(Previously in 'A God in Alagaësia' :)
"Could it be a Ra'zac ?"
"No… it's worse…much darker and eviler..." Erik said after smelling the air, his eyes narrowing at Gil'ead.
Brom and Murtagh stiffened at those words while Saphira and Eragon looked confused and intrigued.
"If what you say is true, then we HAVE to be careful… and it is another reason as for why Eragon here will NOT join us !" Brom said with a glance toward the young Rider whose shoulders slumped even more.
That night, the mood was darker as everyone were thinking about Erik's words… while the Massive Bear was silently glaring toward the fortress with hatred and anger.
"Durza… If you lay a hand on my friends… I will slay you !" Erik thought to himself while glaring hatefully at Gil'ead.
Somewhere in the city, a tall and pale man with crimson hair and maroon eyes suddenly felt a shiver passed through his cold body and was wondering what had caused this before heading somewhere.
00/(Present Time)/00
The next day, Erik, Saphira and Eragon were waiting for Murtagh and Brom to come back from Gil'ead after the two of them left at dawn.
Currently, they were all far away from the city… but close enough to see it from the distance. Ever since Brom and Murtagh left, Eragon had been sulking like a child, annoyed that he didn't get to go with them… despite knowing how dangerous it was for him.
"Eragon, I know you are angry to be forced to stay here with us but at least, you are safer here than there..." Erik said while shooting a glance toward the city at the last part of his sentence.
'He is right, little one~' Saphira said gently to her rider, agreeing to the White Bear's words.
"I know but still..." Eragon grumbled with a sigh.
"If sure that, if the situation was different, Brom would have allowed you to go with them… but sadly it is not… I'm pretty sure there are posters with your face drawn on them all around this city..." Erik added in a calm tone but also with a comforting smile.
"All because I wasn't careful enough at Dras-Leona ! My curiosity once again put me in trouble !" Eragon snarled in anger, but mostly aimed to himself than to someone else.
'It wasn't your fault, little one !' Saphira hissed at him in a stern tone before Erik took over.
"None of us could have predicted that the Ra'zac had wards to warn them of intruders… It was not your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself for a bit of bad luck !"
Eragon wanted to object but under Erik's stern glare, he quickly backpedaled and stayed silent. While Saphira used this opportunity to comfort her rider, the massive White Bear looked once more at Gil'ead and went deep in thought : he knew that soon, Eragon will be captured by some Urgals and he was thinking either he should prevent it or not.
A part of him wanted this to be avoided but something inside him was telling him that he MUST let this happen. After all, it was thanks to Eragon's capture that they managed to save Arya from her imprisonment.
Well, Brom was killed before that in the book but the point still stand !
Shaking his head, Erik then looked back at the city and once again, he felt like he should just rush there and destroy everything. He had this feeling before (each time he was near a city in fact) but now, it was stronger than ever.
Was it because it was Volibear's nature ? Or was it because it was Durza's favorite place ?
Perhaps, it was a bit of both…
Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted by Saphira who was calling out for him
'Valhir ?'
"Yes ?" he asked back after turning his head to look at her questioningly.
'Want to play a game of riddles ?' she asked him with a look of glee.
Yep, she was bored and wanted something to do.
"Why not ? What about you, Eragon ?" he asked the former farmer with a curious raised eyebrow.
"You know what ? I'm in !" the young rider said with a shrug before asking
"So, who start ?"
'I will : What has words, but never speaks ?' Saphira asked them with a toothy smirk.
Erik and Eragon then did something shocking : they answered at the same time
"A book !/A book !"
The two of them stared at one another with wide eyes before laughing in amusement, quickly joined by the Dragoness.
"Alright buddy, your turn !" Erik said after a moment of laughing.
"Nah, you go first !" Eragon retorted with a chuckle.
"Fine for me… and here is my riddle : I'm tall when I'm young, and I'm short when I'm old. What am I ?" Erik said with a smile.
Saphira and Eragon went deep in thought but then, once again, something amusing happened.
"A candle !" /'a candle !'
They answered at the same time in perfect synchronization and once again, everyone laughed.
'Your turn, little one~' Saphira said to her rider with affection while nuzzling the top of his head.
"Okay, here it is : I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish… What am I ?" Eragon said with a smirk.
Erik had to blink in surprise at the young rider as his riddle was harder than he thought. He had expected Eragon to give them an easy riddle so it was shocking for him to give them a complex one.
The White Bear and the Blue Dragoness went deep in thought and soon, they answered Eragon…
At the same time.
"A map !" / 'A map !'
Saphira and Erik looked at one another in shock before laughing loudly for the third time in a row, joined quickly by an amused Eragon.
For some time, the three of them would challenge each other with riddles of any kind (and sometimes, it was fun because they would sometimes answer at the same time) but then, it all stopped when Erik' s sharp ears caught a familiar sound : hooves. Turning his large head toward where it came from, he allowed a smile to grow on his face when he saw Brom and Murtagh coming down the road, toward them.
"Look like our friends are returning..." he said to his companions but without looking away from the newcomers.
At those words, Saphira and Eragon stopped talking and, like their white friend, they watched in silence as Brom and Murtagh went toward them once out of sight of the city. None of them spoke when they dismounted their horses but did answer to their greetings before joining Eragon, Saphira and Erik around the campfire.
"So… did you both have any luck ?" the White Bear asked them once they were comfortable.
"I don't know about Murtagh but I was lucky… Dormnad has accepted to send the letters but he also wished to join us... Because of all th tensions in the Empire, he wants to leave before things turn uglier... I know him for a long time and I swear he is trustworthy… He will join us tomorrow once he is finished with some businesses of his..."
"Good to know… what about you Murtagh ?" Erik asked their newest companion with curiosity.
"Unfortunately, the store owner didn't have what we needed… but thankfully, he promised that tomorrow morning, he will receive a large stock… So, we have no choice but to wait..." was his answer.
After that, the group relaxed to the point that Brom, Murtagh and Eragon chose to not train AND to keep the fire at nightfall. Later, they all fell asleep peacefully.
All except one…
It was none other than Valhir and he was glaring dagger toward the city, knowing that tomorrow, something terrible will happen. Gritting his teeth, the White Bear then decided to join his companions and after a moment of trouble, he fell asleep.
00/(Time Skip)/00
The next morning, everyone woke up from their slumber and while everyone was enjoying breakfast, Erik was deep in thought. He was still debating either he should prevent Eragon to be captured or not… On one hand, he could allow it and later, they will have the chance to rescue Arya… On the other hand, he could prevent it and Arya will have to wait a bit more before being rescued.
Both options were risky as in both cases, his friends would get hurt and Eragon's identity as a Dragon Rider will be revealed.
And his along the way.
But then, he shook his head before refocusing on Brom as the old man explained the next course of action : they were all going to split up and reunite at a chosen spot at the other side of the city with Saphira being the eyes of the group.
Erik had decided to not go with Eragon and when asked why, he answered that his white fur will attract attention in case there was someone out there. So it was better to see him alone and thinking that he is just an animal than being seen with the man everyone was looking for.
Even if it was not the true reason…
Thankfully for him, they believed his words and accepted them. Soon, enough, the White Bear watched in silence as Brom and Murtagh mounted their horses to retrieve the necessary supplies at the shop store in the city. Not long after that, they wished each other good lucks before leaving the place.
Saphira jumped into the air before taking off in the sky while Eragon went to do a LOOOOOOONG detour of Gil'ead. Erik was the only one left behind but when he saw Eragon disappearing from view, the White Bear took off in another direction.
However, during his walk, he went back in thought : should he stop the Urgals from capturing Eragon ? Or should he allow it ?
For the next few minutes, he weighed the pros and cons but finally, he made a decision : even if it hurt him deeply, he had to allow Eragon to be captured.
If he didn't, Arya might die thanks to Durza's torture and she was an important point in Eragon's future life.
Silently praying the Gods to forgive him, Erik then moved slower even if his heart and conscience were screaming at him to go faster.
"I must not help… I must stay behind..." he repeated in his head again and again… but it did nothing to stop his heart and mind to scream at him to go help his friends.
For the next few minutes, he kept repeating those words in his head… until he felt someone touching his mind. Blinking, it took him a second to recognize who it was : Saphira.
'Saphy ? Is that you ?' he asked her telepathically.
'Yes it is ! Please, come help us !' she answered him in a distressed tone.
'What is it ? What's going on ?' he asked her back with fake alarm as he KNEW what was going on.
'Me and Eragon were waiting for you to join us but then, they came !'
'Who came ?' He asked her with a frown.
'Urgals !' was her answer.
'I'm coming ! Hold on !' Erik told her in a hurried tone before cutting the connection.
Quickly, he called Brom, knowing that Murtagh's mind was too well protected.
'Valhir ?' the storyteller called out for a him after a moment.
'Brom ! You and Murtagh must come NOW ! Saphira and Eragon fell into an ambush !' Erik quickly explained to the man who cursed before answering with determination
'Go help them ! Me and Murtagh will catch up !'
'Okay ! See you !' Erik said before cutting the connection and running toward where Saphira and Eragon probably were.
In his path, there were brambles and snagging bushes but our hero ripped through them as if they were cobwebs. In his mind, it was chaos : a part of him was sermoning him for having taken too much time to reach his friends while the other part of him was telling him that he had made a wise decision.
Shaking his head, the White Bear decided to focus back on the current situation : helping Saphira… as he knew that, by the time he will arrive, Eragon will already by taken. His heart hurt like hell at the thought but it was necessary.
Soon enough, after minutes of running, he heard the sound of a battle in the distance and redoubled his efforts when he heard Saphira's roars. With a roar of his own, he bursted in the clearing where the Blue Dragoness was fighting a large amount of Urgals.
At first, he was hesitant to step in Saphira looked like she could handle it… but then, he saw that she was injured : some of her wing sails were ripped and there were a few cuts on her body. At the sight of the wounds, the White Bear saw red and with a thunderous roar, he charged the enemies who barely had the time to turn around before his large form crashed against them, sending them flying around along with their weapons.
At this moment, Erik looked like the incarnation of fury : he was clawing, biting and slashing repeatedly his enemies who, despite trying their best to defend themselves, were easily teared apart. Some of the Urgals tried to flee to escape his wrath but to no avail… as they were quickly caught and killed by our hero.
Roaring at an Urgal he just killed, Erik turned his head to look at Saphira to see how she was going… only to see something that enraged him even more : a large Kull holding a massive axe was raising his weapon… to strike Saphira's neck !
With another thunderous roar, he fell on the Kull like a wave on the beach with enough force to break its back. Now pinned to the ground, the Krull was looking up in fear at him as our hero roared into its face… before it released a roar of agony as Erik started to tear its flesh with his fangs and claws.
Despite the cries of mercy and agony from his victim, our hero didn't stop until he was sure the Krull was dead. Once the beast released its last breath, Erik stopped his attack and straightened up to look around : there were no more Urgals in the area.
With a sigh of relief, he turned his head to look at Saphira…who, despite his wounds, looked panicked !
"Saphira ! Calm down ! They are gone !" he said in an attempt to comfort her… in vain.
'He is missing !' the Dragoness cried out in alarm and panic.
"Who is missing ?" he asked her with a frown, despite knowing who she was referring to.
'ERAGON !' was his answer.
"WHAT ?!" He asked her loudly in fake shock and horror.
'I don't sense him ! He is not around !' she told him in a panicked tone while looking around for her missing rider.
The White Bear, to play the part, smelled the air and sure enough, Eragon's scent, while lingering, was not recent. However, he could detect another scent mixing with Eragon's... A dark scent…
"They captured him..." he told the Dragoness who released a loud roar of sorrow and anguish… along with rage and anger.
'It's all my fault ! I should have protected him better !' she lamented herself.
"It's not your fault, Saphy ! You couldn't predict that ambush ! I should be the one to blame, if I have come faster, none of this would have happened !" Erik told her in a stern tone.
'Don't blame yourself, Valhir ! You did what you could…' Saphira told him in a saddened tone.
Seeing her in such a state pained him and gently, Erik pulled her into a comforting embrace, shushing her like his father used to do to him when he was a child. The Blue Dragoness was clinging to him tightly as she roared her pain and sorrow at having lost her rider.
For a moment, they staid like this until the sound of hooves caught their attention and after turning their heads, they saw it was none other than Brom and Murtagh approaching them with their horses. After a quick explanation, Brom cursed loudly from this turn of events while telling the group that if they wanted to rescue Eragon, they had to be careful as a Shade was here.
They had also theorized that it was Brom's friend that told the Shade about Eragon being here and he was also the one who had been hanging at the entrance of the city with a cord around his neck and a 'Traitor' sign.
Now they were discussing how they would save their friend…
But they must act fast or else Eragon will be tortured by the Shade… or be send to Galbatorix.
(To be continue…)