Magic, for all the mystery and study it required, was appearing to be something that this particular group had in spades, hm? Lady Vela's dominion over ice, and now Finn's arcane arrows both proved their efficacy in handling the ruffians that accosted them, leaving Qantz-Farron satisfied with remaining where he was. Listening for Sera's success, watching the orc that had shifted from a stance ready for combat to a stance more open for communication. The archer's shot would keep him honest. Unless the sword skill of this orc was truly something to behold, there was little chance that an escape could be made between the barrage of ice and bolts that would befall him.

"Between the three of us," Qantz-Farron spoke, his black gaze settling upon the orc, "None of us are in need of gold. Rather, we're looking for...a cooperator. Someone willing to lead us to where a new substance is being made. If that someone is willing, of course, arrangements could be made that would be beneficial to them and them alone. If not, well...the Guard was rather clear on what our task was."

His head tilted towards the building that Sera had slipped into, as if he could hear something inaudible to the others.

"Oh, but it'd be good for you to decide quickly. This is a limited-time offer, you see. Limited by how long it takes for knives to make them sing."

Qantz-Farron smiled, and somewhere unseen, the ticking of a clock ringed.

Well, Sheri had no more use for the dog tracker. She tossed it to the ground, it crawling towards the downed guard's body. That was strange. One would think it would crawl towards the harpy that was currently attempting to murder Vera. Well, appearances were deceiving. Something about Kiska saying it was only supposed to be a test came to mind. Was it some form of noble's murder mansion mystery that she read in one of the chronologues? The customs of the earthern folk often changed. Really, why did they even have recordings of their cultures? The cultures were oddly ephemeral, unlike the culture of Saint Telhan.

Wait. Right. Vera was going to be possibly murdered.

With a motion of Sheri's fingers across a page of Transporation of Tomes, the other floating books--save for the silver directory tome--took an open position in front of the mage. In a brief moment of competence, Sheri flipped through the pages of the books in front of her with a dangerous amount of intent. She tapped various columns, symbols, and pages within each book.

The Book of Increased Weights seemed to shimmer with a magical glow. Preservation techniques to protect its integrity washed over it. The book, well, increased in weight. Finally, she thrust a finger across the Transportation of Tomes once more. The Book of Increased Weights was launched at the harpy. Sheri carefully watched the battlefield. She was ready to redirect it away at a moment's notice. A third because she was predicting the harpy to dodge it. A third was because it may have been sent towards Vera. A third because she wasn't sure if the unconscious guard was good or not.

Well, if it was going to hit Vera, she'd do her best to redirect it upwards.

The Book of Book Destruction, The Book of Increased Weights, Housekeeping for Mages, Transportation of Tomes, and Paper and Preservation

Vela frowned a tad, not quite so much because the half-orc could deflect her shots, but because her only kills were seeming fodder. It put a bad taste in her mouth to think herself adept only at skewering goblins. Before she could lower her hand, offering as good an indication of a temporary truce as she felt comfortable with, the whizz of Finn's arrow just beside her shoulder triggered a moment of adrenaline and tension. Her hand shot back up to a readied position, but she held back any further magic.

"I'm afraid my supervisor here would not be very happy if I took your bribe," she began, "Maybe we can discuss it sometime later?" Vela tilted her head and smiled, feigning an innocence that her demeanor would never help carry.

"You know Mister Farron, you're quite dastardly. If it weren't for my knowing we're here to save the innocent citizens from the terror of dangerous substances, I wouldn't be able to tell if I was on the good or bad side. Perhaps we can be more kind to our friend here?" she said, playing the good cop.

Mathias simply shrugged off Kiska's concerned reply as they rushed out, following after Sheri with Petra. Given the possibility that Sheri had actually found a trail, it wasn't something that could just be ignored. There was no point in simply holing up and defending if you had the chance to strike in retaliation, after all.

As he rushed in behind Sheri, Mathias kept his hammer and shield brandished in a combat stance while taking the room in for a moment. Vera, one harpy, and a downed guard. Well. That told him all he needed. Sheri was doing...something with her books, and Vera was assaulting the harpy that had some sort of blade spell cast around it. Time to help, then.

The half-orc knight rushed forward, his shield slamming out to crash into one of the spectral blades before his hammer swung out towards the harpy's chest with all the force he could muster.

"Vera! Injuries?" Mathias called out in a terse, clipped tone as he struck, his eyes on his foe.