This chapter starts off four days after the Battle of The Burning Plains. Eragon and Roran are camped outside Helgrind in an effort to rescue Katrina. They witness a company of priests performing a hideous ceremony involving mutilation and the drinking of human blood. Then, Eragon scans Helgrind with his mind and senses Katrina and Sloan inside. He and Roran prepare to storm Helgrind the next day.