Murtagh's Story [An Eragon Fic]

Chapter 13: The End

"It's Galbatorix."

As soon as the words left Murtagh's mouth, a team of guards came around the corner. Coran and Murtagh looked at them coldly, and in a few minutes they were each standing in a pool of the soldiers' blood. Nasuada looked on, hiding her disgust.

"Let's get to Thorn." Murtagh said.

Coran hesitated, saying, "But Sorrel-"

Murtagh whirled around and gave her such a glare that she stepped back and tripped, falling onto her behind. Murtagh took a deep breath, helping Coran up, and composed himself.

"It's just...I really need to know Thorn's okay."

Coran looked at him sympathetically, and a pang of anger shot through Nasuada. Murtagh had loved her! Suddenly, there was a clash from around the corner. They ran around it, and found Sorrel cleaning off his sword on the tunics of one of the fallen soldiers at his feet.

Murtagh looked relieved, and sheathed his sword. Coran, however, ran up to Sorrel and embraced him. He hugged her back, seeming startled at her touch.

"We thought you were dead!" Coran exclaimed when they stopped embracing.

Sorrel shook his head, smiling bravely. "I tried."

Suddenly, Sorrel's face paled and he fell to the ground, holding his leg. Murtagh bent down over Sorrel, and lifted his long cloak. Underneath there was a strip of his pants torn off, and his leg was dripping with blackish blood.

He opened his mouth in a silent whimper as Murtagh ripped off another strip of Sorrel's pants. "One of the soldiers got me when I first tried to escape. I think the blade was poisoned."

Now that the adrenaline from the fight was wearing off, Coran and Nasuada noticed that Sorrel was pouring sweat, and his breathing was labored. His face was a mask of pain. Coran bent over Sorrel as Murtagh wrapped the strip of cloth around Sorrel's leg as a tourniquet. Sorrel groaned, and Coran felt his head. He was burning up. Then, from somewhere far away, a dragon was heard roaring. Coran snapped her fingers, and a ball of blue and black fire burned instantly in her palm. Murtagh, however, yelled and fell back against the wall, sliding to the floor. Nasuada ran to help him, but was beaten by Coran. Coran knelt down next to him, and saw, through the veil of his thick dark hair that he was sobbing silently. She put her arms around him, and when a minute or two had gone by, she wiped away his tears and helped him stand. Nasuada was already waiting near Sorrel.

"Go and find Thorn." Nasuada said. "I'll wait with Sorrel here."

Murtagh nodded his head to her in thinks, and Nasuada knelt down next to Sorrel. She knew, now, that her destiny did not lie with Murtagh.

Murtagh and Coran silently dashed through the halls, following the quickly fading echo of Thorn's roar. Suddenly, they ran out of a door, and the sky was above them. also above them was a flag bearing the symbol of Galbatorix, but the colors were changed and a red line was painted crudely through the flag. Murtagh rolled his eyes.

"Loyal bastards." He cursed. "These soldiers are what is left of the Empire. After Galbatorix was killed, they tried and failed many times to bring him back to life. They lost many back then. Now, they just 'carry on the legacy'" Murtagh said, making air quotation marks.

"Loyal. Bastards." Coran agreed, saying each word slowly.

They started sprinting as they heard another one of Thorn's roars.

They finally made it to a large courtyard. They his behind shrubbery as Galbatorix's troops surrounded Thorn, jabbing him with spears and hitting him with arrows. A magician seemed to be casting a spell of pain, making each arrow seem to burn as they pierced Thorn's hide. He roared again, and Murtagh fell to the ground silently, passing out for a good minute.

"Don't...know how much...longer Thorn...I...can hold out..." Murtagh said, breathing hard.

Coran helped him up. Suddenly, from a hole underneath the shrubbery, Nasuada appeared, helping Sorrel up.

Murtagh looked at her, startled, and Nasuada answered, "I found a secret passage."

Coran shrugged. They needed all the help they could get. On a secret signal, Nasuada, Murtagh, Coran, and even Sorrel, leaped out from behind the bush. They attacked.

The weakened soldiers were no match for the furious four. Within minutes, the seven-odd soldiers were lying dead. Murtagh whirled around the face the sorcerer, and Coran shouted.

"No, wait!"

She ran over to the magician, putting her sword on his throat. "Heal him."

She pointed at Sorrel, who had collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.

The magician spat on the ground. "Kill me."

Murtagh stepped back and shook his head. Magicians were stronger that a sword point. Coran, however looked into the wizard's eyes. She saw fear and cowardice.

Pressing the sword tip into the sorcerer's neck, she said again, "Heal him."

The magician screamed in fear, and shouted a spell at Sorrel. He groaned in pain, and then sighed, relieved, as the poison flowed out of his wound in a black stream. Nasuada helped him up and embraced him. Coran stepped back, and Murtagh slit the wizard's throat.

Thorn roared. "Coming, Thorn!" Murtagh said.

Coran swung her sword, breaking the shackles off of Thorn, as Murtagh went to heal his dragon's injuries. Suddenly, Coran saw something glisten on the ground underneath Thorn. She gasped.

"Oh, Thorn." she breathed. "You were protecting something."

Thorn stepped back, and revealed a black dragon egg, which shined like onyx on fire when the light hit it. There were streaks of red and orange in the egg. Coran, with a wary glance at Thorn, stepped forward and went to retrieve the egg. As she came near, she heard a crack! The egg broke to reveal a black dragon, shining in the sun. Coran, stepping up to it,touched it, and winced. Pulling back her hand, she lifted it to reveal a gedwey ignasia. Murtagh whooped and crowed in triumph, and Nasuada and Sorrel hugged and laughed with joy. Coran ran up to Murtagh and kissed him full on the lips. Thorn roared in triumph at the sky.

A story from

a land, far away

where each character

goes his own way.

But when, dear reader, their paths choose to cross,

each other, to go across,

they start an adventure.

And when their time has reached it's end...

This is that last of their story, my friend.