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Sir Gilbern grimaced as he set aside the latest report from Montbrun, prompting Sir Cato de Ferros to cast another wry glance over the edge of his book at his senior’s obvious displeasure. At least reports from Cathagi were less imminently disastrous, if still concerning to Sir Gilbern because any intelligence officer with half a brain should find any sort of movement in the realms of a foreign power concerning all the same. And even a -lack- of movement would likely be cause for concern to one worth their salt. Concern
Still, the show of strength by the Stratiokas was likely intended to deter any Cantonian aggression, rather than indicate the opposite. The Reginate operatives had reported trouble in the south, but nothing that might be considered actionable intelligence. Sir Gilbern didn’t have the full picture, far from it. That was one of the reasons why having someone within the Dragon Guard proper was such a valuable accomplishment. Hopefully Sir Andrei could shed further light on what had the Cathagi, or at least the Stratiokas, so concerned that they would seek to deter other foreign powers from turning their gaze towards them.
Another operative might have panicked, might have overstated the strength of the Cathagi military and its readiness to launch an invasion on Canton. And that further annoyed Sir Gilbern, mainly because he found himself surprised by Sir Andrei’s aptitude for this line of work thus far. He had made contact with the scant Reginate network present without incident and had already reported back with several notable pieces of information, and in a manner subtle enough that his reporting did not endanger the network to any significant degree. Sir Andrei was already proving to be one of the more valuable sources of information Sir Gilbern had cultivated in that region, and the man had scarcely stepped off the boat!
The intelligence being provided by the Romani Bear was proving invaluable, more than enough to silence the First Herald’s misgivings and ensure House Andrei remained under the Ordo Reginate’s protective wing. Had Sir Andrei been prone to showing a tad more discretion, Sir Gilbern would be inclined to describe him as the ideal operative. But that was Emile Andrei for you, everytime Sir Gilbern thought he had his number the man would surprise him by doing something like, say, pretty much declaring a crusade at the end of a holy pilgrimage in front of hundreds of witnesses. High profile assets were not unknown to the Ordo Reginates, but the letters from his man in the Comitas lodge there suggested this was more than a mere facade. Sir Gilbern didn’t know which worried him more, that Sir Andrei would use the faith as a smokescreen for his own designs or that the faith behind the actions of Sir Andrei and his grassroots following was entirely genuine.
Hopefully Sir Andrei hadn’t done too much since his last report to draw further attention to himself. Sir Gilbern wasn’t holding his breath.
[3/?]
