Dulcinea's Tome

Overview

A finely bound tome clad in waterproof leathers and clasped with supporting iron struts, obviously intended to withstand any incidental danger it might encounter. The pages within are a mess of letters and symbols organized in no apparent order or meaning.
EDUCATION - Joey the Sorcadin is sure this is some kind of Rui Faimeant code, but unfortunately he doesn't know the type because he rolled hot garbage
SNEAKY - Joey the Sorcadin gently loosens the binding of the book and finds 5 numbers inscribed down the side : 5 3 2 1 4

Quick Analysis

Using the strange faceted gem you manage to decode some useful data, though it itself is still coded in cipher.

Dead Drop 1 - Dulcinea Guivel

Unearthed beneath twin boulders near the river of Hampsterdam. A leather wrapped-package containing a coded Roi message and a piece of jagged metal, broken off from a greater whole :
"So here you are, at a point in time where fates divide. You are in the New World, a land where your past can be lost as surely as you can in the forests and hills all around us, but you are of the Old World, bond by ancient oaths and ties of blood dating back to the first settlers on our shore. I hope you choose to remember those who came before you - they ask a heavy burden but you are the only voice they have now.
First, the tome you have with you - keep it safe, there are those who would kill to gain access to it. The shard of the amulet here is one of the patria, together all three will decode it showing the names of all of our agents before this expedition began. It was taken here for safe keeping, despite out best efforts all of those we could count on were falling, one at a time. Another of the shards was sent to the Library of Mane, hidden in a place entrusted to another - its secret even I do not know, the other was sent with the settlers to Sigrun prior, with a man named Gaspar Norde, traveling in the guise of a woodworker. I have no guidance for you on this, but I see in you a builder, and these are the best materials I can give you.
Second, you must have many questions about Nero, about the fall of Waxwing, and what we have discovered. I am sad to say that these mysteries still lay hidden under the ash. An agent named Priya Sandaka, an Ashlander sorcerer embedded Ashland tribes, was tracking down a series of visions, dire visions of an ash filled future, but also of a dark land, a cold land, where something waited - she had found traces of these visions going back almost 100 years, but stronger, always stronger, especially after the Discovered Lands were first settled. Her last communication was partially lost, but she was heading to the capital of the Carrylean Empire - the Emperor had long boasted of a grand ceremony for his 50th birthday and she believed some element of these visions were related to this event, a scene of twin suns, one blazing with the red flames of Waxwing, the other cold, a pale twin sagging before its raging brother. Then the mountain fell.
We tried to find those she was closer to, Merith Took sent that this figure, Nero, was to be at the Palace - but Merith was found dead before he could tell us more. She had two other companions, Samilka Cranik and Ruxi Vacus, who have yet to be found. Samilka was rumored to have died at sea on the way to the New World, and Ruxi was serving the King of Windemere before he vanished. The efforts of this figure, Nero, have continued since Waxwing fell, and its agenda, which we cannot fathom, must be unraveled - I feel it in every part of my being.
Before I left I was attempting to uncover the agents of Veritas operating inside Van, we were too late to stop the disaster at Van Nord but since then we've discovered some information. It is my belief that Veritas, unable to dissuade the settlers of Van Myr, have decided to infiltrate the Settlements and continue their crusade in the New World. I have included at the bottom descriptions of some of their agents, I pray you discover them before they can enact their plans. I hesitate to add this but some of my peers believe one should tail the Veritas agents, that their is something to learn from them.... they seem able to ferret out Artifacts with uncanny precision. I would advise you against trying to cultivate this kind of relationship, and I hold the thousands slain by their actions as evidence.
Lastly, one of my trusted friends attempts to empower the Roi that still survive. You must place the symbol of our order on the third post from the Dawning side of the harbor the first of each month until it is struck out in red, then you will know that the symbol has been taken. He will make Dead Drops for you underneath the dock when able on the third tuesday of each month, this may be able to lead you to helpful drops. They will, of course, be encoded but clearly you are a genius at ciphers.
I wish you luck in this life.
Dulcinea Guivel"
Veritas Agent 1 - A young lithe, medium height blonde haired woman. Partial to fencing blades, experienced sailor. Believed to be behind several attacks on shipping from the New World.
Veritas Agent 2 - A stocky man of middle age, citizen of Van Myr, recent convert, experienced soldier, some kind of abnormality commented upon, prefers a particular subset of targets
Veritas Agent 3 - Well educated older man with exotic specialty, middle aged, not a Westhaller, citizen of an Island Nation. Is said to be able to craft "keys" to empower the artifacts to their full potential
Veritas Agent 4 - Middle Aged Man with an ecclesiastical background, believed to use his background with the Sigil of Mane and religious studies to manipulate his way into useful positions. Has a significant health problem, believed to currently possess an artifact.
Veritas Agent 5 (Instigator of the Van Conflagration) - Believed to be a key figure currently residing in or about the Penitent Bay. Woman, Had a Lover who died in Hampsterdam

Dead Drop 2 - The Ballad of Thema Larrens

'Look here, this is your freebie - maybe you're some desperate farmer reading something you shouldn't - I'm not mad, that's life, so you get to walk away. No harm, no murder. Best erase the mark and move along.'
The letter, a thick yellowed vellum, is otherwise blank and unmarked as is the simple folder that contained it.
DETECTIVE JOEY CHECK - the paper is longer than it needs to be for such a terse statement
With the help of Nefeli you discover the coded message laying WITHIN the thick paper:
"Hey you, smart guy - should I be popping a cork, is that it? No no, not yet - but I bet you have some questions for me, your mysterious benefactor So you want to know who, or where, but let's get ot the former Most people I know, and many of those I do not, know the name Thema Larrens It all begins at the end of my third year, when I was just a child I knew I wanted to be something, but what so in the middle of my story I labored without ceasing and discovered the right thing to do immediately before the storm but it wasn't till the end that I made the proper friend the first of his order, who I met with good spirits. We danced and sang, and that's how I found my name.
See you soon"
Renfred the Lark relates to you the drinking song from the Hierlands "The Ballad of Thema Larrens"

Digging his face up out the floor
ol Thema Larrens reached out for one more
We all gathered round cheer to him on
A beer for the cat, one more for the floor
------------------------------------------------------
There he went too much for his head
bursting out the door what more could be said
the sun burning low, his eyes to a storm
he turned right round, went back for more
--------------------------------------------------------------
Everybody laughed, hey look whos back
but ol Thema Larrens was at his last tack
the world spun round, and what did we say
heave it up Thema Larrens, on your knees and pray

As the shadow of the Penitent Man kneels into darkness at sunset you dig where his head "touches ground", finding in short order a leather wrapped package. It contains within it a note, a package of Ashflame , and a properly labeled potion of Heroism (added to Miscellanous Items ), most likely made by an Ashlander's hand.
"Now the fun starts. This is how our relationship will work. When you see the mark on the corner of your door there will be a drop waiting for you, same spot. If you need to get me information leave it at the same place and make the mark yourself. Easy.
I don't know anything about Nero, don't bother asking. I do have a line on a Rui who was investigating a lead, his name was Kaireck Lousange and he was in Meggido for a time. He stopped making drops about 4 months ago, I don't know what happened. You may want to follow up.
Here's what I have for you:
One of the Veritas Agents is in Meggido but is not a Leader
One of the Veritas Agents is in the Outer Settlements in a position of Authority
One of the Veritas Agents was addicted to chewing a stimulating root from the Eastern Islands
The "Lion's Testament" doesn't mean anything to you, does it? Asking for a friend."

Dead Drop 3 - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

"Really? Are you trying to put the Dead in Dead Drop? Look here Mr. Confident, just because you got tapped by a member of the Rui Allstar Team as the second coming of Mane doesn't mean we all agree with it, you might think you're holding all the cards but I'm the dealer and you better believe you're playing by the house's rules. Just for that I'm going to make this one a ballbuster.
No more puzzles today, I swear. You're clearly witty, but by your most recent actions I, and others, question your subtlety. How about this, I want you to identify three separate spies in and about Hampsterdam acting for three separate governments or factions. No diplomats, no one openly flaunting their allegiance, and no just picking someone who obviously favors one side, they have to be honest to goodness spies reporting back to their master.
Oh and since you're being such a hard case let's add to the fun. They can't know that you know of their allegiances. Yikes! You have three months, try not to blow up any more capital buildings in the meantime."

Detailed Reading

The first section:
"pu ihcteala herti n,nrt hp.e t o ninoarnr abyit relWnWele ttes ltors thwaienutsriusiaaiecbooek e he.igohnhs c fe oheoetaltso, bl otareeykeeuwoo ooddutuhyar rcn oineidg vooh nl aTuveae roga nyN ledo hnrmmftafw atpngr ineasoxne e s o aptc rtds pa,ht enoh snTf o hgorn ir ,owc aptenstae lwvbihe myv hs aaed coe laI i b neeanyts asye Raerrye rznwl ,itnsdt ooie fox. s ioeeaahye eig,so lf, maag l hdarst esahwo i ten rte uushe,sop s madauo wop eotts e ,ktaoew rle.Ie fvear nygIidihmhk ge aep hbfubpnoioonsofaabe rwstbe age lcthht toif tasohnl dte entuntnsaeofs t dek shraye lyoortpnirpshole r mneotmet c .mrrso ptvr, ihioongteiccnmextu tIewuiaoltarhiencdasratk eitd rbeekeeohl i riige dld l uignt ctbubtt hoe e dpn hwedsoteghimtatieaf d-sstN sihatt rdt ldcehejveeRbooltetmfrnb R"
Translated : "I hope you can forgive the recalcitrance I can only imagine I exhibited during the time I have known you, things are not all as they appear. The Rui have been fractured by a person or organization known only as Nero, infiltrated and absorbed by their network some time before the fall of Waxwing. We are still piecing together the details and the loyalties of our existing agents, those who can still be found, but attempts at reaching out result in deaths and disappearances, both of those we seek and those who do the seeking. This fight more than any other is the legacy of our founders - this person, this Nero, opposes with chaos all attempts at order, and must not be allowed to complete whatever objective they seek. Remember your vows, look to the past to move forward, and rebuild the Rui."
Written at the end - "The truth remains bound"
The second section:
"Tv wlp hkommvx sint jivx zf vpj ahgznf jjvg sq tjm wqyic dko 10 kmhx menwb bki ewkv gwxpoeta."
Translated : On the highest hill east of the second bend of the river dig 10 feet below the twin boulders
The third section appears to be a more tabulated list of data, coded in an unknown cipher.

Notable Quotes

It's all gibberish

You have gained half of the cypher to the list of Rui Faiment Agents