Sja Fram [Inheritance Cycle | Eragon Fanfiction]

Chapter XXIII: Dras-Leona

Chapter XXIII: Dras-Leona

For days, we had ridden south along Leona Lake's vast shore. Our initial enthusiasm had started fading. However, we were heartened when we met men who said that Dras-Leona was an easy day's ride ahead.

The newxt the road was clogged with framers taking their goods to market in Dras-Leona. The three of us, Brom, Eragon, and I were forced to slow our horsesto wait for wagons that blocked the way.

It was noon when the city became visible, although before then we could see smoke in the distance. Dras-Leona was different from Teirm, which was a planned city. It was a tangled mess that sprawled out next to Leona Lake. Ramshackle buildings sat on crooked streets, and the heart of the city was surrounded by a dirty pale yellow wall of daubed mud.

Several kilometres east, a mountain of bare rock speared the sky with spires and columns, a tenebrous nightmare ship. Near-vertical sides rose out of the ground like a jagged piece of the earth's bone. Brom pointed at it.

"That is Helgrind. It's the reason Dras-Leona was originally built. People are fascinated by it, even though it's an unhealthy and malebolent thing." He gestured at the buildings inside the city. "We should go to the center of the city first."

As we crept along the road to Dras-Leona, I could see that the highest building within the city was a cathedral that loomed behind the walls. It was strikingly similar to Helgrind, especially when its arches and flanged spires caught the light. "Who do they worship?" Eragon asked.

"Their prayers go to Helgrind." Brom said, grimacing in distaste. "It's a cruel, barbaric religion they practise. They drink human blood and make flesh offerings." I frowned in thought, thinking that everything Brom was saying sounded familiar. "Their priests often lack body parts because they believe that the more bone and sinew you give up, the less you're attached to the mortal world. They spend so much of their time arguing about which of Helgrind's three peaks is the highest and most important and whether the fourth – and lowester – should be included in their worship."

"That's horrible," Eragon said with a shudder.

"Yes," Brom said grimily, "but don't say that to a believer. You'll quickly lose a hand in 'penance'."

At Dras-Leona's enormous gates, we led the horses through the crushing throng of people. There were ten guards stationed on either side of the gates casually scanning the ground. We passed into the city without incident.

The houses inside the city wall were tall and thin to compensate for the lake of space. Those next to the wall were braced against it. Most of the houses hung over the narrow, winding streets, covering the sky so it was hard to tell if it was night or day. Nearly all the buildings were constructed of the same rough brown wood, which darkened the city even more. The air reeked like a sewer; the streets were filthy.

A group of ragged children ran between the houses, fighting over scraps of bread. Deformed beggars crouched next to the entrance gates, pleading for money. I shivered. Their cries for help were like a chorus of the damned. "I won't stay here," Eragon said angrily.

Istal nodded his head in agreement. "It gets better farther in," Brom promised. "Right now we need to find an inn and form a strategy. Dras-Leona can be a dangerous place to even the most cautious. I don't want to remain on the streets any longer than necessary.

We forged deeper into Dras-Leona, leaving the squalid entrance behind. As we entered the wealthier parts of the city, I looked around in confusion. How do the people here live in ease when the suffering that's surrounds them is so obvious? I asked myself.