Chapter 11

That night, Eragon dreams of Arya being tortured by the Shade named Durza in a prison. When he wakes, he yells out her name and jumps up as if to run to her aid before he stops in apparent confusion. Brom was sitting in a rocking chair near the window and was startled by Eragon's outburst. Hearing the name Eragon said, Brom narrows his eyes at him. 

"Good morning Eragon. It seems that you had a nightmare. Care to share why you just screamed someone's name in the early morning?"

Eragon recounts his dream to Brom. With Eragon knowing that she is in Gilead, he throws in some extra details to make a more accurate picture of where she might be. Brom strokes his beard in contemplation before telling him to forget about the dream. They leave the room and eat breakfast with Jeod and his wife Helen. They then spend the next few days asking some sailors about chartering a ship to Surda but find that all the larger vessels have been moored for the winter and the captains of some smaller vessels refuse their request outright. 

While Brom is busy talking to the captains, Eragon explores the city whilst always going out of town every day to check on Saphira. Each night Eragon is still having his dream visions of Arya. The more they happen, the more Brom starts to think that fate is trying to force them in a direction. Brom knows what prison Galbatorix would keep Arya locked up in and he even knows about who he would trust to be her jailer. The Shade named Durza would be a difficult opponent to defeat even in his prime. Brom knows that even with how proficient Eragon is in swordsmanship and magic, he still falls short when compared to a Shade. Though the more he thinks about it, traveling to Gilead in the northeast then going through the Hadarac desert would be a decent path to Farthen Dur. If they manage to save Arya then bring her back to the Varden, the elves will not go to war preemptively and with the combined forces of the Varden and elves along with Eragon and himself they just might have a shot at ending the life of Galbatorix once and for all. 

After being turned down by yet another captain, Brom finally relents and begins preparations for their ride to Gilead. Luckily, the horses that they had left in a stable at the gate were still there and they were able to reacquire them without any fuss. They exchange goodbyes with Jeod and head southeast to the Toark river.

Before they make it past Woadark lake, a piercing cry echoes through the air. Brom recognizes the sound and shouts a warning to Eragon. 

"Eragon, it's the Razac and their mounts. Hide in the tree line quickly." 

Eragon leads his horse into a thicket whilst calming the creature with his mind. He then hops off his horse and tells Saphira to stay with the horse and fight only when an enemy gets near. He pulls out a wooden cylinder and presses down on the topaz gem on the top. He then places the cylinder on the ground next to them and a translucent barrier covers the horse and Saphira. 

While they lay in wait in the brush they constantly hear the horrible screeching of the Lethrblaka flying overhead, their piercing cries echoing through the valley. The screeching sounds slowly start to fade as they head north. But just when Brom and Eragon think they have gone, a very loud screech emanates directly from overhead. Eragon had already pulled out his bow and upon hearing the screech above them, nocked an arrow and aimed towards the sky. 

Finna Fjandi (find enemy) Eragon shouts before shooting the arrow straight into the sky. The arrow flies up and curves to the northeast then speeds off and a few seconds later they hear a startled squawk. Eragon fires another arrow this time taking out one of the enchanted arrows he made just for this scenario. Knowing that he would have to deal with the Lethrblaka in advance, the arrow he fires acts similar to a bola. As the arrow flies through the air it transforms into a rope with two small wooden balls that home in on a wing of the Lethrblaka and wraps around it causing the creature to fall to the ground with a sickening crunch. 

Brom pulls out Morzan's blade Zar'roc and prepares for the coming melee. He sees one of the Razac break through the tree line and spurs his horse forwards as it runs towards him with unnatural movements. Just before Brom's sword would strike the creature, the Razac dodges underneath his blade and slashes at his arm. Brom leans to the side to avoid the Razac's blade then leaps off his horse and confronts the Razac directly.

While Brom is fighting the first Razac, the second appears from the tree line and makes a mad dash towards Eragon. The speed of its movement makes its hood fall back revealing a bird-like beak and beady eyes. Eragon turns towards the Razac and unsheathes his stone sword. He yells Afbrakka (enlarge) and his sword blade pierces the air straight towards the Razac's chest. The Razac tries to dodge but it is moving too fast, only giving it enough time to lean sideways causing the blade to scrape along its side. It screeches in agony but continues its charge. Eragon shrinks the sword then makes a horizontal sweep whilst making the sword longer partway through the swing. The Razac is caught off guard by the versatility of the sword swings and is again just barely able to dodge the swing by leaping into the air. Its forward momentum is just enough to get in melee with Eragon but he doesn't allow it to get that close. He yells Aptr (backwards) and his body is pulled backwards, easily dodging the Razac's blade. Eragon swings down with his sword and extends the blade once again. This motion adds an incredible amount of speed to the descending blade, giving the Razac no time to dodge. The blade slices through the Razac's right arm just past the shoulder. The limb falls to the ground and the Razac screeches in agony at losing its sword arm. In sheer desperation, it grabs the fallen blade with its left hand and charges at Eragon once again. Not wanting to take any chances, Eragon throws a wooden cylinder at the Razac and shuts his eyes. The Razac swings its sword at the object only to get a flash of white light in its face, completely stopping its charge as it falls to the ground and covering its eyes. Before it can recover, Eragon slashes down with his sword and cuts the creature's head clean off its shoulders.

Meanwhile, Brom is still in an intense melee with the other Razac. Brom's skill in swordsmanship is on full display as he parries every attack the Razac can throw at him. Even though the Razac is way faster than Brom, it can't find an opening in Brom's defense. Once Eragon finishes off his enemy, the surviving Razac screeches in anger, disengages as a bonus action, and makes a quick getaway, flying off on the remaining Lethrblaka. Brom walks towards the downed Lethrblaka and finds it in a small impact crater, It's body twisted like a pretzel as it screeches and squirms around in pain. He jumps into the crater and chops its head off. He returns to the clearing and sees Eragon standing over the deceased Razac, examining the creature. 

"Well done my boy. Not many can resist the paralyzing fear of the Razac and live to tell the tale let alone ending their existence. These creatures are the bane of humanity and we're driven to near extinction. The mad king found some of their eggs and raised them. Since then, they have become his loyal servants. It won't be long before the king gets word that the pair has fought us so let's get a move on. Oh, and before I forget… Was that another enchanted item you made without telling me?" 

A bead of sweat runs down Eragon's forehead and he looks away "I made these back in Carvahall which is before I had to tell you about me making enchanted items." 

Brom rubs his temples. "Kids these days… Are there more?"

Eragon looks Brom in the eyes "No…" He looks down. "Maybe…"

Brom with a straight face turns around and starts walking back to his horse while grumbling under his breath. "Fighting the Razac was easier than dealing with him. How on earth did Garrow put up with him?"

Before they leave, Eragon walks up to the Razac that he unalived and rifles around in its pockets finding a small bottle with a rope tied around the neck of it. He pockets the bottle and uses a quick Brisingr (fire) to burn the corpse to ashes. He disables the shield he put around Saphira and his horse and they leave the clearing with haste.