Chapter XIV: Reading Words

Unlike the Green Chestnut, this tavern was loud, clean, and full of boisterous people. When the main course arrived, we all eagerly dug in, the meat was succulent, and the vegetables and fruits that accompanied it were sweet and delicious. It had been a long time since I had eaten much more than wild game. We lingered over the meal for hours as Brom and Jeod swapped stories. I didn't mind, I was warm and sleepy. A lively tune jangled in the background, and there was more than enough food. I was more comfortable then I had been for a while.

When we finally excited the tavern, the sun was nearing the horizon. "You to go ahead; I have to check on something." Eragon said.

"Be careful. Don't take too long or get in trouble. In fact, Umaroth can go with you. I'm sure he'll enjoy being outside the city for a while."

Eragon nodded and turned just as Jeod called out, "Wait." Eragon paused and I looked at Jeod impatiently, "Are you going outside Teirm?" Eragon hesitated, and then reluctantly nodded. "Make sure you're inside the walls before dark. The gates close then, and the guards won't let you back in until morning."

"I'll make sure he's not late," I said with a teasing grin.

"I won't be late," Eragon promised over the top of my voice. I shoved him half-heartedly before we both turned around and headed down a side street, toward Teirm's outer wall. Once outside the city Eragon took a deep breath and waited a few minutes before he led me off the road, to the base of a mossy cliff surrounded by maples.

Eragon waved up, and I looked up to see Saphira's blue head gazing down at us. "Do you mind climbing up?" Eragon said as he looked at the cliff, a grin came over me.

"Nope, in fact, I reckon I can beat you up there!" I called out, as I tried to find a path up. Eragon laughed and didn't say anything as he started clambering up. I shook my head as I noticed that he had chosen one of the hardest paths to climb. "You'll get stuck!" I shouted, as I started climbing.

"You wish! You're just jealous I'm going to beat you!" Eragon called down without stopping. I shook my head and reached the next handhold. The ascent was easy as there were plenty of handholds. Soon I was high above the trees. I stopped at a ledge a bit below halfway, Eragon was a few metres left of me and was resting on a higher ledge. After regaining my breath, I started climbing up again. I soon caught up to Eragon who was currently trying to reach the next handhold.

"Stuck?" I questioned as I looked at him, Eragon glared at me. Before giving up with a sigh and looked up.

I looked up as well, to see Saphira staring down with unblinking eyes. A minuet or so of silence, Saphira pulled her head back from the edge of the cliff. "Saphira?" Eragon called out, I guessed he had asked his dragon for help and immediately started trying to get to the top once more. "Saphira! Come back!" Eragon roared.

There was a loud crash as Saphira barrelled off the top of the cliff, flipping around in mid-air. The wind buffeted me as Saphira flew past. I pulled myself close to the cliff and held on tight. When Saphira breezed past once more, I started climbing again.

I got onto the top with a bit of pulling from Eragon, I lay on the ground staring up at the sky, panting. "I should never have agreed to do that," I said with a groan. I looked at my hands, which were sore and red.

"Hey Umaroth," Eragon called out, I pushed myself into a sitting position and looked at him. He had a cheeky grin as he continued speaking. "I still won," I grabbed a leaf from next to me and threw it Eragon. It never reached him. However, it made Eragon and me laugh. "You fail," Eragon commented. I crawled over to him; I couldn't be bothered standing and walking the small distance.

I sat down once more, joining Eragon in leaning against Saphira. Saphira's scales were warm to touch, and I smiled as the warmth entered my body. I studied the landscape. The cliff provided a wonderful view of the surroundings, especially the foaming sea, yet at the same time, it severed as protection against unwelcome eyes.

Is Brom's friend trustworthy? Saphira asked, including me in the conversation.

I don't know, Eragon said before recounting the day's events. There are forces circling us that we aren't aware of. Sometimes I wonder if we can ever understand the true motives of the people around us. They all seem to have secrets.

I chewed my lip, nervous. I felt like I was eavesdropping on a private conversation. It is the way of the world, Saphira said. Ignore all the schemes and trust in the nature of each person. Brom is good. He means us no harm. We don't have to fear his plans.

I hope so, Eragon replied.

Saphira swung her head so she could see Eragon and I. What do you think of Jeod, Umaroth?

I paused as I thought over everything. I believe he is trustworthy. If he wasn't he wouldn't have revealed as much information as he had, plus I'm not getting a bad vibe from him. We all sat in silence for a few moments before I spoke again. I feel a little lost around you three, Brom, Eragon, and Saphira, every so often. I admitted, I'm surprised I've managed to stick with you for so long. Brom's got so many hidden secrets I wonder about who he truly is, Eragon is a Dragon Rider and Saphira is a dragon, enough said. Who am I though? I'm just some random person who happened to come across you. What do I offer to your journey?

Saphira hummed in thought before replying. What do you offer to our journey? Saphira said, repeating my question. You have a way of seeing, seeing what others can't. It's a gift that many will never receive. I don't speak for Brom, but I trust you with my life. I'm sure Eragon agrees with me. Do not fear that you offer nothing and are insignificant in the grand scale of things. Many things we have done wouldn't have been possible without you. You bring light to a darker journey.

I agree with everything Saphira says. Eragon said, his voice sounding softer in my head. I trust you with my life, and on this journey, you have gained my friendship and trust. When this is all over, I know I will be able to count on you for anything.

Thanks, I said, feeling slightly emotional.

If you ever say I said any of that, I'll deny it though. Eragon said, I laughed and didn't reply.

This finding of the Ra'zac through writing is a strange way of tracking, Saphira remarked. Would there be a way to use magic to see the records without being inside the room?

I'm not sure. You would have to combine the word for seeing with distance... Eragon murmured.

I thought over it, or maybe light and distance. Either way, it seems rather difficult. We would have to ask Brom. I said.

That would be wise, Saphira said. We lapsed into a tranquil silence.

You know we may have to stay here for a while, Eragon said in a sad tone.

Saphira's reply held a hard edge. And as always, I will be left to wait on the outside.

That is not how I want it, Eragon said, quick to answer. Soon enough we will travel together again.

May that day come quickly. She replied, Eragon stood and hugged Saphira with a smile.

I stood up with a stretch and looked at the sky, the light is fading rapidly now. We must leave unless we wish to be locked out of Teirm. I said.

Hunt tomorrow, and I'm sure we'll see you in the evening. Eragon said, Saphira spread her wings.

I shall take you both down, Umaroth hold on as tight as you can. I nodded and climbed onto Saphira's scaly back after Eragon. I gripped with my legs and imagined I was riding a horse – a giant, scaly, flying horse. Saphira launched herself off the cliff and glided over the trees. I felt myself relaxing on the flight, finding Saphira's wingbeats smooth and repetitive.

Saphira landed on a knoll and Eragon and I thanked her. We ran back to Teirm, my smaller frame allowing me to run faster and beat Eragon to the portcullis. Eragon managed to slip inside seconds before the gateway slammed closed. "Ya cut that a little close," observed one of the guards. "The both of ya."

"Won't 'appen again," I said for both Eragon and I. Eragon took a few minutes to regain his breath before straightening and walking with me through the darkened city to Jeod's house.

A lantern hunt outside like a beacon, and I was thankful for the light as we waited for someone to answer the door. We were ushered inside by a plump butler without a word. The room was elegant and expensive. Tapestries covered the stone walls, elaborate rugs dotted the polished wood floor, which glowed with the light from three gold candelabra hanging from the ceiling. Smoke drifted through the air from a small fire in the fireplace and collected above.

"This way, please. Your friend is in the study," the butler said. We passed scores of doorways until the butler opened one to reveal a study. Books covered the room's walls. But unlike those in Jeod's office, these came in every shape and size. A fireplace was filled with blazing logs that warmed the room. Brom and Jeod sat before an oval writing desk, talking amiably. Brom raised his pipe and said in a jovial voice, "Ah, here you two are. We were getting worried. How was the walk?"

"Pleasant, but the guards almost locked us out of the city. And Teirm is big. We had trouble locating his house." Eragon said.

Jeod chuckled. "When you have seen Dras-leona, Gil'ead, or even Kuasta, you won't be so easily impressed by this small ocean city. I like it here, though. When it's not raining, Teirm is really quite beautiful."

I turned to face Brom, "Do you have any idea how long we'll be here?"

Brom spread his palms upward. "That's hard to tell. It depends on whether we can get to the records and how long it will take us to find what we need. We'll all have to help; it will be a huge job. I'll talk with Brand tomorrow and see if he'll let us examine the records."

"I don't think I'll be able to help," Eragon said, shifting uneasily.

"Why not?" Brom asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"There'll be plenty of work for you. But I can't read," Eragon said, lowering his head.

Brom straightened with disbelief, "You mean Garrow never taught you?"

"He knew how to read?" Eragon asked, puzzled. I watched the pair with interesting.

"Of course he did," Brom said with a snort. "The proud fool – what was he thinking? I should have realised that he wouldn't have taught you. He probably considered it an unnecessary luxury." Brom scowled and tugged on his beard angrily. "This sets my plans back, but not irreparably. I'll just have to teach you how to read. It won't take long if you put your mind to it. Can you read Umaroth?"

"I do know how to read, but I'm probably slow and not the best as I haven't done it for a while." I said.

Eragon, on the other hand, grimaced at the thought of Brom teaching him. "I suppose it's necessary."

"You'll enjoy it," Jeod said before gesturing at the walls. "There is much you can learn from books and scrolls. These books are my friends, my companions. They make me laugh and cry and find meaning in life."

"It sounds intriguing," Eragon admitted.

"Always the scholar, aren't you?" Brom asked with a small smile.

Jeod shrugged, "Not anymore. I'm afraid I've degenerated into a bibliophile."

"A what?" I asked confused.

"One who loves books," Jeod explained, before resuming his conversation with Brom.

Eragon and I shared a look before separating and gazing at the bookshelves around the room. As I walked around, one book caught my attention. The books next to it were all bound in black leather. However, the book I was gazing at had a plan, brown leather spine. I gently pulled it out, although the spine was brown leather only small sections of the brown leather could be seen on the front while it covered the entire back cover. The back was hard and had pictures inscribed by dentations in the leather. The front cover was covered with small, silver, metal scales. They weren't actually scales; I could see that they were just styled to look like scales. In the middle of the front cover, the title was written. Each scale had a letter imprinted on it. Other scales had drawings of dragons and similar creatures.

I gazed at the letters, slowly putting the words together. The letters were written differently from any others I had seen, however, I slowly figured what each letter was using the basic shape of each one.

Gramarye abr Skulblaka

I frowned in confusion; no word I knew was said like that. Although I knew, abr was of in the Ancient Language. I opened the book slowly, on the inside of the front cover there was a large leather pouch. I opened the pouch and pulled out the first thing I touched, a brown scale came out. It was about the size of my hand and I gazed at in wonder, I was sure it was a dragon scale.

I put the scale back in the pouch and closed the book before walking over to where Eragon was showing a book to Brom. "What is this?" Eragon asked, pointing at the strange writing.

"Jeod," Brom said, looking at the page closely and raising his eyebrows in surprise. "You've expanded your collection. Where did you get this? I haven't seen on in ages."

Jeod strained his neck to see the book. "Ah yes, the Domia abr Wyrda. A man came through here a few years ago and tried to sell it to a trader down by the wharves. Fortunately, I happened to be there and was able to save the book, along with his neck. He didn't have a clue what it was. He also had another book, which I bought to. I'd never seen it before nor heard of it."

"It's odd, Eragon, that you should pick up this book. The title translates to the Dominance of Fate." Brom said, "Of all the items in this house, it'd be one of the most valuable. It details a complete history of Alagaësia – starting long before the elves landed here and ending a few decades ago. The book is very rare and is the best of its kind. When it was written, the Empire decried it as blasphemy and burned the author, Hesland the Monk. I didn't think any copies still existed. The lettering you asked about is from the Ancient Language."

"What does it say?" Eragon asked.

Brom took a moment to read the writing. "It's part of an elven poem that tells of the years they fought the dragons. This excerpt describes one of their kings, Ceranthor, as he rides into battle. The elves love this poem and tell it regularly – though you need three days to do it properly – so that they won't repeat the mistakes of the past. At times, they sing it so beautifully it seems the very rocks will cry."

"What do you have there, Umaroth?" Jeod questioned catching sight of the book in my hands. "Funny you should find this book; it's the book I bought when I bought the one Eragon found. Brom might know about it."

Brom looked at the book, "Gramarye abr Skulblaka," he murmured softly. "I've never heard of such a book, but the title translates to the Magic of Dragons. Did you manage to figure out the title? The lettering is different from what you're used to, but I can teach you this and teach Eragon it as well." Brom opened the book gently, he opened the pouch and pulled out two more scales – one the brown one from earlier. "Joed, did you know what these are?"

"I have my guesses." Jeod replied.

"They're dragon scales. This brown one is from a very old dragon and a neck scale. You can tell by the shape of it, and how thick the scale is. It was probably close to the windpipe. This white one, however," Brom said picking up the smaller white scale, "was probably from a hatchling, a face scale I believe." Brom put the scales back, "There are more scales in there, I would love to study this book and learn where these scales came from." Brom turned the first page and took a few minutes to read the page. "This book is telling of dragons and their magic, as the title suggests. But it says it'll speak about the theories behind dragon magic and the secrets dragons hold along with what magic is and the Ancient Language. An interesting find, it would be very valuable. It's all hand written as well, you can see crossings out and whatnot. It was possibly the first draft and only draft."

Brom flicked through the book, taking a few minutes to read a page at times. "If the Empire ever knew this book existed, I'm sure it would be destroyed. Jeod, if you don't mind, I would love to read over this book during my stay here."

"Of course, of course! A book that shouldn't exist isn't too valuable in the Empire. I would prefer if I didn't have it here with everything falling to bits." Jeod said in reply, Brom handed me the book with a twinkle in his eyes. I returned to my seat next to Eragon, holding the book gently.

Eragon had stared browsing through the book, seeming to drink in letters that he didn't understand. I followed his lead and opened the book. The first page was titled with Skulblaka at the start. Above it, the word dragon had been written.

Dragons are an ancient race of sentient creatures native to the land of Alagaësia While most roam free and don't commonly associate with the civilisations of other races, a significant number are paired with life-long companions. These companions are known as Dragon Riders. Along with werecats, spirits, the Lethrblaka, and the Nidhwal, dragons are among the few known sentient non-humanoid species.

After reading the first paragraph, I started looking at the notes written beside the paragraph. Sentient was circled in the first line and a note was written next to it, proclaiming that the meaning was a lifeform with the capability to feel sensation. Alagaësia was also circled and it said that dragons were also found elsewhere to where they had migrated but it was thought that they were originally from Alagaësia. To the left of the paragraph someone had written that everything should be in past tense and then said refer to dragon history. Roam free was also circled, with a side note saying that the population of wild dragons was decreasing rapidly. Below Lethrblaka there was a drawing of starved, furless dog with a beak and large wings, and eyes that popped out of the head. Next to it there was a note saying that there was more information on it. Under Nidhwal there was a drawing of a long, angular head that hat tendrils, the head had a giant jaw that was lined with sharp teeth. Once again there was a note speaking about how there was more information later on.

Gramarye abr Skulblaka, the title of this book, translates to the Magic of Dragons. Despite this, this book contains information on the dragons themselves along with other known sentient non-humanoid species. The name of the book deceives those who search for this information but speaks to those who are naturally curious. This book has been given wards that shall remain until the energy is gone. The book also has a few spells on it, which won't be known until discovered. Once discovered it is forbidden to speak about them to those who don't know. This book will cover the theories behind dragons and their magic, the secrets of dragons, what magic is, and the Ancient Language. The author's name will has been hidden until it is needed. Very few will ever touch this book. It is guided by what governs the magic of Alagaësia.

I yawned. But, some words I could hardly tell what it was due to the writing over the top of it and the general slope of the letters. When I turned the page, the writing was in the Ancient Language and I quickly found myself lost in with a bunch of words I didn't know the meaning to. I shrugged and slowly turned to the next page, normally gazing at the small drawings in the corners of the page. Hours passed, and I slowly began to drowse.

A sudden clap woke me up from my half-asleep-half-awake drowse. I opened my eyes and looked around. "It's getting late and I'm sure you're all very tired. The butler will show you to your rooms," Jeod said, bidding us good night.

I yawned and followed the servant with Brom and Eragon. "If you need assistance, use the bellpull next to the bed." The servant said on the way upstairs. He stopped before a cluster of three doors, bowed, then backed away.

As Brom entered the room on the room, Eragon asked, "Can I talk to you?"

"You just did, but come in anyway." Brom called from further in the room.

"Tell me what he says later," I told Eragon. "I'm suddenly very tired and I can't stay up another second."

Eragon nodded and entered the room. I yawned once more and entered the room on the far left. I quickly changed, showered, and slipped into the world of sleep.

Map of Alagaësia