The four Lacinu guides lead Rory and Reece to the Niton Valley, and then stop abrubtly, refusing to go any further. So the two set out alone to meet Reece's mom. In the Valley Rory finds that time seems to run at an alarming rate and he quickly drags his lizard friend into the cave where 'mom' is supposed to live. The two wander in the darkness and Reece mysteriously vanishes. The Shadow mage then encounters a strange shadow being who apparently knows him and Silhouette and begins to relate some disturbing facts about Rory's past.