"Changes of rank? I'm sorry, but I haven't been informed of this," Ardasa said. "Rughoi tends to keep his particulars rather close to vest. The army, I confess, is his specialty, not mine." She walked as she spoke, coming to a door hidden away in a hall. She threw open the door to reveal a bright-lit room, windows wide and frequent on the far wall, allowing copious amounts of sunlight in. The copious amounts of dust in the room was highlighted by these windows, as they caught the sun's light in handfuls. Shelves lined the stone walls, some with a couple of books resting on them, some completely bare. She gestured to a low table paired with a couple of stuffed chairs. "Make yourself at home, and let's discuss this. If I may ask, what compelled you to come this way? What are your interests in Xigyll?"

"Your Mercy," Kutur said, snapping out of his dreamlike state. The name weighed on him. Akydon. It was familiar. He had been wracking his brain, hanging on it, trying to piece it with a context. It came to him in this library. "She cannot be here. Akydon and those allied to him are, as the humans say, persona non gra-" Ardasa silenced him by cupping a hand on his snout.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," Ardasa said. "Kutur is rather busy in his studies, and will leave us alone. Shall I call for water? Bread, perhaps? I think I would have some bread, and a bit of the crushed fruit to go with it. You must try some. It is exquisite." With hasty motions, she forced a protesting Kutur out of the library and closed the door. "This is where I have been directing my effort as of late. It's not impressive yet, but our scribes are still in the progress of documenting our kobold knowledge. I promise soon it shall be a beacon of scholarly light, comparable to the largest and oldest cities."
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The spy fought to prevent a huff from escaping his snout. Stupid cankerous creature. Do the civilry no longer see sense? He took a deep breath, and decided to start anew. "My friend is an esteemed warrior, as loyal to His Might as you or I," he began, slowly allowing a friendly smile to take over his face. "We have gone our own ways, he to further leadership and I to the service of the gods. However, both of us participated in the wars that followed Traeton's conquest, in which he has proven his loyalty to His Might many times over. If you do not believe me, meet him at the inn as I have directed you. Decide for yourself if his word is to be listened to. Now, may you follow in Arda's path." With that, he pulled the cloak further up his shoulders and left the forge.