The Last Dragons
Chapter 6; Carvahall
Northern plains
Caleb watched as the small Dragon rolled in the small pool of water that trickled down the bank before meeting the larger Ninor River that separated the main section of the plain to the south and the smaller section that led up to the foothills of the Spine and Palancar Valley where Carvahall lay. Jet lay sleeping in the shade of one of the trees and his rest was well deserved.
Over the last four days they had ridden through night and day only stopping when they needed to. Jet understood the need for haste and Caleb allowed the horse to decide when they had to sleep for rest or for sleep. The Dragon had spent most of the ride either napping on the saddle, held in place by Caleb's legs, or sitting on Jet's head with his wings out to either side letting the wind fly passed them. He could already glide pretty well but Caleb knew that he was weeks from being able to actually fly.
Even as he thought about the little Dragon he could feels it's small but powerful mind against his own, it was a strange feeling for Caleb who was so used to sensing minds outside of his own that to have one so close was a little unnerving though with his current loneliness it was a welcome change. Thoughts of his loneliness made him lie back on the soft grass with an explosive sigh. It had only been five weeks now since Murtagh had left. Two weeks within the castle as Murtagh travelled north to Gil'ead with Eragon, two weeks within Uru-baen's dungeons though he had been unconscious for the whole of that time whilst Murtagh and Eragon fled to the Varden and then whilst the King's Urgal army attacked them and Durza was killed by Eragon. He had found this out from the minds of some of the guards at the Castle before he escaped.
The last week had been spent running north whilst Murtagh travelled to Uru-baen. He wanted to call out to Murtagh but he knew that the King would expect it in him and be on the look out for it, the King would find some way to bind Murtagh to him and Murtagh would agree that saving the Egg and at least getting one of them to the Elves would be worth it. Caleb swore though that as soon as he was free of the Elves again he would search out Murtagh and would kill the King if that's what it took to free him. That would be his recompense for abandoning Murtagh now.
He felt the warmth of a small nose on his neck and twisted his head to see the Dragon looking at him in concern. It was more that he could sense the Dragon's concern rather than see it though since expressions weren't a Dragon's forte it seemed, apart from fury maybe but he didn't think this little creature was capable of scaring anything at the moment.
"We're going to have to find you a name aren't we?" Caleb asked and the Dragon looked up at him with bright eyes. Over the last day or so, Caleb had gotten an increasing idea that the Dragon could understand what he said so he had spoken almost constantly as they rode about anything he could think of. He'd talked about Eragon, Murtagh, Salena, Islanzadi and even about the King and Morzan. He told him about everything that had happened in Alagaesia that he could remember from Du Fyrn Skulblaka, the Dragon Wars, when the Elves had fought the Dragons before becoming allies, to the current state of affairs. The Dragon had listened attentively to everything he spoke of and Caleb's instinct told him that the Dragon would remember everything he had been told.
"We could go with something about your colour, according to the legends, that's what Rider's used to do." Caleb continued and the Dragon just watched him. Caleb studied the gleaming silver scales as they shone in the bright noonday light. They were slightly wet and because of the pure shade of his scales, a rainbow of different colours would flicker across them at random intervals. The silver colour amazed Caleb and he loved it immensely. The Dragon crawled up onto his lap as Caleb pushed himself up onto his elbows with a grunt, he was getting heavy. Already the Dragon was higher than his kneecap and Caleb was having to kill small rodents and rabbits in order to feed him though that wasn't any real effort since he could just reach out and sense several hundred within a half mile distance.
Try as he might though he couldn't think of anything that matched the colour apart from maybe the moon or the stars but he didn't want a name that was celestial. He thought to his own history and that of his family, his Elven family rather than Murtagh and one name came up that he actually liked. His paternal father's name, Lucus. It wasn't Elven so people wouldn't assume that the Rider was an elf and it meant something to Caleb's family even if only Islanzadi or his distant relatives within Du Weldenvarden would recognise the significance.
He looked down at the Dragon and rolled the name around his head, muttering it silently with his lips to see if it fit. 'Lucus!' Caleb's eyes went wide as the name echoed back to him in a different voice. He glanced around him quickly but his eyes returned to his Dragon as he stared up at him with his small teeth bared in a Dragon's grin. 'Lucus!'
Caleb actually chuckled. "You like Lucus then?" Caleb asked.
"Lucus, Lucus!" Came the response before a small gap where Caleb bent down and kissed Lucus' crown lightly. The newly dubbed Lucus licked his chin and Caleb picked him up just as Jet awoke and looked at them expectantly, obviously ready to go again.
Caleb introduced Jet to Lucus though Jet wasn't one to care for names and placed Lucus on the ground so he could saddle and load Jet ready for the run. He pulled himself up onto Jet's back and after making sure he had anything he reached out with his mind and connected it with Lucus'. 'Come on Lucus, get up here.'
'Yes…Caleb.' Came the hesitant response before the Silver dragon bunched his legs under him and sprung up onto Caleb's knee and from there onto the saddle in front of him. Caleb ran the end of his fingers down Lucus' neck and he arched into it before he told Jet to go.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Palancar Valley
Caleb rode into Therinsford, a small town built under the shadow of Utgard, the last fortress of the Dragon Riders and where the Dragon Rider's leader, Vrael, was killed by Galbatorix over a century ago, with his travel cloak on and his hood up over his head. It wasn't enough to hide his features in anything more than light shadow in this bright light but it was enough to hide his pointed ears from the townspeople.
'Be still, Lucus.' Caleb mentally reprimanded his bonded as the blanket wriggled in front of him as the curious Dragon attempted to get a better look at the surroundings. People were already starting to watch as he passed and even though he had slowed his run to pass through the town he'd noticed one of the children running off to warn somebody of his approach as he entered the town.
Just as he was passing through a wide section of the road that was probably evidence of a market square a small group of men gathered on the road obviously planning to waylay him. He sighed and not seeing any way to avoid the meeting his prepared to reign Jet in. One of the men stepped forwards before he could though and Jet shied away from his raised hands with a nervous trot.
"You'd best not be passing through to Carvahall, Sir." The man spoke with a thick northern accent so unlike the plainer city talk. Seeing that he wasn't getting a quick response from the visitor he continued. "Who be you and what is your purpose in Palancar?"
"My name is Caleb." He told them though he made no attempt to bring Jet closer to them or lower his hood. "I'm just passing through your town on my way to visit a friend in Carvahall."
"I'm the miller here in Therinsford." The man nodded to him. "I wouldn't advise going any further than here though."
"Careful." One of the other men muttered quietly. "He's got the look of a city man about him."
Caleb chuckled as his sharp hearing caught the words. "Worry not, Sir."
"It's just there is a band of Empire soldiers in Carvahall right now." The miller explained neutrally. "They were looking for someone by the name of Roran and told us to report him in if we saw them."
"Do you know this Roran?" Caleb asked more out of curiosity than from need.
"He worked for me for a while." The miller responded. "I don't see what he could have done to warrant such a search though."
"Knowing the Empire, probably not much." One of the other men snorted before he and his friends tensed up. Caleb just chuckled.
"I thank you for your warning, good Sirs." Caleb rounded the conversation up as he sensed Lucus becoming too curious and the blanket shifted slightly. He moved slightly to cover the movement and Jet cantered sideways. He was too much of a War Horse to hide it with a crowd confronting them. "I must visit Carvahall at any rate."
"Keep our words in mind though." The miller told him.
Caleb reached into a side pocket and pulled out a very generous donation of five gold pieces, he drove Jet forwards and the men parted for him. Caleb leant down to them as Jet came to a halt within them, now more at ease as Caleb calmed his mind with his own. He dropped the gold pieces into the Miller's hand. "For the towns use, Sir. For your discretion about my passing through here and your silence in any matters to do with Roran Garrowson."
The use of Roran's father's name had its effect on the man who nodded. "Even if we wouldn't have protected him beforehand, we will try all the harder now. Thank you Sir." Five gold pieces were easy to come by in the City but were enough to tie a family over a whole winter in a town so far from the city.
The men moved further aside and Jet walked over a short bridge without needing prompting and as soon as they were clear, Caleb sped him up to a light trot. It was only a two hour ride north to Carahall and he wanted to reach it before sunset.
He spent most of the time talking to Lucus in his head, ever since he had spoken three days ago he had been talking about his past memories to teach the young Dragon about everything. Dragons, above all creatures in Alagaesia, learnt extremely fast, they caught onto concepts that most humans couldn't understand given years. The speed in which Lucus was learning astounded Caleb, he couldn't hold a conversation but he was learning what things were called and could tell Caleb when he needed food or water.
Caleb felt the Ra'zac long before he found any sign of the village but he ignored them as he rode up the main path. There were no lookouts on the road but Caleb spotted an imperial sentry posted on a small hill that looked out across the tree filled valley but whether the man was just not paying attention or he considered Caleb as not being a threat, he didn't know since the man didn't seem to make any effort to report him. Chances were they didn't care whether more people went to the Village just whether they left it.
Caleb saw chimney smoke first before he came around a bend in the rode and saw the small village before him. There was a stretch of open fields between the trees where he was and the line of houses which were built in a small cluster so that they could be easily protected from wild animals. The first sign that something was wrong was that carts and timbers had been strung up between the buildings to create a makeshift wall making the houses into a mini fortress.
He let Jet walk gently down the dirt track towards the village as he relaxed his hands onto the saddle in a casual manner as he studied the tracks in the dirt. There were several sets of footprints identical to that of the imperial army as well as two sets of horse prints. Shouts started to go up from behind the makeshift barricade as the villagers saw him.
Jet shied away from any attack, dancing sideways and forcing Caleb to reach forwards to steady himself on Jet's neck rather than putting his weight on Lucus. 'Stay down Lucus.' He warned the Dragon.
"Who are you!?" A loud voice called across the twenty or so feet. Caleb steadied Jet with one hand as he raised the other, opening his palm to show he was a friend.
"My name is Caleb, a friend of Eragon!" Caleb yelled back. "I must speak with his cousin!"
He was left to himself for several minutes, presumably as somebody ran off to find Roran. Caleb waited patiently though he was slightly worried about the three minds that crept up to the tree behind him. He was still just about inside arrowshot from the trees. He was torn between getting out of range for any Imperial archers and staying clear of anything thrown by the villagers. In the end he half turned Jet so that he could see in both directions though he had to spend a lot of time calming Jet who, trained as a warhorse, knew when a situation was perilous.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Within the barricade
Roran came up to the group watching the barricade at a run with the small boy that they had sent running at his heels. "Roran!" Baldor called to him as he slowed to a halt.
"What's the matter?" Roran asked, Nolfavrell, the boy, had only said that he was needed but not why.
"There's a man out there." Baldor told him before leading him to a small gap in the barricade. "He says he's a friend of Eragon's. He wants to talk to you."
Roran studied the man through the gap. The horse he rode was a fierce looking one, well bred and a deep black colour, any man in Carvahall would sell their own home for a horse as powerful as that one. The man on the horse was cloaked and hooded but his lithe structure was obvious. His features were hidden by the hood and that worried Roran. "He looks like a warrior." Roran muttered and Baldor grunted his agreement. It wasn't the sword and bow strapped to the saddle that gave it away but rather the way the man held himself, looking back at the trees periodically.
"Should we let him through?" Baldor asked him. "He seems worried about the Empire's soldiers in the trees."
"Let him through." Roran raised his voice slightly. "He is outnumbered." He reassured the few that looked worried. They did as he requested though and slowly one of the carts was pulled back.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Outside the barricade
Caleb spun Jet towards the slowly opening gap in the barricade and as soon as the cart stopped sliding he drove his horse onwards and to the relative safety of the village. He wasn't stupid though, he undid the straps holding his sword and sheath to the saddle and rested it across his lap for easy access. A small boy stepped forward toward Jet as the barricade was reformed behind him and the black warhorse shied slightly. Caleb placed his hand on Jet's neck to calm him before nodding to the boy as permission.
The boy took hold of Jet's head to hold him still even without the normal reigns that a horse wore but that warhorse's didn't need, especially ones as smart as Jet was. Caleb swung off and landed silently on the ground so that his head was out of view of the Imperial troops.
Caleb glanced around him though he still held his sword in his hand. Lucus seemed to have sensed the number of people around and was holding extremely still under the blanket though he could sense his Dragon's mind against his own and opened his shielding to his bonded so that they could both view the scene.
"Who are you?" The man in front of him spoke, he was younger than Caleb, probably around eighteen or nineteen. His resemblance to Eragon, no matter how distant, was obvious.
"As I said before," He replied without any emotion, "My name is Caleb."
"Why are you here?" Caleb shook his head slightly and took Jet from the small boy.
"I assume that you are Roran Garrowson, cousin to Eragon?" Caleb asked and received a rather reluctant nod. "Then I will only discuss this with you."
He received harsh stares but he just returned them with the same expression. Another of the men leant over to Roran and started whispering in his ear though Caleb's Elvish hearing caught every word. "Do you think we can trust him?"
Roran studied him for several seconds before turning to the side to whisper back. "I think so, he obviously not a friend to those troops out there."
"Hardly!" Caleb scoffed making them jump. "By now I will be just as wanted as your cousin."
"Follow us." Roran nodded, "The village Elders are already in a meeting." Caleb followed the man through the gathering crowd noting that all of the people there looked either scared or just glazed. Roran led him up the hill to a set of houses slightly richer in appearance to the ones on the main track through. This one was one of the only two level building in the village and had ornate carvings done with a loving hand, something rather rare within Uru-baen.
Caleb left Jet and the hidden Lucus outside and followed Roran inside the house and through to a large kitchen area filled with people. "And I say it was stupid and reckless!" One man complained obviously continuing a conversation from earlier. "You had no cause to endanger…"
The man was cut off by another as Roran and Caleb entered unnoticed. Or rather Caleb was unnoticed but Roran was plain ignored. "We've been over this before. Whether what has been done should have been done is beside the point. I happen to agree with it." He said simply. "Quimby was my friend as much as anyone's, and I shudder to think what those monsters would do to Roran. What I want to know is how we can escape this predicament?"
"Easy, kill the soldiers!" A rather offlooking man declared.
"That will not work." Caleb put in before the argument could continue. The group within the room span in shock to realise somebody they didn't know what listening to them.
"Who are you!?" One man asked him sternly, he was obviously a man of great importance since the others seemed to respect him.
"My name is Caleb, a friend to Eragon." Caleb said for what seemed like the tenth time since arriving.
"So you say." Roran stepped to the side to join the group interrogating him. "How can we just take your word for it?"
"I have no proof." Caleb told them calmly. "I was raised by Eragon's mother near to Uru-baen until she died just after giving birth to Eragon in this village. Any other proof I have is only within my own memories."
"Why are you here then?" The same man from the start asked him.
"I heard that the Ra'zac were ordered to capture Roran and I swore to his cousin that I would ensure his safety." Caleb admitted. "I did not expect that your whole community would have stood by you against them. It complicates matters."
"What do you mean?" Roran asked shocked enough at his words to forget his suspicions.
"I could have easily set you free from their captivity but I cannot defend a whole community indefinitely. There siding with you against the Empire has created outlaws of themselves whereas they would have been ignored had they just handed you over." Caleb sighed. "Do not mistake me however, what you have done here shows more courage and honour than anything I have ever seen from the Imperial army."
This got smiles from them. "We are agreed then that he is not a spy then?" The man asked though they seemed to look at Roran for an answer. Roran nodded at them all and they relaxed slightly. The man turned back to Caleb with a more welcoming smile. "My name is Horst, this is my house. Why don't you take off that travel cloak and have something to eat and drink?"
"I would greatly appreciate something to eat and drink. I haven't yet had anything. Also my horse will need some water. He has run the breadth of the Empire in only a week." Caleb asked as he moved closer to the table and into the light of the cooking fire so that his face was visible under his hood. Horst nodded to one of the other men and he left the room, presumably to find somebody to give Jet some water. Caleb called after him and he paused. "You had better have a child do it though, Jet is a trained Warhorse, he wont trust any adult other than myself." The man paused but nodded in understanding, they probably hadn't ever seen a proper warhorse before.
A woman came up to his side and placed a mug of water and a bowl of beef casserole that Caleb recoiled from. She noticed this and frowned at him. "I am sorry, ma'am but I cant eat any form of meat."
"What sort of man doesn't it meat!?" Scoffed the off looking man that Caleb noticed was wearing a blood stained apron, a butcher then.
Caleb sighed knowing that it was impossible to continue to hide his race, especially now that the whole village was under siege. Caleb slowly drew back his hood and pulled his hair back behind his ears to show off his pointed ears. "Elves do not eat meat or kill any creature unnecessarily."
"You're an Elf?" Roran gasped and the others all looked shocked. None of them would have ever seen an elf though Caleb didn't doubt that they had all heard of them from stories.
"I am." Caleb downed the mug of water but nearly spat it out when he felt a happy emotion spread across his mind from his bond with Lucus. Caleb caught a glimpse of a small child rolling a ball across the floor towards him. He groaned as he back away from the chair and left the room. He noted that Roran and the other man, Baldor, followed him out but the others stayed where they were and began to talk between themselves. Caleb left the house and stared down the steps at the two boys and a girl, probably all about five, who were playing with Lucus on the dirt. Rolling a ball around for him to chase.
"What is that!?" Baldor gasped.
"Lucus!" Caleb snapped mentally and vocally just as his bonded pounced on the ball. His shock made him stumble and he rolled forwards until he landed upside down on one of the boys. Roran and Baldor gasped slightly at it and the way it had reacted to him but followed him down the steps. "Don't you do anything you're told!?"
Lucus scrambled around to attempt to find his feet and as soon as he managed it he scrambled towards him with a sorrow filled look on his face. Roran and Baldor took a shocked couple of steps backwards but came up short as Caleb crouched in front of the two foot high Dragon. 'Sorry!' Lucus told him though he only seemed sorry that he was caught.
"Why do I bother?" Caleb sighed before he stood and accepted the nuzzling of his hand as he turned to the three children. "You're not afraid of playing with a Dragon then?"
"That's a Dragon!?" Roran gasped.
"Just like your cousin's, though much younger." Caleb chuckled at Roran's intensely shocked look. "Lucus is only a week old."
"Oh lord." Baldor gasped.
"Can we play with him?" One of the young boy's started tugging on his cloak.
"Are you an Elf?" The little girl stammered out looking rather shy.
"Can we please?" The other boy smiled at him winningly.
Caleb had to blink a few times, he'd never spent any time around young children before, not since playing with Murtagh when they were both children and Murtagh had never acted like a true child should. "Um…" Caleb stuttered rather inarticulately for an elf before getting back his senses. "I'm an Elf, this is Lucus, my Dragon. If you're careful you can look after him for a time. He'll need food and some water soon but don't let him scoff himself full of either, ok?"
"Ok!" The two boy's chirped. Caleb moved to Jet's side and took off the saddle. He slung the bow and quiver over his shoulder and belted his sword under his cloak before dumping the rest of the gear under the small overhang of the house.
"Jet?" The horse turned to look at him. "You follow Lucus and keep his safe." The warhorse just looked at him carefully before slowly trotting over towards Lucus and the three children.
"You three!" Roran shouted before the three could run off with horse and Dragon. "Don't even think of running off too far, stay with the adults in the centre of the village."
They looked at Roran and nodded in obedience before grinning at each other and running off. Roran turned to him, still looking rather shocked at having just met an Elf and then a Dragon that was now playing with three five year olds. "Are you sure he'll be safe if he's only a week old?"
"He's a Dragon, even only a week old he's impervious to most wild animals." Caleb shrugged. "Besides, Jet will look after him and I can sense what he is doing at all times. We share a bond between our minds."
That wasn't all that they shared. Caleb could feel his magic reserves steadily growing as well as his already advanced senses and strength. Roran looked at Baldor who just shrugged at him. "Do you have wounded?" Caleb asked eventually in the tense silence. Roran nodded. "I can help if you take me to them."
Roran and Baldor led him towards a low, rather plain, building in the centre of the village. Caleb could hear groans from inside and entered just behind Roran. Baldor had disappeared to announce who he was to the rest of the village and make sure that they didn't freak out at the fact that three of their youngest was playing with a fearsome beast of myth and legend. "Gertrude?" Roran whispered into the darkness of the room.
"Roran, are you hurt?" A bustling woman came out of the shadows where Caleb had been watching her. She gasped when she saw him though. "Are you an Elf?"
Caleb nodded but let Roran introduce him. "This is Caleb, he's offered his help."
"Help from an elf?" Gertrude looked shocked. Caleb was going to have to get used to this. "I'd be honoured. Please, anything you can do."
"Roran, perhaps you should return to the others, I can feel their minds, they are trying to organise something. I will remain here and do what I can." Roran nodded slowly before he turned to leave, he looked rather downtrodden so Caleb reached out and grabbed him lightly on the upper arm. "Perhaps later we can talk in private and confront this anger you hold towards your cousin."
Roran looked at him with a closed expression but nodded all the same and left. Caleb followed Gertrude across the room to the furthest bed where a man lay unconscious with what looked like a spear wound in his abdomen. The healer had obviously been changing the bandage when they'd entered. The wound was obviously infected.
"I've tried every herb and ointment I know but nothing will combat it." Gertrude told him. "Do you know of any Elvish remedies that we can use?"
"I'm a spell caster." Caleb told her as he laid a hand gently on the mans chest just above the infected tissue. He muttered a rather lengthy spell under his breath and felt a rather small drain of his magic as it removed the infection from the patient's body and then cast another spell to slowly mend the tissue. "He's lost a lot of blood as I'm sure you already knew and I wont do anything to speed that up but he'll live."
"I'd heard of Elvish healing in stories but I never imagined it done with such ease." Gertrude complimented him.
Caleb gave her a small, but sad, smile. "I was raised by humans under Galbatorix's eyes but trained by the Elves without his knowledge. I wasn't allowed out so I had plenty of time to practice. Any powerful human magician could do the same."
"Even so, I'm very grateful that you showed up when you did." The healer told him. They worked together in silence apart from Caleb's muttered spells and the odd groan from the wounded. A few of the wounds had to be left for another day but by the end of the four hours most of the patients; men, women and children alike, were ready to get up and walk out even though Gertrude refused to let them leave the makeshift hospital.
By the time he had finished his work his deeds had spread to every member of the village community and as he and Gertrude walked through the cluster of houses to where Caleb could sense Lucus playing amongst the towns people, he drew every eye and received many an grateful nod and accepting smile. Gertrude had accompanied him for the walk since he tasks were now much less important with only a few dressings to change and ointments to apply in a few hours time.
The sight that greeted the newly formed Dragon Rider as he approached the southern fields around the town was impressive. The wall being created wasn't the hard stone wall that defended Uru-baen but the huge wooden trees lined up with sharpened spikes and brambles between them was a massive accomplishment for the three hundred or so people of the community. His eyes were drawn to a small cluster just within the wall of trees where a large group of women and children dug a deep ditch with anything from shovels and picks to plain sticks and discarded swords from the Imperial troops that they had defeated so far.
Caleb could just about make out Roran amongst them, sweating copiously in the spring sunshine without his shirt on just as all the other human men did during the summer. A practice that wasn't acceptable to the Elves but that the only reason Caleb hadn't taken on himself was because he had always had to hide himself from anybody but Murtagh. A small flicker of bright light flashed from within the ditch followed by a spray of dirt and Caleb couldn't help but laugh as his little silver Dragon bounded out of the ditch towards him completely covered in dirt.
Lucus bounded across the field as soon as they had sensed each other and nearly bowled the Elf over as he leapt clear of the ground and with a flap of his wings bounded straight into Caleb's arms. Caleb gave him a quick kiss on the top of his head before holding him out at arms length to get a look at him.
"You're filthy!" He told him aloud so that Gertrude could hear him.
'I know!' Came back the rather loud and bright response.
"He talks!" Gertrude gasped having obviously heard it.
"Did you think that Dragon's couldn't, ma'am?" Caleb raised an eyebrow at her as he reverted back to calling her a formal name whereas within the hospital she had asked to be called Gertrude.
"I hadn't thought about it." She admitted just as Roran came stumbling over looking half exhausted as he wiped his face with his cotton shirt.
"Wild Dragon's couldn't speak in word that we could understand." Caleb admitted. "When they were bonded to the Elves they learnt our language from us and eventually the human language. Lucus is slowly learning both though he needs to remember to keep his words so that only I can hear him."
Lucus tucked his head under his wing to show he was sorry before wriggling to be set on the ground. "How are all the wounded?" Roran turned to Gertrude.
"Much better, I had feared for a few of them but with Caleb's help they will all live and will be able to help you out by the morning." Gertrude told them. Caleb nodded to show that he accepted her gratitude before he turned to Roran.
"You look exhausted, Roran." Caleb told him with a small smile. "Perhaps you should rest, we could take a walk and have that chat that I know you are eager for."
"I cant just walk off, we have too much to do now." Roran protested. Caleb let his eyes fall shut as he reached out with his mind. He felt Gertrude shield her mind in surprise but none of the others had any training in the mind and didn't even notice him, though he thought that perhaps Roran had. He sensed the Ra'zac easily to the south of them as well as the forty or so Imperial soldiers.
Caleb opened his eyes and looked at Roran. "You have no reason to fear them at this time. I can sense where they are and what they are doing. They have no interest in attacking the village at the moment."
"But we have to be ready." Roran told him.
"They are over arrogant, Roran. They brought no protection from magic." Caleb told him. "Battles end when one side loses that protection no matter who has the larger army."
"What do you mean?" Gertrude put in.
"Your village has magical protection as long as I am here whereas those Imperial soldiers can not survive an encounter with me. I could enter their minds and end their lives now if I wanted to." Caleb told them. Roran looked disgusted for a second so he continued. "It is something I wont do however unless they attack. In battles hundred's of men fall with no warning once their protection is gone. They wont survive an attack on the village but I wont kill them now without giving them a chance to flee."
"Should we just stop the defences then?" Roran asked sceptically.
"I am not without flaws, Roran. If having the defences give you even the slightest bit of protection then it is wise to have them, but do not put all of your faith in permanence when other options are open to you." Caleb sighed as he watched Lucus rolling around in the grass to get some of the dirt off of himself. "Let's take a walk Roran."
Gertrude bid them goodbye and walked off to notify the families and friends of her patients that they would be better within the day and Caleb started walking around the wall of trees towards the river so that Lucus could swim and wash the dirt off of himself.
"What did you mean other options?" Roran asked as soon as they reach the river and Lucus leapt in happily to swim.
"No matter what you do here you only have two options." Caleb sighed. "You can fight here till you defeat these men and then wait for the next set, this time with magicians to counter my presence, which will only end in all of our deaths. Or you can take the prudent course and flee."
"Where could we flee to though?" Roran asked exasperatedly.
"The Varden would accept you, as would Surda." Caleb sighed. "You could flee through the Spine and down the coast."
"The villagers are scared of the Spine. They'd never agree to that." Roran told him.
"But you're not are you?" Caleb gave him a serious look.
"I've seen what the Empire can do, they killed my father because of Eragon." Roran sighed. "Not only that but I've killed now."
"As have I." Caleb nodded his understanding, it was hard to be scared of something like a mountain range when you had watched the life fade from a human's eyes, let alone feel it within you.
"He's beautiful." Roran muttered after a brief silence. Caleb looked at him in confusion for a while trying to figure out what he meant before finally following his eyes to Lucus swimming through the shallow water as if he'd been born to water rather than to fire and air.
"He is." Caleb agreed and silently called the baby Dragon to him. "It is unfortunate that he will have to fight in a war but I will protect him with my own life if I must."
"Eragon has one of these?" Roran asked.
"Her name is Saphira." Caleb told him sure that Eragon would forgive him for telling Roran this. Eragon's existence had been common knowledge when he left Uru-baen after all. "She's much larger than Lucus at the moment, large enough to carry several people and to fight in a war though she is still young as Dragon's go."
"How old is she?" Roran asked out of curiosity.
"She'll be almost seven months old by now." Caleb informed him. "She's easily the size of this houses and she'll be breathing fire now as well. Something that Lucus here wont be capable of for many months."
"He hid her so well over the winter. I never knew he could act so secretive." Roran sighed as if disappointed.
"Don't take it to heart, Roran." Caleb warned him. "He would have been scared and confused. Forced to raise a Dragon in secret without any knowledge of how. Being bonded with a Dragon changes us drastically. My magic and mind is changing, bending to form one similar to Lucus'."
"I can understand why he did what he did but I still want him to face up to it." Roran pointed out.
"Just remember that nothing you have lived through in the last six months can compare to what he will have to face as the only chance we have to face off against the Empire." Caleb told him.
"What about you and Lucus?" Roran questioned.
"Ah." Caleb flinched. "I have problems with fighting the Empire's armies. My brother has been forced to ally with them and I can not fight him. Therefore our hopes rest with a farmer's nephew from Carvahall."
"Is he ok?" Roran asked being, yet again, rather vague in who he was talking about.
"Your cousin has done much since he left here six months ago. He has rescued an elf, joined the Varden, defended the Varden against an Urgal army of the Empire, killed a Shade and sustained a serious injury in the process." Caleb sighed, Eragon hadn't realised that he had sensed this. The injury had literally seethed with Durza's horrid stench but Arya's presence had prevented him from speaking of it and Eragon hadn't offered it. "He is now travelling towards Du Weldenvarden for his official training."
"Is that where you learnt magic?" Roran asked knowing, like most human's did, that the Elves were supposed to be hiding within the enormous forest.
"I have never met another Elf face to face. In this respect I am an outcast, the Elves will never truly accept me as one of them as I have been raised by humans and the worst humans of them all." Caleb sighed. "There is a magical spell known to Elves which join our own minds to any other of our choosing so that we may speak to them at their leisure. That is how I know your cousin."
"So you've never actually met him?" Roran frowned.
"I have not in a physical sense." Caleb resigned himself to the truth, or at least part of it. "When the Empire ambushed and killed my family I was put into the care of a woman within the city. I grew up with her son after she died of an illness that I could not then cure."
"What does this have to do with Eragon?" Roran turned his frown onto Caleb.
"That woman, the only mother I have known, was called Selena." Caleb admitted just as Lucus sensed his sadness and trotted over to brush his hand with his nose.
"Eragon's mother?" Roran gasped.
"Eragon knows that I was raised by her." Caleb told him before continuing. "When we were five she left one night pregnant and returned several months later without a comment. The man I was raised by never knew of her second child. Eragon. Selena made me promise to look after him as much as I was able. I think she knew who he's become."
"Why do you think that?"
"She named him after the first Elvish Dragon Rider." Caleb informed him. "I have kept that secret for my whole life."
There was several minutes of silence, broken only by Lucus' gentle purring as Caleb scratched between his ears, as Roran rethought over everything he had just learned. "Wait!" Roran almost yelled making Lucus and Caleb both jump slightly. "Eragon has a brother!?"
"Yes," Caleb slumped slightly.
"He doesn't know does he?" Roran accused.
"I have not told him as I know who his father is and it is not something that he could accept or handle at the moment." Caleb sighed. "His brother would not be able to accept that his mother saved Eragon from cruelty and not him."
"Is this the brother you mentioned?" Roran frowned, "The one allied with the Empire."
"He has no choice in the matter. Better to fight for an enemy so that you can help those you love than to die then and there." Caleb told him though Roran seemed sceptical. "They have already met but I did not have the heart to tell either who the other was."
"You cant be serious!" Roran gasped out. "Why would you keep it a secret?"
"Murtagh, who I grew up with faced cruelty at the hands of his and Eragon's father, as did I." Caleb grouched. "Could you tell him that his mother had saved his brother from such treatment but not himself? It would have crushed him and created a rift between them and myself. Neither of them will forgive once they know that I betrayed them by keeping this to myself."
Roran stared at him and Caleb was forced to look down in shame but when he looked up it was an accepting face and a reassuring nod. "I cant begin to judge you on this, you have lived a far different life. I cant even start to imagine what I would have done in your place." They walked in silence for a time following the rapidly growing defensive wall as Roran chatted to a few of the villagers. Caleb knew they didn't think he was slacking off since he was still without his shirt though he was probably much cooler now. It was after a stretch of completed wall that he spoke again. "What are you going to do now?"
"I will stay here to protect you and get you free." Caleb told him simply.
"What about the others?" Roran asked.
Caleb paused to think over his words but stepped up to Roran so he could speak softly without any of the lookouts hearing him. "The most important thing in this war is the Dragon Riders and who controls them. Eragon and myself will fight for the Elves and the Varden but even together we will have trouble to counter the King." Caleb shut his eyes and breathed deep to steady his nerves at the thought. "The last egg is still an unknown but those four Dragons are the last of their race and we cannot risk losing Saphira or Lucus now that they are free. If you were to die, Eragon was lose much of his will to fight. I wont let that happen. None of the people of this village, no matter how important to you, are as important as you."
"What!?" Roran cried and closed the gap so he was only a inch from Caleb.
"I wont let you die, Roran. I promised Eragon and if you died then we would all lose something in this war. I wont let that happen." Caleb said calmly. "I wont give these people up for dead but none of them are worth risking your life for and I wont allow you to do anything stupid. If they are lost then I will take you from here even if I have to knock you out and tie you to Jet."
Roran span on his heel and stared toward the village and the rising shouts as the villagers worked ceaselessly on the defences. He started shaking ever so slightly and Caleb had to wonder exactly who he was thinking about. Caleb came up behind him and placed his hand on his bare shoulders. "There only choice is to flee." He said quietly. "When this fight looks lost you must convince them to do just that or we'll have to leave them behind."
"How can you be so heartless?" Roran croaked.
"My only family was killed before I was born. Murtagh is now a captive and pawn of the King, my teacher and mentor has betrayed me and abandoned me and when Murtagh and Eragon find out about each other they may just turn on me for hiding it from them." Caleb sighed. "That is why I am so heartless, I cant afford not to be."
"I wont be able to convince them to leave." Roran sighed.
"You have to find a way or they'll all die. I cant and I wont risk Lucus and you to stay here and fight a fools fight, however noble it seems to them." Caleb pointed out before walking towards the village to find water for himself and some meat for Lucus who was starting to mutter mentally to him about being hungry.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter