How It All Goes Down
Strangers in Carvahall
- It's the morning of Roran's departure.
- At breakfast, Garrow gives him some coins he's been saving and a kiss on the noggin.
- Then he gives both Roran and Eragon advice: basically, to be respectful, honest, but independent people. You know, the kind of advice good fathers give their sons and nephews.
- After the speech, Roran and Eragon ride off for Carvahall.
- In the village, they meet up with Dempston at Horst's smithy.
- While Dempston is getting everything ready to go, Horst pulls Eragon aside. He tells Eragon that yesterday two men in dark, hooded cloaks and carrying swords showed up. They were asking about Eragon's blue stone. Nobody said anything, but Horst thinks someone like Sloan would tell them about Eragon. Yikes.
- Eragon doesn't mention that the stone is now a dragon. Instead, he says good-bye to his cousin and then skedaddles.
- He makes like he's headed home, but then he doubles back. He sneaks over to Sloan's, where he overhears that jerky jerk-face telling two men about him and the stone. What a… jerk.
- The two strangers thank Sloan and head outside. When Eragon moves to get a better look at them, they see him. Oops.
- He's powerless to do anything, frozen with fear. The strangers advance until…
- Brom shows up to save the day. He calls out for Eragon and the strangers "hiss" and take off (9.48).
- Brom asks Eragon why he looks sick, but Eragon plays it down. Then he advises Eragon to walk home. But before he does, Brom wants to know if Eragon remembers the name of that trader who told him about the dragons.
- Eragon stonewalls him: "Nuh-uh."
- As he turns to leave, Eragon's mitt falls on the ground. Brom picks it up to hand back to him, then jerks Eragon's wrist and gets a good look at the white scar on Eragon's palm—you know, the one he got when he first touched Saphira.
- Eragon takes off, and Brom goes on his way, whistling merrily.