Always one to appreciate a good mystery, especially one pertaining to the arcane, Kertez observes the scale shine under the starlight. He’s curious about the kind of enchantement that’s been placed on this scale, as well as who it belonged to. Though he doubted he would get an answer from the dragon.

"Curious. Fascinating even.", as he studies the scale. When Alaric goes to pocket it, Kertez politely raises his hand to stop him. "If you don’t mind, there’s a little something I’d like to experiment.", he says as he presents his hand.

(If Alaric agrees and hands him the scale, he would ritual cast identify to try and gleam any useful information about its enchantement.)

Kertez spends the next eleven minutes ritual casting his identification spell. Over the course of it, he learns the scale is both compass and key. Whatever enchantment is placed upon it gathers starlight and refocuses it into the arrow you've already seen, which points towards your quarry. As you near it, the spell gathers more and more light to make the symbol appear brighter. He also detects some unlocking mechanism within the scale, though for what he can't tell.

As the old wizard starts his droning, Valeria returns to petting Nixri, continuing to find those spots that would send the red drake into a purr. "They grow up so fast huh." She says with a smile, looking up at Feliks as she kneels by his dragon companion. "How big will she get? As big as Sedris in time?" She asks curiously, clearly both impressed and fascinated by the small dragon.

Feliks turns to Valeria. "As you know, Nixri is a manifestation of a draconic spirit, much as your familiar is a manifestation."  He gets a mildly smug look on his face as he explains this. "However, yes.  She does grow over time.  I believe she will eventually get even larger and be capable of flight. Though I doubt she will ever reach the full size of a dragon such as Sedris.  But time will tell." 

He then makes a signal to Nixri, and the red-scaled drake slowly steps over to stand alongside him. "It seems we have figured out how this scale works, so it's probably time to rest up for the journey tomorrow. I imagine we will leave with the first light of dawn?"  His eyes scan the crowd to the others to see if they agree.  Once he gets a general agreement, he heads back to his quarters with Nixri alongside. 

"Hmm…I didn’t sense anything we haven’t already deduce by now. Here you go, Master Richern. Apologies for holding you up.", the old wizard says as he hands back the scale to Alaric. Though he expected not to learn much else about this item, he didn’t want to leave any stones unturned.

"That would probably be for the better.", he says in response to the suggestion by Feliks. "I’ll retire for the night. Enjoy the rest of your evening, youngsters."

Unless anyone else wishes to discuss with Kertez, he continue his moonlit stroll back to his room to go to sleep.

"It's always worth a try, thank you for the insight," the nobleman says, pocketing the scale. "Good night Kertez, see you bright and early."

Alaric isn't quite ready to leave yet, remaining in the garden as the others begin to leave. He wasn't ready for tomorrow to come and the longer he stayed awake, the longer it was held at bay.

Eventually his eyelids grow heavy, and he reluctantly returns to his room to get enough rest for the beginning leg of their trip.

The young red-haired lady frowns briefly at the mildly smug comment from the dragon lord. She knew full well about the nature of dragons, in fact she knew things she doubted even the old gold was aware of, the great wyrm itself had seen to that. Her frown quickly turns into a plesant smile though, she certaianly deserved some retortive comments from Feliks. As Nixri leaves to join the young dragon lord, Valeria gracefully stands up. As the others say their good nights, she offers the same and returns to her private quarters, watching the serene starlit sky from her balcony for some time, pondering the journey ahead, soon joined by her tiny winged companion who proudly presents her with a roasted rodent he had caught in the garden, then a bit later going to sleep in her comfortable bed, Cruentus resting peacefully at her side.

Kyrian sheathes his blade, then lies down on his bed. He sinks into the mattress so far that he fears falling through it, it felt as if he is held up by nothing but the air itself. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he gets up, picks the nearest carpet and curls up on top of it with a blanket. It is telling in itself, he thinks to himself. He's been away from anything resembling a home so long that he'll never again feel comfortable sleeping on anything but the hard ground. With that thought, he falls into a fitful sleep.

The morning brings with it a cool opalescent mist that stretches from the coast to the outer castle walls. Oddly enough, the haze doesn't obscure your vision in the slightest. You've gathered at the western docks that Dragon's Tooth maintains, huddled together in a group with Queen Saera as workers finish loading up the horses and the feed supply to maintain them. Two of her personal guard hang back from your party. Even here at the seat of her power they remain vigilant, scanning the area with hands placed upon the hilts of their swords. 

Saera hands two sealed scrolls to Valeria, describing them one at a time as she does so. "This one for Arthor Marne, deliver it to him upon being welcomed into his court. As I understand, the recent fleet he's built for himself wracked up quite a debt with the Merchant Prince of Ossivedo. I've offered to help alleviate that debt from our coffers."

"This one, is for Ellys Morne — a personal message from me to Feliks's mother."

"You won't be sailing straight for Marne. You'll go to Bluda first and travel overland into the realms of House Marne. Lady Ellys will meet you first at an estate west of their capital. Hear her out, she knows the minor noble families much better than any of us, and she knows her brother. She should be able to help you persuade him better, or failing that, persuade his vassal houses to apply pressure."

The workers begin to load the last of the supply crates, and she begins to say something but stops herself. There's a look of worry in her eyes. This was the first time she would be without some of her closest allies and friends in over a decade. It was clearly causing her some concern.

"Do you have any final questions? It seems the ship is nearly ready."

Valeria accepts the two scrolls she is entrusted with a courteous bow of her head and carefully places them within her backpack. She is still wearing a red exquisite dress but her backpack surely holds travellers clothes for any overland trekking ahead. Meanwhile Cruentus flies back and forth among the sails, teasing the riggers as they ready the ship for departure. Although reluctant to leave the side of her queen Valeria seems eager to board the ship. The sooner this mission was completed the sooner she would be back with her queen. "So we're finally going to meet your dear mother Feliks." The red-haired young lady says with a curious smile, then turning more serious again as she turns to face Queen Saera. "I don't believe I have any questions right now. We will come back soon carrying good news my queen, until then stay safe." She says with a graceful curtsy, ready to board the ship.

Kertez offers a bow of the head in deference to the Queen as he arrives. His gaze then turns to the ship and the workers preparing the cargo it will carry. Sailing wasn’t something he had had many opportunity to experience during his long life. Though he would never admit it, the wizard wasn’t as comfortable on the rocking deck of a boat as he was with his two feet planted firmly on the stable ground. But if the mission required it, Kertez would put his discomfort aside.

Behind him, the bags he’s bringing with him on this journey appear to float gently, the old man’s unseen servant carrying most of the load. Noticing the concern on Saera’s face, Kertez tries to give her a reassuring smile. He’s trying to convey non-verbally that he believes in her, and that she should too.

Clearing his throat, he asks: "Would you happen to know if we should expect any…imperial envoys…in Marne? Surely they won’t wait for us to rally more allies."

Feliks is up early and is out on the docks to meet the sunrise. He had checked in on the horses as they were loaded but left it to the workers once everyone gathered with Queen Saera. He listened, trying to look uninterested, but he was in fact eager to get to Marne and see how this played out. He would be quite pleased to see his homeland join with the queen. 

He nods as she mentions landing at Bluda, thus avoiding dropping them right into the middle of the capital. As the time nears to depart, he notes Saera's look. He finds himself studying her for a moment, trying to read if perhaps something more is bothering her.  Then with Valeria's comment his attention is drawn to her.  He answers in a deadpan voice. "Well, yes, meeting my mother is the mission after all."  He rolls his eyes at her before looking back to Queen Saera.  Once others have had a chance to ask questions, he looks about to make sure it is just their small group that is listening.  He then speaks up with a question of his own. "I do have a question, Queen Saera.  Are we really sure Valeria here is up for all this?"  With a grin, he glances over towards the woman. "I mean... she almost sounds like she doesn't understand the basics of what we're doing!"  His light chuckle makes it clear he was joking.  In the back of his mind, he hopes a little levity might put Saera more at ease. 

At Feliks' response, Valeria turns away and pouts with arms crossed over her chest. "I am quite aware of our mission, I was merely commenting on how nice it would be to be told about your childhood." She says dryly, still looking away. "That doesn't mean I will not be able to carry out my orders in full." As if sensing her discomfort, Cruentus swoops down to settle on his mistress' shoulder, suspiciously looking around at the others to see who might have caused this reaction.

In truth, Feliks' comment had hit home more than he likely could imagine. The young red-haired lady had asked herself that very same question, repeatedly. Was she up to this, did she even know what exactly to achieve with the negotiations. She had been away from the courts for so very long now and she had precious little time to get back into the game she had even played as a child.

"Easy now, lets wait until we're at least on the ship until we're at each other's throats. We are ostensibly a royal envoy after all" Kyrian says with a smile. 

He gives a shallow bow to the queen as she addresses them, as propriety demands, then stands in a relaxed posture next to Alaric. He gives Saera a small smile. "I have but one question. When we have successfully entreated with the three great houses and united the country under the banner of house Lense, how would you like us to announce our triumphant return? Perhaps a fanfare of trumpets? A parade of elephants? For rest assured, we will complete the tasks you have set us and we will return." His voice is sincere and confident.

Alaric has been quiet for most of the morning, he felt a discomfort similar to the Queen's own, and it had most certainly sobered his mood. He feels the presence of the tall dragonborn next to him and snaps out of his melancholy. 

"I wouldn't tease Valeria too much, out of everyone she'd be the one I trust the most to make this diplomatic mission work."

"If anyone is going to screw up, it'll be me or the big guy breaking something out of boredom." He says, tilting his head toward Kyrian. His attention turns towards Saera afterwards, and he shakes his head. "No questions, we'll return quickly and safely."

Felix frowns as his attempted jest at Valeria's expense doesn't seem to go over well. "Was just a joke," he mumbles. "We all know Valeria could charm anyone. Didn't realize you were all so serious this morning."

He steps back, signaling for Nixri to come join him at his side.  While still paying attention, he clearly looks to just stay quiet in the background for the moment. 

Kyrian snorts in amusement "Those are fighting words, duelist. It has been seven years, but my blade hasn't lost its edge. Has yours?"

He suddenly feels a surge of their old companionable bonds returning, and quickly feels more at ease. It had taken a little while to see it, but perhaps they weren't so different from the people they were back in Brabenne.

"It could be that you encounter envoys from the Empire while you're there. I have a suspicion that Brevir, Fessia, and Zekaret had maintained close relations for some time before their declarations." The Queen pauses for a moment, then continues, "it's also possible you arrive and think there are no imperials present. I would advise you to take a closer look if your suspicions are ever raised. In either case, please refrain from starting a war on my behalf." Her gaze flickers towards Alaric momentarily.

To Kyrian's question, she allows herself a smile. "No pomp and circumstance, I've had enough of that lately."

"Thought after you're done with House Marne, whether you succeed or fail, return here first to give your report firsthand."

Realizing she had acted quite over-sensetively, Valeria glances over at Feliks with a discreet apologetic look. She is tempted to point out to her queen that them refraining from starting a war would be far to high expectations but she decides to simply nod and smile now while waiting to board the ship. 

Alaric laughs, "not at all swordmaster, maybe someone in House Marne or one of these hypothetical imperials will give me the chance to demonstrate." Then he catches the Queen's comment, and bows his head. "In good legal contest of course, as governed by the laws of the Great Houses."