The Return of the Guardian

Chapter 18

Eragon spun away from the guard, missing the blade by mere inches. As he spun, he swung the sword he borrowed from a dead soldier, to kill the one before him. The blade lopped off the man's head mercilessly. Beside him, Murtagh was busy with another guard. Eragon stepped forward into the room the men were protecting and raised his hand. With a short incantation, the door swung open to reveal none other than the woman with raven black hair.

Eragon was glad he found the maiden, however, his heart still sank as he hoped to find Lena instead. Still he entered the room and as he approached her, he noticed that she did look very exotic! Elves, as he was told, often were very beautiful, and the woman before him, though quite bruised and battered, was no exception. Soon Murtagh joined him at the unconscious elf and stated what was also on Eragon's mind, "She's beautiful!" However, his thoughts did not linger long on the elf woman as he drifted back to Lena.

"Aye, she is, but let us hurry and help her and keep looking for Lena," Eragon was becoming desperate as their time to finish their plan drew near. Eragon had stopped eating and drinking enough to gain more clarity and in that clarity, he was able to contact Saphira. He was thrilled to learn that she had broken free of their captors and was with Murtagh outside of Gil'ead where they were currently held prisoner. Well, no longer for Eragon. He had used magic he was finally able to remember, with help from Saphira, to unlock his cell door.

He had planned to meet up with Murtagh and take out as many guards as they needed to look for Lena, but they only had less than an hour before they had to leave the prison for a dining hall where the roof was thin enough for Saphira to claw through and rescue them. Now, with an elf, their task became increasingly difficult, expressed by Murtagh as he let out a groan.

"Must you always complicate things, Eragon?"

Eragon simply grinned in response, to which Murtagh rolled his eyes and picked up the woman after Eragon untied her. "You know, I will not be able to fight like this, right?" Murtagh asked, even though it was unnecessary.

"I should be able to fend them off. Though, you could set her down and help if I become swamped."

"Perhaps," Murtagh replied as they made their way out of the room. "But keep in mind that we will have to run at a slower pace as I now have all this extra weight. Though, she is light, she weighs me down still," he grimaced.

"Oh, that's true." Eragon frowned, as he pondered another option, then said suddenly, "Why don't you go to the dining hall while I continue on? That way we can also cover more ground as I still expect you to look in the rooms you pass by," he stated.

Murtagh's face crinkled as he thought deeply about Eragon's plan. "Very well," he finally said."We can go separate ways, but just be careful!"

"You as well." He waved his hand ready to depart. "If I am not there by the time Saphira enters, please leave me and come back after you make another plan."

Murtagh stopped in his tracks and turned around, "No, Eragon, I cannot do that."

"You must. I cannot have Saphira captured. Now go, we are wasting time arguing about this. Do what I say and that's final!" After, he turned on his heel and ran out of the room.

Murtagh cursed Eragon after his breath, but did as he was told and headed towards the dining hall with the elf.

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Lena become bored with the scroll she was reading. She was locked in a decent sized bedroom located several floors above the prison below. Her bed was not eloquent, but it was large, at least a king size by her standards, and very soft as it had feather blankets and pillows. However, she found it hard to sleep at night knowing Eragon was probably in a cold, dank, cell.