Life In the Scaled Court Content . A Report Prepared for the Star - Gazers By Valinka Stoneheaver I finally got a chance to use one of the simple tricks my mentor — the famed explorer and adventurer , Narsis Dren — taught me . Turns out , if you dress in the same outfit as the people around you , keep your head low , and act like you belong , you can infiltrate even one of the most evil and dastardly cults currently operating in Craglorn . Even so , it wasn ' t easy . And I felt for sure that I was going to be revealed as a spy every moment I was there . But I snuck inside and emerged again to tell the tale . Barely ! So , let me tell you about life in the Scaled Court — at least , life as I saw it for about four hours last Middas . For the most part , life in the Scaled Court camp was much like what you ' d expect in any gathering of rough - and - tumble fighters and mages . There was the usual good - natured banter among people who lived , worked , and fought side - by - side . There were a number of harsher words exchanged , too , showing that not everyone in the cult always gets along . But they had a singularity of purpose . The members of the Scaled Court that I interacted with were dedicated to their leaders , their god , and their cause . It was scary , how devoted to the Serpent these men and women seemed to be . One young man , a former bandit from Rivenspire , was particularly enamored with the leaders of the Scaled Court . He seemed to be particularly intrigued by the highfalutin ( in my opinion ) and grandiose titles and affectations the leaders assigned to themselves . It starts at the very top , with the council of regents who apparently control the organization . I never got to meet any of the regents , but most were spoken of with admiration and awe . I believe that some of them hold positions in the hearts of the Scaled Court almost as revered as the Celestial Serpent himself . There seemed to be some disagreement as to the wisdom of making the Iron Orc chieftain the Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction . No one could fault that the addition of the Iron Orcs to the Scaled Court ' s ranks was an inspired idea , but instituting the brutish Braadoth into the highest echelons of the Serpent ' s forces in Upper Craglorn was not sitting well with everyone in camp . I gathered this opinion in fits and starts , by interpreting asides and whispers , and pressing the most upset members for whatever additional information they were willing to share . Even so , no one I met wanted to challenge the Ophidian Exarch or the other regents , so the Orc chieftain ' s promotion stands . Other leadership positions in the Scaled Court include the Regent of Wriggling Nightmares ( who seems to be involved in crafting monsters loyal to the Serpent ) , the Regent of Fanged Fury , the Vizier of Slithering Visions , and a woman named Cassipia , who they called the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems . An entirely different chain of command was in place in Lower Craglorn . I never encountered any of these pompously titled individuals . And that ' s probably a good thing , as I ' m not sure my disguise would have fooled them . I spent the rest of my time in the camp wandering around and listening to conversations , watching men and women perform the multitude of mundane tasks that fill the day at any military camp . ( And make no mistake — the Scaled Court is as military an organization as any I ' ve ever encountered ! ) I heard mention of some unidentified substance that seemed important to the Scaled Court , but I could never determine exactly what it was . Perhaps someone in the Star - Gazers has heard of it . They referred to it as " nirncrux dust . " Whatever the substance is used for , the Scaled Court seems to consider it vital to their plans . During my final hour in the camp , I began to get the distinct impression that I was being watched . Immediately alert , I scanned the area for any sign that I had been recognized as the outsider I was . However , no one was raising an alert . No one was rushing toward me . But the feeling persisted , and I decided I had overstayed my welcome . I started to disengage from the group and slowly make my way to the edge of the camp when a band of Iron Orcs wandered in . If the sight of them made my blood run cold , my first view of the armored troll that accompanied them froze the blood in my veins . The troll wore strange armor of Orcish design , run through with glyphs that made me want to look away ( although maybe that was just the fear the creature inspired in me ) . I could have sworn it turned to study me , but then it was pulled along by its Orc masters and I had a clear path out of the camp . Before I reached the freedom I so desperately desired , however , I felt a hand gently grip my shoulder . I tensed , let out a few deep breaths to steady my nerves , and turned to face whoever had found me out . I was looking at a young Wood Elf with piercing eyes . She smiled , not unkindly , and handed me a folded piece of paper . " You ' re nice , " she said . Then she turned away , leaving me to depart without further incident . I must have walked for an hour or more before I finally slowed and rested my weary back against a large , cool boulder . I sank to the ground and unfolded the piece of paper . It contained five short words . " Tell them what you saw . " I dropped the paper and ran , sure that the howling hordes of the Scaled Court were chasing on my heels . But I made it back to Belkarth without any problems and wrote this report while it was still fresh in my mind . So fresh , in fact , that I ' ll probably have nightmares .