Chuko Wolong was, perhaps sadly, not a man who had been hugged very often, certainly not since he had been banished from his homelands at any rate . Thus he was more than a little surprised when Captain Jalek of the Night Hunters put an arm around him and General Astra and asked them both if they'd like to meet her troops. Once he'd processed that her impromptu embrace was not in fact an unexpected assassination attempt-the worst kind in his opinion- he broke into a rather genuine smile.

[color=gold]"In fact I'd been hoping for exactly that sort of opportunity, Captain Jalek![/color] referring to both acquainting himself with the Hunters and getting out of the chill [color=gold]"Just let me send off a few notes to begin preparations for the upcoming campaign and I'll be right with you!"[/color]

It took Wolong only a few minutes or so to find runners to deliver the messages he'd prepared during the meeting to the officers in charge of logistics and supplies for their pending invasion as well as briefing statements on the general strategy of their organized baiting and retreat effort to his alleged subordinates. Adjustments had been made of course and both sets of orders had been written in something of a cipher that the top lieutenants would have access to before passing them along piecemeal to form a whole. Wolong had no doubt that there might be spies waiting to crack open the mystery of just what Oromis was up to but with only relevant bits and pieces of plans, supply orders and movements to work with unless they turned a source near the highest levels would-be betrayers would have one more obstacle to thwarting his master even before they left the Isles. True enough, such a system could leave their forces vulnerable to confusion or frustration especially if there was a break in the chain-of-command, but when done right each man knew just enough to improvise success in such an emergency or else new officers could be briefed, and combined with strict discipline and faith in their God-King the whole thing tended to run smoothly.

Once the troops he was aiding Oromis in overseeing had their orders and he'd seen to the beginnings of what was likely to be a tricky and long coordination effort, he more than happily rejoined Captain Jalek and fell into the easy rhythms of small-talk and banter. Initially he split his attention between friendly discussion, ideas for a new type of crossbow mechanism he had been tinkering with for a few days and a mental review of the geography of the Estruscan coastline. But the earnest Night Hunter's stories and unusual experiences began to draw him in almost completely, especially the fact that she'd apparently had the rare and dubious honor of visiting the Qaylu Confederacy! Wolong soon found himself chatting amicably with his full attention, though he had to fight back an unusual amount of emotion when discussing his past in order to maintain the proper amount of clear-headedness. Instead he focused on the lighter aspects of life among the Qaylu, the bustle of the Citadel populations, stories of intrigue and daring between the forces of this and that Citadel Lord, the peaceful pastoral lives of the sheepherder folks they were allegedly sworn to protect and the like. Her tales of other foreign lands and their current home of the Isles alike were likewise lively and he found the conversation to be more than enjoyable.

The mood changed rather abruptly with the arrival of a masked messenger and it was rather instantly apparent that something dark and unusual was afoot. Captain Jalek's distressed request that he come along for 'operational reasons' could hardly be refused given the obvious and sudden seriousness of the situation so he gladly assented.

When they arrived at the front gate, Wolong was slightly surprised to see that General Astra had sent a subordinate in her place. To be sure the mercenary general was a busy woman, but Captain Jalek would be working quite closely with her in the field and it seemed to him that not taking a chance to personally learn about her assets was something of a mistake. Still, he followed along without more than a polite bow to the disheveled looking Captain Elias.