The crew got ready for the banquet in silence.
The one who broke that silence was Eragon.
"What do you think happened to those bodies?"
Ryan shrugged.
"If they disappeared, then that means there were more we didn't encounter."
As Ryan tied his boot, his hand shook for a second.
He took a deep breath and stood up.
"In that case, we need to be careful; we don't know if their allies are still here."
Bell walked up to him.
"What do you think they were after?"
Ryan shrugged, and when she looked at Eragon, he did the same.
"B, we don't know if they are still here or not, but I am sure Gizzly and the King are keeping an eye out."
He scratched the back of his scaly head.
"Sorry for bringing that up, I think I'm still worked up."
To his surprise, Ryan walked up to him.
"Never be sorry for looking out for your team."
Eragon chuckled.
"When did you get so sappy?"
"Yesterday."
He turned and went back to his bed.
If Eragon had facial expressions, his jaw would be on the floor.
This caused Bell to have a laugh of her own.
"This is the first time I have ever seen you speechless, Blue."
For a split second, she gave Ryan a soft look, and Eragon caught it.
Mischievously, he replied, "I'm just glad my team is getting along?"
This earned him a look from Bell.
"What do you mean by your team?"
She walked up to the massive creature and poked him in the chest.
He raised his hands and took a step back.
"Our team."
As she walked away, he flicked the back of her head.
She turned and punched him hard in the stomach.
It was like punching a wall, and Ryan could tell she wasn't holding back.
After the hit, he feigned being injured.
With a big hand over his face and looking at Bell through his fingers.
"This is why you'll never be the team leader."
This scene of a big brother playfully teasing his little sister made Ryan smile.
He locked eyes with Eragon for a moment.
He received a thumbs-up from the Draconian.
Eragon stood up and put on his Crocs as the door opened.
Grizzly and Eena walked into their room.
She immediately ran to Bell.
"I heard about yesterday, how are you feeling?"
Bell was inspected by the half-Orc.
"I'm fine, Eragon healed me as good as new."
Ryan saw Eena's brow furrow as her attention was focused on him.
"How was your mission, Ryan?"
She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
He let her place a hand on him and looked her in the eye.
"There was an unexpected situation, but Eragon managed to save Isabelle; otherwise successful."
Eena smiled at him.
"I am glad to see you warming up to our group here."
Grizzly spoke up.
"It is time for the banquet, Team. You enjoy yourselves because you earned it."
They went to the same hall as when Eragon was honoured.
When the crew entered, all the Dwarves stood up and held their drinks in the air.
They started cheering for the returning heroes.
There were massive tables filled with all kinds of food and drink.
They were led to the stage area where the table was prepared for them and the Royal family.
Grizzly translated for the group as the King addressed his people.
"We are all gathered to thank our saviours."
He pointed his tankard at the crew.
"Give them your cheer and laughter, for they earned it."
The Dwarves and their King held their drinks aloft and emptied their tankards in unison.
That was the signal for the party to begin.
There was a lot of eating and drinking.
Ryan stayed in his seat as the others enjoyed themselves.
Grizzly and Eena decided to leave all pretences behind and dance.
Eragon was showing the younger Dwarves his game stations.
Bell was busy with a drinking contest with the female Dwarves.
They were good people.
As he looked around, he saw a Dwarf make his way to Eragon.
The way he would shove his way in a straight line was suspicious.
This newcomer had a mad look in his eye as he put his hand in his pocket.
Ryan shot up and ran as fast as he could to stop him.
He ducked between celebrating Dwarves, and just as he was about to grab the Dwarf, a stone was placed on Eragon's back.
A fierce blue energy erupted from the Draconian that threw Ryan and all the nearby Dwarves back.
As a beam of energy flew from Eragon, he had visions.
He saw a group of men in military uniforms do a ritual.
A massive portal opened, and a Dragon appeared.
A glowing man followed it through the portal.
Reality seemed to compress and expand around these two.
The glowing man fought and defeated the dragon.
This glowing man looked around and took power from the Dragon and seemed to stabilise reality.
Eragon saw some of this power go into all living things.
He saw the hearts of humans and animals grow stronger.
The last thing the glowing man did was take the corpse of the Dragon and make a floating Island.
For a moment, it looked like the Island had a face, and it yelled one word.
"Freedom!"
As the power left Eragon, he fell to the ground.
After a while, Ryan saw the Draconian stir.
He ran to Eragon.
"Are you ok?"
Eragon tried to stand but couldn't.
Ryan called the team, and Eragon looked at Grizzly.
"I saw something really bad, Grizz."
The fear in his voice was chilling.