Free Riders

Author's Note: Eragon is not mine. Char, Blaster, and Saranya are. Title a reference to "Macbeth," a staple for witches brewing potions in cauldrons. Comment as you see fit.

Chapter 44: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

When Blaster and Eragon woke up, they were still rather warm, even though they didn't have any blankets over them. Blaster heard Sara snoring on her cushion, but didn't bother to wake her up. There was a sense of security in Farthen Dûr that Blaster only found on his ship, and that Eragon had not felt since he lived in Carvahall. The tension of traveling was slowly unknotted.

I wonder how Murtagh is doing, Blaster thought. He knew that the Varden would be hospitable, but he was worried that Murtagh might be held prisoner for his father's actions. But, Blaster knew that this was one situation that didn't need to be resolved. However, Blaster would have thought that he would say goodbye before departing Farthen Dûr.

Both he and Eragon began thinking of the two girls Blaster and Murtagh had brought with them. Eragon chided himself for daydreaming, most likely about Arya, and uttered a slight yelp in surprise. He had come face to face with…Solembum.

Solembum? Blaster asked after he had found out from Eragon who it was.

Yes, Solembum replied. He jumped from the end of Eragon's cave, landing with a solid thump on Isidar Mithrim. You coming or what?

Blaster glanced at Sara, only to find that she had awoken. Go along, I will be fine here, she muttered. Solembum waited as Blaster holstered his two pistols before turning out of the arch that led to the rest of Tronjheim.

No more than two seconds after the two Riders had touched the ground, Solembum turned and disappeared through the arch. Blaster and Eragon began chasing him while the latter rubbed the sleep from his eyes. On the other side of the arch, there was no choice but to go down.

At the next level there were many things to be seen, including the size of the lower floors increasing in diameter with every floor. Above them, Isidar Mithrim was sparkling brightly. The stairs continued downward into the distance and out of sight, the sliding trough on the outer curvature of the stairs. A pile of leather squares were at the top, ready for use on the long slide.

Solembum led them down a dusty corridor, flipping his tail as he padded along and ignoring Eragon's protests to slow down. He stopped at a door after going through what seemed to be a maze of passages and yowled. The door swung open to let him in, then shut once he was through. Blaster and Eragon approached the door cautiously. Eragon went to knock on the door when it opened up again, spilling a warm glow. The two shrugged and walked in.

Inside were numerous hanging lanterns, various objects cluttering the floor so that the corners were completely obscured, and a variety of plant life. There was also a four-poster bed in the far room. Sitting on the only, plush leather chair was Angela.

"What are you doing here?" Eragon asked, astonished.

Angela smiled brightly and folded her hands in her lap. "Well, have a seat on the floor and I'll tell you. I would offer you a seat, but I'm sitting on the only one." Blaster and Eragon sat down, questions abuzz in their heads. "So, you are Riders," Angela exclaimed. "I suspected as much, but I didn't know for certain until yesterday. I'm sure Solembum knew, but he never told me. Should have figured it out the moment you mentioned Brom, however. Saphira is a fitting name for a dragon. Saranya, on the otherhand, sounds weird."

"She's named after the goddess of the sky and clouds in one of my religions back home," Blaster said.

"Speaking of Brom," Eragon said, "why did you laugh at his fate when we were in Teirm and said it was something of a joke?"

"Because of a few reasons," Angela said. "He doesn't care for my 'frivolous' attitude towards magic. It irritates him. Secondly, he's cursed in a way to perpetually fail. He's succeeded several times, but his failures come at no fault of his own. Chosen to be a Rider, his dragon was killed. He loved, but his affection to the woman was her undoing. He did manage to kill Morzan, and bring you here under his guardianship and he has trained you. Both are huge successes, something not even I could have done."

"He never mentioned a woman to me," Eragon said. Blaster clamped his mouth shut, but was taking in everything with slight indifference. No one noticed.

"I heard it from one who couldn't have lied," Angela said. "But we are worrying about the past. Enough of this talk." She scooped up a pile of reeds from the floor and began to plate them together, closing the current subject.

"Well, last time I saw you, you were in Tierm," Blaster said. "Why are you here in Tronjheim?"

"Finally, an interesting question," Angela said. "After hearing Brom's name again during your visit, I sensed a return of the past to Alagaësia. People were whispering that the Empire was hunting a few Riders. I knew that the Varden's dragon eggs had hatched, so I closed up shop and set out to learn more."

"You knew of the eggs?" Eragon asked.

"I'm not an idiot," Angela retorted. "I've been around much longer than you would believe. Rarely does something happen that I don't know about." She paused to concentrate on her weaving for a moment. "Anyway, I knew I had to get to the Varden as quickly as possible. I've been here for nearly a month now, though I don't really care for the place. It's a little too musty for my taste. And everyone in Farthen Dûr is so serious and noble. They're all probably doomed to tragic deaths anyway." She sighed. "And the dwarves are just a superstitious bunch of ninnies content to hammer rocks all their lives. The only redeeming factor: all the mushrooms and fungi that grow inside Farthen Dûr."

"Why stay then?" Eragon asked with a smile.

"Because I like to be wherever important events are happening," Angela replied, cocking her head. "Besides, if I stayed in Tierm, Solembum would have left without me, and I enjoy his company. But tell me, what adventures have you encountered since we last met?"

For the next hour, Eragon and Blaster summarized their experiences for the past two months. She sputtered when Blaster mentioned Murtagh in his travels, but allowed them to continue telling their tales. She leaned back in her chair in thought just before Solembum curled up on her lap, her weaving abandoned.

"Facinating," Angela said, petting the werecat. "Galbatorix allied with the Urgals and Murtagh finally out in the open…I'd warn you to be careful with Murtagh, but you've already proven me wrong. But, you never know what he has made you see."

"He's proven himself as an unwavering ally," Blaster said.

"Still, at least you've been warned," Angela said. She paused, then added distastefully, "And then there's the matter of this Shade, Durza. I think he's the greatest threat to the Varden right now, aside from Galbatorix. I utterly loathe Shades—they practice the most unholy of magic aside from necromancy. I'd like to dig his heart out with a dull hairpin and feed it to a pig."

"Brom mentioned that Shades were just sorcerers who used spirits to accomplish their will," Eragon said. "Why does that make them so evil?"

"It doesn't," Angela said, shaking her head. "Ordinary sorcerers are just that, ordinary. They're neither better nor worse than the rest of us. They use their magical strength to control spirits and the spirits' power. Shades, on the other hand, relinquish that control in their search for greater power and allow their bodies to be controlled by spirits. Unfortunately, only the evilest of spirits seek to possess humans, and once they've taken hold, they never leave. That kind of possession can happen by accident if a sorcerer summons a spirit stronger than himself. And it's a double-edged sword, for once a Shade is created, it is extremely difficult to kill. Only two people, Laetrí the Elf and Irnstad the Rider, have ever survived such a feat."

"I'm aware," Eragon replied. He thought for a moment. "Why are you so high up in Tronjheim? One more floor and you'd be living in the dragonhold. Isn't it inconvenient being up here? And how did you manage to get all this stuff up here?"

"Truthfully?" Angela said, suppressing a laugh. "I'm in hiding. When I first came to Tronjheim, I had a few days of peace…until one of the guards who let me into Farthen Dûr blabbed about who I was. Then all the magic users here, though they barely rate the term, pestered me to join their secret group. Especially those drajl Twins who control it. Finally, I threatened to turn the lot of them into toads…excuse me, frogs…but when that didn't deter them, I snuck up here in the middle of the night. It was easier than you might think, what with the skills that I have."

"Did you have to let the Twins into your mind before you were allowed into Farthen Dûr?" Eragon asked. "Brom and I were forced to so they could sift through our memories, but Brom was allowed to check Blaster and Murtagh."

A cold gleam leapt into Angela's eye. "The Twins wouldn't dare probe me for fear of what I would do to them. Oh, they'd love to, but they know the effort would leave them broken and gibbering nonsense. I've been coming here long before the Varden began examining people's minds. They're not about to start on me now."

She peered into the other room. "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have to tend to my potion. My brew of mandrake root and newt's tongue is about to boil, and is in need of my attention. Feel free to come again, but don't tell anyone that I'm here. I'd hate to have to move again. It would make me very…irritated. And you won't like me when I'm irritated."

"Your secret's safe with us," Blaster said. Angela dug into her pocket as Solembum jumped to the floor.

"While I'm thinking of it," Angela said. She dug out about a dozen vials. Half were filled with a blue liquid slightly darker than the blue liquid Blaster had, the other half were a deep forest green. "Energy restoring elixirs and healing potions. Three of each for each of you." She handed Blaster six vials and handed Eragon the other three. "Only use them when you need them. It took me almost three months to make the two batches, and I've run out of the ingredients necessary to make more of them. Another reason why I came here."

Eragon accepted his, and was about to ask when Angela pointed out that the blue liquid was for healing and the green was to restore energy, which Blaster knew would confuse the hell out of him. They bade her farewell and left the room. Solembum guided them back to the dragonhold, then dismissed himself with a twitch of his tail before walking away.

Will the duo reveal Angela's location? Can the witch really destroy the Twins? And how much longer will Arya and Char remain in the care of the healers? The answers to at least two of these questions coming up as we get close to rounding out Eragon on Free Riders. Updating Tuesdays and Fridays.

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