The Inheritance Cycle - Brisingr Part 22

"What can I do for you, Shadeslayer?" Gedric mumbled.

"You have already done it. And I have come here to thank and repay you."

"I? How have I helped you, Shadeslayer?" He spoke slowly, cautiously, as if afraid Eragon were setting a trap for him.

"Soon after I ran away from Carvahall, you discovered that someone had stolen three ox hides from the drying hut by the vats. Am I right?"

Gedric's face darkened with embarra.s.sment, and he shuffled his feet. "Ah, well now, I didn't lock that hut, you know. Anyone might have snuck in and carried those hides off. Besides, given what's happened since, I can't see as it's much important. I destroyed most of my stock before we trooped into the Spine, to keep the Empire and those filthy Ra'zac from getting their claws on anything of use. Whoever took those hides saved me from having to destroy three more. So let bygones be bygones, I say."

"Perhaps," said Eragon, "but I still feel honor-bound to tell you that it was I who stole your hides."

Gedric met his gaze then, looking at him as if he were an ordinary person, without fear, awe, or undue respect, as if the tanner were reevaluating his opinion of Eragon.

"I stole them, and I'm not proud of it, but I needed the hides. Without them, I doubt I would have survived long enough to reach the elves in Du Weldenvarden. I always preferred to think that I had borrowed the hides, but the truth is, I stole them, for I had no intention of returning them. Therefore, you have my apologies. And since I am keeping the hides, or what is left of them, it seems only right to pay you for them." From within his belt, Eragon removed one of the spheres of gold-hard, round, and warm from the heat of his flesh-and handed it to Gedric.

Gedric stared at the s.h.i.+ny metal pearl, his ma.s.sive jaw clamped shut, the lines around his thin-lipped mouth harsh and unyielding. He did not insult Eragon by weighing the gold in his hand, nor by biting it, but when he spoke, he said, "I cannot accept this, Eragon. I was a good tanner, but the leather I made was not worth this much. Your generosity does you credit, but it would bother me to keep this gold. I would feel as if I hadn't earned it."

Unsurprised, Eragon said, "You would not deny another man the opportunity to haggle for a fair price, would you?"

"No."

"Good. Then you cannot deny me this. Most people haggle downward. In this case, I have chosen to haggle upward, but I will still haggle as fiercely as if I were trying to save myself a handful of coins. To me, the hides are worth every ounce of that gold, and I would not pay you a copper less, not even if you held a knife to my throat."

Gedric's thick fingers closed around the gold orb. "Since you insist, I will not be so churlish as to keep refusing you. No one can say that Gedric Ostvensson allowed good fortune to pa.s.s him by because he was too busy protesting his own unworthiness. My thanks, Shadeslayer." He placed the orb in a pouch on his belt, wrapping the gold in a patch of wool cloth to protect it from scratches. "Garrow did right by you, Eragon. He did right by both you and Roran. He may have been sharp as vinegar and as hard and dry as a winter rutabaga, but he raised the two of you well. He would be proud of you, I think."

Unexpected emotion clogged Eragon's chest.

As Gedric turned to rejoin the other villagers, he paused. "If I may ask, Eragon, why were those hides worth so much to you? What did you use them for?"

Eragon chuckled. "Use them for? Why, with Brom's help, I made a saddle for Saphira out of them. She doesn't wear it as often as she used to-not since the elves gave us a proper dragon's saddle-but it served us well through many a sc.r.a.pe and fight, and even the Battle of Farthen Dur."

Astonishment raised Gedric's eyebrows, exposing pale skin that normally lay hidden in deep folds. Like a split in blue-gray granite, a wide grin spread across his jaw, transforming his features. "A saddle!" he breathed. "Imagine, me tanning the leather for a Rider's saddle! And without a hint of what I was doing at the time, no less! No, not a a Rider, Rider, the the Rider. He who will finally cast down the black tyrant himself! If only my father could see me now!" Kicking up his heels, Gedric danced an impromptu jig. With his grin undiminished, he bowed to Eragon and trotted back to his place among the villagers, where he began to relate his tale to everyone within earshot. Rider. He who will finally cast down the black tyrant himself! If only my father could see me now!" Kicking up his heels, Gedric danced an impromptu jig. With his grin undiminished, he bowed to Eragon and trotted back to his place among the villagers, where he began to relate his tale to everyone within earshot.

Eager to escape before the lot of them could descend upon him, Eragon slipped away between the rows of tents, pleased with what he had accomplished. It might take me a while It might take me a while, he thought, but I always settle my debts but I always settle my debts.

Before long, he arrived at another tent, close to the eastern edge of the camp. He knocked on the pole between the two front flaps.

With a sharp sound, the entrance was yanked aside to reveal Jeod's wife, Helen, standing in the opening. She regarded Eragon with a cold expression. "You've come to talk with him, him, I suppose." I suppose."

"If he's here." Which Eragon knew perfectly well he was, for he could sense Jeod's mind as clearly as Helen's.

For a moment, Eragon thought Helen might deny the presence of her husband, but then she shrugged and moved aside. "You might as well come in, then."

Eragon found Jeod sitting on a stool, poring over an a.s.sortment of scrolls, books, and sheaves of loose papers that were piled high on a cot bare of blankets. A thin shock of hair hung across Jeod's forehead, mimicking the curve of the scar that stretched from his scalp to his left temple.

"Eragon!" he cried as he saw him, the lines of concentration on his face clearing. "Welcome, welcome!" He shook Eragon's hand and then offered him the stool. "Here, I shall sit on the corner of the bed. No, please, you are our guest. Would you care for some food or drink? Nasuada gives us an extra ration, so do not restrain yourself for fear that we will go hungry on your account. It is poor fare compared with what we served you in Teirm, but then no one should go to war and expect to eat well, not even a king."

"A cup of tea would be nice," said Eragon.

"Tea and biscuits it is." Jeod glanced at Helen.

s.n.a.t.c.hing the kettle off the ground, Helen braced it against her hip, fit the nipple of a waterskin in the end of the spout, and squeezed. The kettle reverberated with a dull roar as a stream of water struck the bottom. Helen's fingers tightened around the neck of the waterskin, restricting the flow to a languorous trickle. She remained thus, with the detached look of a person performing an unpleasant task, while the water droplets drummed out a maddening beat against the inside of the kettle.

An apologetic smile flickered across Jeod's face. He stared at a sc.r.a.p of paper beside his knee as he waited for Helen to finish. Eragon studied a wrinkle in the side of the tent.

The bombastic trickle continued for over three minutes.

When the kettle was finally full, Helen removed the deflated waterskin from the spout, hung it on a hook on the center pole of the tent, and stormed out.

Eragon raised an eyebrow at Jeod.

Jeod spread his hands. "My position with the Varden is not as prominent as she had hoped, and she blames me for the fact. She agreed to flee Teirm with me, expecting, or so I believe, that Nasuada would vault me into the inner circle of her advisers, or grant me lands and riches fit for a lord, or some other extravagant reward for my help stealing Saphira's egg those many years ago. What Helen did not bargain on was the unglamorous life of a common swordsman: sleeping in a tent, fixing her own food, was.h.i.+ng her own clothes, and so on. It's not that wealth and status are her only concerns, but you have to understand, she was born into one of the richest s.h.i.+pping families of Teirm, and for most of our marriage, I was not unsuccessful in my own ventures. She is unused to such privations as these, and she has yet to reconcile herself to them." His shoulders rose and fell a fraction of an inch. "My own hope was that this adventure-if it deserves such a romantic term-would narrow the rifts that have opened between us in recent years, but as always, nothing is ever as simple as it seems."

"Do you you feel that the Varden ought to show you greater consideration?" asked Eragon. feel that the Varden ought to show you greater consideration?" asked Eragon.

"For myself, no. For Helen . . ." Jeod hesitated. "I want her to be happy. My reward was in escaping from Gil'ead with my life when Brom and I were attacked by Morzan, his dragon, and his men; in the satisfaction of knowing that I had helped strike a crippling blow against Galbatorix; in being able to return to my previous life and yet still help further the Varden's cause; and in being able to marry Helen. Those were my rewards, and I am more than content with them. Any doubts I had vanished the instant I saw Saphira fly out of the smoke of the Burning Plains. I do not know what to do about Helen, though. But I forget myself. These are not your troubles, and I should not lay them upon you."

Eragon touched a scroll with the tip of his index finger. "Then tell me, why so many papers? Have you become a copyist?"

The question amused Jeod. "Hardly, although the work is often as tedious. Since it was I who discovered the hidden pa.s.sageway into Galbatorix's castle, in Uru'baen, and I was able to bring with me some of the rare books from my library in Teirm, Nasuada has set me to searching for similar weaknesses in the other cities of the Empire. If I could find mention of a tunnel that led underneath the walls of Dras-Leona, for example, it might save us a great deal of bloodshed."

"Where are you looking?"

"Everywhere I can." Jeod brushed back the lock of hair that was hanging over his forehead. "Histories; myths; legends; poems; songs; religious tracts; the writings of Riders, magicians, wanderers, madmen, obscure potentates, various generals, anyone who might have knowledge of a hidden door or a secret mechanism or something of that ilk that we might turn to our advantage. The amount of material I have to sift through is immense, for all of the cities have stood for hundreds of years, and some antedate the arrival of humans in Alagaesia."

"Is it likely you will actually find anything?"

"No, not likely. It is never likely that you will succeed in ferreting out the secrets of the past. But I may still prevail, given enough time. I have no doubt that what I am searching for exists in each of the cities; they are too old not not to contain surrept.i.tious ways in and out through their walls. However, it is another question entirely whether to contain surrept.i.tious ways in and out through their walls. However, it is another question entirely whether records records of those ways exist and whether we possess those records. People who know about concealed trapdoors and the like usually want to keep the information to themselves." Jeod grasped a handful of the papers next to him on the cot and brought them closer to his face, then snorted and tossed the papers away. "I'm trying to solve riddles invented by people who didn't want them to be solved." of those ways exist and whether we possess those records. People who know about concealed trapdoors and the like usually want to keep the information to themselves." Jeod grasped a handful of the papers next to him on the cot and brought them closer to his face, then snorted and tossed the papers away. "I'm trying to solve riddles invented by people who didn't want them to be solved."

He and Eragon continued talking about other, less important matters until Helen reappeared, carrying three mugs of steaming-hot red-clover tea. As Eragon accepted his mug, he noted that her earlier anger seemed to have subsided, and he wondered if she had been listening outside to what Jeod had said about her. She handed Jeod his mug and, from somewhere behind Eragon, procured a tin plate laden with flat biscuits and a small clay pot of honey. Then she withdrew a few feet and stood leaning against the center pole, blowing on her own mug.

As was polite, Jeod waited until Eragon had taken a biscuit from the plate and consumed a bite of it before saying, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Eragon? Unless I am mistaken, this is no idle visit."

Eragon sipped his tea. "After the Battle of the Burning Plains, I promised I would tell you how Brom died. That is why I have come."

A gray pallor replaced the color in Jeod's cheeks. "Oh."

"I don't have to, if that's not what you want," Eragon quickly pointed out.

With an effort, Jeod shook his head. "No, I do. You merely caught me by surprise."

When Jeod did not ask Helen to leave, Eragon was uncertain whether he should continue, but then he decided that it did not matter if Helen or anyone else heard his story. In a slow, deliberate voice, Eragon began to recount the events that had transpired since he and Brom had left Jeod's house. He described their encounter with the band of Urgals, their search for the Ra'zac in Dras-Leona, how the Ra'zac had ambushed them outside the city, and how the Ra'zac had stabbed Brom as they fled from Murtagh's attack.

Eragon's throat constricted as he spoke of Brom's last hours, of the cool sandstone cave where he had lain, of the feelings of helplessness that had a.s.sailed Eragon as he watched Brom slipping away, of the smell of death that had pervaded the dry air, of Brom's final words, of the sandstone tomb Eragon had made with magic, and of how Saphira had transformed it into pure diamond.

"If only I had known what I know now," Eragon said, "then I could have saved him. Instead . . ." Unable to summon words past the tightness in his throat, he wiped his eyes and gulped at his tea. He wished it were something stronger.

A sigh escaped Jeod. "And so ended Brom. Alas, we are all far worse off without him. If he could have chosen the means of his death, though, I think he would have chosen to die like this, in the service of the Varden, defending the last free Dragon Rider."

"Were you aware that he had been a Rider himself?"

Jeod nodded. "The Varden told me before I met him."

"He seemed as if he was a man who revealed little about himself," observed Helen.

Jeod and Eragon laughed. "That he was," said Jeod. "I still have not recovered from the shock of seeing him and you, Eragon, standing on our doorstep. Brom always kept his own counsel, but we became close friends when we were traveling together, and I cannot understand why he let me believe he was dead for what, sixteen, seventeen years? Too long. What's more, since it was Brom who delivered Saphira's egg to the Varden after he slew Morzan in Gil'ead, the Varden couldn't very well tell me they had her egg without revealing that Brom was still alive. So I've spent the better part of two decades convinced that the one great adventure of my life had ended in failure and that, as a result, we had lost our only hope of having a Dragon Rider to help us overthrow Galbatorix. The knowledge was no easy burden, I can a.s.sure you. . . ."

With one hand, Jeod rubbed his brow. "When I opened our front door and realized whom I was looking at, I thought that the ghosts of my past had come to haunt me. Brom said he kept himself hidden to ensure that he would still be alive to train the new Rider when he or she should appear, but his explanation has never entirely satisfied me. Why was it necessary for him to cut himself off from nearly everyone he knew or cared about? What was he afraid of? What was he protecting?"

Jeod fingered the handle of his mug. "I cannot prove it, but it seems to me that Brom must have discovered something in Gil'ead when he was fighting Morzan and his dragon, something so momentous, it moved Brom to abandon everything that was his life up until then. It's a fanciful conjecture, I admit, but I cannot account for Brom's actions except by postulating that there was a piece of information he never shared with me nor another living soul."

Again Jeod sighed, and he drew a hand down his long face. "After so many years apart, I had hoped Brom and I might ride together once more, but fate had other ideas, it seems. And then to lose him a second time but a few weeks after discovering he was still alive was a cruel joke for the world to play." Helen swept past Eragon and went to stand by Jeod, touching him on the shoulder. He offered her a wan smile and wrapped an arm around her narrow waist. "I'm glad that you and Saphira gave Brom a tomb even a dwarf king might envy. He deserved that and more for all he did for Alagaesia. Although once people discover his grave, I have a horrible suspicion they will not hesitate to break it apart for the diamond."

"If they do, they will regret it," muttered Eragon. He resolved to return to the site at the earliest opportunity and place wards around Brom's tomb to protect it from grave robbers. "Besides, they will be too busy hunting gold lilies to bother Brom."

"What?"

"Nothing. It's not important." The three of them sipped their tea. Helen nibbled on a biscuit. Then Eragon asked, "You met Morzan, didn't you?"

"They were not the friendliest of occasions, but yes, I met him."

"What was he like?"

"As a person? I really couldn't say, although I'm well acquainted with tales of his atrocities. Every time Brom and I crossed paths with him, he was trying to kill us. Or rather, capture, torture, and then then kill us, none of which are conducive to establis.h.i.+ng a close relations.h.i.+p." Eragon was too intent to respond to Jeod's humor. Jeod s.h.i.+fted on the bed. "As a warrior, Morzan was terrifying. We spent a great deal of time running away from him, I seem to remember-him and his dragon, that is. Few things are as frightening as having an enraged dragon chasing you." kill us, none of which are conducive to establis.h.i.+ng a close relations.h.i.+p." Eragon was too intent to respond to Jeod's humor. Jeod s.h.i.+fted on the bed. "As a warrior, Morzan was terrifying. We spent a great deal of time running away from him, I seem to remember-him and his dragon, that is. Few things are as frightening as having an enraged dragon chasing you."

"How did he look?"

"You seem inordinately interested in him."

Eragon blinked once. "I'm curious. He was the last of the Forsworn to die, and Brom was the one who slew him. And now Morzan's son is my mortal enemy."

"Let me see, then," said Jeod. "He was tall, he had broad shoulders, his hair was dark like a raven's feathers, and his eyes were different colors. One was blue and one was black. His chin was bare, and he was missing the tip of one of his fingers; I forget which. Handsome he was, in a cruel, haughty manner, and when he spoke, he was most charismatic. His armor was always polished bright, whether mail or a breastplate, as if he had no fear of being spotted by his enemies, which I suppose he hadn't. When he laughed, it sounded as if he were in pain."

"What of his companion, the woman Selena? Did you meet her as well?"

Jeod laughed. "If I had, I would not be here today. Morzan may have been a fearsome swordsman, a formidable magician, and a murderous traitor, but it was that woman of his who inspired the most terror in people. Morzan only used her for missions that were so repugnant, difficult, or secretive that no one else would agree to undertake them. She was his Black Hand, and her presence always signaled imminent death, torture, betrayal, or some other horror." Eragon felt sick hearing his mother described thusly. "She was utterly ruthless, devoid of either pity or compa.s.sion. It was said that when she asked Morzan to enter his service, he tested her by teaching her the word for heal heal in the ancient language-for she was a spellcaster as well as a common fighter-and then pitting her against twelve of his finest swordsmen." in the ancient language-for she was a spellcaster as well as a common fighter-and then pitting her against twelve of his finest swordsmen."

"How did she defeat them?"

"She healed them of their fear and their hate and all the things that drive a man to kill. And then while they stood grinning at each other like idiot sheep, she went up to the men and cut their throats. . . . Are you feeling well, Eragon? You are as pale as a corpse."

"I'm fine. What else do you remember?"

Jeod tapped the side of his mug. "Precious little concerning Selena. She was always somewhat of an enigma. No one besides Morzan even knew her real name until just a few months before Morzan's death. To the public at large, she has never been anything other than the Black Hand; the Black Hand we have now-the collection of spies, a.s.sa.s.sins, and magicians who carry out Galbatorix's low skulduggery-is Galbatorix's attempt to re-create Selena's usefulness to Morzan. Even among the Varden, only a handful of people were privy to her name, and most of them are moldering in graves now. As I recall, it was Brom who discovered her true ident.i.ty. Before I went to the Varden with the information concerning the secret pa.s.sageway into Castle Ilirea-which the elves built millennia ago and which Galbatorix expanded upon to form the black citadel that now dominates Uru'baen-before I went to them, Brom had spent a rather significant length of time spying on Morzan's estate in the hope he might unearth a hitherto unsuspected weakness of Morzan's. . . . I believe Brom gained admittance to Morzan's hall by disguising himself as a member of the serving staff. It was then that he found out what he did about Selena. Still, we never did learn why she was so attached to Morzan. Perhaps she loved him. In any event, she was utterly loyal to him, even to the point of death. Soon after Brom killed Morzan, word reached the Varden that sickness had taken her. It is as if the trained hawk was so fond of her master, she could not live without him."

She was not entirely loyal, thought Eragon. thought Eragon. She defied Morzan when it came to me, even though she lost her life as a result. If only she could have rescued Murtagh as well She defied Morzan when it came to me, even though she lost her life as a result. If only she could have rescued Murtagh as well. As for Jeod's accounts of her misdeeds, Eragon chose to believe that Morzan had perverted her essentially good nature. For the sake of his own sanity, Eragon could not accept that both his parents had been evil.

"She loved him," he said, staring at the murky dregs at the bottom of his mug. "In the beginning, she loved him; maybe not so much later. Murtagh is her son."

Jeod raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? You have it from Murtagh himself, I suppose?" Eragon nodded. "Well, that explains a number of questions I always had. Murtagh's mother . . . I'm surprised that Brom didn't uncover that particular secret."

"Morzan did everything he could to conceal Murtagh's existence, even from the other members of the Forsworn."

"Knowing the history of those power-hungry, backstabbing knaves, he probably saved Murtagh's life. More's the pity too."

Silence crept among them then, like a shy animal ready to flee at the slightest motion. Eragon continued to gaze into his mug. A host of questions bedeviled him, but he knew that Jeod could not answer them and it was unlikely anyone else could either: Why had Brom hidden himself in Carvahall? To keep watch over Eragon, the son of his most hated foe? Had it been some cruel joke giving Eragon Zar'roc, his father's blade? And why had Brom not told him the truth about his parentage? He tightened his grip on the mug and, without meaning to, shattered the clay.

The three of them started at the unexpected noise.

"Here, let me help you with that," said Helen, bustling forward and dabbing at his tunic with a rag. Embarra.s.sed, Eragon apologized several times, to which both Jeod and Helen responded by a.s.suring him it was a small mishap and not to worry himself about it.

While Helen picked up the shards of fire-hardened clay, Jeod began to dig through the layers of books, scrolls, and loose papers that covered the bed, saying, "Ah, it had nearly slipped my mind. I have something for you, Eragon, that might prove useful. If only I can find it here. . . ." With a pleased exclamation, he straightened, flouris.h.i.+ng a book, which he handed to Eragon.

It was Domia abr Wyrda Domia abr Wyrda, the Dominance of Fate Dominance of Fate, a complete history of Alagaesia written by Heslant the Monk. Eragon had first seen it in Jeod's library in Teirm. He had not expected that he would ever get a chance to examine it again. Savoring the feeling, he ran his hands over the carved leather on the front cover, which was s.h.i.+ny with age, then opened the book and admired the neat rows of runes within, lettered in glossy red ink. Awed by the size of the knowledge h.o.a.rd he held, Eragon said, "You wish me to have this?"

"I do," a.s.serted Jeod. He moved out of the way as Helen retrieved a fragment of the mug from under the bed. "I think you might profit by it. You are engaged in historic events, Eragon, and the roots of the difficulties you face lie in happenings from decades, centuries, and millennia ago. If I were you, I would study at every opportunity the lessons history has to teach us, for they may help you with the problems of today. In my own life, reading the record of the past has often provided me with the courage and the insight to choose the correct path."

Eragon longed to accept the gift, but still he hesitated. "Brom said that Domia abr Wyrda Domia abr Wyrda was the most valuable thing in your house. And rare as well. . . . Besides, what of your work? Don't you need this for your research?" was the most valuable thing in your house. And rare as well. . . . Besides, what of your work? Don't you need this for your research?"

"Domia abr Wyrda is valuable and it is rare," said Jeod, "but only in the Empire, where Galbatorix burns every copy he finds and hangs their unfortunate owners. Here in the camp, I have already had six copies foisted upon me by members of King Orrin's court, and this is hardly what one would call a great center of learning. However, I do not part with it lightly, and only because you can put it to better use than I can. Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?" is valuable and it is rare," said Jeod, "but only in the Empire, where Galbatorix burns every copy he finds and hangs their unfortunate owners. Here in the camp, I have already had six copies foisted upon me by members of King Orrin's court, and this is hardly what one would call a great center of learning. However, I do not part with it lightly, and only because you can put it to better use than I can. Books should go where they will be most appreciated, and not sit unread, gathering dust on a forgotten shelf, don't you agree?"

"I do." Eragon closed Domia abr Wyrda Domia abr Wyrda and again traced the intricate patterns on the front with his fingers, fascinated by the swirling designs that had been chiseled into the leather. "Thank you. I shall treasure it for as long as it is mine to watch over." Jeod dipped his head and leaned back against the wall of the tent, appearing satisfied. Turning the book on its edge, Eragon examined the lettering on the spine. "What was Heslant a monk of?" and again traced the intricate patterns on the front with his fingers, fascinated by the swirling designs that had been chiseled into the leather. "Thank you. I shall treasure it for as long as it is mine to watch over." Jeod dipped his head and leaned back against the wall of the tent, appearing satisfied. Turning the book on its edge, Eragon examined the lettering on the spine. "What was Heslant a monk of?"

"A small, secretive sect called the Arcaena that originated in the area by Kuasta. Their order, which has endured for at least five hundred years, believes that all knowledge is sacred." A hint of a smile lent Jeod's features a mysterious cast. "They have dedicated themselves to collecting every piece of information in the world and preserving it against a time when they believe an unspecified catastrophe will destroy all the civilizations in Alagaesia."

"It seems a strange religion," Eragon said.

"Are not all religions strange to those who stand outside of them?" countered Jeod.

Eragon said, "I have a gift for you as well, or rather, for you, Helen." She tilted her head, a quizzical frown on her face. "Your family was a merchant family, yes?" She jerked her chin in an affirmative. "Were you very familiar with the business yourself?"

Lightning sparked in Helen's eyes. "If I had not married him"-she motioned with a shoulder-"I would have taken over the family affairs when my father died. I was an only child, and my father taught me everything he knew."

That was what Eragon had hoped to hear. To Jeod, he said, "You claimed that you are content with your lot here with the Varden."

"And so I am. Mostly."

"I understand. However, you risked a great deal to help Brom and me, and you risked even more to help Roran and everyone else from Carvahall."

"The Palancar Pirates."

Eragon chuckled and continued. "Without your a.s.sistance, the Empire would surely have captured them. And because of your act of rebellion, you both lost all that was dear to you in Teirm."

"We would have lost it anyway. I was bankrupt and the Twins had betrayed me to the Empire. It was only a matter of time before Lord Risthart had me arrested."

"Maybe, but you still helped Roran. Who can blame you if you were protecting your own necks at the same time? The fact remains that you abandoned your lives in Teirm in order to steal the Dragon Wing Dragon Wing along with Roran and the villagers. And for your sacrifice, I will always be grateful. So this is part of my thanks. . . ." along with Roran and the villagers. And for your sacrifice, I will always be grateful. So this is part of my thanks. . . ."

Sliding a finger underneath his belt, Eragon removed the second of the three gold orbs and presented it to Helen. She cradled it as gently as if it were a baby robin. While she gazed at it with wonder, and Jeod craned his neck to see over the edge of her hand, Eragon said, "It's not a fortune, but if you are clever, you should be able to make it grow. What Nasuada did with lace taught me that there is a great deal of opportunity for a person to prosper in war."