Pugna: An Eragon Fanfic

21

As we walk through the Shifters' city, it doesn't seem much different from any normal human or dwarf city. It has rows of neat, clean houses with children playing on the streets, dogs barking in the alleys, and women knitting on porches. The only difference is the temperature.

There seems to be a large bubble around the city that makes it a moderate temperature, while outside the bubble snow falls lightly on the ground. I ask our guide, Troy, how the climate can be so different, but he merely says, "Our ancestors figured out how to live in the coldest of climates for safety. We are their descendants."

Soon, Troy stops at a large building in the center of a crowded square. It is not a castle, which surprises me, but a massive warehouse-like building.

We enter unchallenged and find ourselves in a massive room. Comfortable chairs line the exquisitely decorated walls. Now this is a castle, comments Pugna. I'm surprised that the building is large enough to fit her.

Currently, all the chairs are unoccupied, so Troy strides confidently to a large set of double doors leading to a staircase. The elegant stairs curve upwards and lead to another set of doors. Pugna takes one step up the grand stairs and she's already halfway up. No guards stand at them, but I see a fly on the wall stare at us, then diappear through a gap in the wood. A voice from within says, "Enter."

Troy pushes open the door and begins to leave.
"Wait, where are you going?" I ask.

"Your business is not mine," he says bluntly, and strides back down the stairs.

I walk in tentatively and Pugna steps into the room behind me.

"Welcome travelers, what is your business here?" asks a kind faced man sitting behind a carved wooden desk. He has straight, dark hair and dark eyes, with a stubbly beard. A thin silver crown adorns his head.

Strange, comments Pugna, you'd think he'd look more...

Oracle-like? I interject.

Yes.

"We have come on the word of Angela the Herbalist. She said you made the prophecy on this dagger..." I pull the dagger from my boot and present it to him.

"Indeed I did... I had not thought I would see this again..." Marcus mutters.

"So can you tell us what is next? What must we do now?" I ask.

"Well, I have no idea," he answers bluntly.

Excuse me? Asks Pugna angrily, You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be an oracle?!

"Yes, but I can not see everything. I suggest you remain in our safety until something... happens."

"Seriously?! We want to actually do something to prevent this great tragedy that is about to happen!" I exclaim.

"But the tragedy has already begun," he replies, unfazed. The king's voice seems strange. Almost... unearthly.

What do you mean? Asks Pugna.

"I mean that the blight has already been loosed on the world. Save yourself if you can. Stay with the Shifters. You will be safe here." He almost seems frantic now. It's starting to freak me out, and Pugna ruffles her scales.

"What do you mean?" I say.

Marcus's face darkens. It looks like he's having a seizure or something. Suddenly, he throws his head back so fast, it seems like his head will separate from his neck.

"Are you okay?!" I exclaim.

He straightens up slowly. Eerily. But something has changed. His eyes are completely black.

The eyes fade to white for a second.

"Run, child," he says.

The eyes go back to black and black vapor begins to unfurl from his mouth. Frightened, I back into Pugna and she starts to exit the room. I turn around to take in the office one last time before fleeing.

The smoke has coalesced on the floor. A figure begins to rise out of the wispy clouds.

Go, go! I exclaim to Pugna.

I'm halfway out the door when I hear a noise behind me. I whirl around to face the sound.

A creature now stands behind me. It has the same proportions as a man, but this creature appears to be made out of the compressed black smoke. It reaches for something at its waist and unsheathes a two foot long black sword.

I draw my own white sword and face the creature head on. Pugna pushes me out of the way so she can reenter the room. She growls loudly.

The monster slashes its sword in the air and charges us.

Then all hell breaks loose.