Chapter Three
Roran wasn't to curious as to his cousin's whereabouts. He had supposed he had gone down to tend to the livestock. Blind or not, he still had work to do like the rest of them. Currently, he was at the table, crunching on a cooling biscuit, and was surprised to hear a "Roran?" from the opposite side of the front entrance. "Can you… erm - open the door?" This only raised further questions in Roran's mind. Why can't Eragon open it himself? Nevertheless, he stalked to the door and unlatched it. Eragon pushed himself in, but Roran's gaze was centered on what he was lugging. A polished, brilliant blue stone.
"Where did you get that?" Roran asked incredulously.
Setting the stone down, Eragon replied simply, "I'll show you," and in doing so, grasped Roran's hand and steered him outside.
Roran found the prospect of being lead by Eragon a bit ironic, nevertheless he followed, until he realized where they were going. "In the Spine? When I asked where that stone came from, an exact location was a bit unnecessary!" Roran said, his voice dripping with sarcasm by the end.
Eragon sighed. "Can't you smell it?"
What? was Roran's first thought, but he realized he could smell something burnt. He looked up, expecting to see smoke, but oddly enough, there was an acute lack of it. The day seemed to be especially clear. Roran let himself be guided further, until he stared in bewilderment at a circle of blackened undergrowth on the floor of the spine. This was certainly not the mark of a fire.
"In answer to you question, I found it here."
Bemused, Roran paced the perimeter of the spot, but gleaned no information, and there appeared to be no more unusually large, colorful gems. Eragon had been right. It wasn't far into the forest at all. The house was still visible, and in seeing it, Roran was jolted out of his examination. Both boys raced back to the house, attempting to get back before Garrow awoke. No such luck. Roran came in to find Garrow clutching the stone in awe, Eragon towing behind him. Most likely expecting awed exclamations from his son as well, Garrow looked over noticing the lack thereof. Roran, knowing not what to say in explanation, prodded his cousin forward. "Eragon found it." Roran said blandly. Garrow, turning to Eragon said, "Care to elaborate?"
Roran inched closer, not having heard a full explanation either.
"It was in the Spine," Eragon began, and Garrow's eyes widened slightly in alarm. Eragon proceeded to explain how he had smelled something burning from the porch, found the source, and led Roran to it. After seeing the area himself, Garrow said to Eragon, "Keep it. It's most certainly valuable." Without a word Eragon took the stone to his room and set in underneath his pillow.