Co-GM IC:

The wax seal comes off with relative ease, and if any magic had been triggered, you did not sense it. Under the candlelight, you quickly scan the parchments for pertinent information. There appear to be four sheets of folded papers present in this envelope-- two appear to be a report on the battle to come, one appears to be a large map of the region and the city of Bergkoff, and the last one is a sheet of paper, presumably a report that goes directly to Balthazar.

The first two papers are easy enough. It is written in a simple Imperial cipher-- one you've had much experience in dealing with. They change the codes every so often, but you're updated on the current one. These reports detail the enemy's strength: roughly a thousand soldiers strong, comprised primarily of Goblins. Two hundred of the enemy forces are made up of proper Orc Warriors, who seem to make up the army's elite. There is also word of one or two Ogres, who likely serve as impromptu siege weaponry or shock troops. Their leader is Waruk Shieldbreaker, an Orc Warlord of little renown, who seems to be attacking in an attempt to grab power in the area, and to bring glory to his name... Due to the lack of ambition in his circle of officers, it is likely that with his death, the invading army will collapse.

It is difficult to pin down their exact movements, due to their use of the local mountain cave systems to traverse the region. Curiously, they've managed to avoid both Dwarven and Human patrols thanks to this tactic. The attached map lists several cave openings that can be collapsed to prevent the arrival of further reinforcements or to funnel the enemy into a single bottleneck. It appears that the enemy has mostly been attacking from the north and that the city's cannons have been holding the enemy at bay, for now.

The report to Balthazar himself proves to be more difficult. You don't recognize this cipher-- it is likely used for personal messages between him and his network of informants. You're able to decipher a little bit of it though: it seems to be something about fellow informants in the nearby Helmsguard region going silent. Curious, but you don't have enough time to break the entire thing, and its complexity becomes more and more prevalent by the second. Instead, you commit the message to memory, opting to write it down at your earliest convenience. You'll have to spend much time breaking the code once you have the opportunity-- or perhaps you'll be able to get your hands on his codebooks; you're certain he has them stashed away somewhere.

For now, you reseal the letter to the best of your ability and exit the building. The Great Game will continue... but for now, you have other duties to attend to.

[@LadyRunic]

---

As the battle came to its end, Balthazar slowed his horse to a steady trot and simply moved past Acrius, leaving him to his fate. It was unbecoming to revel in the suffering of others, but the warlock hoped that the young lad would learn his lesson. The rest of the ride to the city of Bergkoff was uneventful. After linking up with the infantry, the army marched towards the city gates, where they were happily welcomed by its defenders. Many were reinvigorated by the arrival of the Crown Prince of the Empire and his retinue, but a few had wondered what fifty or so men were going to do against a thousand.

Regardless of what the people felt, the Prince's army was to find lodgings and rest, to await further orders. No doubt, Prince Leonidas would soon call for him to help establish the war room; until then, however, there was still time for other things. Acrius and the caravan they had saved arrived shortly after, and Faira had come to rescue the young gladiator before he suffers a worse fate. Spotting the mercenary woman overseeing two horses-- her own, as well as the mount of her Drow companion, Balthazar simply waited as she approached.

"[color=#239C89]Faira.[/color]" He greeted her professionally. He was going to ask of her companion's whereabouts, but the mercenary had gone straight to the point. As such, he simply nodded in satisfaction.

Zatana was not here yet, and it was unlikely that with her skills, she was delayed due to outside interference. No, the more likely cause was that she was prying some information from his package. Balthazar let out a small sigh as another one of his intermittent headaches came and went. He would have to keep a closer eye on her. The warlock then turned towards the source of the stench-- and his headache.

"[color=#239C89]Acrius.[/color]" He says to the young man, leveling an impassive glare in the boy's direction. The smell was a familiar one; the scent of a man who had just fought for his life on the battlefield. Covered in sweat, blood, guts, and saliva, the gladiator had asked him if there was a way to clean up. Balthazar considered letting the boy suffer a little longer, but pragmatism won out in the end.

"[color=#239C89]I ought to let you wash off on your own, but it seems you've learned your lesson.[/color]" With that, the warlock spoke a quiet incantation and snapped his fingers, causing the grime and muck upon Acrius to disappear completely, along with that pervasive stench.

Balthazar then stood around, leaning on his cane as he awaited Zatana's return. He would need that information before he left with Leonidas and Rudolf to join the war council.