The text between { } is Saphira talking telepathically.
Aragorn kneels checking the ground. He has been tracking a deer for some time now. He wants to know if he is still on its trail for today he belongs to the hunters. The village depends a lot on him successfully hunting. Just as they depend on the other hunters. As such, he must continue to track the deer. He smiles happily when he recognizes he is still on the deer's track.
Looking up, he sees that fog has appeared around him. Where did it come from? There has been no indication of fog earlier today. Had there been one then they would have gone hunting in pairs. Not alone as they do right now. Shaking his head, he walks on keeping a close eye on the ground. There is nothing he can do about the fog right now. He simply has to deal with it. At the same time, he listens closely. If he is lucky then he will hear his deer and be able to shoot it. It will be difficult but not impossible. He has done so before. Something easier to do than tracking a deer without sound.
As he walks, it becomes clear to him that the fog is thickening. If this continues then he will soon have problems finding his way. The fog already does not allow him to see much. Any thicker and he will be unable to see his boots. If he can see so much.
"What is this fog?"
As expected, no one answers. Who could? He is alone. But it has him wondering about the fog. Something is wrong with it. He is certain of it. But what? He cannot tell. It is not as if the fog is created by magic, right? What purpose would it serve?
Carefully walking on, he searches for a place with light. Or there is more light than he has now. Somewhere he can see. And where he can try to get his bearing. He needs to head back to the village. Hunting now is highly irresponsible. The fog is simply too thick. While he searches the fog only thickens. He walks as fast as he dares too. It will not do him any good if he trips right now.
In the distance, he sees a light. He hurries forward. As he grips his sword tight. He does not know what he will find there and resumes to take any unnecessary risks. Nearing the light, he stops and listens carefully. He cannot hear anything. Tilting his head, he considers how to approach it. Simply walking in or circling it for a bit? When he notices ho the fog gets even thicker his decision is quickly made; he will walk in and deal with whatever he finds there.
Entering the clearing, he looks around. His eyebrows raise high when he sees it. The clearing is not abandoned. On the contrary, a young man sits on the ground. The young man has a muscular built and brown hair. Hair which is a bit long for a human. Where the young man an elf then it would be short. A smile tugs on his lips when he notices this. It is an amusing realization. Walking up to the young man, he decides to announce his presence.
"Good afternoon, traveler. Would you mind where I to join you here."
The young man turns around. Surprise visible on his face. But now, he can see more of the young man's face. He looks almost elvish in appearance. Except for his skin. It is a bit paler than he has seen before. Could he be from Mirkwood? Aragorn has only rarely interacted with few Silvan so it is certainly a possibility.
He sees how the young man assesses him. He is careful to keep his hands away from his sword. But not too far in case he needs to use it. After all, he needs to be able to defend himself quickly. But at the same time, he also needs to make a good impression.
He keeps his eyes on the young man. And if he reads him correctly then the young man seems to be looking for something. What the young man seeks he does not know. But after some time, the young man smiles.
"Of course, you may join me. It will be good to have some company here while waiting for the fog to disappear."
"Indeed. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Aragorn."
"It is nice meeting you, Aragorn. My name is Eragon."
Aragorn can tell Eragon is hiding something. Not surprising. Who would share all their secrets with a stranger? Few people. And he does not belong to that group. So who is he to take any offense to it. He smiles and walks towards the young man. Reaching him, he extends his hand. It is gripped on a tight grip. They hold each other's hands for a moment before Eragon releases him. He does the same while Eragon mentions with his hands.
"Sit down, Aragorn. Waiting is better when one sits."
He smiles and sits down on a trunk not far away from Eragon. It certainly makes the time pass better. Now, it is only a matter of actually passing the time. Hopefully with talking. He knows from experience time passes more quickly when one talks than when one sits in silence. Before he can ask anything, Eragon speaks up.
"So, Aragorn. What were you doing?"
"Before I found you? I was hunting a deer for my village. I am one of those responsible for hunting today. Unfortunately, the fog caught me by surprise. I had not expected to encounter one today. But what about you?"
"I was checking something out with my friend Saphira."
"Saphira? That is an interesting name. Where is your friend now? And what were you checking out?"
He frowns and looks around. Is Saphira around here? Looking at the edge of the clearing, he sees the fog does not seem to enter. What is this? Now, everything makes even less sense. He shakes his head. Looking once more at the edge, he does not see anyone so turns his head back. He is met with an amused Eragon. He lifts an eyebrow.
"Oh, my friend and I have gotten separated. So you are not going to find her here at the clearing. But once we are reunited I am in for some heave berating."
"So you and your friend are very close."
"Yes, we are. We have been through some hard times together and trust each other with our lives."
"That is good to know. Friends should be trusted. I do trust my cousin like you do your friend. Though some of my cousin's friends I prefer to keep at arm's length."
Laughter fills the clearing. Aragorn looks at Eragon who is shaking with laughter. He finds it amusing but not to the level Eragon finds it. Still, due to the laughter, some of his worries disappear. He imagines the same counts for Eragon. The laughter serves to relax them.
Eragon takes some time to calm down. Aragorn does not mind the waiting time. It allows his thoughts and feelings to settle. Once Eragon stops laughing, Aragorn looks Eragon in his eyes. In Eragon's eyes, laughter is still visible. What is amusing Eragon so much? He lifts an eyebrow.
"Do you not trust them?"
"Oh, I do trust them. I simply want to escape all the harassment those friends seem fond of."
"Harassment? I think you mean teasing. But if it is a lot then I can understand your reaction. Teasing can become annoying after some time."
They share another laugh. It feels to him as if they both know that feeling all too well. When did Eragon experience it? It is certainly something interesting to know. But then, it does not matter. There is still one question to which he has received no answer.
"Eragon, there was one question which you did not answer."
"Oh, which one?"
He sees the mischievous look in Eragon's eyes and smiles. Eragon knows full well which question he did not answer. He shakes his head before asking his question once more.
"I asked you what you were checking out?"
"Oh, it is nothing troublesome. Or at least not truly troublesome. I heard about areas being harassed by a strange fog."
"And did you find what you were seeking?"
Is it the fog they face right now which Eragon was checking out? But why? What is so strange about the fog? Well, he can make a guess about that; the sudden appearance and thickness of the fog. But it does not explain everything. Such as why has he not heard about the fog? He should have if people in Arnor were being harassed by it. So why did he not? He cannot find an answer to it by himself. The only thing he can do is wait for Eragon's answer.
"Oh, not much. I was walking around one of the areas where the fog had appeared earlier. Saphira was looking at the area from another angle. But unfortunately, before we could even find anything, the fog caught me unaware. That was when we got separated from each other."
"So you do not know where this fog came from?"
"No, it appears quickly just as I had been told. One thing I do not know is how long it lasts. No one ever seemed able to tell me. Some claimed they were in the fog for hours or a day. But their families always claimed they never gone for long. Not any longer than they would be normally. So I do not know."
"Your words certainly do not tell me anything about the fog. At least nothing more than you know and told me. It is frustrating as I have never heard anything about the fog harassing people."
"Really? I have heard a lot of people talking about it. Plenty of people are afraid of what the fog will do to them. Strangely, you have not heard about it. But let us not focus on the fog right now. We could spend hours talking about it which will only frustrate us more. So I say we take a break from it and you tell me about your home?"
"My home? Where I live right now? Or what I consider to be my home?"
"How about both."
"Alright, right now I live in a village with my people. We are not with many as the orcs make it difficult for our numbers to rise. But my village is not the only one belonging to my people. There are others."
"Alright, tell me more about your village. Like the atmosphere there."
Aragorn scratches his head for a moment. How should he answer that? There is nothing special about his village. So what should he even say? He does not know. But there is one thing which stays in his mind; Eragon's reactions to orcs. He seemed more confused than anything else. Why? It is not like he has never heard about orcs, right? Everyone has heard about them. He shakes his head. Something to consider later. Right now, he needs to answer Eragon's question.
"Well, it is a typical village. The houses are made from wood and not very large. Well, they are large enough for us. The town hall stands in the center of the village. Surrounding the village is a wooden wall but outside the wall, our cattle and sheep roam. All in all, there is nothing special about it."
"A wall around your village? That is something I consider special about your village for it is not something I do see very often. Only in villages who are in constant danger of being attacked. But from your words, you are in constant danger due to the orcs."
"Yes, that is true. We have always a need to defend our village from orcs whenever they are close. Or from other beasts roaming around the land."
Eragon nods with a thoughtful look in his eyes. What is Eragon thinking about? About the orcs? It certainly becomes ever more likely that Eragon does not know what orcs are. And that gives another level of confusion. How can this even be? But before he can consider it any further, Eragon speaks up.
"Now, tell me more about the place you consider home. And afterward, I will tell you about my home."
"Oh, it is a beautiful place with a timeless and peaceful air. The buildings are built in the valley in harmony with the surroundings. A large waterfall can be seen in the distance. Just like lush fields."
"That sounds like a nice place to live. How long did you live there?"
Longing is visible in Eragon's eyes. Aragorn smiles. The longing brings a lot of happy memories to his mind. All from when he lived in Imladris as a child. it also gives him the feeling Eragon enjoys such places. And that would mean Eragon has been in similar places. But then why would he not have heard of orcs? He shakes his head. This is not important right now?
"I lived there from my second year until adulthood when I joined my people again."
"Why? Why did you not live with your people? From what you have told me they invest a lot in defenses."
"Yes, that is true. But still, it was too dangerous for me to be with my people. My father and grandfather were killed by our enemies. They would have come after me if I was not hidden in Imladris under a fake name. Only that saved my life."
He can see the wonder and surprise in Eragon's eyes. But there is also something else in Eragon's eyes. What he cannot tell for he cannot identify what it is. It seems familiar to him but he cannot place it. He frowns and looks at Eragon who stays silent for a while. Most likely in thought. Aragorn allows it for he has spent time in thoughts before. He simply returns the favor Eragon showed him with his patience. He sees it the moment Eragon decides to respond.
"You lived in hiding. I could already tell it was something like that from your earlier words. Now, I have it confirmed."
"I am glad to have confirmed your theory. Now I believe it is your time to talk about your home."
"Well, I do not really have a home. I travel around the world together with Saphira. We go wherever we are needed."
"That must be an interesting life. But do you not have any place you called home before you started traveling?"
Well, he would be lying if he said that Eragon's traveling does not interest him. But it is not what they agreed to talk about. And maybe he will have a chance to learn about it later. Even though he has some ideas as to what Eragon does when he is needed somewhere. At the same time, he keeps his attention on Eragon who smiles wistfully.
"Oh, my life is certainly interesting. And yes, I did have a place I called home when I was younger. That was with my aunt and uncle. They raised me my entire life for my parents were never around. My mother had to leave to protect me shortly after my birth and my father … Well, I never really knew my father until I was sixteen."
"So, how did you meet your father then?"
"Oh, that was a really interesting time. Ra'zac came to my village in search of my friend. It was then that I met my father who saved my life. We fled the village while my uncle's farm was burned down and my uncle was killed by the Ra'zac. We traveled through the wild while my father taught me a lot. Still, it took me quite some time to find out he was my father. "
Ra'zac? What are that for creatures? Is that the word he uses for orcs? He has heard other people call orcs by other names. But he never heard of Ra'zac. He frowns and turns to the side. What is he missing? He does not know and does not like it. If Eragon had trouble with Ra'zac then they might cause trouble here too. It is worrisome that he does not know anything about it. He will not know what they will be faced with if Ra'zac attack.
Looking up, he wonders what to do with this information. Should he question Eragon? It might be the only thing he can do right now. Facing Eragon, he is about to ask when Eragon smiles calmly at him.
"We both went through some horrors since our life. Let me do something for you."
Eragon stands up and walks around the clearing. What is Eragon planning? He frowns when Eragon picks up a stone. From what he can see, it is a small insignificant stone. What is so special about it? And was this what had Eragon smiling so calmly?
He looks at Eragon as Eragon turns the stone over in his hands. What is he doing? He cannot see anything for Eragon's head is faced away from him. He shakes his head hoping he will learn it later. Just as he stops shaking, Eragon turns around and walks back to him.
"Here. If you ever need me, focus on this stone by calling my name and you will find yourself in a place I consider to be my haven. There, you only need to ask for me and they will seek me out."
"Of course."
He takes the stone and looks it over. What is so special about this stone? He does not know. There is nothing of significance about it. It is just a small insignificant stone. Just as he saw earlier. He frowns and looks at Eragon. He only receives a smile in return but no real answer.
Suddenly the fog pushes into the clearing. It is like a wind blows it in. Aragorn jumps up with his hands on his sword. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Eragon doing the same. It is only for a short moment that he can see Eragon before Eragon vanishes from his sight. He turns around.
Where is Eragon? He cannot see him. In fact, he cannot see anything. The fog is simply too thick. Why now? Why did the fog enter the clearing now? Until recently, it stayed away. It makes no sense. He smiles ruefully. It is the entire fog which makes no sense. Not just right now. Turning again, he is met with the same results. Nothing to be seen. A wind blows by. The fog following.
He follows the wind's direction. As he watches the fog moves upwards. It fades away in the sky. Looking at the clearing, he raises his eyebrows. How did he end up in this clearing? He clearly remembers being in another one. What was that strange fog? It has to be. It is the only explanation he can give. Even though it makes no sense. Just like he thought many times before.
Looking at the ground, he searches for tracks. He does not find any. Not even a sign there were tracks in the immediate past. He sighs. Has he lost track of the deer now? He fears it. Just then, tracks on the west side of the clearing catch his eyes. Walking towards the tracks, he kneels. Inspecting them, he smiles. These tracks have been made by deer. He is not sure if it is from the same deer he was trailing before. Regardless, he will be able to shoot a deer soon if he is lucky.
Sneaking through the forest, he searches for the deer by following the tracks. It takes him some time but he manages to find the deer. The deer is hiding in behind some bushes. It looks majestic with its large antlers and shining coat. It is almost a shame to kill it. Shaking his head, he crouches down. He carefully nocks an arrow into his bow and waits for the right time to fire.
He waits and waits. Each time, he fails to find an opportunity where he is assured of a guaranteed kill. Still, he keeps his eyes on the deer. He knows he will not wait for much longer. If he then does not have the opportunity by then he will leave the deer. Rabbits are what remains to be caught then. Just as he thinks this, an opportunity presents itself. He aims his bow and shoots.
The arrow flies through the sky. It hits the deer straight in the chest. The deer raises upwards flickering its hooves around. It runs away. Aragorn stands up and runs after the deer. He pushes past the bushes and stops. He sees the deer lying on the ground gasping for air. Quickly walking up to the deer, he slits its throat. It will not do for the deer to suffer any longer than is necessary.
A short while later, he walks back to the village with the deer on his back. He does not have to walk as far as he thought. Within a short while after walking away, he reaches the villages. He has clearly not gone far into the forest. It makes him smile. Regardless of how pleased he is with his catch, carrying the deer a long time is simply too exhausting.
Crossing the gate, he walks towards the steam hut. Looking around, he sees young men training and women working in the village. He smiles at everyone he passes. Each time, he receives a smile in return. A few of the younger boys look at him with wonder. Reaching the hut, he gives the deer to the woman to prepare. With his duty done, he decides to take some quiet time.
Walking around the village, he talks to a few people. From what he learns nothing has happened which should give him cause for concern. No one mentions a fog. Those few times he brings it up, all he receives is a confused look. It is like they never saw the fog he saw. He does not understand why. The fog was clearly visible to him. But with knowing all this, he decides to look for a place to sit and think. He needs to sort everything out.
Sitting down on one of the benches in the center of the city, he thinks back to his meeting with Eragon. It is an interesting meeting. He has never met anyone like Eragon before. Eragon looked like a half-elven but seemed to have grown up like a human. How can that be? He has never heard of anything like it. Did Eragon grow up in one of the small villages? It seems likely.
But that is not all which confuses him. Both his parents were not involved in his upbringing. How can that be? He has learned how elves raise their children. In fact, he experienced it. Elven parents nurture their children with their strength. So how can Eragon be half-elven? If he was then at least one of his parents should have nurtured him. That parent would have been involved in his life. It all makes no sense to him. It is all so strange. He begins to doubt his assessment of Eragon's heritage.
Then there is Eragon's village as well as the Ra'zac. Both are a mystery to him. He has never heard of a village being attacked and only a farm burned down. The villages he knows were attacked were completely ransacked. Not just a farm. So where does Eragon come from? He does not know. And as he realizes earlier, he never heard of Ra'zac. He does not know what Eragon means. He can only imagine Ra'zac is another word for orcs. Like he thought earlier. It is not something which has changed.
Reaching into his pocket, he takes the stone out. Looking at it, he turns it over from time to time. It is still an insignificant stone. It has not changed. Not like he thought it would, but still. At the same time, he wonders once more what is so special about it. What could it possibly do? It cannot be magical, can it? He shakes his head. It cannot be magical. Eragon is not one of the Istari. And then they never put a spell on a stone for as far as he knows.
But will he believe Eragon's words? He is inclined to do so. If only because it will give him some measure of hope. And this knowledge also tells him when he will use it. Only in an absolute emergency. Like when he has no other options left. All in all, it becomes quickly clear to him that Eragon is a complete mystery. But at the same time, he considers him a friend. Strange, but it are his feelings.
Walking through the forest, Eragon tries to find a familiar place. So far, he finds plenty. And each one makes his frown. How could he have ended up here? He clearly remembers walking much further than it appears right now. How did he end up here? It makes no sense.
Oh, no. Do not tell him that the fog caused the disturbance in his sense of distance. He knew it caught him unaware but for it to change his perception of distance? It is a highly dangerous fog. Anyone could get lost there and end up somewhere familiar. Whether they remember it or not. They would surely be declared crazy or something like it. If not for his experience. People believe him so he should ensure the fog is stopped. Or at least make sure the people are made aware of the danger of it.
{Eragon!}
Looking up, he looks around trying to find Saphira. The sun shines directly in his eyes. It blinds him. Closing them tightly, he tries to stop the blindness. After a moment, he opens his eyes again. Looking up in the sky, he carefully looks around while making sure not to look directly into the sun.
A shadow flying in front of the sun catches his eyes. Looking closely at it, he knows it is Saphira. She moves at high speed towards him. He smiles while watching her approach. He missed her. It will be good to have her close again. Once she is close by, he moves a bit back. Back into the forest to give Saphira space to land. Considering the clearing he stood in, she will need it.
Looking at the clearing, he only now sees how small it is. Saphira will not have much room to move around. She will have to be careful with the landing. The clearing is surrounded by bushes. There are only four openings through the bushes through which the clearing can be reached. The bushes are all quite small with flowers scattered around them. Behind the bushes, large trees stand and in between the bushes, a small patch of grass can be seen.
The ground shakes. He looks up to see Saphira has landed. He only sees her for a moment before he loses his footing. He falls hard on the back. The air is knocked from his lungs. He stays down for a moment to catch his breath. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Saphira moving her tail back. He smiles momentarily amused. At the same time, he wants to scream at her but knows it will not aid him at all. As such, he stays silent.
{Where have you been! I tried to call you but was unable to reach you. Do you know how worried I was?}
"I know you always worry about me, Saphira. I felt the same thing as you did. But I was not in danger though the fog did manage to catch me unaware."
He scratches the back of his head while bowing his head slightly at the same time. It is highly embarrassing that he was caught unaware. The fog moved simply too fast for him to be able to react. He does not have to look at Saphira's thoughts to know how she feels about it. He knows her too well for that. Looking up, he sees Saphira looking at him with interest. He already knows what will come now.
{Really? Did it catch you unaware? I do not believe it. But what did you learn about the fog?}
"Not much, I learned that it acts a lot like we have been told. It is fast and obscures the entire surroundings of whoever is caught. But no one ever told me about meeting someone there."
Instantly, Saphira frowns and pushes her face into his body. She takes a deep breath before moving back. Then she moves her head back apparently satisfied with what she smelt. But with her head away from his body, he sees her eyes moving over him. He suspects to check for wounds or something like it. He does not like the inspection but knows where this reaction comes from. She is worried something could have happened to him.
{Who did you meet? Someone, we know? And how were you able to see the person? You said you could not see anything so how?}
"Well, there was this clearing which was void of the fog. It was really strange considering the fog's earlier behavior for I could see there. It is there that I met the person. I doubt you know him as he was unfamiliar to me. Just like his name. But that was not everything, he did describe a village which I do not recognize. He talked about orcs and was confused when I mentioned Ra'zac. But regardless of all that, I still gave him a way to find me in case of need."
Saphira frown at his mention of orcs. As well as when he explains how Aragorn did not recognize Ra'zac. She experiences the same thing he has; confusion. Even if one lives in a secluded village then Ra'zac are something they would recognize. If only from the word. He sees how suspicion starts to grow in her eyes.
{Oh really? You gave him a way to find you. Did you trust him? No, do not answer that. Why did you trust this man?}
"I do not know. I do not have a good explanation for it. All I know is that to me it felt like I could trust him."
Saphira dips her head and places it in front of his eyes. She glares directly into his eyes. At the same time, he can feel her presence in his mind. He knows what she is looking for and willingly shares the memories from the meeting. He hopes it will stem her suspicion. Saphira's eyes narrow the longer she looks at his memories.
After some time, the presence in his mind disappears. He sighs deeply. But just as he does that he quickly jumps back. Saphira sighs and blasts hot smoke from her nostrils. It nearly hits him. Glaring at her, he wants to resort when Saphira speaks up.
{Fine! Let us return to the village then. We have people to question. If they forgot to mention they saw someone …}
"I know, darling. We need to find out. Only then will we be able to solve the mystery of the fog. But it could easily be that they saw something instead of someone."
At least, he thinks so. If he could see someone unfamiliar than who is he to say others did not see something. Familiar or not. He deems it likely as the fog was already quite strange to him. Seeing something would just be something else strange.
{Yes, it could be. Do not focus too much on what you do not know. All we can do is ask the people and based on that form our theories. No matter how likely you deem something.}
"You are right. We must work with the facts. But you must also be highly interested in what the people saw?"
He smiles. He can feel Saphira's thoughts. They all are a jumble of excitement. It is highly distracting. He can barely wait for her to respond. Especially as he has a feeling what she will say.
{Of course, I am interested. How could you think I would not be. But regardless of my interest, we will not know what the people saw until we have talked to him. So no more talking about it until after we have talked to the villagers.}