Eragon: List 5

Her reply came with surprising alacrity.

Shields lined the walls, and the wood ceiling was trussed with curved beams.

Eragon relayed the message succinctly, refraining from distracting Saphira with questions.

“You messed up my plans by escaping yourself,” groused Murtagh, watching the room’s entrances for soldiers.

Eragon grimaced but acquiesced.

Immediately the dirt began to absorb his strength at a prodigious rate.

Water roared below as it tore over boulders and sluiced through branches.

The thirsty animals quaffed gallons.

When the horses were finally sated, he said to Saphira, If you need a drink, take it now. Her head snaked around him and she took two long draughts, but no more.

The air above them was pale white, bleached of its usual hue—all color seemed to have been leached out of a horizontal band of sky that lay on top of the hills and extended to the horizon’s edges.

He blinked and shook his head, thinking that it must be some illusion of the desert air. Yet when he opened his eyes, the annoying incongruity was still there.

He looked at the stars in the gloaming sky.

For the first time he understood the fey attraction of elves. They were creatures of magic, unbound by the mortal laws of the land—as different from humans as dragons were from animals.

“It doesn’t matter why I’m in this predicament, but I can tell you that the Varden wouldn’t welcome me even if I came bearing the king’s head. Oh, they might greet me nicely enough and let me into their councils, but trust me? Never. And if I were to arrive under less fortuitous circumstances, like the present ones, they’d likely clap me in irons.”

He was startled from his reverie by the steely rasp of a sword being unsheathed.

Eragon surreptitiously strung his bow.

He pointed at a hill ahead of them, where a tall, brown-cloaked man sat on a sorrel horse, mace in hand.

“But you can’t indulge in wanton violence. Where is your empathy?” growled Eragon, pointing at the head.

Shall I dither about whether to defend myself because it will cause someone pain? If that had been the case, I would have died years ago!

“Help me save her. We can still do it. Consider it a life for a life—atonement for Torkenbrand’s death.”

Murtagh’s eyes shot toward the violent deluge blocking their way.

They were in a precarious position, but he would let nothing else happen until Arya was cared for.

We don’t have any right to torture him for information! Ajihad won’t sanction it.

Ardor for this mission filled me, and I fervently pledged myself to him.

He continued to rant, cursing his enemies and describing how he would scourge the land of everyone who bore him ill will.

He strained his eyes, trying to discern its source, but it was still too far away to make out any details.

A soft beam of light fell through the aperture, illuminating the crater’s center, though it left the rest of the cavernous expanse in hushed twilight.

Yellow zircons three times the size of a man capped the dark columns, coruscating piercing gold beams along the hall.

A wide belt of lanterns wrapped around the edge of the sapphire, which cast striated bands of blushing light over everything below.

Unless the Twins can certify that you aren’t a threat, we cannot give you credence, despite, and perhaps because of, the assistance you have given Eragon.

Then Ajihad stated, “You are an enigma, Eragon, a quandary that no one knows how to solve. Everyone knows what the Varden want—or the Urgals, or even Galbatorix—but no one knows what you want. And that makes you dangerous, especially to Galbatorix. He fears you because he doesn’t know what you will do next.”

There are factions who want you to serve their interests and no one else’s.

It was a challenging situation, as both sides wanted the Rider for their own. The dwarves only aggravated the problem by arguing obstinately with both the elves and us whenever they had the chance.

“The elves reluctantly accepted this plan...with the stipulation that if Brom were to die before the dragon hatched, they would be free to train the new Rider without interference. The agreement was slanted in their favor—we both knew that the dragon would likely choose an elf—but it provided a desperately needed semblance of equality.”

He can’t afford to anger them unnecessarily or he’ll lose the support of his people, so his actions on our behalf have been severely circumscribed.

Ushnark is Galbatorix. It means ‘father’ in the Urgal tongue, an affectation that pleases him.

The Riders of old were arbiters of justice above and beyond the leaders of their time.

Don’t speak flippantly or without thought, because your words will have impact far beyond what you intend.

The sentence will be mitigated because of the circumstances.

You are to make sure they receive every comfort and amenity we have to offer.