Woot! I know this chapter is really late, but I tried to make it long to make up for it. Sorry. I would like to thank Hollyleaf9 and xt-219 for continuing to review! *gives cookies* Okay, here is the next chapter. It's an introduction to my other OCs (which I own) and a partial explanation of the Dragon's Fire Chasers and the Sundivers. Woot!

Disclaimer: I own my OCs not Eragon.

Evan awoke with a start and hit his head on the bunk above him. He sunk back into his bed rubbing his forehead. He used magic to heal the migraine that was forming. He felt the energy rush out of him. Now he was ready to go back to sleep. It annoyed Evan how weak he still was when it came to using magic. He sighed and forced himself out of bed. Brom decided it would be best if they all split up and look for clues as to where the Seither oil was being shipped to. Feeling like he was a part of Scooby Doo, Evan set off to find "clues" although Evan already knew the answer – Helgrind, but if he sped up the timeline by telling Eragon where the oil was going, that might make the future change. In order for Evan to be a step ahead of the game, he had to keep things constant. So, while Eragon and Brom bravely scowered the city, Evan decided to take in the views and not look for clues.

Just to tell you, Dras-Leona would not be an ideal tourist site. He wandered farther into the city where it was cleaner and more prosperous. He was still cautious, but he didn't worry so much about getting mugged here as he did on the outskirts. He wandered throughout the city window-shopping and people watching. He occasionally went inside stores he thought were interesting. Evan found the stores he was drawn to be the ones that sold food. Evan was always hungry granted he was only sixteen and still growing. He was average height, but sometimes he thought he was too short for his deep voice. He was glad he was still growing. Anabelle's neck was about up to his shoulders. Anabelle was very, very short. She had shared what seemed to be her life's story with him about how she had been short her whole life. However she thought that she might get taller because her shoe size kept growing. Then, in seventh grade, her feet stopped growing. She then concluded there was no hope and that she was as tall as she was going to get. Evan understood. He'd been short until recently. Although, even for a girl, Anabelle was short for a freshman. Evan could guess why Anabelle had relationship troubles. No freshman boy is going to want to date a freshman girl who could still pass for a fifth grader. Evan mentally slapped himself to get him to stop thinking about this type of thing. It would get him to start thinking of his childhood and then he would start to get homesick which he had been doing more and more lately.

Evan walked back to the tavern thingy they were staying in called the Golden Globe with a package of roasted peanuts and pretzel-looking things. They were ropes of bread molded into a sort of pretzel looking shape only with a type of cinnamon on it. Evan decided to call it a schnitzel. So Evan returned to the Golden Globe and made it just in time for Brom and Eragon to walk in.

"Did you find anything?" Evan asked as he shoved another handful of peanuts in his mouth. Brom and Eragon began to recite their story of how they found the seither oil went to an old warehouse and was left there for the mystery client to pick them up. Only Brom found where they truly went – Helgrind.

"We found them. We actually found them!" Evan saw Eragon's hands clench and a look of hard revenge formed in his face.

To celebrate solving the "case", Brom took them to a bar. Evan and Eragon were a little hesitant about touching the beer that was placed in from of them.

"Drink up boys." Brom said with a slurred speech. Evan shrugged his shoulders as Eragon pulled the beer to his lips. After taking a gulp, he pushed a mug to Evan. Evan shrugged his shoulders and toasted his beer with Eragon's.

Anabelle woke up slowly. Her eyes were blurry from sleep as she wiped them with her sleeve. She remembered what happened with a start. Richard saved her, but now that she was safe, she didn't know what she could do. She pushed herself to a stand and looked around. She was somewhere in the forest. Well, she accomplished what Solembum told her to- get into the forest. Now she had to get as far away from the Empire as she could. Yeah, that was going to be a little tricky. Why was she even kidding herself?! She didn't even know where to start! She felt the hairs on her neck start to prick up as she felt she was being watched. She whipped around to see the boy that was always garbed in yellow, Noah. He winked as he turned and walked deeper into the forest.

"W-wait!" Anabelle started as a chilly fear of being alone in a strange wood crept over her. She followed him. It didn't seem like it would be a hard task. Yellow against green and brown seemed easy enough to spot, but Noah just seemed to disappear when ever he turned a corner. Anabelle was then left to wander where she thought he went until he appeared again. He was leading her somewhere, that much was certain. Where, was another question that burned as hard in her mind as what happened before she passed out. She found Noah again and took off after him. She was going to get some answers! He turned a corner and he disappeared again.

"Darn it!" She thought to herself as she lost him again. She looked through the trees ahead and saw there was a big, rushing river. Was this where Noah was leading her? She walked toward it, pushing branches and brush out of her path. She walked out to the bank and looked around. Noah was nowhere in sight. She decided to have a drink. She was thirsty and she might as well. She bent down and starting cupping water into her hands which was a lot harder of a task then Anabelle thought it would be. The water kept slipping out between her fingers. After her third attempt at getting water she felt someone grab her shoulder. She twisted around and saw Richard! He smiled his fanged smile and Anabelle remembered what he was. She screamed and ripped out of his grip he had on her and, in the process, fell into the river.

"Are you alright?" He said extending a hand to help her up out of the water.

"Get away from me!" She said as she backed as far as she dared into the rushing water without being swept away.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to do that. I was trying to help you!" Anabelle didn't trust him for a minuet but she couldn't help but be engulfed in Richard's red irises. Only, this time they were more like an apple red that made them seem not at all menacing or odd or him. They seemed almost...happy. Unlike last night when they were blood red and dangerous.

"You did need help escaping from that guard, right?" He said. Anabelle didn't respond.

"Okay, you don't have to trust me, but please get out of the water. You're going to catch hypothermia." He said as a matter-of-factly. Anabelle was freezing but she still wasn't sure if Richard was a good guy or a bad guy.

"I'm sorry I look like a monster. But it's something I can't really change. I promise I won't hurt you! Just, please, get out of the water. You're going to freeze!" He said with all sincerity. Anabelle then succumbed to the freezing water and slowly waded forward. She liked the option of a possible promise of her not being hurt and the guarantee that she would be if she stayed in the water. He gave her plenty of space as she finally was out of the water. She was shivering, but she was okay.

"H-have you s-seen two boys pass by here? One was s-strawberry blonde and the other brunette. T-they're about s-sixteen?" Anabelle stammered from the cold water.

"No. I don't think so, but they can't be far. Traveling through this valley by the river is the only way you can get from here to the other side of the Spine. I can help?" Richard offered.

"No, Richard. You can't go with her. We have to get back to headquarters." Anabelle heard someone boom in her mind. Only, the message was obviously not directed at her.

"Who was that?" Anabelle asked.

"Oh. You heard that? Wow. That's surprising. Not many humans can communicate with their minds. What you heard was a message made audible to everyone who could communicate with their mind. Melay didn't think you could talk with your mind." Richard explained.

"Who's Melay?" Anabelle asked as a person emerged from the woods. She was really tan with black hair in small, tight curls. Her hair was highlighted with several flowers that were braided into it. Her swampy brown eyes showed she didn't really know what to make of Anabelle. She looked about twenty one. She seemed familiar but Anabelle dismissed the idea.

"I'm Melay. Richard, we have to go." Melay continued talking on the mind wave radio frequency thing.

"But I don't just want to leave her here! Can she come with us until we find the people who she was traveling with?" Richard replied with his mind. Melay sighed and looked Anabelle over.

"D'lani? How about it?" Two other people walked out of the forest. The first was another woman. She was very lithe and was clothed in various shades of green. She had short, silky black hair that complimented her jade green slanted eyes and angled eyebrows. Her ears were pointed in a triangle and several earrings adorned it. She was an elf! Her gaze was piercing and soft at the same time. She looked at Anabelle and Anabelle couldn't help but feel subordinate to her.

"If you will allow me to search your mind and discover if you are honest, you may join us until we have traversed the valley. We are heading in the direction that you must go to find your friends." Anabelle didn't know what to say or even how to address the elf, D'lani.

"You may." Is all Anabelle could manage. She knew that they would probably forcibly search her mind if she said no. The elf nodded to the man next to her who hadn't said anything. He was dark and well muscled. His hair was shaggy and dark with two horns three inches tall protruding off his head. They must be other Dragon's Fire Chasers like Richard. She didn't know what to expect when someone searched her mind. She felt a presence push on her mental barrier.

"I will try not to hurt you." Anabelle heard a soft, elegant voice echo in her mind. Anabelle assumed it must have been the elf's. Then she felt D'lani's presence reach her and start to search. She was quick but thorough. Anabelle was taken off guard by the forceful intrusion into her mind. Whenever she put up instinctive barriers to block the elf's path through her mind, the elf would shatter them with no more regard for them then if they were a bug under her feet. Only then did it hurt Anabelle. She clenched her teeth and hoped D'lani would be done searching soon. D'lani scowered Anabelle's entire memory from her first memories to recent. When it came to when Evan, Brom, and Eragon came in she realized with a jolt that if they found out about them, they might be in danger. Anabelle put up a mental barrier.

"Please don't search this part of my memory!" Anabelle pleaded politely in her mind.

"I must." Anabelle sucked in a breath as D'lani broke through the wall she had placed. Anabelle's head coursed with pain. As soon as Anabelle recovered, she put up another barrier. She started to regret this idea. She wasn't going to let the Dragon Riders be hurt! It was something that she could actually do to help them! She remembered what Brom told her about blocking people from your mind. Anabelle thought of a tree. She concentrated on its branches and the light streaming through the leaves. As D'lani approached the wall she attempted to destroy it, but something delayed it. In Anabelle's mind there was nothing but the tree. It was fall and there were several orange beautiful hues adorning it like a crown.

"Stop resisting!" The elf commanded as she struggled against the wall. As the elf spoke, Anabelle's concentration broke and the wall was demolished. Anabelle almost cried out as pain coursed through her head threatening to make her pass out again. Anabelle had no energy to stop D'lani. She was defeated. She let the elf search her mind even quicker and finally the presence left.

"You may come with us." She said with thoughtful consideration. Anabelle nodded, now a little afraid of the elf's power. Anabelle wobbled a little, still a bit light-headed from the tug-of-war between herself and the elf. Richard steadied Anabelle and then said in her mind,

"Welcome to the Fire Chasers." Anabelle wasn't sure if that was good or not.

"Eragon, I hate you." Evan moaned as he rubbed his temples where his migraine was throbbing.

"Okay! I admit it! Drinking the beer was stupid." Eragon retorted in similar pain. As the boys woke, they found a note from Brom written in charcoal on the wall of the fireplace. Basically, it said that they had a day off while Brom went to the castle. Eragon decided to walk around a little while Evan couldn't force himself out of bed. When he awoke later, his headache resided to a dull throb and he was able to think clearer. He wasn't sure he could win in a battle in this state, but he was able to function. After he went and ate another schnitzel, he took one more nap. When he woke up, the sun was setting and Brom and Eragon returned. Brom said that he tried to find a way to replace the people who deliver the shipments of seither oil to Helgrind. He didn't have much luck, but he did find out that Galbatorix, the evil dictator, was coming to Dras-Leona soon. Eragon was freaked out but Evan wasn't. He knew better. That night, Evan mentally prepared himself for the next day. As Evan dreaded what would happen, he couldn't shake the icy reality that there was nothing he could do about it.

Midst her second day traveling with the Dragon's Fire Chasers, Anabelle realized she actually liked staying with them. Only it really wasn't 'staying' because they never seemed to stop moving except to sleep, eat, and, recently, to let Anabelle catch up. The DFCs were not human, that much was certain. The odd thing was they would openly admit to it too. Anabelle did not know why Dragon's Fire Chasers chased dragon's fire so relentlessly; on theory it was a literal meaning. They, however, kept no secrets from each other. Whatever Anabelle asked of them, they would answer. The only aura of untrustworthiness came when she asked them about their lives before they joined this guild. After that, their mouths were as shut as steel traps. This fact confused Anabelle almost as much as when they would stop her from revealing any information about her past.

"Why do they do that?" She finally asked Richard. Surprisingly, Richard and she had become fast friends despite the incident at Teirm.

"Well, it's D'lani's fault actually. It's a sort of rule to prevent people in the guild from betraying the guild and other members."

"I don't understand."

"Well, think about it. D'lani's an elf and everyone knows that the elves live in a secret city in Du Weldenvarden, the great forest in the north. The only people with Melay's accent live in the west on the coast. And I think that Asterion was living in the Varden because he has great knowledge about their politics."

"Are you allied with the Varden?"

"Not exactly. We're against the Empire like they are, but they haven't treated us all buddy-buddy in the past."

"Oh."

"Now, did you notice a pattern?"

"Everyone comes from some place far from here?"

"Yes. And the only reason anyone would join the Fire Chasers, willingly abandoning their homes and all they know, would be to get away from someone or something in their past."

"Which would mean a lot of dangerous secrets?" Anabelle concluded.

"Exactly. So to keep the guild safe from whatever is chasing the members and each other, D'lani made it a rule that you can't tell anyone about your past. That would eliminate betrayal because if someone turns out to be evil, they won't know who the other people around them are, so they would have no reason to attack them. But, you can't keep secrets from the rest of the guild after you join so that would eliminate plots against the guild from inside. See how ingenious D'lani is?"

"That is ingenious." Anabelle agreed. However she didn't like the fact that Richard or any of the other members could be murderers and thieves.

"So that means that, if they join the guild to get away, they all change their names?"

"Yup."

"But how did they get...animal-like? I find it hard to believe that they all were like that before they came into the guild."

"Oh. After you hang around D'lani for a while, you wake up one day...animalized. I don't know more then that. I think even D'lani doesn't know why that happens."

"So does that mean that if...I will...?" Anabelle shuddered.

"No. Usually it takes a few weeks for the transformation, but we'll be long gone before that." Anabelle was relieved.

"I forgot to thank you for saving me from that guard. There would have been unfathomable consequences if I had been caught." Anabelle not only held the secrets of what the Riders were doing, but she also knew them personally. She could have been used as bait to lure the Riders into a trap or they could just kill her to hurt them. Anabelle now realized she played a more important role in this game then she thought. At least she found a possible new friend who could help her.

"You're welcome." He said casually. Richard then adjusted his sword on his hip. Anabelle noticed the style of sword. It was similar to Zar'roc's shape and build but a little less special for it had no hue in the blade. But never the less, it was a Rider's sword!

"Where did you get that sword?" Anabelle asked. She was suddenly reeling with questions. Maybe he was a Rider? He certainly no ordinary person could forge a sword of that quality. Maybe he killed a Rider and took it from him!

"Oh, this?" Richard pulled the sword out of its scabbard. "This is Garsingah, or Guardian. It was a Rider's sword that we found when we raided a Sundiver camp. My most prized possession. Everyone in the Fire Chasers tries to find a weapon made by the Riders of old."

"Why? Aren't other swords just a good?"

"Not really. Earlier Dragon Rider weapons were forged either by the Riders themselves or by elves. This means they are of the finest make. The later weapons forged when the Rider's dominion started to collapse and their weapons were made to be almost indestructible because they had to fend off other Riders' weapons and be able to slice other dragons. That was a sad time. The Dragon Riders are also the Fire Chasers' role models, so to speak. Some like them because we are part something else and they were too. They were part dragon. Most like them because they believe that the Riders were the ones that kept peace and justice throughout the land in contrast to our Sundiver enemies who believe it was the Riders who brought chaos to Alagaesia." Richard talked about the Sundivers with disgust.

"I keep hearing that word. 'Sundiver,' what does it mean?" Anabelle recalled Solembum even talking about it.

"There are many rumors surrounding the evil beasts called the Sundivers. Many of the myths about them talk of beasts that are part man part animal that haunt the forests and eat humans, but little of the lore about stuff like that is true. However, they believe it anyway. So those who believe the tales of the Sundivers mistake the Dragon's Fire Chasers with them like the Teirm guard. Then they usually freak out, kind of like you." Richard said with hidden pain in his eyes. Anabelle remembered when Richard was trying to convince her to get out of the water. 'I'm sorry I look like a monster. But it's something I can't really change. Ipromise I won't hurt you! Just, please, get out of the water. You're going to freeze!'

"I'm sorry. I don't think you're that scary now?" She said with sincerity.

"But, when you saw my fangs and wings did you honestly think I was the good guy?" Anabelle opened her mouth to protest, but it was true. She sighed and looked at the ground, guilt sinking in.

"That's what I thought."

Woot! I want to hug Richard! (That was probably really creepy). Anyway, I hope that was a sort of cliffhanger and not too complicated in the explanations. I also hope it wasn't too much with all the OCs. Let me know if I'm going too fast. Just an FYI: I saw the movie Eragon for the first time on Wednesday. I was appalled at how inaccurate it was too the book! I knew it was going to be inaccurate because all movies that are based off books are, but that was ridiculous! The only part I liked about it was how they portrayed Murtagh's character. I love how they made him happy as opposed to the angsty character he is in the book. For those of you who are all worried now, I will try to keep Murtagh as close to the book Murtagh as possible.

Anyway, please review and comment! Pretty please?