Aiden flies back above the ridge and alights near the corpses of the gnolls. "That could have gone better," he thinks. He looks up at Vark. "Sorry about the raven in the ear."

Vark lets out a breath to steady himself as Matteo proposes the idea of hitting the wizard while he is on the move. It is sound strategy, but Vark had hoped to simply find the man asleep in bed. As Aiden drifts back to the group and apologizes, Vark waves it off with a friendly smile. "Don't worry about it, I probably wouldn't have come out of my trance otherwise. And now... I should probably do that again to charge back up after that fight." 

Aiden nods. "Start soon. Jex...er...Matteo will follow the army, I assume, and let us know when they make camp. Our work is not done yet tonight."

Jex keeps to the shadows, trailing the Cambrian army until the onset of dusk when Marcellus's forces pitch camp for the night. The campsite is on one of the plateaus of black rock on the  slopes of Mount Cruelty and the command tent appears to have been set up at the heart of the small sea of tents. Quickly and quietly, the half-elf slips away once more to inform his allies of the lay of the land.

Aiden pulls at the chainmail covering his body. "It's going to be difficult to get in as it is," he says. His eyes rise to the sky. "It's overcast. We could fly up into the clouds and then directly down into the middle of their camp. We'd need to be quick."

"Are we still trying to destroy their sieges weapons? That should create a distraction so Matteo can act on the warlock..." asks Thurston. 

As Thurston mentions “Matteo” “acting on” the wizard, Vark looks uncomfortable for the “reformed” assassin. “Uhm I-I’m willing to strike at the wizard, you don’t have to if you don’t want, Matteo. Attacking the siege weapons will make a good distraction but only once we’ve made the first hit. Honestly…” he turns to the barbarian amongst them. “I think you’d be the best one to go with me. You won’t be much good from up above but I could make you fly and we could drop in on Curor together. Usually spellcasters don’t like a big warrior right in their face.” he adds with a little smile. “Matteo and Didymus can sneak in and support us from the ground, and somehow we signal Thurston and Aiden to start blasting.”

Thurston nods at Vark”Good plan let’s do it” he pays Val on the shoulder “Good hunting. Beware, those pricks never play fair and it’s probably that he had some magical wards up, you and.. you “ he says looking to Vark and Dydimus “ should take care of that “ 

Val grins and nods to Vark. "Leave it to me, to get you out of trouble again, Vark!" She laughs heartily as she slaps him across the shoulders hard before looking at the others. "The rest of you, be safe, and we will see you soon. Kill as many as you can. Our home depends on this." She turns, but stops a moment as the realization of what she had just said hits her and she feels a strange, uncomfortable feeling wash over her. She did not like the way it made her feel, and so she pushes the feelings aside for the moment, they had work to do and people to kill. 

Matteo shrinks away at Thurston's words but says nothing beyond flinching as Val mentions killing as many as possible. As the plan sets he turns silently resigned to what is to come and walks towards the camp. He slings the mask around his neck, knowing it is his best chance to avoid bloodshed. The idea of leaving the others to it crosses his mind, but he knows he couldn't live with himself if something happened to one of them and he had avoided the fight.

Once the assembled team has stalked their way towards the camp, Vark grips Pathmaker tight in one hand and extends the other for the invisible goliath to take hold of. "Ready when you are." Once she's grabbed hold, Vark makes a sound like a rush of wind and the air around them answers his call, swirling into tufts of clouds at their feet. As they rise, Vark looks down at Jex and Didymus. "See you inside... be careful, please." With that, Vark and Val take off into the cloudy night sky.

Valaith and Vark soar high over the rugged mountainside campsite of the Cambrian forces, obscured above the clouds that hang low around the mountain peaks. In the midst of the encampment stands a large marquee in Cambrian colours - presumably the abode of the Star Knight.

On the ground, Matteo finds that slinking past guards to deal death in the night does not come as easily to him as it did to Jex. He stumbles and hesitates and only a well-timed distraction from Didymus saves him from discovery.

Shaking his head, Matteo hears the voice in the back of it once more. This is not your thing, you know that. Let me. Matteo shakes his head, gripping his staff and gritting his teeth. At least put on the mask, otherwise you will get everyone killed.

Unable to refute the logic there, Matteo pulls the mask up and fastens it around his face, there is a momentary dissorientation as he looks down at the staff in his hands through the eyeholes. A grin crosses his lips as his left hand begins to fumble with the straps holding the gift from Thurston closed. My turn.

With a quick glance over his shoulder at Didymus, the half-elf slips into the shadows of the camp, gliding silently towards the centre, eyes on the look out for any sentry or easy isolated targets...

Didymus walks in plain sight in the form of one of the many peasants levied for war by Baron Reventlow.

"I like you better this way," he quietly notes, nodding to the pair of guards that flank the entrance to what must be the command tent. Its other sides appear unguarded.

Jex nods behind the mask slipping down beside the tent and listening carefully.

Jex can hear a muffled conversation from inside the tent.

"Faldric!" The first voice barks. Though the timbre of the man's speech is deep, it is accompanied by whispers that linger on the cusp of the assassin's sharp, elven hearing.

"Good evening, my lord," grovels the second voice in response. This man speaks with the nasal fawning of a sycophantic crony. "What is thy bidding?"

"Tomorrow, we will reach Sheercleft," the deeper voice continues. "Select a scouting party and range ahead of the main force to reconnoitre the Acharnost's defences. By all accounts their 'soldiers' are mostly miners and town guards. Confirm this. I don't want any unpleasant surprises, understood?"

"Of course, my lord," submits Faldric, hissing faintly through his teeth. "I will leave at first light and return with my findings."

"Discretion is paramount, Faldric," the first man warns his subordinate. "We must strike swiftly and without mercy. These Acharnost will be left as a mere footnote in the history of one remote mountain village, nothing more."

"I will be cautious, my lord," Faldric promises, "I will not fail."

Jex listens with interest and a smile curls his lips beneath the mask. It wasn't the planned target, but an obvious, probably easier one would provide a promising start. He waits for the sound of Faldric leaving the tent and prepares to follow to somewhere hopefully out of sight.

Faldric stalks out of the command tent flanked by two men-at-arms, heading towards where the archers are camped.

Jex and Didymus follow, keeping a short distance and waiting for a quiet opportunity.

Jex is nothing more than a shadow as he tails Faldric, moving from tent to tent to remain out of sight. Numerous soldiers mill around the tightly packed encampment, but the assassin's elven cloak makes it easy for him to blend into his surroundings. En route to the western side of the camp, Faldric takes a detour, heading for a latrine that has been scratched out of the rocky earth. His entourage give their lieutenant some space, leaving Jex with perhaps his only opening.