We entered this two-story study with a bunch of cedar bookshelves. An iron staircase spiraled up to the second floor, where there was a balcony with two chairs and a table. One of the chairs was occupied by this lady with dark skin who was reading a book. The stone floor was covered by an exotic oval rug. At the end of the room, this guy stood behind a large walnut desk.
His skin was black, and he was bald with a nice beard. He wore a purple shirt covered by a red vest embroidered with gold thread. He looked like the kind of people you see in the boxing ring on television. This dude who was completely identical to Twin stood next to him.
"Arya, and the blue dragon," he said. These people always seem to forget me. He waved a hand at the guard, who bowed and ran off. "What a pleasant surprise."
The elf didn't waste any time on pleasantries. She shouted some random words at Twin's twin, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. "Ajihad," said Arya, "these two are traitors. They have been passing information on to Galbatorix."
"What?" asked Ajihad. "How do you know of this?"
"Open your mind, Ajihad. I must show you something," Arya said.
Ajihad hesitated, but nodded. I saw his eyes narrow, and he glared at Twin. "Guards," he cried. About twenty armed men ran in immediately from a back door. "Take the Twins and execute them. They are traitors to the Varden and have been found to be passing information to the Empire."
"What the heck," I said, as the twenty random people dragged the Twins out, one of them screaming for mercy and the other still unconscious. "Dude, seriously. We just came in here and you ordered them to be executed? You need to work on your first impressions some more."
"And you are?" asked Ajihad.
"This person," I said. "No, really, don't worry about me, just go ahead and do whatever you normally do. I'll just be standing over here and annoying you peeps."
"Please sit," he said, gesturing at a few leather armchairs. I plopped down on one, but Arya remained standing. "Now that the Twins are going to die, there are not many that can take their place."
"Du Vrangr Gata," said Arya.
Ajihad nodded slowly. "They will have to do, despite their lack of knowledge of the ancient language. I will send word later. Now, Arya, I would like you to tell me everything that happened since you were attacked."
"There is not much to tell," said Arya. "We were ambushed by the Shade Durza and his Urgals. I managed to send Saphira's egg away before they captured me."
"Saphira?" asked Ajihad.
Me, said Saphira.
Ajihad nodded some more. "Go on."
"I was drugged and put in a prison in Gil'ead, then tortured for information. They did not learn anything from me. Months afterwards, Dusk and Saphira rescued me and we escaped to Teirm. From there, we headed to Furnost and to the Beors." She said all of this in a really toneless voice. Bleh. Elves.
"Am I correct in assuming that you are Dusk?" Ajihad asked me.
"Wrong," I said. "I am Dusk, I'm not assumed to be Dusk. And, before you ask, I'm not Saphira's Rider. Her Rider's this little idiot that's running around with a paranoid grandpa."
"Saphira, do you know where your Rider is?" asked Ajihad.
No, Saphira answered. Dusk and I were captured by Durza near Therinsford. We did not know how long we were in Gil'ead, and we did not know where Eragon and Brom had gone after we escaped with Arya.
"That will make things difficult," said Ajihad, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I will send people out to bring Brom here as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Saphira, you can stay in the dragonhold above Isidar Mithrim, and Dusk, you can stay in one of the guest rooms."
"Is the dragonhold open to the sky?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Great, I'm staying there as well then," I said. "I don't like houses."
Ajihad didn't look too happy about that, but he agreed anyways. "I'll let Brum take you two up. He will take you to up to the dragonhold. Brum!"
A dwarf that was just a bit higher than my elbow entered from the front. He had a hammer tucked into his belt and looked as bored as I did, which is saying something.
"What is it?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Could you be a guide for Dusk and Saphira during their stay here?" said Ajihad. It was more of a command than a request.
"The dragonhold and the guest rooms?" Brum asked.
"No, just the dragonhold," Ajihad replied.
Brum looked mildly surprised by this, but nodded and turned. "Come on," he said.
"I expect you're hungry?" Brum said as we entered the big room with the jewel.
"Yeah," I said. My stomach growled in unison with Saphira's.
Brum turned to look at me. His eyes lingered on the dagger I had gotten from Gil'ead.
"Could I see that?" he said.
"You are seeing it, but if you mean holding it, yeah," I answered. I pulled the dagger out of its sheath and handed it to Brum. He examined it for a moment, than gave it back.
"That blade is made of the same material as a Rider's sword," he said, leading us down one of the halls. "Where did you find it?"
"The prison in Gil'ead," I said.
Brum said nothing else. He led us through the city and into a large cave with many stone tables and seats. A bunch of dwarves and humans sat there, eating plates of mushrooms and meat. They turned to stare at Saphira when we came in, but turned away as if they were scared she might eat them if they stared at her for too long.
"You two can stay here," Brum said, leading us to a table. Saphira curled up around it and I sat down on one of the stone benches. The dwarf vanished into another cave and came back later holding two plates of food. Two men came behind him, dragging a huge piece of raw meat.
The two people dumped the meat in front of Saphira and ran off, and Brum sat down next to me. He put one of the plates in front of me and began tearing into his own food. The dwarf and I started up a race to see who could finish first. I won by about two seconds and burped triumphantly. Saphira laughed.
Brum took the plates back before leading Saphira and me through a bunch more tunnels. We followed him up these stairs that seemed to last forever. Finally, we emerged in the dragonhold.
The dragonhold's floor was the big rose jewel we had seen earlier. It was insanely thick, and when Saphira walked on it, she didn't leave a single scratch. The dragonhold itself was a round roofless room sixty feet across and sixty feet high. Cave openings of varying size were dotted all along the walls. We came out of an arched entrance and stepped directly onto the big gem.
"You'll find that all of these caves have been furnished for a dragon and Rider each. If you need anything, ask someone for me and I'll come," said Brum. He turned and ran back down the stairs. I got the feeling he didn't like being in the dragonhold.
"I'll be in that one," I told Saphira, pointing at a tiny hole towards the top.
And I will stay there, Saphira said. She flew into a tunnel just large enough for her body about twenty feet above the gem.
I shrugged and launched myself towards the hole. It was so small that I had to crawl on my belly to get in, but it widened at the end into a decent sized cavern. There was a bed at the end and a large dragon-sized cushion. Don't ask me how they got those things inside, or why they put in a bed for a dragon when it was pretty obvious no dragon could get in. A dim red lantern had been stuffed into the wall.
I dropped onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.