[Stomoxys]

The most valuable the officer could give us was information about what was going on. Unless we wanted to stay in the war zone, we would have to go eastwards and find a way to avoid Larma forces. However, the officer became hysterical and ran off when they realized what I am. I had expected Mir to maintain better discipline. Instead, we made our way to the southern part of the camp were supplies were kept. Wolfram needed new weapons and Nuur-Karif was eventually directed to a large tent were they kept weapons meant for trolls. I had not seen any trolls besides Grogg, but a unit of them was supposed to arrive the day after. Wolfram was pleased with their new weapons and I waited with them outside the camp while Nuur-Karif, Yana and Grogg procured food and water. Nujan ran off to snoop around the camp.

Grogg was balancing a full barrel of water on their back when the others returned, but they seemed to manage just fine despite having only one arm. Their strength is truly impressive. We would have to figure out where to go next, as Mir had not seemed interested in keeping us around. Long term, we must get the mirror shard to the homeland, but I believe we have to visit the Night Mirror first. Wolfram did not want to go there though, because they had an unusual moment of clarity and realized they had no way to fight the demons which they are convinced we have to do. I am beginning to doubt that. The stone circle was now a bit more than a days march to the east and we somehow all agreed that we should go there, though I suspect we all had different motives. I wanted to study the circle itself, Wolfram wanted to inspect the nearby crypt, Grogg did whatever they interpreted Kra's cawing to be and Nuur-Karif wanted to curry favour with Grogg through Kra.

I went to find Nujan and found them lurking in the camp. They seemed unusually earnest and wondered if I had truly seen the fires in their eyes when the dragons fought and I pointed out that both Wolfram and I had seen them. They did not continue that train of thought, but produced a note they had received from Mir when we returned to the others. It contained drafts for laws in lands ruled by Mir, giving the cults of Ashtar and Tiri special privileges and making it illegal to buy and sell most apeoids and jaguars, as well as guaranteeing free travel on roads. As noted previously, the apeoids like to consider each other as property, especially here in Arland, so this would make for a quite radical change. Of course, the laws are only worth as much as Mir is willing to enforce them. Mir had indicated to Nujan that they wanted to see us and we returned to the camp where the soldiers had started celebrating the successful raid.

We walked towards Mir's tent, but a soldier signaled for us to enter a tent on the way. Inside, we discovered that Mir had escaped Nulius' attention and were waiting for us. They asked our advice about their military campaign, saying that they were considering attacking Byblos, the capital of Arland while Nulius wanted to go north, presumably towards the main seat of Larma. I pointed that while the army in Ur was trapped, the population of Ur would starve before the army and, more importantly, the vault of the council probably contains many powerful artifacts that should not fall into the hands of Tivito. Especially the mirror we had found in the crypt. If Nefalonia's speculations were correct, Tivito could use it to gain control over Darwan. I am also not sure how they planned to take either Byblos or Larma without a long and costly siege, but I assume they had some plans. Either that, or the spear was already affecting them. They were still clutching it.

Mir had not summoned us only to discuss strategy. They wanted us to travel east to the stone circle and crypt east of Byblos. It would be close to Amrosh lands and the influence of the Kabal cult. It is clear that Kabal is working with Tivito and may be trying to capture the demon imprisoned in the crypt. The remaining demons are Jori, of ashes and rage, and Volkir, associated with whirlwinds and lightning. Grogg visibly paled when they heard about Volkir. If we checked the place out within 14 days, Mir would implement the laws described in the notes, which made Wolfram and Nuur-Karif very eager to go. I will travel along. A warlord owing me a favour could come in handy, assuming they win the war and do not die in some stupid duel. I mentioned that it might be best to release the demons before Tivito could get to them and Wolfram looked horrified, but Mir agreed that it might come to that. The shortest root to the circle would be to travel straight east and cross the river, but this would take us through densely populated Larma lands. It would be better to go south to Sam and then follow the river up using a boat or cross the river and travel by wagon. Mir said we could take the tent and stay overnight. They expected news from the closest stone circle at dawn at the latest and we decided to wait until the messenger arrived. On their way out, Mir mentioned to Nujan that Nujan's sibling was said to be in Sam.

I went to the outskirts of the camp and studied the stars. I could still not see Kama and Taxini, but The Nine were still dancing. Climbing a large rock, I studied their dance closely. The steps are intricate and very slow and fast at the same time, requiring immaculate timing. Carefully following one of them, I was able to understand some of the steps, but the time scales of the stars are not the same as ours. To get a better understanding, I will have to return another night. Skipping back to the camp, I heard grunts and moans coming from our tent and feared the apeoids had started mating, but it turned out Wolfram had started their exercise program and had recruited Grogg. Nuur-Karif and Yana had set up their tent inside the larger tent and retreated inside while Nujan was sleeping in a corner.