In Riders We Trust(An Eragon FanFiction)

Chapter Two- The Reaction Test

The next morning, Ayutharian was the first one to awake. He realized that he probably had some time before the others woke up, and decided to begin a project he had been planning.

To keep the group from believing he had been taken, he wrote down a note, saying :

'I will be back in a couple minutes. I'm working on a project.'

Once he finished the note, he started to run. Pushing out with his mind, he found where Opalis had been lying, and aroused her.

'Opalis,' he said. 'Rouse Cobalt and Fírek and take them to the skies to train.' He received a mental nod from Opalis, and continued to run.

When Cobalt awoke, his movements awoke Krevin as well. Soon after, he noticed Ayutharian's absence at their camp. In a frenzied panic, he shook Raynel awake.

"Ayutharian isn't here," he said, panting.

Raynel looked around sheepishly, and then realized what he had said. She rolled over, and saw the note Ayutharian had left.

"Here," she said after reading the note. She handed it to Krevin, and said, "I'm going to sleep until he returns."

A while later, Ayutharian returned, sweating and drained almost completely of energy. Since his group wouldn't expect him to have returned yet, he decided to test their reactions to danger.

After disguising his voice, Ayutharian yelled, "This is the empire, we have you surrounded!"

When she heard the voice, Raynel quickly leaped six feet off the ground. She then pulled out her dagger in the air, and landed hard on the soles of her feet. As she began to search the ground for her sword, she noticed that it was too far away for her to reach in time. Then, with the most stupidity she had ever felt, Raynel saw Ayutharian standing on the edge if the clearing with a smile on his face.

"Really?" she asked with sarcasm.

"You've passed," Ayutharian said, laughing.

Raynel flipped her hair out of her eyes before crossing her arms.

"Thanks, but if it were a real ambush, they wouldn't say, 'We are the empire, we have you surrounded.'"

She said the last part in a fake man voice, imitating Ayutharian as a tease. He had thought well to test them.

"Yeah," Ayutharian responded, chuckling. "I probably should have thought of something better to say. Well, since we have some time, I think one of us should spar with you Krevin. What do you guys think?"

"I like that idea," Raynel replied. "Krevin, I will be the one to fight with you."

"Alright," Krevin told Raynel. "But I have come across a slight problem. My sword needs repairing. Could you make a spell to help fix the pommel?"

"I bet we could do that for you Krevin." Ayu responded. "It might take a little while to get the right words though."

"Alright. I'd prefer not to spar in discomfort, but I will if need be. Thank you Ayutharian. Is that your real name? I've never really heard it before."

"Well, Ayutharian isn't my real name, but I'd like to keep my real name a secret if that's ok," Ayu told the group.

Krevin smiled, "Cobalt and I have some secrets of our own."

'And they have no idea about us,' Raynel said silently to Fírek with a smirk.

'You should best wait to tell them until your sure you can trust them,' he responds.

'Fine,' Raynel agreed reluctantly.

To the group, she said, "Draw your sword Krevin, and let me see what you can do."

She picked up Feahthum, and began to circle her opponent.

Krevin drew his sword, and began to search Raynel for a weakness. Soon, he saw that her left side was uncovered by armor, and unguarded by her sword, which was hanging by her right side. He sprinted to her right flank, feints, and jumped to her left. He takes a slice at her thigh, but she quickly blocked his attack with a fury of sparks.

"You think fast Krevin, but not fast enough," Raynel taunted him.

She released her grip on his sword to attack on the offensive. She faked a blow to his shoulder, then side stepped to jab him in the back with the pommel of her sword.

As the handle slammed into him, Krevin's back flared with pain. In a blind rage, he ran at her, spinning and striking as her legs, knocking her to the ground.

Raynel rolled over on the ground, before jumping into the air, and landing in front of Krevin. She twisted the tip of her blade around his, working her way down to the pommel of Verma, flinging it from his hand.

Krevin was surprised that Raynel could disarm him so easily, but he pulled out his dagger, slid underneath her, and took a slice at her head. The blow knocked Raynel to the ground, so Krevin got above her, pinned her down, and brought his dagger to her neck.

This match though, Raynel was stronger that her opponent, so she twisted her right leg over his back, and put her hand on his chest before shoving him to the side. The knife still against her neck, she twisted Krevin's wrist, and watched as it fell to the ground.

She pushed her knee up to his sternum, and gripped his wrists with her hands.

"You've bested me," Krevin panted, struggling to speak from Raynel's grip. "I haven't been able to train properly."

"Well," Ayutharian said, chuckling, "I think this match is over. You actually did better than I thought you would Krevin."

"Thank you Ayutharian, Ebrithil," Krevin replied as Raynel let him up, rubbing her hands.

The dragons then left to hunt, and the group set up a camp fire just as dusk settled on the horizon. They all set up their bed rolls, and fell asleep next to the fire, ending another eventful day.

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Ayutharian was again the first one to wake, and began to work on Krevin's sword. The spell he had decided to attempt was only meant for physical wounds, but to him, it was worth a try.

"Waise heill", he muttered, but the sword didn't change.

Since he was still tired, Ayutharian decided to rest before trying again on the sword. He began to put his arms around Raynel's neck, and fall back asleep, when pain suddenly erupted in the back of his head. The last thing he saw before he went unconscious were two burly looking men, dragging him into the forest.

A while later, Krevin woke up, and noticed Ayutharian's absence. Questions began to stir in his mind, and he hurried to scurry out of his bedroll.

'Wake up young one,' Fírek said, arousing Raynel.

As she sat up, she noticed Krevin's stunned expression.

'Ayutharian is missing,' he informed his Rider. 'We must look for him with Cobalt and Krevin.'

Raynel stood up, and nodded to her dragon. 'What of Opalis?'

The dragon was sleeping when he was taken, she was in too deep for him to contact her. She is out searching already, he told her.

Raynel jumped up and go onto Fírek's back, ignoring the fact she didn't have a saddle.

"We must ride them," she hissed to Krevin, panic seeping into her voice, "If we are to find him."

"Alright," Krevin responded. He saddled up Cobalt, and took off. "Where should we look?" he asked once in the air.