It wasn't very difficult for Eragon to get a sword decent, and powerful enough for Roran to use against the Ra'Zac. All it took was for him to go into the Armory tent and convince the guy in charge to play him in a game of dice… Easy enough accept for the fact the he had never gambled in his life. The guard explained that the object of the game was quiet simple. You had 5 dice each, whoever rolled the highest total won. You got 3 rolls each, and you combined the scores. It should be especially simple enough for Eragon; he had faced hundreds of enemies. But as he saw the Guard roll a 28, he began to panic. When it was Eragon's roll, he rolled a 17. Not a bad roll, but he'd have to do much better on the next three roles. In the second round Eragon had watched in horror as the guard rolled a 25. That totaled 53, an almost perfect game. It was easy enough to spot that the guard was no novice at this game. And with Eragon betting enough crowns to start a small fortune, he couldn't take a chance at losing. With his next roll, he rolled a 21. Now it was 53-38 and things weren't looking so good. All the guard needed to do is roll a 16 and he would win this.

" Its very surprising to see someone as young as you betting so many Crowns." He said with a crooked grin on his face. " If you weren't a Rider, I wouldn't even consider taking your money."

" The games not over yet" He responded, but deep down inside he felt overwhelmed with fear. He just bet a lot of money, and he needed that sword. As the guard gathered the dice to roll again, Eragon reached out for the dice in the back of his head, he found them buried under a mound of guilt and regret. As he touched them, he felt Saphira's obvious rage. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. But he automatically blocked her before she could say a word. As the guard cast the dice, he focused on two of them in particular, speaking in the ancient language under his breath; he forced them to come up low enough to give him a chance. Two of them came up as a 4, two more followed with the markings of a 2 and a 1, and Eragon already knowing, watched as two more came up as 1.

" No way" the guard muttered in utter disbelief. " That's the lowest roll I've done in a long time. A measly 13" Then he turned and spat. "No matter, you still need a 28 to win." But the dice were already cast, and with the power of his magic, he came up with a 30.

" That'll be your best? You had a great game, but the reason you lost was because of your self-fascination of wanting not to just beat your opponent but embarrass them. I've learned a lot about you just in this little game. I did enjoy it a lot. But unfortunately, I need that sword."

" Tha- that's impossible." He looked red with anger. It had been building with every word Eragon spoke." You cheated," He said in a sudden snap of his mouth.

" You dare call a Dragon Rider a cheater you scuffling dirt bag." One of the fellow guards snipped drawing his sword. " You should be ashamed. He has dealt with men of higher standards than you. I'm going to go and get Eragon his sword that he won fair and square, you better beg for mercy. This boy is our future." And he turned and bowed low to Eragon. " My apologies Shadeslayer"

" It's ok." He responded as guilt swept thru his body. The guard walked away to the back of the tent, as the fellow player came forth with the look of embarrassment clearly visible on his face.

" I'm sorry for letting my anger get ahead of my tongue, it won't ever happen again." And he dropped to one knee. " Please forgive me"

" It's fine" and he threw him three crowns. " It was a good game."

As Eragon and Roran set out on Saphira's back, Roran wearing a new sword with a ruby hilt, Saphira tore into him. That was an abuse of power. If Brom or Oromis ever heard of this, they would be seriously disgraced. You should be ashamed, if this ever happens again, I'll punish you myself. Eragon felt very ashamed, but he needed the sword badly. He hated her being mad at him, but he had no choice.

I'm sorry Saphira, but can this wait until we get to Helgrind; we need one hundred percent concentration. He really felt sorry, but what could he do, what was done was done, and there was nothing he could do about it.

As they set up camp that night, Saphira flew away without a word. Every time he tried to contact her, she severed the connection. Very upset and full angry he turned to Roran.

" You wanna spar?" Eragon asked Roran suddenly. He was a little tired from the six hour journey in witch they covered a lot of ground, but he could still take Roran easily enough. Plus he wanted to relieve his frustration.

" I don't see why not. How far away for Helgrind are we?"

" Maybe a day in a half, two days at most. We covered a lot of ground today." Eragon replied as he stood up and unsheathed his Elvin sword. It was as all the swords were of its type, extremely light. Roran mimicked him and pulled out his sword. Looking at it with interest. The look on his face clearly saying we'll tear each other to its.

" Are you ready?" He asked suddenly, with a confused look on his face.

" Of course" Eragon replied with a grin as he put the protective enchantment around their swords. When he finished, he threw the sword back to Roran who caught it with a grin.

" Cool move." He said with a clearly visible sign of relief on his face. They started circling around the campsite, brothers united under a single cause. Eragon wouldn't make the first move because it would've most likely ended the duel, so instead he waited. After about two minutes, Roran made a sudden lunge with the sword, Eragon reacted instantly, blocking the sword with a flick of his wrist.

" You need to get angrier…. Swing at me like your swinging at the Ra'Zac." Eragon taunted, the swords broke apart and Roran swung his sheath around at a dangerous speed, but Eragon easily side stepped it, as he turned to initiate his own sequence of attacks, Roran swung his sword around, Eragon wasn't expecting this interesting combination. It was an advanced combination, but with Eragon's sword engaged with Roran's, he had only limited options. He ducked out from underneath the path of the blade and rolled behind Roran pulling his sword in an under arc movement. Sparks lit up the campsite as the swords engaged once again. But this time Eragon had the advantage. This attack was merely a distraction to keep Roran's weapon away. With the swords connecting still, he did a back flip and kicked the handle of Roran's sword; he heard an unmistakable crack. Standing upright as Roran fell to his knees, he lowered his sword to Roran's neck.

" You lose." He said staring deep into Roran's now tear filled eyes.

" Why?" Roran said in a voice of pure anger. " Why did you get so carried away? It was just a friendly spar, and you went over board."

As Eragon calmed himself down, he had let his emotions get the best of him, he bottled up everything that had happened to him and unleashed it in a fierce flip that would've been fatal if it had connected anywhere else. " I'm sorry Roran, I let my emotions get the best of me. I broke one of the most sacred rules of the Riders." He bowed low. " Forgive me brother."

" I understand where you are coming from Eragon, but I'm family." He said with a forced grin. " That attack should be used on enemies." Eragon stood up and approached Roran who held out his hand knowingly.

" I apologize, it will not happen again." And he took off his gloves and healed Roran's bones. Luckily it was just a partial fracture. The bones would be mostly healed buy the time they arrived at Helgrind. That night Roran had a hard time falling asleep. He couldn't help but realize that this wasn't the same Eragon from back at the farm. This Eragon wouldn't have any trouble killing Roran if he had the chance. And as Roran fell asleep, he dreamed of green snake scales, and the smell of blood…