Wyrda: Father of Dragons (Eragon Book 5)

Chapter 41: The Urgal King

The cold air passed through the riders and dragons, and small snowflakes fell from the sky, around them. Thrain covered his short body with his dark cloak, hugging Sphinx for warmth, while Gregorbak sat on Felangoud, as if the weather did not affect him at all. Murtagh had a worried expression on his face, and a small amount of grey smoke, escaped Thorn's nostrils, as with sharp moves, he mirrored his rider's mood.

Underneath them, small grey rock houses, made to look like the surrounding landscape could be seen under the flying dragons. One could pass the great amount of rock houses, as part of the mountain, as if a giant explosion of a volcano, had thrown thousands of rocks, of every size and shape on the side of the mountain. Green trees and a small river passed through the middle of the settlement. A great giant tree dominated the center of the city. The tree was as old as the oldest trees in Ellesmera. It had giant branches full of green leaves, and the giant bark, was as thick as two dragons. On the other side, of the tree, a giant rock seemed to have crashed, as if the explosion had tried to eradicate the tree, but had missed its mark, by a few meters. Small black figures, carrying weapons could now be seen among the rock buildings, and a group of Urgals had formed at the center of the city, carrying spears. The settlement looked like an angry beehive, but soon, when they saw that the intentions of the dragons and riders were friendly, they formed into two straight thick lines of soldiers, forming a large way in the middle, for the riders and dragons to walk. The rocky surrounding landscape, helped to hide the giant Urgal settlement, as it was not different in any way.

Wanting to make the best impression on the Urgals and their king, the Dragons moved in unison, as if in a military parade, releasing three great tongues of fire in the air, melting the falling snowflakes, while they started to descend towards the Urgal settlement. In a matter of seconds, the three dragons landed, just outside the settlement. The Riders, jumped from their saddles and landed on the snow covered floor, their boots sinking on the soft, freshly fallen snow.

Tall black figures, Kull warriors surrounded them, as they lifted their heads in a sign of respect to the riders and dragons. Behind the Kull warriors, the Urgal warriors, who were shorter, also lifted their heads. Behind the soldiers, Urgalgra, Urgal women, stood holding their children by the shoulders, as if trying to protect them from danger. Overall, it was as if a sea of horns had suddenly taken over the settlement, as thousands of Urgals lifted their heads or showed their horns, depending on their thoughts towards the riders.

 Children looked at the dwarven rider with curiosity and laughed at the short dwarf, beside his giant dragon, and showed admiring expressions when they saw Gregorbak, the Kull rider, pass through the crowd, followed by his purple dragon. Some Urgal and Kull warriors lowered their horns, as they saw Murtagh pass through the crowd. Lowering the horns meant that their mood was hostile towards him, and that made Murtagh lower his hand towards his sword, without touching it, ready for every possibility.

Gregorbak showed no sign of admitting the danger as with a great roar, he laughed at the crowd, and waved at them, and to friends and family that cheered him as he passed through the crowd. Some Urgalgra threw flowers as the riders passed, as if they were conquering heroes, returning from an epic battle. That made Thrain walk with pride, as he patted his black beard, and looked at his surroundings with interest.

As they walked towards the giant tree, the tree became bigger, as it seemed to cover half the sky, in size. Thrain was sure that it was some form of magic, but when he asked Gregorbak, the Kull warrior only laughed louder, as he continued to walk through the crowds. Thrain whispered something under his breath about Urgals, while Murtagh looked at his flustered expression and smiled. The tree was now more visible, and the riders could see that it's bark was covered with hieroglyphics and drawings of scenes of ancient battles against enemies of the Urgals and their everyday life in the settlement.