conscripted were turned into slaves and forced to fight. Boys as young as eight years old were forces to use swords, and trained to kill. That was when the village finally tried to fight and rescue the enslaved men. We tried to turn to Carvahall for help-"
"But you found it burnt to the ground." Arya said for Sherwen
"H-how did you know?"
"I shall tell you later now continue with your story"
"Anyway when we realized that Carvahall was not going to help we decided to retaliate on our own. We rescued all the enslaved people but reinforcements soon came and the men were recaptured and quickly sent to war. After they had left slaver went to get the women again, that was when we decided to make a run for Surda. They were on our tail, on the following weeks they captured many of us until only me and my guardians and I were remaining. About a third of their group found us and started chasing us. Then the events of today happened..."
"I see" Arya said as dread filled her, the empire would not give up on hunting for her and if they found her they would know about Arya traveling between the Varden and the elves they could ambush her again. No the risk has to be eliminated…
"I see" Arya repeated again "What happened to your parents?"
"My father disappeared with my uncle and his daughter when grandfather died. They told my guardians to take care of me. They have loved me very muck and this was a tragic end to their lives"
Arya nodded "Yes it was, but you say that only your father went with your uncle what about your mother? She died some time after I was born"
Arya was filled with shock
Could this be the next rider? No she knows her father it can not be Morzan.
She allowed her self to relax "What was your father's name?"
"Adrian, why?" she replied
Adrian! I heard that before but where… Arya racked her memory but to no anvil I have to kill her now. She told herself regrettably.
"May I ask a question?" Sherwen asked her hesitantly "you're an elf aren't you?"
"Yes" Since she was going to die there was no harm to tell her
"My father always praised your kin. He said your people were really wise and powerful and you helped the Varden much" Then she added
"I know you have to kill me" Sherwen said with a sigh "Go ahead, as long as I am not killed by the slavers I'm happy and I will get to see my mother again." she said with a smile "But promise me you will make it painless."
Arya was shocked by Sherwen's words. She had never seen this kind acceptance of death from a human before and it was rare even among the elves. She couldn't help but admire her courage.
Her father knew about the elves' ties with the Varden and I have heard his name before so he must be an ally. I will help her but how…
"I did decide to kill you" Arya said "but I thought better of it, I will save your life for a life I took earlier. Get ready, you will find your horse well and ready to ride."
Sherwen was so shocked and happy at the same time that she couldn't help but cry. Arya's first thought was that Sherwen was sad but then she realized that they were tears of joy. Arya smiled when Sherwen thanked her
"I have two more questions since you are not going to kill me, where are we going and how did you know about Carvahall?" Sherwen asked
Arya sighed "I will answer your second question first. I know that you think that Carvahall is dead but soilders came to Carvahall earlier and they were put under similar pressure as you were and they also decided to run to Surda. They met the Varden there and helped in the recent war against Galbatorix's forces. And as for your second question"
Arya looked at her in the eye, then said with a smile "T ing she saw was the emerald green eyes of arya. and found a slaver behind the rock.
lavers. whe he dwarves" and jumped on her horse followed with a very surprised and happy Sherwen. From here they began their 2 week journey to Farthen-Dur.
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Sorry this chapter is so late; I had to deal with the entrance exam for the International School and everything (It was very difficult). So anyway next chapter: Eragon tells Nasuda who the leader of the Black Hand is but she does not believe it so Eragon formulates a plan with the help of Roran and the elves, despite Nasuda's warnings and unsupportive behavior, to exterminate the rats. If he succeeds it would be a joyous day for the Varden and a public execution but if he fails Nasuda will hate him and the Black Hand will survive…
11 reviews this time people if you don't review I won't submit. It's ok if it's from the same person, I want numbers.
Sincerely your-
Devilhunter909
P.S. I was really disappointed when you guys didn't submit the required reviews.