The three days Ryan was given flew by.
He spent the day playing games with Eragon, and he spent the nights with Bell.
Each day felt shorter than the last.
When he saw the floating island, he let out a heavy sigh.
He didn't let go of her hand until they walked into the Broken Tusk.
It was half empty, and the skeletons were milling between the tables.
When he saw Eena and Grizzly at the empty bar, he wanted to be happy to see them.
With a final squeeze and a heavy heart, he let go of her hand.
While he was struggling with letting Bell go, Eragon made his way to the bar.
The Draconian sat next to Grizzly with his back to the counter.
"You ready for an adventure, old man?"
Ryan smiled as Grizzly sighed, and Eena laughed while Eragon reached over to hug Eena.
Ryan sat down on the other side of Grizzly.
Grizzly turned to him.
"How was the trip?"
It was Ryan's turn to sigh.
"I wish it were longer."
This caused the old man to start laughing.
"You and me both."
He slapped him hard on the back and then looked at his watch.
"It is just after three, we leave in the morning. Eena gave Bell the night off."
Ryan stood up without a word and made his way to Bell's room.
As he left, Grizzly turned his attention to Eragon.
"How was your trip, young man?"
Even though Eragon's face was passive, his fidgeting always gave him away.
"It was fine."
He stared at Eragon the way a disappointed father would.
Grizzly fought back a smile as the massive blue monster fidgeted more.
He only stopped when Eena punched him in the shoulder.
"Stop that."
Grizzly lit another cigarette with a chuckle.
"Eragon. A lot of the mission will be on foot. If you want to play games, I suggest you do it now."
Eragon stood up.
"You make a fair point, see you tomorrow."
He left after a small salute.
Grizzly took Eena's hand and squeezed hard.
"Eena, I don't know if I can do this."
She let out a sigh and squeezed back.
He could tell she tried to think of reassuring words, but she remained quiet.
The worried look made him smile.
He brought her hand to his lips, and he kissed it.
The rest of the day, he just held her hand, and that night she fell asleep in his arms.
When morning came, the group congregated next to the Airship.
Ryan was leaning against the ship as he waited for the others.
He thought back to how he came to this place.
The guilt of what he had done was still there, but the people he met made it bearable.
Before he could get lost in his thoughts, he heard a familiar voice.
"Morning, buddy."
He turned his head and looked at Eragon.
The Draconian had a massive backpack with a massive sleeping bag tightly rolled on top.
With a frown, Ryan asked.
"What is all that?"
Eragon stood next to him with a smile on his face.
"Grizzly said that most of our mission will be on foot."
"He never said anything like that to me."
As if on cue, Grizzly walked over with two stuffed backpacks.
Just before he handed one to Ryan, he spoke.
"Morning, boys. Are you ready?"
Ryan wanted to speak, but Grizzly held up a hand.
"We are going to set sail. We can talk mission after we are in the air."
Ryan nodded and hoisted the heavy bag over his shoulder.
He was happy to see Femur behind the wheel.
As he passed, the Skeleton gave him a salute.
Ryan returned the salute as he entered his shared room with Eragon.
His massive pack against the wall made Ryan's look tiny in comparison.
He fell on the bed, closed his eyes and sighed.
After a few seconds, he felt something in his hand.
He saw a controller and heard the music as Eragon had already set up his games.
With a smile, he made his way over to Eragon's bed.
They played games for about an hour, until they were disturbed by a knock at the door.
It was Femur.
"Breakfast is ready."
They put down their controllers and followed Femur to the deck, where Grizzly was waiting.
Ryan and Eragon took their seats, and they all shared greetings.
After they all finished breakfast, Grizzly lit a cigarette and spoke.
"Do you have any questions about the mission?"
Ryan had a question ready, but was beaten by Eragon.
"What did he do?"
Grizzly froze for a second before he spoke.
"He was branded a traitor by the Elves."
Ryan frowned.
"How do we know where he is? The Elves are well known for their invisibility."
Grizzly shrugged.
"Maybe it was an ironic punishment. Everybody knows about the Elf, but nobody can get him in or out."
As Ryan thought about Grizzly's words, Eragon had another question.
"If nobody can get him out, why are we going there?"
Grizzly sighed.
"We'll know when we get there. Aleksandar built the prison, and we will know the key when we get there."
This piqued Ryan's interest.
"Why didn't Aleksandar come himself? If he built the prison…"
Ryan thought back to his conversation with the Vampire.
"Grizzly. I think I might be the key."
The other two men frowned at Ryan as he continued.
"I assume the reason why Aleksandar sent me was to free him. The only link is my Elven blood."
Eragon shot up.
"That makes sense. An Elf could let him out any time they want, but no one else can. That is messed up."
With a half smile, Grizzly spoke.
"Femur. Is Ryan right?"
Femur saluted.
"Indeed, sir."
He went back to piloting the ship.
Grizzly put out his cigarette and took a deep breath.
"Good job on figuring it out. I also have something to say before we meet him."
Ryan felt a grip on his heart when he saw a mix of emotions on Grizzly's face.
"He was the guy I told you about. The Knight who ran."
When Grizzly forced out the words, Ryan's eyes went wide.
Eragon wanted to say something, but Ryan's hand on his shoulder shut him up.
"He turned out to be an Elf, and when he ran back to his people, they contracted Aleksandar to build the prison."
Ryan saw the muscles in his jaw bulge.
"Now we need his help."
Grizzly leaned back on his chair and looked up at the sky.
The table was quiet for a few minutes before Eragon spoke.
"If he tries anything, I will burn him to a crisp."
Grizzly chuckled as he stood up.
As he walked past, he slapped Eragon on the shoulder.
"Thanks for the offer, but if he tries anything, I'll handle it."
He left the two young men, and they looked at each other in silence.
Ryan was the first to speak.
"We need to be careful around the Elf."
Eragon nodded as the scales around his neck started glowing.
"I hope he tries something."