A/N: Important message at the end. But until then enjoy chapter 16.
14 days till Alageasia's Downfall:
Eragon was in a council meeting with the elves, Something Murtagh had no love for himself. So instead of joining him, and uninvited, he and Thorn took to the crisp blue sky above the greenery below. With nothing to do and no one to see they decided upon flying, an activity they both enjoy doing together when boredom set in. So it shouldn't be a surprise to know that they flew quite often.
He had only been part of an elven council when a new student appeared and needed training until they were to be transported to Shur'tugal Isle. However brief the sessions may have been, counting the time it took to deliver the rider to Eragon, he never liked being around elves, except Ayra. Or Eragon if you added the fact that he was half elf.
Thorn wasn't fond of the two-legs-pointy-ears either, but, being a dragon, he accepted their attention. It made him feel more superior, and whenever he is near the fair folk he holds his head up high and gives them a show. On the other hand, there were still those who despised him for being the dragon of the son of Morzan. It was tough to get past their stares of discontent and anger, but he knew they were directly forced upon his rider, and ultimately him.
The red dragon only wanted to be away from everyone. The pain his rider went through every day, having to face the anticipated wave of aversion and displeasure, only built up within him as well, making their only hiding place somewhere where they were alone. The only place Thorn and Murtagh felt loved was in the eyes of Nasuada, but even still, the nobels in her court gave them unwanted glances.
Their flight pulled them farther from Du Weldenvarden, over the outlying hills that bordered the forest, past the harsh grasslands that led up to the Hardarac Desert, and over a rock mass of stone. They didn't notice the distance they had flown, but did they really care? No. They kept going, enjoying the long awaited escape from life. They would be happy, just them two, alone, maybe Nasuada could tag along. The three of them, escaping those who bore hatred into their souls, traveling to an imaginary, peacful world within their minds. Seperated from everything but each other.
Their fictitious land couldn't last. It would be destroyed. They couldn't leave while those in Alageasia suffered through a war that may not be won. As long as there were people to protect, they couldn't leave. They were bound by duty, a promise to protect the people of Alageasia, a lawful bind given to Nasuada before he left for Carvahall.
(Flashback)
"Thorn is all saddled up." I say, strapping on my sword, Zar'oc. I didn't know what I was about to face, but I already volunteered to accept the mission, no turning back now.
Nasuada walks across the courtyard, her maroon dress being pulled along the ground behind her legs, golden buttons reflecting the soft moonlight. A soft breeze slides between me and her, creating a murmurous sound as it blows through the bushes around the courtyard fountin. Even at night she held a certain attractivness that I could place a name on.
"Remember, Carvahall is well defended by walls, cannons, and balistea so you'll most likely be positioned in the area outside of the city." She says, fixing my collar with her gentle fingers.
I smile mischievously. "You speaking as if a war approaches. I'm only going to investigate the ships. No one said that they are hostile."
She places her hands on my shoulders and leans up to kiss my cheek. "Just in case."
I feel slightly betrayed, but don't voice my thoughts. "Are you preparing for my death." I ask, wrapping my arms firmly around her waist, pulling her closer.
She shakes her head and buries her face into my chest. "I just have a gut-wrentching feeling that something bad is going to happen. I don't have a clue of what to expect."
The cool night calms me down until I'm lost to the world, held in place by her embrace and her lips. But I am disturbed at her words, there had been many times when she had rough feelings about things, like when the pirate raids started up, and when a group of rebels invaded Surda three years ago, a problem that nearly started another war. What if something bad does happen?
It isn't until several minutes pass before I reply. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I'll contact you when I get there."
She nods, but remains in my arms. Niether of us wants to leave, frozen in this moment forever is a fools dream, something is always trying to pull us apart. And that something was Thorn.
I remember standing their, the scent of a sweet perfume filled my soul and I realize that it was coming from Nasuada. Then there is a loud concussive sound as Thron flies overhead and lands behind me.
*Time to leave you creeps.* He says, nudging me in the back with the tip of his nose.
I let Nasuada go and turn around to push Thorn away. As I do I catch the faint sound of laughter from behind me. I smile and was about to speak when Thorn sneezes and a large puff of smoke blasts me in the face.
I wasn't furious, but quite unnerved as my vision goes black and I choke. "Thorn, you blasted fiend!" I shout playfully, nearly tripping into Nasuada.
I give her another hug. "I'll be back soon."
She gives me a sad look. "If anything happens, whether it's war or..." I press my index finger to her lips.
"Shhh. Nothing is going to happen."
"But if something does, I want you to promise me that you'll take care of the people of Alageasia."
I stare into her eyes and knew instantly that she meant what she said. But I refused to accept that something bad might happen to Alageasia. Yes, there were people that I would be better off without, but Nasuada was their queen and as a ruler she was obligated to protect her subjects; and so was I.
I lean in and press my lips agianst hers. This was the first time I ever did so, and I suddenly felt something stir inside of me, a warmth that fueled my hunger to be with her. I knew that this would have eventually happened. That what I needed wasn't a fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good agian. And only Nasuada can give me that.
So after, when she whispers, "Promise me."
I tell her, "I promise."
(End Flashback)
*Murtagh. Look.* Thorn leans to the left and circles over a jumble of rocks.
The rider looks over his side and spots a line of people crawling weakly over the stones. At a quick glance, there might have been thirty or so, but Murtagh took his time counting and came up with twenty-seven. They wore torn, rag-like clothes that was matted with grime and held no form of protection from weather, sun, or weapons. Scratch weapons off the list.
Thorn felt Murtagh's decision and, with little to no sound to scare a perched bird, he swooped towards the ground and landed on the other side of the rocks, a couple more flaps and he set his feet on the ground with a soft thud. Murtagh dismounted and landed with a thump and a clink of metal as his armor shifted up and down upon itself. He gripped the pommel of his sword, feeling the familiar wired handle, just in case it was needed.
The humans were blocked behind a pile of large, irregularly shaped, gray boulders, and the sound of a dim conversation echoed to them, giving promanence to their location as they got closer. Seconds later he saw a rough, calloused hand reach around the nearest boulder, grasping for a hand hold. Then the body of a man was pulled into sight.
He instantly noticed the fear plastered on the man's face as he nearly stumbled back into an elderly lady crawling into view. They must have realized who he was, because their promanent shock was replaced by a confusive relief.
"Don't fear us. It is I Murtagh, rider of Thorn, Embassador to Nasuada. I'm here to protect you and lead you to safety." Murtagh said, stepping closer to the man as more people filed out of the rocks.
The group proceeded forward with a mixture of joy and contempt on their faces as they got closer, some coming to the conclusion that the son of Morzan was here to save them other than Murtagh. But for a rider to be protecting them was an honor, and eventually they seemed to forget about Murtagh's background.
The man helped keep the old lady steady as they passed over the last pile of rocks and into the meadow. Then the man stopped and said, "We have journeyed long and hard, over many rough events that have reduced our numbers and most of what little imperial soldiers we had to protect us. We only seek safety."
Murtagh motioned for everyone to sit down, for their gaunt, hollow eyed faces showed signs of weariness. Then he told the people about the elves offering refuge for those who managed to escape the previous onslaught and how elven troops were being sent out to gather any survivors. The spectators offered the fullest attention that they could muster, but the most of their worries were thirst and hunger.
He never noticed water on their way here, but he knew a spell that would draw water onto the surface. But to pull enough water to fill the refugees would be taxing and then he had to focus on finding them food. But he had a promise to keep.
He ordered Thorn to dig a hole big enough to allow five people at a time, then he drew upon his stores of energy and cast the enchantment. He noticed glances from the surrounding people, but when crystal clear water seeped out of the ground and into the hole, their faces brightened.
"Okay, come get some water, but just a few people at a time." He struggled to say as he tried to keep the water in the hole.
He watched as the man eased the old woman up, the others waited until they both got enough water before crawling forward and drinking from the puddle. Most scooped up water, others submerged their faces, taking trumendous gulps and then sitting back with a little sign of fullness.
When everyone quenched their thirst, which included Thorn and Murtagh themselves, he ceased the flow of magic and the water slowly bubbled back into the ground. Then Murtagh sat agianst Thorn's side and rested while the crowd spoke with each other.
*Look at them.* He told Thorn, *They are striken with hunger. They look like walking corpses.* He felt the red dragon's confirmination.
*We need to get them some food, but one of us will have to stay behind to protect them.* Says Thorn.
Murtagh glanced up at the surrounding refugees, then back to the ground at his feet. *I agree, but if I stay, anyone will be less intimidated, esspecially the Ravtelr. But If you stay, no one in their right mind would look twice. However, you can catch more food, maybe a deer or two. I'll be lucky enough to catch a turkey.*
Thorn had no care for which decision Murtagh chose, in fact he had no care for the refugees. It would be better to leave these weak humans behind. Maybe it was his dragon instincts to weed out the strong and leave the feeble minded to fend for themselves.
*I guess I'll go hunt. We'll just have to start a limited ration for everyone.* Murtagh says, leaving the shadow of Thorn and stepping into the blistering sunlight.
He tells the people where he is going, then he grabs his bow and arrow from Thorn's saddle and walks off. He would use magic to help hunt, but when he summoned that much water for that long amount of time, he began to feel weaker than normally. He was sure that he would have enough strength to accomplish the task, but he was mistaken.
As he walked away he checked his burlap sack, he might be able to fit several rabbits in it. At his side he has his sword, as well as three knives he would have to use to skin his catches. As long as he finds a dense area where game is sure to live, he'll be fine.
As he breaches to the crest of a hill he is lucky to find a small forest with a lake nestled inside of it. There is sure to be a few wildlife. He moves through the woods until the hill is obscured. In a small clearing he pauses and lifts his head to bask in the sunlight. He turns in a circle, his arms extended ahead of him with his bow, revolving slowly so as not to set the world spinning, his eyes searching the horizon of the clearing for any sign of life. Lack of rain damaged the plants here, leaving some with brittle leaves, building a crunchy carpet under his feet.
He hunts like he did when he was in a self-imposed exile eight years ago. Silent, needing no words to communicate his thoughts, because here in the woods he moves without a plan.
The animals here are not nearly suspicious enough. The extra moment it takes to place his unfamiliar scent means their death. In an hour and a half, he has a mixed dozen- rabbits, squirrels, and a turkey- and decides to knock off and spend some time by the lake that must have been fed by an underground spring, since the water's cool and sweet.
He leans agianst a rock, letting his feet sit at the shore as the water laps agianst his boots, and begins to clean the game. The scorching sun was setting when he arrived at the lake, maybe it would cool down tonight. He was at peace the entire time, for once. Another half hour later he starts on the last rabbit, slipping the skin off in one quick move. He throws the skin into the woods behind him and stuffs the rabbit in his bag and rises.
He quickly retraces his steps as the sun passes under the horizon. Soon he's back on top of the hill searching for the camp. He spots it as a small dot of light, they must have started a fire since the cold began creeping up, he doesn't notice because his armor traps his body heat.
When he arrives at the camp, several men jump up. He tosses the bag to them, which they quickly open and pull out the contents. Within seconds they set up a roasting spit and begin cooking the animals. Murtagh rests at Thorn's side, wore out by today's events. Before he knows it he's asleep, resting for the journey that was sure to follow tomorrow.
(A\N)
Hello everyone. It sure has been a while, and I am terribly sorry for that. I hope this chapter was enjoyed by you all, I know much didn't happen. How did you all like the M/N scene, I really tried to do my best, but I'm just no good at romance and stuff like that.
Now for the important message: I recently had the idea of starting a fan-page for this story. I thought it would be a good idea. If you like that idea show some support in the reviews and give your thoughts on it. It'll most likely be a Twitter fan-page. I'll be using it to give out info on updates, showing drawings of what the characters look like, or just to hang out with you guys. But I'll only make it if enough of you like the idea.
You'll be able to share with me ideas of yours that you would like to see in this series, cause I wont always be able to reply instantly to PMs. That way all of you can stay informed on this series's progress or instead of a PM where it is only you and me, then all of us as a community can speak to each other and give opinions to everyones ideas. I like the idea of a fan-page, but I want you guys' opinion on it.
For those who are interested, let me know in the reviews and I'll send you the link to the fan-page. For those who don't, I'll put the link at the end of the next chapter.
(Reply to Reviews)
Niet boeiend- Thnx, I hope you like this chapter as much as you did for the last one. How was the flashback for this chapter between Murtagh and Nasuada? And yes, the old man is Tenga.
- It was a wild writing session for me to come up with the descriptions to match what I was wanting to happen, but I suspect that I did well. Thank you for the support. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Also, I hope you didn't spend all your time browsing the previous chapters for a build-up for last chapter, cause all of that will be explained soon. Lol
Mou- Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I'm really glad you like it. I will be doing some more Murtagh and Roran scenes sometime in the future, so stay tuned. I added in the M/N scene this chapter just for you, I hope you enjoyed it.
Skoilr fanboy- Thank you. I really don't know what to say to your review. Lol. But I am glad you enjoyed it. I don't hate you, but...
Luckyponygirl- Well, I don't want this story to take up any of your time during the day, just read it whenever you can, I wont argue. Thank you for the support on the last chapter, it was rough to write then watch as it gets deleted, then go back and rewrite it agian, I think that event attributed to why it took so long to upload this chapter. And Don't worry about constructive commentary, if you choose to say 'Good Job' and thats it, I'll be happy, cause you took the time to write it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
Skierider- It's nice to have you back. I'm glad that you didn't expect the twist, that way everything stays new and fresh. I hope you liked this chapter as well, and just a hint; more twists are approaching very soon so keep an eye out for them.