Free Riders

Author's Note: Eragon is not mine. Char, Blaster, and Saranya are. Comment as you see fit.

Chapter 18: Frogs in Teirm

Saphira and Sara saw Teirm before the others. They wouldn't see it until a westerly breeze blew the heavy fog and mist out of the way. It was situated on the edge of the shimmering sea, proud ships with their sails furled in the docks. The rumbling of the surf could be heard in the distance.

Surrounding the city was a white wall, one hundred feet tall and thirty feet thick. Rows of rectangular slits for the archers lined the wall, and a walkway atop the wall accommodated the soldiers and watchmen. Two portcullises broke the walls smooth surface, one of them facing the western sea, while the other opened south to the road. A large citadel rose above the wall, situated in the northeaster section of the city. In the highest tower of the stone citadel was a lighthouse lantern that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. The only thing visible over the fortifications was the castle.

At the gate to the road stood two guards, each holding a pike loosely. Above them, a yellow pendant flapped in the wind, bearing the outline of a roaring lion and an arm holding a lily blossom.

"Our first test," Blaster said. "Let's hope that they haven't gotten word of us from the Empire and won't detain us. Whatever happens, don't panic or act suspicious. It'd be a dead give-away." Satisfied Eragon had heard him, he tuned his attention to Sara. We're going in. Find a place to hide and stay there, please.

Sticking your nose where it doesn't belong? Sara asked, sourly.

Have I ever led you astray? Blaster retorted. I'll have you know that I singlehandedly took out at least ten-thousand mooks in one battle. I think I can hold my own. Besides, we have advantages others don't necessarily have.

Just be careful, Sara said. I don't want to end up having you come out with a whole company of soldiers behind you.

We'll try our best, but I cannot guarantee anything, Blaster said. Especially since my precognitive abilities seemed to have shut themselves down, he added to himself.

The trio rode up to the gates, trying to appear as casual as possible. As they neared the gates, Eragon asked in amazement, "How big is this place?"

"Far larger than any city you have seen," Brom said.

At the entrance, the guards stood much straighter and barred the entrance with their pikes. "Wha's yer name?" one of the guards asked in a bored tone.

"I'm called Neal," Brom said in a wheezy voice. He was slouching over to one side, and he had an expression of happy idiocy on his face.

"And who's th' other ones?" the guard asked.

"Well, I wus gettin' to that. This'ed be m'nephew Evan, and our fam'ly friend, Brian."

"And yer business here?"

"He's meet'n an old friend, sir," Blaster said, deepening his voice slightly and throwing in a British accent. "We came along to ensure he didn' get lost, if yeh get what I'm sayin'. Ain't as young as he once was, and had a bit too much sun in his youth. Got a touch o' the brain fever, ya know." Brom bobbed his head pleasantly.

"Right. Go on through," the guard said, waving his hand and dropping the pike. "Just make sure he doesn't cause any trouble."

"Oh, he won't" Eragon promised, his voice dropped into a thick accent. He urged Cadoc forward, and they rode into Teirm, the horses' hooves clacking on the cobblestone street. Once far enough away from the guards, Brom sat up.

"Touch of brain fever, eh?" he growled to Blaster.

"Couldn't let you have all the fun," Blaster replied. "Besides, it worked, didn't it?"

Brom harrumphed and looked away. Blaster smirked a little bit, then hid his smile as he looked upon the houses. They were all grim and foreboding, with small, deep windows letting in only sparse rays of light. Narrow doors were recessed into the buildings. The rooftops were flat, with the exception of the metal railings, and all were covered in slate shingles. The buildings were no more than one story, but they progressively gained floors as they went towards the citadel. The tallest, naturally, were the tallest of all the buildings, but they still stood short of the fortress.

"Looks like this place is geared up for war," Blaster commented.

"Teirm has a history of being attacked by pirates, Urgals, and other enemies," Brom nodded. "It has long been a center of commerce. There will always be conflict where riches gather in abundance. The people here are forced to take extraordinary measures to keep themselves from being overrun. It also helps that Galbatorix gives them soldiers to defend their city."

"Why are some of the houses higher than others?" Eragon asked, looking at the houses.

"Look at the citadel," Brom said, pointing. "It has an unobstructed view of Teirm. If the outer wall were breached, archers would be posted on all the roofs. Because the houses in the front, by the outer wall, are lower, the men farther back could shoot over them without fear of hitting their comrades."

"Also, it appears they know the concept of high-ground advantage," Blaster said. "I suppose, if the enemy were to perch their own archers on the roofs of the houses they capture, it would be much easier to shoot them down. Tactical advantage." Brom nodded in agreement.

"I've never seen a city planned like this," Eragon said in wonder.

"Nor have I," Blaster added. "But, I would assume that some sort of planning had to go into this."

"You would be correct," Brom said. "It was done after Teirm was nearly burned down in a pirate raid."

As they continued up the street, people would look at them, but didn't give much interest. Looks normal, Blaster thought. His opinion changed to slightly normal when a large man shouldered past them with a sword hanging from his waist. Children weren't playing in the streets, people bore hard expressions, and many houses had been deserted, weeds growing from the cracks in the stone-covered yard.

"Looks like they've had trouble," Eragon said.

"The same as everywhere else," Brom replied grimly. "We have to find Jeod." They led their horses to a tavern across the street and tied them at the hitching post. "The Green Chestnut…wonderful," Brom muttered, looking at the sign above them before entering the building.

Instantly, Blaster felt a little unsafe inside these walls. A small fire smoldered in the fireplace, not a single person bothering to throw another log onto it. A few people in the corners sat with sullen expressions, each one sipping their various drinks. In the far table sat a man with two missing fingers and he was eyeing his twitching stumps. The bartender looked about as good as the sign over the door, his lips had a cynical twist. He was busy polishing a glass, even though it was broken.

Brom leaned against the bar and asked, "Do you know where we can find a man called Jeod?" Eragon stood at his side, fiddling with the tip of his bow by his waist. The bow was slung over his back. Blaster was right next to Eragon, his hands resting on the grips of his pistols.

"Now, why would I know something like that?" the bartender said in an overly loud voice. "Do you think I keep track of the mangy louts in this forsaken place?" Blaster lazily unsnapped the retaining strap on his holsters, and Eragon winced as all eyes turned toward them.

"Could you be enticed to remember?" Brom asked, smooth as ever. He slid a few coins onto the bar.

"Could be," the bartender said as he put down the glass. He then added, in a low voice, "But my memory takes a great deal of prodding." Brom's face soured, but he slid a few more coins onto the bar, causing the bartender to suck on one side of his cheek in thought. "All right, he finally said, reaching for the coins. He wasn't able to touch them when the man missing two fingers called out from his table.

"Gareth, what in th' blazes do you think you're doing?" the man said. "Anyone on the street could tell them where Jeod lives. What are you charging them for?"

Brom swept the coins back into his purse as Gareth shot a venomous look at the man at the table. The bartender turned his back on them and began polishing his broken glass again. Brom went over to the stranger and said, "Thanks. The name's Neal. This is Evan, and Brian."

The man raised a mug to them. "Martin, and of course you met Gareth." The man's voice was rough and deep.

"Of course, sir," Blaster said, throwing on his deeper, British accent again.

"Go ahead and sit down," Martin said, gesturing to some empty chairs. "I don't mind." Eragon moved the chair he was going to sit in against the wall, facing the door. Martin raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment.

"You just saved me a few crowns," Brom said.

"My pleasure," Martin replied. "Can't blame Gareth, though. Business hasn't been doing so well lately." He scratched his chin before continuing. "Jeod lives on the west side of town, right next to Angela, the herbalist. Do have business with him?"

"You could say that," Blaster said.

"Well, he won't be interested in buying anything. He just lost another ship a few days ago."

Brom seemed interested in this bit of news. "What happened? It wasn't Urgals, was it?"

"No," Martin replied. "They've left the area. No one's seen 'em in almost a year. Seems they've all gone south and east. But they aren't the problem. You see, most of our business is through sea trade, as I'm sure you know. Well," he took a swig from his mug, "starting several months ago, someone's been attacking our ships. It's not the usual piracy because only the ships that carry the goods of certain merchants are attacked."

"Now, that's odd," Blaster commented. "And I suppose that Jeod's vessels are amongst those under attack?"

"Correct, young man," Martin said. "It's gotten so bad that no captain will accept those merchants' goods, which makes life difficult around here. Especially because some of 'em run the largest shipping businesses in the Empire. They're being forced to send goods by land. It has driven costs painfully high, and their caravans don't always make it to their destination."

"Have you any idea who's responsible?" Brom asked. "There must be witnesses."

"No one survives the attacks," Martin replied. "Ships go out, then disappear. They're never seen again." He leaned forward and half-whispered, "The sailors are saying it's magic." He winked, then leaned back.

"What do you think?" Brom asked. He seemed to be worried by the news. Martin merely shrugged.

"I dunno," he said. "And I don't think I will unless I'm unfortunate enough to be on one of those captured ships."

"Are you a sailor?" Eragon asked.

"No," Martin snorted. "Do I look like one? The captains hire me to defend their ships against pirates. And those thieving scum haven't been very active lately. Still, it's a good job."

"But a dangerous one," Brom said. Martin merely shrugged, then downed the last of his beer.

Brom, Eragon, and Blaster took their leave and headed toward the west side of the city. Here, the buildings were more ornate, clean, and rather large. People here seemed to walk with authority, causing both Blaster and Eragon to feel a bit out of place. It wasn't hard to find the herbalist's shop, as it had a cheery sign over it. A short, curly-haired woman sat by the door, a frog in one hand, a pad and quill in the other. Blaster and Eragon assumed this must be Angela. On either side of the store was a house.

"Which house do you think is his?" Eragon asked.

Brom thought for a moment, then said, "Let's find out." He approached the woman. "Could you tell us which house Jeod lives in?"

"I could." She continued writing.

"Will you tell us?"

"Yes." She fell silent, but her pen scribbled faster than ever. The frog in her hand croaked and looked at them. Eragon and Brom waited uncomfortably, but she didn't say anything. Blaster had a smirk on his face. Eragon was about to blurt something out when Angela looked up. "Of course I'll tell you! All you have to do is ask. Your first question was whether or not I could tell you, and the second was if I would tell you. But you never actually put the question to me."

"Stand aside, gentlemen," Blaster said. "I've had experience with this. Allow a professional to do his work." He approached the woman so she could see him and asked, "In which house does Jeod live? Also, why are you holding a frog?"

"Ah, finally," she said. "Now we're getting somewhere. Jeod is on the right. And as for the frog, he's actually a toad."

"To this day, I still can't tell the difference between a frog and a toad," Blaster muttered.

"I'm trying to prove that toads don't exist," she continued, "that there are only frogs."

"How can toads not exist if you have one in your hand right now?" Eragon asked. "Besides, what good will it do to prove that there are only frogs?"

The woman shook her head vigorously, causing her curls to bounce around. "No, no, you don't understand. If I prove toads don't exist, then this is a frog and never was a toad. Therefore the toad you see now doesn't exist. And," she raised a finger, "if I can prove there are only frogs, then toads won't be able to do anything bad, like make teeth fall out, cause warts, and poison or kill people. Also, witches won't be able to use any of their evil spells because, of course, there won't be any toads."

"Well, that's rather interesting," Brom said. "I would like to hear more, but we have to meet with Jeod."

"Of course," she said, waving her hand and returning to her studies.

Once out of the herbalist's earshot, Eragon stated, "She's crazy!"

"It's possible," Blaster said.

"But, you never know," Brom added. "She might discover something useful, so don't criticize. Who knows, toads might really be frogs."

"And my shoes are made of gold," Eragon retorted.

"That could be arranged," Blaster commented. Eragon rolled his eyes.

They stopped before a door with a wrought-iron knocker and a marble doorstep. They approached the door, then Brom took the handle of the knocker and banged three times.

Have they found the right house? Will they get their answers? When will toads be revealed to be frogs? Find out next time on Free Riders. Updating Tuesdays and Fridays now.

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