The next morning, the party split up. Ann and Triben disappeared to the library, while West sought out clansman of Vali's. The clansman was not especially helpful, but did mention an friend of his, Toimil Stonebrow, frequented the adventurer's guildhall. West returned to the inn, where he told Minos what he had discovered. They decided to seek out Toimil and see if he could help them find Vali. West shaped himself into a dog, and they left for the guildhall.
When they arrived, the desk clerk was happy to point out Toimil. He stood talking to a wiry halfling with twin blades and an armord dwarf with a morningstar. Minos approached him, tried to whet his appetite with money, and invited him to talk privately outside. Toimil agreed, but his friends joined them as they moved into an alley adjacent to the hall. Minos attempted to convince Toimil that he had Vali's best interests at heart, and that he was just trying to get to Vali before Tebur did to make sure he stayed alive. He also implied that he wouldn't necessarily turn Vali over to Tebur.
When Toimil was not swayed by Minos' words, he startled everyone by unleashing a mental attack on the halfling, flattening him immediately. He next turned to the other dwarf, downing him before he could react. After a quick swing of his axe, Toimil plowed right over Minos, pushing his way into the street and calling out for help. Several pedestrians took notice. West, who had turned into a bird, saw the guard closing in and flew back towards the inn. Minos, meanwhile, after on furitive attempt to down Toimil, teleported away. He used his body-altering magic to change his form, and made best speed for the inn as well.
West returned to human form outside the inn, then entered. He saw the rest of the party eating, and told them it was urgent that they speak upstairs immediately. Once in private, he explained exactly what had happened -- how Minos had turned on Toimil unprovoked, possibly killing both of his friends.
Minos arrived at the inn only a few minutes after West, and headed up to their rooms, knocking on doors until he found the one with the party behind it. He slipped inside, only to be angrily confronted by the party. Minos defended his actions, insisting that Toimil was not going reveal what he knew, so drastic measures were required to elicit the information. He planned to knock Toimil out and bring him back to the inn, where they could use magic to get answers.
The party was not impressed. Triben walked out in disgust while the rest of the party argued with Minos. Triben went downstairs, and told the innkeeper that a dangerous criminal was being detained in their room. The innkeeper hurriedly called his stableboy, and sent him running for the guard. Meanwhile, the rest of the party had tired of their argument with Minos. They left Gronk to keep him from escaping while they went downstairs.
Left alone, Minos was able to convince Gronk to permit him to flee. When Minos heard the guards' boots coming up the stair, he teleported out to the street, then fled. When he was unable to teleport through the outer wall of the city, he used plane shift to escape to far-away lands.
Thoroughly disgusted, Ann and Triben returned to the library. Later than night, all were summoned back to Tebur, who revealed that Minos was really a Brotherhood agent called Kossoth Ren. He had been tricked into thinking he had been freed, but was secretly being run as a double agent by Tebur's counterpart in Sunndi. Tebur urged them to be more careful about who they associated with, as next time the spy might not be known.
The next morning, Ann and Triben headed back to the library, while West and Gronk went out to do some shopping. When they returned, they were immediately set upon. Two humans, arguing when they entered, immediately flung themselves at Gronk and West. The elf who had been trying to mediate could only shrug resignedly, while a dwarf off in the corner chuckled.
The humans argued back and forth as they pled their cases. One was Ceremak, a peasant from Ahlissa. He begged them, as knights of the South Province, to come assist his village, which was under siege by monsters -- demonic crosses between insects and ogres. The other man was Ialdur, who had been sent by Chert Rakehell from Onnwal. The hobgoblins Gronk had led back into Onnwal were wreacking havok, and had been ever since the red dragon had been sighted. Surely Gronk had a duty to fix the problem he had caused?
The humans argued and yelled with each other, almost coming to blows several times before they could be calmed down. The elf and dwarf also had proposals, but wanted to wait for the rest of the party to return. After some confusion, all were agreed to meet later that evening. In the meanwhile, West rented good rooms for both commoners, who had each traveled over a hundred miles to plead their cases.
That evening, the two humans made impassioned pleas to the party for their assistance. The elf, Faisal Shadowscourge, revealed he only wanted information regard a companion of his, Corin Lightbringer, who the party had met previously. The dwarf, Lognar Oakenshield, Vali's younger sibling, sought to put together a group to investigate the fallen redoubt. The army which seized the redoubt had broken up shortly after its capture, and Lognar hoped that the dwarves could reclaim it. After hearing all the arguments, the party resolved to inform everyone of their decision the next morning.