Meanwhile, Rhejya and her companions unknowingly found themselves near where Galkyn's patrol first sighted Naikamil. The Salvidoric Darklander advised Rhejya to continue further to the East, but the Ormalic woman did not heed him, instead noticing various shapes moving around them among the trees.
"Luovyd, what could be causing these movements?" One of the two Delduthlings said to the Salvidoric.
"Perhaps the answer we need about those dead Greblings." Luovyd replied, finally taking notice of the figures that were now approaching them from out of the Grindwood. "Juerbod! Nykib!" one of the figures shouted, calling out to the two Delduthlings.
It was the rest of Galkyn's patrol, having returned to the area, intent on steering anyone away from the lake where they encountered Naikamil.
"What in Ungoliant's name is the meaning of this?" Juerbod shouted back to the captain of the patrol.
"Something extremely unfortunate occurred near here, just a few hours ago." The captain replied, out of breath.
Rhejya walked up to the fatigued captain, and attempted to speak to him, but the captain gestured for her to step back and took notice of her attire and looked at her face for a split-second.
"You seem to be a little far from the Islands, Gr-Oh, damn it. I just confused you with-"
"Grodyn?"
"Yea-Yes! You look like him, if he were an utterly attractive, yet equally moody-looking woman. I cannot believe I made such a mistake."
Rhejya's eyes widened, but she just chuckled casually.
"It is not too great a mistake. He is my twin brother, you see. It's not too difficult to tell us apart, though, even for the untrained eyes."
"We can all see that." Said a Darklander standing next to the captain; his eyes had been running up and down Rhejya's body for the past two minutes.
Everyone laughed with him, even Rhejya, whose cheeks blushed into a deeper shade of gray.
"Enough talk, Jyankhil!" Nykib said to the captain, with a particularly impatient look upon his face. "What is happening around here. We demand answers, immediately!"
With that, he fired a projectile from his dart-bow into the sky, and cursed in Renorin.
"Well, if you must know, kinsmen, there has been a recent disturbance in this part of the Grindwood." Said Jyankhil. "Come with us, if you wish to know."
"Very well, but make it quick." Luovyd groaned. "We still need to bring Rhejya to the Black Screw."
"It is not a hassle, Luovyd." Rhejya assured. "I can come along, too. I am certain that the lord of the Islands-and my brother-will understand."
"Very well, then." The Salvidoric nodded with a subtle grin. "But you may wish to take this!"
Luovyd handed her a knife with a black hilt and a long grey blade.
"I don't trust these fools at all." The Salvidoric whispered into the young woman's ear.
"If they pull anything, leave quickly. If they try to stop you, do not hesitate to use this weapon on them."
"Luovyd, we're all on the same side here!" Rhejya said to her companion. "Why would we harm each other?"
"I do not know." Luovyd admitted, sheepishly. "But this still seems dangerous. Use that knife if anything happens. Please, my friend. Trust me!"
"Then I shall!" Rhejya said, tucking the knife underneath the leather of her belt.
"Then we shall accompany you, for now!" Luovyd said to Jyankhil. "Just bring us there quickly, so that we can continue on our way."
"Good for you, then!" One of Jyankhil's companions said, suddenly.
"But if this goes wrong on your behalf, you will hear from my cousin, Lhebryn." Luovyd uttered.
"And what would she do?" asked the sixteen-year-old Darklander archer standing on Jyankhil's opposite side.
"Why don't you go to the Trinity Isles and find out?" Luovyd grinned.
"Enough, we are all wasting time here!" Nykib interjected.
So Rhejya and her companions followed Jyankhil's patrol to the lake, where they found the utterly destroyed cadaver of the twenty-year-old Darklander that Naikamil had killed earlier. Juerbod groaned in pain, and spat in disgust of the discovery.
"What in the name of Ungoliant happened here?" Nykib asked, rushing past Rhejya and Luovyd.
"The Gruons got him!" Jyankhil lied. "Those damned tree-things have slipped past our patrols, and killed some of our Men!"
"Well, since this has been cleared up, we shall go to the Black Screw!" said Luovyd. "I hope that you will deal with this problem soon, then…"
Meanwhile, Naikamil began to steer the conversation back to Jykale.
"Now, I wish for you to explain how you are able to repel my curses and spells." The cold-drake questioned.
Disoriented by the smell from Naikamil's heated belly, Jykale walked away from the pools of water, and turned to face the dragon. He tapped one of the lenses he wore.
"These eye-lenses are tinted to filter out the brightest sources of light." The Darklander explained. "Whether it be the Yellow Disc-"
"The Sun?" Naikamil muttered.
"-Or the gaze of a dragon, such as yourself, we are able to adapt to anything we see, as long as we wear them."
Naikamil cocked her head aside, and clicked her tongue against her sharp teeth.
"And how is that possible?" She asked.
"It is the Unlight of Ungoliant herself that tints the lenses." Said Jykale. "We actually derive many materials from the Unlight: paint, silk, dye, string…"
"And did you discover that these lenses could repel dragon-spells by yourself?"
Jykale shook his head, but kept his eyes on Naikamil.
"No, my cousin told me about it. He is a soldier in the Islands, much like I once was. And sometimes, we encountered small Dragons in the Sunlands, usually in tunnels and caves in the Yellow Mountains. These Dragons are much smaller than your kind, and not anywhere near as intelligent.
("Cave Drakes." Jykale hear Naikamil mutter.)
"Though if it weren't for the fact that my cousin already wore those lenses frequently, he probably never would have figured that out, either. He, and many of our comrades, probably might not have even lived to take a guess about it if he didn't."
Now, the vapors of the springs were blowing in Jykale's direction and began fogging up the lenses. He could still make out that Naikamil was now facing away from him, and decided to quickly remove his lenses and clean them. His eyes were closed, so that he could clean them without risking succumbing to the dragon-curse.
Suddenly, he heard a faint bubbling from the pools, and soon felt a thick jet of hot water crash hard into his chest with a force strong enough to knock him off his feet. As he fell, he involuntarily opened his eyes again, and saw the dark mass of Naikamil's face looming over him. He looked into her radiant orange eyes, and felt nauseous.
"Stand up, boy." Naikamil commanded.
Without even thinking, he found himself back on his feet again. He now felt drowsy, and confused.
"Heed my orders, Jykale." The cold-drake said. "I have chosen to settle here for now. I wish to slumber alone. Leave me now, as I have no need of you at this time."
"When shall I return, mistress?" Jykale said, dull-toned.
Naikamil took a moment to look into Jykale's eyes. They were slanted downwards, almost like the eyes of a dog. There were also blackened, puffy bags beneath his eyes, but no reason seemed apparent. She then responded to him.
"Return here in five days. If you return even an hour too soon, I shall slay you and your sickly friend, Galkyn. Do you understand now, child?"
"I certainly do, my lady…" Jykale droned, and found himself walking northwards.
"Then begone!" Naikamil roared after him.
The cold-drake turned her head, and proceeded to lay by the springs with a low sigh. She observed Jykale's movements, until he was beyond her sight. The night was rolling over the mountains, and Naikamil began feeling as exhausted as she was when she first came to the Dark Land. She smiled, and prepared to settle in.
"Jykale is an interesting one, I shall give him that." Naikamil coolly uttered to herself. "At least he provided more pleasant company than anyone else I've met in Arvalin...thus far."
Meanwhile, Jykale felt his mind distort, and his vision darkened, making everything around him seem incomprehensible to him. He felt ill, as though he was beginning to descend into insanity. Strange and alien thoughts polluted his mind, and he heard another voice shout to him from a distance, rising and falling. The voice seemed to repeat for an eternity, and echoed through his mind for what seemed like an hour. Eventually, Jykale felt himself stumble to the ground, and abruptly blacked out to the sight of a dark figure slowly approaching him.