Chapter 4

I know it has been a long while since I last updated a chapter, but I couldn't help it. I now receive a crap tonne of homework every day, and I rushed all of the weekend homework just so I could write a new chapter today. My updates will become less regular over the next few months. I will be comfortably able to write new chapters after about eight months. Until then, I will only do one every one to three weeks. My GCSE's are coming. I don't know what the fifth year's exam is known as in other countries, but that's what they're called in the UK. Also, if my writing style changes over the next few months, please excuse me. I'll be having a lot of English lessons and learn a few new things. And without further ado, here is the next chapter.

Du Ebrithil came running up the mountain, a crossbow in his right hand, a sword in his left. Saphira roared. Eragon hadn't seen who had fired the arrows, but they had come from another mountain. He looked at Hero. The boy had died within seconds. Fourteen arrows had hit him, and sixteen had bounced off Eragon's wards. Some of them had hit their mark and caused him to bleed, since he was already wearing Oromis's skin. He looked towards his old master. Oromis had run off towards the direction from which the arrows had been fired. A new shower of arrows came hurtling through the sky. His wards were weakening, and he was already bleeding. He closed his eyes, awaiting the impending pain that would soon follow. He heard a rustling sound and a slight breeze touched his face. He opened his eyes to see Saphira lying down in front of him. Arrows couldn't possibly pierce through the scales of a dragon.

'Eragon!' Du Ebrithil called out. 'Where are you? Where is Hero?'

'I'm behind Saphira. Hero is dead,' he replied.

Du Ebrithil clambered over Saphira and onto the safe side of her massive body.

Little one! You must think of something. Whoever is firing at us knows that they aren't doing any damage to you. Think quickly, or climb onto me, Saphira told him.

Du Ebrithil had cuts all over his hooded garments. Eragon decided to fly off on Saphira and confront the enemies on dragonback. It would make much lighter work of it, and nobody would sustain any injuries other than the attackers.

'Ebrithil. Climb onto Saphira with me. We can escape or take them on. Your choice.'

'Escape,' Du Ebrithil replied. 'It won't do us any good fighting an unknown opponent.'

Eragon stood up to mount his dragon but was broken off by her.

Brace yourselves! She called out abruptly. A moment of confusion was followed by an earsplittingly loud crash. A wall of heat pressed itself on his face while a loud thud resonated through the hollow of the cave. Saphira had been sent flying through the air by what had seemed to be a flaming catapult rock. The entrance of the cave was alight with flames, as was Saphira's right flank.

'Adurna!' he shouted, condensing the air around Saphira and the flames on the floor. Water fell around the desired areas and the fires were extinguished. The sun had begun its ascendance and was bathing the horizon parallel to them with the light of a new day. A new day of violence. Eragon strung his elven bow and aimed at whoever came into his field of view. He saw someone in clad black armour. He released the arrow and saw it sail through the sky, landing on its mark. The man in the armour was large enough to be a kull.

Eragon, Oromis called.

They're kull. I have reached the mountain and can see a large army of them behind this hill. These are just scouts who spotted you and are attacking. Why and how they got the catapults all the way up here is unknown to me as of yet.

Ebrithil? Didn't you say once that your shadow on this earth can make a difference, but use my strength? He inquired.

Yes I can. What are you suggesting?

Break the tower support frame. It will render the catapults incapable of operating.

Are you sure? It will take a lot more of your strength to transfer it from this far.

Yes I'm sure.

A sudden decrease in his strength and a snapping sound symbolised the breaking wood of the catapults. Saphira slowly stood up behind him. Du Ebrithil was taking down one urgal after the other with two crossbows: one on each arm. He mounted Saphira and informed her of what was happening. He could feel the energy from inside the gem course through him without his will. He called Du Ebrithil and was joined in the saddle by his new master. With one arm encircling Eragon's waist, Du Ebrithil was firing crossbow bolts at the kull. Saphira leaped into the sky and flew over the mountain from which they were being attacked. True enough, there was an army of large black columns marching south. Towards Du Weldenvarden. Among them, Eragon could make out a ten foot kull near the rear of the army. The only urgal Eragon was aware of that could organise urgals this well was the only urgal king: Kulkarvek. The urgal was supposedly dead. How was he now leading an entire army towards the only direction he cared about?

'Saphira! Fly down lower and burn them as you go!' he yelled over the flapping sounds of the wind and her wings. She did so and was aimed at by ballistae. The arrows flew harmlessly past her large body, with courtesy to her agility. They were soon out of the range of the ballistae and bearing north. Du Ebrithil was wounded and was healing himself.

The scent of soup wafted through the air towards him. Straightening himself, he saw Du Ebrithil sitting around a fire, a pot hovering over the blazes, bubbling with water.

'Took you long enough to wake up,' he said.

Rubbing his eyes, Eragon grunted. He walked over to Saphira and pulled a flask out of her saddlebags. He unscrewed it and poured some water into his mouth. He gargled it and spat into a small hole in the ground. He looked around and found that they were in some plains a few leagues north of the mountains. He could just see the peaks of them over the endless plains. There was the occasional hill, but other than that and the wildlife, the landscape was empty. Du Ebrithil handed Eragon a bowl of the stew. He had a grieved aura about him and sat silently while they both ate.

'We must continue your training. I used some of the energy from your gem and healed you up. Most of your own body is back, but we can ignore the parts that are left. There were just mostly bruises: I had my sword blocked.'

Eragon simply nodded. He hadn't known Hero for long, but he had become close enough to him to mourn the boy. After they finished, Eragon washed it down with some water and they talked for a while. An hour later, they both took up their swords and stood facing each other in a fighting stance. They duelled for a few hours until noon. They stopped for a short lunch and continued. Through the whole day, Eragon had managed to retrain his original body. He was pushing his body beyond the limits. He could feel his body building more and more muscles as the hours went by. During their duels Du Ebrithil hadn't spoken a word except for when to tell him what he was doing wrong or how he could improve. No matter how hard he tried through, his mind continuously drifted away to Arya.

'Why are you so distracted?' he said between arrays of assaulting blows.

'Ebrithil… I'm not… distracted,' he replied while deflecting and parrying strike after strike.

'Yes you are.' Eragon was a little shocked. He was panting like a tired lion and his master wasn't even breathing a little bit harder than normal.

'Eragon,' he said between gritted teeth, 'I know when my students are thinking of something and roughly what they are thinking about. Firstly, I wanted to test how truthful you are. Secondly, I wanted to know what is bothering you.'

Du Ebrithil stopped duelling and leaned against his sword with the point of it digging into the ground.

Eragon sighed before answering him. 'I was thinking about my mate. Arya Dröttning. I haven't contacted her in any way. I even forgot to leave a scrying mirror for her,' Eragon admitted.

'Hmm… I guess I should go and kill her before I continue training with you.'

Another cliff hanger to end the chapter. I apologise for making this chapter a bit short. I had a lot of homework and it carried on into today. Anyway, leave a review and I will upload the next chapter next week.