Experiment #15 - Eragon - Chapters 3 and 4

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Eragon - Chapters 3 and 4
By Christopher Paolini


The evening after their return from Carvahall, Eragon decided to test the stone

Riku: The stone kept failing the quizzes.

as Merlock

Aqua: Mer...lock? That doesn’t sound quite right.

had.

Alone in his room, he set it on his bed and laid three tools next to it. He started with a wooden mallet and lightly tapped the stone. It produced a subtle ringing. Satisfied,

Harry: Much like any toddler would be while making noise.

he picked up the next tool, a heavy leather hammer. A mournful peal reverberated when it struck. Lastly, he pounded a small chisel against it. The metal did not chip or scratch the stone, but it produced the clearest sound yet. As the final note died away, he thought he heard a faint squeak.

Harry: That was just the rats asking him to please keep it down. Damn kids and their music.

Merlock said the stone was hollow; there could be something of value inside. I don’t know how to open it, though. There must have been a good reason for someone to shape it, but whoever sent the stone into the Spine hasn’t taken the trouble to retrieve it or doesn’t know
where it is. But I don’t believe that a magician with enough power to transport the stone wouldn’t be able to find it again. So was I meant to have it? He could not answer the question. Resigned to an unsolvable mystery, he picked up the tools and returned the stone to its shelf.

Harry: These tense changes are making my head hurt.
Riku: Must be so we’ll sympathize with the obviously-an-egg that keeps getting pounded on.

That night he was abruptly roused from sleep. He listened carefully. All was quiet. Uneasy, he slid his hand under the mattress and grasped his knife. He waited a few minutes, then slowly sank back to sleep.

Harry: Thank you book, for that wholly necessary paragraph. I never would have been able to find peace without knowing that what’s-his-face got back to sleep.
Aqua: I’m more interested in why he woke up.
Riku: He rolled over the knife.

A squeak pierced the silence, tearing him back to wakefulness. He rolled out of bed and yanked the knife from its sheath. Fumbling with a tinderbox, he lit a candle. The door to his room was closed. Though the squeak was too loud for a mouse or rat, he still checked under the bed. Nothing. He sat on the edge of the mattress and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Another squeak filled the air, and he started violently.

Aqua: It can’t be all that startling now, can it?
Riku: Most things I start violently tend to be videogames I know I’m going to hate.
Aqua: Then why start them at all?
Riku: You’ve seen me and Sora compete?
Aqua: *nods* Terra and Ven do it too, sometimes.
Riku: There you go.

Where was the noise was coming from? Nothing could be in the floor or walls; they were solid wood. The same went for his bed, and he would have noticed if anything had crawled into his straw mattress during the night.

Riku: Though he can sleep on a knife.
Aqua: Ah, but knives don’t usually crawl.
Riku: This is the kid who can’t figure out he has an egg. For all we know, he unsheathes the thing in his sleep.
Harry: They can’t crawl, but they can stab you in the eye pretty good if you roll over.

His eyes settled on the stone. He took it off the shelf and absently cradled it as he studied the room. A squeak rang in his ears and reverberated through his fingers; it came from the stone.

Riku: Good reverb and subwoofers.

The stone had given him nothing but frustration and anger, and now it would not even let him sleep!

Aqua: Payback for his earlier efforts.

It ignored his furious glare and sat solidly, occasionally peeping.

Riku: It’s a smoke detector!

Then it gave one very loud squeak and fell silent. Eragon warily put it away and got back under the sheets.
Whatever secret the stone held, it would have to wait until morning.

The moon was shining through his window when he woke again. The stone was rocking rapidly on the shelf, knocking against the wall. It was bathed in cool moonlight that bleached its surface. Eragon jumped out of bed, knife in hand. The motion stopped, but he remained tense.
Then the stone started squeaking and rocking faster than ever.

Harry: Sleeping with a knife under your pillow sounds like some teenager’s idea of badass, without realizing that taking a nap with a razor sharp blade under your head is less than ideal.
Riku: Count this teenager out.

With an oath, he began dressing.

Riku: He was the turkey.

He did not care how valuable the stone might be; he was going to take it far away and bury it. The rocking stopped; the stone became quiet. It quivered, then rolled forward and dropped onto the floor with a loud thump. He inched toward the door in alarm as the stone wobbled toward him.

Suddenly a crack appeared on the stone. Then another and another. Transfixed, Eragon leaned forward, still holding the knife. At the top of the stone, where all the cracks met, a small piece wobbled, as if it were balanced on something, then rose and toppled to the floor. After another series of squeaks, a small dark head poked out of the hole,

Aqua: If all the cracks are meeting, I’m not sure there’s much room for a hole.

followed by a weirdly angled body. Eragon gripped the knife tighter and held very still.

Riku: It can’t see you if you don’t move!
Aqua: Now if only that worked for the story...
Riku: If the stories would go away if we held still, I think we’d all be suffering from muscle degeneration.
Aqua: They only come around once a week. I’m sure we’d still have time to move.
Riku: *Smirks* Nah, they’re attracted to movement. And sanity. It’s why they keep coming every week.

Soon the creature was all the way out of the stone. It stayed in place for a moment, then skittered into the moonlight.

Eragon recoiled in shock. Standing in front of him, licking off the membrane that encased it, was a dragon.

Harry: *Traumatic flashback to venom cocks* If he gets an erection, I’m out.
Riku: *Stares at Harry*


AWAKENING

The dragon was no longer than his forearm, yet it was dignified and noble.

Aqua: Also small and gangly.
Riku: And likely covered in goo, still.
Harry: Ah, the noble placenta.
Riku: *Stares at Harry again*

Its scales were deep sapphire blue, the same color as the stone. But not a stone, he realized, an egg.

Riku: Took him long enough.

The dragon fanned its wings; they were what had made it appear so contorted. The wings were several times longer than its body and ribbed with thin fingers of bone that extended from the wing’s front edge,

Aqua: ...From the front edge?
Riku: I don’t think the author knows what bat wings look like.
Harry: I’m not sure the author knows how to write.

forming a line of widely spaced talons. The dragon’s head was roughly triangular. Two diminutive white fangs curved down out of its upper jaw. They looked very sharp.

Aqua: Yes. Fangs usually are.

Its claws were also white, like polished ivory, and slightly serrated on the inside curve. A line of small spikes ran down the creature’s spine from the base of its head to the tip of its tail. A hollow where its neck and shoulders joined

Riku: Oops, there’s a hole in the dragon.
Aqua: It must be a holy dragon, then.
Riku: ...I see what you did there. Liz is a bad influence.
Aqua: It predates her, actually. Ven and Terra can tell you.
Harry: Doesn’t help that this story is dragen.

created a larger-than-normal gap between the spikes.

Eragon shifted slightly, and the dragon’s head snapped around.

Riku: Man, that neck broke fast. Did us a favor. Is it over yet?

Hard, ice-blue eyes fixed on him. He kept very still. It might be a formidable enemy if it decided to attack.

The dragon lost interest in Eragon and awkwardly explored the room, squealing as it bumped into a wall or furniture. With a flutter of wings, it leapt onto the bed and crawled to his pillow, squeaking. Its mouth was open pitifully, like a young bird’s, displaying rows of pointed teeth.

Aqua: *to Eragon* Well, aren’t you going to feed it?
Riku: *As Eragon* I’d prefer to hit it with my leather hammer first to see what sound it makes!

Eragon sat cautiously on the end of the bed. The dragon smelled his hand, nibbled his sleeve. He pulled his arm back.

Riku: -Since his hand was now eaten.

A smile tugged at Eragon’s lips

Riku: *Awkwardly* Sora did the same thing to my lips once.

as he looked at the small creature. Tentatively, he reached out with his right hand and touched its flank.

Aqua: Hopefully he doesn’t lose this hand, too.
Riku: Brave moron, isn’t he?
Aqua: I suppose that’s one way to put it.
Harry: *I* just hope he doesn’t feed it after midnight.

A blast of icy energy surged into his hand and raced up his arm, burning in his veins like liquid fire.

Riku: Heh, looks like Eragon hatched a bug-zapper.
Aqua: I wouldn’t think the two elements would mix like that.
Riku: You’d know, I’m not the magic expert. Harry?
Harry: Mixing elements can be done, but it’s exceptionally difficult. You basically have to formulate the magic into two opposing constructs, then attempt to maintain your mental image of them while continuing to remember the intent of your spell, marshalling your will, and keeping your brain from running out your ears.
Aqua: Mmm. That’s what I’ve read, but I don’t think the effect is right either. If it’s mixed well enough he shouldn’t be getting it layering like that.
Harry: Not without a foci at least, you’re right. I mean, if he were a Queen of Fey, he could have the subtle intrinsic skill to pull it off, but even they can’t blend opposing elements like that. Unless he was symbolically using a construct like oil that mixes notions of fire and water together, he might pull it off.
Aqua: I...guess the egg could maybe be a focus? But I’m pretty sure neither of the two of them are Fair-- ah, one of the Fey.
Riku: ...Wow.

He fell back with a wild cry. An iron clang filled his ears, and he heard a soundless scream of rage.

Riku: *Makes tick marks in the air as he quotes.* Heard a soundless...

Every part of his body seared with pain. He struggled to move, but was unable to. After what seemed like hours, warmth seeped back into his limbs, leaving them tingling. Shivering uncontrollably, he pushed himself upright. His hand was numb, his fingers paralyzed. Alarmed, he watched as the middle of his palm shimmered and formed a diffused white oval. The skin itched and burned like a spider bite. His heart pounded frantically.

Riku: Some people lick poison toads. Eragon electrocutes himself on a dragon to trip.
Aqua: ...Well, some people juggle geese.
Riku: *Pauses and looks to Aqua* ...Hobbies.
Harry: Let’s be fair, had there been electricity in his world, he probably would have stuck his finger in a socket long ago.

Eragon blinked, trying to understand what had occurred. Something brushed against his consciousness, like a finger trailing over his skin.

Riku: It’s open brain surgery.

He felt it again, but this time it solidified into a tendril of thought through which he could feel a growing curiosity. It was as if an invisible wall surrounding his thoughts had fallen away, and he was now free to reach out with his mind. He was afraid that without anything to hold him back, he would float out of his body and be unable to return, becoming a spirit of the ether. Scared, he pulled away from the contact. The new sense vanished as if he had closed his eyes. He glared suspiciously at the motionless dragon.

Harry: Kid, I speak from experience, just say no to out of body experiences and inviting other people into your head.
Riku: *Mutters* Or heart.

A scaly leg scraped against his side, and he jerked back. But the energy did not shock him again.

Aqua: Ah, so dragons are one-time use.
Riku: Which makes this story more useless.

Puzzled, he rubbed the dragon’s head with his right hand. A light tingling ran up his arm.

Riku: He must like being electrocuted.

The dragon nuzzled him, arching its back like a cat. He slid a finger over its thin wing membranes. They felt like old parchment, velvety and warm, but still slightly damp. Hundreds of slender veins pulsed through them.

Again the tendril touched his mind,

Riku: Ursula. OUT.

but this time, instead of curiosity, he sensed an overpowering, ravenous hunger.

Aqua: Of course the poor thing’s ravenous! It only just hatched!
Riku: ...And I thought the first thing babies did was sleep.
Harry: Common misconception. They actually usually shock you into unconsciousness, then break their way into your mind.

He got up with a sigh. This was a dangerous animal, of that he was sure. Yet it seemed so helpless crawling on his bed, he could only wonder if there was any harm in keeping it. The dragon wailed in a reedy tone as it looked for food.

Riku: A few minutes ago you wanted to get rid of some rock for keeping you up, but you’re cool with a creature that ate your hand.
Aqua: ...He hasn’t stopped the bleeding either, unless I missed it. Maybe it’s the bloodloss?
Riku: Probably. Though he’s delirious anyway.
Harry: *knowingly* Blood loss will do that.

Eragon quickly scratched its head to keep it quiet. I’ll think about this later, he decided, and left the room, carefully closing the door.

Harry: Thinking not really being his strong suit to begin with.

Returning with two strips of dried meat, he found the dragon sitting on the windowsill, watching the moon.

Aqua: Yes, we got that the moon was important. You don’t really need to tell us so often.
Riku: *Mutters* ...Must be Saix.
Aqua: ???
Riku: Later.

He cut the meat into small squares and offered one to the dragon. It smelled the square cautiously, then jabbed its head forward like a snake and snatched the meat from his fingers, swallowing it whole with a peculiar jerk. The dragon prodded Eragon’s hand for more food.

He fed it, careful to keep his fingers out of the way.

Riku: He didn’t want to lose those, too.

By the time there was only one square left, the dragon’s belly was bulging.

Harry: Only you can fight dragon obesity.

He proffered the last piece; the dragon considered it for a moment, then lazily snapped it up. Done eating, it crawled onto his arm and curled against his chest. Then it snorted, a puff of dark smoke rising from its nostrils. Eragon looked at it with wonder.

Just when he thought the dragon was asleep, a low humming came from its vibrating throat.

Riku: Just say “purr,” okay?

Gently, he carried it to the bed and set it by his pillow. The dragon, eyes closed, wrapped its tail around the bedpost contentedly. Eragon lay next to it, flexing his hand in the near darkness.

He faced a painful dilemma: By raising a dragon, he could become a Rider. Myths and stories about Riders were treasured, and being one would automatically place him among those legends. However, if the Empire discovered the dragon, he and his family would be put to death unless he joined the king.

Aqua: Oh, so there is a point to all this.

No one could-or would-help them. The simplest solution was just to kill the dragon, but the idea was repugnant, and he rejected it.

Riku: It’s separation anxiety. He misses his hand.

Dragons were too revered for him to even consider that. Besides, what could betray us? he thought. We live in a remote area and have done nothing to draw attention.

Aqua: Apart from hatching a dragon? The one that might get you killed if the wrong person finds out?
Riku: Or loses a hand to it?
Harry: Or have it grow into a giant fire breathing lizard.

The problem was convincing Garrow and Roran to let him keep the dragon. Neither of them would care to have a dragon around. I could raise it in secret. In a month or two it will be too large for Garrow to get rid of, but will he accept it? Even if he does, can I get enough food for the dragon while it’s hiding? It’s no larger than a small cat, but it ate an entire handful of meat! I suppose it’ll be able to hunt for itself eventually, but how long until then?

Riku: And how many times are we going to deal with a change from third to first person?
Aqua: It would be so bad if the author just let us know they were his thoughts.
Riku: Like that tendril.
Harry: What if it decides to hunt people?
Riku: It’d probably do us all a favor.

Will it be able to survive the cold outside? All the same, he wanted the dragon. The more he thought about it, the surer he was. However things might work out with Garrow, Eragon would do everything he could to protect it. Determined, he fell asleep with the dragon cradled against him.

Harry: This could all have been avoided if Garrow had just gotten him that puppy he asked for.

When dawn came, the dragon was sitting atop his bedpost, like an ancient sentinel welcoming the new day. Eragon marveled at its color. He had never seen such a clear, hard blue.

Riku: Most blues he sees are just firm.

Its scales were like hundreds of small gemstones. He noticed that the white oval on his palm, where he had touched the dragon, had a silvery sheen. He hoped he could hide it by keeping his hands dirty.

Riku: His mom’ll be on him for that.

The dragon launched off the post and glided to the floor. Eragon gingerly picked it up and left the quiet house,

Aqua: So much for hiding it.
Riku: He’s so proud of his scaly kid he has to show it off.

pausing to grab meat, several leather strips, and as many rags as he could carry. The crisp morning was

Riku: Crunchy.
Aqua: And cold.
Riku: He should put that in the microwave.

beautiful; a fresh layer of snow covered the farm. He smiled as the small creature looked around with interest from the safety of his arms.

Hurrying across the fields, he walked silently into the dark forest, searching for a safe place for the dragon to stay. Eventually he found a rowan tree standing alone on a barren knoll,

Riku: And not at all obvious.
Aqua: I guess he wants to make sure he can find it again.
Riku: And everyone else.
Harry: Everyone will be distracted by the forest fire.

its branches snow-tipped gray fingers that reached toward the sky. He set the dragon down by the base of the trunk and shook the leather onto the ground.

With a few deft movements, he made a noose and slipped it over the dragon’s head as it explored the snowy clumps surrounding the tree.

Riku: Oh, so he is killing it, he’ll sleep better.
Harry: What, he didn’t want to use his tiny guillotine?
Aqua: It tends to stick when it gets cold.

The leather was worn, but it would hold. He watched the dragon crawl around, then untied the noose from its neck and fashioned a makeshift harness for its legs so the dragon would not strangle itself. Next he gathered an armful of sticks and built a crude hut high in the branches, layering the inside with rags and stashing the meat. Snow fell on his face as the tree swayed. He hung more rags over the front of the shelter to keep heat inside. Pleased, he surveyed his work.

“Time to show you your new home, ” he said, and lifted the dragon up into the branches. It wriggled, trying to get free, then clambered into the hut, where it ate a piece of meat, curled up, and blinked coyly at him. “You’ll be fine as long as you stay in here, ” he instructed. The dragon blinked again.

Sure that it had not understood him, Eragon groped with his mind until he felt the dragon’s consciousness.

Riku: And so the dragon felt violated.
Harry: It’s not the only one.

Again he had the terrible feeling of openness-of a space so large it pressed down on him like a heavy blanket. Summoning his strength, he focused on the dragon and tried to impress on it one idea: Stay here. The dragon stopped moving and cocked its head at him. He pushed harder:

Riku: It was squished.

Stay here. A dim acknowledgment came tentatively through the link, but Eragon wondered if it really understood. After all, it’s only an animal. He retreated from the contact with relief and felt the safety of his own mind envelop him.

Eragon left the tree, casting glances backward. The dragon stuck its head out of the shelter and watched with large eyes as he left.

After a hurried walk home, he sneaked back into his room to dispose of the egg fragments.

Riku: And leftover bits of hand.

He was sure Garrow and Roran would not notice the egg’s absence-it had faded from their thoughts after they learned it could not be sold. When his family got up, Roran mentioned that he had heard some noises during the night but, to Eragon’s relief, did not pursue the issue.

Riku: Eragon just replaced the batteries in the smoke alarm.
Harry: And replaced all the booze he swiped from Garrow’s liquor cabinet.

Eragon’s enthusiasm made the day go by quickly. The mark on his hand proved easy to hide, so he soon stopped worrying about it. Before long he headed back to the rowan, carrying sausages he had pilfered from the cellar.

Harry: For King Theodan was hungry.

With apprehension, he approached the tree. Is the dragon able to survive outside in winter?

Aqua: *correcting* “Was the dragon able to...”
Riku: Apparently time is meaningless. Or he’d have bled out by now.

His fears were groundless. The dragon was perched on a branch, gnawing on something between its front legs.

Harry: *shudder* What is it with these dragon experiments and genital mutilation?

It started squeaking excitedly when it saw him. He was pleased to see that it had remained in the tree, above the reach of large predators.

Riku: Not like it could fly away or anything...

As soon as he dropped the sausages at the base of the trunk, the dragon glided down. While it voraciously tore apart the food, Eragon examined the shelter. All the meat he had left was gone, but the hut was intact, and tufts of feathers littered the floor. Good. It can get its own food.

Aqua: *correcting again* “It could get...”
Riku: I think we entered his mind again.
Harry: Would explain why it all seems so empty.

It struck him that he did not know if the dragon was a he or a she. He lifted and turned it over, ignoring its squeals of displeasure, but was unable to find any distinguishing marks.

Riku: Man that dragon’s violated.
Harry: *mutters something that sounds like venom cocks in a haunted tone*

It seems like it won’t give up any secrets without a struggle.

He spent a long time with the dragon. He untied it, set it on his shoulder, and went to explore the woods. The snow-laden trees watched over them like solemn pillars of a great cathedral. In that isolation, Eragon showed the dragon what he knew about the forest, not caring if it understood his meaning. It was the simple act of sharing that mattered. He talked to it continuously. The dragon gazed back at him with bright eyes, drinking in his words.

Riku: They were like flat soda.

For a while he just sat with it resting in his arms and watched it with wonder, still stunned by recent events.

Aqua: But still... talking, apparently?
Riku: He has no friends so he talks to hear himself.
Harry: Doubt the dragon is interested in what he has to say.

Eragon started for home at sunset, conscious of two hard blue eyes drilling into his back,

Riku: If looks could kill.
Harry: Oh if only.

indignant at being left behind.

Riku: By all of us. Let’s get out of here.