Murtagh finally arrived at the city of Uru'baen two days after he was supposed to. By the second day Akai miserably submitted to Murtagh's will. Her sudden lethargy and loss of spirit filled Murtagh with bitter remorse, but soon he could hardly feel it over his physical and emotional exhaustion.
Akai was so tired she didn't bother opening her eyes when they entered the city's gate. Murtagh was rather relieved that she wouldn't know where she was. Even if he felt bad for bringing her to Galbatorix as an experimental subject he couldn't allow her to escape and he preferred not to put her to sleep again. Restricted movement and successive impacts to the head must have its side effects.
The weather seemed to catch his mood, as the sky was cloudy and dreary. Murtagh was not surprised; the sun had no right to shine when he felt like he did.
He clutched Syazel's reins and walked faster. As the distance to the castle was not much, Murtagh decided to give the poor horse a rest. Akai sat straight in the saddle with Murtagh's cloak pulled over her face. He couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not. Her hands and feet were tied to the saddle tightly, attaching to various holes in the saddle. Murtagh looked ahead again; there was no point in worrying about her. Her fate was already sealed.
A few hours later Murtagh approached the gates to the looming black home of Galbatorix. He took a nervous breath before walking straight past the armed guards who didn't even look at his all too familiar face. As he walked down a rather long and eerie path to enter the building, he felt a strong familiar gust of wind.
Thorn! said Murtagh, surprised. You've… gained some weight? Murtagh paused in his hesitant walk and took a good look at his dearly missed dragon. Before he could go to greet him, an oily voice stole into his mind.
Still taking your time, dear Murtagh? Are you waiting for me to escort you inside? …Thorn, Shruikan was not done with your lesson; leaving suddenly is not very courteous. Galbatorix paused in his interruption and sighed.A perverse sense of amusement emaciated Murtagh's mind. I don't understand why I need to constantly monitor you both. Have I been too easy on you as of late? The Varden are planning to invade anytime soon. Now Murtagh, if you would please.
Murtagh clenched his jaws until he almost shattered his teeth. If Thorn was not trapped in Galbatorix's claws, then Murtagh would have enjoyed his week-long vacation away from his King even if he was half-starved and almost unbearably fatigued. Silent and numb, Murtagh turned away from his dragon and brought the young victim to her new home. Akai's head lolled slightly and Murtagh assumed that she just fell asleep from exhaustion and he felt no pity. Something happened to his heart whenever Galbatorix prevented him from meeting Thorn.
Murtagh slowly shuffled to the large and heavily guarded doors that led into the oppressive structure. He spotted an oddly humped figure cloaked in black also trying to gain entry to the black castle. Murtagh identified it as one of the repulsive Ra'zac. He shivered involuntarily as he heard the Ra'zac's voice.
"You dare deny me entry?" it hissed. Murtagh could smell the rotting flesh and tried not to vomit. The guard he was arguing with paled in horror. He tried to reply while shaking his head. Murtagh realized that the guard was obviously new and inexperienced. Murtagh fumbled with his sword and tried to hurry towards the group before the Ra'zac could do anything.
He was much too late. The Ra'zac grabbed the guard's neck with an inhuman hand and slammed the poor man against the gate. The surrounding guards backed away fast and took off.
"I'll let your corpssse be a messssage to thosssse who dare ssstand in my way!" it half growled and half hissed.
The guard's eyes widened enough that Murtagh was surprised that his eyes did not fall out, while an odd appendage came out of the Ra'zac's mouth and plunged into the hollow of the man's throat. The guard opened his mouth to scream, but instead of sound, a gushing waterfall of blood fell from his lips. The Ra'zac withdrew from the man's throat and greedily drank the blood from the guard's mouth, making odd clicking noises.
Murtagh could only look on, horrified. His fear and hatred of the Ra'zac burned within his bones so much that it felt frozen. He couldn't move until well after the Ra'zac had finally gained access to the castle.
Since the guards had all left, Murtagh wasn't sure about what to do with Syzel. He decided to take the horse inside with him.
As he headed inside, Murtagh glanced down at the guard's corpse. In the few minutes that the Ra'zac was with the guard, it managed to suck out all of his blood, leaving a corpse of literally skin and bones. The face was so skeletal that the eyes looked ridiculous and out of place, like two berries randomly resting on a rock. Murtagh was forced to cover his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting. He was suddenly glad that Akai had slept through the traumatic event. Death was possibly one of Murtagh's worst fears, although he wouldn't let anyone know that.
Murtagh walked deep into the maze of the castle that was all too familiar to him. He unexpectedly encountered his mentor examining something on the floor with excruciating concentration. Gremlin turned and examined the floor near Murtagh's feet without even noticing his pupil. Murtagh coughed a little catching Gremlin's attention.
"You've returned," he stated, in a deep, smooth voice, slightly lifting his head. Murtagh could barely see his mentor's jawline, which was smooth, narrow, and cleanly shaven. He resisted the urge to lift the large hood off of his mentor's head.
Murtagh's heart was still beating wildly from the previous scene and his knees threatened to give out underneath him. He took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking to his mentor. Somehow the air given off by the Ra'zac would not leave his system and slowly everything in his vision blurred and blacked out.
"…ta…, …tagh… Murtagh!" said a deep and annoyed voice.
"…Gremlin, go away," groaned Murtagh. He tried to brush his mentor aside when visions of the Ra'zac filled his mind and a terrible rotting smell filled his nostrils. He clutched Gremlin's sleeves.
"The Ra'zac, they killed that… It smelled it had a graveyard in its mouth… It—" Murtagh was abruptly cut off as he vomited whatever acid and bile was left in his stomach through the long journey. Gremlin deftly dodged the regurgitated mass and patted Murtagh's back as he coughed up more bile and saliva. When he was done, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and looked up.
He was moved to Thorn's indoor quarters, probably carried by Gremlin, and he was disappointed to see that Thorn was still held back in a lesson with the King's black dragon. In fact, the only other living thing in the room was Gremlin, who was standing by the door.
"I sent the girl with a maid to shower and get dressed," said Gremlin, answering Murtagh's unasked question. "You should do the same; you smell almost as bad as the Ra'zac. Thorn is doing whatever Shruikan is asking of him, so you will probably see him later today after Galbatorix has… a word with you."
Gremlin turned to leave before suddenly remembering something. "The Ra'zac, by the way, has already left since you've been out. And you should dispose of those boots; there's blood on them from the Ra'zac's… meal…" Murtagh glanced at his boots and gagged. He imagined Gremlin looking at him sympathetically through the darkness of his hood but the mysterious man was already gone when he looked up.
Groaning a little, Murtagh stood up and swayed a little. As he headed for the bath he searched his neck for Thorn's eldunari and found it carelessly draped down his back. He gently rubbed the smooth, red surface.
Thorn, the Ra'zac came by! Do you know what they were after? asked Murtagh. He unintentionally sent Thorn images of the Ra'zac and soldier. Thorn growled a little.
I'm not sure Murtagh, but they are foul and vicious creatures, I would rather you stayed away from them. Have you eaten yet? asked Thorn. His voice was concerned but distant, as if he was distracted by something. Murtagh figured he interrupted some kind of lesson or training.
Not yet. When will you be back? asked Murtagh.
I'm sure Shruikan won't take too long. I'll be there by the time Galbatorix is done talking with you, said Thorn, breaking his connection with Murtagh. Murtagh smiled slightly as he hurried for the baths.
Murtagh normally bathed in Thorn's giant pool outside in his outdoor nest. Although it was outdoors, the place was off limits to everyone else except Galbatorix and Gremlin. Murtagh walked to the edge of the pool, leaving a trail of outdoor gear behind him. He figured he would clean it up later. As he stood at the pool, stripping himself of his shirt, he curiously sniffed it and smiled, somewhat embarrassed. The scent of a week of hard travel with no shower was quite vile. He tossed it aside.
There's no way that shirt can be worn again, he thought, slipping into the lukewarm pool. The water could barely permeate the layer of dirt and grime all over Murtagh's arms and face. He grabbed a nearby rag and rubbed off the grime with a little soap. Murtagh was squeaky clean in a few moments.
He emerged from the bath and returned to Thorn's indoor quarters. Murtagh's room was connected to Thorn's indoor nest so Murtagh could walk right in without the worry of surprising young maids with his nudeness. Murtagh left a trail of water in his wake. He walked in to his room and fell on his bed without bothering to wipe off his body.
He lightly napped and dreamed about the long journey he and Eragon took across the Hadarac desert and through the Boer mountains to take Arya to the healers in the Varden. He sighed with lament as he remembered when his life had a purpose and he was able to make his own decisions. Although he did not want to go to the Varden, he made the choice to stay with Eragon. He did not regret meeting and fighting with the Varden, however, because he was able to fight an enemy he chose instead of fighting the enemies the King chose for him. He also met Nasuada there. He was not quite sure what it was about her that intrigued him, but ever since he met her, he thought of her very often. He felt a kind of awe and deep respect for her, although he felt that respect rapidly deteriorating as he knew she wanted him dead and that she was now his enemy, whether he liked it or not.
Thinking about the Varden, and especially about Nasuada, made his gut twist; they were his enemy and he would never be able to fight with them as he once had. It was almost like his life was a joke. He lived his whole life as his father's captive. When his father finally died, he became the King's pet, and when he was barely able to smell the sweet, heavenly breeze of freedom, he was pulled back and tied into more shackles than ever before. When he finally found a purpose in life, Galbatorix managed to snatch it away from him and fill his hands with the dirty deeds of killing innocent civilians.
Murtagh awoke to this thought with a sour taste in his mouth. He rolled out of his bed dried off and put on a simple pair of pants, a black tunic, and a pair of sturdy leather boots, yawning magnificently. He heard Thorn arrive outside and ran to greet him.
"Thorn!" he yelled aloud as he ran out to the outdoors. He stopped abruptly as he examined Thorn. Murtagh then realized why he had thought Thorn gained weight. Thorn had grown much larger since he had been out. The size of his dragon surprised him and somewhat unnerved him. Obviously Galbatorix deemed it okay to magically augment Thorn's body without consulting Murtagh, or even asking Thorn. Murtagh figured Galbatorix sent him on his recent mission so that he would not be around to argue when Thorn was changed. This infuriated the rider. Along with a larger body size, the swimming lessons seemed to have done its job. Thorn's body was thick and muscled. His wings were also larger and more muscular making him look like small, red, version of Shruikan. Thorn cocked his head at his rider quizzically.
Do these changes disappoint you? asked Thorn.
Murtagh thought a little before he answered. It's not as if I don't wish for you to become stronger. Far from it. But this is not natural. You were supposed to grow up like a normal dragon, but Galbatorix somehow… Murtagh clenched his teeth and let out a frustrated growl. He didn't even ask, did he? Not that it would matter, Galbatorix would still us however he wanted.
Thorn sighed and put his head on the ground. I know why you're frustrated. The king shows us the most blatant disrespect and we cannot do anything about it. I've never been free, Murtagh, but I know how much this humiliates you. Dragons weren't born to be used like this either. In this sense, I feel that you are alike to dragons. You were born to be free.
Murtagh looked up at his large and glittering dragon. Even the cloudy sky could not blemish the beauty of his scales.
Thank you, Thorn. That means a lot, said Murtagh, smiling slightly. Thorn raised his head level to Murtagh's. Murtagh stepped closer and embraced Thorn's nose tightly. He softly kissed the smooth red scales on Thorn's snout.
And next time you bathe in my pool, said the dragon, with a light demeanor, please clean up after yourself. Murtagh laughed. He would have started cleaning right then and there, but he received a message from his oppressive King.
Murtagh, are you done? I would like you to come to my throne room at once. And make sure Gremlin brings the girl, commanded Galbatorix, darkening Murtagh's mood. Murtagh's smile vanished and he tightly headed for the door. He took one last look at Thorn, who prepared himself for a nap, and left to see Akai's new fate.