AN: The effects of Fegrad's spell (you'll read about it in this chapter) are very similar to the Fidelius Charm/Secret-Keeper thing in Harry Potter. And if you've read Eragon but you haven't read Harry Potter, you have some serious mental health issues.

Chapter Eleven
Home

It had been a little over a week since Taize had turned around from the Ramr River and decided to head into the Hadarac. Partly it was because everything looked the same; even if Galbatorix were to scry her, all he would see was the never-ending sand. But also, she remembered where her old village was.

It was sure to bring back bad memories, but she was sure that Galbatorix had never seen it before, and there would be more than enough water for her.

Once I get there, she reminded herself. The waterskin she had taken with her was nearly empty, but she was sure she would get there soon. Her destination was just barely on the edge of the desert, but water was still hard to come by.

Finally, she saw the huge, jagged, sand-colored rock that marked the entrance to her oasis. She walked through a short tunnel carved into the stone, and her old home shimmered into view. Even if a stranger managed to find the tunnel, though, they still wouldn't be able to see the remnants of the village.

Not long before Taize was born, the village had had a) trouble with raiders and b) a resident sorcerer named Fegrad. It only made sense to use a spell to hide the place from prying eyes. Fegrad had used a complex, powerful spell that hid the village from any outsiders, unless they were told of its existence, in which case they would be able to see it. Shortly after he cast the spell, Fegrad had mysteriously disappeared.

Taize entered the place of her childhood hesitantly, unsure of what to expect. She didn't know exactly what would remain, if anything. She couldn't get the image of her mother's body out of her mind.

What struck her first was that a few of the buildings were almost entirely intact. There had been so much fire…She pushed the unwelcome memories to the back of her mind. Jay's house was one of those still standing. Their mothers had been good friends, so the two children had naturally developed a friendship. Mostly when Taize came over they would occupy their time by pranking Jay's older brother, Caib.

I had such a crush on Caib… she reminisced vaguely. She smiled at the recollection, remembering the wiry boy she'd thought was the most handsome sixteen-year-old in all of Alagaësia (hey, Jay hadn't been bad-looking for a five-year-old, either). Sixteen. That was the same age she was now. Come to think of it, he had also been about her current height…She made up her mind as she strode through the doorway.

It was as though she had stepped back in time. She'd been over earlier on the day her life had changed so drastically eleven years ago. The house hadn't changed a bit, except for the thick layer of dust that was all over everything, and the fact that the wood was more weathered. It was eerie, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Though she knew she shouldn't, she peeked into Jay's room on her way to the back of the house. Their long-forgotten toys still lay on the floor where they'd left them, despite Jay's mother's nagging. She walked into the room, making as little noise as possible. Somehow, silence seemed appropriate. Feeling a lump rise in her throat, she returned the toys to their proper places. She and Jay had both been so young then, so innocent. Now her childhood friend was probably in Dras-Leona…if he wasn't dead yet.

She quickly left the sad little room, continuing on to Caib's quarters. It was messy, the typical room of a teenage boy. Clothes were strewn everywhere, but she didn't care much. It saved her from having to look for them. After a while, Taize found a pair of pants and a tunic that fit her reasonably well and that weren't too dirty. Odd that she was thinking about cleanliness when she was absolutely filthy. Once she had changed, she tore her old rags into strips. God knew she would end up needing bandages somehow or another. She also found Caib's hunting knife, which would probably come in handy. She went back outside, but she couldn't seem to escape the sad emptiness that permeated the very air around her.

She hugged the egg hanging by her side closer to her. It seemed to radiate warmth and comfort, even through the fabric of the sack. It soothed her somewhat, and prepared her for what she knew she had to do.

She picked her way slowly, carefully through the devastated streets, making her way home. Most of the houses in her part of the village had been reduced to piles of ash and charred wood. At some homes, those of her other old friends, she would stop and sift through the rubble. At each house, she found nothing except for windblown gray ash. By the time she was through, her new clothes were just as dirty as her old ones had been, but she would not go back to Jay's house.

There was nothing on the street outside her old house to suggest that her mother had lay there dying. Amazingly, the house itself was still partially intact, though the front part was mostly ruined. A small corner of her own room was all that remained untouched, but in Lia's room, one entire wall and part of the roof had stood the test of time (and fire).

Taize walked to the whole wall, realizing that there were two shelves still attached. Though she doubted that anything would have been able to survive the heat of the fire, she took a look anyway. To her immense surprise, she found a faded scrap of parchment.

Part of the right side was burned away, and in other spots the ink had faded so much in the sun that the writing was illegible, but she could make out some scraps of writing:

"Dear D y," she read aloud, slowly. It had been years since Lia had taught her how to read, and it wasn't any help that letters were missing from half the words. The fact that it was partially burned didn't help either. This is what she read:

Dear D y,
My wor fears have come true. F d has
disapp ed. He is not dead, I'm certain. But if he's
not d d…The sp l was comple d, but I'm sure
too much for . If that is the c se…he's cer inly a
s de. Fortun , few people h re even kno hat a
ha e is, let alo e that it was p ible for egrad to b c me
e. Of course, the sc l gen ted by hi isappea nce
ay be worse than if th illage knew he w sha e!

(AN: Sorry, the blanks between some of the letters should be bigger, but the stupid thing wouldn't let me. So good luck trying to get anything from this!)

Taize sighed. Even if her reading skills had been up to par, she'd still probably have trouble gleaning information from what appeared to be a diary entry. She tucked the parchment into the bag at her side, which was by that time getting quite full. The egg had taken up most of the bag in the first place, then she had covered that with her blanket, somewhere she'd tucked in an extra waterskin she'd found, and the bandages she'd torn from her old clothes were piled on top of everything else.

She spent about a week recuperating in her oasis, but soon realized regretfully that she needed to get to Surda as soon as possible. So she filled up both her waterskins and prepared to leave.

When she got to the stone tunnel, she peered out to check if the coast was clear. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Galbatorix's soldiers were waiting outside to meet her.

Disclaimer: I don't own Alagaësia or Inheritance Trilogy. I just use them in this awesome little story I'm writing. I DO, however, own Taize, Rhet, Ineb, and every other original character in this fanfic, all of whom I can't mention by name. And that means I can do whatever I want to them. MWAHAHAHAHA!!! Speaking of which, I have been debating whether or not to have something immensely and horribly bad happen to Rhet. Or possibly Ineb. Let me know which one you would rather have something bad (not necessarily death) happen to.

AN: By the way, sorry. I know I'm late. But hopefully I'll have the next chapter up on time, since it's already half-done. Thanks for not killing me! (Though that might just have something to do with the fact that you want to know the rest of the story.)