Really sorry about the late update... I had my test yesterday and had to focus on studying ^^;; Here's the next chapter, thanks for all the reviews and hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 10: A Quest

The sky was overcast with giant clouds, dark and burdened. Breaths rose up misty with anxiety and anticipation as the small group readied for the journey ahead. High up in the tower, Daeris-Elda signalled with a torch as those below watched. Kedvar raised a hand. The starling was released into the air, setting off again for its target destination.

Eragon tightened the straps around his legs and took hold of the reins as Saphira tensed, ready to fly. To their right, Arya and Firnen did the same. The elf woman caught his gaze and nodded. A few hundred Eldunari floated in the air before them. Kedvar climbed onto a Yellow Wing. Strangely enough, though the citizens, Riders and dragons had been immobilized, the rest of the creatures of the land had been unaffected. This, Eragon was pleased with, as it meant that he did not have to share Saphira with Kedvar- that would have been most distasteful. True to its name, the strange beast spread its leathery wings, golden like the leaves of a Maidenhair tree. Initially, it had been greatly distressed in the presence of the two dragons, but after reassuring it of its safety, the creature calmed down. It lifted its narrow head and took to the sky. Saphira did likewise, leaping into the air. Cold wind penetrated his clothes and flowed through his hair, eliciting an involuntary shiver from him. Saphira's enormous wings flapped again and again till she gained the appropriate altitude. In the periphery of his vision, Eragon spotted Firnen reaching the same level. Satisfied, Eragon gazed ahead as the colossal mountains loomed in the distance. The glory of Oris-Vel in its vastness suddenly struck fear in him. Giant trees and strange plants populated the land, while countless mountains harboured secrets within their rocky walls. Beasts unknown to him roamed the forests, plains and hills. Undiscovered magic lay waiting to be found. Oris-Vel had not surrendered all of its secrets to him... who knew if there was a great magician wandering the forests and plains plotting to destroy everything he knew?

What foe lies at the end of this journey? He found himself wondering.

Worrying feeds on lifeblood Eragon. We are mighty hunters, you and I. Whatever we face, we will face with power.

That drew a smile from him. Perhaps this disturbs me because of the peace that has been with us for so long.

Saphira twisted her head to see him with one liquid blue eye. Peace or no, we will face them with fire.

Yes, you are the succeeder of Vrael. The Bane of the Ra'zac, Slayer of shades and Killer of king Galbatorix! Let your foe tremble before you, rumbled Umaroth, his Eldunari glowing like fire.

Thank you, both of you.

Dragon and Eldunari hummed their acknowledgement.

For many hours, the travellers flew in silence, their gaze intent on the small bird in the distance. Its path was simple- straight north-eastward. However, they had no idea of the length of its journey, so it was decided beforehand that the starling was to be captured multiple times in order for the group to rest. For the moment, Eragon was convinced that its direction would be consistent. For a moment, he took his attention away from the front and studied Arya. Her black hair streamed behind her with the wind as she sat upon the saddle, her posture so naturally regal that anyone who saw her from within a mile would be able to discern her status. A small smile reached his lips.

"What amuses you so?" she asked without turning her head.

"Your royalty radiates from you, your Majesty."

The corner of lips twitched. "I am flattered."

"I do not exaggerate to please you, Arya Drottning," he said seriously. Then: "I thank you again for coming with us. It must not have been easy to leave your throne empty."

This time, she turned her gaze on him. "Of course I did. How could I leave you and Saphira to face this evil alone?"

Eragon noticed there was no mention of duty, which pleased him. He inclined his head. "I had forgotten you were our rescuer in times of need."

"That was when you were but a young man, but no more. This foe is not to be underestimated."

"I agree. To handle the Word, or any spell at that, to such a degree is astonishing."

"Indeed… I only wonder what we will find at the end of this road."

"Nothing good," said Eragon grimly. "And I have a strong suspicion that he/she spared us in order to exploit us in their plans."

"Yes… most likely."

A silence stretched between them all. And in this way they spent the rest of the flight until the tapered tops of redwood trees came into view. The starling suddenly dipped down into the forest. Eragon frowned but followed. Kedvar and Arya did the same.

You're going to have to travel by foot here, as it will be too crowded for flight, said Saphira to everyone. They all nodded in response and slipped down from their saddles onto the ground. A good distance ahead, Eragon spotted the starling perched on one of the branches above.

"Is it resting, perhaps?"

Arya drew nearer. "It seems that it is."

"Then let us take the bird and go through this forest. We have no time to linger," said Kedvar, sweeping past the two.

Eragon's mouth curled in distaste, but followed. The group walked toward the starling's tree, passing the firey giants that stood guard. These redwoods were not like the ones back in Alagaesia, where the barks were darker. No, these were a deep russet, burning in the light of the sun. They were taller in height, as great as the towers in Erondel. The leaves cast emerald shades onto the forest floor. Eragon saw Arya gazing around. Though she had been introduced to much of the land in its grand scale, the forest was another wonder to behold. She shook her head.

"Oris-Vel never ceases to amaze me," she commented. "This forest dwarves Du Weldenvarden."

"You get used to it," said Eragon, smiling.

They reached the tree where the starling was, preening itself. Kedvar stopped at the base and murmured a soft incantation in the ancient language. The starling cocked its head and hopped to the edge of the branch and flit down onto his outstretched hand.

Then, a flash of steel glinted in the sunlight as Kedvar unsheathed his sword. Eragon did not have time to ask what the elf was doing before a long arm shot out of the tree trunk, its texture like that of bark. Like Kedvar, Eragon drew Brisingr in one swift motion. He heard the sound of ringing steel as Arya drew Tamerlein. From the tree, another arm emerged with a dark green blade, finely serrated along one edge. There were multiple creaking, splintering sounds as all around them, creatures detached themselves from the redwoods. These people were like elves, fair with pointed ears. However, their arms were like bark, hair like leaves and eyes like amethyst. Without warning, the first to emerge swung her sword at Kedvar with lightning speed. The elf parried the flurry of blows like the master he was. Eragon ducked as three converged on him and tried to slice his neck. He whirled his sword against the three blades with a practised wrist and momentarily spun them away from him. They staggered but recovered within a second and came at him with a disturbingly eerie determination. There was no other way to describe them. Though their fighting styles were distantly elvish, the way they bore down on him reminded him of the whirring circular blades of dwarves- single minded and dangerously accurate. Years of training guided his movements, and Eragon met them with triple the strength and double the flexibility. But his goal was not to hurt them, only to defeat them. For as long as he could remember, this forest had not shown any sign of inhabitancy… until now. It was strange that they revealed themselves so late. As soon as he had some clearance, Eragon stopped and held up both hands.

"Wait! We mean you no harm!" he said to them in the ancient language.

They did not stop. Eragon knew not the reason, but he knew that these elves- if they were elves- were determined to kill them. He had no choice. Saphira realized this as soon as he did and swiped at them with her claws, sending them flying. They somersaulted in the air and landed harmlessly on the ground. Saphira and Firnen roared at them, bathing them in blazing fire. While some perished in the inferno, others guarded themselves with magic, attacking the dragons.

Eragon held off the crowd of elves, slashing at them in all directions. He realized in the busyness of combat that they were ridiculously outnumbered. This was very different to his many battles in the war against Galbatorix- back then, he had been able to easily kill men one by one. Here, he was fighting against hundreds of elves, all extremely capable individuals. He found himself hacking, parrying, slashing, manoeuvring and weaving through blades like never before. As soon as he killed one ring of elves, another row stepped into replace them. Saphira tried to reach him, but she too was overwhelmed by the huge number of enemies that held her in place. She growled in frustration. A few feet away, Arya and Kedvar were likewise under the same pressure. Eragon grit his teeth.

"Kedvar! I need my magic back!"

"That was not the plan!" the elf said in mid strike.

"As you can see, we are in quite a predicament!" replied Eragon exasperatedly.

Kedvar seemed to wrestle with himself. Finally he cast the spell to release him.

Apart from his wards, Eragon only had his shield, which was fast becoming battered due to the furious onslaught. He tossed it aside, eliminating one of the elves' ward and pierced his abdomen. The elf slumped down.

It was time for something different. Eragon was thankful for the years of teaching from spellcasters as he cast wordless spells against them. He willed tremors into the ground within a ten meter radius of him and it shook violently, throwing the elves off their feet. Brisingr, he thought, and fire engulfed his blade. He commanded it to spread in width and the fire extended further. Eragon spun around with his blade, creating a ring of fire as thick as Saphira's tail. The staggering elves burned and cried out as they died. Without wasting any more time, Eragon held out a hand and, drawing power from the Eldunari, focussed energy into a massive blast of force that rippled through the air, penetrating their wards and felling rows upon rows of elves.

And still they kept coming.

Eragon knew it was futile. And pointless, for they would severely tire out before they reached the end of their journey. He caught Arya's eye in the distance, and she nodded.

Saphira, Firnen, we can stay no longer! Fly us out of here!

Just one moment! Said Saphira, grunting as she received a blow to the leg. Eragon healed it for her. But it will be like going through a bush of thorns.

Is there enough space for you to at least try?

Perhaps just enough, replied Firnen.

Eragon conveyed this to Kedvar and Arya. Both of them agreed and they all fought through the sea of blades and jumped on their dragons/Yellow Wing. The flight proved to be difficult as the dragons' wings were hindered by trees from both sides. The Yellow Wing, however, was smaller and Kedvar managed to escape quicker. Saphira and Firnen were forced to take smaller flaps and could not gain much height. Eragon had an idea. He conveyed it to Arya, who agreed to help him achieve it. Both uttered wordless spells that cleared a path for them- they willed the tree trunks to bend laterally to a tolerable extent. The trees did so, and the dragons were able to shoot out above the forest into the safety of the air. Eragon breathed out a sigh of relief and grunted as his body ached in pain. He looked down to see numerous bruises and cuts- his thighs, torso, arms and shoulders. His tunic was blood-soaked. After healing himself, Eragon looked over at Arya to see that she was in a similar state. They caught up to Kedvar, who looked grim.

"In all my years…" he began. "I never expected to fight against my own brethren."

Eragon nodded. "It seems someone is desperate for our blood."

Whoever it is, said Saphira. This gives us more reason to be on our guard.

Yes, Umaroth said, his displeasure emanating from the Eldunar. This is no ordinary enemy.

"I have the suspicion that he/she means to tire us out before we reach our destination," added Arya, frowning.

Kedvar nodded in agreement. "Then we must tread carefully on land."

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That night they camped beyond the forest beside a long stream that stretched westward. Saphira immediately folded her wings and rested her head on the ground. Firnen, however, settled off to the side and spread one wing. Arya placed her mattress on the ground in front of Firnen. He covered her with the wing, hiding her from view. Eragon was slightly puzzled at this but dismissed it, seeing as the night was cold. It was probably to keep her warm. Kedvar folded his legs on the ground and stared into the darkness, watching like some dangerous creature of the night. In the center of the camp, the Eldunari hovered, keeping watch with Kedvar. Eragon unfolded his mattress and lay down beside Saphira. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but the thoughts in his mind ran so fast that he had trouble doing so. Eragon tossed and turned. Finally, he simply lay on his side, eyes open and watched Kedvar (he did not fully trust the elf) sitting woodenly next to his Yellow Wing. Then, gradually, sleep overtook him and darkness clouded his eyes as Eragon drifted off into his dreams.