Eragon had fully recovered so he and his dragon immediately went on on a quest to re-find and re-claim the skull. As they flew over the undulating landscapes and craggy mountains across convoluted rivers and rolling valleys they saw a thread of smoke in the distance rising above the plain. "Saphira, who would be camping this far out in the wilderness?" Eragon asked. "I suppose no one unless they had a good reason too" she replied, "Let's go check it out then, but be careful, we never know who could be out there." Saphira spiraled down through the sky and landed with a rush in a soft, green meadow by the edge of a forest. "You stay here, you're too big to get through these trees, and it will only take me a moment, I'll be right back"
"You better be, 'cause if you're not, trees or no trees, I'm coming to get you" Growled Saphira.
"Stop worrying, I'll be just fine, wait here"
Eragon crept through the trees following the smell of smoke and roasting meat. As he neared the area he felt an unusual force holding him back, the closer he got the stronger the force against him grew stronger to the point where could make no more progress.
"Saphira, there's some sort of shielding device here, I can't get by, I'm not sure what is but there's no way around it, we'll just have to wait I guess"
Eragon and Saphira flew to the back-side of a nearby hill and made camp. They planned on watching these strangers till something happened. On the third day of their vigil, they saw a man on a brightly decorated horse ride towards, and into the strangers camp whistling merrily, something seemed rather odd about the man on the horse but Eragon couldn't quite place what it was. Several seconds later one of the men in the camp got up and walked over to a high stone wall than ran along the camp's edge but did not stop, he walked right into it, then backed up and did so again and again, he kept doing this for several minutes till, the last time, he walked into the wall, and simply fell over, unconscious. Eragon continued to watch as the stranger walked over to a large pack and rummaged around in it for a while till, as it appeared he found whatever it was he was looking for and hurriedly left the camp.
Eragon mounted Saphira and followed the strange man for a while from the air.
Suddenly he saw the man pull a large, round object from his saddle bags and hold in the air triumphantly. Eragon and Saphira both immediately recognized their lost skull and were furious that this stranger would have it in his possession. At once, and as one, they dove through the sky, hurdling toward the stranger. Saphira roared and let out a jet of azure flame as she plummeted through the sky. The horse the stranger was on reared, dismounting his rider, and bolted into the nearby forest. Saphira landed near the stranger, teeth bared as Eragon jumped off the saddle and ran over the stranger, putting his sword to his throat and demanding the skull, the stranger grudgingly handed it over. As Eragon reached for it, the stranger pulled a short dagger from his boot and slashed at Eragon, however, Eragon's months of training paid off as he wrenched the knife from the mans hand and delt him a blow the temple that knocked him unconscious. He mounted Saphira and flew off into the sunset, with his skull in his bag and a smile on his lips...
My skull. The mysterioius musical stranger out for 2, he was really out cold!
