Eragon Chapter 55 Summary

Hall of the Mountain King

• When Eragon gets back to his cave, there's a dwarf waiting for him. Orik wants to see him.
• As he turns to leave, Saphira gives him the sword Zar'roc. Despite its bloody history, she says that he can give the sword a new history.
• Off they fly to see Orik.
• When they find him, he tells them that the dwarven king Hrothgar wants to see them both.
• They head to his throne room under the city.
• When they get to the room, they find Hrothgar on a throne carved out of black marble. He's wearing a golden helmet instead of a crown.
• Eragon bows awkwardly, but Hrothgar tells him that there's no need to be so formal.
• He explains that he's getting pressure to give them both the boot, but he's not going to do that. That's nice.
• Hrothgar wants to know why they're both here. 
• Eragon says that they want to rest up for a while.
• Really?
• Well, says Eragon, not entirely. I'm here to help those who need protecting from the Empire, including my cousin Murtagh.
• Hrothgar asks Saphira what she's up to. 
• Ditto. She also says that Eragon is the guy for this job.
• Then Hrothgar asks if Eragon will take over the Empire's rule if he manages to knock off Galbatorix.
• Eragon replies that he would only if there's nobody else for the job.
• Bad answer, says Hrothgar. "[N]o race should have a leader who does not age or leave the throne. The time of the Riders has passed" (55.30).
• Then he asks to check out Eragon's sword. He approves, and hopes Eragon can change the blade's luck.
• How's my nephew treating you? Hrothgar wants to know.
• Um, who?
• Orik. Orik is Hrothgar's nephew. The dwarf king heard that Eragon spoke up for him with Ajihad.
• Eragon can tell that this has won him major brownie points with Hrothgar. Only, instead of brownie points, dwarves call it "otho," or faith.
• Well, it's time to wrap up. A dwarf king can't sit around chatting all day. Eragon and Saphira take their leave of Hrothgar.
• They meet back up with Orik. Apparently, the blessing that they bestowed yesterday has the whole city in an uproar. The baby is being hailed as a future hero. Eragon and Saphira better stay out of sight.
• Saphira heads back to the dragonhold. There's someone she wants to meet, but she won't say who.
• Eragon wants to explore, though. Orik offers to show him the city library.
• After breakfast, they head over there. The place is filled with books and scrolls of dwarf and human writers. The elves are pretty secretive, though, so they don't share.
• Orik leaves Eragon to wander around on his own, and he eventually sits down to read some dwarf poetry in translation. Hey, why not?
• Suddenly, though, he's not alone. The bald Twins have shown up. Boo.
• At first they apologize for being jerks to him and his friends. But Saphira warns Eragon (who has contacted her mentally) to be careful of a trap.
• They go back and forth with compliments that are totally insincere. 
• Finally, the Twins come to the point. They offer to teach Eragon magic and induct him into their secret magic club. (Maybe he'll learn how to saw a woman in half!)
• Eragon's not falling for it, though. He says the Twins just want to steal what he knows.
• They drop the nice-guy act. It would be really unfortunate if some magic misfired and he were to be killed. He better think about joining them. They give him a day to think it over and take off.
• Saphira advises Eragon to talk to Angela about these jokers.
• Eragon leaves the library and Saphira takes him back to their cave. Eragon's mulling over what to do about the Twins when a woman shows up. Her name is Nasuada; she's Ajihad's daughter.
• She's got a message from her pop: he's glad things are going well, but it's probably not a good idea to go around blessing random babies and attracting attention. Also, it's a good idea to get the magic and sword fighting test over sooner rather than later. Just let Ajihad know when he wants to go for that.
• Eragon invites Nasuada to stick around, but she's got to get going. She's visited Murtagh, too, and suggests that Eragon go pay him a visit. Murtagh's lonely.
• Eragon asks how Arya's doing. Better, says Nasuada.
• He thanks her and her dad for hooking them up with food and shelter. Then she leaves.
• Eragon turns to Saphira and sees his favorite werecat has joined her. Solembum was just the person—um, cat—Saphira wanted to see. 
• Eragon figures it makes sense that they enjoy each other's company, seeing as how they're both magical.
• Eragon makes plans to visit Murtagh the next day.