Chapter 5

Before leaving the valley, Eragon grabs his sword and belt from their hiding place in the forest. When Brom sees the sword he rubs his eyes thinking he is seeing things. 

When he realizes that the sword is real, he walks up to Eragon and inspects it. Having seen many Rider blades in his life, Brom instinctively can tell that while the sword is not made of metal, it was made with craftsmanship far beyond what Eragon should be capable of. 

The stone sword was obviously shaped with magic but the attention to detail and the uncut sapphire that is inside the handle and running up the side of the blade fascinates him to no end. Inspecting it further he notices that it is even enchanted. 

"How did you make such a sword Eragon? I never even taught you how to enchant items yet."

Eragon looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "You mean it isn't supposed to be so easy to enchant items? What I enchanted it with was standard in my mind. I just made the blade drain energy from the gem instead of lowering its durability and added a simple size-altering enchantment that can make the tip of the blade extend over ten meters."

Brom has the most incredulous look on his face. "Standard? You call this standard? That is a high level enchantment you have made here. Even I would struggle to make such a sword. You're telling me you can do this with only a few short months of training? You haven't even finished learning the ancient language yet!!! It was quite reckless of you to do this. Show me what your sword can do so I can determine how harsh I need to be with you in our next training session." 

Eragon and Brom stop in a clearing in the forest. Eragon places Saphira off to the side and gives her some food before walking to the middle of the clearing with his sword. 

"Afbrakka" (Enlarge). The sword blade lengthens by five meters in the span of a second. "Brakka" (Reduce). The blade returns to its normal size in the same amount of time. Eragon starts to do simple sword movements whilst changing the size of the sword with a simple word, the blade humming through the air as he cuts through falling leaves. While his form is choppy and lacks grace he makes up for it in precision and the strength of his swings.

Brom's jaw hits the floor at the sight. He has never seen such an astounding feat of magic and sword skill from someone so young. 

Brom has fought in countless wars and seen true feats of magic but what Eragon just did with only a few weeks of training can easily qualify him as a high tier combatant of the human race. Such talent is unheard of even among the riders and puts him almost on par with the elves. 

And while his swordsmanship is not that great, He has built himself a solid foundation from which he should easily be able to incorporate other sword techniques with practice. 

"What was Garrow feeding him?" Brom thinks to himself. "He has a decent enough swordsmanship foundation, his enchantment skills are at a high level, his muscles are well defined, and he can cast magic better than most human mages. My son is a genius greater than any I have ever seen. With the right training, he will be the best hope we have against Galbatorix. I'm happy with his progress but I can't condone reckless magic casting. Any one of his enchantments can kill him if he is not careful."

Brom rolls up his sleeves. "Now listen here son. I've told you this once and I will tell you again. Magic is dangerous. One wrong syllable and you will be a shriveled up corpse in a second. You will infer with me first before you do any more enchanting is that clear."

Eragon lowers his head. "Alright Brom. I will not enchant anything without your approval from now on. We can talk more about my magic on the road. We are due for a snow storm soon and I would like to get south of the valley before we get snowed in."

Eragon sheaths his sword and places Saphira on his shoulder. Her tail wraps around his neck as she cuddles up to him. They pick up their supplies and continue on their journey, their first stop being the town of Therinsford. 

During their travels, Brom coaches Eragon in proper sword techniques along with some survival skills. The flora and fauna of this world, while mostly similar to his previous world, still has a few new ones that he has to familiarize himself with. Brom teaches him what mushrooms are poisonous, what plants are edible and how to cook them, the dangerous wildlife that they may encounter, and a multitude of other miscellaneous things that a normal sixteen year old would never be able to remember. 

It's a good thing that he is not a normal sixteen year old. He is a reincarnator with the knowledge of his previous world and the excitement of getting to live in one of his favorite fantasy worlds. And from what Eragon has determined, he didn't just get thrown into this world without a reincarnator bonus, or what most would call a 'Golden Finger'. For in his previous life he was never this clear headed and focused. 

This gives him the impression that he has received some kind of mind buff that will help him learn quicker and make him more efficient when casting magic. It also helps that when a human binds with a dragon, their magic capacity increases greatly over time. Then you factor in the ability to fill any gems he keeps on his person with excess energy every day, the power at his fingertips is already at a mid to high level for this world. 

The only thing that can make him exponentially stronger at this moment is for him to somehow get his hands on some Eldunari, a large crystal that is in the chest of every dragon that houses their mind and soul. Galbatorix has a host of these gems and has been slowly breaking the minds of the dragons trapped within over the past few decades. 

"I just need to get the Eldunari from… from… Wait, what was I talking about again?" Eragon rubs the back of his head in contemplation before getting a smack in the back of the head by Brom. 

"Think you can doze off in the middle of my lesson aye? Guess I will have to work you extra hard in our combat practice later. There will be many a time where you might not have a weapon nearby so we will start some unarmed combat training after supper." 

Brom gives Eragon a devilish smirk as this was the first time he has caught him slacking and just couldn't resist giving him a taste of what his teachers used to do to him. 

…

On the third day of trekking through the forest, they arrive at the outskirts of Therinsford. They manage to enter the small settlement with no issue due to the snowstorm that had just begun to bury the town in fluffy snow. Eragon carefully places Saphira in his rucksack, making sure she is well fed and tries his best to make sure she knows to stay inside and not move around.

After asking some of the nearby residents that are putting away their outdoor items, they soon find themselves dusting off the snow on their cloaks in the entryway to a small tavern. Some haggard faces turn their way, looking the duo up and down before returning to their conversations. Brom and Eragon sit at an unoccupied table in the back with a clear view of the entrance. A young woman with fiery red hair wearing an apron approaches them.

"Welcome sirs, to the Smirkin' Serpent, what can I get for you?" 

Brom looks at her casually. "We would like a warm supper and a single room for the night. What are you serving tonight and how much will it cost me?" 

The woman nods. "We've a wonderful boar stew simmering with ample servings of hard bread. The meal for both of you and a room will be five crowns." 

Brom looks at her quizzically. "Five crowns… A tad expensive isn't it." 

The woman shrugs her shoulders. "Ain't no other place in town where strangers can sleep during such a storm. You're welcome to use the stables…" 

Brom grimaces. "We will take the room." He fishes out five crowns from a pouch on his waist and hands them to her. 

She takes the money and gives a small curtsy. "A pleasure doing business with ya. Your meal will be over shortly." 

A little while later, Brom and Eragon are eating their meal, the ambient voices of the other patrons a welcome change of pace from the sounds of the woods. Both of them are listening in on the nearby conversations, picking up bits of information. It seems that the traders have set up camp near the outskirts of the town and they plan on heading to Carvahall once the storm dissipates. 

Other than that, it appears that the empire is suffering more than usual these last few months. Supposedly, the Varden have been raiding and pillaging villages and towns all throughout the empire, killing anyone that gets in their way. 

Eragon snorts in contempt, knowing for a fact that it is the urgals under the influence of Galbatorix attacking the towns. He must already be gathering them for the attack on Farthen Dur, the capital of the dwarves hidden within the massive mountain range known as the Beor Mountains.

Once they finish their meal, Brom heads upstairs to the room they were given with Eragon following behind. Once he closes the door, Brom mutters a spell under his breath, enveloping the room in eerie silence. 

"There… Now we can talk without anyone listening. We will be staying here for the night then leaving before first light. I will go out and purchase some horses." 

Brom walks closer to Eragon, stabbing a finger at his chest. "Stay here, do not answer the door for any reason, and don't practice magic. I don't want to come back and find the inn burned to the ground."

Eragon fakes a hurt look. "Do you not trust me to behave myself? I'm quite hurt by the insinuation."

Brom's scowl wavers, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "I wouldn't put it past you… I will be back in a few hours."

With that, Brom cancels his spell and exits the room, leaving Eragon to his own devices. Being extra cautious, Eragon sets up an alarm spell to warn him if someone is approaching the door before freeing Saphira from the confines of his rucksack. 

Saphira stretches her body before looking at him with a pleading expression. Eragon feeds her some meat before sitting down on the edge of the straw bed, Saphira climbing up his leg and sitting on his lap as if she owns it.

Eragon strokes her head and scratches under her chin, a look of sheer bliss on her face. He stares out the window, watching the snowfall cover the town. With nothing better to do, Eragon lays back on the bed, contemplating his existence in this world for the millionth time. 

While being in the Eragon world is a dream come true for Sam, he can't help but feel bad for the former Eragon. In the reincarnation novels of his past life, usually the reincarnator gets the memories of the person they become. Sam wonders if Eragon's soul was shoved out of his body to make room for him, and if so, where is it now?

Eragon's thoughts are interrupted by the alarm spell outside the door notifying him that someone is just outside his room. He quickly picks up Saphira and hides her under the bed just as someone knocks on the door. He pulls out a small hunting knife and walks up to the door, opening it just enough to see Brom standing outside. With a sigh of relief, Eragon opens the door once he enters.

As Brom walks in he sees the knife in Eragon's hand and nods in satisfaction. "Good work staying alert Eragon, you never know who will come knocking." 

He walks towards the bed and sits down, a small blue head appearing from under the thin sheet that drapes to the floor. Eragon beckons her to come out, the little dragon scrambling over the wooden floor towards him. He easily lifts her up and sits down next to Brom and places her on his lap. 

"So Brom… Did you get us some horses?" 

Brom shakes his head dejectedly. "I'm afraid not. The man was stubborn as a mule, claiming his horses were of a finer breed and that he plans to sire more of them. When he did give me a price, it was far more than anyone would be willing to spend. It will take a little while longer but we must skirt around Utgard and make for Yazuac. Utgard is home to a large contingent of empire soldiers so we must avoid it like the plague." 

Eragon nods. "If we are leaving before first light then we better get some rest. This will be the only time we get to sleep on a warm bed for a while, though I am guessing that I will be sleeping on the floor." 

Brom grimaces. "These old bones aren't used to this kind of treatment anymore so I will be taking the bed. Just unpack your cot and use that, it beats sleeping on the cold, hard ground." 

Eragon agrees and pulls out a sleeping bag from his rucksack. He spreads it out in the back of the room farthest from the door and the window before crawling in, Saphira curling up on top of his chest. Eragon gives her a few head ats before getting into a comfortable position and promptly passing out. 

Brom looks over at them with both happiness and determination burning in his eyes. Though it may be many years before he is ready, Brom wholeheartedly believes that Eragon has the potential to defeat Galbatorix and end his reign of terror.