A party of knights enter the chamber bearing the coat of arms of the Junior King, Count of Zagreb. Bokeny himself is not among them. As they take their seats they glower at those already assembled. One of their number, whose armour is more ornate than the others, rises to address the chamber. He is an older man, large and has the bearing of a formidable warrior. His hair and thick beard are jet black and his face bears the scars of many battles.
Those who are familiar with recent history know his family to be long standing and loyal vassals of the Count of Zagreb who fought on the side of Saul in the war of succession.
Your majesty, lords of the realm, I greet you on behalf of the Junior King who is unable to attend at this time.
My name is Istvan of Carniola, I bear the Junior King's seal and I am authorised to speak on his behalf. He bids you greeting and wishes you to know that he has, this campaign season, erected fortifications along the banks of the Sava, at the ford to the west of Zagreb, as insurance against the presence of two large Venetian armies which are encamped within their own territory on the other side of the river.
Our forces are currently heavy in spear and with little in the way of missile troops. To rectify this we are currently recruiting and training crossbowmen and when they are ready we plan to move against a large force of Croatian rebels who currently hold the bridge on the Sava to the southeast of Zagreb, blocking our ability to defend against Venetian incursions and cutting off our communications with the rest of the Kingdom.
Past that we have no specific military plans but would like to gauge the thoughts of the assembly on the prospect of a campaign to liberate the Dalmatian coast from the Venetians.
In our assessment the current state of uneasy peace with Venice will not last long and we should be prepared to take pre-emptive action to secure our western front.
He sits, awaiting the King's reply.
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