To Train A Bad-Ass
By Stargatesg1fan1 Disclaimer: I own nothing of any recognized characters or universes within.
Women Bonded to Harry Potter in This Story
Ros is Played by Esme Bianco
Chapter 5 "We seem to be heading towards the Hadarac Desert," Murtagh noted. "We do," Harry agreed. "What do you know of it?" Murtagh asked. "Not much," Harry admitted.
"Well its several times the size of the great plain you likely traveled through on your way here. Journeying across it would take a month or two where there is virtually no water. The few tribes that live there would disguise their wells to keep others from taking their water," Murtagh explained.
"I've been thinking about that. We can skirt the edges of the desert so that we don't have to cross straight through the thickest parts," Harry said. "And I can use magic to draw the moisture from the ground up into a depression so that we have water."
"You can do that?" Murtagh asked surprised. "Yes," Harry confirmed.
Of course he had no need to do that. He could just use an augumenti water spell using his birth magic. But he thought doing it this way would give him more practice with the ancient language magic native to this universe. And it would still take less of his energy since the ancient language magic was made easier by his birth magic.
"I find it curious that you who are admittedly relatively new to magic found a way to track the location of the Varden yet the King has been unable," Murtagh noted.
"Brom taught me a few tricks Galbatorix may not have learned. Besides, it's entirely possible that the Varden's protections against scrying were only targeted to prevent their enemies from finding them. There may be an exception to allow friendly potential allies to find them," Harry pointed out.
"Fair enough," Murtagh said.
That night when Harry went to bed he considered casting the spell on Arya which would cause her to experience sexual dreams of him like he had done in his past universes. But something caused him to hold back. The magicals in this universe had a better sense of magic. He decided to hold off for now. He didn't want her to sense what he had done and destroy any chance of a relationship with her in the future. Instead, he had pleasant dreams himself of her.
The next morning when they woke up the group resumed their standard mode of travel. Harry held Arya on Snowfire as they rode towards the Hadarac Desert. He maintained the feather-light charms on all of them so the horses could ride easier. He also bolstered Arya's energy reserves with a fusion of magic. It was a rather intimate feeling activity when you considered her body was pressed up against his. But that couldn't be helped. She needed the energy. At about lunch time Harry led the group off the trail. Word had been sent ahead by Galbatorix magically. As a result, Empire soldiers had set up several checkpoints leading away from Gil'ead as ambushes. It didn't matter which direction they had traveled. They would have experienced similar checkpoints on all roads and trails away from Gil'ead.
"The town of Bullridge is up ahead," Murtagh said when it was dark after a hard day of riding. "We can pass by it at night," Harry said.
When the town came into sight they saw the watch fires of soldiers near the town. The group gave the town a wide berth. As daybreak came they crested a ridge and found the Ramr River in front of them. The river was on both their left and their right at least five miles distance.
"That means we covered sixteen leagues in a single day," Murtagh pointed out to break the silence. "And the horses look like they could keep on going. I'm surprised at that carrying our weight."
"I still think we should find someplace and take a break," Harry suggested. "We should get some sleep."
"Agreed," Murtagh said.
They found a copse of juniper trees where Harry set up his usual wards. They all slept thanks to the wards. When they rose again Harry cast a spell on Arya which would put water in her body and clean out any urine. Salazar had taught him the spell. Another spell told him her long term diet. She hadn't been fed well in Gil'ead. But before that she had only eaten fruits and vegetables. As they traveled that day, Harry kept an eye out for berries. He was able to use a spell to feed her the berries and eliminate waste. Eventually they reached the actual bank of the Ramr River.
"We need to find a place to ford," Murtagh suggested.
"I can ferry both you and horses across as long as we can keep them from struggling," Saphira suggested.
Harry verbally told Murtagh what Saphira had offered.
"Would she check a short distance up and down stream first to see if it gets any shallower?" Murtagh asked. "I would rather not risk the horses unless necessary."
Saphira took off and quickly checked.
"Saphira said the river bends here and is at its widest of about half a mile in both directions," Harry explained.
"Alright. I will go first to watch the horses when they come over," Murtagh agreed.
After Murtagh had left on Saphira, Harry went to Tornac and Snowfire. He cast calming charms on both creatures. He put as much energy into the spells as he could without actually making them fall asleep. When Saphira returned she took Tornac first. Harry could feel the horses fighting the calming spell despite the energy of the spell. But Harry's will was stronger. After about ten minutes they had all safely crossed the river. The group continued to travel. After another half day of travel they could only see the river they had crossed as a distant line when viewed from a height. The ground grew soft beneath their feet. They had reached the Hadarac. The group decided to take a short break for rest before heading out into the desert.
At the camp Harry decided to have a conversation with Salazar. He laid his hand on Salazar's book and began to think.
"Salazar, what challenges do you imagine I would face dating an older woman?" Harry asked.
"You are thinking of Arya. I took the opportunity to sample her magic when you had me near her," Salazar explained. Salazar's journal did possess rudimentary sensory capabilities if he was in close proximity to something. "Her magic feels about a century old. The first thing you must understand is that traditionally women go for older men and men go for younger women. I do not know how the elf culture is here. But I wouldn't imagine it would be all that different in this case. As such, you are already disadvantaged. Something else must be factored in. Young men in their teens are lacking a certain level of maturity. That is putting it diplomatically. In all honesty to put it bluntly they can be very dumb at times."
Harry did not protest this statement. "Have I shown maturity?" Harry asked curiously.
"More than most. But that could also be a result of the hard circumstances you have faced in life. You have had no parents to shelter you. You are also mentally older because of your training and travels than your birth age would suggest. That will help. But if you hope to have a
chance with an older woman we'll need to train the 'dumb' behavior out of you. We need to show you how to act mature until you actually are mature," Salazar suggested.
"Can you help me?" Harry asked.
"I can and will. The number one suggestion I must make going forward in your pursuit of Arya is that you can make your interest in her known when the time is right. But you must not be pushy about it. She must not think it is simply an adolescent crush. You must learn more about her personality, what interests her. Do not simply make it about the physical even though I know that is what attracted you in the first place. That is what usually attracts everyone in the first place. But females do not like to think about that part," Salazar advised.
Harry began listening to Salazar's advice. But Harry did get some rest. The next morning they started into the desert.
"I like it here a lot. I feel as if the heat is giving me more energy. I could spend weeks here without noticing the passage of time," Saphira told Harry.
"I'm glad you like it," Harry said even if he didn't feel the same.
Salazar had taught Harry a cooling charm. Unfortunately he couldn't apply it to the others without them bringing up the fact that he would seemingly be wasting energy just to stay cool. The magic in this universe had a higher cost. So he kept that particular charm to himself. By sunset they reached a range of crags they had spotted that morning when setting off. He had also cast a charm to prevent sunburn. Now that was a charm that he was hoping Murtagh wouldn't notice the effects of. So he cast it on himself, Murtagh, and Arya. Saphira had no need of it.
The ground surrounding the crags didn't have any sand dunes on it. And it was baked and cracked. They situated the horses to eat the sparse grass surrounding the crags. Saphira dug a hole in the ground and Harry drew the moisture into it with magic. Murtagh refilled their water skins, the horses drank, and Saphira drank.
"You're growing much stronger," Saphira noted. "I imagine magic is like a muscle to a certain extent. Working at it will give strength and
stamina," Harry said. "In that case you should try to use magic for more if possible. Drawing up water will be good
exercise," Saphira said.
Harry noticed Murtagh's mood had deteriorated since they had entered the Hadarac. It took a bit to get out of Murtagh a few of the reasons why. Another charm that Murtagh wouldn't sense kept the sand out of inconvenient places for all of them. Harry still wasn't willing to cast a full cooling charm. But Salazar showed Harry how to cast the charm at reduced strength. This would take the edge off of the heat Murtagh felt. Harry did the same for Arya as well. After breakfast the next morning they set off.
"Look at that," Murtagh said as he pointed to a line of dark smudges on the horizon. "Maybe distant hills."
"At this distance I wouldn't be surprised if they were mountains," Harry suggested. "Possibly," Murtagh agreed.
By midway the smudges on the horizon started to look like hills covered in forest on parts and surrounded by white around the tops.
"I think those are the Beor Mountains," Harry said during a lull in the occasional conversation. "They must be truly massive to have white surrounding the tops."
"You're saying that is snow," Murtagh said with realization.
"That's what I thought at first too. But I think the tops are actually just part of the base. I think the white are clouds. We can't see the peaks," Harry explained.
Murtagh kept his eyes on the sight before them for a while before saying, "I think I agree with you. That's amazing."
As the day wore on the ground gave way to hard dusty dirt. In places ragged patches of plants grew. There were even a few cool breezes. By evening they were at the foothills of the mountains. Harry noted the heard of gazelle nearby which Saphira eyed hungrily. That night they camped near a stream. That night Harry decided he should probably try to contact Arya mentally to see if her mind was active. She may be able to tell him more about her state. She had been receiving regular injections of energy from him.
Harry knelt next to Arya and gently extended his thoughts towards her mind. He did a slight brush of his thoughts against hers. He did not intrude upon her mind. He simply let her know he was there to see if she would respond. He felt her mind focus its attention on him.
"Eka ai fricai un Shur'tugal," Harry thought towards Arya.
What he had just sent her was the thought that he was a friend and a Rider in the Ancient language. The Ancient language made it impossible to lie in. But that didn't mean you could not mislead someone. If Harry thought himself her friend then he could say it. He could be totally insane and think it alright to harm a friend. The Ancient language wouldn't stop him from saying he was a friend in that case. Arya's thoughts touched against his. Her mind was powerful and somewhat alien in that it wasn't like any human's mind he had ever touched. He also sensed a melody in her thoughts that was wild, haunting, and beautiful. This embodied her personality.
"What is your name?" Arya asked in the Ancient language.
"My name is Eragon," Harry replied. "What is yours?"
Harry noticed a pull from her thoughts inviting him deeper into her mind. It wasn't an actual invitation but her elven nature that by its very existence threatened to ensnare mortals. This was part of why elves were so attractive to mortals. Arya wasn't trying to consciously trap him.
"Arya. Do I have you to thank for the infusions of energy, food, and healing? And am I still a captive of the empire?" Arya asked.
"No. You are no longer their captive. I was in Gil'ead to rescue my companion Murtagh. My dragon Saphira and I rescued both him and you at the same time. I was the one that healed you partially. I apologize for not healing you further. I could not do so without destroying your leggings. I am not so skilled at healing that I can effectively heal without seeing the flesh I am trying to heal. I could not see the flesh without either cutting up your leggings or removing them. I did not feel comfortable doing so without your permission. I also could not heal the poison within you. Instead I have been giving you some of my strength hoping that it would help you stave off the effects of the poison," Harry explained.
Arya was silent for some time as she digested this.
Then Arya said, "I thought it may have been Gil'ead. But I was not certain. Thank you for healing me as much as you did. I also thank you for not violating my privacy. The poison you speak of is called Skilna Bragh. I was given it each morning by force if I resisted. I was also given the antidote each evening. If I wake I will perish within hours. With the energy you have given me I can resist for another several weeks. How old are you, Eragon?"
Arya found herself curious about the apparently young Rider she found herself talking to. His mind was very strong. And there was something else about him she couldn't quite discern that was different. From his apparent age when she had glimpsed him before collapsing she would guess he was in his teens. It wasn't many adult men who could resist removing the leggings of an elf if given the opportunity. She was fully aware of the effect her kind had on humans. For a human as young as Eragon to do so was impressive. Though she had sensed the marks on her butt being healed. So perhaps he hadn't fully resisted. But Arya wouldn't begrudge him that. He was a male after all.
"I am sixteen human years old. But I fear my experiences as a Rider so far have aged me beyond my physical years. And I don't suspect it will get any better going on," Harry said. "We have been pursued since Gil'ead by the Empire. Right now we are camped at the base of the Beor mountains. We are searching for the Varden to hopefully get help. Might you know of a place where we can get the cure for the poison you mentioned?" Harry asked.
Arya's astonishment skyrocketed. For a new Rider to make it from Gil'ead across the Hadarac was an impressive feat.
"Can you share with me where you are?" Arya asked.
Harry shared his memories of exactly where they were.
"I can get you to the Varden. I am strong enough to speak with you thanks to the energy you have given me even in this comatose state. Just in case here are the memories you will need," Arya said as she sent him copies of her memories of how to find the Varden. Arya also thought that even if he did not give her anymore energy, should he betray the secrets of the Varden she had strength enough to crush his mind. "I would also ask a favor of you."
Here Arya's thoughts hesitated.
"Ask it. You will receive no judgment or censure from me for asking," Harry assured.
"I wish for you to heal my legs and try to preserve my modesty. You can cut my leggings quite high and I can teach you the words in the Ancient language which will allow you to repair my leggings," Arya explained. "I know it is a lot to ask to waste energy on mending clothing in order to preserve my modesty. It is not something I would ask if you were in imminent danger. But apparently you are not in any immediate danger in your current location."
"I would be happy to," Harry agreed.
Arya's thoughts were filled with relief and gratitude. What followed was Harry getting his first lesson in the Ancient language from Arya. Harry left Arya's mind to rest for the moment after giving her another infusion of his energy. With their minds touching like that as he gave her the infusion of energy it was a very personal and intimate experience. Arya had to restrain a mental gasp as she was filled with his energy. If she had been conscious she may have blushed. The experience was pretty darn close to sex for her.
Harry opened his eyes to find Murtagh and Saphira looking at him. "What did she say?" Saphira asked.
"Arya explained the poison she has been dosed with and that we need to get to the Varden to get the cure. I told her some of what was going on. She is preventing herself from dying. The Varden are quite far. But we've got time," Harry explained.
Murtagh looked unhappy and Harry picked up on it.
"What troubles you about going to the Varden?" Saphira asked Murtagh, speaking mentally to him for the first time.
Saphira had projected her thoughts so both Harry and Murtagh could pick them up.
Murtagh was so surprised he answered, "They will expect things from me I cannot give them because of my birth."
"I haven't pressed you about your past because you haven't pressed me about mine," Harry said.
"But I feel like we should really clear the air a bit. I take it this is about your parentage. Don't tell me your father is Galbatorix."
Harry's last statement was meant as a half joke. But he was also curious. Murtagh grimaced and said, "Almost. My father was Morzan."
Harry tensed and then asked, "Given you have shown me no hostility in the time we have known each other I do not believe anything ill of you. But you understand I have to ask, do you agree with the methods of Morzan or Galbatorix or their goals?"
"I do not," Murtagh admitted. "I'd be willing to swear such in the ancient language. I'd also be willing to swear that I mean the Varden no ill will as long as they don't mean me ill."
"I will ask Arya for the words for such later," Harry said. "That's all I will ask on that matter."
Murtagh appeared surprised and said, "Just like that? You're not going to treat me any different or be suspicious of me."
"No," Harry said with a shrug. "Do you know who your mother was?"
"Her name was Selena," Murtagh answered. "She was...she was known as Morzan's Black Hand. She was a spy and assassin."
Harry had stilled at the name. He doubted there were many Selena's mixed up in the whole mess of Riders.
"This is very important. Was your mother's father named Cadoc?" Harry asked. Murtagh was stunned and said, "How could you possibly know that?" "Because my mother was named Selena and her father was named Cadoc," Harry admitted. Murtagh stared at Eragon in shock. "Does that mean you are my brother?" Murtagh asked. "Half brother," Saphira interjected. Harry and Eragon turned to stare at Murtagh in surprise. "Do you know who my father was?" Harry asked Saphira.
"Brom told me. But he asked me not to reveal it to you unless certain conditions were met. Those conditions have not been met. I will simply say that Morzan was not your father," Saphira said.
"What conditions?" Harry asked.
"I cannot even tell you that much. I am sorry. You can be angry all you want. But Brom made me swear," Saphira said.
"I'm not angry at you," Harry assured. "I can wait to learn more information."
"Well I'm angry," Murtagh said. "You're telling me my mother had another son with someone else. And she left me under the Empire's control? Where were you raised Eragon?"
"With my Uncle Garrow. He was Selena's older brother. Maybe it wasn't possible for her to get you away from where you were at?" Harry suggested. "How old were you when she was last seen? Do you know what happened to her?"
Murtagh's angry expression flashed to a pained one as he thought of the fate of his mother.
"I only know what I know from a journal she kept and left me. The journal didn't include anything about an affair. But I could tell from her writing that she grew disillusioned with Morzan in her final days even if she didn't come out and say that. I believe it was because of his cruelty to me. I was raised by a nurse kept separate from her. Only Galbatorix knew of my existence for fear I would be used against Morzan. I was two when my mother disappeared for a time. From what I have heard she died after returning to Morzan's castle when she fell ill during her traveling. I'm sorry to tell you that," Murtagh explained.
"How old are you?" Harry asked.
"Eighteen. And you?" Murtagh asked.
"Sixteen," Harry admitted. Harry did some mental math and pieced together what he knew from what little Garrow had told him. "Based off of what Uncle Garrow told me and what you've just told me I would guess she traveled too soon after giving birth to me or caught some kind of illness."
Harry looked stricken at the thought. The two were silent for some time as they digested this information.
"It's likely the only person who could have given us the answers we seek died on the journey here," Saphira suggested. "You two should get some sleep. You can learn more on the journey to the Varden."
"Like we're going to sleep after learning that," Murtagh said with a snort.
"Look, I'm really sorry our mother left you where she did. None of that is my fault. I know that doesn't help a lot now. But anger, jealousy, or whatever you may be feeling towards me at the moment won't help you in the long run. I just found out I have a half-brother. I thought our
cousin Roran was the only family I had left in the world. The Ra'zac killed Garrow," Harry admitted. "You are my half-brother. I only feel good things for you."
Murtagh looked less angry at this and said, "I would like to hear about my cousin tomorrow."
"I'd be happy to tell you," Harry assured. "Do you want me to help you get to sleep? I know a spell."
"That may be useful," Murtagh admitted.
Harry put Murtagh to sleep. Then he turned his focus on Arya.
"You are taking this all very well," Saphira commented.
"Making decisions that have large impact when I am emotional is not a good life choice," Harry explained as he walked over to Arya and knelt next to her.
He retrieved a knife and began cutting up Arya's leggings. "What are you doing?" Saphira asked.
"Arya gave me permission to cut up her leggings to heal her legs. And she also showed me how to mend the leggings," Harry explained.
By this point he had cut clear up to the tops of her thighs. He was careful not to cut her any further. Her sex was still covered as was her backside. But he exposed a lot of long flesh marked with the scars of his partial healing. The scars were not very old. So healing them shouldn't be too difficult. He began the process of healing her scars.
"You find her legs appealing," Saphira noted. "I do. Very much so," Harry admitted. "I will go to sleep. Wake me if you need me," Saphira said.
Harry took his time healing Arya's scars admiring her form. He would have to view these memories later in the pensieve he had in his satchel. He had constructed the pensieve with Salazar's guidance in Westeros. After mending Arya's leggings he fell to sleep tired from the events of the day. He had no trouble sleeping despite the day's revelations.
A Few Hours Later "Up," Harry shouted as he hit Murtagh with an enervate and Saphira with a mental shout.
"What?" Murtagh said as he sat bolt upright.
Harry was already hastily packing up their camp. Murtagh's eyes spotted the column of Urgals about a league away marching parallel to the mountain range. Murtagh flew into action. Within another two minutes they were on their horses riding away.
"How did you spot them?" Murtagh asked. "I thought you said your wards would only have a certain range."
"My wards do," Harry said. "I woke up from feeling and spotted them."
"Good thing you did. The banner the column was showing bore the symbol of an Urgal chieftain known for bouts of insanity," Murtagh explained.
The two road for maybe half an hour before the Urgals faded from sight. Then Harry had an idea.
"I think we should take turns sleeping in the saddle and leading the other's horse," Harry suggested. "I can use magic to put us to sleep so that we will be better rested. I can also use magic to secure us to the horses."
"I don't think you being unconscious from a sleep you can't wake from until the spell wears off is a good idea," Murtagh pointed out.
"I can set it up so that a keyword from you triggers me waking," Harry suggested. "Make it Eragon Wake Up Now," Murtagh suggested. Harry nodded and said, "You sleep first."
Murtagh nodded. Harry spelled Murtagh to sleep and secured his half-brother to the saddle. He let Murtagh sleep for two hours and then switched. Harry had to spell both himself and Arya to Snowfire. The last amusing thought that Harry had before he lost consciousness for two hours was that technically he had gotten to sleep with Arya.
"I must admit that I feel a lot better rested than I would be otherwise," Murtagh said. "I wish the same could be said for the horses. They look exhausted."
"Salazar, do you know a way to keep the horses going?" Harry asked as he grasped the journal.
"There are a couple of ways. There is a spell similar to pepper-up potion. It doesn't restore your energy as much as the potion form does. It gives you about three-quarters of the boost that the potion does. There's also a time dilation spell which is hard to cast. But I don't know that you are going to want to use that in front of anybody," Salazar explained. "It would speed up time inside a bubble of space. The horses could go in and rest. A few minutes your time they would come out refreshed."
"I could ask Murtagh to keep watch for the Urgals while I did it out of sight. Teach me," Harry asked.
Out loud Harry said, "I may know a spell to help that Brom taught me. I need to practice."
Harry closed his eyes and focused on what Salazar's journal was showing him inside his mind. It took another hour for Harry to learn the spell. He was very motivated to do so. He wouldn't be able to get the full temporal compression he would be able to get out of the spell if he was really practiced. But it would suffice. Harry was looking for a good place to do the spell when they came upon a pond.
"This looks like a good place to pause," Murtagh said. "Agreed," Harry said. "I'll prepare to do the spell. Let's let the horses drink."
Saphira had broken off a short while back to hunt. She needed to eat. There were some gazelle or whatever the local equivalent nearby. Harry was focusing on the spell when he heard the sound of a sword being drawn. He looked up to Murtagh who had drawn his blade and glanced in the direction Murtagh was looking. A man on horseback wearing a brown cloak was at the head of twenty more horsemen. The leader had a mace in hand.
"Those horses are meant for speed. Tornac and Snowfire are war horses. We'd never outrun them," Murtagh noted.
"I'll tell Saphira to hurry back," Harry said. "But if necessary I think I could kill them all." "Good to know," Murtagh said.
The leader, a man named Torkenbrand, gestured with his mace which sent his riders towards those by the pond. The horsemen whooped and hollered as they shook javelins over their heads. Four horsemen pointed bows with strung arrows at Harry and Murtagh. Harry and Murtagh were circled.
"These two are better than the usual dregs we find," Torkenbrand said. "They look healthy and there was no need to shoot them. Grieg will be pleased."
"Slavers," Harry said with contempt.
Harry had not been idle even though to the slavers it appeared he had. Salazar had been training him in how to use illusions during a fight. Harry had used a combination of a disillusionment charm and an illusion to replace both himself and Murtagh with illusions. The real Harry and Murtagh were standing outside of the group of slavers.
"Drop your weapons or we'll use you as quivers," Torkenbrand ordered.
Harry didn't waste any breathe on the group of men. The illusion in the center of the circle vanished. The rapidly fired ribbon cutting curses which shot out of Harry's fingers didn't leave the horsemen any time to contemplate this development. The spells took the heads off of most of the horsemen. A few were completely cut in half. Blood spurted everywhere. Harry grabbed the stunned Murtagh and stepped back to avoid the spray of blood.
"How?" Murtagh asked as the corpses of the slavers dropped off their horses. Quite a few of the startled horses ran. But seven stayed in the immediate area. "Magic," Harry said grimly. "I hate slavers." "That is obvious," Murtagh said while giving his half-brother an appraising look. Obviously Eragon was more dangerous than Murtagh had first suspected.
"Do you want to loot the corpses for anything worthwhile while I prepare the spell. It's almost ready? I'm going to put you to sleep when I do the spell so you can be rested too. Is that alright?" Harry asked.
"Yes. I could use some more rest," Murtagh agreed. "You too Saphira. If you go to sleep you'll get more rest," Harry suggested. "What about you?" Arya asked. "I can't be in the effects of the spell for it to work," Harry explained. "Very well. I could use a rest," Saphira agreed. Saphira settled down by the horses and immediately went to sleep with a full belly. "Alright," Harry said. "Get comfortable."
Murtagh settled down on a bedroll and Harry cast a spell to put him to sleep. Then he raised his hands and cast the spell. A blue bubble of energy formed around the entire pond. Harry grunted with the effort of tying off the magic. To Harry it looked like Murtagh, the horses, and Saphira were breathing extremely fast. The horses moved about eating grass and getting drinks faster than they normally would have been capable of. Then they settled to sleep. Harry meanwhile finished the job of looting. It took fifteen minutes to finish he looting. The slavers had possessed quite a bit of gold in coin purses and a fair few rusty weapons. Harry cast cleaning charms on the weapons and stored them in his satchel. Then he collapsed the spell. About ten hours had passed inside the bubble. If Harry had been more practiced at the spell he could have gotten fifteen hours in that fifteen minutes. He cast a spell which woke Murtagh.
Arya had remained on the outside of the bubble. There was no reason to speed up time for her. It would just be less time she had to survive the poison.
"I feel amazing," Murtagh declared. "I feel rested as well," Saphira projected. "Well get up and at em," Harry said. "We need to get going."
Murtagh nodded his agreement. The well-rested horses were able to make better time. The two arms of the Beor Mountain range the group was currently traveling next to were shaped like giant pincers about to close. The two tips of the pincers were a day's ride apart. Harry had managed to release a newly created snitch drone. The drone quickly located the Urgal horde that was following them. The horde was at a point Harry's group had passed late the day before. It was early morning at that point.
"What is it?" Murtagh asked after noticing the grim expression on his half-brother's face. "The Urgals are close," Harry announced.
"Then we had best get riding," Murtagh said as he mounted his horse. "I've been thinking about it. When we get to the entrance to the Varden's location I will escape down a side valley and make my way to Surda."
"That could work," Harry agreed.
Despite the fact that the horses were well-rested the Urgal column managed to gain a slight distance on them. From what the snitch probe was revealing these Urgals were huge, bigger than any urgals he had encountered previously. They continued their method of sleeping on the horses.
"If what Arya says is true then this should be the last day of our journey right?" Murtagh asked at sunrise.
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
It was later that afternoon that they came to a narrow valley on one side of a broad mountain. The Beartooth River flowed out of the valley. This was what they were looking for.
"Is that it?" Murtagh asked as he glanced back at the Urgals which were only about two leagues back.
"Yes. I'm going to try some magic to lead the Urgals off while we slip into that valley," Harry said.
Murtagh nodded. Harry applied disillusionment charms to Murtagh, Saphira, Arya, and the horses. At the same time golems of the horses, Murtagh, Arya, and Harry replaced them. The replacement Saphira was an illusion since she was flying. The golems continued riding past the valley. Harry meanwhile used magic to cover their tracks and their scent as they entered the valley. The group entered into the forest beneath the Beors. The forest felt rather hostile. Harry noticed what he would have called a pine cone in his birth universe the size of a horse's head. The foliage blocked out the sun as the undergrowth became thick enough to slow their progress.
The valley on either side was dotted with waterfalls. "The narrowness of the valley is an optical illusion of sorts," Harry noted to Saphira.
"Yes. The size of the mountains makes it appear that way. It is actually quite wide," Saphira agreed.
As the group moved further into the valley it was slow going. But they made progress.
"Am I going to be able to find an escape route out of this valley?" Murtagh asked.
Harry wasn't sure if the question was directed at him or if Murtagh was just talking to himself.
"Here," Harry said. "I've charged the belt up with enough magic to be able to transport you a short distance to one of the neighboring valleys."
Murtagh accepted the belt Harry was handing him with surprise. Transportation magic was not unheard of in this universe. It was just magically exhausting. It was how Saphira's egg had been transported to Eragon in the first place. Murtagh didn't need to know the belt was a one-time portkey.
"Thank you," Murtagh said gratefully.
"It only works once. It will transport both you and Tornac along with your supplies. You can camp out in the neighboring valley and I can visit you," Harry said. "Eventually you could make your way to Surda. But for now until the heat dies down from the Urgals it may not be a bad idea to just camp out."
Murtagh nodded in agreement. "How does it activate?" Murtagh questioned. "By saying my horses name and then Brom one word right after the other," Harry explained. "So I have to say Snowfire and then his name right after one another," Murtagh clarified. "Yes," Harry confirmed.
"Thank you for thinking of my safety," Murtagh said.
"Given the fact that Morzan was your father I agree with you that they wouldn't be very happy to have you show up. Given the fact that my mother is Selena I doubt they would be much happier," Harry said. "I have no plans to tell them."
"Look at that," Murtagh said as he spotted something on the ground.
Harry and Murtagh pulled up alongside the tracks on the ground. Eragon was quite the skilled hunter.
"Wolf tracks," Harry noted. "But bigger than any wolf tracks I've ever seen." "That's at least two hands wide an inch deep," Murtagh noted.
"Let's hope we don't run into any of those. I could probably handle them the same way I handled the slavers if I had to," Harry said.
"Yes. That was quite effective," Murtagh admitted. As the two road on, Murtagh said, "I'm pretty certain we are being followed by Kull. They are the elite of the Urgals. They stand over eight feet tall, are too big to be carried by horses, and can run for days without sleep while still being ready for battle. It can take up to five men to kill one Kull. The Kull only leave their caves for war."
Harry decided to talk to Arya. He had gotten much better at it at this point after practice during their journey. He no longer even needed to close his eyes.
"How goes our journey?" Arya asked the moment Harry touched her mind.
Their thoughts were now pressed together.
"We are nearing the entrance to the Varden. But the Urgals are pursuing us. What is trouble me is that I sent decoys off, illusions, and used magic to cover our tracks. I even masked our scent. A small portion of the Urgals has split off to pursue the decoys. But the bulk of the forces came into the valley. How did they know to come this way?" Harry asked.
Arya thought on it for a moment.
"My first thought would have been to suspect Morzan's son of signaling them in some way. But the oaths you asked me to help you construct make me less inclined to distrust him. He would have had to be honest with the wording we worked out. The other option is that they were coming this direction anyway," Arya suggested.
"You think the Varden have a spy amongst their ranks," Harry suggested. "Someone who is betraying their location to the Empire."
"For the right price I wouldn't doubt it," Arya said. "This is very troubling." She was silent for a time until Harry broke the silence by asking, "How are you doing?"
"The latest infusion of energy you gave me helped. I could go for a week or two more like this. But we will be at the Varden soon. I have been thinking about what you told me about your mother being Murtagh's mother. I have a suspicion. I have debated if I should share it with you. It's just a suspicion you understand. I've had a lot of time to think," Arya explained.
"I would appreciate your thoughts," Harry requested.
"Brom was the one that arranged for us to get Saphira's egg after he liberated it from the Empire. He slew Morzan around the same time period. It sounds like your mother had you in secret and may have had at least some change of heart about her past. Given the fact that Brom came to Carvahall where Selena grew up...," Arya trailed off.
"You suspect Brom is my father," Harry said with surprise.
"Yes. Given that Brom told Saphira enough that she said Morzan is not your father," Arya pointed out. "It would also make it somehow fitting then that you named Saphira what you did when Brom's dragon was named Saphira."
Harry thought about it for a while. "How do you feel about that?" Arya asked.
"Well Brom being my father would be a lot better than Morzan. From what little I know of him he was a good man," Harry said.
"He was. There is someone in the capitol city of the elves that knew Brom quite well. I cannot tell you more about that until you are in the elven realm. But they may know more for sure," Arya hinted.
Harry and Arya talked for some time more as the horses continued to travel. They were both getting to know one another better through simple conversation.
The day wore on until it grew dark out. The valley gradually took on the shape of a bowl. Harry detected the sound of a waterfall in the distance. But the foliage was pretty thick.
"I think we're almost there," Harry announced.
"Good," Murtagh said. "It won't be much longer and I'll probably need to use the belt you gave me. But I will wait to see you safely to the Varden."
"I appreciate that," Harry said.
The sound of the Urgals growing closer was announced by one of the Urgal horns going off. Abruptly the forest ended. They found themselves on a pebble beach. The mouth of the Beartooth River was on their left. The lake of Kostha-merna took up the valley. A thin strip of shore surrounded the lake separating the water from the mountainsides. At the far end of the lake was the waterfall they were looking for.
"We're here then," Murtagh said.
"We are. I think it's time for you to go," Harry said. "I will come visit you when I can."
"Take care of yourself," Murtagh said while holding out his forearm.
Harry grasped Murtagh's forearm in a grasp.
"Hold on tight," Harry directed. "Snowfire Brom."
Murtagh vanished in a swirl of lights.
"I had no idea you were storing that much energy," Saphira said with a shake of her head. "Well we had better meet these Varden."
Harry and Saphira went along the shore of the lake. She was half in the water. They walked quickly. When they were partway around the lake Urgals came out of the forest. The Urgals said something in their guttural language and rushed along the shoreline. The Kull were forced to go single file on the shore. This made it perfect. Harry held up his right hand and pointed at the line of Kull following him. A ribbon cutting curse lashed out and cut through the Urgal directly behind him. It didn't stop there. The twelve Urgals behind the first were cut in half until the angle proved wrong. The curse ground out in the magical side. There was stunned silence among the enemy as they stared at the destruction caused by a single opponent.
Harry gestured with his hand towards the opposite shore and shot out two more ribbon cutting curses, taking nine more Kull between the two curses. The Urgals at the entrance to the lake began firing arrows at Harry.
"Eragon," Saphira sent in alarm.
Harry held up his hand. The arrows smashed against the invisible barrier of an energy shield and broke apart. More arrows flew in with the same result. Meanwhile more Kull warriors poured around the lake. Harry backed towards the waterfall. More ribbon cutting curses ripped the Kull apart. But there were more and more Kull.
"Watch after Arya," Harry directed Saphira as he noticed Kull creeping towards the elf mounted on Snowfire.
Harry sent deadly spellfire at those Kull. By this point the bodies were beginning to pile up. The lake ran red with blood. Harry channeled two overpowered blasting curses at the shoreline on either side of the lake and then rushed for behind the falls. The explosions tore up the ground and tossed dozens of Kull into the air. Harry arrived behind the fall and focused on the instructions Arya had given him.
"Ai varden abr du Shur'tugals gata vanta," Harry called while channeling a sonorous charm on low power.
The sonorous charm was focused towards the entrance Harry knew was there. Nothing happened at first. But then two twelve foot thick stone doors opened in the cliff face. A broad thirty foot tall tunnel was within the doors leading into the mountain. Men and dwarves armed with bows and other weapons poured out of the tunnel and began raining down arrows on the Kull. One dwarf approached Harry from the rest. This dwarf wore an iron-bound ox hide cap engraved with the symbol of a hammer surrounded by twelve stars.
"I am Orik Rider," Orik said.
"I am Eragon. My dragon is Saphira. And this is Arya," Harry said as he gestured to Arya on Snowfire.
"Barzul," Orik swore when he spotted Arya. "Get them inside," Orik shouted. "Orik," A tall bald man in a purple and gold robe said. "No time for that Twin," Orik called. "Get them inside."
Snowfire was led inside by some of the men. Harry and Saphira entered the tunnel at the same time. The tunnel was lit by flameless lanterns. After Orik and the rest retreated inside the double doors were closed. The air was tense.
"Arya is in need of Tunivor's nectar," Harry said to break the silence. "I rescued her from Gil'ead where they poisoned her with Skilna Bragh."
"Barzul," Orik swore. "If you will come this way Rider we will take you someplace secure until we can verify that you are a friend. This could be a trick from the empire. I'm sure you understand."
"Of course," Harry agreed. "As long as the antidote is brought for Arya I am content to wait."
Harry followed Orik and the bald man down several corridors into a large room big enough for even Saphira to move around comfortably.
"Will you wait here while we confer with our leaders? Your arrival was unexpected," Orik said.
"Of course," Harry said. "But I wouldn't bother locking the door. It wouldn't hold us should we want to leave."
"I see," Orik said.
"You must be tested," The Twin said.
Harry thought it was an odd name. But perhaps the man's name wasn't really known.
"Tested in what way?" Harry asked.
This man for some reason reminded Harry a little of Severus Snape. He did not like the bald man.
"Your memories must be examined to determine if you are friend or foe," The Twin answered.
"No," Harry said firmly.
"But you must. We cannot trust you otherwise," The Twin said.
"Perhaps I made an error in coming to the Varden. I will answer questions in the Ancient language. But I will not allow my memories to be examined," Harry said.
"It is possible to deceive in the Ancient language. But it is harder to outright lie," Orik admitted. "The problem is that I do not think our grasp of the Ancient language is sufficient for what you propose."
"Wait until Arya is revived. She could then test me," Harry suggested.
"No," The Twin Harry would later learn was called Egraz Carn said angrily. "I do the testing here."
"This is a matter that can be taken up with leadership," Orik suggested.
"I would not be necessarily opposed to someone else examining my mind if Arya takes too long to recover. Perhaps I could meet other magic users you have here," Harry suggested.
"I am the one who does the examining," Egraz snarled.
"You do not strike me as the trustworthy sort," Harry said while looking the man dead in the eye. "I will extend the Varden a measure of trust. But that trust only goes so far. You need to do the same," He said as he unbuckled his sword still sheathed from his belt and handed it to Orik. "Orik, I already find you more trustworthy than this Egraz man."
It spoke volumes that Harry was willing to hand over his sword and seemed unconcerned about the threat that the Varden posed to him.
"Will you wait here while I confer with my leadership?" Orik asked.
"I will," Harry confirmed. "I would appreciate it if some food could be brought though. Saphira and I are quite hungry from the magic we had to use in battle."
"Of course," Orik said. Orik led a pissed off Egraz and several guards out of the room.
"If they do need to look at your memories I can hide select memories from them," Saphira suggested.
Harry could hide the memories as well considering he had occlumency. But he didn't want to tell Saphira that.
"Let's spend the next little while selecting which memories to hide," Harry suggested. Saphira agreed. And that's what they did.