Jex smiles at the sight of the Kobolds, he goes to speak but Nakia cuts across him.

"And what of the supplies? Did you manage to destroy them? What of Marcellus' and his general? Do you know their habits and when we might best strike against them before the battle?"

“Yes, yes! But of course! Apologies,” he responds, pushing past the embarrassment of forgetting key information in his excitement. “We successfully destroyed a substantial amount of their rations, but I must report that Marcellus’ supplies were quite well stocked when we found them. Our efforts are sure to hinder them, but I fear it won’t be enough to see the ravenous, disgusting mongrels turn on their human counterparts.” Ix straightens and pulls another note from another pouch before continuing. “As for the dastardly, nefarious, Sir Marcellus, I identified and shadowed him personally,” Ix goes on to describe both Marcellus and his retinue in thorough detail. Once his report is complete he adds, “If I may suggest, Marcellus is never alone but his aides and knights could be more easily picked off.”

Nakia nods, looking sideways at Jex who apparently is not paying much interest.

"And these generals? If a skilled assassin were to go go after one, or all, how would they recognise them and what have you learned of them?"

Bründir hangs his head through Ix's report. It wasn't the ration sabotage, nor the disposition of forces. It wasn't even Marcellus and his ever-present security. The dwarf twisted his head in his hands and hissed at the kobold leader, "Jus' like a damn dirt-lizard t'come in an' spill half our plan fer all t'hear! Should we get half o' Sheercleft inna town meetin' an' give ev'ry Breannian spy a front seat?!" Bründir couldn't help noticing a few scattered tables held members of the Khaz a Gungron dwarven infantry. What would they think of a dwarf leader who relied on sneaky kobold spies?

Ix visibly balks as he is chastised by the well respected dwarf. The eyes of the other Sheerscales are upon him, but his eyes look to Jex and Nakia for grounding. “Ah- apologies, Venerable Bründir.” he croaks back at last. “I was informed that the Acharnost were meeting here at the inn, as you all often do, and thought it best to present my findings to you with the utmost haste. Thankfully any spies in attendance have only just received information they already possess seeing as thus far I have only reported on their forces. Going forward I will prioritize discretion over expediency, and at your word we would be happy to vet all who are present and tear out the slimy, yellow scaled throats of any Breannian lurkers we find.” Somehow his polite smile spreads wider to show even more of his viciously pointed teeth.

Bründir put on his biggest, showiest smile for the kobold leader, "Much as I like yer grit, how d'ye know who's a spy? That's kin'a their point, right? Not like they're sittin' with a pint an' a sign sayin', 'Marcellus' spy, right here!'." Bründir digs his fingers into his eyes, rubbing away the fuzziness of his few strong drinks. "F'get it. Let's get word out, meet th' others, an' figure out what we do goin' forward. I'll have a cask brought over, too. Gods knows we'll need it."

Ix’s left eye twitches slightly as he listens to the dwarf’s obtuse question, but for the moment he says nothing. It is not until Bründir turns away to continue making preparations that Ix hisses to his cohort in sharp draconic. “Sjek wer anan tiric ti vucot svanoa ekess visp vi ikn de vi jari vindrin, nomagqe jaci jalla itrewic batobot arcanik sidri di jacida sessid ekik. nomagqe vi ikn replaced coi mrith vi rit di shuiblith persvek jacida vdri.”

Val glances over at Brundir when he tosses out the dirt-lizard slur and frowns, setting her large mug down, but does not interrupt until it seems what needed to be said has been said. She walks over to him and drops a massive hand onto his shoulder, holding him down into his seat as she leans way down to be face to face with a stern look on her face. "You should apologize to him. That was not a nice thing to say, Brundir. I thought you were different than the rest of your people, but it would seem that even the shiny stone can be dirt."

"Friends, please don't argue" 

Matteo looks up sadly at Val, Brundir and Ix

"When good people fight, only evil wins"

 He shakes his head. Nakia meanwhile scoffs into her cup before getting up to leave.

"I've heard quite enough of this. Come and get me when you are ready to plan for taking out their leaders."

Val looks at Matteo and shakes her head. "No arguing, just correcting."

Bründir stares straight ahead, trying to place his gaze at least twelve paces beyond the far wall. Under Val's immense grip, it was all he could do to steel his nerves. "I don' apologize...t'them. I've had stone o'er head longer'n I've seen sky. It does things t'ye...makes small things big. Someone breaks a leg down a tunnel, only help's another miner an' a two mile slog. Thing is, we always go back eventually. Sometimes, ye find that rock what broke yer mate's foot, still with bits o' blood. That's not so bad, but seein' a hole in th' tunnel ceilin' where it fell down....that's what gets ye. Next couple days, ye think there's scratchin', an' yippin' somewhere nearby." The dwarf turned his head slow, until he met as close to Val's gaze as he could turn, "If we win, an' Marcellus hangs or runs like a dog, I better not fin' a stone with Sheercleft blood on it out there. If we get there, I'll 'ave a dif'rent tune."

"Wait Ix... I was wondering " speaks the Norscan to the little kobold, clearly amused by the adjetives he used to describe Marcellus "Any of this generals is a magic-user? If so... do you think it is possible to neutralize that magic-user?" 

"Yes," he says, moving in closer and glancing around. He lowers his voice as well, seemingly more cognizant of who might be listening. "One of his aides, Curor, is a wizard who wears blue robes. We did not see his capabilities, but I would advise that the best way to neutralize a magic user is to get close and stick a blade between their ribs before they can use any magic."

In the days after Vark returns from the elves, both he and Seid are scarcely seen. With no pressing preparations for either of them to attend to, Vark pulls his companion deep within the crystalline walls of the codex to peruse the wealth of information stored within.

"Odexes! Hi! Uhm, this is my friend Seid, he's going to be researching some things as well today," Vark turns to Seid who's eyes are busy scanning the endless stacks around them. 

"I... I don't even know where to begin!"  he says as he takes it all in. In a methodical nature befitting a wizard such as Seid, he decides to first get his bearings and then move through section by section, gathering a stack of tomes in each one before reading through them. Predictably, Vark's line of research is far more erratic.

"Uhm...  was wondering if there is anything here on a group called The Ninety Nine Hundred." he asks once he and Odexes are alone. The librarian ushers him through the aisles to the information he seeks, and soon Vark is nose deep in a tome which speaks of the Queen of Air and Darkness, leader of the Unseelie Court. "Talona..." Vark mutters to himself as dots connect in his mind. It seems the Ninety Nine Hundred are her followers, and Vark presumes that they have stolen the Sigil of Earth as part of some scheme to free Talona from her prison. For a moment he thinks to go on to study the fey and the Unseelie court more generally, to figure out what they might face if they challenge this ancient organization, but there are more pressing questions he came here with.

Before he can even deal with the Ninety Nine, he might be paying a visit to a dragon. "Hey, Odexes, is there a section on specific dragons? I'm looking for one named Longwang." The Dragon King of the Norscan Sea doesn't have much written on him, only a mention in a larger referential tome, but Vark does learn that Longwang has some control over weather and water and more importantly that the dragon is ancient. Vark knows enough to know that the more ancient a dragon, the more formidable they are. How could Matthew ask him to go up against such a powerful being? To risk his own life and the life of his friends? Why can't Matthew just go and do it? He is the ultimate trickster and the king of Hell after all... Vark spirals for a moment, lost in the sensation of being thoroughly in over his head. He wonders what would have happened if he had just stayed in his village, if someone else had found that bloodstone, if he had just died in those tunnels beneath Sheercleft instead of accepting Matthew's gifts. Maybe that would have been for the best. Or maybe all of this would still be happening, surely Matthew would have still figured out a way to get free. In the end Vark decides it doesn't matter what could have happened, and it doesn't matter if he is in over his head. He is in it now, and there is no undoing that fact. He shakes his head, stands, and goes off to find the librarian.

"What about Shahar?" Again he is whisked through the stacks to a truly ancient looking tome. Here he finds some information that he's already come across: that Shahar was also known as Lucifer, and that he had been exiled for betraying his father, the Fifth. This book goes deeper however. He learns that it had been pride that turned Lucifer against his father, the demigod believed that they could be equals. He had deceived his father somehow, allying with the Dawn Gods and somehow leading the Fifth right into their ambush. This is exciting for Vark to read as it affirms the contingency plan that has been budding in his head. If the Acharnost end up needing to fight against Matthew in order to prevent him from restoring the Fifth, what better ally to have than the entity who ultimately caused the Fifth's demise in the first place? If only there were some way to commune with Shahar more directly... Vark can talk to Matthew just as he talks to anyone else, but Nikolai only has those cryptic cards to speak to his patron. Vark reads on, hoping to find mention of some other relic or location imbued with Lucifer's power. Whats he finds is mention of Lucifer's sword which fell to Arden as the entity was exiled. Vark grins, imagining the blade burning with radiant light plunging into the heart of the ruby and severing its connection to Matthew. Could that really work? He has to hope so. If Matthew was able to rid the codex of Asgorath's power by infusing it with his own, surely cleansing the ruby with Lucifer's light is a possibility. But how exactly had Matthew done it in the first place?

"Okay Odexes, now I'm looking to read up on Asgorath!" he says with renewed vigor.

The sound of a tolling bell rings out loudly as Vark utters the name Asgorath, making the library tremble and shake. Several books fall from their shelves and Odexes hurries away to gather them up.

“Uh oh…” he says, now remembering the last time he had asked the stewards of the codex about Asgorath and Matthew. With a thought he jets up into the air above the library’s shelves and begins to search for Seid. “I think it might be time to go.” he whispers, hoping the arcane message will find its way to his friend in this strange place.

Vark's ascent seems to grow ever slower the higher he goes and the light beyond the expansive dome that stretches over the library flickers in and out giving way to spates of darkness.

"Is everything alright?" Seid messages back, concern heavy in his voice.

"I think it'll be okay, forgot asking about Asgorath is a no-go. I'm going to pull out, see you outside!" Hoping that Seid will be okay removing himself from the incorporeal space of the codex, Vark closes his eyes and focuses on pulling his own consciousness back into his body.

Seid is sat at a reading table elsewhere in the infinite library of the codex when he receives Vark's message. He sees the flickering light and feels the tremor that rumbles through the stacks as the half-orc speaks. Setting down the book that he is reading, the wizard closes his eyes and focuses on willing his consciousness out of the runestone and back into his body in the material world - to no avail. His vision swims as though the library is about to fade from view, but then there is a sudden sideways lurch and an intense sensation of vertigo. When Seid's vision clears, he finds himself in an expansive red waste of rocky badlands. Ahead of him, the slopes of an enormous mountain stretch up to the sky.

Seid looks around at his surroundings with more curiosity than fear. He knew that he was not physically there, but rather... metaphysically. The most intriguing question was where he was... this appeared to be the Ardathian badlands. 'But that peak there should be a volcano... wait... there's a light?' He instinctively reaches down for his spellbook and falters for a moment as he realizes it is not there, but just as the realization strikes him the spellbook appears. A sly grin spreads across Seid's face and wills himself to float several inches off the floor. He laughs quietly as his body begins to float gently. He forces his will over the Codex and begins flying rapidly up towards the blue light emanating from the mountain. He soon finds a cavern entrance and lands softly, quietly near the entrance after checking for any signs of non-humanoid life, but find only a set of humanoid footprints. He spots an old man watching the Codex and what appears to be the battle that they have seen images and stories of... 'that shadowy figure must be The Fifth.'

Things come to a head and it seems as though the black figure may triumph, but then there's a flash of white light from within the diorama and the four others tear him apart. As this happens, the flames die away and disperse and the light fades from the codex until barely a glimmer remains. In this moment, the man watching in the cave jumps up and seizes the runestone. At this point Seid thinks he might know what is happening, this appears to be the historical moment in which Gabriel seized the runestone, but... he wants to see what would happen if... "Morgale?"