The Last Dragons

Chapter 4; The Silver Egg

Uru-baen- 1 week later

Caleb dodged the blade as it swept across where his chest had been only a fraction of a second earlier. He parried it aside with his own blade as it swept back along the same path. His opponent wasn't as skilled as Murtagh and Caleb was finding the fight all too easy though he was playing down his skills so as not to alert Galbatorix, who stood at the side lines, that he was trained by anyone other than those in the city.

Using his Elvish strength and agility was a given though, he could use them to their extremes since Galbatorix expected him to be advanced in these areas. His opponent though had been surprised, the poor Captain had no clue what race he was up against and Caleb shivered when he imagined who Galbatorix would keep him a secret if the Captain worked out he wasn't human.

He'd been 'invited' to two more Royal Dinners in the last week and the King had taken pleasure in pointing out Murtagh's absence at every time. He'd even shocked Caleb by inviting some of the more important members of the Empire's population and even told two of them that he was an Elf, raised by himself, who would one day take the position of leader of his Sorcerer's. That had been the previous night and Caleb was still reeling from the confirmation of the King's plan for him. The King presumption about his magical abilities concerned him beyond anything else.

He'd been too ill the night before to contact Murtagh but he fully intended to inform him of the events of the last week as soon as he could. He dodged another strike and jabbed out with his sword cutting a shallow cut across the Captain's thigh before trapping the man's shield against his body with the hilt and closing in. He caught the man's sword wrist in his own hand and twisted just enough to force him to release his sword. It's clattering against the courtyard's flagstone floor signalled the end of the fight and Caleb released the man.

"Now, my dear Caleb." The King stepped out from his position under the eave of one of the buildings. "Where did you learn such a move?"

Caleb answered casually though with the due respect for a King. It was one of the moves that he was allowed to know after all. "Murtagh and I saw some of the City Guards do it and worked it out between us."

"Ah, I see." The King nodded acceptingly. "Captain Grimor, you're dismissed."

The Captain scurried off after bowing to the King hastily. Caleb sheaved his sword, a heavier version of the ones normally used by the King's elite guards. Murtagh had had it made for him with the King's permission. It was the hilt that made it so different, Murtagh had somehow gotten hold of a Star Sapphire, a light blue gemstone with a perfect silver asterism that cut across it's face. The Gem itself wasn't that large but Caleb shuddered to think of the coin that Murtagh must have parted with to get a hold of such a stone.

The magical qualities of the Star Sapphire were still untested since it would be too risky with Galbatorix anywhere nearby but Caleb could almost feel it's desire to be filled with magical energy. He'd named the blade Aidail after the Morning Star, the last star to fade from the sky in honour of the gemstone and Islanzadi had approved though she warned that not all Elves would permit such an assumption on it's use.

"This Friday you will be introduced to Adrian Vregol. A Magician within the army. He will train you in the uses of magic and after he is satisfied I will take over your training." The King told him as they walked inside. "Once that is complete you will take the position of High Sorcerer here in Uru-baen and I will announce your existence to my Empire."

Caleb remained silent and waited for the man to continue, eventually he did. "With the presence of an Elven Magician the insurgence will rethink their plots and then I can finally turn my attention away from protecting the Empire from them to ending the suffering and striving towards the future I had envisioned." The King smiled wishfully. "No more wars, not more fighting. Just a few powerful leaders to maintain order. Everybody will be united under one law and there will be no need for arguments and battles. It is a wonderful concept is it not, something truly worth fighting for. Don't you agree, Caleb?"

"Indeed, my King." Caleb nodded. "A land without strife and untimely death sounds like something my race would have wanted to fight for."

The King gave him an intense look but nodded all the same. Caleb had just agreed with him after all and even implied that he thought that the Elves would back him on the point. "Adrian will be waiting for you outside of your rooms at dawn on Friday morning. It is a shame that Murtagh left us when we needed him the most. Our quest will be all the more difficult without him. Alas, sometimes people cannot see the right path even with somebody to carefully guide them. I am glad I will have the chance to guide you, Caleb."

The King turned off down another corridor and after bowing respectfully to the man's back, Caleb walked slowly back to his rooms.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

That evening

Caleb didn't know whether it was because of his loneliness that he was planning to use magic to contact Murtagh regardless of whether or not the King was in residence or whether he actually believed the information gained didn't allow for any delay in their passing on. As luck would have it just before dusk the King rode out on horseback to the West in the direction of a small manor house several miles into the grasslands.

He waited until every star was lit within the sky before he whispered the spell that would enable his mind to reach out to any he wanted. He sought along the outskirts of the massive forest of Du Weldenvarden first in the vain hope of locating an Elf that would speak to him without just driving him out but as always not Elf was outside of their borders and the magical protection didn't allow him to search within them.

He directed his mind across the Northern regions of the Empire and settled on the military city of Gil'ead, he immediately detected something different about the wards. Another magical protection had been added above the first, a trap that could keep escapees from leaving once it was triggered. It was a interesting piece of spell work and had probably taken quite a few of the King's best Magician's to pull it off. It didn't have Durza's stench to it so Caleb knew he hadn't had a hand in it.

He sought out the all to familiar mind of Murtagh but instead of diving into it he searched the area. Eragon was there like he had expected and he was happy to see the two of them together if not slightly jealous. He had to firmly push aside the wellspring of emotions that bubbled up to the surface ranging from longing for Murtagh to concern that the two brothers would find out who the other was and abandon him on their quest for a family.

He shook of the feelings assuring himself that Murtagh would never abandon him like that but it still nagged at him ever so slightly. He already knew that Eragon wouldn't be please if he found out he was the son of Morzan and would be annoyed at him for not telling him that or that Murtagh was his brother but he wasn't sure what Murtagh would do to him if he found out that Caleb had been keeping such a secret to himself for all these years, especially since they told each other everything.

Without any more thought he dove into the sleeping mind of Murtagh since Eragon was on watch and it wouldn't be prudent to disturb his vigil. He found himself on the turret roof of their early childhood home. A five year old Murtagh winked at him childishly before becoming the twenty year old version before Caleb could comment on it.

"I thought it was strange when your five year old counterpart just vanished from my dream." Murtagh pointed out in greeting. "Do you remember the time be threw packs of mud at the stable boy from up here? He couldn't work out where they were coming from." Murtagh laughed.

"I seem to remember that your father was furious with us." Caleb pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you on your way up the Ramr?" He asked referring to the river that ran up from Uru-baen to Gil'ead in the North.

"Eragon's been getting these dreams about an elf being held captive." Murtagh told him. "I panicked at first thinking it was you but he said it was a woman so I figured it must be the Elf Courier."

"So you're going there to what?" Caleb grouched.

"To rescue her of course!" Murtagh told him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you insane!?" Caleb cried. "There are at least a thousand soldier's in Gil'ead let alone Durza and they've just raised a new protection. A spell that doesn't allow anyone to leave the city after it is activated. How are you going to get out without being noticed?"

"We'll just have to be sneaky." Murtagh told him.

"The Rider, Eragon is it?" Caleb asked faking ignorance, he received a nod and continued. "Does he even know how to fight?"

"He's got a small arsenal of spells that his old mentor taught him before he died and he's a natural at sword fighting. He's as good as I am. We've been having so much fun sparring with each other." The happy look on Murtagh's face tugged at Caleb's heart rather painfully but his sour look didn't seem to register with his brother. "Besides, he's got a huge Dragon on his side."

"Oh yeah, that's a smart plan. Draw more attention to her." Caleb rolled his eyes. "Actually that might work. The trap spell only works near the ground. She's have to fly the three of you out though. You'll have to find a way to suggest it without mentioning me though."

"Why do you want me to keep you a secret?" Murtagh suddenly asked with a frown before he cheered up slightly at the prospect of talking to Eragon about his Elvish friend. "What could be so bad about Eragon knowing about you?"

"You don't get it do you?" Caleb lost him temper and instantly began to feel a slight twinge in his heart as his anger at Murtagh's ever growing friendship with Eragon bordered on betrayal. He forced the emotion down as much as he could but it was still there as he continued. "You might be happy playing out here but I'm the centre of attention in the City. Galbatorix has announced my presence to members of his council, I'm being pitted again some of his best soldier's secretly and I'm to start training in magic under his Magicians on Friday. If that isn't bad enough he's trying to turn me against you and into the leader of his Magician's so that I can destroy the Varden make it look like the Elves are siding with him."

His words seemed to silence Murtagh who could only look at him in shock so he continued. "He more or less admitted to wanted to make you a Dragon Rider and me his Magician during the two Dinner sessions this week and on Friday I'll be hard pressed to cover my training this Friday. So excuse me if I don't want more people to know about my existence. If Galbatorix hears that the new Dragon Rider knows of a Elf raised in Uru-baen I'll be strung up before he can finish revealing me while you're out here enjoying yourself!"

Caleb found himself cut off rather roughly as Murtagh covered him with a hug and rested his chin on his shoulder. Caleb tensed slightly before letting his own chin drop onto Murtagh's shoulder even if his arms remained limp at his sides. "What are you going to do?"

"What choice do I have?" Caleb sighed. "Rescuing the Courier and protecting this Rider is too important for you to come back here and help me escape. I'll have to do it on my own."

"I don't like it." Murtagh said seriously as he pulled back. Caleb found himself in his own room at the castle though Murtagh was still before him so he knew it was still a dream.

"You don't have to like it. We don't have a choice any more." Caleb sighed. "I cant leave empty handed though. I've already found the tunnel entrance to the King's private treasury while you've been gone. The magicks in place are too extreme for any other purpose."

"You cant be thinking about getting the other two Dragon's Eggs!" Murtagh gasped. "You'll get caught!"

"Not if I go about it right." Caleb pushed his own unease aside and continued. "It's only possible to sneak passed them with a lot of magical skill and only when the King is within the Castle. I'll wait until Thursday night when you should have finished in Gil'ead and word of the break out will reach Galbatorix. Hopefully he should be to distracted by losing the Elf Courier that I'll be able to sneak in, get the eggs, and get out before he realises."

"Then where do you plan on going?" Murtagh questioned.

"I'll travel west to the fringe of the desert and try to rendezvous with you. It'll be easier to protect the unhatched eggs with a Dragon Rider's help." Caleb told him. "I can ride Jet very fast if I need to and I can always call out to the Dragon if I think my pursuers are catching up to me."

"You're sure you want to do this?" Murtagh asked and Caleb nodded resolutely. He was tired of sitting in his room whilst the world was starting to change around him. "We'll try to meet up at the South Crags in the Hadarac desert if we don't speak again. We'll probably try to run south to Surda anyway since that's the only chance we have of being put in contact with the Varden."

"The Elf-Courier should know how to get to the Varden." Caleb reminded him.

"Eragon said that she didn't look all that healthy." Murtagh told him, "I don't want to trust everything on her being conscious the whole trip."

"They're probably repressing her magic, if she's a magician, which she probably is." Caleb half lectured. "If that's all they're using then it'll wear off within the day."

"So I'll meet up with you soon?" Caleb nodded at Murtagh's question. "Please be careful, Caleb. I don't know what I'd do without you around."

"Me neither." Caleb sighed. "It'll take more than Galbatorix's pet magician's to bring me down. If I think Galbatorix has caught on to me I'll do a runner and leave the Eggs but that's only a last resort."

Murtagh nodded though he looked immensely saddened by the prospect of Caleb in such a dangerous situation. Caleb stepped forwards in the dream world and caught Murtagh's shoulder. "If I can get the Eggs out to safety then I will regardless of the cost. I'm just an Elven Magician. Compared to having three Dragon Rider's fighting for the Elves and the Varden, I'm expendable. I'd rather my name go down in history for something like stealing the last two Eggs from Galbatorix then as a deadly sorcerer that helped to wipe out the Varden."

Murtagh sighed slowly. They both knew that he'd do the same thing if their positions were switched so there was little point in arguing. "If I get caught I'll send the Eggs up to the North Eastern tip of Istenstar. If I don't contact you then please try to get word to the right people about where they are."

"That's a last resort though, right?" Murtagh met his stare resolutely.

"Only a last resort." Caleb nodded. "I have to go. Remember I don't want Eragon to know that you know an Elf in Uru-baen. It would only complicate matters. If I'm not at the Crags when you pass then assume I was captured and go on. Don't wait around an get yourself caught. Getting Eragon out of the Empire and to the Elves is the most important thing now."

Much to Caleb's surprise Murtagh just nodded looking rather defeated. They'd talked about helping out the Varden if they ever could ever since they knew of such matters, the only difficulty with their decisions now was because of their strange circumstances. They'd always envisioned doing it side by side.

Caleb withdrew from the spell and breathed in the clear air as he stared off into the East and the rising sun. Somewhere far off to his left was his brother and the brother of his brother. He would give anything to be with them now but he'd never be able to hide their secret once Eragon recognised him and the betrayal would undoubtedly start.

Was he just being selfish or did he really believe it was all for the best. Maybe he really did believe that it would only distract people just like he had told the dragon. Either way he truly didn't want to be there to blame when the truth came out.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Thursday night

Caleb grabbed his travel pack from the bed that he'd been packing with so much care over the week. He'd already snuck his sword, dagger, travel clothes and money out of the castle and buried them carefully in the grasslands to the North. He'd hidden his horse, Jet's, saddle with them as well so that he wouldn't have to saddle him before riding out.

The pack he now strapped onto his back on the outside of his dark green cloak held mainly food and supplies for this task and a place to hide the two Eggs once he'd gotten them. He only carried a small dagger on him since he didn't plan on getting into many large fights since it would only attract attention.

He walked purposely from the room as he raised the cloak's hood and cast a spell to hid his face in shadows and to keep the hood on regardless of what happened. A message had arrived via magic only an hour earlier to say that Durza had captured the new Dragon Rider but he had escaped along with the Elf Courier and Murtagh on the back of a Dragon. Caleb had felt Galbatorix's fury at the news and knew this was his best opportunity.

He snuck through the corridors using spells when necessary to send watchful eyes into light slumbers and every nock and cranny that he and Murtagh had discovered in the Castle to get down to where the King had hidden his treasures.

The door was a plain one but Caleb knew better, six minds resided within the short corridor and barracks within and the door was spelled so that it was impossible to pick the lock, not that Caleb knew how to do that without magic in the first place. Luckily the spell was held by a lesser Magician rather than Galbatorix himself since otherwise the King would have to come and open this door every time the guards inside were changed. That meant that Caleb could easily break through the spell and then he'd only have to take out the magician inside and then the five normal guards.

It would be a hard fought battle. Normally in armies magicians battle against each other in their minds whilst maintaining protections for the soldiers around them from magical attacks whilst those same soldiers kept them from being harmed my mundane methods like swords and arrows. Caleb would have to take out the Magician first before he could safely turn his magic on the soldiers otherwise the Magician could turn an attack on him whilst he was being ignored. Unfortunately Caleb would have to divert any mundane attack away from him until he could turn his attention to the soldiers.

Caleb had long since decided that surprise was his only option, they wouldn't be expecting an attack after all. The spell on the door was pitifully weak compared to his own magic, there wasn't a single Magician within the human race that could compare to even the weakest of Elven Magicians. Apart from maybe Galbatorix but his magic was less than natural.

"Reduce the magic within this door." Caleb muttered the spell in the Ancient Language. That was the beauty of magic, as long as you knew how to say what you wanted in the language you could do anything that you could normally achieve through mundane means. Since the fall of the Dragon Riders one hundred years ago the majority of the humans knowledge of the language had faded from existence. Caleb, taught by an Elvish queen, knew so much more of the language and that gave him an edge that couldn't be countered.

He felt the ward snap as the Magician withdrew his magic from it to prevent himself from dying also. Every being in Alagaesia had a finite amount of magic at their disposal and each action cost some of that supply. The Elves, being magical by nature, had a much larger store at hand, whereas the majority of the human Magicians could barely do more than heal a bruise, something that Caleb did without thinking about it.

The downside of using magic was that if you cast a spell you had to see it through. Caleb always took care in the wording of his spells to prevent himself from giving up all of his magic and therefore his life. The Magician within had tried to reinforce his spell to prevent Caleb from breaking it but had shut down the ward himself before it drained all of his magic.

The door clicked and slowly swung inwards. Caleb walked in pervading an air of arrogance that the Magician could sense as he opened his mind towards the intruder. As Caleb felt the mind try to find out his intentions he prodded at the mind in return and smirked as it withdrew behind its own protections. "Identify yourself!" One of the soldiers demanded when the Magician, obvious put in charge, didn't take the lead.

"I have been sent by the King himself to ensure the protections on his personal treasure." Caleb's rather odd reason seemed to put them out of sorts. Obviously people didn't claim such a thing. It was no bother to Caleb though that they didn't believe him, their indecision was all he needed. As they turned to look at the Magician who was stood behind them, Caleb lashed out with his mind. His mind slammed into the Magician and he brought the full brunt of his training and magic to bear on the weak mental shielding as the man tried vainly to protect himself. They splintered and with a muttered word, Caleb pinched the artery that supplied the man's brain with blood closed and the man collapsed into a heap as he died.

The soldiers by this point knew that something was wrong, firstly by the pale and panicked look of their Magician and then as the man collapsed dead with a look of shock on his face. They spun and drew their blades at the intruder not realising that the previous protections against magic over them had faded along with the Magician.

Caleb followed the traces of the ward that protected the men as they collapsed and as soon as he was more intimately connected to the five men he repeated the process on them and before any of them could get to him they, too, collapsed.

He'd never killed so many people though the magic he had used was ones commonly used in large battles where Magicians were in their dozens and soldiers in their thousands. Strangely he didn't feel much, especially since these men were some of the Kings most trusted and therefore they believed in this corrupt Empire.

Caleb didn't waste any time in turning to the other door at the very end of the corridor. He eyed it with a rather sceptic look. It didn't seem to have any protections on it. Perhaps there had been a ward on it that had fallen when the Magician had died. It seemed rather lacking for what the King was capable of but Caleb didn't have time to think on it. He opened the door with his magic so as not to touch it and walked into the darker room. Several wall sconces lined the walls of the room and on several tables stood piles of precious gemstones and items of worth.

Caleb bypassed all of this though and headed for a metal cabinet on the far side of the room with a glass door that didn't do anything to hide the two Dragon Eggs within. Caleb couldn't help but stare at one half of the Dragon's population. A single Red and a single Silver Egg. He opened the front of the cabinet and hefted the red egg from its place and placed it at the bottom of his bag. He covered it quickly with a cloth before turning back to the Silver one.

He brushed his hand over the miraculously clean Egg and couldn't help the shiver go up his spine at the power he imagined slumbered within. A fully grown baby Dragon, ready to hatch. All it needed was the right place and the right person to bond with. He quickly placed it in his bag with the other and pulled the leather string tight before placing it on his back again. He didn't care about any of the other treasures in the room and left as fast as he could.

He ran through the corridors not realising that the Eggs removal from the vault had warned the King himself. He slipped out of the Castle towards the Stables and found Jet without trouble. Not once did he suspect that it was too easy. He could still sense Galbatorix enraged within the great chambers of the castle so he didn't think that the King had been warned.

He walked Jet to the outer gates and out of the castle walls by a servants entrance and only had to knock the four men out by the entrance. He mounted Jet bareback and was about to tell him to gallop when a huge shadow blotted out the stars in the night sky. Jet reared up as the huge winged shape wheeled around and came directly at him. Caleb was so shocked at the steady thump of wing beats that Jet managed to throw him it his fright before galloping off. His head hit the floor hard enough to daze him slightly and by the time he was on his feet again he found himself surrounded by two dozen guards. The huge looming shadow came into the light cast by the watch fires of the wall and Caleb almost let his jaw drop.

Shruikan snarled as he came closer, steam rolling from his mouth as he stared down at Caleb with maddened eyes. Caleb didn't react fast enough when one of the soldiers swung his halberd and smacked him across the back of the neck with the handle. Caleb fell to his knees and his bag dropped to the floor spilling its contents across the ground. The Red Egg skittered harshly across the ground till it came to rest below the behemoth of a Dragon whose black scales made it so difficult to see him in the dark.

The Silver Egg was brought up short by the rag from the bag and stopped with everybody staring at it. Caleb glanced up desperately as one of the soldiers reached for it with a glint in his eye. If he couldn't save both Eggs before he died he'd at least get one away from the King.

He lurched out violently and shoulder barged the man out of the way as he grabbed frantically at the Egg already knowing that he wouldn't be able to send it to where he'd promised Murtagh he would, it would take too much concentration and time for someone like himself, who hadn't had enough practice, to send the Egg so far accurately. The deposit of supplies would have to suffice. At least it would be away from the Empire and hopefully one day Murtagh would be able to find it. He shouted out the Ancient Words as he held up the Egg and with a brilliant flash of white light that blinded everyone the Egg vanished into the unknown.

Caleb was hit no fewer than five times by the flats of swords and halberd staffs over his body and twice on his head and the last thing he did before he felt the darkness overtake him was cry out to anyone that would listen.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Into the North-East

Murtagh flinched violently from the half sleep that had threatened his body as he and Eragon rode fiercely through the woods trying to outrun their pursuers. He'd been worried constantly knowing that Caleb was at that moment trying to escape with the Eggs and he wished that he could hijack Saphira and fly to his aid.

He was pondering doing just that when despair washed over him. He knew instantly that it wasn't an emotion of his own, it was Caleb's. The pain and sadness that accompanied it lingered on as the wash flowed over him jerking him into a twilight of the dream world he was so used to. For an instant he could have sworn that a huge black Dragon, Shruikan, was towering over him with the Red Egg at his feet, but it was only a superimposed image around the rapidly changing surroundings.

A screech of fury echoed through the air and Murtagh thought it was another twilight image except a real shadow blocked out the stars as Saphira rapidly descended to them with a fury that only happened when Eragon was in danger. The almost sixteen year old was sitting ramrod straight in his saddle where he had previously been sleeping. The tirade of emotions from Caleb must had effected Eragon too as he had gone completely pale. Murtagh pretended not to notice, he didn't want Eragon questioning him about it let alone Saphira. His own emotions though tore at him, he wanted to ride and rescue Caleb but he knew that the chances of his Elvish friend still being alive was very slim if not highly unlikely.

He could help the tears that flowed from his eyes and found himself grateful that the darkness of the night hid them from his companion.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter