Aflia Cencin sat down gingerly, always aware of her new wings and how much they would protest being crushed against the back of a chair, "I came out here at Aris' request, to gather certain information. I already have some of it, but not all. In particular, I'd like to learn more about the Westmarch War. Aris has mentioned it a time or three, but..."

Both Mul and Lady SiDabolo looked uncomfortable. Mul broke the silence first, "I cannot tell you all, only what I saw and did. It isn't nice to hear, and the blood I spilled still haunts me. The grinding unfairness of it all. As the dawn rose on one of the last days of the war, I stood in the breach of a wall and knew that I alone had been responsible for the death of hundreds, many as they slept bundled against the biting cold of a winter storm."

Lady SiDabolo nodded, "the nights you mined the walls of Fort Westmarch."

Mul shuddered, "you know of this, and still want to hear more?"

Lady SiDabolo shook her head, "no. I am only interested in a single conversation Aris mentioned in his own journal."

Aflia flexed her wings uneasily, "how did you come to read Aris' journal?"

"He left a file copy of it with me, for a project of mine." Lady SiDabolo flicked a hand at a semi-organised desk in one corner, piled high with books, tomes, parchment, and quills. "Along with true copies of the Ironbark Logs, up until they left for Chedal at any rate. I've tracked down accounts from many of the other prominent and not-so-prominent figures in that war, including access to the Shaman's Records of Clan Glacierheart of the relevant period. Shaman Elder Wolfbite struck a hard bargain indeed."

Mul's eyes were huge, "True copies of the Logs? Including..."

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"The Logs of Innoch, yes."

Mul leaned as far away from the desk as she could while staying in her seat, "Then you know what effect they had on me..."

Aflia broke in, "Innoch? The silithid lore-keeper of the Library of Alexandria?"

Silence filled the room as Lady DiSabolo's jaw all but bounced off the tabletop, "It could well be the same Innoch. If it is... The possibilities that opens up... I hadn't even considered what was in those particular Logs..."

Aflia held up a hand, "then we both have something to read over in the coming months. But for now, the Westmarch War...?"

Lady SiDabolo shook her head, "I'll give you one of the first copies of my book on the matter. It's a raw distillation of the most relevant entries from various Logs, Journals, and Records, sorted by chronological order, fodder for scholarly debate and an entry-level tome for students learning about the matter. In exchange, I'd like to hear what exactly you talked about with Aris on the night of the seventeenth of December, 769. Both you and he mention it in your Journals, but not what comes of it. Not directly at any rate. Aris did make mention that his memories of that night are hazy, which to me indicated mind-altering magic of some sort."

Mul snorted in lordly disdain, "woe unto the fool that tries to manipulate the mind of Aris Cretu. We only talked in the Old Tongue, I pointing out just how close he was to going utterly mad, and Aris asking for help on how to handle those memories. I showed him the method I use, that of storing them in 'books' where they can be freely examined and re-lived, but are not instantly blinding or mind-breaking to look upon. Aris went and built a library to house them, with more than enough room to accommodate future 'books' at need. I'll swap you the details for the chance to read the works you have gathered about the Ironbark Company, in particular the Logs of Innoch."

Aflia shook her head, "all bargaining aside, the only other thing I wanted to do before sailing back to Altheim was to visit Armageddon Reef. So much of what is happening seem to hinge on the events of the Seminal War and its outcome, I'd like to walk the ground in that place, get a feel for what happened there."

Both Lady SiDabolo and Mul nodded in unison. The matter was settled in all but the details.