Begging and borrowing

Note: Laniss received a few visions leading up to his imprisonment. On day 360, as the unrighteous march bears down on Greyton, his memory is jolted, and he hastily jots down what he remembers. This may not be it exactly, but he's sure this is reasonably close. The original splat was written in March, 2014.
A voice. Old, and male speaks carefully, although the speaker is not visible
"Perhaps the most important thing is that this is a war of loans. Of begging and borrowing and asking and requesting. From both sides."
A tall, blue skinned humanoid stands behind a bar. A Mercane, at a guess. He is polishing a mug with a dirty teatowel, as some things are universal constants.The old man's voice continues
"I have need of it. The usual fee will be paid, of course"
the Mercane shrugs, disinterested. His voice sounds like a bad actor trying to read Shakespeare, over-emphasising the start of each word
"They Will Have Their Own Plan. They Always Do. You Have Their permission of Course"
He puts the mug down on the counter. It is iron, with fine copper designs on it
"They Want You To Try"
The scene is now a library. You recognise it from earlier in your adventures, when a scarred man sat with a fat woman in green and purple robes, somewhere. You came here via a planeshift, and knocked yourself out staring at a stone with detect magic. When the man speaks, it is clear that he is the same one who was speaking in the earlier part of the vision. This is the man that took Aggy's mace.
"I have need of it. I know what you will ask in return, and my men are already upon the task"
The woman's reply is jovial, but there's real fear here
"Oh you know what I'd ask, do you now? Well, I can hardly argue, can I? Fat lot of good it's doing sitting here"
She opens the box on the table to reveal the foot-long banana shaped stone that you remember as being the source of the overwhelming magic. The man looks at it with visible hunger
"I don't see why you'd need the silly thing. It seems...dangerous. Especially leaving it so close to her. You must have better options, haven't you?"
The man shakes his head slowly. Greedily.
"Of course there's auxiliary measures, but I need the extra power. There are only two places left where the machine can safely be built, one if you count Nadroj's inevitable failure. With this power, I could find a third. I promise you, I will never leave it with her unattended. She's enough trouble dead. This benefits us both. You must leave here soon, and burn this place down. I will make you something nicer, closer to home"
The woman nods, then speaks carefully
"And are you sure that can't go wrong, can it? What if they form another Righteous March. Thyr's chosen forcing their way in, long enough to consecrate or destroy the machines? There's more than enough prophesies about the damn things"
The man shakes his head
"One machine is more than enough. There is no-one powerful enough to stop all three. As for the March and the prophesies, we have...diminished the chosen of Thyr's role. At considerable but we need not fear even them. Thank you for the stone. Do you hear people outside?"
The vision lazily swam out of focus, before Laniss could see a slightly younger Great Downward Company enter the room. Funny, Laniss thinks. The scarred man who did most of the talking is a pretty good match for Ashfallens' description of the Grand Cornu.