Eragon felt the women's consciousness slowly withdraw from him, both her eyes and the mans never left him. Both stood taught as drawn bows, ready to react should he tried to attack them. Eragon breathed a sigh of relief when her presence removed completely, though his ears still rang with the noise of the bell she wielded. The dog stood, its head tilted to one side, looking at him curiously. Eragon slowly rebuilt the barriers around his mind. Not that they did me much good! He thought. The group remained as they were on one side the Man known as Sam and the women known as Lireal and Eragon on the other, the dog stood between them. This standoff remained for several minutes until the dog spoke again.

"I am the Disreputable Dog and these are my companions Lireal, Abhorsen, and Prince Sam."

Eragon said nothing.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked stiffly.

"I don't know." Eragon said simply.

"You have the stench of free magic around you, and you bear no charter, so you'll forgive me when I ask you, what are you? Necromancer? Construct?" Sam asked roughly.

Before Eragon could reply, Lireal spoke.

"He wasn't lying before when he said he was human. He couldn't have."

"I am human, and I wish none of you any harm." Eragon said in the Ancient Language.

The demeanour of both the warriors diminished as he said this. The dog however shivered as the words reached him causing her coat to shimmer and the leather collar around her neck to brighten.

"I don't know what you just said" the man said "but for some reason I am glad you did.

"Why were you running out of that cave?" Eragon asked.

With that the Sam and Lireal looked down at the Dog.

"What was that thing?" Lireal asked the Dog.

Tearing her gaze from Eragon, the Dog turned to Lireal and spoke.

"You already know her." With that the Dog walked up to her and placed her nose on the last and largest of the ebony bells on her bandolier.

"Astarael?" Lireal muttered.

"What is left of her anyway, more a shadow of herself really." The Dog replied.

"What of Mogget? I saw him unbound. Where is he?" Sam asked.

"She wanted to talk to him. Do not worry about him for the time being."

"What on earth are you people taking about?" Eragon shouted.

They all turned to look at him. Then the dog said.

"I quite like him;" looking up at Lireal "can we keep him?"

That night they sat by a small campfire. Eragon looked around him. To his left the dog snoozed. And on the opposite sides of the fire, lay Sam and Lireal. Eragon could tell by the depth of their breathing that neither where sleeping.

I have to learn more about them and this place.

Eragon tentatively pushed a tendril of thought out towards Sam. To his surprise he found him mind completely un-shielded. He had similar results with Lireal.

How can they be spellcasters and not feel and react to my touch?

He then pushed his mind toward the Dog. The dog thrummed with energy. Its consciousness was vast its thought process was so unlike any he had met before, except maybe spirits? Compelled by the similarity, Eragon continued to look through the Dogs mind but could not even discern a single thought from it.

Find anything interesting?

The Dog slowly got up and turned to look at Eragon.

Eragon quickly shielded his mind.

The Dog sneezed then lay back down and fell asleep.

Several hours before dawn, a troubled Eragon slowly fell into his waking dreams.