Sja Fram [Inheritance Cycle | Eragon Fanfiction]

Chapter XXVI: Journey to Gil'ead

Chapter XXVI: Journey to Gil'ead

When I awoke, it was early morning and no light had yet breached the cave. I walked outside, watching as the black horizon slowly turned red, then orange, then yellow as the sun arose. When the sun was past the horizon, the sky became a deep, rich blue. At some point Murtagh had passed me and gone hunting, he was climbing up now. I leant down and grabbed the rabbits from him as he made his way up. I entered the cave, with Murtagh behind me and saw Eragon had gotten up.

I started skinning one rabbit while Murtagh skinned the other. "How are you?" Murtagh asked as he sat next to Eragon.

"Very ill," came the short reply.

Murtagh stopped his movements and looked at Eragon thoughtfully. "Will you recover?" Eragon shrugged in reply and after a minute of reflection Murtagh spoke. "I dislike asking this at such a time, but I must know... Is your Brom the Brom? The one who helped steal a dragon egg from the king, chased it across the Empire, and killed Morzan in a duel? I've heard his name said and I read the inscription on the grave, but I must know for sure. Was that he?"

"It was," I said softly.

A troubled expression settled on Murtagh's face. "How do you know all that?" Eragon questioned, "You talk about things that are secret to most, and you were trailing the Ra'zac right when we needed help. Are you one of the Varden?"

Murtagh's eyes became closed off and hard. "I'm running away, like you two," he muttered, sorrow hidden in his words. "I belong with neither the Varden nor the Empire. I owe no allegiance to anyone bar myself. My rescuing of you came due to the fact I was already tracking the Ra'zac and you had need for my help. I had reasoned that by following the Ra'zac I would discover whether the rumours were true or not."

"What rumours?" I asked.

"Rumours of a new Rider," he replied.

"I thought you wanted to kill the Ra'zac," said Eragon.

"I do, but if I had, I never would have met you," Murtagh said with a grim smile.

"Where is Saphira?" Eragon finally asked.

"I don't know. She went off with Murtagh when he went hunting." I responded.

"She flew off on her own after a bit, I haven't seen her since," Murtagh said.

"What are you planning on doing now?" Murtagh asked. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Eragon.

"I'm not too sure," Eragon said as he rolled his blankets up and tied them to Cadoc's saddlebags. Murtagh started preparing the rabbits and I got the fire going.

Eragon returned to crouch by the fire, map in his hand and Zar'roc by his side. Murtagh caught sight of the sword and flinched, eyes narrowing. "That sword, may I see it?" Eragon relinquished the sword after a moment of hesitation. Murtagh examined the symbol on the blade while I took over preparing a stew for us all. "Where did you get this?" Murtagh asked in a dark tone.

"Brom gave it to me. Why?" Eragon quizzed.

Murtagh shoved the sword back to Eragon and I looked up in time to see him cross his arms angrily. He was breathing hard. "That sword," Murtagh snarled, "was once as well known as its owner. The last Rider to carry it was Morzan – a brutal, savage man. I thought you were a foe of the Empire, yet here you are, bearing one of the Forsworn's bloody swords!"

I gazed at the weapon in shock. Strangely enough, I felt like Murtagh sounded too emotional over the sword for it to be a Forsworn's sword, which he had no connection to and had only heard of. I chewed on my cheek thoughtfully but decided to let the topic drop; it wasn't any of my business after all. "Brom never told me where it came from. I had no idea it was Morzan's," Eragon answered truthfully.