I do not own the Inheritance Cycle.
Edited 1/30/22
Please let me know your thoughts throughout the story, I'd love to hear for you :)
Enjoy,
The Hidden City
Thorn, seeing the pair as well, curved into a steep dive and landed unsteadily, slipping on the small loose pebbles on the ground and sending many of them flying. He swiveled his head around to the man and the woman and flicked his tongue in greeting. Rose peeked around him and, seeing Selena give the dragon a soft smile, she slid from his back. The stones gave way to her landing, grinding and sliding, nearly taking her feet out from beneath her. She stumbled and after correcting herself, she held onto the straps of Thorn's saddle for balance and stayed very still until Saphira landed beside her. Eragon raised an eyebrow in her direction but left his question unsaid.
"Mindful of the stones they're slick," she said quietly.
He nodded and slid carefully from Saphira's back and stood next to her. Looking from her to Selena and Brom, he frowned. "They're not going to attack us," he told her, "at least I doubt they will."
Rose glowered at him but stepped with him to greet Brom and Selena despite her body demanding her to remain where she was- safely hidden between two dragons. Her muscles ached from the many long hours of flying.
As she walked she felt as if the tumbling stones beneath her feet would give way to the movement sending her, very much against her will, into the murky green water beyond. She wished for nothing more than to stay where she was and examine the tall swaying green and gold grasses and tiny crumb-like yellow flowers at the lakes edge that glistened from the misty water from the roaring falls.
When they stepped forward Selena and Brom came to them from their place in front of a great gasping hole in the precipice, examining their faces. "Well met," said the woman coolly as she enveloped Rose in a loose embrace that held neither comfort nor warmth. As her grip tightened, Rose felt a pressure in her mind as the woman mindtouched her and resultantly she let her in. What we have to say to each shall have to wait. If you value yourself at all you will smile and act pleasant as if you are pleased to us, she said and then withdrew from her mind just slightly, though her presence remained there. "It is very good to see that you have made it here safe, at last."
Rose glanced over the woman's shoulder to the great opening beyond. She saw no one but that did not mean that they were not there, standing silently and watchfully from within the shadows. "Well met, indeed, my friend," she said, a soft smile forming on her face. She hugged the woman politely for a short moment before stepping away. "I apologize that it took us so very long to arrive."
With an approving nod, Selena tinted her head and studied Rose's face. Apparently seeing what she was looking for, she patted her cheek affectionately and stepped away. You best greet Brom, she said. Follow us afterwards and say as little as possible. The people within shall want to gain as much influence as possible over you and Eragon and the dragons. Any words you say, any actions you display, may be used against you to gain that control.
Are we in any sort of danger, Selena? asked Rose, stepping around her towards where Eragon and Brom stood in a loose embrace. It seemed likely that Brom was telling him a similar version of what Selena had said to her. Rose, not turning her head, looked at her out of the corners of her eyes.
Selena was stepping alongside her, staring ahead blankly as she pushed her loose hair back from her face. As of this moment, she said to Rose, you are not. This could change at any given time, mind you. We know not all of who are allies and enemies. I believe that Ajihad, the leader of the Varden, shall be one your chief ally but even so there has been signs of Empire spies within Farthen Dûr. Things here have changed, I can feel it. She paused and looked at her seriously. So keep a façade and say no more than you must until a time comes that we can freely talk.
Very well. Rose sighed and greeted Brom quietly, trying to determine the weight of the solution from his face but he gave away nothing- he looked as grumbly as he always had- and she stepped away quickly and all too eagerly. As she stepped back, slipping slightly on the stones, she noticed that Selena still had Eragon locked in an embrace, looking for all the world as if she would rather strike him. She wondered what exactly was awaiting when they could talk freely. Biting at her lip, Rose reached out her mind to Thorn, who remained just steps behind her, and resisted the urge to look at him. She said nothing- there were no more words to say- but she liked know that he was there.
After Selena stepped away from Eragon, he began to tell Brom about the elf in a low voice as they began to walk towards the cave entrance. When Eragon had finished the man whipped his head around and examined the unconscious elf laying limply around Saphira back. "I will insure that she's taken to the healers and given an antidote," he vowed softly. "Do not worry about her for now."
Rose bit at her lip, her head bent to see where she was placing her feet. She was quite certain that the old man was speaking about more than just the elf though she could just be searching for answers when there were none.
They entered the cave silently, its chilling shadow passing over them, and stopped. The small loose peddles brought in from their walking feet bounced across the grey-brown stone flooring. Rose watched them bounce as the earth below began to tremble and the golden sunlight shifted and began to fade, as the stone door behind them beginning to close. When the day's light disappeared completely- all warmth disappearing with it- she looked around the cavern blinking, seeing nothing but the ghost of white light before her vision that faded all too slowly away allowing her to able to see what was beyond the entrance of the stony gates. Before her stood a company of a dozen men unlike any she had ever seen before; appearing to be nearly half her height with dense faces, they stood armed on axes nearly as large as they were, their braided grizzly beards decorated with trinkets intertwined or for binding of silver and gold and copper. Rose knew then what exactly they were though the stories and poetries of dwarfs had often described them being small and usually ugly. Maggots- one tale even said- that festered the living stones and rocks, greedily guarding the doorways in the mountains which opened the Between Worlds.
Rose did not know how many of those tales were written with truth. Perhaps, she thought, it would be best not to mention them at all.
Amid the small mass dwarfs stood two men, like identical towers over a small grisly township, their bald heads gleaming in the torchlight. One of these men looked from Eragon to her, catching her gaze- his eyes were the color of dead stone and just as cold. He did not smile nor did he show any sort of emotion. Instead he merely staring at her for a long moment if he were looking through her and not at her at all. Rose narrowed her eyes at him and turned away, a cold sinking shiver tingling its way down her spine.
She studied the smooth cave walls instead of the people, seeing only faint nearly none visible signs of scratches from the chisels that carved from the within the mountain polished with age to the point that they were almost not there at all. As she was looking around, one of the bald men stepped soundlessly forward. "Take off your weapons," said one of the men. "They are not permitted beyond this point."
Rose looked again at the dwarfs within the cave, her eyes focusing on the sharp blades of their axes, shortswords, and spears, and raised her eyebrow. Deciding that she was far too tired to worry about much beyond the point of finding a place to rest, she took off her belt and tucked her sword into a saddlebag. She moved as slowly as she dared, lingering at Thorn's side, running her fingers over his scales. It have very easily been worse, she said to him. They could have threatened us and taken our swords.
Not much good that that would do them, he said flickering his long tongue out from between his sharp teeth. I do not like it in here. It is suffocating, and I cannot stretch my wings without hitting one of these small two-leggeds.
Rose grinned tightly, and finding no other reason to remain as she was, walked to stand by Thorn's shoulder, so that the sight of the dwarfs and men were blocked by the dragon's bulk. She looked over and saw that Eragon was glancing nervously at Brom, as if he were waiting for something to happen, his hands tangled in his jerkin.
"Follow us," the man said slowly as if he were speaking to unruly children. "Ajihad, the leader of the Varden, is awaiting you. You do not want him being kept, so come!" He and the other man then turned their back to the group with an eerie swish of their long dark robes and walked into the colossal, shadowed tunnel beyond without pausing to see if they were being followed.
"You go first," said one of the dwarves, and Eragon stepped forward pulling Rose alongside him by her arm. Brom and Selena stepping ahead of them, nearly walking into the siblings and remaining close enough to them that Rose had to cut her steps painfully short. Thorn and Saphira followed close behind, their claws tapping sharply against the rock flooring as they walked.
"How did you know we were coming?" Eragon whispered after a short time.
Brom glanced back at him, and held a finger to his mouth- a sign for him to be quiet- but answered in the same quiet voice: "There are watchers throughout the mountain range. The Varden received word of your arrival as soon as you entered the range. Two dragons hardly go unnoticed."
They spoke no further. The bald men were hurrying them as fast as they could go, and it took all of their energy. Many times they passed the mouths of other passages and tightly closed doors that Rose presumed were entrances from other parts of the mountains but their depths were unlighted and she could see no further down them than a hand's span. She quickly lost sense of time, feeling as if she been forever walking through the dark tunnel with its shadows falling far behind her, and her legs heavy as stone. Eragon walked beside her, his mouth set in a firm, determined line, as he looked around. She knew he was as tired as she was but he did not betray any sign of it.
After a long time they left the carved passages and passed into a large circular room. The walls were painted a soft slightly faded blue and lined with large marble pillars. Pillar after gleaming pillar of white stone, was bottomed with gold lacing gracefully to its top, gemstones of all colors peeking in-between the embossing. Silver lanterns were stringed around the room, defusing a soft golden light. Beyond these the room held no decoration save for the two large polished wooden doors at its far end.
And it was in this room, that Brom stopped suddenly and gave Eragon a warning look. "Before we continue you should know that my pupils have brought with them an injured elf," he said, gesturing vaguely to where Saphira stood. "It would be in everyone's best interest, for the sake of the allegiance with the Elves, for Arya to be taken to the healers so that she may given Tunivor's Nectar without delay."
The two bald men stopped and turned, the bare skin on their heads shining in the lamp light, and looked at the elf laying limply across Saphira's back. One of them, the one who spoke before, looked flatly at Brom. "We will send for someone to bring her to the Healing Halls as soon as we reach Tronhjeim," he said before turning away and walking soundlessly towards the doors.
"Perhaps," said Selena stepping forward, "it would be best for the two of you to take her. The healers will need as many helping hands as they can get if Tunivor's Nectar must be administered. As the lead magicians within the Varden it is your obligation to assist where you are most needed. We can handle escorting the Riders and the dragons to Ajihad, of that I am certain."
The speaking man turned to Selena, his eyes narrow as if he knew the snare she had so easily laid them in, and slowly he nodded. "Very well. We shall see what can be done for the elf," he said and stepped towards where Saphira stood. With the help of two of the dwarves they were able to get her down and carry her back through the tunnel for which they came.
As the two man and their company faded into shadow, Brom turned to Rose and Eragon and briefly studied them, looking over their heads at the two dragons, before saying simply; "Stay close."
The doors began to open from the outside, and rich beams of sunlight stumbled into the room, overwhelming bright after their trek through the darken tunnels. The light and the soft warmth it brought into the room, fell onto the people and the dragons. Rose closed her face to it and relaxed slightly in the warmth, and after a moment she peered beyond it at sight below.
"Look well, humans, for no Riders has set eyes upon this for nigh over a hundred years," said a deep voice behind her. Rose started and turned to looked at the dwarf who had spoken. "The airy peak under which we stand on is Farthen Dur. A wonder discovered thousands of years ago by the father of out race, Korgan, while he tunneled for gold. At its center stand our greatest achievement; Tronjheim, the city-mountain." Just as he finish his speech the door came to halt making her wonder just how many times the dwarf had spoken it.
As Brom gestured them forward, she began to feel very apprehensive. This perhaps had been a very great mistake. She glanced at the dragons and dwarfs behind her before following after the woman and man down a steeping slope. They emerged, at last, and Rose blinked, dazzled, and looked around in amazement. She was certainly in some type of city but she had never seen anything like it.
Tronjheim, the sanctuary for the Varden and central clans of Dwarfs, was, as Rose, guessed, a fortified settlement. It was built within an enormous volcanic crater, dormant since a time forgotten, and stretched more than a league from end to end, and its dome reared high into the sky. The large buildings were built of a pale marble; most homes contained more than one family. The teeming, noisy city was a shock after the solitude and silence of their days of travel, and she grasped her hands firmly in front of her to keep them from shaking. They picked their way through a tingle of streets, past the humans in rough clothing and dust-faced dwarfs. Several wooden carts sat on the side of the cobbled path in front of homes, and Rose saw a dozen children playing a wild game of tag, who paused when they noticed them and stared in open-mouthed curiosity. The people of Tronjheim seemed to live on their balconies; it afforded them the pleasures of chaffing passing friends, minding each other's business, and exchanging gossip. She saw them washing, dressing children, eating, and cooking, all in open air. When they seemed to notice their procession into the city they paused and watched but the farther in they walked the more and more people came to the roadside to see who they were.
Thorn bumped his head along her back after a time and many people had gathered. Eragon is stirring the crowd, he said.
I know. I can hear their ovations perfectly well, she said, looking warily at the cheering people. I did not come here to play hero and give these people hope, yet if he wishes to be a show horse than he may. I shall have no part in it.
As more and more people lined around the streets, Rose turned away, studying instead the lofty luminous spears of ice above- hanging from the tops of the mountain like many deathly chandeliers. They dangled arching diagonally from the crater walls around the large opening to the heavens in the center. Harsh white light beat down from it, so that the blue of the sky could not be seen, and blinkingly Rose stared at, imagining living in a place where one would never see the sky.
She didn't have much time to look around as her guides were hurrying to the large building at the very center of the space. It was built of white marble and rose well over eight stories high, columns of red jasper and jade pirouetted around its walls in at least a dozen places between them were sculptures of animals Rose had no name for. A set of high gold embossed doors remained open long after they entered, and it seemed even more people followed them through and whistled and cheered before being ordered to go back to their day-to-day lives, though many lingered outside the doors.
Rose gasped when she walked in; her first impression was the blind blaze of rosy light, a surge of ancient power. It was the most beautiful hall she had ever seen. The floor was of polished stone, pearl white and scarlet and black, with gold rune inset all around its perimeter. The zenith of the ceiling was a large red stone, a dawn-star sapphire she was later told, shaped as a bloomed rose, casting an unnatural blushing light. They walked through the wide passageways for an immeasurable time leading to a huge room in a cramped hall. Armed men stood in front of double-leafed doors but moved when they saw them. Selena stopped before the doors, knocked once, and then wordlessly opened them for everyone to walk through. Selena followed them afterwards, shutting the doors firmly and muttering words under her breath. The dwarves remained outside.
Once they were inside the chamber, Brom staggered to a chair at the far corner of the room and fell gracelessly into it, wincing as he straightened him. "Eragon, Rose, Thorn, and Saphira, this is Ajihad of the Ta'ih, Leader of the Varden," he said briskly. "Ajihad, my pupils." And then he closed his eyes and remained very still.
Rose stood in front of the Varden leader as Selena moved forward and crouched beside Brom, talking to him in hushed tones. Ajihad seemed no older than Selena. He was tall and broad shouldered, his skin the color of pitch, and his face calm and intelligent, with quick mobile eyes that were now filled with quiet trepidation. He was dressed in a tapered blue vest embossed with gold thread and a dark tunic of woven silk. To gain time, she looked around the chamber.
Ajihad's study contained a huge ornately carved desk that was almost covered with tottering piles of books, lengths of parchment, and drafts of paper. In the center was a scroll or parchment which was clearly half finished; it was covered with a beautiful flowing script written in black ink. Next to it was a stone inkwell, and next to that was a gilt lamp that cast a circle of warm light over the desk, picking up the azure and silver fabric that covered the three chairs beside it. One was clearly where Ajihad sat, the others were empty. Behind the desk were rows upon rows of books and rolled papers and discarded pens. Despite the mess the room did not give off the impression of shabbiness so much as chaotically ordered industry. A small grate held a fire. Rose sniffed the faint scent of ink with pleasure; this was something that she was familiar with.
"Welcome," said Ajihad, "to Tronjheim. I apologize for the disarray but I have had little time to prepare before your arrival. Please, seat yourselves."
Rose glanced tensely at the couple behind him, they were still talking in hissing whispers and it sounded to her as they were arguing. She turned away, seating herself beside Eragon. The dragons settled behind them, cramped together in the small space. Ajihad surveyed Eragon and her as if judging their facility. Then he moved all the books off this desk, dumping them unceremoniously onto the floor and seated himself behind it.
He looked at Rose. "I had promised your mother, long before you came here, that I would provide the same shelter for you as I have for her. This has not changed," he said. "Your linage is for you to tell though I would ask that you do so wisely. The dwarf king, Hrothgar, knows and has agreed to secretary on your behalf." He paused and looked between the siblings before settling his hands atop his desk. "Should either of you betray this trust in anyway, you will examined by my magicians as I would usually have them do upon your arrival. Brom has vowed for both of you and his word is one I trust and respect beyond many, take care to remember this because once my trust is broken it will remain that way." Ajihad fell silent, waiting for them to say something and when none of them gave any sign of wanting to speak, he continued in a friendlier tone, "If it would not be too pressing I would like to hear what had happened once you separated from Brom and Ailis, and I know they would like to know as well."
"Aye," came Brom's voice. "We would like to know that very much. Along with whatever foolish reason that caused you four left in the first place."
Rose looked up at Brom and saw his and Selena's eyes focused on them. Not wanting to meet those eyes, she looked away. Beside her, she saw Eragon flinch and glance at her. She nodded and he began to speak, telling them first of the visons and dreams and how they haunted him before moving on to their trip to Gil'ead and what happened within its walls. Rose listened silently, hearing for the first time what had happened to him- she hadn't inquired about it believing it best to allow him to tell her in his own time. When he told them of how he left the woman's, who sheltered him, house and met with Saphira he looked to Rose, as if telling her that it was her turn to speak. She blinked and sat straighter from her chair, doing her best to tell what had happened after Eragon went missing. Thorn filling her in on parts she missed though she left most his suggestions unsaid. They needn't know everything, she said to Thorn when he bristled after she shrugged one his details off. I prefer to keep certain details to myself.
As she told them about how she found Arya and what happened with Shade and the words she remembered him saying, she gave Eragon a hard look. She hoped that after the time they had spent in a silent argument over these details he would leave well enough alone but if anything he looked more exasperated than ever before, swerving around in his seat to pin her with a cold glare. "So you did know about the poison," he muttered in a low tone.
Rose turned to him with a scowl. "You knowing wouldn't have made a difference," she said plaintively. "If anything you have been more upset. Worked up over something out of your control when you needed to rest."
Eragon grumbled at her and turned away, allowing her finish what she had to say. When she was done, she looked towards the books on the floor, reading their titles, and said nothing more. After a moment Eragon took over telling them of how they came to find the Varden and his conversation with the elf. Upon finishing his tale he fell silent and looked at his lap for a short moment. "I wish to, once I rest, see Arya whether she had woken up or not," he said, glancing up at Ajihad.
The Varden leader nodded. "Is she with the healers now?" he asked turning around to look at Brom.
"Aye," he said. "Your twined magicians took her the Halls."
Ajihad's eyebrow fell over his eyes, casting a shadow over his face, and he frowned. "Why were they with you? I had asked them to leave this matter alone."
Selena smiled slightly and shrugged. "Of that I know not," she told him. "What I do know is that they were waiting for us once we returned inside. I could not think of a reason for why they were there but I did not question it."
He nodded and turned back around. "We will talk more at a later time," he said to Rose and Eragon. "Now it is getting late and I am sure you are tired from you journey and require rest. Should you need anything ask and I will do what I can. Brom and Ailis will show you and tell you what you need to know. But for now rest." Ajihad waved them away, and silently the four stood and walked towards the door, stopping to wait for Brom and Selena before they passed through into the hall beyond.
