Short chapter, but I've not posted in forever.
Chapter 7
"This is the letter a." Brom showed the rune to Eragon and Alexia. "Learn it." Over the next week, a routine was established. They would wake up, eat in the kitchen, and go to the study for reading and writing lessons with Brom. Before dinner, Eragon and Alexia would spar behind Jeod's house while Brom pointed out mistakes and gave some tips. The servants and a small crowd of wide-eyed children would come and watch. Then they would practice magic in their rooms after making sure the curtains were absolutely closed or Alexia would take her bow and quiver to the cliff and practice shooting.
Alexia's only problem now was Ayda. They only got to see each other for a few hours every day and it wasn't enough. Arriving merchants told of horrific attacks along the coast. She voiced her worries to Eragon and he agreed they weren't spending enough time with their dragons but there was nothing they could do except keep close together and never go out alone. Brom had finished the saddle a few days ago but she had no time to use it so she carefully stored it away in her traveling bag.
When the week had gone by, Alexia could read small (Not miniature ones, short ones.) books with the help of a dictionary. She read slowly but knew she could speed up with practice. Brom encouraged them.
"No matter, you'll do fine for what I have planned."
It was afternoon when Brom called everyone to the study. He gestured to Eragon and Alexia.
"Now that you can help us, I think it is time we moved ahead."
"What do you have in mind?" Eragon asked. A fierce smile danced on the old man's face. Jeod groaned.
"I know that look, it's what got us into trouble the first place.
"A slight exaggeration, but not unwarranted. Very well, this is what we'll do…"
In her room, Alexia contacted her dragon.
We'll be leaving tonight or tomorrow.
Will you be safe?
Of course, I can fight if needed.
All right. Get some sleep then, you'll need it. She broke the connection and stared out of the window. The streets were empty and a quaint silence hung over them. I small candle glowed on the desk of a small girl's bedroom across the streets. She was writing in her diary when her mother and father came in, holding something behind their backs. The child turned and they conversed for a few seconds. Then, the mother revealed some ribbons and the father a blank book and some writing materials. She smiled wistfully and sighed.
I miss Carvahall; at least I have a home and family. I wish they were my parents, however they treated me. At least they kept me.
She slipped into a fitful sleep.
ERAGONELDEST
Alexia paced around in her room, her fingers itching to do something. It was early afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. Finally, she grabbed her bow and arrows and went outside to the back of the house. Setting up a target, she stepped back and strung her bow. She nocked an arrow, aimed and released. It landed dead center and she smiled. Now if only I can be half as good with a sword. She sighed and loosed another arrow.
She went back inside just after sunset where everyone was getting ready. When the light faded, the group walked casually along the street, avoiding anyone that might question them. As they continued walking, Alexia saw something move from the corner of her eye but when she turned to look at it, it had already gone. She shrugged it off. Must be a cat.
When they reached the castle the sky was black. Jeod took the lead and strode up to the gates. He pounded on it. A small grill opened up and a guard peered out. His face showed he had been drinking.
"Ya?" he grunted.
"We need to get in." said Jeod. The guard looked at Jeod.
"Wha for?"
"The boy here left something very valuable in my office and we have to retrieve it immediately." Eragon hung his head. The guard frowned, glancing downwards for a few moments.
"Ah whatever. Jus' make sure 'n give 'im a good beating f'r me.
"I'll do that." Jeod assured the guard, as he let them in. Brom gave the guard a few coins.
"Thank'ee." Mumble the man as he walked away. The moment he was out of sight, Eragon strung his bow. Alexia did the same. They hurried silently to their destination, listening for any guards on patrol. At the records room, Brom tried the door. It was locked. He put his hand against the door and muttered a word from the ancient language Alexia did not recognize. The door swung open with a faint click and they dashed inside with a torch, closing the door behind them. Jeod made his way through the wooden scroll-racks, running his eyes over them. He halted at the back of the room.
"Over here. These are the shipping records for the past five years. You can tell the date by the wax seals on the corner."
"So what do we do now?" asked Eragon.
"Start at the top and work down. Some scrolls only deal with taxes. You can ignore those, just look for anything that mentions Seithr oil." Said Jeod. He took a length of parchment from his pouch and set it on the floor, then set a bottle of ink and a quill pen next to it. "So we can keep track of whatever we find." He explained. Brom nodded and grabbed an armful of scrolls from the top of the rack and piled them on the floor. He sat and unrolled the first one. Alexia grabbed a few scroll from the rack and sat close to the door. When she looked at the runes on the parchment, she had to take a moment to decipher the unfamiliar handwriting, which was completely different from the printing from Jeod's library. By looking only for the names of the ships that sailed in the northern areas they winnowed out many of the scrolls. Even so, they moved down the rack slowly, recording each shipment of Seithr oil as they located it. It was quite outside the room, with the exception of the occasional watchmen passing by. Then, Alexia heard something at the windowsill. Looking up, she saw a small boy crouching.
Need any help? Asked a voice in her head. It sounded somewhat familiar.
Solembum, is that you?
Am I someone else?
Err, never mind. What are you doing here?
That depends on what you are doing here. Alexia could tell Solembum was talking to Eragon aswell now. If you are reading those scrolls for entertainment then I suppose there isn't any reason for my visit. But if what you are doing is unlawful and you don't want to be discovered, I might be here to warn you that the guard whom you bribed just told his replacement about you, and that this second official of the Empire has sent soldiers to search for you.
Oh, thanks for telling us.
Told you something, did I? Well I suppose I did and I suggest you make use of it. Solembum stood up and tossed his hair back. A moment later, he was gone.
"There are soldiers looking for us." Eragon announced.
"How do you know?" Brom asked.
"I listened in on the guard. His replacement just sent men to search for us. We have to get out of here. They've probably already discovered that Jeod's office is empty."
"Are you sure?" asked Jeod.
"Yes!" said Eragon impatiently. "They're on their way." Brom continued looking through the scrolls.
"No matter, we have to finish this now!" They worked furiously for the next minute, all the while Alexia could hear faint footsteps in the distance…as the last scroll was finished, Brom threw it back onto the rack and Jeod jammed his parchment, ink and quill bank into his pouch. Eragon grabbed the torch and Alexia used magic to make the room the way it was before they came in. They raced from the room and shut the door, but just as it closed, they heard the heavy tramp of soldiers' boots at the end of the hallway. They turned to leave, but Brom hissed.
"Damnation! It's not locked." He put his hand against the door. The lock clicked the same time three armed soldiers came into view.
"Hey, get away from that door!" Shouted one of the men. Brom stepped back, assuming a surprised expression. The three men marched up to them. The tallest one demanded,
"Why were you trying to get into the records?" Alexia took an arrow from her quiver.
I'm afraid we lost our way." Jeod replied. A drop of sweat rolled down his neck. The soldier glared at them suspiciously.
"Check inside the room." He ordered one of the men. He stepped up to the door and tried to open it. He pounded on the door several times.
"Sir, it's locked."
"Ar'right then. I don't know what you were up to but as long as the door's locked, I guess you're free to go. Come on." The soldiers surrounded them and arched them back to the keep. At the main gates, one said,
"Now you walk through those and don't try anything. We'll be watching. If you need anything else, wait until morning."
"Of course." Promised Jeod. The moment the gates closed behind them, Eragon jumped in the air. Brom growled.
"Walk back to the house normally, you can celebrate there." Alexia saw no point in celebrating. I mean, we found the Seithr oil, so what? Why are we even chasing the stupid Ra'zac, they never did anything to me. Weren't we supposed to go to safety? Isn't that why we were dragged out of the cave? Because it wasn't safe? And now, were chasing Ra'zac! What the hell are they? She thought about his until Eragon broke her chain of thought inside the house.
"We did it!"
"Yes, but now we have to figure out if it was worth the trouble." Said Brom. Jeod took a map from the shelves and unfurled it on the table. On the left side, the ocean extended to the unknown west. Along the coast stretched the Spine, an immense length of mountains. The Hadarac Desert filled the center of the map. The east end was blank. Somewhere in that void hid the Varden. Alexia vaguely remembered this as their final destination. To the south was Surda, a small country that had seceded from the Empire after the rider's fall. Near Surda's eastern border was a mountain range labeled the Beor Mountains. The map was empty to the east of the Beors. Five islands rested off the coast of Surda: Nía, Parlim, Uden, Illium and Beirland. Farther up, near Teirm was a jagged island called Sharktooth. At the top left-hand corner was another island, immense and shaped like a knobbly hand. It was called Vroengard. In the center was a city named Doru Areaba. Carvahall was a small dot at the top of Palancar Valley. Level with it but across the plains sprawled the forest Du Weldenvarden and, like the Beor Mountains, its eastern end was unmapped. In the center of the Empire lay Urû'baen. From there, King Galbatorix ruled with his black dragon Shruikan. Eragon pointed at Urû'baen.
"The Ra'zac are sure to have a hiding place here."
"You had better hope that that isn't their only sanctuary otherwise you'll never get near them." Here we go again.
"From what I saw in the records, there have been shipments of Seithr oil to every major city in the Empire over the last five years. As far as I can tell, all of them might have been ordered by wealthy jewelers. I'm not sure how we can narrow the list down without more information." Said Jeod.
"I think we can eliminate some cities. The Ra'zac have to travel wherever the king wants and I'm sure he keeps them busy. If they're expected to go anywhere at anytime, the only reasonable place for them to stay is at a crossroad, where they can reach every part of the country fairly easily." How can they want to find their enemy? Why can't they live life without traveling? They could have killed the Ra'zac and then g do what they do, be famous and save everyone in danger. But just because I have a dragon, I'm in grave danger.
I am here you know.
Oh. Well do you think this is fair? We could be living happily together in the cave and no-one would notice us, but we're in Teirm instead.
Even if I did think it unfair, we would be able to do nothing.
Hmph.
"I guess it's decided then, that's where we'll go." The parchment crackled as Jeod rolled up the map and handed it to Brom.
"You'll need this, I'm afraid. Your expeditions often take you into obscure regions." Nodding, Brom accepted the map.
Er, yeah, do you know where we're going Ayda?
Yes, Dras-Leona.
Right, so we're not going home?
Goodnight little one.
Humph.