Percy's Point of View
It had been a couple weeks since we'd left Carvahall and started making our way through the spine. I did everything I could to help the villagers. I revealed one of my other powers to them albeit hesitantly. I wasn't sure how they would react, but if I didn't, I suspected that some of them might end up starving. That power was the one I got from Hestia that allowed me to make food appear. Unfortunately, even that power took some of my strength and I couldn't conjure up enough food for everyone. Due to this the villagers insisted I use that power to make sure the children got enough food. Another villager who they asked me to give food to was Elain, Horst's wife, who was pregnant.
Right now, we were doing okay foodwise, but I knew that wasn't going to last. Eventually, we would have to ration the food even more than we already were and I was worried that not everyone would survive. Late one evening I wandered away from the rest of the villagers, I know it probably wasn't the smartest thing I could have done since we were in a completely unfamiliar mountain range, but I had my weapons and I was sure I could take care of myself if I did run into anything. After everything that had been happening, I just needed some time to think. I felt drawn further into the mountains, I wondered if that was Kilf directing me to go there if it wasn't, I was concerned since I was sure that if it wasn't her it probably wasn't anything good.
Eventually, I stopped as I nearly tripped over something on the ground. When I looked that the object it made me think of a gemstone, but I had a feeling that wasn't actually what it was. The object was a similar shade of green as my eyes and it was smooth, its shape made me think of an egg, but that couldn't be what it was could it? If it was one, what kind of creature could be in an egg that size? I thought to myself wondering what it was. I had an urge to take it with me I wasn't sure why it couldn't really be of any use to me as far as I knew. I did take it with me though uncertain of what it was that I had found. I put it with the rest of my things and never bothered to mention it to the other villagers. It just hadn't seemed important.
A few days later though I realized it might be more important than I originally thought. I was watching that night just in case the Ra'zac or something else showed up. It was late and I was sure that the other villagers were asleep except for the other men who were watching other areas of the camp. I'd wandered a short distance away from everyone else and I sat examining the strange object once again. I still hadn't figured out what it was, but it quickly dawned on me when it started to shake. Due to my surprise at its sudden movement, I dropped it and it continued to shake and move around on the ground. Although it was kind of dark, I could see cracks appearing in the object. That's when I finally realised it was an egg, it had to be, there was no other explanation that made any sense. But what kind of creature could be in an egg that size? I found out soon enough when a chunk of the shell came off the top of the egg and a small creature crawled out of it. I wasn't sure what the animal was at first but after the creature cleaned itself, I realized it was a dragon. Thanks to Kilf I now knew a lot of Alegasia's history. I knew about the dragon riders, and how Galbatorix got his position as king. I also guessed that dragons here weren't like the ones I was used to back home. I hesitantly reached down to touch my dragon. The moment my hand touched its head pain shot up my arm but honestly, I'd been through much worse. As soon as I could I moved my hand away and I quickly realised that I now had a silvery mark on my palm. I started petting my dragon and as I was thinking about how I was supposed to explain this to the villagers. I felt something brush against my mind, suspecting that it was probably the dragon I hesitantly let it in.
As I was petting it the dragon squeaked and made other sounds that made it clear it was enjoying the attention. Even if it wasn't squeaking I could sense its pleasure in my mind. I was slightly concerned that all its squeaking might wake the other villagers, so I tried to tell it to quiet down. At first, I wasn't sure if it got the message since it seemed like it could only communicate using pictures and feelings, but it suddenly decided that it didn't need more attention and wanted food instead. Not sure what else to do right now I just used my powers from Hestia to make a few sausages appear and fed them to the dragon.
As I continued to watch for any possible danger it was kind of nice to have the dragon for company, but I was also still considering how I would explain the dragon to the villagers or if I would explain it right away at all. While I didn't want them to hurt it, I would also rather not lose their trust. It had been hard enough to get them to trust me in the first place so if I lost their trust, I wasn't sure I would be able to get it back.
What should I do? I thought as I waited for the hours to pass. I thought about it for a while, but I eventually decided that it would probably be best if I tell the villagers and hope they are okay with it. I could certainly protect the dragon if they try and hurt it. Once we get a ship in Narda though I would have to hide the dragon from whoever we get to take us to Surda.
The next morning it seemed that one of the first people to wake up was Roran. That was kind of a relief since he was one of the villagers that I'd gotten closest to and I also thought that he might accept the dragon. It's not that I didn't trust the others, I did I just wasn't sure how they'd react to the fact that I was now technically a dragon rider even though my dragon was still a hatchling.
"Is that a dragon," he asked when he saw it, sounding like he couldn't believe what he was seeing which I honestly couldn't blame him for.
"Yes," I said, certain of that fact.
"Where did you find it?" Roran asked clearly still trying to comprehend the fact that there was a baby dragon lying beside me.
"I replied, "I found its egg a few days ago when I wandered away from camp, I didn't realise what it was until it hatched last night,"
Roran continued to stare at the dragon hatchling as he was trying to absorb what had happened. He finally said, "I guess this means you're a rider,"
"Yes, I assume so," I said.
He asked what I was going to do with it once we got a ship, I explained that since I could communicate with the dragon telepathically I would be able to get the dragon to stay away from whoever we hire to take us to Surda, but the time we make it to Narda the dragon will probably have grown large enough that it could fly far enough away that it would be out of sight of the citizens but still close enough that I could still talk to it. As Roran and I spoke the other villagers were also getting up and now it seemed that I had a lot of explaining to do.
I managed to get the villagers to accept my dragon and despite my efforts to prevent it, we'd lost three people as we continued traveling. We'd almost lost a fourth person, but I had managed to save him when he'd nearly drowned in a Glacier stream. When we finally reached Narda I could barely stand to see the state that the villagers were in. As the food we'd brought with us became more and more scarce everyone had lost weight and some might have been starting to lose hope that we'd be able to make it all the way to Surda.
I could see that Roran was also extremely bothered by how hard the trip had been on all of us and I think he was finding it hard not to lose hope himself. Despite that, we tried to encourage everyone, and we would be going into Narda to try and find a ship the next day. Ever since I found my dragon Roran wasn't the only one the villagers seemed to see as a leader.
They had started to see me differently even though I knew almost nothing about being a rider and my dragon wasn't much more than a hatchling. It had grown since it first hatched, but it still wasn't very big yet. At least now It could communicate with words and not just images and feelings.
At dawn Roran, Horst, Baldor, Loring's three sons, Gertrude, and I set out for Narda. We descended from the foothills to the town's main road, careful to stay hidden until we emerged onto the lane. I noticed that Roran Was gripping his hammer tightly as we approached Narda's gate. I told him to let go of it and to try and calm down. We would be more likely to be allowed into the city if we didn't look like we were prepared to attack someone.
Honestly, I think we were lucky that we even made it through the gate since it was obvious that the guards were suspicious of us to begin with, and Roran's lie about being a potter didn't help matters. Sure, I could understand that Roran was Nervous and it hadn't exactly been easy for me to come up with a story either, but I was sure that the guard hadn't believed his story at all so I'm not sure why they let us through. Horst was scolding Roran for his obvious lie, but He stopped as Gertrude plucked at his sleeve.
"Look," she murmured, and we all looked to see what had gotten her attention. When we looked, we noticed that to the left of the entrance stood a six-foot-wide message board with a narrow shingle roof to protect the yellowing parchment underneath. When I tried to read them Half the board seemed to be devoted to official notices and proclamations. On the other half hung a block of posters displaying sketches of various criminals. The only one I recognised was a drawing of Roran without the beard he had grown while we traveled through the spine. Since they didn't exactly have great razors in Alegasia I'd grown one as well,
Roran was obviously surprised to see himself on the board and he glanced around to make sure that no one in the street was close enough to compare his face to the illustration, then he returned to looking at the poster. Although I didn't really know how the currency system worked in Alegasia, the amount of the reward for Roran's capture looked like a lot to me.
I noticed that Roran started looking at the poster below his own, I didn't recognise the guy, but I was sure Roran and everyone else did. "What crime is he accused of?" Roran asked Gertrude.
She squinted at the board. "Treason, the both of you. It says Galbatorix will bestow an earldom on whoever captures Eragon, but that those who try should take care because he's extremely dangerous."
When Gertrude read that I finally realised who the guy on the second poster was and how the villagers knew him. It was Roran's cousin who'd left Carvahall a year before I got there. Roran was obviously surprised by the large reward being offered for his cousin and possibly also because of the warning about him. His surprise seemed to pass quickly though. I knew we should probably get moving since we didn't want someone to realise that Roran was the person in the first poster, but it seemed the others weren't quite done discussing the posters yet.
In a low voice, Baldor said, "If killing Galbatorix's men and defying the Ra'zac only earns you ten thousand crowns—large as that is—what makes you worth an earldom?"
"Buggering the king himself," suggested Larne.
"That's enough of that," said Horst. "Guard your tongue better, Baldor, or we'll end up in irons. And, Roran, don't draw attention to yourself again. With a reward like that, people are bound to be watching strangers for anyone who matches your description." Running a hand through his hair, Horst pulled up his belt and said, "Right. We all have jobs to do. Return here at noon to report on your progress."
After that, we split up. Darmmen, Larne, and Hamund set out together to purchase food. Gertrude went to replenish her stock of herbs, unguents, and tinctures. Roran, Horst, Baldor and I headed down the sloping streets to the docks, where we hoped to charter a ship that could transport the villagers to Surda or, at the very least, Teirm.
When we reached the weathered boardwalk that covered the beach, we stopped. Most of the villagers stared out at the ocean like they'd never seen it before, but then again, they probably hadn't since as far as I knew they'd lived in Carvahall their entire lives. the ocean looked gray from low clouds and was dotted with whitecaps and I was sure that this ocean wasn't polluted like the ones I was used to seeing back home.
Although I wasn't quite as entranced as Roran and the others it was nice to be near the ocean even if my dad didn't have much control here. To be honest it was kind of nice that he didn't since I didn't really want to see him again after he'd betrayed me and banished me here.
Glancing from Roran to Baldor, who was likewise entranced, Horst said, "Quite a sight, isn't it?"
"Aye," said Roran.
"Makes you feel rather small, doesn't it?"
"Aye," said Baldor.
I didn't bother responding. Even though my dad had betrayed me I still felt at home near the sea.
Horst nodded. "I remember when I first saw the ocean, it had a similar effect on me."
"When was that?" asked Roran.
"Bartram, the smith who came before me," said Horst, "died when I was fifteen, a year before the end of my apprenticeship. I had to find a smith who was willing to finish another man's work, so I traveled to Ceunon, which is built along the North Sea. There I met Kelton, a vile old man but good at what he did. He agreed to teach me." Horst laughed. "By the time we were done, I wasn't sure if I should thank him or curse him."
"Thank him, I should think," said Baldor. "You never would have married Mother otherwise."
Roran was now looking at the waterfront obviously hoping to see a ship that would fit our needs. I was looking as well and Roran said what I was thinking. "There aren't many ships,"
I could see that Two craft were berthed at the south end of the port and a third at the opposite side with nothing but fishing boats and dinghies in between. Of the southern pair, one had a broken mast. None of the ships seemed large enough to carry all the villagers, not comfortably anyway. When we went to find out about the boats, we soon discovered that they were all otherwise engaged. It would take a month or more to repair the ship with the broken mast. The vessel beside it, the Waverunner, was rigged with leather sails and was about to venture north to the treacherous islands where the Seithr plant grew. And the Albatross, the last ship, had just arrived from distant Feinster and was getting its seams recaulked before departing with its cargo of wool. A dockworker laughed at Horst's questions. "You're too late and too early at the same time. Most of the spring ships came and left two, three weeks ago. An' another month, the nor'westers will start gusting, an' then the seal and walrus hunters will return, and we'll get ships from Teirm and the rest of the empire to take the hides, meat, and oil. Then you might have a chance of hiring a captain with an empty hold. Meanwhile, we don't see much more traffic than this."
We were getting desperate now since if we stay here near Narda too long I had no doubt that either the Ra'zac would show up or soldiers would. Roran asked, "Is there no other way to get goods from here to Teirm? It doesn't have to be fast or comfortable."
"Well," said the man, hefting the box on his shoulder, "if it doesn't have to be fast an' you're only going to Teirm, then you might try Clovis over there." He pointed to a line of sheds that floated between two piers where boats could be stored. "He owns some barges that he ships grain on in the fall. The rest of the year, Clovis fishes for a living, like most everybody in Narda."
When we eventually found Clovis it took us an hour to finally convince him that we really were interested in his barges, despite the season, and then we found out what it would cost the villagers to get Clovis to take us to Teirm. Although we knew that cramming all the villagers onto three barges wouldn't be particularly comfortable for anyone, what bothered me the most was what we would most likely have to do once we make it to Teirm. The villagers couldn't afford to pay Clovis the money he would charge once we got their so we would basically be stealing from him.
When we left Narda and returned to our camp we told the other villagers about Everything that had happened in Narda. To say they weren't pleased when they found out we would have to travel on barges was an understatement but honestly, we had no other choice. Once Roran made that clear to the others it seemed they accepted it reluctantly. By the next morning, no one complained since the Ra'zac had shown up during the night. I went with Roran and a few other men when Roran returned to Narda. When we left Narda later that day and returned to our camp Clovis still hadn't figured out that he would be transporting people rather than animals. Everyone except for the men who would be working as sailors or guards on the barges went to the cove where the barges would stop to pick them up. That night I also made sure my dragon knew to stay out of sight of the barges and anyone on land.
The next morning, I went back to Narda with Roran and the other men who would be either sailors or guards on the barges. When we arrived at the gate to Narda, the same two soldiers who had been there the first day were there. They lowered their poleaxes to block the way.
"There be quite a bit more of you this time," observed the white-haired man.
"And not all the same ones either. Except for you." He focused on Roran. "I suppose you expect me to believe that the spear and shield be for pottery as well?"
"No. We've been hired by Clovis to protect his barges from attack on the way to Teirm."
"You? Mercenaries?" The soldiers burst out laughing. "You said you were tradesmen."
This was obviously not going well, and I could only think of two ways it might end. Both of the ways that had occurred to me would include someone getting hurt if not worse.
"This pays better," Roran stated in response to the soldiers' obvious disbelief and amusement.
The white-haired man scowled. "You lie. I tried my hand at being a gentleman of fortune once. I spent more nights hungry than not. How large be your company of tradesmen anyway? Seven yesterday and twelve today— thirteen counting you. It seems too large for an expedition from a bunch of shopkeepers."
His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized Roran's face. "You look familiar. What'd be your name, eh?"
"Stronghammer."
"It wouldn't happen to be Roran, would—"
Before I could say something or try and stop him, Roran jabbed forward with his spear, catching the white-haired soldier in the throat. Scarlet blood fountained. Releasing the spear, Roran drew his hammer and twisted around as he blocked the second soldier's poleax with his shield. Swinging his hammer up and around, Roran crushed the man's helm.
He stood panting between the two corpses. Although I could understand why Roran killed the guards it bothered me, killing someone in self-defense was one thing, but what Roran had just done was murder. I'd suspected that we wouldn't get past the guards without bloodshed, but I still hadn't expected what had ended up happening.
The villagers were staring at Roran in shock until he told them to hide the soldiers' bodies. After they did Roran nodded and, faced us before he said, "Listen. We will walk to the docks at a quick but reasonable pace. We will not run. When the alarm is sounded—and someone may have heard the clash just now—act surprised and interested but not afraid. Whatever you do, give people no reason to suspect us. The lives of your families and friends depend on it. If we are attacked, your only duty is to see the barges launched. Nothing else matters. Am I clear?"
I didn't really like it but what other option did I have? I had no-one else in Alegasia that I knew, and I considered some of the villagers my friends. Not only that but I was certain that Roran already was regretting what he'd done he just couldn't afford to dwell on it right now since we needed to get out of Narda, now more than ever.
Everyone agreed to do what Roran said and we walked through the gate and into Narda.
We reached the docks without incident, and Clovis said, "You be early, Stronghammer. I like that in a man. It'll give us the opportunity to put things nice an' shipshape before we head out."
"Can we leave now?" asked Roran.
"You should know better'n that. Have to wait till the tide's finished coming in, so we do." Clovis paused then, taking his first good look at the thirteen of them, and said, "Why, what'd be the matter, Stronghammer? The lot of you look as if you saw the ghost of old Galbatorix himself."
"Nothing a few hours of sea air won't cure," said Roran.
After that Clovis decided which barges we would be on we worked alongside the sailors to finish preparing the barges for departure, When the tide was finally high enough, the gangplanks were pulled aboard, the mooring ropes untied, and the sails raised on the three barges as they began to move away from Narda. I used my powers slightly so the barges would move even more quickly although I tried not to do it so much that the extra speed would seem odd to Clovis and his sailors. We eventually made it to the cove where the rest of the villagers were waiting and once, they were all on board we began to sail toward Teirm.
A/N Well I guess now you know which plot idea I decided to use. Since I didn't end up using the second one, I guess I can tell you who I would have shipped Percy with in that one. If I had used the second Idea I would have shipped him with Nasuada. I thought it would be something different from what you usually see in these crossovers. I might still come up with a different story and do that. Anyway, I have another question for you all and I'd like to have an answer before I write the next chapter. Do you have any suggestions for what Percy could name his dragon? I would rather it be a name that hasn't already been used in another fanfic but I might still use one that has if I like it enough.