secrets

As the group makes its way towards the deep, shallow side of the woods just beyond the southernmost entrance to Osrona, the time of the day slowly accompanies their descent into the unforgiving dark of the forest, with the lack of a visible sun.

It is over her vantage point above the group that Jeanne opens up the rhythm of explanation.

"You might be wondering what the folds you've been handed are. The answer is: We all have secrets." A steel-clad hand waves about elegantly, as Dame Exarch Knight Jeanne emotes vibrantly with each sway of her arms. "The nature of this exercise lies in it's goal of simulating an intel-gathering scenario."

With her limb fully extended, a finger points to Bertrand as sluggishly as it bares severity.

"The envelopes that now lie in your hands, for the purpose of this exercise, contain crucial information to The Order of the First Light. As you may have figured out, and if you just so happened to be nosy enough to butt in and read their contents, there's a poem broken up between all of these."

A code to decipher? A message to complete? It was difficult to tell at this point in time.

"Your goal will be to break up into teams of two. Each of these will consist of a member holding an envelope, and another without one. Save for one team, which will carry two envelopes, mostly due to the nature of our numbers."

The nature of the exercise was starting to sip through the explanation.

"The goal is to gather them, or protect them - depending on which side of the coin you're in. Think of it as a tournament, only you get to pick your fights."

There is a very obvious pause in which Jeanne idly meditates.

"The winner will be the team that gathers the most conjoined Stanzas from the verses you've been given." The truth was, the cipher on the envelopes, if they had been observant during their distribution, held a pivotal clue to make the challenge easier.

"Protect your secrets, secure them from enemy spies. Collaborate, prioritize the safety of the intel you've been entrusted with. Make sacrifices. Be reasonable."

Her stare trails over the group before she gets to reading up her matches from her scribbled notebook once more.

"The teams are as follow…"
(Jeanne Stallard)