Eragon could not say he was disappointed as he strapped himself into the saddle and prepared to put the lanky town behind him. Such large problems from a place so small. Leora's regular cocky spirit seemed to be returning to her now that most of the danger had passed for the moment. She wasn't used to her abnormally large body as she often bumped into things or knocked tents down with her large tail. Luckily, the Varden was packing everything up anyways, but she was still a little embarrassed.

Yet, that did not stop her from being prideful and strutting around with her chest puffed out. She was truly showing off how large she had gotten. Eragon could not help but feeling amused as she strut around the packing camp. Though it did seem to being doing some good. As she walked by, moral and working would increase as men and women alike picked up the pace of their packing. Leora seemed to raise spirits and make people that much more eager to leave.

And finally, the horn was blown and the people of the Varden started to file out of the village. Saphira takes off, Leora not far beyond. The sky seemed unnaturally blue as the two dragons twisted and turned on the currents of wind. Eragon did not feel the urge to turn around and watch the city slip away, he had no desire to see the broken wall and the uneven streets. All he wanted was to move on. But after this there would be another city. And another and another until they finally reached the gates or Uru'baen, where he could meet his demise.

But who knew how long that would take. If he were to lose his freedom there, then he would enjoy every moment he had.

Saphira, for once, seemed oblivious to his thoughts as her and Leora soared through the open air, no longer having to restrain themselves to just above Talin. Both could not hold themselves in a straight path but instead flew into wind drafts to push their bodies in different directions. Eragon did not mind, for it gave him time to think.

Galbatorix knew that there were not enough soldiers to hold Talin, and he did not plan to try. Talin was meant to injure the Varden, in numbers and spirits. The Laughing Dead and three sorcerers were his plan to do just that, and it worked. The Laughing Dead always caused more casualties and made everything seem much more unattainable. And the wall falling was not something that went unplanned. His rage began to bubble up once more, catching the attention of Saphira as such a severe emotion crossed across their mental link. At her questioning thought, he only needed one word to explain his anger. Galbatorix. She understood immediately. After that, he decided to join in the two dragons conversaition, not wanting to be plagued by his raging thoughts anymore.

The Varden made great time, as if unconsciously picking up the pace to put as much distance from the terrible memories as possible. With his enhanced hearing, Eragon could hear the clanking of armor, the braying of a stubborn mule, and the shouts of the children below, as Saphira swooped down lower from the sky to give Nasuada a brief check in.

'No sign of anything M' lady', Eragon says quickly before Saphira soars back up into the open sky. From this height, he liked to imagine that others thought of them as a hawk soaring far above.

Soon, the excitement of flying started to wear off as they doubled back to avoid putting too much distance between them and the Varden. Watching the same landscape over and over again began to get boring and Eragon started to try and entertain himself. Leora and Saphira were exchanging riddles, and Leora was surprisingly good. Eragon was never good with riddles, he always over thought everything.

'Saphira?', he asks her.

'Yes?'

'What is the next town we will be arriving in?'

'I believe Belatona', she says, 'why?'

'Just curious', he says stretching his back, the boredom getting the best of him.

They said nothing for a while after that as the sound of the wind pressed into his mind. It was frustrating having to move so slowly. What would normally would take him a day, took the Varden three days to reach their destination.

Suddenly, a low growl escapes Saphira's lips as she starts in a quick dive. Eragon has to grip the spike in front of him as he asks, 'What's going on?'

'We've got company', she says darkly, motioning towards the West, where Eragon saw a cloud of dust from the galloping of horses. They were approaching fast.

'Is it the Empire?', he says, unconsciously removing one hand to grip the handle of Brisingr.

'I can't tell from this distance, but who else could it be?', she says ominously as the ground sped closer and closer. Glancing back, he noticed Leora close on their tail, her silver eyes shimmering maliciously. It was obvious she expected a fight.

As soon as he got close enough, he extended his mind to Nasuada and told her about the approaching group. Before asking questions she sounded the alarm and the Varden shifted to face to intruders. Men shoved their way to the front, garbed in armor, weapons ready, as the cloud of dust drew closer and closer. It must have been visible to the people on the ground now. Saphira leveled off slightly, now soaring directly above the Varden.

'How many people do you think their are?', Nasuada asks.

'By the amount of horses I'd say a good 40 maybe fifty', Eragon replies.

'We should be able to handle them then', she says confidently before continuing, 'and you still cannot tell if they are with the empire?'

'I will try M'lady.'

Pulling away, he turns his gaze towards the group once more and focuses with all his might. The figures were still jumbled, but he could make out color, and there was red in their group.

'Those are Empire uniforms!', Saphira exclaims to him before diving to the ground where Nasuada sat on her horse.

"What have you found out?", Nasuada asks as Eragon releases himself from the saddle and drops to the ground, bending his knees to avoid getting hurt.

"We noticed Empire uniforms, make sure the men are ready to fight", he says as Leora lands behind him.

She nods before motioning to Jörmundor, then says in a solemn voice, "alert the troops that there are people in Empire uniforms approaching. Stay on guard, but wait for my call to attack, or if they attack first."

"Yes, M'lady", he replies before disappearing into the large crowd of people standing around them.

"Nasuada", Eragon says stepping forward, "we will help also."

She waves her hand dismissively, before saying, "there is no need Eragon. The men can handle this fight. We do not need you getting hurt."

He shakes his head before saying, "with all due respect, I do not plan to sit this one out", before running back up onto Saphira and launching through the air towards the line of men preparing for battle.

Of course, Roran was with these men, right in the front with a few other men from Carvahall. Eragon could not help shaking his head in amusement.

As soon as he dismounted, he strode over to Roran to see how the situation was going. Though, one question was already answered. The group was approaching fast, now clearly visible from the ground. They would intercept in less than two minutes.

"Is what they say true? Is it the Empire?", Roran says when Eragon reaches him.

"We believe. It certainly appears that way", Eragon replies.

Roran murmurs something unintelligible into his beard before hefting his hammer and saying, "well, then I guess we are going to have a quick fight on our hands."

"Aye, I guess we are."

They left the conversation there as both turned back to the large group galloping towards them. Eragon did not try to speak and neither did Roran. He honestly wasn't nervous, he had fought battles larger, much larger, than this before. He could handle this.

Finally the time came. The men hefted their weapons, lined up into formation, and prepared to confront the people on horseback. It was easy to see now that they were wearing Empire uniforms, but the strange thing was, not all of them were. Only about half. And some were women. The Empire usually did not draft women, but they must have been becoming so desperate for people to bare arms that they were drafting from both genders.

Slowly, the group started to slow until they were in front of the Varden about twenty feet away, where they came to a halt. Slowly, the warriors of the Varden started moving forwards, lifting their weapons into attacking positions. The strange groups horses started prancing nervously, fear in their eyes. Even though they were not supposed to attack unless the enemy did so first, the lines of men started to move in to strike, out of anyone's control. Eragon found himself hustled forward, but some things seemed suspicious. And he was correct when the man in the front of the unknown group raised both his hands into the air in front of him.

"Wait! Please, don't attack!", he shouted in desperation.

The Varden stopped! glancing around in confusion. It was clear the debate that was going through every mans head. Should we listen or attack?

Deciding to take control, Eragon stepped forward in front of the men and said, "who are you and why should we trust you?", and to emphasize his point, Saphira let out a threatening growl from behind all the men, causing the horses to start to panic. Even the men of the Varden shifted nervously.

Once the group had gotten their horses calmed down enough, the same man spoke once more, "Because we are not in the army! We want to help!"

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AN: HELLO EVERYONE! SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE, IF YOU READ MY MESSAGE ON MY MESSAGE BOARD YOU KNOW THAT I HAD A DEATH IN THE FAMILY AND THIS WEEKEND WAS THE FUNERAL :( .......... BUT I DID GET THIS UPDATE OUT TODAY LIKE I SAID :) I HOPE YOU ARE CURIOUS ABOUT THIS MYSTERIOUS GROUP ;) PLEASE....

READ/COMMENT/VOTE

THANKA YOUUU

~Bert