Chapter 12: Tasting Blood.
His hand snapped around the hand that had touched his arm, holding it in a pincer like grip, and his gaze locked up onto the face of whoever's hand it was.
It was Arya.
Eragon released her quickly, looking away "Sorry."
Arya made no complaint but rubbed her wrist, showing it had been quite a tight grip "It has begun."
Eragon clambered up to his feet, his armour clinking as he did so, looking over to the tunnel entrance.
"You alright there?" Murtagh looked to him, particularly his expression which wasn't a sadistic mask as expected but something more sombre, almost sad.
"Yeah... fine."
"Honestly, I thought you were looking forward to this" he challenged, reaffirming his grip on his hand and a half sword.
"I am... I am..." Eragon slowly smirked to himself "I am ready... gods cunt am I ready!" Zar'roc was ripped from its sheath and swung experimentally.
"Gods cunt" Murtagh looked back to tunnel grinning with amusement "Never heard that one before, I'll have to remember it..." he paused moment "A scout ran out of the tunnel a few minutes ago. The Urgals are coming."
Eragon knew that already. He could hear them. Hear their harsh guttural shouts echoing in the tunnel. They were faint, but growing steadily louder, as were their pounding footsteps.
Stabbing Zar'roc into the earth he strung the yew longbow Fredric had gotten for him, barely a day ago, but it sure felt longer. He knocked an arrow, drawing the string past his ear.
Then they came, clambering over the rubble, Eragon smirked in delight as the contents of the cauldrons were poured down into the mouth of the tunnel.
They screamed and they cried in pain as the scorching hot liquid lapped at their feet. Then a torch was thrown onto the pitch and the screams became inaudible over the roar of the fire.
But it didn't stop the Urgals, they kept charging like possessed demons, charging through the burning fire unquestioningly, until it was dampened, and, eventually, put out.
The archers let lose a deadly cloud of arrows, Arya let one of her own arrows join the swarm, but Eragon waited, for just the right moment. The Urgals raised shields above their heads to protect themselves from the arrows... it was then that he saw it.
"Hvass vindr" his arrow glimmered with red light, it flew straight through the soldiers and the stakes, hitting nothing, then it came to impact upon an Urgal shield, just as he intended.
The Urgal and the shield were ripped to shreds, and a great whirl of wind carried up many other ripping them apart, over twenty Urgals were killed in that one blast.
The soldiers cheered at his strike, but the Urgals kept charging, they impaled themselves upon the stakes, then forced their way past their own dead brethren, shoving aside corpses without care or respect.
A rain of arrows fell upon the battalion from the Urgal archers. Eragon's broad shield was raised carelessly over his head. Seven arrows implanted themselves into the wood.
Nothing could stop the Urgals charge, not even the line of pike men who held for several moments, but they too fell and the armies clashed for the very first time.
'RIP THEM APART!' he screamed with both mouth and mind, and Saphira listened, using her claw to carve through two Urgals and smacking another four down with her tail.
Eragon strutted forwards, ignoring everything other than the battle, one Urgal charged for him, Eragon ducked under the heavy weapon it wielded with ease and used Zar'roc to cuts its legs from underneath it.
It fell to the ground.
He then used his greave covered leg to kick an Urgal in the stomach, knocking it backward and into one of its brethren. Zar'roc got its first taste of blood at that moment as he shoved it through the neck of the kicked Urgal and the chest of the Urgal it fell into.
Murtagh raced Tornac to his side, using his long sword to slice through Urgal necks.
Eragon pounded another one to the ground with his shield, then stabbed it straight through the eye socket with Zar'roc, then he spun and sliced through the neck of yet another Urgal, who had hoped to take advantage of his distraction, the wine red blade gleamed in delight as blood spurted along its length.
Orik also came to his side, and with Saphira stood behind them menacingly they were a terrifying sight for the oncoming Kull.
Drawing up on the magic Eragon swung Zar'roc at the oncoming Urgals "BRISINGR" blood coloured flames covered its form and a long whip of fire raced forwards and through exactly fourteen of the Kull charging.
Then he let the flames die, and firmed up his grip of the shield, a grin on his face.
"Hey Murtagh, Orik... shall we see who kills more of these this night?"
Murtagh gave him a glance for Tornac's saddle before slicing through another Urgal "Only if those you kill with magic don't count."
He turned his gaze towards Orik "I'm in rider" his mighty axe cleaved at Urgal necks, severing head from torso.
Zar'roc itself dined on blood, carving through limb, flesh, bone and even armour "Alright, no magic kills for me" he let Zar'roc carve through another skull slicing through the brain with ease "And it starts NOW!"
With that he flung himself into battle, Saphira by his side, they charged into the Urgal units, slicing, clawing, biting, cutting and breaking their enemies apart, only when the monsters threatened to surround them did they pull back and let them recuperate, then they charged back with a vengeance, with a greater level of violence in their strikes.
Eragon used his magic sparingly, trying to save it for when he really needed it, but it was hard not to just blast Urgals to kingdom come every now and then.
Blood and gore soon covered the both of them, an intestine he had ripped from one Urgal stomach, after cutting open said stomach with Zar'roc, had wrapped itself around his arm, not that it wasn't useful for distracting enemies, who often assumed it was a whip and blocked, allowing Zar'roc to cut in through their weaknesses, but it was a pain.
Saphira was no better off, she was literally covered from head to toe in guts, a limb hung from her mouth, and blood stained her ivory white teeth a light red, almost pink.
They pulled back a third time, and Eragon cut the intestine from his arm.
"Hey Murtagh, try to hold the line" he roared over to his friend clambering up onto Saphira who was embroiled in a conflict with a spear wielding Urgal, with a simple 'Jierda' the Urgals neck broke and it fell to the ground.
"UP, UP AND AWAY!"
With that Saphira took off into the sky and soldiers rushed into to cover the gap they had created.
She flew high, and fast, out of bow range and out of sight in the dim light.
Shoving Zar'roc back into its sheath with a squelch Eragon grabbed his bow, which he had left in Saphira's saddle, and had thankfully not been broken, and drew an arrow.
'The archers' he said simply, knowing the partner of his mind would understand, if she hadn't been thinking the same thing.
'Of course' gliding on silent wings they approached the back of the Urgals, were their archers had gathered.
'Shall we do a repeat of my first meeting' he said, fingering the tip of the arrow.
'Ha, naturally, but two seems a bit few so how about...'
'Forty.'
Saphira showed her satisfaction through their link 'That should do nicely.'
They swooped down on unsuspecting Urgals, four were cleaved by Saphira's claws, and then Eragon released his arrow "BRISINGR!"
Saphira climbed into the sky at speed, as the arrow hit on Urgal in the head, blue flames exploded. More than of the Urgals forty were burned to death instantly, a good number of others were seriously injured or still on fire and quite some more were knocked back by the force of the explosion.
Whooping with delight as they climbed Eragon looked over the rest of the battle, it wasn't looking good. So he refocused as Saphira chose a different flank of the Urgal army to attack.
This time he drew Zar'roc, and they swoop down Zar'roc cut though several Urgals and Saphira took out five more, and again, before they could react, they flew far from arrow range.
They repeated the tactic, again and again and again, taking out seven or eight Urgals each time, but it wasn't enough.
On Saphira's back Eragon could see the real battle, the Varden and the dwarves were slowly being pushed back to Tronjheim. They were several clans, each fighting independently of each other.
'Oi! Twin' he felt the twin flinched as he roared into his mind 'The Urgals are slowly moving forwards... here' he sent an image 'also there doesn't seem to be any overall leader.'
'There doesn't?'
'No, now report that to your bother and get him to tell Ajihad, I have other things to do' he shot another magic exploding fire arrow into the group, causing more screams from the Urgals, before the twin contacted him again.
'You're to assist Hrothgar, the fight goes badly for him.'
'Help dwarf king, got it.'
Saphira, who had been listening in, angled away from Jormundur battalion and landed, smashing Urgal beneath her feet and her armour, right in the centre of the Urgals.
"DIE FUCKERS!" Eragon roared, jumping down from Saphira and slashing madly with Zar'roc.
'Saphira, connect us to the dwarves, I'll hold 'em of here.'
She roared in agreement and set to work biting and clawing the Urgals that stood between them and the dwarven battalion, soon dwarves poured around her, protecting and guarding her from the Urgals.
Eragon marched through the Kull, with Zar'roc creating a deadly whirlwind of steel that cleaved every enemy who stood in his way, and soon he stood next to the dwarf king, who wielded Volund like a man possessed, smashing skulls and breaking ribs.
"Not bad old timer" Eragon complimented, stabbing an Urgal with Zar'roc, whilst watching the King crack open a skull like it was a pebble.
"You aren't so bad yourself youngster."
"Haha, Az knurl deimi lanok!" he roared to the Urgal calling up magic like a storm "BEWARE THE ROCK CHANGES AND MOVES TO CRUSH YOU ALL" he lifted his palm, which glowed slightly through the gauntlets "STENR REISA!" a wave of rock rose up into the air and crushed down upon the Urgals horde, letting the dwarves gain a whole twenty meters.
"Ha! We will have to make that a new dictum of ours" said Hrothgar, watching the Urgals mass.
Eragon swung Zar'roc easily in his palm, letting it spin gently "It's a good one too."
The Urgals charged, but the dwarves had been ready and long pikes and spear had been placed to stem their charge, they smashed into the wall of points, many died, but they kept pressing forwards and the pikes were discarded and swords and axes were drawn.
Volund and Zar'roc cut and smashed through lines of Urgals and a wall of corpses was slowly formed beneath their deadly barrage.
Waving goodbye to Hrothgar, Eragon ran with Saphira, cutting through Urgals as they did so, to a point where the line suffered.
He noticed a Kull about to swing down with a heavy blade, onto Saphira's wing, he could, have stopped it, easily. But he didn't.
A blade cut through the Urgals legs, then through it middle, then through its neck, leaving it in seven neat pieces, consisting of two arms, two legs, two middle pieces and one head.
Angela stood smiling at him with a long handled twin bladed sword, a red cape and outlandish flanged green armour forming her battle dress,
"Sup" he called as Solembum, in human form, pounced on an Urgal and shoved his small black dagger through its neck, ripping it out soon after.
"You should be more careful with your dragon, rider" she said, spinning with her dual bladed sword, creating a deadly tornado of blade.
Zar'roc easily sliced through another Urgals skull "I knew you were there."
"Oh really?" a glance told her he wasn't kidding and so she huffed and stabbed through several other Urgals "Well that was one piece of magic back there."
"What can I say, I'm unnaturally gifted" Zar'roc sliced through another Urgal, cutting it from shoulder to hip.
He stared out over the crowd of Urgal "Well, not time like the present... THRYSTA!" he roared it as loud as he could, and shoved out with his shield, it was like a shockwave flew from it and pounded into the five Urgal in front of him, slamming them backwards and into about ten other Urgals.
Some were dead, others injured, most stunned.
Angela inspected his handiwork "Not bad."
"Like you could do better" he retorted glaring at her.
A dwarf beside them muttered "Is now really the time?" but both Eragon and Angela ignored him.
"I'm sure I could."
"Then prove it" he jabbed his finger in her direction.
Angela just glared back.
'Ajihad needs aid, several of his guards have been killed, get there immediately!'
With a groan Eragon bade farewell to Angela and ran off and onto Saphira, who took off into the sky, they slammed into the earth, this time about five feet from Ajihad, several Urgals had been crushed by their decent.
A quick blast of Jeirda and Thrysta and there was a good path to Ajihad.
"Can't you people look after yourselves?" he shouted at them letting Zar'roc cut from four more Urgals, at once.
Ajihad didn't even spare him a glance, too absorbed in fighting.
A blast of magic killed one Kull about to strike the Varden's leader, this came from the twin stood by him.
"Fuck you, you fucking Urgals, just die bastards" was Eragon's war cry as Zar'roc carved its way through more of the Kull, magic also knocked, ripped, tore and burnt its way through even more of them.
"Oi! Ajihad, how many more of these things do we have to kill?" Eragon demanded cutting through another.
"I don't know!" was Ajihad angry answer his own blade slicing through Kull.
Soon more warriors came to Ajihad's aid and Eragon could leave and headed back to Jormundur's battalion.
"Fifty one!" shouted Murtagh "How about you?"
"Not too sure, about seventy" was Eragon reply as Zar'roc carved through even more Kull, they were endless, everyone one he killed was replaced by two more and they kept coming, like an unstoppable force, unluckily for them Eragon was an unmovable object.
"I'm on sixty two" said Orik his ace opening an Urgals skull.
"You know if we were including magic here I'd be on about two hundred" he complained, blood dripping from his hair and his sword carving through a Kull's stomach, the intestines spilled out from his slice.
"Fucking Urgals" Eragon shouted, his annoyance rising "Brisingr" seven Urgals were burned to ash right before him.
'How many can I kill in one blast... it would most likely kill me... but that may be the cost of victory' Zar'roc continued its bloody rampage as he thought, his body moving automatically.
Hours passed by in unending slaughter, often he was called to help Ajihad and Hrothgar's fronts, each time he left one it would be pushed back. While he stood with them, his presence, which inspired the troops, and often his magic, helped them hold the line, but afterwards they fell even further back.
It was a struggle, a struggle they were slowly losing. Soon Zar'roc became leaden and heavy in his hands, he was sweating and exhausted, a headache was building in his forehead.
Only Saphira kept him from lashing out at the Urgals with more magic, kept him from blasting them to kingdom come and back again, but even that was difficult and soon he had to stop using magic all together, or only use Saphira's strength, lest he risk losing himself and destroying everything in his path, Urgal, human and dwarven alike.
Countless murders stained his hands. Countless bodies covered the land. Countless lives were taken by his wine red blade, Zar'roc. Eragon didn't know what its name meant, but Bloody Slaughterer would be fitting.
Men and dwarves died before him, each time he saw one die he strived to kill that particular Urgal, only three times did he fail, and considering he saw more than a hundred men and dwarves die, he was largely successful.
He was pulled back by Orik after another hour of this mindless murder.
"Here" a wine skin was pressed into his hands and a bit of bread, it was very little and not filling, but like paradise to Eragon who gulped down both, even the half solid bread.
He stopped long before finishing the wine and made to hand it back, but Orik stopped him "Have it all, your strength is more valuable than mine."
He expressed his thanks most deeply with a simple "Thanks" and gulped what little was left.
With that meager nourishment his body felt like it was on fire, ready and willing to murder and slaughter again, the battle became fun again. No longer mindless killing but a challenge, one he had to overcome.
But he paced himself more this time, using magic sparingly as before, trying to preserve it for when things became truly hopeless.
Soon his headache faded, his body felt well rested again and Zar'roc felt like as light as a tiny twig, a gleaming bloodthirsty twig, but a twig.
He soon found himself carving up Urgals some paces behind Arya. He closed those paces and gave her bum a squeeze, his spirits truly revitalized.
Arya, however, didn't even spare him a glance, but he noticed with joy that she cut into the next Urgal with a large amount of violence, so clearly he bothered her, which was of course his intention.
"You seem tense" he called to her, stabbing another one of the horned monsters through the chest "Once this battles over, you wanna relieve that tension with me?"
An Urgal screamed as her sword cut into it and she struck at the next few with renewed violence, after that thought the killing were calm and collected, wasting no effort.
"Oh c'mon elf" he taunted he further, stabbing a Urgal over her shoulder.
Her back was turned to him, and his sword was still encased in an Urgal when she responded "No thank you."
"HAHA!" he cut at more Kull filled with energy, letting Zar'roc sip on their blood.
He and the elf danced from side to side, moving from one side of the Urgals to the other, each time one moved the other moved in turn and Urgals lay as a stream of corpses behind them.
A wine red and a glimmering steel blade each cutting down Kull after Kull, Urgal after Urgal, never faltering in their movement, never stopping in their slaughter, each trying to outdo the other, but both totally even.
Blood and guts covered the both of them, bits of flesh were stuck in his mail, and his shield was mostly knackered from a near constant pounding, either by or into Urgals.
His greaves were bent, there were cuts and nicks on the bracers and his gauntlets had lost a finger, thankfully he hadn't lost a finger when that occurred.
She on the other hand only had small spattering of blood, a few flecks in her hair but her sword hand was soaked to the bone in the black blood of Urgals.
Her dark, dangerous, slightly gory appearance, that would be quite terrifying to most people, was, to Eragon, insanely hot.
And he stated as much "You know you look real sexy like that."
The small twitch in her cheek satisfied him and made his comment completely worthwhile.
It was then that he noticed Orik and Murtagh, surrounded by Kull, trying desperately to hold ground. Eragon grabbed his bow and drew it back, unfortunately he had lost some of his former care.
SNAP!
Two shards of yew were connected by a string the arrows had fallen to the ground in the confusion.
"Jierda" Eragon cracked two Kull necks in annoyance, and stormed over to Arya, Zar'roc cutting him a bloody path through the throng.
He pulled her bow from its case on her back and grabbed an arrow, she spared him glance before focusing on the Kull "I'm borrowing this" he informed her, aiming the arrow.
It shot straight through one of the Kull, oppressing Murtagh and Orik, going right through the beast's eye.
He ran back to Arya again, who had moved a small distance away and grabbed four arrows from her this time, holding the other three in his mouth.
Each arrow was shot perfectly, and four Kull were swiftly dispatched, giving Orik and Murtagh the chance they need to escape and rejoin the main force.
He noticed Arya sheathing her sword and tossed the bow into her hands, Zar'roc was drawn and cut down the few Urgals around her that still lived, and then Eragon took a guarding position in front of her "Thanks for that."
Arya picked off a few other Kull using her bow, with Eragon remaining close by her, killing any Kull that dared approached.
Zar'roc drank greedily on their life's blood, spilling it onto the floor and staining the earth with its inky blackness.
Another arrow lodged into a Kulls mouth about fifty paces away "Nice shot" Eragon complimented. She accepted the compliment with a nod then drew her shiny blade and cut a blood filled swath in front of her, slicing up several Kull at once.
With incredible skill Eragon tossed his blade over Arya's shoulder, it came to rest in the chest of a Kull, using the small run up he leapt straight over the elf and landed on the shoulders of a Kull who collapsed to the ground under his unexpected weight.
One swift and powerful kick to the chin and a satisfying click broke the Urgals neck and Eragon raced to the Urgal in which Zar'roc waited.
He yanked it from the corpse and spun to gain momentum, the sword swung straight through one Kull, he maintained his spin and cut through another, and then a third, but stabbed the fourth straight through the temple.
He pulled it from the skull with a flourish, sending blood flying from the blade and onto the ground surrounding him.
The Urgals cowered before his murderous might, but they never ran, they never fled, they held their ground and that Eragon respected... with a gory and brutal death for each and every one of them.
'There are noises beneath Tronjheim, we think the Urgals are trying to tunnel up through the city. We need you and Arya to collapse any tunnel they're excavating.'
'Got it, we'll be right there.'
Eragon sped over to Saphira and jumped up onto her back 'To Arya' he told her quickly, the dragon made her way towards the elf, cutting down Kull and biting right through them as she did so.
Eragon reached down and grabbed Arya by her wrist "Get on" he yanked her up, and she landed neatly in the saddle, her right arm wrapped around his waist, her left wielding her bloodstain blade.
'Saphira, fly!'
An Urgal wielding a heavy axe, ran forwards and smashed the weapon into Saphira's chest.
Saphira roared in and lurched forwards, her wings snapped open and struggled to hold them in the air.
Down below the Urgal made to throw the axe.
"THRYSTA!"
It was crushed down into the ground, leaving a roughly circular puddle of Urgal flesh, blood, bone and horn.
Saphira gasped for breath and her wings struggled, but they still flew.
'Are you alright?'
'I'll live' she said grimly 'but I think the front of my armour has been crushed together. It hurts my chest and I'm having trouble moving.'
'Can you get us to the dragonhold?'
'We'll see...'
"DAMN" he cursed hitting the saddle with his knuckles.
"What's wrong?" asked Arya looking at him over his shoulder.
"Saphira's armours been crushed, and Urgals are tunnelling up into Tronjheim" he told her without turning.
Arya nodded "I'll stay and help Saphira once we land, once she is free of the armour, I will join you."
"Sure" he muttered darkly.
The landed roughly, Saphira barely managing to keep on her feet, Eragon leapt down, knowing there was no time for pity.
"Look after her!" he roared to Arya, running from the dragonhold and to the top of the Vol Turin.
He didn't stop to think as he grabbed a piece of leather and jumped into the stone slide.
With the smooth surface and the leather beneath him Eragon accelerated quickly and to extreme speeds, a whoop of joy left his mouth as he spun round the slide.
A whole ten minutes later and he slammed into the hard stone floor, he stood, immediately regretting the decision as he stumbled about in a drunken like way "Dizzy" he muttered and he spun despite standing near still.
Then he collapsed to the floor and waiting for it to pass.
'OI! TWIN!' he roared with his mind, finding the bald man nowhere "Where is he?"
The floor splintered and great chunks of it lashed up into the air, Zar'roc was ripped again from its sheath, Urgals poured from the opening.
He gazed at them all confidently, anticipating their slaughter... but then...
A figure emerged dressed entirely in black armour, a richly decorated helm was placed upon his head like that of a general, and a black round shield with a crimson ensign rested on his arm, and a snakeskin cape billowed about him.
Crimson met maroon, madness met madness.
"Ah, if it isn't my little shade."
It was Durza.