It was the morning after Alaric arrived, and Arlen had been called by him to the edge of the village. He wasn't the only one either; Roran and the archer who had come with him were there as well as Ehren. Alaric stood before them, still resolute about saving the Ra'zac, much to the disappointment but understanding of Arlen. He understood that it was probably misplaced guilt that motivated him, and seeing as how he was only putting himself in harm's way, they let him go through with his plan.

Alaric did talk to them before he went out though. "You four are the ones I believe will be able to handle the Ra'zac if it should somehow kill me. Arlen and Ehren, your sword arms are the most skilled in the village. Roran, you have faced many a foe down with your only your hammer and your wit, including a Ra'zac, so this shouldn't be much of a trouble. And Baldor, if you're still as good a shot as I've heard you were during the war, you should have no problem putting an arrow between its eyes. I trust you each, now just trust each other."

Soon Magnora flew into the sky, away from the village and out of sight. It was time to fear the Ra'zac again, and it was time for Alaric to make his stand. He walked out of the village and to the edge of the tree line. There he drew his sword and stabbed it into the ground. He took out a package and unwrapped it revealing a good portion of beef, and put it on the ground. He then sat down some distance from the sword and the beef and waited.

The first hour had a tense air to it, but by the third hour they had descended into boredom. Kelshk hadn't shown his ugly face around there yet, so it started to get boring. Nothing was happening! Ehren was actually starting to wonder out loud what they would do about lunch! Arlen was amazed that a tense wait for the Ra'zac had somehow turned into the most boring hours of his life.

He was beginning to think Kelshk wouldn't show when there was a rusting in the bushes around the tree line. Arlen looked over there with new intensity, and slowly there came the form of Kelshk's head. The archer—who was apparently named Baldor—pulled an arrow from the quiver at his belt and drew his bow, but did not raise it. Kelshk shrunk back, but Alaric called to him with a kind voice. After a little while Kelshk came back, but kept Alaric between himself and Baldor.

Arlen could tell from where he stood that Kelshk was not in good shape. He shook seemingly without reason, he had scabs over his wounds that looked terrible—most of them had been inflicted by Arlen himself—and he looked starved. This would just make him easier to kill if they were going to do it, but he would rather let Baldor shoot him than go in himself, because whatever the Ra'zac's condition was, his claws would still be sharp.

Alaric and Kelshk talked for a long time. At first Kelshk seemed ill at ease with Alaric, the only reason for going anywhere close to him being to grab the beef to begin eating, but eventually grew relaxed. Arlen wondered what they were talking about exactly, but he dared not go any closer.

It was nearly noon when their behavior changed. Kelshk went near to Alaric and he began healing the Ra'zac's wounds. This seemed like a bad idea to Arlen, feeding and healing him, as it would allow him to fight and hunt again. But when he considered that they were doing this, he thought that perhaps Alaric had succeeded and even now he doing this as a friend and not a regrettable adversary. Had Alaric been right and the Ra'zac just needed to be shown kindness to be turned from his evil path?

After Kelshk had been healed he looked at Alaric and began to slash his claws at him. While Alaric's wards held, they might not for long. Baldor raised his bow and aimed, but after a few seconds he cursed and said, "I can't get a clean shot! I might hit Alaric."

"Shouldn't he have wards?" Ehren asked.

"Would you want to be wrong about it?" Arlen countered as he drew Mor'ranr. "Charge!" The three of them—Arlen, Ehren, and Roran—all ran over to Alaric to see what they could do.

Kelshk had Alaric on the ground and was tearing at his clothes and flesh, but when he saw the trio approaching he leapt at them. He landed on Ehren, knocking him over, then turned to Roran and kicked him at least ten feet away. Arlen backed away and prepared to fight when a knife flew into Kelshk's side. It seemed to be a flesh wound though, and he easily took it out and ran away into the woods, but not before having an arrow be shot at him and miss.

Arlen turned to where the knife had come from and saw Alaric with his left arm cut up but his right holding another knife. He was surprised and confused since he thought Alaric couldn't use his right arm. The Rider sheathed the knife behind his back into some sheath or something that Arlen couldn't see and went over to retrieve the other one. As he picked it up Arlen saw the grandness of the design and workmanship, with strange letters engraved onto the blade and a small green gem at the hilt. He then sheathed it and looked at Arlen warningly.

"The knives I keep a secret," Alaric explained. "The Chief Dragon Rider shouldn't rely on such tricks, but I'm good with them and they were a gift. They can pierce any armor or ward, be dipped in poison and hold it for days as long as it isn't used, and they never tumble if I throw them right—though I don't think that's magic."

Arlen looked at Alaric's right arm again and the Rider took notice. "I keep that a secret too; cast an illusion and make them think I'm a cripple when I'm actually stronger than any other Human Rider besides Eragon or Murtagh." Looking down at Ehren and Roran, he said, "Let's get them up and get them home."

They pulled up the both of them and started back to the village, all the while Arlen realized what Alaric had done. He had healed and fed their enemy and he would now be able to hunt more effectively. They went from Kelshk being a wounded enemy to being a strong predator again. They would have a harder time fighting the Ra'zac now and they had Alaric to thank for that.

But then Arlen considered what Kelshk had done. He had manipulated Alaric's guilt and charity and turned it against him. He had lied to his hopes and made him look like a foolish child. If this was anyone but a Rider, Kelshk would have won, but this was Alaric. If he could guess Alaric's next move, he would guess that the Rider would seek vengeance against Kelshk and would not rest until he was put down like the beast he was.