Liege,
Commander Askalon returned early from his hunting trip upon receiving my letter urging him to pull all our army inside the walls of Targonor. The commander agreed with my reasoning and save for a few smaller forces that have been sent south to investigate, our army is all back in the city.
The small expeditionary forces departed yesterday morning. Their numbers are quite modest and they are being sent for intelligence gathering purposes only. Riders will maintain a constant contact between them and Targonor. I expect that we will receive first word from them the day after next.
As I am sure you have heard, last week a vulmane was spotted out the southern gates of the city. We brought the creature in for questioning, it was exhausted and in poor shape. However, after a good meal it looked considerably better, the wolf men are a sturdy race. It spoke of angered spirits rising from the seas to eliminate the peoples of Thestra.
The stories it told sounded as if they had been taken straight from a children's tale and normally I would not give them much credence. However, the vulmane surprised me with its intelligence. He was certainly no dumb beast. I honestly do not know what to make of his claims though. He truly believed what he was saying, there is not a doubt in my mind about that... but angry spirits from the sea? It seems awful far-fetched. Whatever it is though, it has the vulmane scared.
CRW
