[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/FohmS05.png[/img][/center]

[center][b]Gripus Probus[/b][/center]

[center][i]Hero of the East, Bane of Morven[/i][/center]

[center][b]Location: Campus Magnus[/b][/center]

It was a glum summer's day, overcast and foreboding. Rain was swelling the clouds, turning them a shade of dark grey, and a harsh wind was starting to pick up from the west. A storm was coming. 

Imperator Gaius had been through a tough morning; six of his men had vanished in the night, and his patrols had failed to find them. It was possible they had deserted, as sometimes happened in this Gods forsaken corner of the world, but something just didn't feel right. They were dead, taken by unwashed hands - he had no evidence, there had been no reports of foul play from the other dozens of senties that patrolled his base of operations, but somehow he knew. 

Brushing aside two guards at the entrance of his private quarters, he shoved the doors open with unnecessary fervor. A clerk chased him, falling over his toga and failing to keep steady a stack of worn parchments that balanced in his arms. The Imperator looked back at the man, and his iron stare sent the clerk into a quick U-turn. Now was not the time for administrative horse crap.

Gaius marched past his oaken king sized bed - the only luxury of his employment - and dismissed a couple of comely lasses who sat at the head of it. They feigned pain at his dismissal, but he knew they were inwardly relieved that his cock didn't need servicing. He wasn't exactly a handsome man, squat with a balding head and a nose that could break through a concrete wall. Still, he was the Emperor's elected chosen in Iron Coast, for what little that meant, which allowed him to walk with a certain arrogant dignity regardless of his appearance. 

A molding linen curtain hung in the way of the balcony, and he brushed it aside with a grunt. His meaty hands gripped a wooden railing, and he looked out across Campus Magnus. It was a cesspit of human filth; an eternal military camp, composed of wooden stakes, filthy tents, cooking fires and huddled masses of soldiers and camp followers. He had often joked to his officers that it was the largest of its kind in the Empire, and now looking at it with some objectivity, he felt he might be right. The Emperors had never provided the resources to establish a fortress, nor the men to make safe the land. Thus, here he was, in a glorified camp with an army of bastards too unfit to serve on the frontiers. 

"Gaius, it's been a while," came a throaty remark to the left.

Gaius turned, his hand on the hilt of his sword, and looked upon a man draped in a black cloak three sizes too big for him; the stranger sat perched upon a crude wooden chair - part of the balcony's austere furniture. "In the name of the Emperor, identify yourself or I'll have your head on a spike."

The man chuckled, and threw his hood back to reveal an unfamiliar face; he was handsome and youthful, but his eyes glowed with magical menace. Gaius had seen such eyes before, when he had first assumed the position of Iron Coast's Imperator. "Excuse my beauty, I've been perfecting my craft," the man said, smiling. 

"So," Gaius remarked, relaxing. "I am once again graced by the Hero of the East. To what do I owe this honour?" 

"Information," the man replied. Gaius knew him as Gripus Probus, a once famed member of the Imperial Magi. "Your message speaks of an evil arising to the west."

Gaius grunted, "Aye, my scouts oft make the perilous journey to the tower of he who shall not be named. They keep an eye on things for me, they let me know if the dead are planning anything." 

"And by the sounds of it, they are?" Gripus asked. 

Gaius nodded. "My scouts tell of a Wraith in the tower, who is drawing hundreds of those monstrosities to it. They say it is gathering a host, and if this is true, then we're royally fucked."

Gripus remained silent for some time, deep in thought, but finally he looked up at the Imperator. "These men, they are sure?"

"My men are always sure, and do you truly think I would risk emptying Iron Coast's coffers on hearsay?" The Imperator snapped, seemingly offended. 

Gripus sighed, "I guess not. Then come, tell me everything, every last detail of their report."

The Imperator nodded, and took a seat beside the Hero of the East.