The young master tells his father that he has been poisoned with the "draconic tongue" by a member of the "dark guild" . He tells him that the victim is dead within two hours and that he should go and get Zillah and nie-li. When the young master asks why his father has done such a thing, Zillah says that she has been attacked by the "city lord" and that she is crying because she has let him and his mother down.