On the road again
The next day after breakfast, the villagers came to wave us off. We took it slow, enjoying the fresh air and nature. Brom still had his guard up, there were too many things that didn't add up. At the farm, Eragon was waiting with a backpack with Garrow and Roran beside him. Brom greeted Garrow, explaining the cover story of owning a favor to Eragon's mother, and apprenticing him out in Theirm.
"Hello Eragon, my name is Harry Potter, these are my wives, you already met three of them, here are Daphne, Fauna, and Flora. We will accompany you on your journey." Better tell him now that these girls are off the market before he develops a crush. The disappointment was written on his face while he glanced at Pansy. I smiled at him.
"Don't worry mate, there are a lot of girls in the world and you will meet plenty of them. Brom, don't forget to pay Garrow, that was the deal you promised to Eragon's mother."
Brom: "I was getting to that, Harry don't be too impatient. Garrow, the deal I made with Selena was to apprentice Eragon to a good profession and to compensate you for taking care of Eragon, although she knew you would do it for free. So take this money, it will make life somewhat easier."
Garrow: "With whom are you going to apprentice him? What kind of profession will he learn?"
"Along the way, we will teach him to read and write, he will be apprenticed to an old man who will teach him all he has to know. The first year will be spent learning. Things like the weather patterns, politics, even some fighting, and self-defense. He will even be tested that he has a magical talent, although those chances are slim." Brom frowned, it seems he doesn't like to be interrupted by young ones.
Brom: "Yes, these youngsters have been walking here from Therinsford, where they got off from a caravan. We will buy some horses in Therinsford and ride to Theirm." Meanwhile, Eragon was listening intently was was said about his mother.
He looked at Brom and asked: "You knew my mother? Why didn't you say something to me after all these years you lived in Carvahall?"
Brom: "Your mother was a highly ranked official who angered a noble, I had to keep it all a secret for your own safety. Nobles keep grudges for a long time." Hey, Brom can bullshit too. Eragon said his goodbyes to Garrow, while I shook hands with Roran.
"You know, if you want a weapon, that hammer we gave you will do just fine. Just drip a bit of your blood on the handle today." We enchanted the hammer with all kinds of goodies, that thing can crush boulders now.
/\
On the road, Brom could not help himself from commenting about young ones interrupting grown-ups. I answered him about old men needing to learn depending on the young, sometimes they know what was best. We were bickering at each other for a few hours, Eragon and the girls were getting some distance between us.
Daphne: "Don't mind them, they are two alpha's establishing dominance over the group. Once Brom learns his place, this trip will be enjoyable." Brom had good ears it seems.
Brom: "I learn my place? Missy, I lead organizations for decades, what can that boy do more than me?"
"Well… Everything? How long are you fighting that mad man? A hundred years? I plan to destroy him in a half year because I want to be there when my children get born."
Eragon looked at my wives: "Are you pregnant? Walking long distances while pregnant is not good. Should we not go back to Carvahall and await the birth? We have good midwives there."
Pansy: "No Eragon, we are not pregnant, the four that are, stayed at home."
Eragon: "Ten wives? ? Did he enslave you? How come did you marry him with so many other wives?"
Brom: "I want to know that too."
Tracey: "Where we are from, the nobles with several titles need a wive for every line. Some lines have only a female as the last descendant, she has to be a consort so her children will inherit her last name. Harry has a lot of both kinds." The girls giggled at that last comment.
Brom: "So? How many?" The girls looked at me, I shrugged, what do I care if they know it or not.
Katie: "I was the last one, twenty-three. Although Olivia, Miramar, and Lenora can bring that number to twenty-six." Brom was speechless, his mind going over how that would work, glancing at my pants. The girls laughed at his reaction to the Eldunari comment.
Pansy: "Lenora will say yes, I am certain of it. Too bad Luna is not here, she could tell."
"Anyway, we have some decisions to make. Are we walking to Therinsford to keep the cover? Brom here told Garrow we buy some horses there, otherwise, we could skip that."
Fauna: "We can use some horses, there is room enough for nine horses in the manor."
"Not for me though, I never liked those animals, they are almost the same as centaurs. I like riding a dragon more. I say we buy some who want to ride on a horse, the rest will ride on a wagon." Dammed, I'm outvoted. We will buy nine horses.
Brom: "There is a famous horse breeder in Therinsford. Maybe he sells dragons too, then you can ride it." The wives and Eragon grinned as the bickering started again.
"I meant for our cover to stay on, we need to be seen in Therinsford on a date it takes to walk to that town, it will reduce the time of calculating the ritual. Remember we have less than two weeks. And nine middle-class people, with six stunningly beautiful women among them, buying horses will be remembered, and talked about." That compliment got me some hugs and kisses. Publicly showing affection is not done here, by the look of Brom and Eragon.
Brom: "Hey get a room, we are on a road."
Smirking, I answered: "I get a room every night."
Daphne: "We can speed things up, when someone from those towns meets, they won't tell the date we were there. I propose we enter the manor, and one gets a broom to that town. The rest is just some portkey's away. Eragon can have an egg in the meantime." Traveling while sitting in a manor reading books, is the girls' favorite, I was voted to ride the broom. Brom was dreading the feeling of being pulled at the navel through some wormhole. Katie took Eragon along, Fauna took Brom.
/\
Luna was waiting at the door and welcomed Eragon. "Hello Eragon, my name is Luna Peverell-Lovegood, I want you to meet someone, Brom can come along and bear witness." Luna led Eragon to the manor trunk, his reaction to the trunk was priceless, he was looking inside and circled the trunk two times before he went in.
Eragon: "How is this possible? Is this magic? They said I was going to be tested if I have magic, if I do have magic, can I make something like this too? Hey, there is a horse with a spike on his head!"
Luna smiled: "It is possible, yes it is magic and you will be tested. I don't know if you will be able to create something like this, and that is not a horse but a unicorn. Come inside the manor, I want to introduce you to a dragon… no, more like to a future dragon." Eragon was awed by all the new things he experienced, growing up on a farm way up in the boonies, a medieval town being the height of technology, it could compare with us ending up in Star Trek. Everyone was gathered in the room with the egg.
Luna: "Eragon, the next five minutes will decide your future. This here is a dragon egg, hold it for five minutes if the child in it will hatch for you then she will create a magic connection with you, and hatch in a few weeks from now. Now please hold the egg in your hands." Not sure what to do, the transition from getting an apprenticeship to the chance to be a dragon rider was too big.
He looked at Brom: "Brom? What is all this? A dragon? What about Theirm? What should I do?"
Brom: "Eragon, in the old days, children got the chance to get tested. If the child has the capability to do magic, then they are introduced to dragon eggs, if the child was very lucky, a dragon connected to the child and hatches. Both will then be trained to be dragon riders. You have the opportunity to be tested first on this egg. She was lost a hundred years ago and is the only free egg in existence. If the egg hatches for you, then you will be the first dragon rider in a hundred years. The decision to try it is yours alone."
Growing up with stories of the dragon riders, he studied the egg, all kinds of thoughts running through his head, finally he made up his mind and took the egg in his hands. The connection was made within the minute, everyone could tell.
Fleur: "Congratulation, Eragon dragon rider, she will hatch in a few weeks from now, carry her to your room and keep her with you at all times." Milli showed Eragon to his room, explained the bathroom and toilet, and introduced Dobby and Winky to him.
Dobby: "Dobby will take care of dragon boy, ask for Dobby if dragon boy needs something."
Winky: "Winky will make clothes for dragon boy. Mistresses will spell them. Dragon boy needs to take a bath."
After all the new stuff he was introduced to, Dobby and Winky topped it all, especially Dobby with his strange sense of colorful fashion style. Milli left him in the care of both elves.
/\
That left me to make the trip to Therinsford, I went off the trail and took a broom. I disillusioned myself and the broom, lifting off just above the treetops, I made my way, flying to the town. A half-hour later, a mile out of town, I warded a secure spot to port back to and activated my portkey.
In the manor, the girls were celebrating the completion of the first stage. Even Brom had a smile on his face. I decided to wipe that smile away.
"Brom, you have one day to clear the air between Eragon and you. He needs to know, and more importantly, he needs to hear it from you. If you don't do it today, then I will tomorrow. He needs to know there is someone that he can rely on. After we do our ritual, we split up, I will go to Theirm and help Jeod, you will go to the dwarves with seven of my wives, and root the traitors out before they find out you have been living in Carvahall."
Brom: "There are only two people that know that information, but you are right. I will tell Eragon everything tonight."
Luna: "He needs to know about his brother too."
Brom paled: "You seem to know everything about us." I responded: "We do." Eragon came in the room, bathed, dressed in new clothes, holding the egg in his arms.
Eragon: "This must be a dream, I often dreamed that my mother was someone special and that my father will come and get me." Brom got uncomfortable, while I cracked up, laughing at how close to the truth the boy was.
At an early dinner, we decided to buy the horses first, and leave town without staying the night there. We studied the currency and transmuted gold and silver bars into the local coins, we even copied the spells on them. Brom and Eragon were following our spell work with amazement.
Brom: "That is enough for a whole herd of horses. We better go now before it gets too dark to leave town without suspicion."
/\
The portkey took us to the warded spot, the girls removed the wards to erase all traces of magic. We arrived in town, at the bridge, the dumb ass from the book was guarding the bridge to hustle strangers, he looked at us and our clothing, and stepped aside. He wasn't too stupid after all. At the stables Brom did the talking, I was wandering through the stable looking at all the horses in their boxes. I swear those animals were leering at me with malice. In the meantime, Brom was trying to buy that white stallion from the owner. I interfered, why trowing money to a priced horse when you only need it to ride out of town.
"Brom, let the man keep that one, it is perfect breeding material, and we do not exactly need a racing horse. Some geldings will do nicely."
Brom: "Boy, a good horse can be the difference between life and death."
I looked him in the eyes: "Grandpa, if you get into danger on this trip, then I will protect you. Now let the man have his stallion to improve his stable. It will be a waste of a good breeding animal just to move us around."
Daphne: "Harry, Brom, behave. Brom, Harry has a point, this is a beautiful animal, perfectly for breeding. We just need some good horses to ride, and a friendly one for Harry, somehow horses don't like him." I knew I didn't have to show my interactions with those bloody centaurs.
Haberth had a good day, selling nine good horses with gear was putting a smile on his face. I, on the other hand, had trouble with my horse, the bloody thing wanted to bite me. I saw Pansy having a friendly horse, that stood still, so she could put the saddle on.
"Pansy, can we swap horses? This one wants to bite me." Pansy looked at the horse, came closer, and patted my horse on the head.
Pansy: "There is nothing wrong with the horse Harry, deal with it. And did you really want to give me a horse that bites?" Oops, that was not my brightest moment, this calls for damage control.
"Honey, you know those bloody animals hate me, and you are a natural with them. You just proved it by patting that monster."
Pansy whispered: "Make contact with your mind to the horse, as Eragon did in the book, let him feel you mean no harm to it." Well… we can only try. I looked into the horse's eyes, making contact with her mind. Conveying the feeling you don't want to harm her was hard, that stupid mare was suspicious of me. In the end, I promised her if she behaved, she will get a nice stallion to fuck with. If not, she will be on the menu of a green dragon. She behaved nicely after our conversation. I pointed to Pansy's horse and told mine to follow it. That solved my steering problems, I only sat one time on a horse, and that was not a good memory for my ego.
Brom rode next to me: "Boy, did you ever sit on a horse? A sack of potatoes has a better posture than you."
"Grandpa, are you still mad at me for not getting your way? This is my second time on a horse, horses and me have a love-hate relationship. They hate me and I love to hate them." We left the town, when it got too dark I enlarged the mansion trunk in a nearby forest, warded the surroundings, and led everyone inside. We removed the saddle and told the horses to play nice with the unicorns.
/\
Finally, I could relax in my bathtub, the wives pampering me, so I forget the horrors of being on a horse… I wish. They were making fun of me for being helpless on a horse. At least I wasn't helpless in bed, which I proved multiple times to them that night.
The next morning, we realized we forgot to put silencing charms, by looking at Brom's annoyed face and a glowing red blushing Eragon. Meh, now he has something to fantasize about while wanking.
Breakfast was a bit awkward at first, but hey, we are married, so deal with it. We began to discuss our trip to Ellesmera.
Brom: "The country is warded from intruders, we have to enter it on the ground, and make contact with the guards. The nearest border is two weeks on horseback close to Ceunon. Three weeks if Harry doesn't learn how to ride." he smirked at me by saying that.
"We will reach the border before noon old man, you can sit on your horse and pretend you ride to it." Having the memories of the three Eldunari was sufficient to know the way.
We left the trunk and searched for a good place to take of. I enlarged the portal of the dimension pocket to let a spitfire out. Brom was curious about the plane.
Parvati: "Four times faster than the fastest dragon. It can reach heights where the air is too thin to breathe and can stay whole days in the air. With this, we can reach Ellesmera tomorrow." We found an open space in the forest to start our next phase. The trunk safely secured on my neck, monitoring charms on the windows and the two-way mirror at hand, I took to the sky. The trip took only two short hours, I landed in an open meadow, and let everyone out.
"We are close to the border, we will ride until we make contact with the elves. Brom will lead, he is a friend of the elves so they ask questions first before shooting arrows." Pansy gave the reins of my horse to me, I decided to call her Dinah. Dinner when I am mad at her.
We rode a few hours, stopped for lunch, which we had in style outside, thanks to Dobby and Winky. Luna took Eragon's spot, telling him to spend time with his egg and learn to read and write. I voted to stay inside too, but it did not work, it was too funny to see me sitting on a horse. Brom was grinning at me. The bastard will endure another night without silencing charms. After several hours, I found my rhythm on Dinner's backside. The forest became more unfriendly, the wards pressing us to turn back.
I expanded my senses, trying to detect the elves that were monitoring us. I brushed at some minds that quickly retracted behind shields.
"Brom show your ring to them. You know they are watching us"
Luna: "Show yourselves please, we mean your people and forest no harm." A voice sounded from the branches: "Dismount, and remove your weapons." I dismounted Dinner and showed that I have no weapons on me. Brom finally showed his ring, that man was a real drama queen. He had his talk with Eragon last night, agreed with the background noises from us, made it a bit more awkward, but he could have silenced his room himself.
I raised my hand: "There are some more people, I will call them, hold your fire." Expanding the trunk and opening it, I called the girls and Eragon outside. One by one the girls emerged. Somehow it reminded me of a circus act, with a lot of clowns coming out of a small car. You could feel the elves becoming more nervous with that trick.
Brom: "We bring good tidings to the forest. We need to speak with the queen and Oromis."
Luna: "Eragon, show the child, hold it up for them to see." Eragon lifted the egg up to show it. Cries of surprise sounded around us from at least a dozen voices.
Daphne: "She has already chosen her rider, the one holding it, he needs proper teaching and guidance. We ask permission to travel to Ellesmera, we have ways to get there in a day." The elves emerged from the trees, most with almost white hairs, some with jet black hair. A female with more authority in her presence approached Eragon and studied the connection between them.
Elf: "My name is Imira, the connection is made, it is the lost egg, where did you find it and how did the boy get to be tested before us?"
"That are answers the queen will hear first, for your information, this is the son of Brom, former rider of a blue dragon, it is fitting his son rides a blue one too. We can camp here for the night, or at your station. Contact Ellesmera and ask for permission to travel there, some of you can accompany us if you want." Man the older one gets, the more attitude they show to younger ones.
Daphne: "If you like you can inspect our sleeping place." while she showed the trunk to them.
Flora enlarged the trunk doors to let the horses in. Curious the elves looked inside, they were shocked at the space inside. Slowly they entered, we removed the saddles and let the horses find their way to the lake. On the way to the mansion, Dobby and Winky popped in focusing on the elves.
Dobby: "We know these master Harry, we feel it in our magic."
Winky: "These being kin of us master, no not kin, different but the same." They looked at each other for a long time.
Imira: "These beings call you master, are these your slaves? I feel there is a connection between them and you."
Padma: "The origins of these house-elves are uncertain. But to live, they have to bond with a wizard or witch, which is what we call ourselves. With that bond, we share our magic with them. Without, they will die a slow death. More has to be discussed with your queen first. We offer you a place in the manor for the night, or if you prefer the open space, there are shelters in the woods outside."
We gave the grand tour of the mansion, mentioning the limited places, and showed the indoor plumbing and bathing space. Outside, they were admiring the unicorns, the magical animals, and the fauna. They decide to spend the night in our forest, to be close to the unicorns, their magic was calling them. The unicorns were friendly with the elves, feeling a mutual attraction.
I asked Dobby and Winky to prepare dinner without meat or fish for us and our guests.
Ophelia, Miramar, and Lenora had asked to be hidden until we reach Ellesmera.
Fleur slapped a translation spell on Eragon, as the only one that didn't understand the old language he had to endure it, the translation wasn't perfect, but the big picture came through.
At dinner we made small talk asking about elvish customs and their stories about dragons. The elves were happy to share stories about the dragons and some of their relatives that rode them.
Imira: "I have sent my second in command with two others back to report this meeting, and ask for a free passage to Ellesmera, with your doors open to the outside world, will your animals not escape?"
Fleur: "We warded the doors to the outside to repel animals and insects coming in or going out. We know from experience what devastation strange animals can cause to an ecosystem. So we took extra care." The night passed, we did set our silencing charms up, to spare Eragon.
In my mindscape Ophelia, Miramar and Lenora were practicing their elf bodies, of course, I was willing to show how humanoids made love, eagerly helped by my wives. I suspect they developed a kinky side, and the three Eldunari loved it all.
Well… Tomorrow we go to Ellesmera.