And once Lenally left, he prepared to make his report to his parents. He'd certainly inform her, along the trip, about the fight, tell her the stories she always wanted to hear; but he knew she'd be bored to tears with his nearly mechanical deliverance of the official report.<br/><br/>"As for my report...the bandits were mostly comprised of disenfranchised former soldiers from some of our  recently annexed territories. They were using an abandoned fortress, which was heavily damaged from a previous siege, as a base of operation.  I hired a third party agent to infiltrate their ranks, and kill their commander at night. When their camp panicked at the news, I then led my forces in a full assault. The agent escaped during the attack...and because of the confusion he caused, we suffered no casualties. A few of my men will need to be tended to by the physicians for a fortnight or so, however." His voice, at no point, cracks or changes in any way, shape, or form; it is perfectly, strictly, rigidly kept the same, though he shows not even a single drop of effort in doing so.<br/><br/>"Provisions, weapons, and armor have been collected from their stronghold and from the slain. The spoils should net about two thousand; enough that the campaign will have paid for itself. Above and beyond that, however, we personally visited the affected towns and villages that suffered from the banditry. Many of them were most pleased with our expedient action, and I believe we have more firmly solidified the loyalty of those people."<br/><br/>"Additionally, nearly a dozen bandits threw down their arms and surrendered...Under my authority, we held a public execution of them. I felt this would convey a strong message to the masses. We will not tolerate destabilizing agents in our country; we will not suffer the craven leeches to harm those who swear their loyalty to us, to whom it is our duty to protect." From start to finish, everything was cold and detached; even that bit of patriotism near the end was bland. "Bandits and their ilk will find no succor in our country, only an ignoble death." To punctuate the conclusion of his report, he would bow to his parents, and await their say.