The herbalist’s shop is mentioned, and then we meet Angela! As stated above, she be important in this series… Annnddd ottthhhers???

Brom is amused by Angela’s literal interpretation of their questions.

I find it hard to believe that Angela and Brom don’t recognize/know each other.

The frog/toad thing. This is great. It is like the argument you had with your sibling when you were six, and since you just began wondering about things for yourself, you thought that you were the most clever philosopher on the planet, despite not knowing that word.

I like Angela’s character. She seems like a crackpot, but she’s the furthest thing from it.

Eragon is impatient. This shows us a bit more about his level of maturity.

We meet Jeod’s wife. She has a strong will, we can see that. We will get the side tale of Jeod and his wife in little bits through the series.

And we get to meet Jeod.

Jeod’s reaction and Brom’s counter reaction show us that something has happened int heir past, something important.

Eragon is eager to learn of Brom’s past.

“And you look the same as you did twenty years ago.” Jeod says this. It is another hint at Brom being a rider. It is a hint that I doubt I picked up the first, maybe even second, time I read it.

Brom gives us some new info, but only enough to stoke our curiosity. He generates more questions than answers. Eragon is enraged by this.

Eragon uses magic to eavesdrop. This seems dangerous to me. I guess it is dangerous, and he is still naive so he doesn’t know how stupid he is. Also, this is the first we have seen him use magic since the beginning of his training. He is a bit cocky, and he literally refers to his success with the brisingr incident.

Why did Brom and Jeod feel comfortable talking about sensitive information in a place where this newb-ass kid is able to eavesdrop on them? They should know better.

We learn more about Jeod.

Brom mentions finding the passage, which is significant again in book 3 or 4, I forget which.

Ajihad is mentioned. Foreshadowing.

There are a lot of important words mentioned, like Tronjheim.

Jeod isn’t convinced it’s the empire disappearing his ships. Do we ever find out what causes this???

Brom is afraid of getting Eragon into the politics. He says everyone would try to influence him. Brom is right, and they all do try.

This eavesdropped conversation adds even more questions. Many, many threads let out that will get answered throughout the series.

Brom sends his ring to Ajihad for proof that it is him. This ring is a somewhat important plot point.

OMG…before Eragon began eavesdropping, Brom must have told Jeod that Eragon is his son. We see a hint of it here, but you would never know on a first read.

Eragon asks himself all the big questions that Chris has to answer. It is almost like you can see inside Chris’s brain with this.

The Eragon getting stuck on the cliff scene seems unnecessary. Or maybe it is an analogy of later things? That he can’t do it alone?

Saphira is still bitter about being left out of the city. Can you blame her?

We see Jeod’s lavish house as Eragon enters.

Jeod jokes that after seeing Dras Leona, Gil’ead, or Kuasta, Tierm won’t seem so big. Foreshadowing.

Eragon confesses that he doesn’t know how to read, then learns that Garrow knew how to read but never taught him.

Brom adds reading to the list of things to teach Eragon.

Bored, Eragon skims the shelves and finds Domia Abr Wyrda. This book comes back in book 3 or 4…forget which.

We learn that the above mentioned book is contraband.

Eragon asks about using magic to search the records and Brom explains scrying, which is very important in the series.

Brom is like our google. He gives us all the answers we need, teaches us along side Eragon. Much of the world is built through him.

Brom explains the rules of scrying. Magic has its rules, its limits, and it needs them.

Eragon wonders if he could use magic to affect something leagues away that he is scrying, completely forgetting Brom’s rule about magic and distance. Later, his forgetting this almost costs him is life. This is a tad bit of foreshadowing.

Brom teaches Eragon the words to scry, trusting him not to use them.

Eragon voices his worry for Roran, and Brom agrees that the Ra’zac may go after him rather than lie and say that there is nothing to worry about.

Brom says it is highly possible that the Ra’zac will go back to interrogate Roran. Foreshadowing book two.

Brom forces Eragon to use logic about Roran’s situation.

Brom says the solution is for Roran to learn to defend himself. Again, foreshadowing book two.

It is almost as if Chris keeps telling what is going to happen, but it is subtle enough and in a way that we almost don’t realize it. Like he uses these moments to shepherd our thoughts in the direction he wants. It is almost like the manipulation of marketing. Subtle, but firm and real. He also uses these moments to explain his reasoning, to answer any questions we may have well before we have any cause to ask them. So we are all primed for Roran to defend himself now, the rational was planted in our heads way before we needed it. Like the return vehicle sent to Mars well before the crew gets there. It makes the story more believable since we have logical explanations planted in our subconscious before we need them.

Brom reminds Eragon that he left Roran a note. This is a call back and foreshadowing.

Chris even rationalizes why the king won’t kill Roran. Chris had all his reasons planned out and delivered them through Brom. This again shows how much Chris “over” thought about every little detail. You can see him answer all of the questions he asked himself, or thought haters or critics would ask.

Brom poses the big, end of series question, “…are you willing to die for what you believe in?” Then he lays down some wisdom, “ The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe in.