- Location
- Deep inside the sand
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Ah. I forgot. Anyway, its still valid strategy to lure people there.
-
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A Wandering Soul [Multicross OC] [Currently in: the Inheritance Cycle]
Rider 3.7
- Location
- USA
Rider 3.7
My brain kinda shut off for a bit while my friend led me through several twists and turns, ducking through alleys and buildings to throw off anyone attempting to follow us. The whole time I was just trying to wrestle with the fact she was here, why was she here?! She was supposed to be making sure the Varden was running smoothly!
But despite my brain being locked up for the moment, I was still functional enough to realize demanding answers when we were not in a secure area would be stupid and a waste of time until Arya stopped pulling me along.
So I kept quiet until we stepped into a house where Arya locked the door behind us. Must be where she was staying in the city. Though why a house and not an inn or something?
"Lady Arya? You're back early, did something happen?"
WHY WAS LEONA HERE!?
"I was fortunate enough to run into a familiar face that basically completes our task here. And while I haven't heard the story behind her escape, I decided we needed a secure space before we had a discussion."
"A familiar face? Who - Lady Alexandria! Thank the gods you're safe! When we heard the news…everyone was so worried!"
"Hi Leona, nice to see you too." I replied. "But…what are both of you doing here? Shouldn't you be back with the army?" I froze as a thought occurred. "Eragon isn't here with you, is he?"
Thankfully Arya shook her head. "He remained behind along with Saphira. The bodyguards my Mother sent were due to arrive and would be honorbound to follow them if they did leave. A group that large would be hard to move around the Empire undetected."
That was good then. No need to worry about the Varden's Rider getting ambushed somewhere while we were talking. Which meant I could get back to the main issue…
"Great, but what are both of you doing here?"
Both women looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Alexandria," Arya said slowly. "The Empire announced your execution as far and fast as they could. Did you expect us to not do anything? Even if it was a trap, which it certainly is, did you expect me to leave you at their mercy? When I know exactly how little their torturers possess?"
I winced at that. I was an idiot apparently.
I hadn't fully considered what news of my capture would mean to my friends. Yes, I expected them to be worried. Yes, I expected them to do something about it - mostly keeping Eragon from running into a trap. But I made assumptions about their behavior because of their responsibilities to the Varden and discounted Arya's experiences in particular.
I didn't think about how she'd react to me being captured because I hadn't. I was just running around the Empire doing my own thing, but she probably got flashbacks to her own ambush and captivity and rushed to save me.
I'd need to do something to make up for not figuring out how to contact the Varden sooner and letting Arya know I was alright. I'd have to do something nice for Leona too. She'd come a long way from the nervous barely trained witch I'd first met if she was willing to invade a city with only one other person for a rescue mission.
"Yeah, okay. That was foolish of me. Thank you both for coming." I said sincerely. Now for the awkward part. "Unfortunately, I can't leave just yet."
Arya cocked an eyebrow. "You have some reason to remain in a city ready to spring a trap set for a Dragon Rider?"
I nodded and explained the situation. Both of them already knew about my need to hunt down the Brightsteel that was used in Rider's swords even if I hadn't explained to them exactly what it would be used for. I told them about the lead I had on one such sword somewhere in the City Lord's mansion and the issues I had with locating it.
Needless to say neither one was particularly thrilled that I was planning to potentially risk my life when I didn't need to, pointing out I'd have other opportunities to search for swords when a trap wasn't waiting to spring on anyone, but I was determined. And rather than try to convince me otherwise anyway or drag me back to the Varden, they decided to help me out instead.
Something I was incredibly grateful for since they both proved invaluable soon after.
-o-
"So there is definitely a magician in there?" I asked after Arya had mentally scouted some of the staff in the mansion. Nothing too invasive just yet, mostly just counting how many people were inside and if their thoughts were actually guarded. To my mild surprise, several of the staff were mentally protected one way or another either from training or as Arya had just found out, warded by a magician.
"It seems so. Not a very strong one, though. I could easily break the protections, but it would be noticeable."
I nodded. "And we want to avoid being noticed as long as possible."
"That's generally the preferred option when planning a theft from someone as influential as a city lord." Arya said dryly, which I ignored.
"So we won't be able to find out where the sword is by going through the servants' memories without alerting whoever is protecting their minds or the ones trained to protect themselves noticing. Do we try sneaking in? Disguising ourselves somehow?"
I was shocked when Leona actually laughed at my suggestion. Despite me never caring about how she spoke to me or any of the master/apprentice formalities and often just telling her she could speak normally to me, Leona was always unfailingly deferrant and polite around me. It wasn't a bad thing, just surprising she did something so uncharacteristic.
"S-sorry, I didn't m-mean to laugh, my Lady." Leona apologized, still laughing. "I-it's just…the thought of y-you and Lady Arya trying to blend in with a bunch of servants…hahaha…!"
"I've gone undercover before!" I retorted, feeling strangely defensive. Arya must have agreed because she nodded at my words.
"As have I. Disguising myself as a human is well within my abilities."
Leona just giggled some more and pointed a finger at Arya. "That is what I mean. The way you speak and present yourselves just makes it impossible to imagine either of you as a simple servant. Both of you draw the eye too easily."
The corner of my lip twitched into an almost smile as she managed to make being called 'pretty' into an insult and sound completely sincere at the same time.
"That still leaves us without a way forward." I pointed out.
Leona shook her head and stood up. "You and Lady Arya are too eye-catching. I can blend in perfectly fine. If the sword is famous enough that there are portraits of it, some general questions won't be too suspicious. Let me investigate on my own. We can plan more afterward."
I didn't like her going off on her own. Out of the three of us, she was the one most in danger if she was caught by herself but after a short argument I gave in. As she pointed out, no one would be looking for Leona specifically and Arya would be keeping an eye out for her as best she could. I'd just have to trust them.
Of course, that immediately left me and Arya with nothing to do.
And while I could spend hours or even days focused on something if I needed to…I got bored easily without something to hold my attention.
"Say Arya…while we're here, do you want to give the Empire and a certain annoying Rider a black eye before we leave?"
-o-
Two days wasn't a huge amount of time to do research about a person scheduled to be executed, but unlike the City Lord's mansion, there were simply too many people involved for every detail about the prisoner for everything to be suppressed.
The same thing had been true when Arya was imprisoned.
Nobody not under the Shade Durza's command might have been allowed to see her, but people definitely knew she was there. And it was the same for my stand-in, though many of them simply assumed the slender, blonde haired man was being used as a lure for Varden agents and not supposed to be me. Everyone just assumed I was really being held elsewhere.
From there it was pretty simple to figure out the background of the stand-in because no one was trying to hide it. He obviously wasn't me, so why would they?
My first idea was to rescue him and embarrass the Empire by parading that fact around during the execution time.
Unfortunately, it was really hard to justify rescuing a serial killer that made a habit of stalking young girls, killing them, and keeping a collection of their severed hands. This was the kind of criminal I had no problem getting a death penalty and was a little surprised he wasn't simply killed when he was captured, but it turned out Samuel was behind that too. In fact according to one Guard Captain Christopher Paolini the killer would have been unceremoniously hanged days ago if the Rider hadn't arrived and co-opted the criminal for his own purposes.
So a rescue attempt was out of the question, which was probably a good thing since doing so would definitely have triggered a few traps that were no doubt set up around the whole event but that did mean we'd need to come up with another way to rub Samuel's failure in the Empire's face.
Arya and I traded some ideas back and forth, mostly to kill time waiting for Leona to come back or signal for assistance, with some ideas (mostly mine) getting so intricate and ridiculous that I wasn't sure they were possible without a perfectly coordinated army spread out over the city and a few weeks of preparation.
It was fun though, and it kept my mind off of Leona being off on her own.
And eventually my patience was rewarded, because not only did we come up with a reasonable plan that satisfied my desire to humiliate Samuel but it also was considered safe enough that we didn't expect to have to fight our way out of the city, Leona came back with information about the sword!
"And it's just in his sitting room?" I repeated for clarification. Because a big part of me was expecting it to be hidden away rather than just out in the open.
"It is. The servants I talked to mentioned the Lord is obsessed with it. He makes them polish the thing several times a day when he isn't busy with other matters. Honestly, once I got one or two of them complaining about the thing, the rest practically couldn't resist joining in." Leona smiled smugly.
And she deserved to.
She had basically single handedly made the whole reason I was here a trivial matter. Either Arya or I could sneak by in the night and swipe the sword. It might not be the most subtle plan in the world but it would work. Ironically, it would actually be easier with most of the city's security focused on either the bait or the Lord himself. There simply weren't enough trustworthy people to cover everything and guard a room where the most valuable thing in it was a sword that was more of a trophy than weapon at this point.
"Well done then." I praised her. "Then all that leaves is our exit strategy once we crash the execution. But we can talk more about that in the morning. Right now I just want dinner. Anyone opposed?"
"The pantry has plenty of ingredients stocked. It wouldn't be hard to whip something up, is there something in particular you wanted, my Lady?" Leona asked.
I had a sudden idea. "Let me see what we have, because I have a recipe I'd love to share with the two of you now that I have access to an actual kitchen."
I'd been craving pizza for a while now. And this seemed like a perfect opportunity to share the recipe with friends.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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My brain kinda shut off for a bit while my friend led me through several twists and turns, ducking through alleys and buildings to throw off anyone attempting to follow us. The whole time I was just trying to wrestle with the fact she was here, why was she here?! She was supposed to be making sure the Varden was running smoothly!
But despite my brain being locked up for the moment, I was still functional enough to realize demanding answers when we were not in a secure area would be stupid and a waste of time until Arya stopped pulling me along.
So I kept quiet until we stepped into a house where Arya locked the door behind us. Must be where she was staying in the city. Though why a house and not an inn or something?
"Lady Arya? You're back early, did something happen?"
WHY WAS LEONA HERE!?
"I was fortunate enough to run into a familiar face that basically completes our task here. And while I haven't heard the story behind her escape, I decided we needed a secure space before we had a discussion."
"A familiar face? Who - Lady Alexandria! Thank the gods you're safe! When we heard the news…everyone was so worried!"
"Hi Leona, nice to see you too." I replied. "But…what are both of you doing here? Shouldn't you be back with the army?" I froze as a thought occurred. "Eragon isn't here with you, is he?"
Thankfully Arya shook her head. "He remained behind along with Saphira. The bodyguards my Mother sent were due to arrive and would be honorbound to follow them if they did leave. A group that large would be hard to move around the Empire undetected."
That was good then. No need to worry about the Varden's Rider getting ambushed somewhere while we were talking. Which meant I could get back to the main issue…
"Great, but what are both of you doing here?"
Both women looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Alexandria," Arya said slowly. "The Empire announced your execution as far and fast as they could. Did you expect us to not do anything? Even if it was a trap, which it certainly is, did you expect me to leave you at their mercy? When I know exactly how little their torturers possess?"
I winced at that. I was an idiot apparently.
I hadn't fully considered what news of my capture would mean to my friends. Yes, I expected them to be worried. Yes, I expected them to do something about it - mostly keeping Eragon from running into a trap. But I made assumptions about their behavior because of their responsibilities to the Varden and discounted Arya's experiences in particular.
I didn't think about how she'd react to me being captured because I hadn't. I was just running around the Empire doing my own thing, but she probably got flashbacks to her own ambush and captivity and rushed to save me.
I'd need to do something to make up for not figuring out how to contact the Varden sooner and letting Arya know I was alright. I'd have to do something nice for Leona too. She'd come a long way from the nervous barely trained witch I'd first met if she was willing to invade a city with only one other person for a rescue mission.
"Yeah, okay. That was foolish of me. Thank you both for coming." I said sincerely. Now for the awkward part. "Unfortunately, I can't leave just yet."
Arya cocked an eyebrow. "You have some reason to remain in a city ready to spring a trap set for a Dragon Rider?"
I nodded and explained the situation. Both of them already knew about my need to hunt down the Brightsteel that was used in Rider's swords even if I hadn't explained to them exactly what it would be used for. I told them about the lead I had on one such sword somewhere in the City Lord's mansion and the issues I had with locating it.
Needless to say neither one was particularly thrilled that I was planning to potentially risk my life when I didn't need to, pointing out I'd have other opportunities to search for swords when a trap wasn't waiting to spring on anyone, but I was determined. And rather than try to convince me otherwise anyway or drag me back to the Varden, they decided to help me out instead.
Something I was incredibly grateful for since they both proved invaluable soon after.
-o-
"So there is definitely a magician in there?" I asked after Arya had mentally scouted some of the staff in the mansion. Nothing too invasive just yet, mostly just counting how many people were inside and if their thoughts were actually guarded. To my mild surprise, several of the staff were mentally protected one way or another either from training or as Arya had just found out, warded by a magician.
"It seems so. Not a very strong one, though. I could easily break the protections, but it would be noticeable."
I nodded. "And we want to avoid being noticed as long as possible."
"That's generally the preferred option when planning a theft from someone as influential as a city lord." Arya said dryly, which I ignored.
"So we won't be able to find out where the sword is by going through the servants' memories without alerting whoever is protecting their minds or the ones trained to protect themselves noticing. Do we try sneaking in? Disguising ourselves somehow?"
I was shocked when Leona actually laughed at my suggestion. Despite me never caring about how she spoke to me or any of the master/apprentice formalities and often just telling her she could speak normally to me, Leona was always unfailingly deferrant and polite around me. It wasn't a bad thing, just surprising she did something so uncharacteristic.
"S-sorry, I didn't m-mean to laugh, my Lady." Leona apologized, still laughing. "I-it's just…the thought of y-you and Lady Arya trying to blend in with a bunch of servants…hahaha…!"
"I've gone undercover before!" I retorted, feeling strangely defensive. Arya must have agreed because she nodded at my words.
"As have I. Disguising myself as a human is well within my abilities."
Leona just giggled some more and pointed a finger at Arya. "That is what I mean. The way you speak and present yourselves just makes it impossible to imagine either of you as a simple servant. Both of you draw the eye too easily."
The corner of my lip twitched into an almost smile as she managed to make being called 'pretty' into an insult and sound completely sincere at the same time.
"That still leaves us without a way forward." I pointed out.
Leona shook her head and stood up. "You and Lady Arya are too eye-catching. I can blend in perfectly fine. If the sword is famous enough that there are portraits of it, some general questions won't be too suspicious. Let me investigate on my own. We can plan more afterward."
I didn't like her going off on her own. Out of the three of us, she was the one most in danger if she was caught by herself but after a short argument I gave in. As she pointed out, no one would be looking for Leona specifically and Arya would be keeping an eye out for her as best she could. I'd just have to trust them.
Of course, that immediately left me and Arya with nothing to do.
And while I could spend hours or even days focused on something if I needed to…I got bored easily without something to hold my attention.
"Say Arya…while we're here, do you want to give the Empire and a certain annoying Rider a black eye before we leave?"
-o-
Two days wasn't a huge amount of time to do research about a person scheduled to be executed, but unlike the City Lord's mansion, there were simply too many people involved for every detail about the prisoner for everything to be suppressed.
The same thing had been true when Arya was imprisoned.
Nobody not under the Shade Durza's command might have been allowed to see her, but people definitely knew she was there. And it was the same for my stand-in, though many of them simply assumed the slender, blonde haired man was being used as a lure for Varden agents and not supposed to be me. Everyone just assumed I was really being held elsewhere.
From there it was pretty simple to figure out the background of the stand-in because no one was trying to hide it. He obviously wasn't me, so why would they?
My first idea was to rescue him and embarrass the Empire by parading that fact around during the execution time.
Unfortunately, it was really hard to justify rescuing a serial killer that made a habit of stalking young girls, killing them, and keeping a collection of their severed hands. This was the kind of criminal I had no problem getting a death penalty and was a little surprised he wasn't simply killed when he was captured, but it turned out Samuel was behind that too. In fact according to one Guard Captain Christopher Paolini the killer would have been unceremoniously hanged days ago if the Rider hadn't arrived and co-opted the criminal for his own purposes.
So a rescue attempt was out of the question, which was probably a good thing since doing so would definitely have triggered a few traps that were no doubt set up around the whole event but that did mean we'd need to come up with another way to rub Samuel's failure in the Empire's face.
Arya and I traded some ideas back and forth, mostly to kill time waiting for Leona to come back or signal for assistance, with some ideas (mostly mine) getting so intricate and ridiculous that I wasn't sure they were possible without a perfectly coordinated army spread out over the city and a few weeks of preparation.
It was fun though, and it kept my mind off of Leona being off on her own.
And eventually my patience was rewarded, because not only did we come up with a reasonable plan that satisfied my desire to humiliate Samuel but it also was considered safe enough that we didn't expect to have to fight our way out of the city, Leona came back with information about the sword!
"And it's just in his sitting room?" I repeated for clarification. Because a big part of me was expecting it to be hidden away rather than just out in the open.
"It is. The servants I talked to mentioned the Lord is obsessed with it. He makes them polish the thing several times a day when he isn't busy with other matters. Honestly, once I got one or two of them complaining about the thing, the rest practically couldn't resist joining in." Leona smiled smugly.
And she deserved to.
She had basically single handedly made the whole reason I was here a trivial matter. Either Arya or I could sneak by in the night and swipe the sword. It might not be the most subtle plan in the world but it would work. Ironically, it would actually be easier with most of the city's security focused on either the bait or the Lord himself. There simply weren't enough trustworthy people to cover everything and guard a room where the most valuable thing in it was a sword that was more of a trophy than weapon at this point.
"Well done then." I praised her. "Then all that leaves is our exit strategy once we crash the execution. But we can talk more about that in the morning. Right now I just want dinner. Anyone opposed?"
"The pantry has plenty of ingredients stocked. It wouldn't be hard to whip something up, is there something in particular you wanted, my Lady?" Leona asked.
I had a sudden idea. "Let me see what we have, because I have a recipe I'd love to share with the two of you now that I have access to an actual kitchen."
I'd been craving pizza for a while now. And this seemed like a perfect opportunity to share the recipe with friends.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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greynoise
Professional Amateur
- Location
- Here, Now
I don't particularly like the guy, but putting his name on a pedophile serial killer seems a bit mean-spirited.
Dragonmaster150
Firstborn of Dragonkind
- Location
- Dragendolan: Land of the Dragon Kings
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I would agree with this sentiment.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
I think Christopher Paolini is the guard captain, not the killer.
- Location
- Belfast
The name is that of the guard captain, not the killer
- Location
- Deep inside the sand
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
A Wild Leona Appears!
Leona easily does what MC cannot.
???
Profit Pizza.
Jokes aside. Good for her that she went and did the important things. I'm talking about pizza here.
Thanks~
Leona easily does what MC cannot.
???
Jokes aside. Good for her that she went and did the important things. I'm talking about pizza here.
Thanks~
Dragonmaster150
Firstborn of Dragonkind
- Location
- Dragendolan: Land of the Dragon Kings
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's what I thought too originally, however, the lack of comma in the sentence makes this unclear. However, if there were a comma inserted like so, it would help clarify who is who in this scene:
xbox432
Lover of Editing
And she finally catches a clue...
It's nice to have friends who point out when you are acting like an idiot. It's even better when said friends stick by you even after you continue with said idiocy.
And now she shall spread the holy gospel to a new world! The food of the gods shall be enjoyed by mortals everywhere!
Rider 3.8
- Location
- USA
Rider 3.8
It was weird to see how much of the city turned out for the execution.
Intellectually, I knew events like this were used as much of a celebration as a warning and punishment for cultures like the Empire. A way of showing the ability of the government to remove threats to their citizens and punish/scare criminals with the threat that if they stepped beyond a line they would be next.
But it was incredibly disturbing to see a bunch of young children urging their parents to get closer to the execution platform so they could 'get a look at the witch before her head was lopped off' with big smiles on their faces.
I don't think they fully understood what getting your head cut off meant just yet, but it made me viscerally uncomfortable. It also made me glad for the fact that Arya and Leona were elsewhere getting ready to steal the sword for me. I don't know how I would have reacted if they approved of what was happening here, even if it was a show execution and the victim was a serial killer.
I knew them well enough to know they probably wouldn't. But that niggling doubt was enough to make me glad I didn't need to find out just the same.
The crowd quieted down as someone walked onto the platform and I shoved my thoughts aside to focus on him since it seemed things were starting.
I only paid attention for a little bit when it became clear this was more of a 'rah, rah, the Empire is so great' kind of speech rather than anything informative or interesting. Most of it boiled down to propaganda and various crimes I had supposedly committed to make sure everyone knew how evil I was. And while it was a little fun to see what the Empire was trying to pin on me, it obviously wasn't going to be the last speech because my stunt double hadn't been brought out yet.
While I listened to the speaker I mentally dismissed one of my projections, a simple ring I had left with Arya and Leona, to let them know they could get started on the heist. The big trap for any Varden agents trying to rescue 'me' was in swing. The city guard couldn't just drop that to deal with simple thieves no matter how much the city lord loved that sword so the only resistance they should run into were the people in the manor. And a few maids and servants weren't much of a threat to Leona let alone Arya.
They would be fine. Now for the hard part.
Listening to pro-Galbatorix and Samuel drivel without objecting to the obvious white-washing going on.
-o-
Luckily for my sanity I didn't actually need to stand in one place and watch every second to keep an eye on things.
After an hour or two, I wandered over to a street vendor to get something to eat while keeping half an ear out for any major disturbances in the crowd. Nothing fancy, just some grilled meat skewers.
On the way back I started eavesdropping on random conversations just to see what the random citizens thought about everything. Unsurprisingly, most of them were all for the execution of a Varden agent.
They were dangerous rebels afterall, and many of the people here had family in the army. Family that I might have killed in the last battle and they were eager for a bit of revenge.
That…was actually a little hard to listen to.
After Farthun Dûr I had come to terms with the fact I would never really know how many people I killed in battle simply because of how widespread my attacks could be…or at least I thought I had.
Listening to three different groups of women wondering if I had killed their sons/husbands and hoping I suffered in whatever hell I ended up in was…a lot harder to listen to.
I took a bite of my skewer and pushed those feelings aside for later.
Up on the stage things seemed to be moving along. The speaker had shuffled off while a group of men stacked a bunch of - oh, they were setting up a pyre.
I shuddered at the sight of one of the most painful, least efficient execution methods in history. The victim could burn for hours and not die because surprise surprise, people weren't actually flammable and could survive quite a lot if their organs were intact.
But I guess Samuel had decided to go with a lasting spectacle. Or maybe a sick joke.
They called me the Sun Witch so burn the witch, I guess?
I shook my head and focused as the bastard himself walked onto the stage and cast a spell to let his voice be heard by everyone in the square.
"Hello, people of Feinster. Today we rid the world of a great evil. A witch that selfishly used her powers to join the Varden rebels and killed many of your husbands, sons, and friends." I scowled in annoyance as the crowd cheered for the hypocritical bastard. "But you don't need to fear her anymore! After an intense battle, I, Samuel, First of the New Dragon Riders, defeated and captured the Sun Witch and have brought her before you to face justice for her crimes!" The crowd roared again and more men escorted my struggling double up to the pyre and tied him to the stake. I noticed his hair was the same length and color mine was and despite the thrashing he wasn't actually screaming. Obviously Samuel had used magic to sell his bait and keep them quiet despite being the opposite gender but even from a distance I could see enough obvious differences that he probably didn't put too much effort into it.
…or just wasn't skilled enough to make it more convincing since that wasn't something simply throwing more power at could really fix.
Either or.
"King Galbatorix mercifully offered this witch the opportunity to serve the kingdom and make up for her crimes, but she refused, so the only answer we can give is DEATH! Bring up the torches!"
We were rapidly approaching the point where I wasn't comfortable sitting back and watching anymore.
Executing a serial killer? Fine by me.
Dressing up said serial killer as another person so you could execute them after presumably killing that person by dropping a mountain on them? I could see a few arguments for it.
Dragging things out to make it painful instead of a quick death? Not okay. If you wanted a showy execution there were plenty of other options.
I sighed as the first few tongues of flame caught on the pyre and left to find a more open spot to crash the party from. Arya and Leona should be done by now anyway.
It took a bit of effort to escape the crowds and jump up to the rooftops. From there I projected my bow and thought about what to use for the arrows.
As much as I would have loved to hit Samuel in the face with a Nova Blast or a Noble Phantasm arrow…no one was going to ignore a giant glowing yellow spell circle popping up out of nowhere for the few minutes it took to prepare the spell and the last time I tried projecting a NP it felt like my nerves had been dipped in battery acid.
So those were out, but I still had plenty of other options even if they weren't nearly as powerful.
I formed what was going to be the core of my weapon, a lance with an enchantment that allowed it to thrust forward faster than should be possible. Then I attached smaller, thinner blades with fire enchantments all around the shaft in places where it wouldn't catch on the bow itself. The idea was simple. A technically two-stage missile with multiple explosives on it to give it a bigger kick than any single weapon I could project at this moment.
Then, just to be cheeky, I made a replica of the sword Samuel had left behind during our first fight and had it hover next to me while I drew back the bow.
The sword shot forward with a mental nudge and plunged into the chest of the my disguised duplicate just as the flames started to lick at his ankles. It was morbidly hilarious how quickly everyone fell silent when they had been screaming for an execution, but when they got a much quicker one they felt scared. No matter. I waited just long enough for Samuel to recognize the sword before releasing my arrow.
The improvised missile cracked the air and shot off towards the enemy Rider. People screamed and ran away in panic as the execution stand was engulfed in a massive explosion. A part of me hoped that the surprise attack was enough to get rid of the jackass, but I wasn't that lucky.
Sure enough, Samuel survived to claw his way out of the rubble looking worse for wear but still alive.
"WHO DARES?!" He roared, voice amplification spell still active.
Well, there was my cue.
"HI, SAMMY BOY! DID YOU MISS ME?"
"CROSS!"
"Yep! Still alive!"
"I dropped a mountain on your head! How?! How did you escape that?!"
I smiled. Samuel was making this too easy for me. "That's my little secret, just like how your's was executing a serial killer disguised as me as a publicity stunt!" I looked at the remains of the pyre that had been scattered by the explosion. "Though it looks like I stole the kill from you there. Sorry!" I wasn't sorry.
There were a bunch of different reactions from the crowd that still hadn't run off.
Some continued running, hoping to get away from the whole mess. Some tried hiding in buildings or behind objects scattered around. And others just sort of froze in place.
My favorite were the ones that were just glaring at Samuel now that they realized he had been lying to them.
"And guess what! You get to explain to Galbatorix that you're not only a fuckup, but the whole kingdom is going to know you're one too!"
Samuel paled at the reminder that this whole trap was based on his assumption I was dead. An assumption he had probably used to deflect some of the blame Galbatorix heaped on him for not only failing to capture Eragon and Saphira at the Burning Plains or at Helgrind, but also allowing the Ra'zac to be killed as well.
"I-it doesn't matter!" He stuttered. "As long as you die here nothing will change!"
My smile turned mocking. "Die here? I've got better things to do. Have fun explaining this fuck up to the Mad King. I'm sure he'll be very understanding!"
With that I turned and jumped off the roof, hitting the ground at a sprint and headed for my exit strategy.
"Running away?! COWARD!"
I laughed as I ran down the street.
As if deciding not to fight an entire city on my own was cowardice. And while my own estimation of my intelligence had taken a hit recently, I still wasn't stupid enough to think Samuel wouldn't use every soldier, magician, and even civilian as a tool to take me down. Not when failure meant dealing with the madman he decided to join and whatever consequences that meant.
And leaving him to crawl back to Galbatorix with absolutely nothing to show for his efforts was worse than anything I could do in the short time I had before I had a bunch of pursuers on my tail.
It didn't take me long to backtrack to the pre prepared alley I'd blocked off with a simple Bounded Field that kept anyone from getting too close.
There wasn't much there – just a simple teleportation circle like I had used to infiltrate the Seireitei, already configured to send me several miles east away from the city.
But simple was all I needed.
I gave one last sarcastic salute back towards the execution platform where I could feel the rhythmic spikes of air pressure from a dragon's wings and activated the circle.
It glowed for a second and then in a flash, I was somewhere else.
A quick look around later and I was relieved to see both Arya and Leona heading towards me looking perfectly unscathed. I was even happier to see that they were successful in stealing the sword from the mansion, going by the package in Leona's arms.
Two down, one to go.
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It was weird to see how much of the city turned out for the execution.
Intellectually, I knew events like this were used as much of a celebration as a warning and punishment for cultures like the Empire. A way of showing the ability of the government to remove threats to their citizens and punish/scare criminals with the threat that if they stepped beyond a line they would be next.
But it was incredibly disturbing to see a bunch of young children urging their parents to get closer to the execution platform so they could 'get a look at the witch before her head was lopped off' with big smiles on their faces.
I don't think they fully understood what getting your head cut off meant just yet, but it made me viscerally uncomfortable. It also made me glad for the fact that Arya and Leona were elsewhere getting ready to steal the sword for me. I don't know how I would have reacted if they approved of what was happening here, even if it was a show execution and the victim was a serial killer.
I knew them well enough to know they probably wouldn't. But that niggling doubt was enough to make me glad I didn't need to find out just the same.
The crowd quieted down as someone walked onto the platform and I shoved my thoughts aside to focus on him since it seemed things were starting.
I only paid attention for a little bit when it became clear this was more of a 'rah, rah, the Empire is so great' kind of speech rather than anything informative or interesting. Most of it boiled down to propaganda and various crimes I had supposedly committed to make sure everyone knew how evil I was. And while it was a little fun to see what the Empire was trying to pin on me, it obviously wasn't going to be the last speech because my stunt double hadn't been brought out yet.
While I listened to the speaker I mentally dismissed one of my projections, a simple ring I had left with Arya and Leona, to let them know they could get started on the heist. The big trap for any Varden agents trying to rescue 'me' was in swing. The city guard couldn't just drop that to deal with simple thieves no matter how much the city lord loved that sword so the only resistance they should run into were the people in the manor. And a few maids and servants weren't much of a threat to Leona let alone Arya.
They would be fine. Now for the hard part.
Listening to pro-Galbatorix and Samuel drivel without objecting to the obvious white-washing going on.
-o-
Luckily for my sanity I didn't actually need to stand in one place and watch every second to keep an eye on things.
After an hour or two, I wandered over to a street vendor to get something to eat while keeping half an ear out for any major disturbances in the crowd. Nothing fancy, just some grilled meat skewers.
On the way back I started eavesdropping on random conversations just to see what the random citizens thought about everything. Unsurprisingly, most of them were all for the execution of a Varden agent.
They were dangerous rebels afterall, and many of the people here had family in the army. Family that I might have killed in the last battle and they were eager for a bit of revenge.
That…was actually a little hard to listen to.
After Farthun Dûr I had come to terms with the fact I would never really know how many people I killed in battle simply because of how widespread my attacks could be…or at least I thought I had.
Listening to three different groups of women wondering if I had killed their sons/husbands and hoping I suffered in whatever hell I ended up in was…a lot harder to listen to.
I took a bite of my skewer and pushed those feelings aside for later.
Up on the stage things seemed to be moving along. The speaker had shuffled off while a group of men stacked a bunch of - oh, they were setting up a pyre.
I shuddered at the sight of one of the most painful, least efficient execution methods in history. The victim could burn for hours and not die because surprise surprise, people weren't actually flammable and could survive quite a lot if their organs were intact.
But I guess Samuel had decided to go with a lasting spectacle. Or maybe a sick joke.
They called me the Sun Witch so burn the witch, I guess?
I shook my head and focused as the bastard himself walked onto the stage and cast a spell to let his voice be heard by everyone in the square.
"Hello, people of Feinster. Today we rid the world of a great evil. A witch that selfishly used her powers to join the Varden rebels and killed many of your husbands, sons, and friends." I scowled in annoyance as the crowd cheered for the hypocritical bastard. "But you don't need to fear her anymore! After an intense battle, I, Samuel, First of the New Dragon Riders, defeated and captured the Sun Witch and have brought her before you to face justice for her crimes!" The crowd roared again and more men escorted my struggling double up to the pyre and tied him to the stake. I noticed his hair was the same length and color mine was and despite the thrashing he wasn't actually screaming. Obviously Samuel had used magic to sell his bait and keep them quiet despite being the opposite gender but even from a distance I could see enough obvious differences that he probably didn't put too much effort into it.
…or just wasn't skilled enough to make it more convincing since that wasn't something simply throwing more power at could really fix.
Either or.
"King Galbatorix mercifully offered this witch the opportunity to serve the kingdom and make up for her crimes, but she refused, so the only answer we can give is DEATH! Bring up the torches!"
We were rapidly approaching the point where I wasn't comfortable sitting back and watching anymore.
Executing a serial killer? Fine by me.
Dressing up said serial killer as another person so you could execute them after presumably killing that person by dropping a mountain on them? I could see a few arguments for it.
Dragging things out to make it painful instead of a quick death? Not okay. If you wanted a showy execution there were plenty of other options.
I sighed as the first few tongues of flame caught on the pyre and left to find a more open spot to crash the party from. Arya and Leona should be done by now anyway.
It took a bit of effort to escape the crowds and jump up to the rooftops. From there I projected my bow and thought about what to use for the arrows.
As much as I would have loved to hit Samuel in the face with a Nova Blast or a Noble Phantasm arrow…no one was going to ignore a giant glowing yellow spell circle popping up out of nowhere for the few minutes it took to prepare the spell and the last time I tried projecting a NP it felt like my nerves had been dipped in battery acid.
So those were out, but I still had plenty of other options even if they weren't nearly as powerful.
I formed what was going to be the core of my weapon, a lance with an enchantment that allowed it to thrust forward faster than should be possible. Then I attached smaller, thinner blades with fire enchantments all around the shaft in places where it wouldn't catch on the bow itself. The idea was simple. A technically two-stage missile with multiple explosives on it to give it a bigger kick than any single weapon I could project at this moment.
Then, just to be cheeky, I made a replica of the sword Samuel had left behind during our first fight and had it hover next to me while I drew back the bow.
The sword shot forward with a mental nudge and plunged into the chest of the my disguised duplicate just as the flames started to lick at his ankles. It was morbidly hilarious how quickly everyone fell silent when they had been screaming for an execution, but when they got a much quicker one they felt scared. No matter. I waited just long enough for Samuel to recognize the sword before releasing my arrow.
The improvised missile cracked the air and shot off towards the enemy Rider. People screamed and ran away in panic as the execution stand was engulfed in a massive explosion. A part of me hoped that the surprise attack was enough to get rid of the jackass, but I wasn't that lucky.
Sure enough, Samuel survived to claw his way out of the rubble looking worse for wear but still alive.
"WHO DARES?!" He roared, voice amplification spell still active.
Well, there was my cue.
"HI, SAMMY BOY! DID YOU MISS ME?"
"CROSS!"
"Yep! Still alive!"
"I dropped a mountain on your head! How?! How did you escape that?!"
I smiled. Samuel was making this too easy for me. "That's my little secret, just like how your's was executing a serial killer disguised as me as a publicity stunt!" I looked at the remains of the pyre that had been scattered by the explosion. "Though it looks like I stole the kill from you there. Sorry!" I wasn't sorry.
There were a bunch of different reactions from the crowd that still hadn't run off.
Some continued running, hoping to get away from the whole mess. Some tried hiding in buildings or behind objects scattered around. And others just sort of froze in place.
My favorite were the ones that were just glaring at Samuel now that they realized he had been lying to them.
"And guess what! You get to explain to Galbatorix that you're not only a fuckup, but the whole kingdom is going to know you're one too!"
Samuel paled at the reminder that this whole trap was based on his assumption I was dead. An assumption he had probably used to deflect some of the blame Galbatorix heaped on him for not only failing to capture Eragon and Saphira at the Burning Plains or at Helgrind, but also allowing the Ra'zac to be killed as well.
"I-it doesn't matter!" He stuttered. "As long as you die here nothing will change!"
My smile turned mocking. "Die here? I've got better things to do. Have fun explaining this fuck up to the Mad King. I'm sure he'll be very understanding!"
With that I turned and jumped off the roof, hitting the ground at a sprint and headed for my exit strategy.
"Running away?! COWARD!"
I laughed as I ran down the street.
As if deciding not to fight an entire city on my own was cowardice. And while my own estimation of my intelligence had taken a hit recently, I still wasn't stupid enough to think Samuel wouldn't use every soldier, magician, and even civilian as a tool to take me down. Not when failure meant dealing with the madman he decided to join and whatever consequences that meant.
And leaving him to crawl back to Galbatorix with absolutely nothing to show for his efforts was worse than anything I could do in the short time I had before I had a bunch of pursuers on my tail.
It didn't take me long to backtrack to the pre prepared alley I'd blocked off with a simple Bounded Field that kept anyone from getting too close.
There wasn't much there – just a simple teleportation circle like I had used to infiltrate the Seireitei, already configured to send me several miles east away from the city.
But simple was all I needed.
I gave one last sarcastic salute back towards the execution platform where I could feel the rhythmic spikes of air pressure from a dragon's wings and activated the circle.
It glowed for a second and then in a flash, I was somewhere else.
A quick look around later and I was relieved to see both Arya and Leona heading towards me looking perfectly unscathed. I was even happier to see that they were successful in stealing the sword from the mansion, going by the package in Leona's arms.
Two down, one to go.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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- Location
- Argentina
Wow, not even getting a woman for the execution? Yeah the guy is a fuck up.
Wow, not even getting a woman? How stupid is this Sam, you have sincerest condolences for your encounter with the IRL expy of Sam.
There probably weren't any reasonably-convincing female criminals. Sam may be an arrogant ass, but he strikes me as the type to not deliberately seek out innocents to kill if he can avoid it. Don't forget, he sided with Galbatorix because he wants to create a Golden Age for humanity (though his idea of what such a period would look like could use some work).
Yaaaaaa the funniest bit is that Galboratoz will figure out that the Mage that has some real exotic bullshit available to them used some of it to survive getting a mountain dropped on them
And that Sam here was an idiot who doesn't double check the deadness of the bullshit mage
And that Sam here was an idiot who doesn't double check the deadness of the bullshit mage
- Location
- Deep inside the sand
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Alexanderia uses Public Speaking.
It's super effective!
Samuel uses with Awkward Public Speech.
It's not very effective!
Thanks for the chapter.
It's super effective!
Samuel uses with Awkward Public Speech.
It's not very effective!
Thanks for the chapter.
Primarily get two other swords for the Exotic metals she needs and then a bit of time to dip back to her ship to repair it
Rider 3.9
- Location
- USA
Rider 3.9
We were able to slip back into the army with very little fanfare. Something I was grateful for because after getting a taste of how it felt to walk through a town without practically every person staring at me or whispering behind my back about one thing or another, I don't know if I was ready to deal with all of that again so soon.
Especially when a messenger tracked me down at my personal tent to let me know I was being summoned to a meeting first thing in the morning by Nasuada and the rest of the Varden's leadership.
Which was…fine.
I got it, they wanted to know what happened and where I was. But all I really wanted to do was hide out in my tent and spend more time working on how to break the enchantments on the Rider swords I had.
Now that I almost had all the material I needed, this was starting to become more important because even if I got my hands on more brightsteel it would be useless if I couldn't actually form it.
Unfortunately Rhunön was really damn good at what she did and the elven smith had made the damn things nearly unbreakable in a way that wouldn't cause issues and leave the metal still usable. For instance, I could douse the blades in dragon fire for a few days and eventually the enchantments would fail, but I really doubted Saphira would agree to sit still doing nothing but heating up a few slivers of metal for that long without a good reason.
And anything else I could think of either involved dissolving the blades in something or blowing them up with enough force to break the spells on them. Neither was really practical since I had no idea how to go about extracting metal from a solution with middle-age tech and searching for slivers of metal in a crater didn't sound fun.
I sighed and once again wished I had talked more with the smith when I had the chance. But I had other things to do at the time and Rhunön was also a notoriously prickly bitch. There was no telling how the forger of all the Rider's swords would react to me asking how to erase her best works even if she had literally taken a magically enforced oath to never make another after the last war.
Artists were temperamental like that.
Nothing for it, I would just have to keep trying until I managed. And if I was really lucky, I'd be able to get a solution that would let me disenchant a sword midfight. The thought of finally dealing with Samuel after turning whatever sword he ended up with as a replacement and turning it to scrap gave me warm fuzzy feelings.
So instead of getting to work, I gave my work table one look of longing before slipping into bed. If I was going to spend tomorrow dealing with political meetings I could at least be well rested for them.
-o-
"...and then I met up with Arya and Leona and we made our way back here." I finished narrating my unplanned adventure to the group.
The usual group was here. Nasuada, King Orrin, Jörmundur, and a few other advisors. And of course Arya was here as the Elvish representative.
Eragon and his new group of bodyguards were absent though. I wondered what he was up to…
Orrin leaned forward. "So what you're saying is that you abandoned your duties and the Varden on a whim to galavant around the Empire?" He said with barely contained anger.
I was a little taken aback by the tone, and I could see I wasn't the only one.
"I took advantage of an unexpected setback to pursue my own goals, King Orrin." I said formally but as evenly as I could. "I wasn't taking a vacation for the fun of it."
"But you did desert us the very moment you had an opportunity."
I bristled at the insult. In fact I wasn't the only one. Both Arya and Nasuada looked ready to object but were holding back for now.
"Two things, your Majesty." I snarled. "First, I did not ever actually join the Varden, only offered my support, so I literally could not desert. Second, I came back immediately after getting my prize instead of searching for another. Something I remember several people here promising to help with yet failed to deliver anything beyond vague rumors." Some of the advisors shifted awkwardly at that, well aware that there were at least a few Rider swords in Surda yet no one had given me a location for one yet.
"Another issue we need to address. I've withheld commentary until now, but I find it unpalatable that one of the most recognizable members of our army is in fact not a member of any organizations that make it up."
My scowl stayed on my face. "We've had this discussion before."
He nodded. "We have. And at the time we were happy to leave you as a mercenary if that was what you wanted," I had to hold back a scoff, they were anything but happy, "but that was before your little adventure. It's a good thing you are who you are, Lightbringer, and that you came back on your own, otherwise we'd have executed you for desertion."
"Orrin, have you lost your mind!?" Nasuada exclaimed in outrage. "We would have revolts if we even suggested such a thing!"
"And we would have just as many problems if warriors think they can do whatever they want because they are powerful!" Orrin snapped back.
"We've already had to execute some deserters. Or lash the ones that returned without a fight." Jörmundur 'helpfully' added.
"Common warriors, not a woman hailed as a hero by most of the army!"
"A woman that is not even a part of that army."
"Alexandria is no more part of the Varden than I am." Arya jumped in. "Are you going to take issue with my departure as well?"
Orrin looked like he swallowed a lemon and several advisors broke out into concerned muttering.
"Of course not, Lady Arya." He admitted. "But you are acting as Ambassador to your mother's will. Alexandria does not have that excuse. Your actions are not the same."
"What do you want then, Orrin?" I demanded, tired of this whole thing and not feeling particularly respectful.
"Either you are punished for desertion to show no one is above our laws," Nasuada, Arya, and even Jörmundur were about to protest again but paused as the king continued. "Or that you properly swear fealty to one of our camps."
I had to admit, as annoying as this was, it wasn't exactly unsurprising for Orrin to pull something like this.
Despite being King of Surda and supplying most of the army's current needs, he was constantly being overshadowed by Nasuada and it was obvious it was getting to the man. Even if it was clear he didn't want to run the entire war getting looked over by everyone to a teenage woman had to grate on his pride quite a bit.
His solution? Be the one that finally forces the Lightbringer to bend the knee and join the Varden. A prize so attractive that Nasuada didn't immediately speak out against it. Something she rushed to correct when she noticed me glance at her but the damage was done. Everyone else had noticed her pause as well.
There was quite a bit of yelling after that - mostly from the advisors once they felt it was safe enough with everyone distracted. But like I said, I was tired of this whole thing.
I stood suddenly and almost instantly there was silence.
"I've made my refusal to join the Varden very clear several times now and that won't change here." I declared to the group. "And I refuse to submit myself to some unearned punishment to soothe your ego, Orrin. If you want me punished, find someone capable of forcing me. I'm done here."
And with that I walked out of the tent, ignoring Nasuada's calls for me to wait.
-o-
I didn't immediately head back to my tent.
For one, I didn't want to be bothered by anyone until everybody cooled off. And secondly, the only thing to do there was tinker with the various experiments I kept there. Several of which were potentially explosive if handled wrong. And considering I might be tempted to start throwing things at the moment? Much safer for everyone around me if I didn't touch those until later.
Instead I decided to just sort of wander around the camp and take in some of the changes I've made while considering future paths open to me.
The biggest, most obvious change I introduced was the idea of generic mystic codes that any magic user could use with a bit of training.. Every once in a while I would see a magician with two or three of the things hanging from a belt. Most of them were still the same healing codes I introduced, but Leona had told me entire groups were popping up dedicated to creating their own codes with custom spells if they could. And I was excited to see where they ended up.
It was also proof I was going to leave a lasting mark on this world far beyond anything I intended.
Between the codes and the Healer's Guild, that was obvious. But at the same time I was making enemies.
I still hadn't resolved anything about the dwarven clan that declared a blood feud with me - unsurprising considering I hadn't really spent much time in an area where they could get to me - but at some point that was going to have to be resolved.
And that was probably going to be a headache and a half now that King Orrin was trying to throw his political weight around and Nasuada was proving to not be the solid ally I'd prefer.
I didn't really blame her though.
The power difference between us was enough to make any normal person nervous. I recognized that. Only a few short years ago I was practically tiptoeing around Yoruichi and Kisuke because of how dangerous they were. It wasn't until I could fight close to their level and a good amount of time interacting with them as friends and colleagues that the relaxed facade I used around them changed into something more real.
Nasuada was feeling the same thing I did about being trapped in the same room with a 400 pound tiger, and unlike me, she wasn't narrowing the power gap. Orrin giving her a legitimate way to get some sort of leash on me would have been incredibly tempting. Though it spoke well of her character that she didn't push the advantage despite what she might have wanted to do.
But between the political problems from the Varden and the mess dealing with the Az Sweldn rak Anhûin was going to cause…did I still want to see the war play out to the end?
Samuel had to go, so I was definitely committed as long as he was still alive. But after that? Maybe try to find a way to free Murtagh and Thorn from Galbatorix's control or otherwise remove them from the war, set Eragon up so he was better prepared to deal with the Mad King, and start planning how I was going to split from the Varden without things devolving into a fight or shattering the army's morale when I decided to leave.
Not exactly how I thought this little adventure was going to shape up honestly.
I rolled my shoulders and shoved my depressing thoughts to the side. I wasn't going to let politics completely ruin my day. I should go bother Angela and see what she's up to. Yeah, that was a much better idea than getting caught up in my head about things that hadn't even happened yet.
Maybe I would actually win an argument with her today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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We were able to slip back into the army with very little fanfare. Something I was grateful for because after getting a taste of how it felt to walk through a town without practically every person staring at me or whispering behind my back about one thing or another, I don't know if I was ready to deal with all of that again so soon.
Especially when a messenger tracked me down at my personal tent to let me know I was being summoned to a meeting first thing in the morning by Nasuada and the rest of the Varden's leadership.
Which was…fine.
I got it, they wanted to know what happened and where I was. But all I really wanted to do was hide out in my tent and spend more time working on how to break the enchantments on the Rider swords I had.
Now that I almost had all the material I needed, this was starting to become more important because even if I got my hands on more brightsteel it would be useless if I couldn't actually form it.
Unfortunately Rhunön was really damn good at what she did and the elven smith had made the damn things nearly unbreakable in a way that wouldn't cause issues and leave the metal still usable. For instance, I could douse the blades in dragon fire for a few days and eventually the enchantments would fail, but I really doubted Saphira would agree to sit still doing nothing but heating up a few slivers of metal for that long without a good reason.
And anything else I could think of either involved dissolving the blades in something or blowing them up with enough force to break the spells on them. Neither was really practical since I had no idea how to go about extracting metal from a solution with middle-age tech and searching for slivers of metal in a crater didn't sound fun.
I sighed and once again wished I had talked more with the smith when I had the chance. But I had other things to do at the time and Rhunön was also a notoriously prickly bitch. There was no telling how the forger of all the Rider's swords would react to me asking how to erase her best works even if she had literally taken a magically enforced oath to never make another after the last war.
Artists were temperamental like that.
Nothing for it, I would just have to keep trying until I managed. And if I was really lucky, I'd be able to get a solution that would let me disenchant a sword midfight. The thought of finally dealing with Samuel after turning whatever sword he ended up with as a replacement and turning it to scrap gave me warm fuzzy feelings.
So instead of getting to work, I gave my work table one look of longing before slipping into bed. If I was going to spend tomorrow dealing with political meetings I could at least be well rested for them.
-o-
"...and then I met up with Arya and Leona and we made our way back here." I finished narrating my unplanned adventure to the group.
The usual group was here. Nasuada, King Orrin, Jörmundur, and a few other advisors. And of course Arya was here as the Elvish representative.
Eragon and his new group of bodyguards were absent though. I wondered what he was up to…
Orrin leaned forward. "So what you're saying is that you abandoned your duties and the Varden on a whim to galavant around the Empire?" He said with barely contained anger.
I was a little taken aback by the tone, and I could see I wasn't the only one.
"I took advantage of an unexpected setback to pursue my own goals, King Orrin." I said formally but as evenly as I could. "I wasn't taking a vacation for the fun of it."
"But you did desert us the very moment you had an opportunity."
I bristled at the insult. In fact I wasn't the only one. Both Arya and Nasuada looked ready to object but were holding back for now.
"Two things, your Majesty." I snarled. "First, I did not ever actually join the Varden, only offered my support, so I literally could not desert. Second, I came back immediately after getting my prize instead of searching for another. Something I remember several people here promising to help with yet failed to deliver anything beyond vague rumors." Some of the advisors shifted awkwardly at that, well aware that there were at least a few Rider swords in Surda yet no one had given me a location for one yet.
"Another issue we need to address. I've withheld commentary until now, but I find it unpalatable that one of the most recognizable members of our army is in fact not a member of any organizations that make it up."
My scowl stayed on my face. "We've had this discussion before."
He nodded. "We have. And at the time we were happy to leave you as a mercenary if that was what you wanted," I had to hold back a scoff, they were anything but happy, "but that was before your little adventure. It's a good thing you are who you are, Lightbringer, and that you came back on your own, otherwise we'd have executed you for desertion."
"Orrin, have you lost your mind!?" Nasuada exclaimed in outrage. "We would have revolts if we even suggested such a thing!"
"And we would have just as many problems if warriors think they can do whatever they want because they are powerful!" Orrin snapped back.
"We've already had to execute some deserters. Or lash the ones that returned without a fight." Jörmundur 'helpfully' added.
"Common warriors, not a woman hailed as a hero by most of the army!"
"A woman that is not even a part of that army."
"Alexandria is no more part of the Varden than I am." Arya jumped in. "Are you going to take issue with my departure as well?"
Orrin looked like he swallowed a lemon and several advisors broke out into concerned muttering.
"Of course not, Lady Arya." He admitted. "But you are acting as Ambassador to your mother's will. Alexandria does not have that excuse. Your actions are not the same."
"What do you want then, Orrin?" I demanded, tired of this whole thing and not feeling particularly respectful.
"Either you are punished for desertion to show no one is above our laws," Nasuada, Arya, and even Jörmundur were about to protest again but paused as the king continued. "Or that you properly swear fealty to one of our camps."
I had to admit, as annoying as this was, it wasn't exactly unsurprising for Orrin to pull something like this.
Despite being King of Surda and supplying most of the army's current needs, he was constantly being overshadowed by Nasuada and it was obvious it was getting to the man. Even if it was clear he didn't want to run the entire war getting looked over by everyone to a teenage woman had to grate on his pride quite a bit.
His solution? Be the one that finally forces the Lightbringer to bend the knee and join the Varden. A prize so attractive that Nasuada didn't immediately speak out against it. Something she rushed to correct when she noticed me glance at her but the damage was done. Everyone else had noticed her pause as well.
There was quite a bit of yelling after that - mostly from the advisors once they felt it was safe enough with everyone distracted. But like I said, I was tired of this whole thing.
I stood suddenly and almost instantly there was silence.
"I've made my refusal to join the Varden very clear several times now and that won't change here." I declared to the group. "And I refuse to submit myself to some unearned punishment to soothe your ego, Orrin. If you want me punished, find someone capable of forcing me. I'm done here."
And with that I walked out of the tent, ignoring Nasuada's calls for me to wait.
-o-
I didn't immediately head back to my tent.
For one, I didn't want to be bothered by anyone until everybody cooled off. And secondly, the only thing to do there was tinker with the various experiments I kept there. Several of which were potentially explosive if handled wrong. And considering I might be tempted to start throwing things at the moment? Much safer for everyone around me if I didn't touch those until later.
Instead I decided to just sort of wander around the camp and take in some of the changes I've made while considering future paths open to me.
The biggest, most obvious change I introduced was the idea of generic mystic codes that any magic user could use with a bit of training.. Every once in a while I would see a magician with two or three of the things hanging from a belt. Most of them were still the same healing codes I introduced, but Leona had told me entire groups were popping up dedicated to creating their own codes with custom spells if they could. And I was excited to see where they ended up.
It was also proof I was going to leave a lasting mark on this world far beyond anything I intended.
Between the codes and the Healer's Guild, that was obvious. But at the same time I was making enemies.
I still hadn't resolved anything about the dwarven clan that declared a blood feud with me - unsurprising considering I hadn't really spent much time in an area where they could get to me - but at some point that was going to have to be resolved.
And that was probably going to be a headache and a half now that King Orrin was trying to throw his political weight around and Nasuada was proving to not be the solid ally I'd prefer.
I didn't really blame her though.
The power difference between us was enough to make any normal person nervous. I recognized that. Only a few short years ago I was practically tiptoeing around Yoruichi and Kisuke because of how dangerous they were. It wasn't until I could fight close to their level and a good amount of time interacting with them as friends and colleagues that the relaxed facade I used around them changed into something more real.
Nasuada was feeling the same thing I did about being trapped in the same room with a 400 pound tiger, and unlike me, she wasn't narrowing the power gap. Orrin giving her a legitimate way to get some sort of leash on me would have been incredibly tempting. Though it spoke well of her character that she didn't push the advantage despite what she might have wanted to do.
But between the political problems from the Varden and the mess dealing with the Az Sweldn rak Anhûin was going to cause…did I still want to see the war play out to the end?
Samuel had to go, so I was definitely committed as long as he was still alive. But after that? Maybe try to find a way to free Murtagh and Thorn from Galbatorix's control or otherwise remove them from the war, set Eragon up so he was better prepared to deal with the Mad King, and start planning how I was going to split from the Varden without things devolving into a fight or shattering the army's morale when I decided to leave.
Not exactly how I thought this little adventure was going to shape up honestly.
I rolled my shoulders and shoved my depressing thoughts to the side. I wasn't going to let politics completely ruin my day. I should go bother Angela and see what she's up to. Yeah, that was a much better idea than getting caught up in my head about things that hadn't even happened yet.
Maybe I would actually win an argument with her today.
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Ah yes, forced conscription in a world where magical oaths exist, I'm certain the Good Guys(TM) won't undergo a rebranding in 20 years time.
Seriously, in worlds like this at some point someone's gonna write a self-perpetuating magical oath where everyone swears to coerce others into swearing the same oath, and it'll spread like a virus. If they're lucky it'll be a firebreak oath not to make more oaths, if they're unlucky it's the start of an unbreakable empire.
Seriously, in worlds like this at some point someone's gonna write a self-perpetuating magical oath where everyone swears to coerce others into swearing the same oath, and it'll spread like a virus. If they're lucky it'll be a firebreak oath not to make more oaths, if they're unlucky it's the start of an unbreakable empire.