After prolonged infiltration, reconnaissance, and relentless spying, the Retalian Army on Minisian soil had few secrets left.
For instance, the players knew that the Retalian Army was stationed separately in six camps: two large ones and four small ones.
The two large camps held twenty thousand men, one in Omdur Harbor, a port city in Dul Province, and the other in Lev, another port city, in Chivilevka Province.
From dockworkers in these two cities, the players learned that the Retalia Empire and the Minicia Kingdom apparently were fighting a winter naval war, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
The players were unsure whether this was actually true. The dockworkers rambled incoherently and could barely explain themselves, so all the players could do was hold on to the hope that the game would feature naval battles.
The other four smaller camps held five thousand soldiers or more. They stood at critical road junctions in these two provinces, blocking the main routes an outside army could take to attack the occupied territories.
The camp the players had their eyes on was one of these—a great nail the Retalians had driven into the main route from Tavitsky to Chivilevka Province.
Even the tent's thick wool-felt curtain could not entirely shut out the howling wind outside. Charcoal burned fiercely in the stove, crackling softly, yet it could not dispel the chill in Count Mikhail von Eisenberg's heart.
He sat before a rough wooden table, tapping his fingers irritably against its surface. Spread before him were several parchment reports brought back by scouts, their ink stiffened slightly by the cold.
Every word in those reports stabbed at his nerves like an icy needle.
"In the direction of Tavitsky Province, Bagnian troops have been moving frequently. Large convoys of packhorses and wagons have left