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pangolin20Chapter Twenty-Four | Chapter Twenty-Five (Part I)
Corneille Noire: A good day, everyone, and welcome back to Eragon! Last time, Eragon, Brom and Saphira reached Teirm, Saphira was abusive to Eragon again, and Eragon and Brom found some information in a seedy tavern.
For the reader post:
Epistler notes that having a lighthouse in Teirm does not make much sense. Indeed, I would expect one at the opening to the bay (and there might well be one) instead of in the city… My best guess, building on how Teirm was probably an important place for the Riders, is that it was once a beacon for dragons to find Teirm and that it is now used as a lighthouse instead.
She further notes that the man who Eragon notes pushing past their horses is being rather unwise. After all, Cadoc or Snowfire might well kick him.
Finally, she notes that the Green Chestnut, for all that it is played “straight as an arrow”, is not quite as violent as it should be, as none of the patrons react to Brom taking his money back, for example. In fact… what we see of it quite undermines the initial description, so that is a problem.
PPP: 911
With that taken care of, here is the HISC!
HISC: Hello.
Corneille Noire: What do you plan to do for this entry?
HISC: I am going to have a look at the three chapters after “A Taste of Teirm” in the self-published edition, since comparing those along with the regular commentary would be quite difficult. That is because these three chapters were quite heavily edited, with some pieces even being moved around between chapters, and, of course, some bits that were deleted. In my present commentary, I will focus mostly on those last bits.
Corneille Noire: Good luck, then! (leaves)
HISC: So, let me begin with the next chapter, “An Old Friend”. Eragon and Brom find the herbalist’s shop and meet with Angela the herbalist. They talk for a while, Angela is deliberately obtuse but finally tells them where Jeod lives, and they talk about Angela’s research. She wants to show that toads do not exist and are frogs, so that she can clear the reputation of witches (that is the implication, at least). Eragon and Brom treat this as a sign that something is seriously wrong with her, pull out and go to Jeod’s house.
After some knocking and waiting, someone runs to the door and opens. It is a “young woman with a pale complexion and light-blond hair”. Eragon notes that it looks like she has been crying. Brom and her have an exchange. We learn that she is Jeod’s wife, and that she does not want to let them in because Jeod is busy. Brom keeps insisting and they both get angry.
Brom finally has her pass on the message that “a friend from Gil’ead” is waiting. She seems suspicious, but agrees to and leaves. I note that the narrative treats her as unreasonable, when she has quite some reasons to be suspicious of these people who she has never seen and who claim to have “business” with Jeod. Eragon finds that Brom was impolite (which he was not exactly) and Brom tells him to shut up and stay silent. That is certainly impolite.
The door slams open, and a “tall man” comes out. We get this description:
His expensive clothes were rumpled, his gray hair wispy, and he had a mournful face with short eyebrows. A long scar stretched across his scalp to his temple.
So this is Jeod, then. He is quite shocked at seeing Brom, since he thought that Brom was dead. Brom tells him not to use the name “Brom” around here and asks if there is a place they can talk safely.
Jeod considers, then says they cannot talk here, but he can soon take them somewhere they can. Brom agrees and Jeod goes back in. Eragon randomly hopes he can learn more about Brom’s past. Jeod comes out with a rapier, and wearing an “embroidered jacket” and a “plumed hat”. Brom does not seem to approve. Then Jeod takes them to the citadel, Eragon leading the horses. Jeod explains that “Risthart”, the local lord, has decreed that “all business owners must have their headquarters in his castle”. He finds it nonsense (so why did Risthart decree it, then?) but they abide by it to keep him calm. I suppose Risthart is just that evil and tyrannical. In the castle, they will not have eavesdroppers, since the walls are thick.
They go through the main gate and into the keep (because no one bothers to check who they are). I… think they are supposed to be in the courtyard instead? And yes, they are! Truly, how hard is this to get right? Jeod shows Eragon where to tether the horses, and once Eragon has done so, he opens a “side door” and goes in. Within, there is a long hallway lit by torches. Eragon finds it cold and damp and he even finds slime on the walls.
Jeod grabs a torch (is that supposed to happen?) and leads them to a “heavy, wooden door”. This turns out to be his office, which he ushers them into. It has “[b]ookshelves loaded with leather-bound tomes” on the walls. In the centre lies a “bearskin rug laden with stuffed chairs”.
So Jeod puts wood in the fireplace, then lights it with the torch (which he then puts in thin air or something?). The fire quickly “roar[s]”. At that point, Jeod pulls out a taper, holds it in the fire until it burns, lights two “brass candelabra” with it and throws it in the fire. After all, trying to reuse it would just be too much effort. Then he goes to sit at a “mahogany desk” and sweeps aside “the clutter of papers”. How riveting. Brom and Eragon then go to sit. Jeod says that Brom has “some explaining to do” and he is giving him his “full attention”, even though he could not have come at a worse time. I think that “I have thought you were dead for fifteen years” would work better than trying to guilt Brom for something he might well not have known about, but what do I know?
They tease each other about their age, and then Jeod tells Brom to get on with the story. Eragon is eager to hear what Brom is going to say. Instead of answering, though, Brom relaxes into his chair and gets out his pipe. At the sight, Jeod wrinkles his nose, but does not object. They stay in silence while Brom stuffs and lights his pipe and then does some magic with his smoke rings. Jeod crosses his arms and looks “stoically” at Brom. Brom blows even more smoke rings and finally asks if Jeod remembers what they “were doing in Gil’ead”. What a great way to treat Jeod. Brom apparently does not care that Jeod spent fifteen years believing he was dead!
Jeod says he knows, since something like that is hard to forget. Brom then goes into his story, deliberately being vague to keep Eragon out of the details, because… he just wants to, I guess. He was separated from Jeod and found something in a small room. He fled Gil’ead with it and give it to his “friends”, who kept it in a vault. He was supposed to stay undercover until he was needed after that, so he went to hide in Carvahall.
You still lived there under the name everyone knows you by, so what reason did you have not to tell Jeod, Brom? I presume this is because Paolini thought Brom was genuinely inconspicuous, but since he is not, this comes across very poorly (and, in fact, Paolini lampshades this in Brisingr). Well, Eragon gets angry at Brom keeping him in the dark, and wonders why Brom wants him “ignorant of his past” and if it matters if he knows what Brom did more then fifteen years ago. It does not matter at all, and frankly Eragon would be safer for knowing. He clenches his jaw, but on the inside, he “seethe[s] with frustration”. But of course.
Jeod asks if their “friends” knew all along that Brom was still alive. Brom confirms it. Jeod supposes the “ruse was unavoidable”, though he wishes he had been told. And that is all that Jeod is allowed to say on the topic. He asks if he knows the position of Carvahall right, which Brom confirms. Then he has a good look at Eragon and says he assumes that Brom is fulfilling his duty. So Brom’s “duty” entailed looking after the next Rider, and the thing he found was a dragon egg.
Brom decides to lie to both Eragon and Jeod, saying that he presumes the egg was stolen (because he has not had word from their “friends” and he thinks the messengers were waylaid), so he tried to find out what he could. Eragon just happened to travel in the same direction, and now they have been travelling together for some time. Jeod tries to call Brom out on his obvious nonsense, but Brom overrides him, saying that the Ra’zac “brutally killed” Eragon’s uncle. They also burned his home and “nearly caught him in the process”. Eragon “deserves revenge”, but the Ra’zac did not leave them a trail to follow and they need help in finding them.
Hmm, I think Brom is lying to prevent Jeod from knowing Eragon is a Rider here… but if the Empire will come after him, he will be in trouble no matter if he knows or not, since they will probably go on sightings of Brom. This is just unnecessary.
Jeod understands and asks why Brom has come here. He does not know where the Ra’zac might hide, and anyone who does will not tell Brom. Brom pulls out the flask of Seithr oil they found and tosses it to Jeod. He gives some explanation and says they need to see the shipping records so they can “trace the Empire’s purchases of the oil”, which should tell them where the Ra’zac’s lair is. Also, they have “discovered” that they have “some sort of flying mounts” (which should be known wider). These mounts might require “large quantities or special kinds of food” that could be traced. Well, unless you know what that food is, it would be next to impossible to trace that.
Jeod points out the books and says those are all of his single business, so searching through all of them could take months. Further, only “Brand, Risthart’s administrator of trade”, is allowed to see them on a “regular basis”, as the officials fear the common traders might falsify the results for tax evasion. Brom says he will deal with that when necessary, and they need some rest first. Jeod says his house is theirs and asks after their false names, which Brom gives. Then he muses on Eragon’s name, saying it is “unique”, since he only knows about three people called that. I would think that more people would be named after the first Rider, but apparently not. Eragon is startled that Jeod knows the origin of his name.
Then Brom sends Eragon out to check on the horses. Eragon immediately recognises that they want him gone so they can talk in private and theatrically stomps out to the courtyard. After noting that the horses are indeed secure, he “lean[s] sullenly against the castle wall”. He wishes that he could hear them, which gives him the idea to adapt a spell he already knows and use it to hear through the castle walls.
This works and he listens in on Brom and Jeod’s conversation. The following things develop:
-Jeod’s business is, for the most part, “nothing more than a front to get goods into Surda” (the country to the south of the Empire).
-The attacks along the coast and (apparently) inland make this impossible to keep doing for Jeod.
-The merchants who have been helping Jeod have the same trouble, which makes him think of a traitor.
-Jeod suggests returning to a place called “Tronjheim”. Brom does not think that wise, since Eragon and Saphira need more training. If they are there, the dwarves will react strongly and someone called “Imiladris” will be trying to influence them.
So I see Paolini thought it a good idea to name a character after the Sindarin name of Rivendell, with an extra “i” inserted. At least he had the sense to change this… Further, this makes “Imiladris” sound like a dwarf, which is not what Paolini meant.
-Brom will send a message to “Ajihad” (ugh), which he will authenticate by sending his ring along.
That makes me wonder… how does Brom plan to explain the absence of his ring to Eragon? Or does he just hope Eragon will not be curious enough to bring it up?
A long silence falls, and then Brom says they had better go to join Eragon, since he has “an unnatural propensity for being wherever there’s trouble”. I think that it is in large part because of your terrible decisions, Brom. Jeod asks if he is surprised, which Brom is not. Then they get up and leave. Eragon quickly ends the spell, and then helpfully recaps everything we just learned. He also says that there are “no queens in the known kingdoms” and tacks on that Jeod knows of Saphira now. He wants to have answers, he says, but he will not insist on them now and “risk jeopardizing their mission”. Instead, he will wait until they leave Teirm and then he will keep going until he gets his answers.
Brom and Jeod come out and Brom actually asks if the horses were all right. Who do you think you are deceiving, Brom? So they untie the horses and go back into the city. Brom brings up Jeod being married to “a lovely young woman” (which he “wink[s] slyly” at) and congratulates him. Jeod looks unhappy at this, and doubts that the congratulations are “in order” now, since “Helen” (as his wife is named) is not very happy. Brom asks why. Jeod explains that she wants a “good home, happy children, food on the table, and pleasant company”. That seems eminently reasonable to me.
The problem, he says, is that she comes from a “wealthy family” and her father has invested quite a bit in Jeod’s business. If he keeps having trouble, he will not have enough money to keep her lifestyle up. Today, she wanted to buy a dress, and he needed to tell her there was no money for it. “It was hours before she calmed down.”
Well, there we have our explanation for why she looked like she had been crying earlier. First, I find this more than a bit unlikely. As we will see, Jeod has several servants, stables and a quite opulent house, and yet there is no money for a dress? Unless this dress is studded with gems or such, I highly doubt that is true. Second, this is just insulting. I could get behind “Helen comes from a rich family, so she is ‘spoiled’ and has trouble not getting what she wants”, if written well… but Helen taking hours before calming down lands firmly in “hysterical” territory. Combined with her earlier hostility to Brom, I also get the idea that she is supposed to be a “shrew” and we should feel bad for Jeod. Instead, I mostly feel dislike toward Paolini for thinking that something as blatantly misogynistic as this was worth including in a published version.
Well, Jeod decides to abandon this talk, since his troubles are not their troubles, and, as a host, he should only let “an over-full stomach” disturb them. Brom thanks him and asks after an “inexpensive shop” to replace their worn clothing. Jeod talks about various possibilities until they reach his house. There he asks if they would mind eating somewhere else, since it might be “awkward” if they came in now. So he wants to avoid Helen, then?
Brom does not mind. They leave the horses in Jeod’s stable, and then go to a tavern, where they have a nice dinner, and Brom and Jeod “talk[] about what [has] happened to each other over the years”. I do hope they avoid talking about their secrets…
They finally leave near sunset. Eragon says he needs to “check on something”. He tells us that he wants to see Saphira and ensure she is safely hidden. Brom agrees and tells him not to take too long. Jeod wants to know if he will go outside of Teirm, which Eragon confirms. Jeod says he should be within the walls “before dark”, since then the gates close, and the guards will not let Eragon back in until morning. That seems like a bad thing to do for a trading city, but what do I know?
Eragon promises not to be late and quickly leaves Teirm, where he takes a deep breath of the fresh air. He asks for Saphira. There is no answer, so he asks again “with greater force”. This time Saphira answers and shows him how to reach her. So Eragon leaves the road and hurries up “a small hill covered by knee-high saplings”. I suppose those have been planted there? From the crest he has a great view of the sea and the sun. Then he goes down the other side and crosses a “small stream”. From there, he goes through “deep moss”, which makes his boots wet. He goes around a boulder and then finds a “cliff blocking his way”. …There is no way he did not see the cliff before now. Saphira looks at him from the trees on top.
Saphira proposes to carry him up, but Eragon wants to climb to have some fun. He goes at it and is soon “high above the trees” (which were not mentioned earlier). He stops halfway on a ledge to rest, and when he tries to climb further, he finds that he is stuck. He asks Saphira to help him out. She tells him it is his own fault, and he would be in a “very bad situation” without her. Eragon reacts with slight sarcasm, to which she responds with sarcastic mockery, about how a “mere dragon” cannot possibly tell him what to do, if he wants to get stuck, that is none of her business, and everyone should “stand in awe” of him even managing to get stuck.
Eragon admits he made a mistake and asks her to please come get him. She disappears entirely at this, so Eragon yells for her to come back, then flies out, grabs Eragon and puts him on the top of the cliff. She tells him it was “[f]oolishness”. He could take a walk or “fight an Urgal”, as long as he is not “any more senseless than [he has] to be”. So she just implicitly called him “stupid”. What a loving partnership. I also do not quite like that fighting an Urgal is equated with taking a walk. Whatever they might think, Urgals are still people, after all. Eragon says that fighting Urgals is not safe, and she tell him to “use magic”, then. He was just trying to continue with what you said, Saphira.
Eragon looks away, noting that the cliff gives a “wonderful view” and “protection against unwelcome eyes”, which makes it ideal. Saphira asks if Jeod is trustworthy. In response, Eragon tells the whole story. When he finishes, he says that forces they are not aware of are circling them, and he sometimes wonders if he can ever understand the “true motives” of everyone around him. Saphira counsels him to trust in the “nature of each person”. For example, Brom is good and so they do not have to fear his plans. …I think that is an apt demonstration of how completely worthless that advice is.
Saphira then says that finding the Ra’zac “through writing” is a “strange way of tracking”. Eragon finds it is (I beg to differ), but there is no other way. Well, as Fumurti has amply demonstrated, there certainly is another, much easier way. Saphira asks if it will work. Eragon think so. He rubs her neck and they fall into silence. Eragon then says they may have to stay here for a while. Saphira does not like being left out again, and Eragon says they will travel together soon. Then he gives her a hug. He notes the light is fading quickly, so he tells her he has to go. She offers to take him down, which he accepts, and she lands with him on a “knoll”.
Eragon then runs back to Teirm and makes it in just before the portcullis closes. One of the guards says “laconically” that he cut it quite close. (A pity that Greece does not exist in this world.) Eragon promises it will not happen again and goes back to Jeod’s house, where a “plump butler” lets him in. We get a description of the inside of the house:
The stone walls were covered with cloth tapestries. The floor was polished wood that glowed with the light from candles set along the walls. Smoke drifted through the air and collected at the arched ceiling. Before him was a staircase covered with red carpet patterned with stylized flowers and imaginary beasts, that curved gracefully up to the second story. Scores of doorways and halls extended throughout the building.
That is nicely opulent! I do have to point out that Eragon cannot know about all these “doorways and halls” because the rest of the house is in the way. Eragon thinks that he could get lost in this house and that it is “probably more worth than ten houses in Carvahall”. The butler shows Eragon to the study, where Brom and Jeod are. This study has even more books, a fireplace and an “oval writing desk”, which they are talking at. Brom greets Eragon and asks about his walk. Eragon wonders why Brom does not “come out and ask how Saphira is” (because there are other people in the house, of course), and says he was nearly locked out and had trouble finding the house again, since Teirm is big. We also have a missing quotation mark here.
Jeod talks about Teirm being small compared to other cities, and he really likes it here. Eragon asks Brom how long they will stay here. Brom says that depends on how long it will take to find out about the Ra’zac’s lair and if they can even see the records. Tomorrow, he is going to talk with Brand, and if that does not work, they will have to try something else. (Duh.) Eragon finds it a good plan… but he then reveals that he cannot read. Brom is shocked, because Garrow apparently could, but then says he should have known, since Garrow would have thought it an “unnecessary luxury”. My, someone utters some criticism of Garrow!
Brom’s solution to this… is to teach Eragon how to read, which he should be able to do quickly “if [he] put[s] [his] mind to it”. Eragon winces, as Brom’s lessons are “usually intense and brutally direct”. Or, to remove the fluff, they involve beating you up and degrading you while teaching you quite little. He wonders how much more he can learn simultaneously, as Brom is already teaching him “half-a-dozen things”. He says he does not look forward to it, but he does accept. Jeod then gives a speech about how you can learn much from “books and scrolls”, and there are answers written in them “to the questions [they] all struggle with”. From there, the conversation becomes less plot-relevant, so I will summarise:
- Jeod uses the word “bibliophile” and explains it to Eragon.
- Eragon gets bored with the conversation and picks out an “elegant book set with gold studs”. It is “bound in black leather carved with mysterious runes” and it has a “reddish glossy ink” inside.
- He flips through it and finds a column of writing that he can somehow tell is from “another language”. These words are “long and flowing, full of graceful lines and sharp points”.
- He shows it to Brom, who is surprised to see it. Jeod explains that he got it from someone who tried to sell it to another trader a few years ago. He bought it instead, and supposedly saved the man, who had no idea what it was.
- The book is identified as “Domia Abr Wyrda” or “Dominance of Fate”. It is a “complete history of Alagaësia”, ending only a few decades ago and is quite rare. When Galbatorix found out that it was published, it was “decried [] as blasphemy” and the author, “Heslant the Monk” was burned. Paolini, this is not Earth and there is no Christianity. None of this makes sense here.
- Brom says that the lettering comes from the ancient language and it is part of a poem describing the war of the elves on the dragons. The elves “love this poem” and regularly tell it so they will not “repeat the mistakes of the past”. Not that we see much to back this up.
- Eragon takes the book back and thinks about how amazing it is that Heslant can still talk to people now. He wonder if it has information about the Ra’zac in it, but does not follow up on it.
He browses through the book for hours, he begins to drowse and finally yawns behind his hand, which Jeod notes. Out of pity for Eragon’s “exhaustion”, not because he wants to stop speaking, Jeod bids them good night. The butlers shows them their rooms and explains a bit. Then Eragon quickly goes to bed and falls asleep, and the chapter ends.
---
The next chapter, “The Witch and the Werecat”, opens with Eragon waking late in the morning of the next day. That would be the 27th of January. Eragon gets out from under the “smooth cotton sheets” and stands up. He finds his clothing “washed and folded” on a chair, with his “bow and quiver” on them. He thinks that he ought to tell the servants not to enter his room at night, since he does not like strangers “handling his things while [he’s] sleeping”. Too bad that we do not see more of this and that he does not actually voice this to the servants that we see.
Eragon washes his face and then has a look in the mirror. He talks about how he does not have “baby fat” any more (which I doubt he would have had earlier) and his cheekbones are more prominent. He also notes a “slight cast to his eyes” that gives his face a “wild, alien appearance” when he looks closely. At a distance, the effect fades, but he is still unsettled. I do like this! So he leaves the room and the butler soon catches up with him. He says that “Neal” and Jeod have left for the castle, and, since they will be gone the whole day, Eragon can do what he wants. Eragon thanks him for the message and gets some food “from the cook”. What was that again about not having enough money, Jeod? Clearly you have no trouble keeping several servants, so I hardly see the problem.
Eragon goes out exploring for several hours, going into every shop that he likes and talking to many people. Eventually his “empty stomach and lack of money” force him back to Jeod’s house. Before he enters, he notes Angela’s shop, which is located at a weird place, since most stores are at the city wall. He tries to peer in, sees the sight is blocked by “a thick layer of crawling plants” and goes in. There are two paragraphs of description, which honestly do sound interesting.
After that, Eragon encounters a “werecat” by the name of “Solembum”. They talk for a while, which mostly consists of Solembum being “smarter” than Eragon (who at one point gets tased because of his idiocy). Halfway through, we learn that werecats appear “around the edges of stories” and occasionally give advice. If the stories are true, they have “magical powers, live[] longer than humans, and usually [know] more than they [tell]”.
After the conversation is over, Angela comes in. It develops that Eragon being able to talk to Solembum is “unusual” and Solembum says that Eragon “show[s] some promise, given a few years of work”. Eragon “sardonically” says thanks. I think that should be “sarcastically”. Angela says it really is a compliment. Eragon is only the third person who has been able to speak to him; the previous people were a “woman, many years ago” and a “blind beggar”. She finds Eragon reminds her of the woman, especially since she had “beautiful brown hair”.
They talk some further, Angela reveals she is a grifter and proud of it, and she decides to do a fortune-telling for Eragon, which she will do with “the knucklebones of a dragon”. These have true divining power and if Eragon wants to, she will cast and read them for him. He does need to be sure about his decision, since knowing one’s fate “can be a terrible thing”. Eragon thinks it over, wondering how he can make this decision if he does not know what his fate will actually be. Then he thinks “Innocence is indeed bliss”. I guess that Paolini misheard the saying and did not think about whether it made sense, but this it still something that the editing for this edition could, and should, have caught. Eragon asks why Angela offers this. Angela says it is because Solembum spoke to him, which “makes [him] special”. We also learn that she told the fortune of the woman with the brown hair, that her name was “Selena” and that her fortune was “bleak and painful”.
Eragon thinks that woman might well have been his mother and asks for details, “feeling sick”. Angela cannot remember the details, because she apparently has trouble with her memory, and what she does know, she will not tell because it was personal. Eragon asks after her memory, because she looks young, and Angela says that she is older than she seems. Then Eragon decides that if his mother “could bear to have her fortune told”, so can he. He asks her to cast the bones for him. She shouts some magic words and does so, after which a “pensive silence” falls.
Eragon realises that Angela is a witch and this is a “true fortunetelling”. She studies the bones for several minutes. Eragon patiently waits, “though it seem[s] like she [takes] hours”. That is a rare occurrence. When she is done, she talks about how this is the hardest reading she has ever done, though she managed some answers from it. Solembum comes on the counter. Eragon clenches his hands and wonders what awaits him.
Angela gives the reading, which I will let Kerlois actually discuss. It does mention betrayal, which Eragon is upset by. Angela gives him some wine, which he accepts. He finds it “inferior” but it makes him feel better. How does Eragon know enough about wine to make any such judgment? Angela tells him he should not worry about what “has yet to occur” and he will feel better in the sun. Eragon thinks that her fortunetelling will only make sense until it has happened. He asks after her use of magic. Angela talks about how uncommon Eragon is and asks who he is.
He decides to call himself Eragon. When Angela asks if that is who he is or his name, he says both, which surprises her. She asks after the “ragged man” who was with him yesterday. Eragon says he is Brom. Angela finds that very funny, and it turns out that Brom’s future is “something of a joke” among fortunetellers. Eragon is upset and tells her off. Angela tells him to be calm, and she will explain later. Just then, Solembum comes between them and gives Eragon some mysterious advice. Angela tells Eragon to keep it to himself.
Eragon wants to go now. Angela says he can stay, but he may go as he wishes. She is sure they have given Eragon “enough to ponder for a while”. Eragon leaves and thanks Angela on the way out. Once outside, he stands there for a few minutes before he can think calmly. Then he begins to walk, which soon turns into a run as he heads for Saphira’s hiding place. He calls for her, she brings him to the top of the cliff, and Eragon tells her about the events of the day. Saphira has a hunch that the advice Solembum gave him is important.
Eragon asks if he should tell Brom. Saphira says that he is not entitled to know Eragon’s future, and telling him about Solembum’s advice will only raise difficult questions. She asks if Eragon could lie convincingly to Brom if necessary. Eragon doubts it but does not know whether he will tell. They talk further and then just watch the trees.
After that, they go to fly over the ocean. Eragon tells us that it is dangerous, since they will be spotted if any ships come into port, and both of them know it, “but the sea [holds] an irresistible fascination that they [cannot] ignore”. Why is that the case, though? Sure, we saw Eragon be affected by Brom’s song fragment, but hardly to this extent, and we did not hear about anything with Saphira. There simply needs to be something to back this up. Also, could they not fly further north to lessen the danger? As Saphira flies, they watch their shadow dance across the waves. Just for fun, Saphira flies low and “skim[s] inches from the surface”. (Then the waves must be quite low.) Eragon watches a “school of fish” flee from them.
I note that despite their “fascination”, they do not seem to be very invested into actually being around the sea, given how very bland this is. Just as Saphira turns back, there is “an explosion of water”. It turns out to be a “huge fish” leaping at Saphira, “maw gaping”. Saphira “buckle[s] her wings” and twists around, “barely avoiding the jaws filled with razor teeth”. The fish falls back in the sea and splashes them with cold water. Saphira tries to right herself and stay above the water, her wing tips hitting the sea as she does so. Eragon think they might crash, but Saphira “muster[s] the energy to pull herself back into the sky”. She quickly climbs to a heigh that no fish can reach, “unless it [is] in the claws of a bird”. I do like that bit of narration.
Still, I have to complain about how clumsy Saphira is in this scene. She apparently thinks her best option to avoid this fish involves “buckling her wings”, which means that she will fall to the sea. I would think trying to fly up would be better, along with slightly retracting the wing on the side she banks to. So then she tries to right herself and hits the water with both of her wingtips, which tells me that she has overcorrected. Finally, she also has difficulty staying above the water… because she apparently does not think of flying away just yet? Yes, I can see her be shocked by this, but not so much that she completely loses her flying skills, so this is more than a bit silly.
(Also, if they were to crash, it would hardly be a disaster. They are only just above the water, so Saphira would not be hurt by it and she could just fly out again.)
Eragon blinks water out of his eyes and says this: “It was gigantic! […] If you’d been any slower, we would’ve been eaten! I had no idea that fish got so big.” Now, from the description we got, this fish was quite probably a shark. They might conceivably have eaten Eragon, but Saphira is far too large for that and she can fly, so I think that Eragon is letting his imagination run wild. Further… this shark supposedly jumped out to try to eat them (though I am quite sure it was meant as a test bite instead). I am a little bothered that the only shark we will see supposedly tries to eat our main characters. There is much more to them than just “eats (people)”, Paolini, and it would be nice if you bothered showing that.
(Also, I am reasonably sure this scene served as inspiration for a certain scene in Inheritance and for a plotline in Murtagh.)
Saphira, “sounding upset”, says they will stay over land from now on, which Eragon fully agrees with. And that is all the reaction they have to this supposedly life-threatening event. Well, by the time they reach Saphira’s hiding place, it is getting dark. Eragon knows he needs to get into Teirm soon. He promises Saphira to see her again tomorrow… and we segue to Eragon knocking on Jeod’s door. Eragon looks at Angela’s shop and is then let in. He asks after Brom, who turns out to be in the study. He goes there and asks how it went.
This prompts quite some griping from Brom and it turns out that Brand would not let them view the records. Well, what did you expect? After Brom has calmed, Eragon asks what Brom is going to do now. Brom decides to take the “next week” to teach Eragon to read and after that, they are “going to give Brand a nasty surprise”. Eragon then “pester[s]” Brom with questions (as if it is unreasonable to want to know what Brom has planned for him), but Brom refuses to answer. Then the butler tells them that dinner is ready, “forcing Eragon to stop his questioning”. Because of course we need to have a moment of Eragon getting shut down when asking questions. He should blindly trust Brom, after all!
So they go to the dining room with Helen and Jeod, and we get stuff about how mean Helen is, and how it is dangerous to sit between Jeod and Helen, and Helen glares at them. It also includes this: “It was like sitting in the middle of a battle zone.” Oh, come on. Helen may be unreasonable, but she is hardly going to murder Jeod or blow up this room or something. This is even better than he has had with Brom or Garrow; Helen is not angry at him, at least, and as we will see, she is much more reasonable than them.
They go to eating and Eragon needs to remark that he has had “cheerier meals at funerals” and that those were not “unduly [sad]”. But now he can feel “simmering resentment” coming from Helen throughout the dinner. …Maybe you could try to break the silence, Eragon? And there the chapter ends.
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Now we come to the chapter that has been revised the most, “Of Reading and Plots”. Eragon gets up on (it is the 28th of January now), “feeling groggy”. He dresses and goes to get food. In the kitchen, he finds a meal, “courtesy of the cook”, who he thanks “profusely”. After breakfast, he goes to the study, where Brom is “sitting on the hearth”. He holds a bit of parchment and charcoal. Brom makes “a shape” on the parchment, then tells Eragon that is that letter “a” and he should learn it. That… would not help Eragon read at all. Learning to read involves learning how spoken language corresponds to the written word, and, while Eragon might learn that, it would be as a by-effect, not what Brom actually teaches him.
We are told that with this, Eragon “be[gins] the task of becoming literate” (not this way he is not). He finds it difficult and it “pushe[s] his intellect to its limits” (because Brom does this wrong, I suppose), but he does enjoy it. Because Brom is a good teacher (though “sometimes impatient”) Eragon advances quickly. I still do not believe it, Paolini. We are told that knowing the ancient language “help[s] him understand the meanings of different words faster than he would have been able to before”. But… Eragon is not learning new words; he is learning to read, and I do not exactly see how this would help very much.
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So, a routine is established soon. He gets up, eats in the kitchen and then goes to learn to read. This is so intense that he can see “letters and words dance[] in his mind” when he closes his eyes and he thinks of little else then. Before dinner, they go to spar behind Jeod’s house. The servants and a “small crowd of wide-eyed children” watch (good job being inconspicuous!), but Jeod is never there. …And why should he be? Maybe he is not interested? If they have time after sparring, Eragon practices magic in his room, the curtains “securely closed”. I… think that magic should probably not be the afterthought here.
Eragon visits Saphira every evening, which is not enough time for them. In the day, Saphira is often leagues away to hunt. “[G]rim news” comes into Teirm of “horrific attacks along the coast” and of “powerful people” being abducted and horribly murdered. So why does no one appear to do anything about this? Well, Brom and Jeod secretly discuss this, too.
Soon, a week has passed (so we are on… the 3rd of February) and now Eragon can read whole pages! Talk about ridiculously fast progress… He does read slowly, but he knows that he will eventually read faster. Brom says he will do “fine for what [he] has planned”.
That evening after dinner, Brom summons Eragon and Jeod to the study. They wait there until the servants are all sleeping (my, Brom actually thinks about keeping secret!). Jeod says he hopes Brom has something worthwhile to say, since he would rather be sleeping. Brom says it will not take long. He thinks it is time to continue with his plan now that Eragon can help. Eragon asks what Brom has in mind. Brom’s smiles fiercely, Jeod says that look is what “got [them] into trouble” in the first place and Brom admits it was.
He begins to explains what “we’ll do”. Jeod asks about the “we”, and rightly so, since Jeod did not ask to be included. Brom asks if he really wants to be left out after all he has been through. Well, maybe he has had enough of this kind of adventure? Jeod sighs and says “I suppose not”. He tells Brom to go on. Brom proposes that they just go into the castle and look at the records. They need to see them, after all, and he will not be stopped “by anything as petty as a magistrate’s permission”. So… it this partly motivated by spite toward Brand, then? Jeod thinks this over, while correcting Brom (Brand is an administrator, not a magistrate). I do have to say that Brom not bothering to remember who Brand exactly is does not spell well for this plan.
Eragon “[takes] a more direct approach” (not that I think Jeod even took an approach). He asks if Brom is crazy, since there are “guards everywhere” and the castle is shut at night (we should have known that earlier). Brom says that Jeod can go in at any time and Eragon, of all people, should know that the guards will not form a problem. Eragon… takes this to mean “kill the guards” and refuses to. After all, “Urgals are bad enough, but not people”. Well, good to see the quiet part said out loud. I still do not think this befits our “hero”, though.
Brom says that will not be necessary, since Jeod can get them in safely, and if someone finds them, they will only “have to knock him out”. After all, it is not like that can cause permanent damage. Eragon thinks it might work, but asks what will happen if the guard attacks or yells. Good question, Eragon! I would advice you to put the guard into sleep with magic as soon as you hear them near; that would prevent this trouble.
Brom just says “forcefully” that it will be fine. Ignore the trouble if it suits you, then, but do not complain if you do end up being discovered. Jeod then speaks up, saying that Eragon is right. What if they are discovered? He says there might even be a guard watching the records permanently, and how should they sneak up on him in an “empty hallway”? He then brings up himself, not because he is a coward, as he points out, but because he is well known. If they are seen, they can only stop the guard from telling by killing him. (I am not so sure of that, given magic.) If they do not, Risthart will soon hear, and then Jeod will be dragged to court, where he will be “ridiculed and fined”. After that, no one will want to do business with him.
Brom rightly points out that that would not make much of a difference, given his current trouble. Still… it would also affect Helen, no matter how much of a shrew she is supposed to be, and the servants, who are still people despite being servants. And Jeod does not consider this, which is rather selfish of him. Well, he has a lot of “conflicting emotions” about this and finally “[shakes] his head miserably”. He admits that it would not make that great a difference, but he had hoped to “live quietly” while still doing his part. Now it is “all falling apart”, though. Eragon can empathise with this, and I can certainly understand it, too.
Brom says it is Jeod’s choice and he does not have to get involved. Jeod says it is too late for that, as he was involved the moment he saw Brom again. He asks if Brom is determined to do this (which he is) and if there is no other way (which Brom indicates there is not). So he decides to help Brom. Brom thanks him, saying he hoped to have Jeod at his side again. He tells him not to lose hope, since luck might just give them a “glorious success”. Jeod does not see how, but agrees anyway. Well, as we will see, his earlier adventure with Brom had much worse odds and it worked out, so…
Eragon asks when they will go to the castle. Brom says it will be tomorrow night. During the day, they can scout out the castle, and they will slip in at nightfall. Once they have the records, they will need to move quickly. Jeod told him that the “shipping manifests” are copied verbatim from the ships and nothing is done to “arrange the goods in any particular order”. So they cannot look beneath the heading of “Seithr oil”, and they will need to skim through all the manifests of the past years.
I get that Paolini put this in (and this will be true in both editions) to hinder Eragon and Brom somewhat, but this just makes no sense. How are the taxes recorded, then? I guess that they are recorded separately, since just remembering them would be undoable… and it would only make sense to store those somewhere, too, so that it can be seen where the revenue is coming from. Copying the shipping records directly makes some sense, as they will serve as a backup, but tampering with them will not “cheat the Empire of its taxes”, as Jeod implied. Still, there is no guarantee these supposed tax records will include the precise destination, so that might not help.
Eragon asks how many there are (hundreds or thousands). Jeod says they are certainly a few hundred per year. They only need to look at those manifests of ships that go far enough north to reach “the islands where the Seithr plants grow”. (There is only one Seithr plant, though.) Brom suggests they get some sleep in the meantime and asks for questions. Jeod gets up and asks if Brom will “leave tomorrow”. Um, Jeod, he can only leave the day after tomorrow. Brom says it depends on whether they are seen. He would like to rest before leaving, but they should be prepared to leave at once. Jeod thought as much and then leaves for his room.
Eragon says Brom has put Jeod in a “bad spot”, which he has. Brom frowns and says he did not have much of a choice (sure he did), but these things “have a way of working out”. He goes to say something else, but then thinks better of it and leaves. We cut to Eragon going to bed. He thinks that he does not want to leave Teirm, because he has an almost normal life and does not want to “keep uprooting [him]self”. Then he thinks that he will never, ever be able to while Saphira is around… which I highly doubt, as he could simply leave Alagaësia. He struggles with his emotions for a bit and then falls asleep.
His sleep is troubled. After a while he has a dream that is “clearer than any before”, which, from the italics, is clearly a vision. He sees a young woman chained in a cell. Moonlight falls on her face and illuminates a Single Tear rolling down her cheek. Eragon wakes up because of this and finds himself “crying uncontrollably”. The image of “the beautiful woman” haunts him.
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And then we cut to the next day, without any further exploration of this vision whatsoever. Smooth. It is the 4th of February now. Brom, Jeod, and Eragon explore the castle, all carrying their weapons. Conveniently, they have no trouble getting in and go straight to Jeod’s office. They wait until the hall is empty and then Jeod leads them to the records room. He tries the lock, but it is naturally closed. Brom says he can open it. Eragon then remarks they are lucky there are no guards, to which Jeod says that there will be at night and if one of them finds them…
They explore the area some more, it turns out that the room is near the “outer wall” and is easy to escape from and finally Brom suggests going back home.
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Well, that was quite unnecessary, as we already knew, or could have guessed, most of it, and the room lying close to the wall will never be relevant. Once back at Jeod’s house, they ready themselves to leave. Once they are done, it is “still early”, so Eragon visits Saphira. Once there, he tells her that they will leave “tonight or tomorrow” and explains Brom’s plan. Saphira is surprised and asks if Eragon will be safe. Eragon… just shrugs, saying they might well leave Teirm “with soldiers on [their] heels”. Eragon feels Saphira worrying and tries to reassure her, saying that both he and Brom can use magic, and they are “good with [their] swords”. It might take “a whole battalion” to stop them. I… hardly think that is reassuring. Would you not rather avoid ever getting in such a situation, Eragon?
Saphira makes a “low rumbling sound” and says it only takes arrow to kill Eragon. Is this what he wants to do? Eragon sounds a bit shaken and says they cannot stay much longer, at least not with Saphira there. If they are going to leave, they “might as well get the information [they] came to Teirm for”. So Eragon’s quest to find the Ra’zac is now a “might as well”? That is not great plotting. Saphira takes him in bad faith and asks if he wants her to leave. Eragon says no, and he would “just like to stop running”. Saphira says he will, once the Empire has fallen. Or he could just leave. Eragon says it might take ages (well, you also have ages) and Saphira just says “perhaps”. I thought she might say something like “You can do something about that”, but no.
Eragon suggests they fly, and we cut to Saphira flying toward the sun (smart idea) until Teirm is quite small. It is cold, but Eragon likes being up in the air and away from his troubles. After a while, Saphira asks if there is a way to view the records with magic. …They have been here for over a week and could have thought this over long before now. Why has neither of them thought of this until just before they actually try to get to the records?? This is seriously silly. Eragon is not sure how he would do it. Brom has never told him, after all. (Not that that stopped him from devising a spell of his own earlier…) He thinks about it for bit and resolves to ask Brom, which Saphira finds “wise”.
They land and Eragon jumps to the ground. He is surprised at her height; her shoulder is “well over his head”. He jokes that she is getting too big and she tells him she is growing slower than she used to. In fact, I think she is too small for the descriptions of her we will later get. Eragon goes back to Teirm, Saphira calling after him that she will be waiting for him. Eragon takes his time to go back to Teirm. Once in Jeod’s house, he knocks on Brom’s door. Brom “irritably” asks him what he wants. Eragon wants to talk with him and Brom tells him to come in. Eragon does so and finds Brom “rewrapping the hilt of his sword with a leather strip” for some reason.
He says Saphira and he had an idea, before Brom cuts him off and closes the curtains, saying that Eragon would do well to ensure that no once can eavesdrop. I do not think curtains will help much with that. Eragon apologises and berates himself for it (lovely), and asks if it is possible to make an image of something that you cannot see. Brom wants to know if Saphira asked this, which Eragon confirms. Brom says this method is called “scrying”; it is quite possible and can be quite useful, though you can only look at “people, places, and things” you have already seen and you are dependent on the light the object receives.
Eragon asks why you cannot view objects you have not seen while thinking about the possibilities. Brom says that you need to know what you are focussing your power on before you can do so. Eragon thinks about this and asks how it is done. He specifies that he is not asking for the words, only the process. Brom explains that the image is usually projected on a “reflective surface like a pool of water or a mirror”. He gives some further background to this.
Eragon asks if he may try it. Brom looks at him and says he may not now. Eragon grumbles to himself that he is “not a child” at this. Then Brom says he will teach Eragon the words. He does not want Eragon tired during the sneak-in, since scrying takes much energy, and he should promise to wait until tomorrow. Then why did you not tell him that at once?
Eragon promises and Brom gives him the words. Eragon mentions wanting to scry Roran once they are out of Teirm, since the Ra’zac might go after him. Brom think that is likely, since Galbatorix is threatening to punish them if they do not find Eragon and they will become frustrated, and so they will go after Roran for information.
Eragon asks if that is “supposed to comfort him”. He thinks that he cannot do anything about it yet, and wonders if his death could be the one Angela foretold, which he refuses to believe. He says that the only way to keep Roran safe is to reveal himself, so the Ra’zac will come after him. I mean… they would probably still send people after Roran, so he cannot pull out, but Eragon is clearly not able to think well now. Brom throws a fit at this, telling Eragon that he is not thinking, asking how he can “expect to anticipate” his enemies if he cannot understand them, and demanding that Eragon tell him why they would still come after Roran.
Oh, shut up. I could ask that some stuff to you, Brom, because of your “evil is not understandable” speech and because the Ra’zac would not let Eragon slip through their fingers in favour of Roran. Also, you can see that Eragon is distraught; not being harsh on him is just basic civility. Eragon now gives out a list of scenarios that have nothing to do with the one he just described, and Brom compliments him for how nicely he did. Eragon asks what the solution is. Brom says that Roran needs to defend himself and brings up the letter he left for Roran. If Roran has any sense, he says, he will flee as soon as the Ra’zac come to Carvahall again.
Eragon says he does not like this. Brom brings up that Galbatorix cannot afford to have a free Rider roaming around, so he will offer Eragon the chance to serve him. Unfortunately, if he does get close enough to propose that, “it will be far too later for [Eragon] to refuse and still live”. And why could Galbatorix not make that proposition via a messenger?
Eragon does not find that much good. Brom says it protects Roran, since Galbatorix does not want to alienate Eragon by hurting Roran. Eragon asks how he will be able to deny Galbatorix when he is threatened with death by him. Brom says and puts his fingers in “a basin of rose-water” (?). He says that Eragon will only deny him by committing suicide (not directly, but that is the gist of it). Eragon stares at the floor, thinking that he hates this, and he has no idea what he will do if he must choose. Yes, that is indeed hardly something he could decide now.
Brom says as much and then says the “real courage” lies in “living and suffering for what you believe”. Eragon then asks if they leave in the morning. Brom accepts that Eragon wants to talk about something else (how magnanimous) and confirms it. Eragon the goes to his own chamber and has a drink. Then he lies on his bed. His hand shake, and there is a lump in his throat. He wonders why he feels like this before falling asleep.
And that was that! This did not go as smooth as I had wanted, nor am I exactly proud of the result, but I cannot be bothered to go back and edit this, either. You will see me again next time, along with Kerlois, for the first bit of chapter twenty-five of the Knopf edition. Until then!