I don’t think many people walked into Ajihad’s office and threw his credibility in his face like I was doing that often, fewer still probably did that when he was deciding what to do with them. And it showed exactly how good of a politician he was that he kept his cool despite my outburst. Rather than start yelling or even get angry, he simply leaned back and gave me a quick glance over as if he was reevaluating the threat I posed.

If I was alone I would never do this, for the same reason I didn’t just fight the Urgals in the mountains. I had no doubt I could fight everyone in this room and win. I was less confident about fighting my way out of a fortress-city hidden in a mountain. But with Eragon here, a person Ajihad absolutely needed on his side, I could be much more aggressive in my stance.

“Apologies, miss…?”

“Alexandria Cross.” Once again my name got odd looks from those around me.

“Miss Alexandria,” Ajihad nodded. “As I said I’m aware there are many things you would wish to keep to yourself. But as leader of the Varden I can’t allow people seeking us out to pass through our defences simply because it is uncomfortable. It is what has protected us from spies from the Empire for years.”

“Unless the spy managed to get placed as an examiner.” I pointed out. “Besides I had no intention of meeting with the Varden, I was simply trying not to die. That doesn’t mean you get to pry for knowledge that isn’t yours. Especially when it was because we had a Dragon Rider with us that you bothered to step in at all.”

Ajihad’s face hardened. “The Twins have served faithfully for years, their loyalty is beyond reproach.” Well there went the idea of getting him to doubt the Twins. And unfortunately my main reason for wanting the Twins watched was something I had no way of verifying. The both of them were working for King Galbatorix as traitors to the Varden, and I only knew that because I had extradimensional knowledge of them both.

If Ajihad was the type to be paranoid of his subordinates I might’ve been able to have him either watched or swapped out for another Magician, but it seemed he had more trust in them than he did in me, the random stranger who showed up unexpectedly with an army on her heels. I wonder why?

“That still doesn’t entitle them to rape my mind.”

Ajihad looked pained. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t call it that. It is a perfectly standard test we use for all new arrivals under non-normal circumstances.”

I was unsympathetic. “Oh? Then what would you call several men surrounding an unarmed woman and forcing themselves where they are not appreciated or wanted despite her protests?”

There was a beat of silence as all the males looked uncomfortable and avoided looking at me directly. All except Ajihad, who managed to maintain eye contact.

“Be that as it may, I cannot allow just anyone seeking out the Varden to pass freely. I have a responsibility to protect the people here that trumps ensuring anyone who comes to us is comfortable, we need to be vigilant and we can’t allow exceptions just because you arrived with young Eragon there. In fact it would be prudent for us to watch you closer than anyone since you managed to join him just before he arrived at our door.”

I smiled sharply. He wanted to play the ‘Greater Good’ angle? Fine, I’d make him choke on it. “Except I wasn’t seeking out the Varden, I was seeking the dwarves for help with a particularly intricate alloy. I have no interest in getting involved between a tyrannical mage-king and an equally tyrannical rebellion who thinks they have the right to oppress everyone in the name of ‘safety and security’. Though it does make me nervous when one of you loses. If you violate people this much when you’re desperate for help now, what will you do later? Random inquisitions into people you disfavor? Having your pet mages forcefully interrogate rivals and conveniently find evidence of traitorous behaviour? Or perhaps just chain a very young and naive Dragon Rider to your cause and use him as an enforcer?” I looked pointedly at Eragon who was definitely not enjoying the sudden attention.

“Not an uncommon attitude.” Ajihad replied and I instantly swore to never play poker with the man. He barely frowned through the whole accusation and kept his temper the whole time, besides that one reaction his face might as well have been carved in granite. “Many of the people caught in this conflict hold both sides in contempt. I could speak for hours and they would continue to find issue with my words. I will pass your request to the dwarves then and they will determine what to do with you. Just know that whatever they decide, I will not intercede unless you submit to being examined.”

In other words he was punting the problem down the road and unless I gave him what he wanted the dwarves could do whatever they wanted with me.

Ajihad turned back to Eragon and Murtagh. “And what of you? Did you also come seeking the dwarves?”

“I doubt they would like me any more than you.” Murtagh said defiantly.

One sentence from him caused more of a change in Ajihad than my entire speech as his face darkened.

“Though it's been twenty and three years since it broke upon my ear… I know that voice. It came from another man, one more beast than human.” He stood up and leaned forward dangerously.

“Get up.”

Murtagh warily stood, throwing a couple looks between the twins, who were huddled in the corner whispering furiously, and Ajihad.

“Remove your shirt.”

With a shrug, Murtagh pulled his tunic off.

“Turn around.”

As he did so, the light from the study highlighted a vicious scar that ran from shoulder to hip. He had revealed to Eragon the other day he got it after his father threw his sword at him in a drunken rage and it certainly made for a unique method of identification.

“Murtagh…” Ajihad breathed. Orik grunted in surprise behind us. Without warning, Ajihad turned on the Twins and thundered, “Did you know of this?”

The Twins bowed their heads. “We discovered his name in Eragon’s mind, but we did not suspect that this boy was the son of someone as powerful as Morzan. It never occurred-”

“And you didn’t tell me?” Ajihad demanded. He raised a hand to cut off their response but I wasn’t so easily silenced.

“Oh dear. I wonder what else they haven’t seen fit to tell you.” I said sardonically. Besides a dirty look, I was ignored though.

“We will discuss this later. First I must untangle this muddle.” Ajihad turned back to Murtagh. “Do you still refuse to be probed?”

“Yes,” Murtagh said sharply, shrugging back into his clothes. “I won’t let anyone into my mind. For some new reasons as well.” He glanced quickly at me, which earned me another dirty look from the leader of the Varden.

The two of them went back and forth about the issue. Ajihad pointing out the reasons he couldn’t just let Murtagh go and Murtagh stubbornly refusing even though Eragon was silently pleading in the background.

Eventually Ajihad was convinced Murtagh would not bend on the issue and called for some guards. He then instructed them to take him to a windowless room and be kept under guard.

“Sins of the father then, huh?” I questioned as Murtagh was led away.

“No. Suspicion of a man that was taught on the personal order of the king before vanishing without a trace. Trust me that there are many reasons beyond who his father was that I do this.”

I...had to give him that one.

Seeing I had nothing more to say Ajihad addressed the room.

“I want everyone out of this room but Eragon and Saphira. Now!”

The Twins left immediately while Orik stayed behind for a bit. I was escorted out by two guards that had remained after Murtagh was led away. They didn’t speak to me and just pushed me along until we arrived at a plain room and I was suddenly alone again.

A quick investigation of the room didn’t reveal anything interesting either. It was pretty similar to a hotel room in terms of furniture and there weren't any books or similar things lying around. So I had a pretty safe place to think about my next move with no distractions.

I was now deep in the Varden and even if I did nothing I wouldn’t be locked up for too long.

That small army of Urgals wasn’t only in the mountains chasing after Eragon. They were supposed to join up with even more of their kind for an invasion into Farthen Dûr pretty soon, though I was shaky on the exact timing. So if I wanted I could absolutely just sit here and relax if I wanted.

Not that I really considered doing that.

I had been bored out of my mind recovering in the Fourth Division barracks, and that was when I wasn’t being confined to a single room. There was no way I was just going to lay around here, especially since the city itself was so beautiful. I wanted to explore, dammit!

So really I had two options.

I could burst out of the room, knock out the two guards and try and vanish into the general population. Not the most subtle approach, but it might even have the hidden benefit of getting the Varden on guard before an army was knocking on their door at the cost of tanking my relationship with the Varden and my personal trustworthiness for a time.

Alternatively, I could try and sneak out somehow, either by getting past the guards or by going through a wall. Too bad the walls were probably thick stone and I had no way of going through that without making a lot of noise. So how was I going to sneak past the guards?

I doubted they were going to conveniently leave themselves open to a situation where I could easily knock them out with no chance of them raising the alarm. These were men that were trusted to take orders from their leader directly so they were definitely pretty well trained.

Too bad I couldn’t turn invisible. That would make this super easy.

I paused.

My palm crashed into my forehead as I mentally cursed myself for my stupidity. I could turn invisible! So without wasting any more time, I Astralised.

The first thing I noticed was even in the invisible but tangible Spirit Form I had trouble moving. It wasn’t too bad, but anyone moving faster than a brisk walk could probably leave me in the dust. It seemed without Reishi or a similar spiritual source supporting me, I wasn’t about to be doing much running around invisible besides short trips. In the spirit of being thorough I also checked out the full Astralization Spectre Mode.

Once I finished a few basic tests, I dropped out of that one as fast as I could. Yes I could still move through things, but without a Servant Bond forming an anchor I could barely see anything other than a wall of blurred colors and it took almost five minutes to move from one side of the room to the other.

That wasn’t much of an issue though. Spirit mode was plenty for what I needed.

I spent some time revising how to go about my plan and making sure I was positioned close to the door and out of the way before I started the hardest part of my plan.

I sat down and waited.