Chapter One - The Hunt
A silent breeze drifted through the forest, jostling the leaves in the trees. A man stood in a pine tree, held up by a branch as thick around as a wagon's wheel. The man was tall, with deep maroon hair and burning crimson eyes. He held a sword in his right hand, long and seeming to glow in the faint moonlight. No breeze blew past him, for even nature itself was revolted by his presence. He was a Shade, a dark and evil creature. He stared East, hungrily staring down the path through the trees. Despite the weakness of the light, he could still see clear as day. He stared on, unblinking, unwilling to miss the movement of even an insect crawling on a leaf.
Hours wore on. The Shade readjusted his position in the trees, and glazed downwards. On the forest floor below were twelve Urgals, all hidden by his dark magic. Each Urgal was the size of a man, save for one who was a head and shoulders taller than his brethren. All had an iron wrapped shield in one hand, and a stout blade in the other. Not one urgal dared move, for they knew if they upset the Shade, their lives were forfeit.
The Shade sniffed the air, but was unable to gather anything of value from the effort. A clouding stench of rotten meat and decay clung to the Urgals, blocking all other scents in a miasma of sickening smells. Just as the Shade started to doubt the truth of his information, a shiver ran through the forest, undetectable to any but himself. The Shade grinned, exposing his sharpened teeth.
He hissed a warning to the beasts below "Our targets approach, leave none alive". The Urgals all drew back their bows, ready to ambush their unsuspecting victims. The Shade could not tell how long they were waiting but if it was a century or an hour it mattered little to him. All that mattered now was the sound of three horses galloping forward and a moderate pace.
The horses were too far away for the Urgals to see but for the Shade, he could see every detail of their approaching prey. The first rider held a long spear in his left hand, adorned with the finest gemstones on the hilt, and in his right, he held a leaf shaped shield embossed with depictions of an untamed forest teeming with life. The rear rider was similarly equipped but had a sheathed sword on his hip and carried his shield on his back. Both men were clad head to foot in the finest of mail armor, shining like a star with each pass of light from the moon. Between the male riders sat a feminine figure dressed entirely in black leather, causing her to almost disappear in the dark. In her lap was an equally dark bag, and on her back were a powerful bow and quiver of arrows.
The Shade licked his lips in anticipation, he had suffered greatly after the King's treasure was stolen, wrath that the Shade had no intention of bearing witness to again.
As the riders drew near, one of the Urgals below, the shortest and youngest of the twelve, stepped forward, attempting to shift to a more comfortable position. The Shade could do nothing but watch as the Urgal stumbled in the darkness, falling onto the beaten path, and alerting the riders of the waiting ambush. The Shade cursed violently in its demonic tongue and knew that the ruse was gone, and the time for action had arrived. The riders were not within range of his sword, but he knew he could force them in.
"Jierda!" he cried and at his command the trees surrounding the riders exploded, shredding their magical wards like leaves in a storm. The riders raced forward faster, narrowly dodging the barrage of wood, and just as they had broken free the Shade again shouted "Jierda!" and again a row of trees exploded, this time in front of the riders, trapping them in a section of toppled trees, when he shouted "Garjzla!", smiting the trees and horses with a barrage of crimson lightning.
Upon the death of their steeds the riders dismounted, with the two armored warriors taking defensive stances around the woman. They spotted the Urgals, and without warning or hesitation yelled a spell foreign to the Shade. The surrounding area was illuminated with a flash of silver light, blinding the Shade. He screamed in frustration at the trick, and raced out of the tree, sword drawn, sprinting toward where he had last seen the horseless riders when a second shout was heard, this time from behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks, sensing the Urgals had been slaughtered and that his foes were waiting for their moment to strike him.
"Perhaps I have been unkind to you." the Shade said in a smooth, rich tone, "My name is Durza, sworn left hand of the great King Galbatorix, and soon to be retriever of that blue egg you so rudely stole." Durza smiled an evil grin and muttering a quick spell, restored his vision to bear in the sight of his prey. To his surprise and displeasure he was fully alone on the pathway. He frantically sent out his thoughts searching for his escaping quandary, but was met with nothing more than the thoughts of the still living horses, left behind to die from their shade cursed again, and stalked off into the darkness.
—-
Arya silently cursed as they ran westward. Who would have sold their location out to the Empire, and worse, who would create a Shade. Was he made solely to retrieve the egg? Was Galbatorix so mad? She shook her head and pressed on. Arya was no stranger to these woods, yet she was no friend, causing their path to frequently run into sharp drops and steep ridges. For her and her elven companions it was no significant issue, but any delay meant that the monster could close the distance she had been so desperately trying to keep. She dared to reach out her thoughts to her companions first seeking the thought of her closest friend Foalin. She brushed against his mind and he allowed her in for conversation.
"What is the plan Drottningu? Our location is compromised, and I fear our beloved forest is no longer safe. Where should we go?" he asked in a fearful tone. She pondered his question for a moment. The safest place for them was Ellesmera, but they would never make it. Any nearby cities could've been taken by the Shade and as a result were also off the table. She then cast her thoughts to include her final companion Glenwing and stated in both their minds "We cannot stay in this forest currently, we are not entirely too far from the last known location of an ally of ours, perhaps he might be of some assistance." Faolin's mind thrummed with confusion and intrigue but Glenwing caught on and he asked "Brom?". Arya smiled then and said "Brom indeed."
—-
Eragon smiled in glee. His arrow met its mark, embedding itself in the eye of a large buck, felling the beast instantly. Eragon's entire trip has been wrought with misfortune but finally the trip was worth it. Several days worth of meat could be taken from an average deer, but this one was special. It had caught Eragon's eye the day prior as it stood a head taller than the rest of its herd. Eragon moved in quickly, opening the corpse to remove the viscera inside. He buried the fruits of his bloody labor, gathered up the body and began heading back to his camp.
He made camp underneath a fallen oak tree, and had a small tent pitched over the roots. The remnants of a small fire were still evident and his pack was propped against a nearby fir tree. He quickly gathered his belongings and glanced at the setting sun. He knew he would have only a precious few hours to get as far as possible, so he trekked back to the game trail, and hopefully out of the Spine.
The game trail was barely a legitimate path but it was the fastest way down the mountains, and the scenery was rather beautiful. Just as Eragon was admiring the unearthly beauty of the Spine he saw three figures dart into existence on the path ahead of him, and just as quickly dart off, heading off into the unknown. Disturbed by the appearance of the three figures, Eragon hurried his pace, letting the leagues pass by even faster. Unfortunately for Eragon, he could not navigate the spine with no lights and when the sun eventually started to fall behind the horizon he was forced to make camp.
Eragon slept little and woke before the sun had fully risen. He grabbed his bags and enjoyed a meager breakfast of stale bread and old cheese before starting off again. The journey back to Carvahall was faster than Eragon thought he could go, but it was as if some higher force compelled him home. What should have been an almost two day journey blended into just over a day, to where he arrived in Carvahall proper at midday, an entire day earlier than anticipated.
He started off towards Sloan's shop to have the deer butchered when he spotted Roran and Garrow walking to the very same shop. "The mighty hunter returns with a new claim and a new story to share!" bellowed Roran as he caught sight of his cousin. "Welcome back Eragon, we were just about to see what he could get from Sloan but now I suppose we don't need to." Garrow added. "Thank you," Eragon said, "It's nice to be home."
"Now give your cousin that buck and how about you walk around town for a while Eragon," Garrow said, "Tonight Horst has invited us for dinner and asked us to stay the night with the weather changing. I will inform him that you came home early so Elain can be prepared." Garrow handed Eragon a small coin pouch and gave him a tight hug. Roran quickly jumped in and then grabbed the deer and slung it over his shoulder. After their reunion Garrow and Roran continued towards Sloan's and Eragin mused over where he would go. "Brom's" he thought, "I'll visit Brom and try to get some good stories, or perhaps clues as to those three figures I saw in the Spine". With that final thought Eragon started towards Brom's house with a slight smile, excited for what could happen.