Chapter 3: First steps to Divergence
"Hurry up boy, I want to start heading for the town soon!"
"Coming, Uncle!" was the shouted reply.
Eragon Shadeslayer, the latest addition to the ranks of the defunct Dragon Riders of Alagaesia, and the last beacon of hope for the oppressed citizens of the land, looked around his room for the last time. Whilst his Uncle and cousin did not know it, he would not be returning to the house in which he grew up in. With a final, nostalgic sigh, he shouldered his weather-beaten pack and closed the door.
'It's hard to leave knowing I'll never come back Saphira,' the young Rider mentally sent to his dragon. 'Last time we didn't have a choice, but now making the decision...'
'I understand Eragon.' She replied, her deep voice comforting the young man. 'But this is for the best, you know that.' And he did.
By leaving now, he would be able to shield his family from the suffering that had been brought upon them in his memories.
'Time to go.' He remarked. With a final scratch to the underside of her jaw, he stepped towards the staircase and closer to his waiting family members.
'I wish you luck Little One, be safe.' She sent lovingly back to him, and he paused in his step for a moment to bask in the affectionate feelings. It was hard for him to comprehend how he had ever truly lived his life without her companionship.
Continuing down the stairs and out the entrance of the only home he had ever known, Eragon came across the forms of his cousin and uncle, tapping their feet and ready to go.
"About time," Roran greeted his cousin. "If you'd been any slower we would have missed the traders entirely."
"Aye he's right," Garrow chimed in. "We've wasted enough time, let's get moving." Whilst always a loving parent to both the boys, Garrow was generally stressed and gruff, especially since the death of is wife. However, with the recent good fortune of the family he was happier and lighter than he had been in years, so Eragon knew he was not actually upset with the delay.
Contributing to that good fortune had been the results of the young man's latest trip into the Spine for meat. In addition to bringing back not one, but two deer, Eragon had 'found' something.
It had taken quite some effort given his relatively weak magical reserves, but the Rider had been able to use his knowledge of the Ancient Language to summon the minute traces of gold from various parts of the forest, and then melding the precious metal dust together to create a misshapen hunk. It had then been a case of making sure it was dirty enough on the outside so that he could claim to have discovered it.
Upon presenting the fist-sized chunk to his Uncle, he was able to witness the relief on the older man's face. Whilst unwilling to totally believe the luck of the family, Garrow was certain that they would be able to trade this for a significant amount of coin, enough to not only let them last out the winter comfortably, but also to provide financial security for the family for quite some time to follow. With their hardworking nature, they would be quite prosperous from when spring came around again, and ideally for some years to follow.
Eragon also knew that this had a high chance of keeping Roran from leaving for Therinsford. In fact, he was fairly certain that given their probable new-found relative wealth, he would likely ask Katrina to marry him. Garrow would certainly approve, already knowing and liking the bright young girl, and despite his dislike of their family would not be able to refute the life they could provide for his only daughter.
This also had the benefit of providing more comfort to Eragon - if Katrina and Roran were to be married then she would move into the house, somewhat making up for the loss of the youngest member of the close family.
He still wasn't totally happy that he had to leave, but the needs of all those depending on him outweighed his childish desire to remain at home and live the simple life of a farmer. Besides, with Saphira in his life he would never be able to remain behind, and there was no way he could ever be without her.
He could sense her following them through the trees as the three men made their way towards the town. Just as the path left the treeline, he could feel her excitement as she caught the scent of some unfortunate prey. Chuckling inside as he felt the glee of his partner taking chase, the young man focused his attention on his family and continued towards Carvahall.
Only rarely joining in the conversation between Garrow and Roran, Eragon once again ran through the plan Saphira and he had devised during their planning.
The first step was to make sure that they received a fair amount for the gold piece. Whilst it was slightly immoral, Eragon would be passively reading the trader's mind in order to assure the deal, He was confident that Merlock, who they had tried to deal with before, wouldn't try to swindle them, but it would help his piece of mind.
The next stage would be to convince Brom to come with him, and then leave without anyone noticing. This would be tough, and given how unpredictable Eragon's first mentor had been impossible to ascertain the result of his revelation. Whilst it was true that one cannot lie in the Ancient Language, given the incredulity of the situation it was difficult to believe he would come with any haste. And unfortunately, time was against them. As it were, the thought of Arya suffering under Durza for any longer than absolutely necessary was already eating away at the consciences of both he and Saphira.
Whilst less of a priority, Eragon was also planning on acquiring some leather once again, though more legitimately this time. He had convinced Garrow to let him have the skins of the deer he had caught, and was hopeful that they and a little bit of coin could be traded for enough. He had always carried some guilt over having stolen from the kind villagers in the past, and was happy to have an alternative in mind.
They had tried to strategise for some of the more important events that would be approaching them in the future, but ultimately decided to wait until reunited with Brom to finalise those details. They both wanted to utilise the incredible gift of the ancient dragon spirits to the best of their ability, and the advice of the older Dragon Rider would be invaluable in ascertaining the best path to follow.
Forcing himself to pay more attention to the road, Eragon sped up a little to catch up to his cousin and uncle who had drifted ahead. He would make an effort to enjoy this last, carefree time spent with them. From then on, life was likely to get both more complicated and dangerous, and moments like this would be far and few between.
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Sorry all. I have no excuse, except being lazy and unmotivated. I recently stumbled across a HPxInheritance Cycle crossover though (Double Jeopardy by Ruari.J.L) which really got me interested in this fandom once again. This short chapter just flowed out, so I hope you enjoy it.
I can't make any promises for the future, but am tentatively planning on getting another chapter out at some point. Happy New Year to all! Ratty
