Balthazar was silent, not speaking a word until the young swordsman was finished speaking. The old man mentally catalogued every pertinent bit of information and filed away everything else. Thankfully, Acrius was at the very least thorough in his report, and by the end of it, the spymaster simply scoffed.

"[color=#239C89]I will not mince words. It was foolish of you to leave that job to a bystander like that. You had no way of trusting them, and his Majesty paid the price.[/color]" He said plainly. "[color=#239C89]In that situation, you should have put the Prince's safety above all else.[/color]"

"[color=#239C89]In any normal instance, you would be tried for failing to protect the Prince, however...[/color]"

The old man then sighed. "[color=#239C89]...The fault does not lie squarely upon your shoulders. If it is as you say, Naysein should have done something, and the other members of the Royal Guard should have been there to assist. Even the Prince was careless.[/color]" He explained. "[color=#239C89]And moreover, despite my informants telling me otherwise, it seems this 'advisor' to the Orc Chief is able to field his own team of assassins.[/color]" They weren't exactly [i]good[/i] assassins (in a team of nine, six captured in a single mission is an impressively bad track record)... but as far as unexpected weapons went, they certainly were able to accomplish their goals, even if at least partially.

Balthazar pondered this. He cannot afford to waste resources on punishment, and despite Acrius' shortcomings, it would be foolish to put aside such an asset merely to assuage his bruised ego. 

"[color=#239C89]...I will speak to Naysein and Faira. In the meantime, you are to stand guard over the Prince as he recovers.[/color]" It was a boring job, but a necessary one. "[color=#239C89]His oath to the gods and his paladin training will protect him from the worst of the poison, but in his weakened state, he is still vulnerable.[/color]"

The old man's steely-grey eyes were focused with intent. An implicit threat was hanging in the air.

[i][color=#239C89]Do not fail me again.[/color][/i]

With that, the man turned to the Drow. "[color=#239C89]...as for you, Zatana...[/color]" He looked to her, and then to the prison cells down the hall. Balthazar's grin was nearly sadistic.

"[color=#239C89]...I believe it's best if you get to work quickly.[/color]"