The Last Dragons
Chapter 16; The Bound
Pass
After waking up the morning after the surrender of Gil'ead the three Riders and their Dragons had made quick preparations for the long flight south to the Free Armies of Surda, the Varden and the Dwarves. They hadn't had to do much except for rigging Lucus, Thorn and Saphira's saddles and Elven armour and also getting themselves ready since the Elves packed all of their supplies for them. They were seen off by most of the army and were soon heading south west across the plains towards the Spine where they could find a place to sleep that first night. As they'd reached the edge of their ability to reach out to the minds of the Elves Caleb had felt a powerful mind brush against his own in parting and had smiled slightly even as Solembum had gripped his hand to show he'd felt it too. He didn't know how Oromis felt but at least he knew that Glaedr forgave him for what had happened the evening before.
They followed the Spine southwards for a day and reached the pass through the mountains just as the sun was approaching the western horizon on the second day of their journey. They stayed high over the pass as they flew knowing that Uru-baen would now be relying on the so far untouched western towns and cities now that they'd lost two of their greatest cities, Dras Leona and Gil'ead. They were sure that there would be convoys bringing troops and supplies through this gap and they wanted to stay out of sight.
It was Thorn who spotted it first and from where he was slightly lower than Lucus and to the right Caleb could see his wings still slightly as he was distracted by something he'd seen. Lucus saw his friend go into a pure glide and stilled his wings too and Caleb rubbed at the side of his neck gently to show he'd noticed too even though Lucus and Caleb were bonded so completely in body, mind and even soul that they automatically knew everything that the other did.
He felt Murtagh's familiar mind against his own, a mind he'd known for as long as he'd lived but had only been starting to search him out over the last few months. He lowered his barriers and let Murtagh enter his mind, his thoughts brushing over Caleb's mind. "Thorn saw a battle below us through a break in the clouds." Murtagh told them. "Looked like a group broke out of the trees and ambushed a convoy on the road."
"Maybe Nasuada sent raiding parties north from Dras Leona." Eragon suggested broadly to them all.
"I'll find out." Caleb announced and struck out with his mind. He felt Murtagh recoil in surprise and felt his shield go up. Eragon was used to the strong minds of Elves but it was still taking Murtagh by surprise. Eragon could almost pretend not to notice which was an advantage, all anybody had to do to find Murtagh in a crowd was strike out with their minds and Murtagh's instinctive reaction would give him away. His mind reached out over the thousands of feet between them and the unseen ground below the clouds and found teeming masses of lives and thoughts some so basic they were barely there. Human minds were obvious though and Caleb flowed over them all, loosely enough that not even the two Spellcasters could feel his presence where they were battling each other.
He found it with shock that turned into concern and then irritation and his mind sought out Lucus' ever present being and gave him an order which Lucus responded to immediately. Caleb held on as Lucus collapsed his wings and freefell down through the clouds like a stone. Caleb reigned in his mind and reached out for Murtagh and Eragon. "Roran's down there and they're losing."
He turned his head to see Saphira and Thorn already falling rapidly behind Lucus and knew that they'd followed Lucus instantly without needing to find out why. "The convoy was a trap to lure out the raiding party and most of the soldiers are protected by so many spells they can't possibly feel anything. It's the things that Arya warned us about."
"What about Roran?" Eragon asked seemingly not planning to distract himself by searching out himself.
"Being pushed back to the trees but there are more soldiers in there." Caleb told him.
"Let's see if those spells protect them from Dragon's Breath." Saphira announced even as the sounds of battle reached Caleb's sensitive ears. "I shall deal with the convoy."
"Thorn, help her." Caleb ordered. "I'll take care of the Magicians and then protect the men."
The three dragons cracked open their wings and their speed shuddered away like they'd slammed on the brakes. They angled apart and a second later arrived in the battle. Thorn opened his wings and flew low over the trees with a lance of fire that burnt through the forest while Lucus and Saphira barely slowed down enough to prevent themselves from getting hurt as they landed on the ground. Lucus landed between the two forces, flattening three men under his forepaws before he turned his head towards the nearest carriage hiding four archers and bathed it in fire. Saphira landed on the other side of the convoy, flattening a horse and then snapped up a soldier in her jaws.
Caleb slammed out with his mind and found the two battling Magicians. The one from the Varden was being pulled back from the fight even as he struggled to fend off the Empire's Magician and hold up his wards on his troops. The soldiers on Roran's side were protecting him with their very lives knowing that if he was killed they'd all be seconds away from being extinguished by the enemy Magician. Even as Lucus struck out around them in the dying light of the day Caleb struck out and completely enveloped the Du Vangr Gata Magician's mind with his own, followed the attacking mind back to the soldier and slammed through his shields with so much power that when it gave way Caleb obliterated every thought inside the man's mind, probably driving him insane. His wards fell from the soldiers but Caleb didn't kill him.
Eragon obviously felt the enemy wards fall and together they struck out only to have their spells deflected away from the soldiers. Eragon instantly turned back to taking apart the enemy physically while Caleb tried to trace the source of the ward only to find out that they were all individual wards and they were only on the soldiers that were the ones cursed to not feel pain. The other soldiers that had been fighting were easy to kill and Caleb did it with barely a thought and looked around as ten of the remaining thirty crumbled to the ground.
Lucus leapt up into the air and landed again just in front of where a man was rallying the Varden and Surdan men including Roran. Lucus snapped his jaws at them and then slunk around to face a group of soldiers that were charging him. Caleb tried to punch through their wards but try as he might he just couldn't work out how they worked.
"Eragon." Caleb called after reaching out to him and being granted access to his mind which was now quite open since the magical threat was over. "I need you to get the enemy Magician. I did mental damage but he's still alive. Get him out of here so we can find out what these wards are."
He got an agreement and watched as Saphira tore apart the top of one of the few remaining carts and pulled a body out in her front paw. She took off into the air and disappeared to safety. Lucus could deal with the last of these soldiers while Murtagh burned them out of the forest.
The last of the enemy soldiers managed to get around Lucus by going wide and made a lurching attempt at killing one of the soldiers. The man got his arm cut off and his leg seriously slashed but grabbed one of the soldiers and tried to pull him down. Caleb drew and fired from his bow and the arrow passed under the Varden man's arm where he struggled and drove through the armour and chest of the Imperial soldier and killed him. No amount of anti-pain spell could protect him from his heart being split apart.
Lucus reared up onto his back paws and roared out in victory and then came down with a thump. He turned his head and flared his wings and roared again at the fifteen Varden and Surdan men left alive who all recoiled in fear except for Roran who drew himself up. Lucus was just getting rid of any remaining adrenaline rush and Caleb let some of his bonded's anxiety flow through him to vent it. Lucus ripped at the ground with his claws before calming down and lowering down a little bit to let Caleb slide off with some elegance, leaving Solembum in cat form in the saddle bag that had become his home. He was watching the scene but didn't seem to like the smell of burning flesh.
Caleb held his bow in his hand loosely as he approached, his mind stretching out far around them searching for anyone trying to hide from him. The Magician was scared but that was understandable, when Caleb had come to his rescue he'd been moments away from losing the mental battle and thus costing all of the men in his party their lives. It was a tough calling, a lot of responsibility.
"Caleb!" Roran called to him as he approached. The party, now safe, were starting to turn to their own wounded but there weren't many and by the looks of it any of them that had been seriously injured in the fight had been killed. "Did Nasuada send you?"
"Why do you assume we came from there?" Caleb asked. "We were travelling southwards from the Elven army. It was pure luck that Thorn noticed you and we were able to save you."
"Lucky or not, young man. The job needed to be done." The man at Roran's side told him and then offered his hand. Caleb returned the human gesture but it was brief and he knew it was verging on being rude but Elves only touched others when they truly respected the other person and not only that but Caleb had never been one to touch other people. He'd been isolated for so long from anyone but Murtagh that shaking the hands of complete strangers in way of greeting was simply against his own sense of self respect.
"I hope you realise that you are no longer in any shape to continue." Caleb told him eyeing the fifteen men going between watching Lucus and Caleb and Thorn who had landed on the other side of the convoy of destroyed wagons and was systematically taking them apart, physically searching for survivors.
"This is war, boy." The man told him. "Even if the odds seem set against you, you have to push on if you want to win."
Lucus didn't like that and he rounded on the human with a vicious growl and took three steps forwards sending the man back a few steps along with the others. Caleb didn't react and let Lucus treat the man how he liked and only spoke up once Lucus was done growling at him and thrown himself up into flight.
"Such beasts!" The man, Roran's captain, gasped. "They are barely trained."
Thorn growled from his place about fifty feet away amongst the burning remains of the convoy. Caleb could see Murtagh rubbing his sides but that didn't stop the large red dragon from pawing the ground in anger at the words. Lucus had heard it as well but merely turned tightly and landed with a heavy thump next to his brother Thorn who turned to look at him with another angry growl.
"Speak of our dragons in such a way again and I will have Nasuada exile you from this army." Caleb told him dangerously when it was obvious the Captain's attention wasn't on the two dragons again. "As for your return to Dras Leona you will leave tonight. This was set as a trap for your raiding party and it won't be long before their commanders realise that it failed and send a small army to flush you out."
"Our orders..." The Captain glared at him.
Caleb made a rather harsh gesture. "Come from me." Caleb told him sharply. "There are none senior to me in the Free Armies except King Hrothgar."
"I take orders from Lady Nasuada and King Orrin." The Captain argued. "Even you take orders from them!"
"He does nothing of the kind." Eragon's voice made the entire group of humans jump around as Eragon walked up behind them. "Caleb's only master is the Queen of the Elves and he accepts orders from the King of the Dwarves out of respect to their race. Human orders mean nothing to him. But if his command still falls on deaf ears then I will order you to return to the camp and if you don't follow them then I will have you flayed."
Caleb almost laughed at Eragon knowing full well that he'd never go that far but still amused to see the young man being so serious. Roran looked between the two, studying them and assessing the changes in the two since he'd last seen them and it had been quite a while and they'd fought quite a few battles since then. Roran's eyes finally settled on Caleb and took in for the first time that he was truly an elf, dressed entirely in Elven style clothing and for once not hiding his status as an elf like he had done throughout their exodus and then later within the camp.
Roran turned to the other men. "We leave immediately." Roran ordered them and Caleb realised that he'd been put second in command.
"Roran!" The Captain turned on him.
"How long do you intend to remain out here, Captain?" Roran questioned. "We've barely got any supplies left to us, we've lost half of our number and the rest of us have minor injuries. We've lost the element of surprise and we only won this battle because Eragon, Caleb and Murtagh came to our rescue. We could stay and attack the next convoy and maybe we'll get lucky or we might run into another fifty of those cursed soldiers and be wiped out completely."
"You were seconds away from being killed here." Eragon spoke up. "Your Magician was about to lose and if it hadn't been for Caleb he, and you all, would be dead."
The Captain obviously wasn't happy with it but he turned his back on Caleb and walked off to his men and began issuing orders to load up for the journey south. Roran turned to face Eragon and smiled gently. "You've grown." Roran settled on after a moment's silence.
"I've tried not to." Eragon smiled slightly. Caleb touched Eragon on the shoulder and turned to walk up the road towards where he knew Saphira was guarding the enemy Magician. Eragon really had changed a lot since Caleb had known him. He'd been just a scared child when Caleb had first sought out his mind but since then he'd grown so much, much more than either he and Murtagh. Murtagh and Caleb hadn't really changed so much, they'd become more powerful but their attitudes and bearing hadn't been affected but Eragon had had to find out how to be a man in just that year and he'd had to decide what kind of man he was going to be. Caleb could happily say with certainty that he was proud to call Eragon a friend. His Kin.
Lucus pawed at the ground just up the road but as Caleb looked at him he was reminded by his bonded about the Magician within Roran's ranks and he paused and turned to look over the group of soldiers fretting over their injuries and preparing for their return to camp. Amongst them was an almost comatose man being worried over by two men who were trying to make him swallow some water. Caleb walked over to them and a silence spread throughout the soldiers including the Captain. Caleb knelt on one knee next to the Magician and reached out his hand rather unnecessarily and touched his head just between his eyes. The man was exhausted and had held on until there had been very little left. That told Caleb enough about him to make him want to help. The man could have pulled down the wards on his troops and fled the battle to preserve his life but instead he'd been willing to give away the last drop of his magic and life to save them. Just like the Dwarven Magicians had to protect their King.
Caleb sent a small jolt of his own power into the man, reversing what he almost constantly did to the world around him. The man sucked in a gasp of breath and sat up with a jerk. Caleb stood elegantly even as the man scrambled up, undoubtedly feeling the power that had refilled his reserves and probably petrified at how Caleb had done it. "Follow me." Caleb told him quietly and turned and walked towards Lucus.
He stroked the underside of Lucus' jaw as he walked past but Lucus didn't follow until he'd growled and snapped his teeth at the soldier that tried to escort the Magician after Caleb. He followed them down the path and into the growing darkness with the Magician nervously walking ahead of him.
It took the three almost fifteen minutes to reach where Saphira was sitting on the path and whereas the trip would have been shorter by air or running, like Eragon had, they had to move at a speed the human could keep up with. It was almost night when Saphira appeared out of the shadows of the trees and made the Magician squeak in surprise.
"Why did you bring me here?" The man asked.
"Do not fret. Saphira and Lucus have already eaten enough." Caleb told him in amusement just as he stopped in front of Saphira and bowed slightly to her. She snorted out a small cloud of smoke in amusement and then leant down her head to allow Caleb to stroke her cheek.
"The human has not stirred. His mind is struggling to recover from your attack." Saphira told Caleb simply, not letting the human hear her words.
"Your opposite is still unconscious." Caleb told the human as he motioned down at the ground near to Saphira's paw. A black bundle belied the location of the human captive.
"What did you do to him?" The Magician asked.
"I shielded your mind and then attacked his." Caleb told him. "A simply enough task for me even if he'd been at full strength and aided by others."
"Stop boasting, Caleb." Lucus told him privately.
"With your help of course." Caleb amended without pause.
"Too right, with my help." Lucus snorted before lying down on the ground.
"What did you bring me here for?" Caleb asked.
"I wish to cast a spell on him to discover the secrets he has in his mind." Caleb told him. "It requires somebody to search his mind and while I can do it, it is safer for me to cast the spell on another."
"And you wish for me to go in there and look for the secrets?" The Magician stared at Caleb in the growing darkness. "Are you mad!?"
Lucus snarled and turned his head to stare at the man. "Lucus disagrees with your assessment." Caleb told him even though it was obvious. "Anything you learn while in his mind will be stored in your own but anything you do not wish to remember will merely be witnessed and then forgotten as if seen in a dream."
"And this knowledge...?" The man prompted.
"Amongst other things, the knowledge of how these cursed soldiers are created and possibly a simple way to kill them." Caleb told him.
"Roran trusts you..." The man sighed, almost to himself, before looking away up the road towards the sound of fires from the burning corpses and wagons. "He wouldn't trust you for no reason." He nodded. "If this may give our army a chance then I'll do it."
"Good." Caleb nodded and reached out with a hand and touched the Magician on the forehead. "Sleep." Caleb spoke simply in the Elven language and the human slumped to the ground. It would be easier setting up the spell with the man asleep already. Caleb began chanted rapidly in the old language and felt the moment when his reserves were tapped to form the spell and then bleed slowly to maintain it. He turned to Lucus once he was finished and sat down on his fore paw.
"Saphira, you can go find Eragon if you wish." Caleb told her. Saphira stood up and took a few steps towards him and showing that she knew what he was feeling she leaned down and licked the side of his face with her coarse, hot, tongue before stepping away and spreading her wings. With a massively powerful leap she was up in the air and away to the west to find her Rider.
"You like to think that Eragon and Murtagh don't notice the stress you are trying to deal with but you are hoping in vain." Lucus told him gently even as Caleb settled into his spell to check it. When he came out of the slight trance Lucus continued. "You put too much on your shoulders. Our shoulders. And even if Murtagh and Eragon hadn't noticed, Saphira and Thorn would do."
"Are you trying to lecture me?" Caleb asked.
"Just like you used to tell me off for running along the ground beside Jet for too long and tiring myself out." Lucus told him.
"Which I still don't think did any good." Caleb grumbled through their link. "It's just you got big enough that you didn't tire out any more." Lucus' mental laughter warmed his body and Caleb leaned back into him even as he felt Solembum's mind stretch from where he'd been supposedly taking a nap. "I'm not trying to tire myself out. I just want to see an end to this so that my life can be something more than just a weapon."
"You're not a weapon to your Kin." Lucus told him.
"Saphira, Eragon, Thorn and Murtagh might not think of me as a weapon but near on every other living thing in Alagaesia does." Caleb argued, keeping the conversation between himself and his bonded. "What will all the great leaders of men, dwarves and elves do with Murtagh, Eragon and I after this war is over? Their world was destroyed by a handful of Dragon Riders once, what will stop them from thinking it will happen again and what will they do to us? Lock us away, try to block our bonds?"
Lucus pushed Caleb's back with his nose and sent Caleb forwards off of his leg. Caleb righted himself even as Solembum, who had been stretching himself as a cat, scuttled out of the way. Lucus stood up and towered over Caleb. "Whether that might happen or not doesn't change the future because the six of us would never let anything happen to any of us. If the Free Armies want to imprison us to be on the safe side then they'll have to make enemies of us. We won't let them do something like that and you know better than to worry about it."
"Why do I know better than to concern myself over this?" Caleb argued knowing that it was a serious threat to them.
"Because you raised me from my egg and from the start you always taught me that no matter how much you wish you could control everything you simply can't sometimes." Lucus told him gentler. "And almost every day of this war that I've had to grow up in the middle of I've had that proven to me. You can't control everything and you can only truly prevent it when it starts to happen."
Caleb sighed and looked down at Solembum who was standing watching him. He bent down and lifted up the black cat who shifted in his arms and relaxed. Caleb relaxed as well and reached out his other hand to stroke Lucus' jaw. "I'm sorry." He spoke quietly but knew even if Lucus hadn't been able to hear him he'd be able to feel the apology across their bond.
Caleb's attention was drawn to sounds up the road and through the darkness his eyes could detect what his ears were telling him. The humans were heading their way. Caleb scratched at the back of Solembum's head with Lucus standing guard over him as the humans arrived.
The Captain swore when he spotted the two unconscious men on the ground and reached for the hilt of his sword. Lucus snarled and lurched forwards and his jaws shut with a smash just in front of the man. "Captain, wait..." Roran grabbed his arm. "Caleb, what's happening?"
"They are under a spell." Caleb explained to Roran. If he'd not been there Caleb probably would have just got onto Lucus and not told them what he was doing but he couldn't do that to his friend. Roran really was the only human friend that Caleb had. Murtagh and Eragon didn't really count any longer. "Your Magician offered to go into his mind to learn the secrets of this curse they use."
"You had no right!" The Captain actually drew his sword this time but it didn't leave the sheath as Roran grabbed his arm again.
"Draw that against him and he has the right to kill you!" Roran hissed quietly but Caleb didn't doubt that they could all hear him.
"Do not separate these two by more than ten feet or your Magician will lose the ability to return to his own body when he wishes to." Caleb told them, seemingly unaffected by the human's reactions. "It is only a day's ride back to Dras Leona and you should leave as soon as possible and take them both with you."
Roran let go of his Captain and turned to Caleb before closing the gap and speaking quietly. "Where are you going to go?" Roran asked.
"We will search for any more of these traps in the area and then head to Dras Leona. You may tell Nasuada that we will be there before nightfall." Caleb told him. "Take care Roran."
"Caleb..." Roran sighed not really knowing what to say about his leader's reactions.
"I don't need people to agree with me, Roran." Caleb told him. "And I don't care about getting it either."
Caleb reached up with his free hand and gently touched Roran on the brow, a gesture of the deepest affection between Elves. A gesture shared between lovers or great friends. Roran might not know what the gesture meant to an Elf but he got the idea and nodded slowly. Caleb turned and with a smooth movement raised himself up onto Lucus' back and settled into the saddle, catching his ankles in the straps with barely a thought. He held onto Solembum in his left arm and rested his right hand on the pommel of the saddle to stabilise himself as Lucus sprung a hundred feet into the air and caught himself on his wings. Three more beats of his wings sent them flying out of sight. Caleb had put enough magic into the Magician's body to ensure he stayed in the dream state for as long as he wished to so the spell was no longer tied to him in order to work.
Murtagh and Eragon said nothing to him as they flew into the east at a gentle pace. Caleb knew that they'd heard and felt the short argument and Caleb doubted that his mood had escaped their minds which were always open to each other unless there was a threat around. Murtagh knew that kind of mood and Eragon had enough sense not to bring it up so soon after it had happened.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
The next evening
Three sets of thuds announced the arrival of the three great Dragons. The air throbbed from the increased pressure as the air was forced down under them, giving them the lift needed to slowly settle down on the ground with barely a sound. Lucus landed first with a rather regal air and moved over just enough for Saphira to land. The two moved forwards to the edge of the arena leaving Thorn room to land. Out of the thousand or more watching humans and dwarves emerged a small group and Lucus and Saphira moved slightly to allow Thorn to move up between them so as the group came to a stop they were facing a horseshoe of Dragons.
Eragon quickly slide off of Saphira's saddle followed by Murtagh and only once they were down was Caleb sure that Solembum wanted to get off as well and so he scooped the black cat into his hands and Lucus crouched down to let Caleb gracefully alight without needing his hands. He joined Eragon and Murtagh in front of the group and assessed them all. Nasuada was in the centre wearing the most feminine attire he had ever seen her in, King Orrin was on her right followed by King Hrothgar both in battle armour that didn't seem to have ever been used in battle. On her other side was Arya wearing Elven Archers clothing but clearly tailored for her family. In Caleb's opinion she held the most regal bearing but that might have been simply because she was an Elf. Lastly in the group was Roran with his arm around Katrina and finally two Elves that Caleb had never met before but their presence made him tense and by the feeling of Lucus next to his mind he knew that his bonded knew the effect they were having on him.
"Welcome back!" Nasuada greeted formally and Eragon stepped forwards to speak for the three of them.
"It is a pleasure to be back, My Lady." Eragon greeted and Caleb surprised himself by having to keep his irritation in check. Eragon acted so indebted to Nasuada sometimes because of the help they gave him when he'd fled the Empire and she knew it and held him in a tight hold.
"Calm down, Caleb." Solembum's voice echoed through his mind even though Caleb's mental defences had almost completely blocked his mind from everyone else but in his rather unique way where nobody could tell he was even trained in the mental arts. Caleb forced himself to still after realising that his fingers had moved rather jerkily over Solembum's fur in his anger.
"King Hrothgar, King Orrin, Arya-vor." Eragon smiled at the three in turn before turning to Katrina. "It is lovely to see you again, Katrina. Congratulations."
"It is late." Caleb spoke up. "If you will excuse me..."
"I shall show him to their tents." Arya offered but was cut off even before she had finished.
"I'm afraid I must speak to you of a matter, Caleb." Nasuada told him in way of denying his request. "About your attitude towards..."
"Think very carefully about whether you wish to reprimand me, Nasuada." Caleb warned. "I assist you because of my loyalty to Eragon. You can treat Eragon like a servant only because for some reason he allows it but I will not be treated in the same manner."
With that Caleb turned and walked out of the arena with Lucus behind him, so close that the crowd almost ran from him. His words had probably been heard by a large proportion of the audience and would spread to the rest of the army by the morning. He felt a mind against his own and felt the distinct edge that was purely Elvish and recognised Arya's mind and let her in enough to speak to him.
"Perhaps she deserved that, Caleb-vor, but perhaps not so publicly." She told him.
"Just because you are an Elf does not mean that I have to hold a loyalty to you either, Arya-vor." Caleb told her but kept the suffix for a good friend to show he didn't mind her presence or words. "I have never liked the hold that Nasuada has over Eragon and neither do the Dwarves or Elves."
"I will speak to you in your tent as soon as I am finished here." She told him and vanished from his mind leaving a flicker of images behind. The route from the assembly area to his tent. It was in the same place relative to the arena as it had been the last time so Caleb was already heading straight towards it.
Caleb put Solembum down on a cushioned bench as soon as he was inside the dark red tent. It was almost pitch black inside the tent and the only light came from a sconce in the centre with burning embers in the dish. Caleb took off his weapons and set them down on top of a simple table inside the curtained off side of the tent where the bed was. This tent wasn't like the one that the Elves had made for them with its light airy feel and cavernous interior that Lucus could fit inside. The furniture was simple and of human design and it didn't warm Caleb like the Elvish versions had done.
"They may be human but they still need our help." Solembum spoke up and Caleb turned to look at the, now humanoid, Werecat. He appeared to be about Eragon's age in form, still growing but still large enough to fight with men, as Eragon was doing.
"They want our help." Caleb turned to him with a sigh. "But they don't want us." Caleb stressed the last word. "You once gave Eragon a vision of the future. Can you tell me what they'll do to us after this war?"
"I can't tell you what people will do." Solembum shook his head and stood up from where he'd been sitting on the bench. He walked over to Caleb and with a backwards glance at the door he stepped right up to Caleb and rested his hands on his thin Elven shirt showing just what they felt for each other. "My power doesn't work on command. What I do know though is that nothing they want to do to you, Lucus, Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh or Thorn is going to change what will happen."
"That's not exactly reassuring." Caleb told him but grabbed his hands and held them against his chest. "But it does mean I don't have to worry about them."
"Does that mean you'll stop being so rude to them?" Solembum asked him.
"Just because they won't be able to affect our fate by trying to control us doesn't mean they don't deserve to be treated ill if they do try." Caleb pointed out. "And we both know that Nasuada's fierce loyalty to Eragon will last only as long as Eragon's loyalty for her lasts."
Caleb let go of Solembum's hands when he felt Arya's approaching mind. He could feel the minds of everyone in the army and most were freely open to his access. A few were almost constantly in a state of alert and would lock down whenever Caleb's mind directed towards one of them and a few even kept their minds locked down at all times. The only minds that were freely open at all times reaching over the entire camp like a blanket were Caleb's, Eragon's, Murtagh's, Arya's and Angela's. They almost seemed to be vulnerable to attack but anyone that tried would realise that they were merely waiting and monitoring. It prevented almost anyone from being able to sneak into the army to spy since their intention would be pulled out of the masses by one of them and if they realised the threat and tried to hide their minds and intentions they'd only alert them to their presence.
Caleb took a step away from Solembum who didn't seem bothered with hiding their budding affection for one another and then flicked his right hand at the entrance to his tent just as Arya approached it. "Open."He whispered in the Ancient language and the tent flaps pulled out of her way. She entered as if she'd known he'd open the door for her all along and smiled at him warmly. A smile that Caleb had seen only on one other being in the world, Islanzadi. Eragon and Murtagh were the only others that smiled at him but their smiles were filled with love. Islanzadi and Arya's were filled with relief and his father's friend had worn a happy, yet strained, smile when they'd been with each other.
Arya spoke first and gave him the customary greeting and Caleb responded with the second part before motioning for her to seat herself on the bench. She glanced at Solembum but didn't comment on his presence in their conversation. "Lady Nasuada's new Council doesn't approve of your disrespect against her or the others." Arya told him as if she was just talking about the particular shade of silver on Lucus' scales.
"The opinions of a Council not even as old as this army don't really concern me, Arya." Caleb pointed out as he ran a hand over the leaves of a rather sickly looking plant in a box next to the entrance to the bed portion of the room. At his touch and a small amount of magic it began to move, growing stronger as it fed from his magic in the same way that Caleb could bring a semblance of life back into a tree branch. This was easier though, the plant wanted to be alive.
"This Council will probably be the seat of power for the humans and possibly the Dwarves and Elves once this war is over." Arya pointed out. "My mother has already declared her support for it."
"To form the world after the Empire is destroyed?" Caleb mused. "Do you really think that I have a place in that world? Or even Murtagh and Eragon? And if we do won't we simply be weapons for the Council to use to secure Alagaesia?"
"Do you not wish to protect Alagaesia?" Ayra asked him.
"I wish..." Caleb paused and shut his eyes slightly. "I have no wish." He admitted in the end. "The only duty I have ever had was to protect Murtagh. And we two agreed that if Saphira hatched we would seek her and her Rider out and protect them, so my duty also includes Eragon. And now my heart, body, soul and mind also belong to Lucus and my desire to protect him is instinctual. That is my only duty, to protect my only Kin, the Dragon Riders."
"And you would not see them brought down by the very humans you are fighting to free just because they might wish to keep you on a leash." Arya nodded.
"It is not only that, Arya-Vor." Caleb sighed and sat down beside her and leaned his elbows onto his knees, letting down his guard almost completely. "They would have Saphira, Thorn and Lucus fight throughout their lives, even if not physically then as an icon. It pains me every day when I live through Lucus' eyes. This world he was just born into, bound to me from the very start. He was born into a war and nobody but myself has even asked him if he wants to fight this war. Eragon and Murtagh understand and they hurt as I do on this. Our Dragons love us and this world and they fight to protect us but this army, the humans, dwarves and even the Elves all assume that they will fight this war because for a century they have believed that one day these three eggs would hatch and they'd join the war. Nobody bothered to ask them if they wanted to fight."
"Caleb..." Arya was clearly surprised. "I..."
"I know you carried Saphira's egg for more than a decade, Arya." Caleb sighed. "I know that you, as well as the Varden and Elves, wished for her to hatch because you needed a Dragon on your side but not once in that desire did anyone in any of the races stop to think that maybe the Dragon that hatched would want a choice."
"There was no alternative." Arya finally turned to look at him and caught his chin with her hand and turned him to look at her. She blinked as she saw the tears in his eyes. "We could not win this fight without them."
"I know, Arya." Caleb moved his head back to the front and she let him go. "You don't understand the bond that I share with Lucus. Every moment of every day I feel his emotions and I hear his thoughts. I see through his eyes even now while I talk to you. I can even taste the slice of beef that a child just gave to him even though he tries to hide the taste from me. And in return he knows everything that I feel and he sees and hears everything I do. There's nothing that I do in my life that he isn't a part of. The point that I'm trying to make is that in a way I am Lucus and he is me."
"I don't understand where this is going, Caleb-Vor." Arya told him. Caleb stood up and moved into the centre of the room and turned to look at her as she followed him up.
"Lucus feels..." He paused with an explosive sigh. "We feel, as one, betrayed."
"Betra..." She gasped.
"By everything in this world. By everyone but Saphira, Thorn, Murtagh and Eragon. They are the only ones in this world that see us for what we are and not as demi gods that have come to liberate them from Galbatorix and hand them a world." Caleb told her quietly. "Nobody asks Lucus if he wants to spend the first years of his life in battle and war and not growing up. He's a child, Arya, and humans, dwarves and Elves don't expect children to lead armies into battle. And me, Arya..." Caleb sighed. "Nobody asks me if I can go to war against the one person in this world that I had to live with for most of my childhood under the fear that one day he'd discover what I knew and turn me into a weapon. Nobody wants to ask me how I feel going up against Galbatorix who I have nightmares about every time I try to rest."
Arya moved almost too fast for a human to see and she drew him into her arms and held him as he cried, finally letting some of his tension out. Caleb continued even though he didn't let go of her. "You're over a hundred, Arya." He pointed out. "I'm one of the youngest Elves alive, I'm only twenty, I didn't grow up fighting and killing and now I'm expected to do it all and face somebody that has terrified me since I was five and hiding in the castle with Murtagh."
"I understand." Arya told him with a sigh and Caleb heard it in her voice. For the first time somebody other than Murtagh truly did understand what he was saying.
"I just can't deal with the Council and everything else here telling me what I have to do for the benefit of them when not once have they really ever done anything for me." Caleb told her.
"I promise you, Caleb-vor, that you will not stand before Galbatorix alone." Arya told him. "And not because we need you to defeat him but because I would not stand to see you afraid and when this war is over I will stand before the Council that they form and demand that all authority over you all is abolished. I won't give up until all three races agree to never attempt to control any of you. I won't try to say that you have a choice now because we know you don't but after this is over I will make sure that you have the chance to finally choose a life for yourself and Lucus."
Caleb pulled away from her and nodded. She smiled at him. "And Lucus," she said, looking at Caleb but clearly addressing Lucus understanding and remembering what Caleb had told her about their bond. "I will protect you both, from the enemy and from our own allies. I swore an oath to protect Saphira's egg but I also swore that I would protect the Dragon and the Rider and that means you, Caleb, Murtagh and Thorn just as much as it does Saphira and Eragon."
She reached out and touched Caleb on the side of the face. "You are going to see Eragon?" Caleb asked her. She looked surprised but nodded slowly. Caleb had taken it from the fringes of Eragon's mind. Eragon finally wanted to put all of the cards on the table. "I will speak to you tomorrow then, Arya. I have missed sparing with you."
"As have I." She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Arya..." Caleb made her pause before she could leave. "Remember what I just told you when you speak to Eragon and remember that he, like Murtagh and I, has had no choice offered to him by anyone here. But it is his choice how he feels about you. Keep that in mind."
Arya nodded to him to show she truly would keep it at the forefront of her mind and then turned and left. Caleb watched the tent flaps close behind her and with a flick of his hand and a muttered spell the laces tied themselves off and locked in place. A ward went up next and just as he finished Solembum wrapped his arms around Caleb from behind. Caleb rested his hands on Solembum's arms and closed his eyes for a moment knowing that Solembum probably hadn't known half of what he'd just admitted either.
"As long as the desire to protect others remains within us the choice you speak of is nothing but an illusion." Solembum told him. "But the willingness to lose such choice to protect them is what makes us great in the eyes of those very people. Just remember that just as you desire to protect them others will desire to protect you for the same reason. Arya will stand beside you when you face your greatest fear and I shall be at your side as well. Take strength from the fact that the fates have already drawn the lines of the final battle and decided the different outcomes."
"Different outcomes?" Caleb asked.
"Nothing is certain." Solembum told him simply. "Everything we do changes the future. A year before an event there are an infinite number of outcomes but at the instant of the event there are only two possible outcomes and the final decision is what chooses between the two."
Caleb turned in Solembum's arms and for the first time let the werecat see the full emotions in his eyes before he leaned his head down slightly and kissed him. Caleb was tired of having all of his life decisions made for him and Solembum was something that he could choose.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Early the next morning
As soon as Caleb had returned to the camp and come into proximity with the two Magicians that he'd cast the spell on he'd rebuilt the connection he had to the spell and it was the breaking of that spell that woke him up clear before dawn the next morning. He didn't rush to get ready but he did get up, waking Solembum as he went. He explained where he was going and Solembum grumbled something incoherent and buried himself back under the covers. Caleb smiled before dressing in clothing that he'd gotten from Ingwe before leaving the Elves. Clothing suited for Elven archers with the dark green and silver shoulder piece that marked him as a member of his family. A crest that after his family's slaughter would be known by every Elf in existence. Elf children were rare and it had saddened the entirety of the Elvish community to learn of it.
He strapped Aidail over his right hip and then Crisiatus on his left since he'd always draw the nigh invincible Crisiatus first in battle but no matter how beautiful the new Dragon Rider's sword was it didn't hold a spark in comparison to Aidail purely because it had been from Murtagh and had meant everything to Caleb from an early age. Finally he pulled an Elven cloak over himself and pulled the shoulder strap for his bow and quiver tight over his back so that he was fully armed. He pulled up the hood and slipped silently out of his tent surprising the two human guards that were posted outside his tent. He said nothing to them as he walked off into the darkness but could hear them rushing to follow him.
"I shall remain here." Lucus told him from where he had been sleeping in the large area between his tent, Eragon's tent and Murtagh's tent alongside Saphira and Thorn, almost curled up together. "You don't need me adding to the fun."
Caleb sent a wave of love to his Dragon not needing to share words with him. He made his way to the Council's large marquee-like tent where he could feel the minds of Nasuada, Arya, Hrothgar, Orrin and the Magician that Caleb had saved two days before. As well as them was the Captain that Caleb had disagreed with and quite a few Magicians from Du Vangr Gata including Trianna, their leader and a couple of the urgals that had allied themselves to Nasuada.
Caleb came to a stop as the fourteen guards at the doorway barred his passage. They were made up of every group in the army, humans, dwarves, urgals and even two of the Elven Spellcasters that had been sent to aid the human army though they didn't try to block Caleb even though they hadn't sensed his presence until he'd come out of the darkness.
"Lady Nasuada has closed the Council Hall to all visitors for the time being." One of the humans told Caleb.
"I'm in no mood to argue." Caleb told him through his hood and saw the moment they recognised his attire in the darkness and the Elven bow over his back and tensed up, realising who he was. "Move aside."
"We are under orders." The man told him nervously.
When Caleb was with Eragon and Murtagh he used his mind to its full potential, becoming obvious to every person within range that had any training in the mental arts. When he was alone like this though he tended to revert to the unique art of hiding his training, the skill he had learnt hiding his training from Galbatorix. He changed his mind's outward appearance and it spread out like an almost invisible mental wave, barely perceptible to anyone that wasn't looking for him.
Seconds later Arya came out from inside the tent and looked over the scene just as Caleb had hoped. "Thank you for not causing a scene." She told him in the Ancient Language.
"If you would..." Caleb prompted.
"Stand aside." Arya ordered the guards who quickly moved out of the way, letting Caleb walked past them and into the almost gloomy darkness inside the marquee. It was dark even though it was almost completely filled with candles and sconces. Everyone inside turned to look at Caleb and he pulled his hood down.
"I'm tiring of this treatment, Arya-Vor." Caleb told her and knew that Trianna was trying to decipher his words. She probably understood a few words but not enough to follow the actual conversation.
"I recognised the spell when Captain Rosthburg arrived back at the camp and forbade Du Vangr Gata from attempting to interfere." She told him.
Caleb nodded to her and finally turned to look at the three leaders of the Council and the Free Army. "We would prefer you not cast spells such as this on members of this army without gaining permission from this Council." Nasuada told him. "We must fight as a united force, not fight for authority within it."
"I am not the one striving for authority." Caleb told her rather bluntly. "Quibble over details if you wish but I will fight how I desire to fight."
"With all due respect, Caleb." Hrothgar spoke up. "You do not have the experience that some of us have in warfare."
Caleb nodded to the dwarf but continued regardless. "Would you deny that Murtagh and I have the greatest knowledge of Galbatorix though?" He challenged. "You don't know your enemy and I do."
"We know he is a mad tyrant that must be removed from power for the good of Alagaesia." Orrin spoke up.
"But you forget the most important thing about Galbatorix." Caleb told her. "And if you don't acknowledge it properly he will wipe you from existence. Galbatorix is a genius."
"If I didn't know better I'd think you were a bit too taken by him." Trianna sneered and Caleb's head snapped around to her.
"Speak not of what you know nothing about!" Caleb snapped, the patient facade he always wore vanishing in an instant. Magic throbbed around him pressing into her and making her shake and sweat. "Pitiful..."
"Caleb-Vor." Arya put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down."
"I won't take this much longer, Arya-Vor." Caleb spoke hastily. "If they don't stop then..."
Arya squeezed his arm and turned to Nasuada with a serious face. "I have been speaking to my mother, Lady Nasuada." Arya told her. "And to the entire of the Council I have only this short warning. Continue to treat Caleb, a member of our race, with this current level of distrust and disdain and you will lose the support of the Elves in this war." Arya warned dangerously. "Do not ever forget how you treated Caleb as soon as he joined this army."
"Enough." Orrin gestured but he was clearly unnerved by the threat. "This is all childish and we have other matters to deal with."
"Indeed." Caleb nodded though his tone was clipped. He turned to face the Magician.
"I saw much in his mind." The man told him with a wince. "I..."
"Seeing the mind of the enemy is never pleasant." Caleb nodded. "Did you learn what we needed?"
"I learnt a lot about how their Magicians work and a few of their common secrets but the spell they use to create those monsters..." The man shook his head. "I witnessed the creation but the Magician who's mind I was in did not understand the process and although he has witnessed it many times even I cannot work out the magic used. I barely recognised the words used and I don't understand the sacrifices."
"Sacrifices?" Arya frowned and looked at Caleb in worry.
"If you will permit I will find the memory from your mind myself." Caleb told the Magician.
"Now you stop right there!" Rosthburg stepped forwards.
"Captain." The Magician pleaded. "If I know something that can protect our men from those creatures then he has to have the chance to look for it in my mind."
"He shouldn't have put you in there in the first place!" Rosthburg spat before turning to Nasuada. "I want something done on this matter. No matter what he is he can't order me about on the battlefield and recklessly play with my men's lives."
"Play with their lives?" Caleb scoffed. "You wanted to remain there fighting a battle you had already lost!"
"Enough!" Nasuada snapped. "This is the end of this matter, Captain. I cannot punish Caleb as he is not under my authority."
Caleb seethed and he felt Lucus rear up inside him and he knew his eyes had lit up with an inner light made all the more obvious in the darkness. There was nobody present that didn't realise that Lucus had blended with Caleb fully and was angry. Nasuada had just stated in her words that Caleb had been in the wrong and that she'd have punished him if she could. Caleb narrowed his eyes at her before turning his back on her and looking directly at the Magician and snapped out with his mind. He softened his attack as he reached the Magician since the man was actually being a respectable human and had trusted Caleb to cast the spell on him.
Even though the man had been ready for it he still instinctively tried to raise his own defences only for Caleb to suppress them effortlessly and slide into his mind. Rotta's mind as he learnt almost instantly. He stayed for as short a time as possible but knew that Rotta had witnessed a similar thing to have Caleb cast the dream spell on him. He imagined himself in a scene and that scene was what they'd been talking about. Caleb didn't view what was playing out in the created reality though and simply shut his eyes to it and viewed the memory that had been taken from the enemy magician as he wanted to view it.
He nodded to Rotta in the created reality before withdrawing and looking at Arya. "We need to talk. Us and the Elven Council. As soon as possible." Arya obviously saw something in his expression because she merely nodded. "Eragon, Murtagh, Thorn and Saphira will protect us when we go."
"What of these?" She asked keeping the conversation between themselves.
"I do not want the humans to learn how this was done before we can talk to our own Spellcasters." Caleb said simply before looking back at Rotta and changing back to the common tongue. "What you witnessed in your mind must remain a secret." Caleb told him. "Have you spoken of it to anyone else?"
"No." Rotta shook his head. "I didn't know what it was."
"The common secrets and formation of their Magicians can be disclosed but that particular memory must remain a secret. You must not share it with any other soul." Caleb told him.
"Caleb!" Nasuada snapped. "This man is not yours to order. He is obliged to share enemy secrets with King Orrin as he is Surdan and to me as leader of this army."
"And if he does he may cost thousands of lives." Caleb snapped. "The Elves will not permit the knowledge of this magic to spread. They will demand that he take a binding oath in the Ancient Language before Arya to never speak of the memory to anyone."
"They can demand all the like..." Nasuada told him.
"If Caleb is right then to not take the oath will cost you your alliance with my kind." Arya told her. "But please, for now let us leave and share what we have learnt with the Elven Council and Spellcasters. We can then find a way to counter the magic and that will be shared with you."
"You would hide knowledge of magic from us?" Trianna asked.
Caleb chuckled in amusement and Arya shot him a silencing look. "Trianna." Arya shook her head. "The Elves have not taught magic to any human since the fall of the Dragon Riders. Eragon and Murtagh are the only exceptions. We will not share our knowledge when it could be abused."
"Enough." Caleb said rather bluntly and pulled up his hood. He turned to Rotta again. "Speak of what you witness to no one or you'll cost this army their existence." Caleb walked straight to the door no matter how rude it was to turn his back on them and not wait to be dismissed. He sent a pulse ahead of him at Murtagh, Thorn, Eragon and Saphira to awaken them and he knew they'd felt his irritation and concern.
"Arya and I need to speak to the Elven army immediately and we need you to watch over us." Caleb explained to them as soon as he knew they were awake enough to understand.
"Git." Murtagh grumbled mentally but didn't argue the request.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
A short while later
Caleb and Arya looked at each other from where they stood in an endless land of grass. They'd cast the spell together and merged their minds into the Dream spell and cast it on Caleb's mentor and Arya's mother. She appeared before them a moment after they'd arrived within her mind and with a faint fluttering of wings a shadow fell on them all making the three look up towards the artificial sun within Islanzadi's mind where Lucus' gleaming silver form briefly blotted out the sun. It was like an eclipse in that Lucus' scales reflected the light until only the moment he was directly between them and the sun.
Arya greeted her mother formally and Caleb spoke the ritual words after her. "We must speak to as many of your most experienced Spellcasters immediately." Caleb told her, getting right to the reason they were there. "Oromis especially."
Islanzadi frowned at the worry in his voice but shut her eyes briefly. Not even three seconds later bursts of light flickered around them in a loose circle and Elves appeared within the Dream-scape including Oromis. A small roar announced Glaedr's arrival and Caleb glanced up from his place opposite Islanzadi in the circle to see Lucus playing with the older Dragon and he smiled fondly at him.
"Something troubles you, Caleb-Finiarel?" Oromis asked and there was none of the anger in his voice that Caleb had heard the last time they'd spoken. Caleb looked at him and winced before bringing his right fist to his collar bone. A silent gesture to show he understood that Oromis had either put aside their argument for another time or had forgiven him for what he had done.
"Eragon, Murtagh, Saphira, Thorn, Lucus and I ran across Roran and his raiding party ambushing a convoy of wagons travelling through the Pass from Teirm to Uru-baen except that the convoy was a trap of its own. We were in time to save half of the raiding party and kill the remaining fifty Imperial Soldiers, including thirty or so of the new cursed humans." Caleb paused and saw the winces from the group but they were listening to the explanation patiently. "I incapacitated the Imperial Magician and cast the mind incursion spell."
"You went into his mind?" Oromis frowned in concern knowing one of the reasons that it wasn't done between species. An Elves mind had no choice but to try to force the other species mind to change to fit its own and it would kill the recipient and possibly damage the Elf's. It wasn't the same as the completely passive Dream Spell.
Caleb shook his head. "The human Magician of the raiding party agreed to do it after I explained what we could learn from it." Caleb told them and saw the tension building in the group. "He was in the enemy Magician's mind for nearly thirty two hours and learnt much of their secrets, troop movements, magical abilities and plans."
"But you sent him in there for the truth behind the spell that creates these abominations?" One of the Elders prompted. Caleb nodded. "What did he learn?"
"He did not learn anything from what he saw but I was able to view the memory with a brief intrusion into his mind." Caleb frowned. "The enemy Magician did not understand everything about what he saw but he did witness the entire enchantment and what it involves."
"Show us." Islanzadi nodded to him in permission and released control of the reality she had created. It blurred briefly before forming into a night scene of one of the larger courtyards within the castle in Uru-baen. One that led to the dungeons, barracks and some of the nastier places in the castle. One side of the courtyard was filled by slaves, brought so low they could barely breathe in. Guards watched them rather pointless but it was their bodies which caused the most concern. There were ritual cuts all over their naked bodies. Part of the overall spell.
On the other side of the courtyard were tables and perhaps a hundred healthy-looking soldiers undressing. A line was forming of naked soldiers towards the centre of the courtyard where the worst of it all stood. Perhaps a dozen black-robed Magicians stood around an alter wide enough for a soldier and a slave to lay side by side. Ritual engravings covered the alter and blood ran freely down the sides and into a trough dug into the ground to allow it to run off into the sewers.
The Elves witnessing the event walked through the undressing soldiers and the dying slaves and grouped around the Magicians studying what was happening. Caleb knew that the Magician whose memory this had come from was standing near the edge of the courtyard. The Magicians in the centre started to chant and Caleb gestured to one of the black robed men, drawing all of the Elves attention onto him. "That is Galbatorix." He pointed out since he knew it had been a while since most of these Elves had ever seen him face to face, if they even had. "He seems to be instrumental. I believe none of the other Magicians know the truth behind the entire spell, only assist him until the last moment."
They all watched in silence as the spell built in power and with a lash of magic the two men on the alter were enshrouded by light which burst from them and formed into one form above them both. One of the Magicians stepped up to the alter and with a clean swipe slit the throat of the slave. The glowing form above the two humans sunk back into the only remaining living body, settling into the soldier.
Another of the Magicians stepped up to the laying soldier and helped him to rise and helped him away. Caleb let the memory fade away and Islanzadi took back control of her mind and it flowed back into pleasant grass and warm sun. Lucus landed behind Caleb and nuzzled at the back of his shoulders in comfort.
"He is trapping the souls of a slave into his soldiers, forcing that soul to feel all of the pain that the soldier would normal feel." Caleb sighed out even though they all knew what had happened.
"His sights seem firmly set on combining the energy of others into his own." Islanzadi mused. "Perhaps this is the outcome of another of his experiments."
"One where the outcome he desired was probably immortality." Oromis continued. "Murtagh has already confirmed to us that his growth is due to restraining the souls of Magicians and... Dragons." He forced out. "To do his bidding."
"The human Magician that discovered this in the memory of the enemy." Islanzadi asked Caleb and Arya. "You know that we cannot afford the humans to learn how to do this. This process must be forgotten as quickly as possible."
"The Magician feels indebted to Caleb for saving his life and has agreed, regardless of the anger of his superiors, to heed our warning and keep it a secret." Arya explained. "We have already informed the Council that the Elven Council will demand that he swears a binding oath to never speak of it."
"Carry a message to Lady Nasuada, King Hrothgar and King Orrin." Islanzadi told them. "Our race cannot afford to ally ourselves to the humans if knowledge of this kind of magic is learnt by them. Caleb, take the oath and if they interfere then I'm afraid you will have to take other methods to prevent the secret from leaving the one human who already knows it."
"Either kidnap him and bring him here into captivity or kill him." Caleb mused.
"You are aware of what to try to counter this spell?" Oromis asked.
Caleb nodded even though he'd never tried the spell himself. The Elves had always been familiar with the concept of removing a soul from a body and placing it in something else. Many an Elf had relocated their own souls into a tree before their dying body had given out. What Galbatorix had done was a very bastardised version full of flaws but it was close enough that they could undo it. "I will have to teach Du Vangr Gata and the Dwarven Magicians how to cast the spell but they won't be able to do much. Murtagh, Eragon, Arya and I can most likely protect them in small numbers but in a battle between armies we'll be in trouble."
"It is time to move on Uru-baen." Islanzadi said in way of answering. "The Elven army will move south on Uru-baen and lay siege to the city during the night of the new moon in ten days time. We'll form a thin circle around the city in the dead of night so that they cannot attempt to escape when they see us arrive."
"We shall convey your plan to the Council here." Arya told them all. "They shall begin a march northeast and arrive for the morning after your arrival at the earliest so as not to interrupt your surprise."
"Caleb." Islanzadi caught his attention. "If Galbatorix realises that you are not with the Elven army when we arrive he will surely attack us."
"Glaedr and I can deter him for a time but he will realise that we are not a serious threat to him and he will strike in the hopes of crippling our army with Shruiken before the Free Army can arrive." Oromis pointed out. "And even if he doesn't and tries to flee, Glaedr and I can only follow, we cannot defeat him in our state."
"Arya can teach the Free Armies to counter the cursed soldiers." Caleb nodded. "I will take Murtagh, Saphira, Thorn and Eragon into the Spine and teach them what I can in the ten days that we have. We will arrive during the new moon. You won't be there alone."
"We shall forever be indebted to you." Islanzadi nodded to him.
Arya glanced at Caleb and he saw the pity in her eyes as she remembered everything that Caleb had said to her when he'd almost broken down. Even Islanzadi never voiced them having a choice. They only promised gratitude and help, never anything else. The Elves were the least likely to want to control the Dragon Riders against their will but they were still interested in what the Dragon Riders would do once this battle was over with. If they were victorious.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter