Chapter 2 (Rewritten)
The moment Alex opened his eyes the next day, he was welcomed with a magnificent sight. The sky was colored in blue with a few clouds which were tinted light pink and the sun was slowly appearing at the horizon. Seeing this was more than enough to put him in a good mood and a smile on his lips. Sometimes, waking up to something like this was the best motivation to go through the day. A quick look at his watch told him it wasn't more than seven and a quarter. He quickly yawned and shook his head. Observing what was remaining of the fire, the young man with light brown hair stood up, took the wood still unused from the previous night and put it equally where the ashes of the fire were. He used a piece of rag and his lighter to bring it back to life.
Alex then sat on the ground, in front of the small fire, crossed his legs, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He emptied his mind while slowing his breathing and his heart rate. Gradually, he stopped thinking and after a few minutes, he reached a state of inner peace, away from the physical and the outside world. It was a method he learned from his first teacher to help relax and think clearly. He was hearing everything that was happening around him, the crackling fire, the birds singing, the tree branches moving because of the wind.
After some time, he heard one of his new companions waking up and decided to stop his exercise before opening his eyes. He smiled a little.
"Good morning." said Brom in a weak but neutral tone.
"Morning to you too. Sleep well?"
"I've known better."
The young man nodded in understanding.
"How long have you been awake?"
"A little more than an hour, not more. The fire was dying so I revived it with what was left of the wood from last night."
"I see. Thank you, at least, it'll help warm up my old bones."
There was a long and heavy silence between the two people which lasted until Eragon woke up from his slumber. He greeted them with a small grunt and ate the breakfast prepared by the old man. Brom suggested it would be a good idea to make a saddle for Saphira so she could transport some of their belonging. Then, the three of them began to work on it. Brom was taking the dragoness' measurements and supervised Alex in the cutting of the stripes made of leather. Finally, the storyteller adjusted the saddle while the two boys started organizing and stowing supplies for the journey ahead. Brom stepped back to admire his work. It wasn't perfect but good enough to continue fitting Saphira during her months of growth ahead.
"You did a good job." admitted Eragon, grudgingly.
"One tries his best. The leather is sturdy, it should last for some time."
The dinner was quickly made with few ingredients but not too bad. Brom broke the silence by asking a question to the farmer:
"So, will we leave tomorrow?"
"I don't see any reason to stay."
"True." Brom sighed before looking at the man with light brown hair. "What do you think about this?"
"Eragon's right. The more we stay around here, the less chances we have of finding any clue about which direction they took."
"In that case, we need horses. There may be some in Therinsford."
Eragon growled. "Alright but you'll have to buy them, I'm not stealing again. It's wrong. At least, I have Saphira."
"Depend on your point of view and I think it's a bad idea if you ride Saphira. You'll leave us behind." Brom countered.
"It will take us longer to find them if we're progressing only on the ground. I could do it in one or two days with her."
Alex decided to step in. "Alright, let's imagine you manage to follow those two and spot their position. Then, what? You fight them with just your bow and your dragoness?"
«Watch your tongue, little human. » Saphira growled.
"I'm not saying you can't put a decent fight, far from it. You need to understand the only chance we have is to confront them together. Be realistic, if I couldn't get rid of them with all those years of training under my belt, you wouldn't stand five seconds against them."
"As much as I hate to admit it, those are wise words." added Brom.
The two of them talked for a few more moments before the elder decided it was getting late and that they needed to sleep before beginning the journey.
The next day dawned with an overcast and sharp wind. The forest was completely silent. After a quick breakfast, they packed up camp and set out along the road leading away from Carvahall. Brom and Alex had their blades on them but Eragon strapped his on Saphira's saddle, only taking his bow with him. The Rider knew it would be useless to have it on him until he could use the sword properly, it would be nothing but a dead weight.
As they walked, Saphira departed and flew West toward the mountains and out of sight. The travelers passed by the farm to go South, in direction of Therinsford. They trudged on with Brom leading them, trying to follow the trail the Ra'zac had left, which was easier said than done. Eragon and Alex weren't worried about it. The latter had waited more than ten years before meeting them a second time, not long ago, and wasn't in hurry to confront them a third time. He just had to play mouse and cat before striking when they expected it the least.
While the farmer and the old man were talking about the eating habits of dragons or what to do if engaging one in battle, the newcomer was admiring the scenery around him. There were different kinds of trees, conifer to elm and he saw a few oaks too. The white coat of snow was everywhere, covering rocks, ground or trees. The ambient temperature wasn't high but not that cold too. While doing this, he was also listening to the conversation. They continued to walk until the sun disappeared at horizon.
They proceed to make camp and make a meal as Saphira joined them from above. She settled next to Eragon, sharing her body heat with him. A few minutes passed by, without a single word, the only sound was the crackling fire. On the other side of the fire, Brom sat, whittling two long sticks. Suddenly, one was thrown at the young Rider. He caught it by reflex.
"Defend yourself!" barked the storyteller as he stood.
Brom and Eragon faced each other for a moment, then Brom struck. Eragon tried to block but he was too slow. A yell escaped his lips when Brom's sword hit his ribs. They fought like this until Eragon was hit on the temple and fell on the ground. Then, the old man showed him the right posture to have and a few tips before ending the lesson for the night.
"My turn, I suppose?" asked Alex, visibly happy to use his muscles before stretching his body, warming it up in preparation for the duel.
Brom smiled seeing the boy's enthusiasm. He gave him the mock sword Eragon had a few moments before. The man with almond eyes took it with his left hand and did a few swings with it to gauge its weight and balance before nodding and positioning himself correctly. His right leg in front, the other behind, both hands on the handle of the object, near the left side of his face and handling the fake sword horizontally towards its target.
Brom raised an eyebrow but quickly ignored the strange position and launched an attack, trying to strike his right side but was stopped. Brushing off what just happened as pure luck or an excellent reflex, he whipped his stick toward Alex's stomach but finally twisted and tried to touch his neck. The swordsman deflected the enemy's blade to his left by performing a semicircle. This time, he came at Brom, on the offensive and attacking with an impressive speed for a human. His blows were only blurs for Eragon and Saphira who watched the fight with amazement. The storyteller was defending himself admirably under the furious assault of his partner and retaliated a few times. At one moment, they were face to face and the next, they were on each side of the camp. They kept this pace for a good five minutes.
Brom was breathing loudly, sweat falling down his forehead. "You're good, far better than what I expected. I thought you were just boasting yourself but I underestimated your skills. I'll never make the mistake again."
"Your compliment is appreciated, you're an excellent swordsman yourself despite your age. I'm sure if you were ten or twenty years younger, you would have kicked my ass very hard. It's your experience that help you keep up now."
The young man resumed the duel by rushing to the storyteller, the latter waited until he was within range to deliver a vertical slash. To everyone's surprise, the swordsman jumped to the side to dodge it, rolled once, stood up and sprang on his opponent, sword ready to hit him on the side, in a horizontal slash. His weapon was stopped before it could reach its target. Brom was struggling to keep him at bay, his arms were shaking and his face contorted in a grimace.
"You almost had me there, I wasn't expecting this kind of move. My reflexes saved my hide this time."
Alex nodded and finished the duel by twisting his opponent's hand in a strange way, forcing him to drop his weapon to the ground. The young man put his stick under Brom's chin.
"I've won." He said, in a confident tone, breathing calmly and with little trace of fatigue on his face.
The Rider and his dragoness were looking at the two men in awe, well more precisely at Alex. His blows were powerful and very accurate. The young adult hadn't lied when he said he had some knowledge in swordplay. It was as if he knew the perfect amount of force to put in each of his hits, as if he wanted to optimize them to conserve his strength and gain in efficiency.
"Indeed. Few people have been able to beat me that way. You're pretty impressive for someone your age, I didn't think I was going to confront such a strong resistance during this fight. Your teacher did a good job."
"Thank you, he was extremely proud of the results when he finished tutoring me. I also trained under other people because I wanted to master as much techniques as possible to stand a chance against the Ra'zac."
"And you were right in your idea, I tend to think it's better to be polyvalent than specialized in one style because your arsenal of technique is more varied and adapted for different kind of situations. The only thing I can say to you is to keep the level you have. You don't need my advices in this domain but now, I'm curious about how you'll fare with a real sword in your hands. However, we should go to sleep, it's getting late."
The next day, Alex woke up not long after Brom but before Eragon and Saphira.
"Was it really that necessary to be that harsh with him last night?"
The storyteller let out a sigh.
"I know but I had to. If I had to lower myself to his level, he'll never make any progress. I prefer to have him hating me for a decade rather than see him be injured or killed because he was too confident in his capacities."
While saying this, the expression in his eyes changed, there was now sorrow in them. It was here long enough to let the man with almond eyes to notice it but he didn't say a word. They stayed like this, sitting side by side, while waiting for the last member of their little group to wake up. He greeted them with a small snarl.
Once they had finished and repacked their campsite, they traveled swiftly so as to reach Therinsford by noon. After about a league, the road began to widen and smoke could be seen in the distance.
"You should tell Saphira to fly ahead and wait for us on the other side of the town." Brom said. "She has to be careful here. She could be spotted."
"Why don't you tell her yourself?"
"It's considered ill manners to interfere with one's dragon."
"You didn't seem to have any problem with it in Carvahall."
The old man's lips twitched in a smile. "I did what I had to do at the time."
They continued to walk in direction of their next destination, the village was larger than Carvahall but looked like it was planned out by a drunken man. The houses aligned in no particular order.
"What a mess." said Eragon.
"It's ugly." nodded Brom. "I've seen far better than this."
A river with a bridge was separating them from Therinsford. At the moment they were about to set foot on it, a greasy man with broken teeth emerged from the bushes.
"You c'n stop right there. This is my bridge. You gotta pay t'get over."
Alex laughed at the top of his lungs for three seconds before immediately taking his neutral face again.
"So, what are we going to do? I shoot him or not? Because his face is a more than valid reason to put him six feet under the ground. No one will ever know he disappeared or even miss him I think."
Brom looked at him somberly before pulling out a pouch of coins.
"How much?"
"Five crowns," he said, his lips in a broad smile.
The swordsman stayed silent while Eragon's temper flared at the unruly price. A simple look from the bald man silenced him. He then handed the coins to the man wordlessly. Stepping forward, Brom suddenly stumbled and grabbed the man's arm for support. When they were out of earshot, Eragon protested: "Why didn't you haggle? He skinned you alive! He probably doesn't even own the bridge, we could have pushed right past him."
Brom opened his hand to show him a pile of coins glistening in the light. He gave a wink to the farmer and put his theft in his own pouch.