Eragon set up camp once more in the barren wasteland. He was miles away from Helgrind and a few days away from reaching the Varden. He had a headache and his legs burned from his constant running. He hunted that night, forcing himself to eat for the sake of staying alive and regaining his strength. After his meager meal, he rested his head against the sun baked earth, the stars dancing their celestial dance far above him. He closed his eyes and allowed sleep to overtake him.
The following day followed the same pattern, but on the third day, the land became more lush and green. There were ancient buildings and large boulders dotting the emerald terrain that sparked his interest. Taking a little detour, he decided to explore the area, paying particular attention to the ancient ruins. With his sharp eyes, he inferred that the area was once an elf outpost. He was about to head back when he spotted a garden behind one of the buildings. Peering around, he saw a man pulling weeds. He had long grey hair that fell into his lap, but he was lean and, from what he could tell, a strong old man as well.
"Are you going to help me with this garden, or not?" The man asked, not even looking up at the stranger. "There is a meal in it for you if you do." His hands were covered in dirt as he pulled at the long weeds that seemed to overtake some peas.
Eragon decided that there would be no harm in helping the old hermit, so he walked on over and knelt to the ground. "I am Bergan, son of Garrow."
"Tenga, son of Ingvar." The old man said, with a grunt. The sun warmed their backs as they pulled weed after weed. The two men did not talk at all while they worked, which did not bother either one of them. In silence they labored until approaching could be heard, the grass crunching beneath the feet.
"Grandfather, I brought you your tonic." A young woman said.
Taking his gaze from the garden Eragon first saw a pair of bare feet followed by a long, flowing silver strapless dress, before his eyes landed upon her face. She had medium length black hair covered by a hood and hazel eyes. She had a band across her forehead and on her right arm and wore a white and silver necklace. In her hands, she was carrying a potion bottle.
Tenga wordlessly stood up and drank the contents of the bottle. "Thank you my dear." He said, handing her the bottle once again.
"Who is this?" the woman motioned to Eragon, who was watching them.
"Bergan, son of Garrow. He will be dining with us tonight." The woman nodded and mentioned something about making another place setting for their guest before she left the men to tend to the garden once more.
A few minutes into their work, Eragon finally decided to ask Tenga about the woman. "What is her name?"
"She is Jasmyn, my only grandchild." Eragon noted how brusque the old man was, but made no more mention of his granddaughter.
I will not be here for much longer anyways, so why inquire further? He thought. His only goal was to stay undiscovered in the Empire. Finally, they pulled up the last weed and headed inside the building where Eragon saw a makeshift home with two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and a small living room. He had to admit that they were creative despite the fact that they made a home out of an ancient building.
Jasmyn was in the kitchen stirring a cauldron full of vegetable soup. In the center of the table were some bread, cheese, and a jug of red wine. Off to the side of the kitchen, there was a fireplace. Eragon watched Tenga point to the small sticks and branches, and without uttering a word, ignited them with fire. At the moment, Eragon became astute as he sank into a chair. He thought about what Oromis has told him about magic and wondered how Tenga could do such a thing without the structure of the Ancient Language. Even with the spell in his head, the man still risked death or worse.
Tenga grabbed a few meat pies and placed them on the table and sat down before Jasmyn began to serve the soup. As quietly as possible, Eragon uttered a few spell that would detect any poison. When nothing was detected, he began to eat the meal presented in front of him. Across from him sat Jasmyn. He did not notice it while he was outside, but she was wearing perfume and the sweet scent wafted around along with the food's delicious odor.
"So, where exactly are you headed?" Jasmyn's voice interrupted the silence.
Eragon thought of a quick excuse. "I am going to my sister's house in Melian." He was grateful for his knowledge of the terrain to remember the nearest major village.
"Has it been a while since you last saw her?" It seemed to him that she readily believed what he had told her.
"Aye, at least a good three years. In the last letter she wrote, she had just given birth to another son."
"You must be excited to see her then." She had a warm smile that seemed to light up the room.
He shook his head. "What is this place?" He asked as politely as possible so as not to offend their living quarters.
"This is Edur Ithindra." This time, it was Tenga who spoke.
"Did the elves build it?"
"Yes, the tricky elves built Edur Ithindra." He gazed fixedly upon the young man as if to question his intelligence.
"What is it that you do here?" From the corner of his eye, he saw Jasmyn try to stop him from asking the question, but it was too late. Tenga's response made him understand why she wanted him to avoid that question.
"I search for the answer!" the old man exclaimed, placing a boney finger in the air. He went on and on about how others do not know the question and those that know the question but are afraid to know what the answer will mean. "For thousands of years we have been living like savages. Savages! I shall end that. I shall usher in the age of light, and all shall praise my deed."
Eragon was very intrigued and decided to broach the topic further. Jasmyn just sat quietly, rolling her eyes on occasion. "What exactly do you search for?"
Once more, the old man gushed about the question and how he thought that Eragon would know the question, but was mistaken. "Who else but a fellow pilgrim can appreciate what we must sacrifice to find the answer?" When he finished, Eragon was getting confused.
"The answer to what?"
"To the question we choose." It was clear, the man was mad! Eragon looked at the old man, and then at Jasmyn and hoped that she was not as crazy as her grandfather. He did not want to find out, so he began looking around the room for anything that he could distract them with. His eyes landed on a row of animal statues.
"Those are beautiful." He said, pointing at the animals. "Who made them?"
Tenga bounded out of his chair and Jasmyn tried to stifle a laugh at his crude behavior. "She did, before she left. She was always making things." Tenga paid no attention to him as he began to back away towards the door. Jasmyn was in the kitchen cleaning and listening to her grandfather tell Eragon about the statutes.
With a clang, the door shut. Jasmyn twirled around and saw that Eragon had left. Immediately, she stopped scrubbing a plate and walked over to the door to go outside. After closing the door behind her, yelled, "You know, my grandfather might not care if you are rude to him or not, but I do." She clenched her fists.
Eragon halted and turned around to face the angry young woman. "Jasmyn, I'm sorry, but I do need to be going."
"You could have just said that you needed to go instead of sneak away."
He could not argue with that. "You're right. Thank you for your hospitality, and sorry that I seemed ungrateful and rude."
"Fine." She said, still angry. "You had better be off, your sister is probably anxious to see you." She said, sarcastically, quite sure that he had lied to them about his identity as well. She shooed him away and headed back inside.
It was a few weeks since Eragon had encountered Tenga and Jasmyne. He was at the Varden busy with his duties and almost forgot about them until one night when he was visiting with Angela. They were on the topic of magic and he suddenly thought about when he saw the old man light a fire without saying anything. Angela's eyes widened at the mention of Tenga.
"You met the old man?"
"Yes, he was living with his granddaughter in Edur Ithindra."
Angela became giddy with excitement and asked him everything about their encounter. When he told her, leaving out the part where he was utterly rude, he asked her why she was so fascinated.
"Tenga was once my master. He also had a son, but he died years ago. Ever since then, he seemed to have gone mad, trying to find the answer to a particular question, but what that question is, I have no clue."
Eragon felt sick and regretted even more how rude he was to them. I feel like a monster, Saphira!
The blue dragon nudged his arm. We all make mistakes, Little One.
She was right, but he still felt awful. With a sigh, he addressed Angela again, who had paid no attention to his behavior. "So, Tenga's son was Jasmyn's father, but do you know who her mother is?"
Angela beamed. "I am her mother, and she is here with me now." After she spoke those words, Jasmyn opened a flap to the tent and walked in. At the sight of Eragon, she stood, frozen.
"Hello, Jasmyn." He said, unsure what else to do.
She scoffed and said, "Mother, could you give us a moment?" Angela was a little confused, but obliged. When she was gone, Jasmyn narrowed her eyes. "So, not only were you rude, but you lied to us as well." She crossed her arms.
"I was alone in the Empire and I had no idea who you were!"
Jasmyn then did something that threw him off guard; she laughed. "I am not mad at you anymore. When I learned that you were friends with my mother, I bothered her with a load of questions until I decided that I could forgive you for your behavior that day." Her demeanor softened as she spoke.
"I have no excuse for it; I was rude, and I am very sorry." He dipped his head.
"Apology accepted." She smiled. That evening, Eragon and Jasmyn began a friendship that would soon blossom into one of the most epic romances of their time.