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— WoaD: Chapter Nineteen
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2008-12-16 03:40:54 +0000 UTC
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Wings of a Dream:
Chapter Nineteen:
We had been traveling south towards Surda, and our problems weren't getting a lot better. Arya wasn't waking up, and that had me worried, Elves were known for fast recoveries, Murtagh got more antsy the further we went, and we still had no idea where exactly we were headed. Everyone was getting agitated, that much was apparent, especially when we stopped for the night.
Murtagh, even if you aren't welcome to the Varden you've got to have some idea where they are.
He growled, “I've told you Fayathon, all I know is that they're in the south, either holed up in the Beor Mountains or hiding amongst the populous of Surda. Either way if they find me, I'm in trouble.”
It was my turn to growl, And if you'd just tell us why they hate you we could help you out when we get there!
“I told you that it would come out if I had no choice but to seek shelter form them, and not before if I can help it!”
Saphira snorted in disdain, and Eragon was getting Arya settled in. I turned my attention to Arya.
Nothing still?
Eragon shook his head, “She should have at least done something by now, this is worrying me.”
You're not the only one, give Murtagh a hand with camp, she's not going anywhere.
He got up and walked over to Murtagh, who was busy readying a fire for their dinner.
Come on Arya, why won't you wake? An idea hit me, I might be able to contact her on a subconscious level. I extended my mind to hers, feeling her vaguely familiar presence. At least she's still somewhat conscious. I was taken aback by her next actions, she set upon me with her mind, apparently assuming that I was one of her captors.
Arya! Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you! I lapsed back into the Ancient Language subconsciously.
The attack relented, but I could feel her firmly holding her defenses. Who?
It's been some time princess, I haven't seen you since I came halfway up your leg!
Realization struck her. Fayathon, is it you?
I chuckled, Yeah, I set out to find you after we had heard word of your disappearance.
You came after me?
You and the egg, which by the way, has hatched, we have a new Rider.
Really now?
Yeah, I'm traveling with him, we came across you by chance.
Lucky me.
Yeah, you were locked up in Gil'lead, but after we rescued you we've kinda been wondering why you're still comatose.
I've been poisoned, the only way to cure it is Tunivor's Nectar.
That's bad, we're nowhere near Ellesmera, I couldn't even get you there flying straight in time.
The Varden have the antidote as well, I assume that's where you were headed?
Yeah, the Varden need a Rider more than the Elves need another, Oromis can wait to train the boy. Where are the Varden Arya, we need to know.
She sent me instructions in the form of images as to how to reach the Varden's stronghold.
When you get there speak these words: A warden of the Riders lacks passage. Only speak them in this tongue though, in the common tongue it will get you nothing. Fayathon?
Yeah?
After this do not contact me again in such a fashion, I am running out of time, unless the situation comes to one where you cannot get me to a healer in time, it is then that I have information that must be passed on.
Understood, we'll get you to safety.
Thank you.
I shook myself, it felt as if I had been sleeping.
“What was that?”
What do you mean?
Eragon gave me a funny look, “You've been standing in the same spot for the last fifteen minutes or so.”
I was talking to Ayra, I motioned to her form with my tail. I have the route for the Varden.
“Really? That's good, where do we have to go?”
South, and then east, along the Beor Mountains.
“Is there somewhere along the way that I can split off?”
There should be several, but I don't want you leaving until we're outside of the Empire.
He nodded, “That'll make it easier for me to drop out of Galbatorix's sight.”
Eragon pulled a map out of his pack. “Can you show roughly where we're headed?”
I leaned in and took a look, the map was Imperial, and had big sections missing, I could only speculate seeing how the actual location was not included in the map. I moved one of my claws over the map and tapped the section that was closest to where we were going. This is as close as it gets, from this map, it'll be another day or two after it becomes useless.
Murtagh was watching closely, “Those woods would serve me well in my escape, I've heard that they are thick and hard to navigate, unless you are a woodsman.”
I looked at him, Looks like your prospects in the south will pay off, huh?
He grinned, “Yeah it really does, I say we leave early in the morning, the earlier we leave the sooner we get out of the Emipre.”
We all nodded in agreement, and settled in for the night.
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I awoke late in the night, there was an odd air about. I would have ignored it, but to many ambushes had set me against anything that didn't set well with me. I stood up and sniffed the air, I could smell men, and steel, not that close, but close enough to make me worry. I peered through the darkness that surrounded our camp, spotting another camp ways away. I started growling subconsciously, accidentally waking Eragon up.
“Hmmm, Fayathon? What's wrong?”
I stopped growling and looked at him sheepishly. Wasn't trying to wake you, but we've got company, they're still a ways off, but the fact that I'm just barely noticing them means that they're small enough to keep tabs on us without alerting us, we need to find a way to loose them.
Sunlight started creeping into the sky, and Murtagh stirred as the rays started to shine down on camp.
“You two are up early, aren't you?”
We've got an Imperial tail.
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, “Say what now?”
Eragon grabbed the map and laid it back out, “We've got a small contingent of soldiers following us, and based on the fact that they've stayed hidden I'm guessing that they're good at staying out of sight. I haven't sensed them at all, and Fayathon just noticed them this morning.”
I can smell their weapons and the sweat off of them, they've been moving so carefully to avoid us, but the wind shifted to our favor last night. Any ideas on how to loose them?
Murtagh sat in thought, while Eragon grabbed the map, and Saphira stirred out of her sleep.
What's with all the ruckus?
We've got a tail that we've got to loose.
She grunted. Eragon spread the map out in front of us. “Okay, there's no real thick forests or anything like that around, and chances are that that would slow us down even worse.”
Yeah, we have to get to the Varden as fast as possible, Arya's not going to last for an extended period of time without proper medicine.
They all gave me a funny look.
What do you mean?
I mean that she's in a kind of self-induced coma to combat a poison. She's still got time, but we can't afford to waste any.
Murtagh furrowed his brow in frustration. “That complicates things a bit now doesn't it?”
He leaned over and looked at the map, figuring out roughly where we were.
“We've got enough food to last us for a while, I wonder...” He trailed off.
“Well what Murtagh?”
“We can try crossing the Hadarac Desert, here” He pointed at a spot on the map. “and follow this route, but this will only work if we've got water for it, food's not all we need out there.”
Eragon looked at me and Saphira, “Between the two of you could you possibly carry that much?”
I thought he was crazy, but his face was sincere. Saphira shook her head. I couldn't even carry enough for me, let alone you two and the horses.
Same here, even without anything else we'd run out of water to fast.
Eragon grunted, a look of frustration coming over him. Murtagh sighed.
“That's unfortunately our best option for loosing those troops and for getting out of the Empire.”
“Give me some time to think on this, there's got to be a way to get water out in the desert.”
Murtagh grabbed his pack, picking up the camp, “Well, there's no time to really think about it, not here anyways, let's think and move, perhaps we'll get an idea while we ride.”
Saphira and I nodded in agreement. They broke camp and set off on their horses, while Saphira and I took to wing above them.
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The day passed uneventfully, or at least as uneventfully as it could with a small contingent of soldiers giving a stealthy chase to us. We stopped for the night a few miles from the Hadarac Desert. Saphira and I landed just as Eragon and Murtagh had set up camp, it was well past nightfall, and from what I could see no-one had any ideas as to how to cross the desert yet, water was still beyond our reach. Eragon poked at the dirt with a stick, we had forgone a fire based on the fact that there was no good cover to block it from the troops, only good fortune had kept them from springing upon us now, either that or they didn't want to go traipsing around a camp with two dragons in it in the dark. I was laying with my eyes toward the north, where I had seen the troops last, and was absently digging at the dirt with a claw.
How are we going to do this? Water in the desert, it'd be easy if we could find the oases that the nomadic tribes have out there.
Murtagh snorted, “Too bad they hide their water supplies really well, and don't trust outsiders, otherwise we'd be in luck.”
Eragon tapped the stick against his nose, obviously thinking. “Hmmm. Hang on, we might not need that!”
“What do you mean, it's not like you can make water out of sand is it?”
It clicked in my mind what he was thinking, the prospect made me excited. No, but he can pull it up out of the sand with magic! That is what you were thinking right?
He nodded, “I think I can, there's plants out in the desert, and plants need water to live, meaning that there's water in the ground somewhere out there, I just have to find it.”
Saphira and I chuckled at how easy the solution was, I would have slapped myself across the face for forgetting the things that a Rider was capable of.
“Let's see...” He readied himself to use magic. “Deloi, thrysta!”
We watched as he dug a small hole out of the earth, hoping that he was right with his level of strength.
“Now for the second part, adurna, reisa!”
The hole started to fill with water at a steady rate, bolstering our hopes for getting to the Varden safely.
He grinned, “I think that the desert is open to us, let's see the Empire chase us across there!”
I chuckled, things were taking a turn for the better.
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