Goldshadow - Chapter 2

Goldshadow - Chapter 2 - Setting out on a journey


It was just after sunrise when they left the inn, even the innkeeper was still asleep. Nasuada was still pretty sleepy as they set out to leave the town of Belatona. Most guards rode horses, while the elf drove the wagon with the precious cargo, including Nasuada and her egg. Garrow was sitting in the back, while Nasuada sat right next to the elf, dozing off a few times due to her early wake-up call.

They could travel rather fast on the wide road and had almost reached the big bridge over the Jiet river when Nasuada finally was fully awake. "This is already further than I've ever been" Nasuada thought to herself as they crossed the bridge.

"Where are we headed to?" she asked the elf.

"Well, at first we head to Dras-Leona, that wretched city..."

"Oh shut it, you talker!" Garrow called behind from behind them, "it's not THAT bad!"

"Of course it is! It's been almost 80 years since the last Ra'zac have been killed and those crazy priests still worship the Helgrind with..." the Elf stopped, shot a glance at Nasuada and looked forward again, continuing. "...with their gruesome rites."

"But luckily they can't send slaves to their deaths anymore..."

"That might be true, but I bet they kill people by themselves now, they just don't use slaves anymore, they just abduct someone. There were way too many stories of disappearing people in the last few months to deny it."

"If what you say is true, then we should tell the riders to look into that matter."

Nasuada was lost in thought over the facts she just heard when Garrow came up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked around at him as he spoke again.

"Let's switch seats for a while, I need to talk to him in private..."

"Could you open the chest for me, please?"

He just smiled and did as she asked him. When he had opened it, she climbed over the bench and sat next to the now open chest, stroking the egg like a cat while Garrow passed her and sat down in her place, taking to the elf in a hushed voice. Not that he needed to, Nasuada was lost in thought once again.

"Do you really think we should discuss this when she's around? It's already enough for her to fathom that she's gonna be a rider, the last thing she needs to worry about now is murderous priests of a long lost religion." Garrow said.

"Long lost? Hah! From what I've learned along this trip, it's pretty damn active again. They are said to have a new leader, a powerful magician, but strangely, no one seems to know what he looks like."

"Hmmm, probably because every outsider that has seen him died on the spot?" Garrow said jokingly.
"It would be more funny if it wouldn't be so probable." the elf replied grimly.

"How come you've heard about of this anyway? I haven't heard any of it..."

"Hello?! I'm half elven! I hear loads better than any human!...And, of course, I can do magic!"

"You've read their thoughts?"

"Maybe... but only after asking the right questions..." the elf said as he blushed slightly and Garrow laughed.

"We really have to talk about this...you really shouldn't read minds like that...and do you really think, you're just half elven? Your dad also looks like an elf...and he probably is a partial one from what I heard of that ceremony..."

The elf looked around warily and leaned closer to Garrow, whispering. "Will you keep quiet? If anyone knew who my parents are, I'd never be able to talk to anyone like a normal person!"

"True..." answered Garrow, leaned back and crossed his arms, leaving it at that.

Meanwhile, Nasuada was knocking on the egg a few time, expecting some kind of reply. When nothing came, she stopped, leaning back against the side of the wagon, just staring at it. She tried to recall all the stories she heard about the riders and their dragons. Of course she loved the stories of their heroic deeds. The tragic Brom, fighting and beating Morzan the Apostate after losing his own dragon. The young Eragon, Shadeslayer and  great hero of the Varden War. The poor Murtagh, cursed to serve the evil king. Especially the last one had always fascinated her. Only now she figured out why: no one could ever tell her what had happened to Murtagh when the king had been defeated. She wondered how this was possible. "If he died, wouldn't they simply say it? And if he survived, what became of him?" The more she thought of it, the stranger it got. She knew that Eragon's dragon was of a brilliant blue, but she had also heard that people had seen a green dragon and some even spoke of a red one. She was about to ask Garrow and the elf when she noticed that the sun had already started to set. How long was I lost in thought? she thought to herself, but before she could ask any of them, the elf interrupted her.

"She is coming."

"Really? That was fast! She must be really eager..." Garrow said and signaled the guards to stop.

He climbed back to Nasuada, reached for the egg and took it from the chest. Tucking it under the arm, he climbed out the back and gestured Nasuada to follow him. They had stopped at a place where the shore of the Leona Lake was just a little less than hundred feet off the road. While the guards surrounded the wagon, Garrow, Nasuada and the elf were walking off the road and towards the little beach.

"Who's coming?" Nasuada asked while she was following Garrow through some low hedges.

"You'll see!" he just said.

They reached the beach and just stood there for a few minutes while Nasuada looked around eagerly. She was scanning the surface of the lake for a boat or ship, when the elf called out to her.

"Over there!" he said while pointing almost directly at the sun that was setting behind the far out peaks of the Spine. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. A few seconds later she saw a shadow moving towards them, a large flying shadow. It drew ever closer and when she recognized it, she gasped. It was a dragon.

She slowly backed away from the shore as the dragon was closing in. Garrow got close to her, knelt down and laid his arm around her shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, she won't do you any harm." he said in a soothing voice.

Only then Nasuada realized she was holding her breath. She tried to speak, but for the first time in her life, her voice failed her. Instead, she just drew closer to Garrow, almost hiding behind him as the large dragon closed in on them.

They stood like that for several minutes and as the dragon was close enough to make out it's color, Nasuada saw it sparkle in such a beautiful and brilliant blue like she had never seen before. The dragon passed over them with a whooshing noise, creating a little wind. They turned to follow it with their eyes as it flew a wide turn around them. When it had flown almost a full circle, it turned sharply and came towards them again, this time from the south.

"Behold the great and beautiful dragon of Eragon and mother to a new generation of dragons. Humbly I introduce to you... Saphira Bjartskular!" the elf called out as the dragon flew lower and lower to land on the beach.