Wehlp. Here we are. Best get started, because I'm not Christopher Paolini!
RunWithScissors: I do too! It's so annoying!
…though I suppose this chapter could be considered the result of me defeating it, couldn't it? Ehehe.
Urgh, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a while. 'Cause there's this and that and the other thing LOOONG before Durza and his Urgals invade. Stupid Shade. Can't even bring on the battle at the right time, can he?
Ajihad gathered his memories, then spoke at a quickened pace. "When Arya disappeared, the elves withdrew their support from the Varden. Queen Islandzadí was especially enraged and refused any further contact with us. As a result, even though I received Brom's message, the elves are still ignorant of you and Saphira. Without their supplies to sustain my troops, we have fared badly these past months in skirmishes with the Empire.
"With Arya's return and your arrival, I expect the queen's hostility will abate. The fact that you rescued Arya will greatly help our case with her. Your training, however, is going to present a problem for both Varden and the elves. Brom obviously had a chance to teach you both, but we need to know how thorough he was. For that reason, you will both have to be tested to determine the extent of your abilities." Tania carefully hid the frown that wished to mar her features. If he meant what she thought he meant… "Also, the elves will expect you to finish your training with them, although I'm not sure if there's time for that."
"Why not?" asked Eragon. Tania sighed, knowing the answer.
"For several reasons," Ajihad said. "Chief among them, the tidings you brought about the Urgals." His gaze strayed to Saphira. "You see, Eragon, the Varden are in a very delicate position. On the one hand, we have to comply with the elves' wishes if we want to keep them as allies. At the same time, we cannot anger the dwarves if we wish to remain in Tronjheim."
"Aren't the dwarves part of the Varden?" Eragon asked.
Ajihad hesitated. "In a sense, yes. They allow us to live here and provide assistance in our struggle against the Empire, but they are loyal only to their king. I have no power over them except for what Hrothgar gives me, and even he has trouble with the dwarf clans. The thirteen clans are subservient to Hrothgar, but each clan wields enormous power; they choose the new dwarf king when the old one dies. Hrothgar is sympathetic to our cause, but many of the chiefs aren't. He cannot afford to anger them unnecessarily or he'll lose the support of his people, so his actions on our behalf have been severely circumscribed."
"These clan chiefs," said Eragon, "are they against me as well? And Tania?"
"Even more so, I'm afraid," Ajihad said wearily. "There has long been enmity between dwarves and dragons—before the elves came and made peace, dragons made a regular habit of eating the dwarves' flocks and stealing their gold—and the dwarves are slow to forget past wrongs. Indeed, they never fully accepted the Riders or allowed them to police their kingdom. Galbatorix's rise to power has only served to convince many of them that it would be better to never deal with Riders or dragons ever again." He directed his last words at Saphira.
Eragon said slowly, "Why doesn't Galbatorix know where Farthen Dûr and Ellesméra are? Surely he was told of them when he was instructed by the Riders."
"Told of them, yes—shown where they are, no. It's one thing to know that Farthen Dûr lies within these mountains, quite another to find it. Galbatorix hadn't been taken to either place before his dragon was killed. After that, of course, the Riders didn't trust him. He tried to force the information out of several Riders during his rebellion, but they chose to die rather than reveal it to him. As for the dwarves, he hasn't managed to capture one alive, but it's only a matter of time."
"What about the Forsworn?" Tania asked.
Ajihad shook his head. "They didn't know either, thankfully."
"Then why doesn't he just take an army and march through Du Weldenvarden until he finds Ellesméra?" asked Eragon.
"Because the elves still have enough power to resist him," said Ajihad. "He doesn't dare test his strength against theirs, at least not yet. But his cursed sorcery grows stronger each year. With another Rider at his side, he would be unstoppable. He keeps trying to get one of his two eggs to hatch, but so far he has been unsuccessful."
Tania frowned. "How is his power increasing?" she asked. "Unless he's somehow found a way to make himself stronger, he'd be killed by the strain."
"We don't know," said Ajihad, shrugging his broad shoulders, "and neither do the elves. We can only hope that someday he will be destroyed by one of his own spells." He reached inside his desk and somberly pulled out a battered piece of parchment. "Do you know what this is?" he asked, placing it on the desk.
Tania leaned forward slightly to examine it, frowning. She didn't know how to read the humans' language, but this seemed even more alien. Beside her, Eragon shook his head, saying, "No, I don't."
"It was taken from the leader of the Urgal host we destroyed last night. It cost us twelve men to do so—they sacrificed themselves so you might escape safely. The writing is the king's invention, a script he uses to communicate with his servants. It took me a while, but I was able to devise its meaning, at least where it's legible. It reads:
…gatekeeper at Ithrö Zhâda is to let this bearer and his minions pass. They are to be bunked with the others of their kind and by… but only if the two factions can refrain from fighting. Command will be given under Tarok, under Gashz, under Durza, under Ushnark the Mighty.
"Ushnark is Galbatorix. It means 'father' in the Urgal tongue, an affectation that pleases him.
Find what they are suitable for and… The footmen and… are to be kept separate. No weapons are to be distributed until… for marching.
"Nothing else can be read past there, except for a few vague words," Ajihad said.
"Where's Ithrö Zhâda?" asked Eragon. "I've never heard of it."
"Neither have I," confirmed Ajihad, "which makes me suspect that Galbatorix has renamed an existing place for his own purposes. After deciphering this, I asked myself what hundreds of Urgals were doing by the Beor Mountains where you first saw them and where they were going. The parchment mentions 'others of their kind,' so I assume there are even more Urgals at their destination. There's only one reason for the king to gather such a force—to forge a bastard army of humans and monsters to destroy us.
"For now, there is nothing we can do but wait and watch. Without further information we cannot find this Ithrö Zhâda. Still, Farthen Dûr has not yet been discovered, so there is hope. The only Urgals to have seen it died last night."
"How did you know we were coming?" asked Eragon. "One of the Twins was waiting for us, and there was an ambush in place for the Kull." Tania noticed Saphira had fixated her icy eyes on Ajihad, listening intently.
"We have sentinels placed at the entrance of the valley you traveled through—on either side of the Beartooth River. They sent a dove to warn us," explained Ajihad.
Eragon frowned thoughtfully, then said, "When the egg and Arya disappeared, did you tell Brom? He said he hadn't heard anything from the Varden."
"We tried to alert him," said Ajihad, "but I suspect our men were intercepted and killed by the Empire. Why else would the Ra'zac have gone to Carvahall? After that, Brom was traveling with you, and it was impossible to get word to him. I was relieved when he contacted me via messenger from Teirm. It didn't surprise me that he went to Jeod; they were old friends. And Jeod could easily send us a message because he smuggles supplies to us through Surda.
"All of this has hailed serious questions. How did the Empire know where to ambush Arya, and, later, our messengers to Carvahall? How has Galbatorix learned which merchants help the Varden? Jeod's business has been virtually destroyed since you left him, as have those of the other merchants who support us. Every time one of their ships sets sail, it disappears. The dwarves cannot give us everything we need, so the Varden are in desperate need of supplies. I am afraid we have a traitor, or traitors, in our midst, depsite our efforts to examine people's minds for deceit."
Tania frowned. "Who does the examining?"
"The Twins," Ajihad said.
"And you don't think they could be the traitors?"
"I am positive," he told her.
The frown didn't leave her face, but Tania waited patiently as Eragon visibly sank deep into thought. Finally, he asked, "What do you want from me—or, rather, us?" He gestured to Tania.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, what is expected of us in Tronjheim? You and the elves have plans for us, but what if we don't like them?" A hard note crept into his voice. "I'll fight when needed, revel when there's occasion, mourn when there is grief, and die if my time comes, and I'm sure Tania would as well… but I won't let anyone use me against my will." Tania smiled as he paused to let the words sink in. He'd learned. "The Riders of old were arbiters of justice above and beyond the leaders of their time. I don't claim that position—I doubt people would accept such oversight when they've been free of it all their lives, especially from one as young as me. But I do have power, and I will wield it as I see fit. What I want to know is how you plan to use me. Then I will decide whether to agree to it."
Tania raised her eyebrows in amusement, and added, "And I have no intent to simply give up the freedom I've my whole life. Ophelia and I will follow Saphira and Eragon to Ellesméra to be trained, but we may not stay." She settled back in her seat, ignoring the surprised—and slightly confused—looks her companions gave her.
Ajihad looked at them wryly. "If either of you were anyone else and were before another leader, you likely would have been killed for that insolent speech. What makes you think I will expose my plans just because you demand it?" Eragon flushed but did not lower his gaze, while Tania simply sat as still as a statue. "Still, you are right. Your positions give you the privilege to say such things. Neither of you can escape the politics of your situation—you will be influenced, one way or another. I don't want to see either of you become a pawn of any one group any more than you do. You must retain your freedom, for in it lies your true power: the ability to make choices independent of any leader or king. My own authority over you will be limited, but I believe it's for the best. The difficulty will be making sure those with power include you in their deliberations.
"Also, despite your protests, the people here have certain expectations of you—not so much of you, Tania, as they will not know you are a Dragon Rider, but they may seek your counsel. They will bring you their problems, no matter how petty, and demand that you solve them." Ajihad leaned forward, his voice deadly serious. "There will be cases where someone's future will rest in your hands… with a word you can send them careening into happiness or misery. Young women will seek your opinion on whom they should marry—many will pursue you as a husband, Eragon—and old men will ask which of their children should receive an inheritance. You must be kind and wise with them all, for they put their trust in you. Don't speak flippantly or without thought, because your words will have impact far beyond what you intend."
Tania saw that Eragon was uncomfortable with the idea of people asking him for advice—to be fair, she wasn't exactly thrilled about it either. But she watched silently as he stated, "You still haven't said what we're to do here."
"For now, nothing. You covered over a hundred and thirty leagues in eight days, a feat to be proud of. I'm sure you both will appreciate rest. After that—well, I will explain your options, and then you'll have to decide your course."
I'm sorry, I have to end it there, it's too long.
Please review!
FF