For Alagaesia: 61. Can he be trusted?

Being the leader of a rebellion was a head ache. Not just because of the lopsided match between the rebels and the empire, but also because of the politics within the rebel alliance and the threat of back-handed assassination attempts by the empire. But Nasuada had managed it well so far. Or at least that was how King Orrin felt. Oddly, he had visited her for no particular reason at all and had spoke with her for an hour about the status of the war and almost all things related to war – which of course included everything in their life. Their life was now war; as indistinguishable from one another as water in milk.

She suspected that the King of Surda had come to visit her out of pity. It was blatantly obvious that all the leaders of the rebellion looked upon her with pity nowadays. Ever since the Varden had funnily decided that she was the main target of Galbatorix, they had virtually put her in jail. What else could she call her living? She was in command but was always escorted giving her the impression of being in jail.

Funnily, Orrin and Orik were not pampered as she was. She considered what the implications would be if either of them should die. The Surdans would revolt if their King died, that was sure. Already most of them were under the impression that Nasuada had taken control of Surda's administration. Where they got that idea, she knew not. Orrin was very much in control of Surdan affairs. The King was more than capable of running Surda. Why would she go and take an extra responsibility? As it was, she couldn't even manage the affairs of the Varden and had given the administration of Teirm and surroundings to Roran and Aroughs and surroundings to Surda.

The people always assumed that power was an easy thing to wield. She was ever ready to hand over power to somebody capable and spend the rest of her life in peace. But her duty-conscious mind would never allow it. Besides she was yet to find an able man to handle the reins of the Varden. Roran was a candidate for sure, but he was awfully low on experience. If the council of elders played politics with him, he would probably lose temper and kill them. That would be enough to tear apart the Varden.

The only person she thought capable was Arya. The elven princess had an ocean of experience leading men into war and had dealt with political games for decades with aplomb. The princess was a rare combination – great fighter and good politician. She was kind of like her father Ajihad. Nasuada could say that both of them – Ajihad and Arya – developed such dual qualities only because of circumstances. They were forced to do both: be representatives of their people and lead those men to war. They had dedicated their entire lives to the cause and hence excelled. Nasuada was learning the trick, but honestly she wasn't sure if she would live long enough to be as good as her father or Arya.

Eragon was good. But he was impulsive and prone to the 'disease' of overburden. He already had a lot riding on his shoulders and giving him control of the Varden would only make it hard for both the Varden and him.

Furthermore there were men like Masilamani, Charan and Reilgan who were all quite experienced and were good captains. But their political prowess was largely untested. The battle at Dras-Leona had cost the Varden dearly. Most of the capable men had been marked and taken down cunningly by Galbatorix. Besides the loss of Jomundur, the Varden had also lost almost all its capable leaders. Another option was to give control to Orrin. He would be more than capable. But he wasn't someone who could inspire people. He was a man of action. And the thing that the people of Varden needed the most was inspiration.

The dwarves had their own problems. Orik was barely able to push his soldiers through battle after battle. He could never concentrate on the Varden. Arya won't be trusted by the Varden to lead them. For them she was a hero but not their leader. The story of the divide between elves and humans was as true as it could get.

Nasuada sighed. She didn't know how her thoughts had drifted to choosing her successor. But it was one question for which she would never find answer. She would only lose sleep over such thoughts. So she swept aside those thoughts and concentrated on reports from spies in the empire and patrols in Varden controlled lands.

For the past week, nothing of importance was noticed and the men had become lax. Nasuada attributed the laziness of the men to the biting cold from the Spine. The cold wave barely allowed men to move out of their homes and tents. Working in it was out of question. Considering the excessive cold, it was a miracle that men and dwarves from Farthen Dur and Surda were even able to perform patrol duties. Dras-Leona's closeness to the freezing Lake Leona and the Spine made it easily as cold as some northern cities although it was not as far north as Ceunon or Gil'ead.

Spies had reported that weather in Uru'baen was bitter too despite the capital's proximity to the Hadarac. It was a known pattern. The regions till the Ramr received the cold waves from the far-north each year. As Uru'baen lay in the plains on the banks of the Ramr, it was too affected by the cold. It was one of those strange climatic regions of Alagaesia. The Hadarac's vast expanse began just a hundred leagues away from Uru'baen and yet the city was prone to heavy snowfall. It was only such kind of climatic pattern that gave the Varden breathing space. Uru'baen would have to grapple with this nasty weather too.

Somebody rapped on her door. When she asked the person to step in, one of her night-hawks came in and said, “Elven commander Blodhgarm is here, my lady.”

“Send him in.” Nasuada said and waited for the arrival of Eragon's head-guard.

“Nasuada Svit-kona.”, Blodhgarm bowed. Nasuada returned a greeting.

“My Queen seeks an audience with you.”, the elf said. Nasuada nodded. 'About time.' , she thought. Galbatorix for some reason had been targeting the elves much more than the Varden.

“I shall remove the anti-scrying spell.”, Blodhgarm said.

Nasuada nodded. Scrying, dream-speaking, warding. Magic was pain. But until the day magic existed, she had to cope with it and its effects which meant her life would be spent this way, trying to escape magical traps.

Blodhgarm said some weird-sounding incantations. She was too tired to listen to what he was saying. After a few moments he turned and said, “It is done.” Then he bowed and left the room, just like that. Nasuada knew that the elven queen would be on her mirror at anytime.

She adjusted her clothes and looked at her reflection on the mirror. She didn’t want to present a bleak picture of herself to the Queen. When they were considered equals, she should have at least some of the grace of the Queen. The problem was that Nasuada could never match the terribleness meets gracefulness warrior-queen image of Islanzadi. Except for a striking similarity in appearance to her daughter, Arya, the queen was diametrically opposite to her daughter. When Arya looked proud and graceful, the mother looked terribly proud and even more graceful than the daughter. To match that Nasuada had thought of training under Arya. Ajihad’s training in aristocracy seemed awfully short.

As she was busy fixing a few stray strands of her hair, the mirror turned black and rippled. She hastily arranged herself in a neat position on her chair.

“Gods!! I have been trying for hours.”, a clearly unwelcome voice said and the mirror revealed the image of Murtagh. He was in some kind of a huge balcony and Nasuada could only guess that he was in Uru’baen.

Her heart beat fast and hard and she felt as if her ribcage would burst open at any minute. She hastily ran to the door and locked it.

“Why did you contact me Murtagh?”, she whisper-yelled. But the dragon rider ignored her. Instead, he spoke to a yellow orb in his hand and to somebody who stood out of her viewing range.

“Uru’baen is short of supply.”, he said to the orb, “The King is so angry.”

Nasuada was frustrated. Why would someone who wasn’t supposed to contact her make contact and then ignore her? Was he up to something? An appalling thought occurred to her: maybe he was trying to betray her? Make her people know her links with him? No. Where did that come from? She didn’t have to be worried. She had to trust him for him to betray her. But the problem was that she didn’t trust herself. If somebody were to see this and a mental examination were to be arranged, she didn’t trust herself to have feelings of enmity towards Thorn or Murtagh in her mind.

She contemplated breaking the mirror, but decided against it when she looked into Murtagh’s face. His eyes had a mischievous glint as if he had won some very important battle. She was slightly embarrassed to think that she was interested in Murtagh and his life. But she reasoned that knowing the enemy was only for good.

“The nobles are unhappy. They have begun complaining about the drying up store houses. The King doesn’t want the nobles turn against him.”, Murtagh said again to the orb and the invisible person whom Nasuada imagined was Thorn.

Then he nodded his head and shook it once. He raised his hand and did all sorts of gestures.

“You would be right if the King doesn’t care about his subjects. But he does. At least about the highly ranked ones.”, Murtagh said. Nasuada imagined that the orb, which she thought must be an Eldunari, or Thorn had asked Murtagh something.

Yet again, Murtagh went back to nodding. Nasuada wondered if it was by mistake that he was visible to her. He never showed any interest in her. He didn’t even acknowledge her presence. “He wants to pacify them. Even a King as strong and cold as Galbatorix cannot hope to administer the empire by himself. He needs them to be happy and satisfied of his rule.”

After another round of gestures, Murtagh said, “Why he let the rebels take his cities, if he cared? He has plans. Great plans. Unfortunately I can’t divulge them. I am under orders to never open my mouth or mind about it. But even now he sends an army from Kuasta, another from Narda and yet another from Uru’baen to take back Teirm. As I said he does care.”

A curt nod was all he did this time.

“Yes, me too. Having spoken about this despite our restrictions thrills me.”, he said. Nasuada’s heart raced. Was it true? Is there going to be a attack on Teirm from three sides? She was dying of apprehension. She couldn’t decide if she should trust Murtagh or not. After all, he had betrayed the Varden’s trust, true name or not. Something said her that true names couldn’t be ignored that easily, but she refused to believe. If she believed, then she would have lost the last reason to hate Murtagh and if a day comes, when she has to punish him, she wouldn’t be able to. Or worse if a day comes when she has to prove herself innocent, she wouldn’t be able to show any hatred toward Murtagh, which was one of the basic things needed to prove her innocence.

A big red scaly object obscured her vision of Murtagh and all of a sudden she was staring back at an eye that was so powerful and caring at the same time that she forgot all her apprehensions about the conversation she just (sort of over-)heard. She now believed that Teirm was going to be attacked. That eye said it to her; made her believe the things she heard.

As Thorn’s eye left the mirror and as Murtagh became visible, the mirror once again rippled. She drank in the fading image of Murtagh, while she said to herself that she didn’t care about that man; that son of Morzan. The mirror turned black and then reflected her as if nothing had happened. All her carefully done make-up had gone. Her face looked like that of a person who had been in the middle of a labyrinth for decades searching for an exit. And as much as she hated it, her hands were shaking slightly.

At that moment the mirror turned black and ripples started forming. Nasuada’s face paled even more if it was possible. How was she going to have a coherent dialogue with the elven Queen in this situation?

The Queen’s face appeared on the mirror and she was happy for the fact that there wasn’t a overlap between Murtagh and Islanzadi contacting her. Such a thing would have more or less finished off her role in the war.

Islanzadi looked as fresh and as graceful as she ever did. “Greetings, Lady Nasuada.”, she said.

“Greetings, Queen Islanzadi.”, Nasuada followed suit. As much as she hated it she couldn’t bring herself to meet the queen’s eyes. A weird feeling of guilt that came to her every time she thought of her strange and unlikely connection with the dragon-rider pair of the empire was running rampant in her mind right now.

“I hope everything is functioning well in Dras-Leona.”, the Queen said.

“Yes. We have not faced any issues. The supplies from Surda and the dwarves have been steady. All credit goes to King Orrin of Surda. He took up the responsibility upon himself. And to King Orik for his kingdom increased production even during the war.”, Nasuada said.

The Queen nodded. Appreciation was not easy to come from the elves.

“What of the defence lines of Gil’ead? Were there any more attacks?”, Nasuada asked.

“I am afraid that there are. If anything, the intensity of the attacks have grown.”, Islanzadi said, “But we are more than capable of rebutting Galbatorix’s army. Why he would attack only us and not care about Dras-Leona escapes me. Perhaps, he feels that the force at Dras-Leona is not a threat to him.”

Nasuada felt hurt. The Queen was suggesting that the Varden and the dwarves were a lower force than the elves.

“If he does believe so then his demise is not far.”, Islanzadi said after a pause.

Nasuada was left to feel ashamed. The elves were proud but not vain as to consider the other races inferior. That was the main difference between them and Galbatorix. She should have known it by now.

Her apprehension and guilt faded away with time and she found herself thinking of Murtagh’s veiled warning in the way she should: as a valuable information.

“I have news from the spies in Uru’baen.”, Nasuada said.

 She watched for any change in the Queen’s emotions for there weren't any spies in the black city ever since one was captured and information about Elva leaked leading to Eragon's capture. But as always she was rewarded only with frustration as the Queen remained absolutely unmoved.

Knowing not what to do, she said bluntly, “It seems that Galbatorix is feeling the heat. He has dispatched his armies to Teirm. They seek to recapture the city and rebuild their supply chain. In a way, this was what we were hoping for. We wanted to keep Galbatorix occupied with other things and not think and act on Eragon's escape. It is working. But...”, Nasuada left her sentence hanging.

The Queen raised an eye-brow. Clearly she was wondering how Nasuada was privy to such information. “Armies you say?”, she asked.

“Yes. Armies from Kuasta, Narda and Uru'baen. A three-pronged attack. He must be desperate.”, Nasuada said and immediately regretted saying it. Doubts would arise about her being so well acclimatised with Galbatorix's war plans. Thankfully the queen did not ask anything. She just nodded.

“I see.”, Islanzadi said, “And how do you plan to thwart his attack?”

“I haven't decided yet. I received the report only moments before you contacted me.”, Nasuada said truthfully.

“I can ask Lord Dathedr to lead his company against the armies from Kuasta and Narda. And I suppose Roran Stronghammer would be capable of building the defences of Teirm.”, the Queen said.

“I can send an army to attack the Uru'baen army from behind.”, Nasuada offered.

The Queen nodded. “And we must be mindful of the dragon rider too. He can easily surprise us as he did with you weeks ago.”, she said.

Nasuada felt a cold settle in her heart.

She had conveyed Murtagh's warning as if it were a legitimate spy report. What if it were a trap?

But no. Why would Thorn lie?

Perhaps Galbatorix forced them to.

If they had been then the message must have been direct. This one seemed veiled.

Galbatorix might have made it look like it to make us believe.

But Murtagh looked happy about having delivered the message.

Why wouldn't he? It is, after all, his side that is winning.

'Stop it, Nasuada.', she cursed. Was she fighting with herself? Only mad people do so.

Overcoming her fears and doubts, and bringing on a non-existent confidence upon her face, she said, “Yes, Queen Islanzadi. I know. And I am confident that we can rebuke any evil scheme that the son of Morzan spews.”

Islanzadi smiled, a joyless and forlorn smile, the first sign of emotion Nasuada had seen from the Elven Queen during the conversation. “Eragon Shur'tugal was right. It is the confidence of the Varden that is holding this campaign together.”, she said.

Nasuada smiled nervously. The Queen was actually praising the Varden. “Please inform Lord Dathedr about his role. I shall speak with General Roran.”, the Varden leader said.

“I will do. And I will also send a small force to aid your army from Dras-Leona. We would have liked to help more but Galbatorix's attacks must be held back in Gil'ead and we can't spare many.”, the Queen said.

Nasuada nodded. “Thank you, your majesty.”, Nasuada said, genuinely happy with the offer. The support from elves in the past few endeavours of the Varden was proving to be immensely helpful. Her initial reservations about the elves was slowly wearing down. She only hoped that her fellow humans would be as accepting and open-minded. Of course, she knew of the elven grudge against humans. But she could see that notion too wearing off with time.

When the Queen bade her farewell, Nasuada lay back on her chair with her hands covering her face. Her heart had finally began functioning normally. She wondered if Islanzadi had heard the thud-thud of her heart. The elves were supposed to have sharper vision and hearing capabilities. She hoped that Islanzadi hadn't.

She needed to get that anti-scrying spell put on her as soon as possible. She didn't want Murtagh sneaking on her as he did minutes ago again – to help or not. Then she had to alert Roran about the impending attack on Teirm. And then she had to speak with Orik and Orrin about sending a force after the Uru'baen army.

They would hunt down Galbatorix's men and the king would not know what hit him. A traitor in his own group and that too one as high ranking as Murtagh – Galbatorix wouldn't even have dreamt of it.

Yet, something said to Nasuada that she was wrong on all her assumptions. Murtagh was not actually betraying the King for he never served the king willingly and Galbatorix had no reason to blindly trust Murtagh, again, because he was only forced to serve by the evil King. True names and their effects.

But she didn't want to think in that angle lest she develop a soft corner for Murtagh and his dragon in her heart. She won't repeat the mistake she did two years ago by speaking for Murtagh with her father. She hadn't yet recovered from the effects of trying to help Murtagh once. She did not intend to be let down again by placing her trust in him. He was after all the son of Morzan.

Author's Note:

Yippee!!! Murtagh!!!

If you didn't understand what happened there then read this: Murtagh is ordered not to divulge Galbatorix's plans to the enemies. But he is free to scry them. He uses it to his advantage and makes the Varden aware of the King's plans.

Well, that was a straight-forward explanation. But what happened behind the scene? Did Galbatorix plant this idea? Of course he has a lot to gain from such a diversion. He could defeat the elves at long last or he could annihilate the Varden when they are distracted. What might it be? Keep reading.