Eragon: Chapter Three (Part I): The Egg Is A Stone

[pangolin20]

Chapter Two | Table of Contents | Chapter Three (Part II)

Last time, we had our introduction to Carvahall, we had a nice bullying scene, and we learned that Garrow is quite abusive. Oh, and the egg is a stone.

There's some in-universe racism in this one.

 

 

Chapter Three: Dragon Tales

We won’t be getting many tales about dragons this chapter, though. This title would better fit chapter six. Oh well.

The chapter opens on October the 10^th, as the light of dawn falls on Eragon’s face, and he wakes up. He rubs his eyes and sits up on the edge of his bed. The pine floor is cold on his feet. He stretches his legs for a bit and rubs his back while yawning. Riveting. I don’t really mind it here, though, because descriptions like this aren’t like, a quarter of the book, unlike in TSIASOS.

Next to the bed, there’s a row of shelves covered in objects Eragon’s collected. “There were twisted pieces of wood, odd bits of shells, rocks that had broken to reveal shiny interiors,

and strips of dry grass tied into knots. His favorite item was a root so convoluted he never tired of looking at it.”

I do love this. It’s a very nice bit of characterisation, and it makes Eragon all the more relatable. It’s also very nice to see Eragon do things outside of “working against the Empire” or plot-related things.

We’re told the rest of the room is bare, except for a small dresser and nightstand. Eragon now pulls on his boots (that weren’t mentioned before) and stares at the floor, thinking. He says that “this day [is] a special day.” And I’ll show the next bit, because it will be quite relevant later.

It was near this very hour, sixteen years ago, that his mother, Selena, had come home to Carvahall alone and pregnant.

So that would have been on October 10^th, 2687, for the record. I do have to wonder how he knows the exact hour that his mother came home. I guess she could have come home at dawn, and that’s what he references, but it could have been clearer.

I also wonder if there’s any significance to the fact that Selena’s name isn’t Germanic-derived, as those of most of the villagers are. It does seem to fit into a trend, which I’ll go into later, that the main characters tend to have more elaborate names than the side characters.

She had been gone for six years, living in the cities. When she returned, she wore expensive clothes, and her hair was bound by a net of pearls.

So she left in 2680. And this implies to me that she specifically left Carvahall so she could get rich and famous and that she didn’t want to live her whole life in a small village, so when the chance occurred to her, she left right away. Sadly, we never get her perspective on this, so we don’t really know whether this is actually true, nor do we know he the people from the village in general, or Garrow in particular felt, or feel about it.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 15

For context, in those six years, Selena was married to the eeeevil Morzan, one of the leaders of Galbatorix’s uprising against the Riders. He got killed, along with his dragon, several months after Selena arrived in Carvahall.

She had sought out her brother, Garrow, and asked to stay with him until the baby arrived.

And everyone was just okay with this? No questions asked? Garrow didn’t ask where she’d been these six years? That’s the vibe I get, given that Garrow never mentions this, nor does anyone else. I’d think something like this should have made more waves. There should be all kinds of speculation on what had happened to her and why she should be back, but there isn’t. And there’s no speculation on who the father is; no one seems to wonder if the father ever shows up.

Most of all, I love how Garrow’s totally okay with this and just takes her in. Guess he wasn’t so keen on being all on his own back then.

Reaction, Please: 11

Within five months her son was born.

That would have been in March 2688, then. And what did they do in those five months? Did Garrow and Marian awkwardly avoid the entire subject? What about the other Carvahallians? Did they ever come to see her? Garrow and Marian did live in the main part of Carvahall back then. Come to think of it, what did Selena think of Roran, who would have been 1-2 years old, then? Headcanon: she spent a large part of those five months tending to little Roran and bonding with him, although she knew she had to leave soon.

I really do love how sparse this backstory is, though.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 16

Everyone was shocked when Selena tearfully begged Garrow and Marian to raise him.

Who’s “everyone”? All the people in Carvahall? That would make sense, but it contrasts sharply with the lack of reaction they showed when Selena first showed up.

Continuity Fluidity: 12

I do love how everyone is ZOMG shocked!!1 when Selena wants Garrow and Marian to raise Eragon. Like, I thought they knew Selena left with Morzan, and if they didn’t know, they could easily have inferred it. So when she shows up and specifically asks to stay with Garrow until the baby comes, it’s quite clear that she doesn’t want to keep the baby, and that she probably can’t because Morzan can’t know about it. Like, how didn’t they figure it out in five months’ time?? Indignant, bitter, disapproving, all that I can get, but shock is really weird to me.

Land of Incompetents: 40

When they asked why, she only wept and said, “I must.”

I’ve got a some mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it wasn’t great of Selena to show up in Carvahall, stay for five months, dump her child on Garrow and Marian and then disappear never to be seen again. It would have been nice if she’d left at least some explanation, however cryptic, to at least give some answers. Now they’re just left to guess. On the other hand, I could see it if she believed Garrow, Marian and Eragon would be in danger if she told them the reason she came there. And given that she had five months to think this over, I don’t think she made this decision lightly.

Again, having some kind of inside perspective would have been very nice. If only because we never do learn the real reason this was necessary (the reason that’s given doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.)

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 17

Her pleas had grown increasingly desperate until they finally agreed.

Well, that’s awful for everyone involved. Garrow and Marian had to take in a child they didn’t want per se, and Selena, at least from her perspective, had to give up her child.

She named him Eragon, then departed early the next morning and never returned.

First, I have to say that she did a very bad job of hiding Eragon if she indeed wanted to hide him from Morzan: she hid him in her birth village, and gave him a very conspicuous name, that, as we’ll find out later, is that of the first Rider. No points, because I’ve got a theory about this that I’ll discuss much later.

As for what happened after she left for good, we find out that she died within the month. Very happy story here. We’ll hear more about this in Brisingr, though.

~~~

Eragon still remembered how he had felt when Marian told him the story before she died.

Umm, why did it have to be told like this? I don’t get the feeling Selena being Eragon’s mother is some kind of big secret in Carvahall, so it seems weird Eragon heard it as a kind of deathbed confession. It just feels so weird to me. Also, we don’t really find out how Marian died, other than from a generic plague. Might have been nice to put in here.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 18

The realization that Garrow and Marian were not his real parents had disturbed him greatly. Things that had been permanent and unquestionable were suddenly thrown into doubt.

Okay, this is a nice bit of characterisation, but I can’t really empathise because it’s written very distantly. We don’t see what kind of things were thrown into doubt, for example, and this has also happened ten years ago for him, so it falls flat.

I also don’t really like that Garrow and Marian apparently aren’t his “real parents”, while they’re still the people who have raised him until now (okay, Marian died earlier, but you get my meaning). It might make sense in the context of the setting, but I still don’t like the stress on genetic relations over actual ties.

Eventually he had learned to live with it, but he always had a nagging suspicion that he had not been good enough for his mother.

This is certainly a nice backstory to give Eragon, and it gives him some things to angst over. Pity this never gets a proper resolution, aside from “my mother was a good person and now I’ll forget completely about her.” And concerning Eragon’s suspicion, the impression I get is less “take this child from me, please, because I don’t want to care for it”, and more “please prevent someone from finding out about this child.” But it still is a legitimate concern for Eragon to have, and I find it helps me relate to him, too.

I’m sure there was a good reason for what she did; I only wish I knew what it was.

Me too! Yes yes, we’re given a reason for it (Morzan was supposedly abusive), but it’s not supported by what we see, nor does it explain much.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 19

~~~

One other thing bothered him: Who was his father?

This fits in well, too, and it could be executed well. Instead, we have Eragon barely thinking about it for the majority of Eragon and Eldest, then someone claims it’s Morzan and Eragon intermittently angsts about it, and then it turns out to be Brom and Eragon immediately accepts him as the Most Perfect Father ever. And Selena mostly gets shoved to the background after Brisingr, even though her story is arguably much more interesting. I’m a tiny bit bitter about this.

Selena had told no one, and whoever it might be had never come looking for Eragon.

I mean, no shit didn’t she tell anyone. If Selena were fleeing from the father, and he would come looking for you, you would only be in greater danger.

And yes, Brom has come looking for Eragon. Never mind the massive danger he places Eragon in; he just has to see his son!

He wished that he knew who it was, if only to have a name. It would be nice to know his heritage.

Oh, you’ll know eventually, and you’ll know your heritage, too. Not that it’ll be much; in the end, it consists of a ring and a video message.

With that interlude over, things start happening again. Eragon sighs and goes to the nightstand, where he washes his face. He’s refreshed by this, and he pulls “the stone” out from under his bed and puts it on a shelf.

Dead Herrings: 26

The morning light shines on it and throws a shadow on the wall. Eragon touches it “one more time”, and then hurries to the kitchen, so we can get introduced to Roran already “eager to see his family.” “Garrow and Roran were already there, eating chicken.” Yes, the farmers are eating chickens. It’s not like they could use those chickens for eggs. It’s not like that would give them eggs steadily for years, or something. Nope, gotta eat the chickens, because they need to eat MEAT, for some reason.

Land of Incompetents: 50

How have they survived for so long if they know so little about farming?? This only makes Garrow’s insistence on independence worse, because he clearly doesn’t know how farming actually works. I swear, the only reason they’re still alive and relatively healthy is because of Umaroth!

Anyway, Roran stands up, grinning, and we have an introduction:

“Roran was two years older than Eragon, muscular, sturdy, and careful with his

movements. They could not have been closer even if they had been real brothers.”

So Roran is 17 years old at the moment. For convenience, I’ll assume he was born around the some time as Eragon, because we don’t get a birthday for him.

And Roran has almost no physical description. He’s just “muscular and sturdy” (like a REAL MAN /s). He might as well be a faceless puppet for all the description of him. I mean, I don’t have to have five paragraphs of listing exactly how someone looks like, but I do like being able to visualise someone. I don’t want to have to make up a character’s appearance from whole cloth.

Regarding the second sentence:

Evidence, Please: 6

We never see them being that close, really. We barely see any interaction between the two in Eragon, and after the meet again, at the end of Eldest, they seem relatively distant, and their interactions aren’t very fluent either. They come across more as people trying hard to be friends, but failing, and sometimes as romantic partners (ick).

The part about “real brothers” bothers me, because of two things. One, I’m firmly of the opinion that they are brothers if they consider themselves that, and, what’s more, they have been raised like brothers, so there’s no reason for that remark other than the belief that blood ties are more important than emotional/family ties, which I really don’t like. Two, brothers (or siblings in general, for that matter) don’t have to have a more intimate tie than other kinds of relationships, which ties back into what I said at point one.

Anyway. Roran smiles and says he’s glad Eragon’s back. He asks how the trip was. Eragon says hard, and asks if Garrow told him what had happened. He eats some chicken. Dumbass. Roran says no, and “the story was quickly told.” Roran wants to see “the stone”, so Eragon goes to fetch it.

Dead Herrings: 27

That gains “a satisfactory amount of awe” from Roran, and I do like this bit. The conversation turns to romance as Roran gets nervous and asks if Eragon was able to talk to Katrina.

Eragon says nope, there was no chance to after the mess with Sloan. But Katrina will expect Roran when the traders come. He gave the message to Horst, and he’ll get it to Katrina.

Roran repeats “incredulously” that Eragon told Horst, because “[it] was private.” Okay, I can see that Roran didn’t want it to come out, but Carvahall is a small community, and people would probably have found out regardless, and, given that he can trust Horst, he’s got someone to back him up.

Roran says that if he wanted the whole village to know, “[he] could have built a bonfire and used smoke signals to communicate.” This feels quite out of place to me, especially since we never see anyone do this, so…

Forgot the Narrator Speaker: 5

Roran says that if Sloan finds out, he won’t let him see Katrina again. I can’t help but wish there was some more focus on how Katrina would feel about that.

Eragon assures Roran that Horst will be discreet with it, and indeed, having someone like Horst at hand will help to prevent this from escalating (I hope). Eragon says Horst won’t let anyone “fall prey” to Sloan, “least of all [Roran].”

Some things: The wording “fall prey” seems overly hard on Sloan.

Petty Ain’t the Word for You: 19

I love what Eragon says here: “Horst will protect anyone from Sloan, especially you, but fuck Katrina, who’s Sloan’s actual daughter.” Like, I would expect Eragon or Roran to be concerned for her sake. Instead, Eragon treats Sloan keeping Katrina from seeing Roran as something that only affects Roran instead of Katrina, which is just very awful. And given how much Katrina is treated as just Roran’s “love interest” later on, it gets this:

Look Away: 20

No-Wave Feminism: 24

Roran isn’t convinced by this, but doesn’t say anything. Nor does he bother to do anything about this. They go eat their meals in the “taciturn presence of Garrow.” Sounds great. After they’ve finished eating, they got to work in the fields, and the story goes into summary mode.

We’re first told that “[t]he sun was cold and pale, providing little comfort.” I think that should be “the sunlight”. Here it can read like the sun itself is cold and pale.

PPP: 23

They store the last of the barley in the barn. Next, they gather the “prickly veined squash”, and then “the rutabagas, beets, turnips, and beans, which they packed into the root cellar.” Anyone who knows more about this topic, please pitch in here.

[From torylltales:

rutabagas, in Australia called swedes, are a cultivated hybrid of turnips and cabbages. They are first mentioned in the 16th century in Sweden, but likely originated in Scandinavia, Finland, or Russia. Does Carvahall have plant hybridisation?

I was going to add that the reason I mentioned that swedes were from 16th-century Scandinavia and beets were from Ancient Egypt is because... when and where is Alagaesia? Thoughout the series there's a weird mix of international vaguely Pan-European foods and technologies that all seem to exist together, anachronistically, with no clearly distinct culture to ground them specifically in Alagaesia.

Beets were domesticated in the middle east and grown primarily in Egypt, whence they were introduced to Rome. Given that it's in a list with swedes and turnips, I assume we're talking about beetroot, and not silverbeet (chard). The roots can be stored in a root cellar for up to 3 months in ideal circumstances, but the leaves will need to be removed first.

Beans have too much moisture to just be chucked into a root cellar, they need to be preserved by sun-drying for a few weeks first. The beans will need to be dried, either by sun-drying or stringing and air-drying. If they're shell beans (e.g. peas, fava, pinto, kidney, etc.) they will need to be shelled and sun-dried. Green beans can be threaded onto a string and hung up to air dry.]

After hours of work, they stretch a bit, “pleased that the harvest was finished.” Really?! They’re done in a few days??! How little did they even plant?

Land of Incompetents: 60

Straight From Left Field: 5

And you’re planning to survive the winter on this??? I just don’t know. This is so out there, it feels very unreal. It doesn’t work that way, Paolini.


[From torylltales: 

If they're only growing enough for themselves for a few months, three able-bodied people should be able to harvest the full amount in about a week. You've be surprised how much you can get out of an efficiently-planted quarter acre of vegetable gardens. My goodness, when we grew one square metre of fava beans, we got so many beans I didn't know what to do with them all. I spent SO many hours shelling beans and freezing them in 1-kilogram bags. Near the end I made an entire cake with mashed fava beans, because I didn't know what else to do with them. We were giving bags away to our neighbours. And that was just 1 square metre worth. Imagine a farm crop, they'd be up to their necks.

Especially if they're frugal with things like root vegetable soups and stews, especially supplemented with winter crops like cabbage and other winter greens (kale, collards, mustard greens, etc.) they can stretch a small harvest out for a few months.

Also: vegetables don't just grow for spring through autumn and then the farm stops producing anything over winter. Lots of crops including carrots, parsnips, beets, turnips, and so on can continue growing with a few basic frost protections such as night cover. Even green crops like spinach, cabbages, and lettuces can be grown through all but the harshest of winters, especially if they're potted and moved under cover overnight to avoid frosts.

Also also, even if they're in a region that is in permanent frost through the entire winter so green crops are impossible (which they're not, but still), vegetables like cabbage can be pickled, brined, fermented, salted, oil-packed, oven dried, and so on. Fish and meats can be smoked, dried, salted, pickled, potted, or even soaked in honey.

There is no reason for a small farming family to go hungry during winter if they've planned ahead, preserved their meats and vegetables properly, and plan their farming to grow hardy winter crops through the winter season.]

 

That’s Not How Any of This Works: 20

To be fair, they could easily have planted lots of other stuff, which they have already harvested. That would work with how large their fields are, and it wouldn’t be the last time Paolini neglects to mention important things. I can see it if Paolini intended that, but then he should have written that in.

PPP: 24

After the harvest, they spend several days “pickling, salting, shelling, and preparing the food for winter.”

“Nine days after Eragon’s return”, so that would be October 18^th, a “vicious blizzard” comes out of the mountains and hangs over the valley. That sucks. Also, “blizzard”? Is way too modern for this context.

Forgot the Narrator: 6

It snows heavily, and the countryside is covered in white. They only dare leave to get firewood and to feed the animals. (Where’d they have the firewood, then?) They spend their days huddled over the stove, while the wind howls outside. “Days later”, the storm passes, leaving behind a snowy landscape. Dammit, lost track of the date already. Eh, it’s October 23^rd, I’ll say. As long as I’m self-consistent, I’m fine.

Garrow says he’s afraid the traders won’t come “this year”, given how bad the conditions are. Umm, Garrow, they would have come in spring of this year, wouldn’t they?

Evidence, Please: 7

But true, they would be quite wise not to go through an area that’s just seen a snow storm. It’s quite dangerous, after all.

He says they’re late as it is. And how do you know that, Garrow? We don’t know when they arrived in earlier years, and honestly, they seem quite early to me. It’s not even winter yet!

Evidence, Please: 8

He says they’ll “give them a chance”, and wait for a bit before they go to Carvahall. But if the traders don’t show up soon, they’ll have to buy spare supplies from the townspeople. Garrow puts on a resigned face at this.

Why would they have to buy supplies from the town folks, though? Because Garrow refuses to accept “charity”? That’s it, probably.

Days go by without sign of the traders, and they all get anxious. They barely talk, and “depression [hangs] over the house.” Very functional family they are, aren’t they? Yet this never gets any attention.

Look Away: 21

Cut to the eighth morning, the 30^th of October, as Roran walks to the road and sees the traders haven’t passed yet. They spend the day preparing for the trip to Carvahall, “scrounging with grim expressions for saleable items.” Which isn’t even necessary, because Garrow has lots of money left.

[From Torylltales:

WHY DON'T THESE PEOPLE HAVE ANY CRAFTS? I know knitting is apparently "women's work" in Alagaesia and therefore widowed men like Garrow or unmarried men like Roran just... go without cloth? Buy it from someone else? but there are heaps of other profitable crafts that they would be able to trade for supplies they need. [...]

So many of Eragon's family's food worries can be solved by a simple application of thought and effort. Eragon's willing to waste several days (in which he could be doing something useful) running around Curse Mountain hunting deer (that he can't possibly drag back home by himself), but he's not willing to sit down and do something that is both productive and profitable?]

That evening, Eragon desperately checks on the road, and lo! there’s ruts in the snow, and also hoofprints! The traders have come! And somehow no one of them heard, though I guess that can be explained by how far from the road they live. Eragon is elated, and runs back to the house to tell, which brings “new life to their preparations.”

Time skip!

We’re on the 31^st of October. Our little family packs the “surplus produce” into the wagon before sunrise. Garrow takes out “the year’s money” (see what I mean about money) and puts it on a pouch on his belt. Eragon puts “the wrapped stone”—

Dead Herrings: 28

—between bags of grain so it won’t roll if the road is bumpy. Not sure why Eragon wrapped the egg, but whatever.

They take a “hasty breakfast”, then harness the horses and clear a path to the road. So Birka and Brugh do appear after the previous chapter. Mea culpa. They can go quite quickly because the traders have already broken the drifts. By noon, they can see Carvahall. My, that’s fast.

First come two disjointed paragraphs of description.

PPP: 25

We’re told that in daylight, Carvahall is “a small earthy village filled with shouts and laughter.” And in the middle of the night, it’s a portal to the 57^th eldritch dimension. I just think it’s silly that it needs to be said Carvahall is like that “by daylight.”

I also can’t really picture it well. How does it look like if it’s “earthy”? Are the streets made of earth, then? And how is it “filled with shouts and laughter”? Is there a laugh track playing constantly?

Anyway. The traders have set up camp on an empty field on the outskirts of Carvahall. There’s “groups of wagons, tents, and fires” randomly strewn over the field, “spots of color against the snow.” We’re told “[t]he troubadours’ four tents [are] garishly decorated.”

The term “troubadours” feels massively out of place to me in this setting, and indeed, after this chapter the term is never used again. Thus, it gets this:

Continuity Fluidity: 13

There’s a steady stream of people between the camp and the village. Crowds “churn[] around a line of bright tents and boots clogging the main street.” Carvahall has a main street now? Horses whinny at the noise. We’re told that “the snow [has] been pounded flat, giving it a glassy surface; elsewhere, bonfires have melted it.”

Um, Paolini, snow doesn’t get a glassy surface if it’s pounded flat. It can become ice in glaciers, for example, but here, there’s not enough pressure or enough time for that to occur. The real mechanism is that the snow melts, forms a layer of water, refreezes, and forms clear ice.

That’s Not How Any of This Works: 21

They can also smell roasted hazelnuts. It does sound like fun, actually. Garrow parks the wagon and pickets the horses, and then gets some coins from his pouch. He tells Eragon and Roran to get themselves some treats. So he could easily pay for supplies!

Anyway, he tells Roran to do what he wants, he just needs to be at Horst’s for supper. Eragon is to bring “that stone” and come with him.

Dead Herrings: 29

Eragon grins at Roran and pockets the money, “already planning how to spend it.” Roran immediately leaves, looking determined. I guess he’s going to see Katrina. Garrow takes Eragon into the crowd, where he shoulders his way through. Rude. We get some more description. Women are buying cloth, while they’re husbands are looking at new latches, hooks, or tools. I have to wonder why they couldn’t make those things in Carvahall themselves, but I guess getting some other designs or something might be a reason.

Also love the gender roles that are put in for no good reason. Of course the women go for cloth, while the men go for hooks and tools.

No-Wave Feminism: 25

Children run up and down the street, “shrieking with excitement.” Qua displays, there’s knives, spices, and post “laid out in shiny rows next to leather harnesses.” I wonder where the spices come from. Maybe from Surda? Still feels out of place, though.

Missing Puzzle Pieces: 20

Shine Bright Like A Diamond: 3

Eragon looks curiously at the traders. They apparently seem less prosperous than last year. Even though the last time they should have come should have been the spring of this year!

Continuity Fluidity: 14

Is it so hard to maintain basic continuity?? Fuck’s sake!

Anyway. The children have a “frightened, wary look”, and their clothes are patched. While I can buy the first one as evidence, the second one doesn’t convince me. Why wouldn’t they have patched clothes already? Given how often their clothes could get torn and such (given that they’re travelling the entire country), it seems easier to repair the clothes than constantly buy new ones.

The “gaunt men” carry swords and daggers with a “new familiarity” (whatever that means), while even the women have poniards belted at their waists. Because the women can’t/don’t fight normally? Even though they’re in a group of travelling traders and should know how to defend themselves?

No-Wave Feminism: 26 (I’m not feeling charitable)

Eragon wonders what could have made them like this, and why they’re so late. Oooooh, ominous. He remembers that the traders were full of good cheer, but now they aren’t like that at all. And this would have more impact if it was actually shown to us. Garrow goes down the street, searching for “Merlock”, who specialises in “odd trinkets and pieces of jewelry.”

I do love the name “Merlock”. It sounds like a portmanteau of “Morlock” and “Sherlock”, and even though it might fit the setting, because of this, it’s very hard for me to take the name seriously. So this:

A Better Commando Name: 2 (Not using a name to calls “Sherlock” to mind when you don’t want it to can’t hurt)

Also, the questions at the beginning of the paragraph, where Eragon wonders what’s happened to the traders, come off as hand-holding to me. The readers could easily ask those questions themselves; they don’t need the author to hold their hands through. One point for this, and one for a similar sequence in chapter 1.

Thanks for Explaining: 3

Anyway, they find Merlock (hehe) behind a booth, where he displays brooches to a group of women. With each new item he reveals, “exclamations of admiration follow[].” Eragon guesses that “more than a few purses [will] be depleted.”

I don’t like this, because it comes off as very stereotypical, like “of course the women would go wild over these brooches, and of course they would empty their purses for them.” This would never have been the case with a group of men, I’m sure.

No-Wave Feminism: 28

Morlock seems to “flourish and grow” every time someone likes his wares. Time for his description. He’s got a goatee, he “[holds] himself with ease”, and he “seem[s] to regard the rest of the world with slight contempt.” Exactly the kind of person I would want to deal with.

Garrow and Eragon can’t come closer because of the squeeing women, so they settle on a step and wait. What kind of step they’re sitting on, I don’t know. As soon as Morlock’s unoccupied, they hurry to him.

Morlock asks them what they’d want to look at, giving “[a]n amulet or trinket for a lady” as example. He deftly pulls out a “delicately carved silver rose of excellent workmanship.” Pretty. Eragon’s attention is caught by the shiny, and he admires it. Morlock continues, saying it’s not even three crowns, though it’s come all the way from “the famed craftsmen of Belatona.” Not that we’ll see them once we get to Belatona. By then, our protags will be much too busy killing to notice anything like that.

Garrow says quietly that they don’t want to buy, they want to sell. Morlock immediately covers up the rose, and looks at them all interested. He says that maybe, if the item has any value, they might want to trade it for “one or two of these exquisite pieces.” So they actually don’t need that money for the traders; Morlock, at least, is perfectly fine with bartering.

Morlock pauses, and Eragon and Garrow just stand there awkwardly. Morlock asks if they actually brought whatever they wanted to sell. Love this awkward conversation. Garrow says “in a firm voice” that they’ve got it, but they’d rather show it to Morlock elsewhere. Okay, I know Garrow’s doing this because the people don’t like the Spine, but why not give it to Morlock here and now? He doesn’t hate the Spine, and the villagers would only be glad that they got rid of the “stone”. No idea.

Morlock raises an eyebrow, but “smoothly” offers to invite them to his tent. He gathers his stuff and puts it in an “iron-bound chest”, which he locks. Then he ushers Eragon and Garrow up the street and into the traders’ camp. They walk between the wagons to Morlock’s tent, which stands apart from the rest for some reason. It’s crimson at the top and black at the bottom, with the border consisting of interlocking triangles of colour. Nice, though I think a slightly brighter shade of red would work better for me. Morlock unties the opening and swings the flap aside.

Cue a clunky description of the tent’s inside.

PPP: 26

It’s filled with “smell trinkets and strange pieces of furniture, such as a round bed and three seats carved from tree stumps[.]” Appropriate for someone who specialises in that kind of stuff, I guess, but I still have to look closer. A round bed, I can see, and it doesn’t seem that weird, either. But while tree stump seats certainly are a thing, they seem incredibly impractical for travelling merchants. They’re quite heavy and bulky, after all, exactly the kind of thing you don’t want when you have to lug those things around the entire country.

Land of Incompetents: 61

Straight From Left Field: 6

I get that Paolini was going for novelty items, but something like this is very impractical for people who need to move regularly. Something like a chair made from woven tree roots would fit in much better.

On a “white cushion” lies a “gnarled dagger with a ruby in the pommel.” This has little to do with anything at all.

Morlock closes the flap and tells Eragon and Garrow to please sit down. They do so, and Morlock asks them to show why they’re meeting in private. Eragon unwraps “the stone”—

Dead Herrings: 30

—and puts it on the table. Morlock wants to grab it already, but remembers it isn’t his just yet, so he asks if he may. Don’t get too greedy, Morlock. Garrow “indicates his approval”, so he picks it up.

He puts “the stone”—

Dead Herrings: 31

—in his lap, and reaches out to get a “thin box.” He opens it, which reveals “a large set of copper scales”, which he puts on the ground. He weighs “the stone”,

Dead Herrings: 32

then pulls out a “jeweler’s glass”, with which he examines the egg. He taps it gently with a “wooden mallet”, and draws the point of a “tiny clear stone” (i.e. a diamond) over it. He measures the egg’s “length and diameter”, and records it on a slate. He mulls this over for a while, before asking if Eragon and Garrow know what the stone’s worth.

Garrow admits he doesn’t know. He gets all uncomfortable, with his cheek twitching and him shifting in his chair. Morlock grimaces, and admits he doesn’t know either, unfortunately. He can tell that the white veins on the egg are the same material as the blue around them, just another colour. He doesn’t have a clue what that material might be, though. (I don’t know either. Maybe magically enhanced calcium carbonate?) He says it’s harder than any rock he’s seen, even harder than diamond. Whoever shaped it must have used tools Morlock’s never soon, or magic. Well, I think it’s the second one.

Morlock says it’s also hollow. Gee, what could this possibly mean?? The stone is oval, and it is hollow! Could it possibly be an egg?! There’s absolutely no point in dragging it out after this point. Also, it isn’t hollow; Saphira’s in there. I can forgive the “clear note” because of magic, but it isn’t hollow, and Morlock should be able to feel that by weight.

Land of Incompetents: 62

Garrow goes what!?! Morlock gets irritated because Garrow didn’t get it earlier, and asks if he’s ever heard a rock sound “like this.” At that, he grabs the dagger and slaps the flat of the blade against “the stone.”

Dead Herrings: 33

That elicits a pure note, which smoothly fades away. Eragon is alarmed, because he’s afraid “the stone” has been damaged. And why would you think that, Eragon? Morlock has already tapped the egg with a hammer and has drawn a diamond over it without damage, and he said it was harder than diamond. Why would him hitting the egg with the flat of a dagger’s blade do damage?? Also, Eragon was conspicuously absent from the scene before this.

Dead Herrings: 34

Just Gonna Stand There: 2

Land Of Incompetents: 63

Morlock shows them the stone, saying that they won’t find any scratches or blemishes where he hit it with the dagger. He doubts he could do anything to harm “this stone”, even if he took a hammer to it.

Dead Herrings: 35

Garrow crosses his arms with a “reserved expression. A wall of silence surrounded him.” Wow. I just care so very much about this. What a great description.

Eragon, for his part, is puzzled. He thinks that he knew “the stone” appeared in the Spine via magic, “but made by magic? What for and why?” Um, Eragon, when you first saw the egg, you thought it was smoother than any nature had polished, so you should know it was made by magic, or at least heavily suspected it. Also, the questions at the end are the same as in the first chapter, and the answer is still “because there’s a baby dragon in there”.

Dead Herrings: 36

Land of Incompetents: 64

Then this happens: He blurted, “But what is it worth?”

Eragon. Morlock just said he doesn’t know. Did you just space out for the duration of the conversation? Did you just forget this? Because there’s no indication either of those is true. And Morlock doesn’t show any indication of having gotten the question either.

Land of Incompetents: 65

Reaction, Please: 12

Instead, he says in a “pained voice” that he can’t tell Eragon how much it’s worth. He’s sure that there’s people who’d pay dearly to have it, but in Carvahall, there’s no one like that. Except for Brom, I’m sure. He says they’d have to go to “the southern cities” to find a buyer. And which cities would that be? Belatona, Dras-Leona, and Urû’baen? Or Feinster, Belatona, and Aroughs? Because seen from Carvahall, all cities are “southern”.

Morlock says it’s a “curiosity” for most people; it’s not something to spend money on when they need practical stuff. Ah, that’s why so many people were just considering to buy brooches from you.

And also, Morlock, I think Eragon and Garrow know their own community quite well. They know this stuff. You can stop with condescendingly explaining this to them any moment now. This also comes off as serious hand-holding.

Thanks for Explaining: 4

Garrow looks at the ceiling of the tent “like a gambler calculating the odds”, and asks if Morlock will buy it.

Morlock immediately says it isn’t worth the risk. He might be able to find a wealthy buyer during his “spring travels”, but he can’t be certain. And even if he did, Eragon and Garrow wouldn’t be paid until he returns “next year.” So either the information we got earlier is false, and the traders come only in winter, or there are two separate groups of traders, that arrive in winter and spring. Some clarification would have been nice.

PPP: 27

Morlock’s still right, though. There’s also the little matter of Umaroth, so I doubt Morlock could go far before he’d be sent back to Carvahall. Morlock says they’ll have to find someone else to travel with. He’s curious and asks why they insisted on talking to him in private. Eragon puts “the stone” away before he answers.

Dead Herrings: 37

He answers it is because he found it in the Spine, and people around Carvahall Don’t Like That. Also, before he answers, he glances at Morlock, “wondering if he would explode like Sloan.” First, good to see we have to drag Sloan into this. Second, why would Morlock take such offense to that? He’s probably heard worse tales than those about the Spine during the course of his travels, and he doesn’t have much reason to attach particular value to these.

Land of Incompetents: 66

Petty Ain’t the Word For You: 20

Morlock is startled by Eragon’s answer, and asks if he knows why the merchants were late this year. Eragon shakes his head. So Morlock goes to explain:

“Our wanderings have been dogged with misfortune. Chaos seems to rule Alagaësia. We could not avoid illness, attacks, and the most cursed black luck.

I love how dramatic this is, while not bothering to give any actual examples of the misfortune they’ve been through. It’s just so versatile; it allows you to make wild claims about what’s going on in the story without having to put in effort to show it! I think the line about how “chaos seems to rule Alagaësia” is just the best, because we never see this when the story moves out of the Palancar Valley.

Evidence, Please: 11

Because the Varden’s attacks have increased, Galbatorix has forced cities to send more soldiers to the borders, men who are needed to combat the Urgals.

The Varden are the rebel group that will get very important later on, by the way. Their name means “the Guards”, and a worse mismatch is almost impossible. Anyway, let’s see what we have here.

-The Varden are attacking the Empire more often. I really don’t know why they’d do that. Maybe they’ve heard about the loss of Saphira’s egg and are trying to make up for it by attacking the Empire? Not that we ever hear something about this when we reach the Varden.

Drop It Like It’s Hot: 2

-I want to say up front that I think Galbatorix is entirely right in wanting to protect the Empire from the Varden, considering how awful they’ll turn out to be. I do want to know which cities have been forced to send more soldiers to which borders. As the Varden live in the Beor Mountains, the logical option would be the eastern and southern borders. Going by the map, the cities most suited to give their soldiers would be Urû’baen and Furnost.

-That leads into the next point: we’ll learn later that the Urgals live in the Spine and in the Beor Mountains. Morlock makes it sound as if the areas the soldiers fight the Urgals in are different from where they fight the Varden, except that the soldiers who’ll be sent to fight at the borders (those from Urû’baen and Furnost), the border would be the spot where they’d be fighting the Urgals anyway, because the Beor Mountains form the border there. As we’ll soon see, now the soldiers would be fighting the Urgals in the western regions of Alagaësia, but those people wouldn’t be sent to fight the Varden at the borders. So I fail to see why that’s a problem.

Land of Incompetents: 67

-Those people don’t need to combat the Urgals at all! They could try to talk with the Urgals to prevent them from destroying human settlements, in exchange for more land, for example. They would probably be quite amenable to that, and the people might find they’re being attacked less. But that would require those people to treat the Urgals like actual people, instead of pests that need to be beaten back. So fuck you, Morlock.

RVMP: 13

The brutes have been migrating southeast, toward the Hadarac Desert.

RVMP: 14

This is quite good foreshadowing. Why would they choose to go to the desert, after all? Hint, that’s because of Durza.

No one knows why and it wouldn’t concern us, except that they’re passing through populated areas. They’ve been spotted on roads and near cities.

You could show some actual curiosity into why the Urgals are doing this, but if you refuse to believe they’re capable of organising, then it’s your own fault if there’s an Urgal army waiting to attack you at some point.

I also hate the wording here. The way it’s framed, it implies that the Urgals have left their “natural habitat” that they’re supposed to stay in, that they’re being inconvenient by passing through “human lands”, and that it’s okay if they go to the Hadarac Desert, because there are no humans there, so they won’t bother anyone.

RVMP: 17

I think that speaks for itself.

Worst of all are reports of a Shade, though the stories are unconfirmed. Not many people survive such an encounter.”

That would be Durza. And of course few people survive such an encounter. Still nice to have this set up.

Eragon cries “Why haven’t we heard of this?” I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re in a village in the middle of nowhere, and not many people come there with news from outside, something you should know.

Land of Incompetents: 68

Morlock goes all grim and says it’s because all this began “only a few months ago.” He says whole villages have been forced to move because Urgals destroyed their fields and they would starve otherwise. This should actually be a red flag. If the Urgals are not doing this purposefully, it make little sense, because they should be trying their best to remain inconspicuous. If the Urgals are doing this purposefully, that should also be raising questions. So altogether, there has to be something or someone behind this (Durza), but no one seems to pick up on this.

Garrow’s reaction is this: “Nonsense”, growled Garrow. “We haven’t seen any Urgals; the only one around here has his horns mounted in Morn’s tavern.”

Now, I’ll leave the second bit for when we’ll see that, because I’ll split this chapter and it wouldn’t fit in well.

Regarding the first bit, though, how arrogant can you get?! Do you really think you know better than the trader who’s maybe witnessed this first-hand? Just because there haven’t been Urgals in Palancar Valley doesn’t mean they haven’t been elsewhere! And I love how he growls this at Morlock. Like, are you angry that someone dares tell what’s going one outside of the valley? Really now? And I get that he might not like the news; he’s still got no reason to doubt this.

Land of Incompetents: 69

Morlock arches an eyebrow at Garrow’s reaction, and says that maybe that’s true, but Carvahall’s a “small village hidden by mountains.” Thank you, Morlock! He says it isn’t surprising they’ve escaped notice. He doesn’t expect that to last, though. He says he only mentioned it because strange thing must also be happening in Carvahall if Eragon found “such a stone” in the Spine.

Dead Herrings: 38

That’s apparently a “sobering statement” (I mean, if nothing happened in Carvahall, the plot wouldn’t exist), and he says them goodbye with a bow and a slight smile. And Morlock leaves the story for good. He seemed like a good type. Too bad we don’t see more of him.

Garrow goes back to Carvahall with Eragon behind him. Eragon asks “What do you think?” About what, the egg or the Urgals? I’ve got no idea.

PPP: 28

Garrow says he’s going to get more information before he makes up his mind. He tells Eragon to take “the stone”—

Dead Herrings: 40

—back to the wagon, and after that Eragon can do what he want. They’ll meet up for dinner at Horst’s. From the context, I guess the question was about the egg, but it should have been clearer.

Eragon immediately dashes off, dodging through the crowd, and happily running back to the wagon. “Trading” will cost Garrow hours, according to Eragon, and he plans to enjoy that time fully. So the question was about the egg. Good to know. He hides “the stone”—

Dead Herrings: 41

—under the bags, and then sets out with a “cocky stride.” Because that’s just what I want to see of the supposed hero.

He walks from booth to booth, where he “evaluate[s] the goods with a buyer’s eye”, despite how little money he has. Ah well, can’t hurt to look, right? When he chats with the merchants, they confirm Morlock’s story about the “instability in Alagaësia.” They repeat the message: “last year’s security has deserted us; new dangers have appeared, and nothing is safe.” That’s very ominous. Something I noticed about this paragraph is that the above quote isn’t in quotation marks in the text, like this:

Over and over the message was repeated: last year’s security has deserted us; new dangers have appeared, and nothing is safe.

It takes some attention to see that this isn’t supposed to be part of the narration.

PPP: 29

“Later in the day”, Eragon buys “three sticks of malt candy and a small piping-hot cherry pie.” Sounds delicious. Don’t burn yourself, though. Eragon likes the hot food after hours in the snow. He licks the “sticky syrup from his fingers regretfully, wishing for more”, and then sits down on the edge of a porch and “nibble[s]” (haha) a piece of candy. This paragraph doesn’t flow very well, though.

PPP: 30

We’re told that “two boys from Carvahall” are wrestling nearby, but Eragon doesn’t feel the inclination to join them. There’s been nothing about him wanting to wrestle with anyone before this, so it’s jarring.

PPP: 31

The day descends into late afternoon, which means “the traders [take] their business into people’s homes.” Umm, okay… Do they walk in with their wares and put their booths up in people’s houses? Do they come into people’s houses and demand the inhabitants buy their stuff? This just sounds horribly rude and invasive, and I’m very certain that’s not what Paolini meant. I have no idea what is meant, though. Best I can tell, they just walk in.

Look Away: 22

PPP: 32

Straight From Left Field: 7

Eragon tells us he’s impatient for the evening, when the “troubadours”—

Continuity Fluidity: 15

—will show up to tell stories and perform tricks. He loves hearing about magic, gods, and, if they’re really really lucky, the “Dragon Riders.” Well, we’ll hear more than enough about the first throughout the series (no matter if it doesn’t make sense), we’ll get quite little on the second, and we’ll probably be sick to death of the third by the end.

We’re told Carvahall has its own storyteller, “Brom”, who’s apparently a friend of Eragon’s. And his father. There, it’s out. Brom’s tales grow old over the years, but the “troubadours”—

Continuity Fluidity: 16

—always have new ones, that he listens to eagerly. I do wonder why Brom can’t just make up new tales. He’s got more than enough experience to draw from. And also, being a storyteller is the extent of Brom’s involvement in Carvahall. He doesn’t seem to have any interaction with anyone outside of his storytelling and Eragon’s visits. Like that isn’t very suspicious.

Land of Incompetents: 71

Eragon’s just broken off an icicle for some reason when he spots Sloan nearby. Eragon doesn’t want a confrontation, and Sloan hasn’t seen him, so Eragon ducks and sprints around the corner toward “Morn’s tavern.” Because Carvahall needs a tavern for some reason. According to Eldest, that’s partly because there’s many trappers coming through the village, though it’s still weird. It’s almost like Carvahall once was much bigger, but has shrunk in population considerably in the past decennia, leaving behind all kinds of unnecessary buildings like the tavern. The tavern is called “the Seven Sheaves”, by the way, which we’ll only learn in Eldest.

PPP: 33

Straight From Left Field: 8

And that’s it for this time. This chapter is relatively long, and in the second half there’s stuff that I want to get to in great detail, so I’ll cut it short for now.

This part was serviceable. We had some backstory about Eragon’s family, we got to see the traders, and we heard a bit about the wider unrest in Alagaësia. There still hasn’t been any plot, though. We had Durza capture Arya in the prologue, but that is yet to tie into the plot. There’s also the egg, but nothing has happened with it yet. Thus, the beginning of the book very much drags.

PPP: 68 (10 points for the prologue, the first chapter, and the second chapter, five points for this half)

Next time, we’ll meet some pro-Empire traders, and we’ll get to hear blatant propaganda Galbatorix’s origin story. Until then!