If Eragon noticed how pointedly Yuna avoided speaking of the episode from the night before, he did not comment on it. He let her have the space she had silently asked for, distracting himself with a puzzle one of the dwarves had brought. Yuna occasionally noted as Eragon grew more and more frustrated over the ringed puzzle but spent the majority of her time looking out over the raft, watching Arget and Saphira swim.

Don't ignore him, little one, Arget advised quietly. He does not understand that your anger is not at him.

Yuna acknowledged Arget silently, relocating so that she sat just beside Eragon. The male rider opened his mouth to speak to her but, apparently thinking better of it, glanced back at the puzzle in his hands. Yuna plucked it from his hands, studying the rings for a long moment, getting a feel for how they were joined together. She started to twist the rings as Eragon watched, manipulating them into fewer and closer rings until she was just a step away from completing the puzzle. Instead of laying the rings together to make one band, however, she shook the rings free, undoing all of her work.

"You almost had it," Eragon said with a frown as she dropped it back into his hands. She smiled wryly.

"My old master was a fan of puzzles but he told me that, once you complete the challenge, the game ends... He'd leave puzzles unfinished just so he could go back, start from scratch, and embrace the distraction for a little longer, play the game just a bit more. It was the one thing he felt acceptable to leave unfinished."

"I never asked... What was your master's name? In your homeland," Eragon asked, turning the rings over with a new understanding in his eyes.

"Frostpine."

"Frostpine? That's an unusual name for a smithmage, don't you think?"

"It's no stranger to me than Garrow is to you." Yuna shrugged. Her eyes wandered down the curve of the river, where mountains still rose and fell. Yuna knew it would not take long, probably just days with the current as swift as it was, until they saw no more mountains and only plains. Eragon's eyes followed hers until her voice broke the soft white noise of the river's current. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Eragon was startled by the apology after the pause. Yuna only smiled wryly for a brief moment before it disappeared into a frown.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her voice so low Eragon had to strain to hear it. "I'm not mad at you... I'm just frustrated."

Eragon didn't seem to have anything to say to that, as he was just as frustrated as she. What comfort could he offer her if he had nothing to make himself less miserable?

The silence reigned, stiff and uncomfortable but slowly relaxing as the steady companionship the two had shared since their meeting took over. Sighing softly and forcing her thoughts to calm, Yuna kept her silence as Moldûn the Proud rose on the horizon.

Hedarth was reached in a few short days and the goodbyes to the groups' dwarven companions were quickly said. Arya, Eragon, Yuna, and Orik restocked in the trading outpost but didn't tarry long. Without being restricted to the ground by the guards' presence, the group was able to take the skies. With each passing league, however, Yuna could feel Arya grow more tense as she neared her homeland.

Du Weldenvarden appeared on the horizon by midday on the second day after leaving Hedarth. It was only then, when they stopped briefly for a meal, that Arya revealed to her companions what was bothering her, drawing the two riders away from Orik in order to speak privately.

"There are things you must know before we reach Ceris and Ellesméra so that you do not shame yourselves and me through your ignorance. We were able to discuss some of these points during the journey to the Varden, but I must ensure that you have not forgotten those lessons... You both have spent your lives with men, and most recently dwarves. You can see how men and dwarves have coexisted because you share many of the same beliefs and passions. Elves are different, as I have explained before."

With the looming need to be politically correct, Arya drove the two riders back into lessons. She drilled them on greetings, terms of address, and names of various figures in the court. Yuna and Eragon listened patiently and, when Arya was at last content, were much relieved to return to their companions' sides.

With their break over, the group of six rode and flew through the line of trees into the forest of Du Weldenvarden, entering the domain of the elves.