Haas, Ajax, Ash, Vor'Ruk, Grant, and Valizar are with the leadership in Balinhost. The first part of their stay is negotiating their presence in the nation. This is left to Grant, Haas, and Vor'Ruk. Ajax listens in, but since he speaks for no group, he has little to discuss. Valizar and Ash help guard against any intrusion. The two are unknown in Balinhost and stand out. When the knolls arrive, Ash is quickly put in a position to interact with the gnolls, where he is effective and comfortable.
Valizar is not liked by the gnolls, not helpful in negotiating, and has little to do. The time is slow and boring for him. Haas does his best to keep him busy. Finally, when negotiations are finished, Valizar is assigned to help construct more defenses, which he is effective at and more happy with than standing around.