He had forgone sending letters to barbarians for very specific reasons, not the least of which was that a looter in the capital city could not be trusted to do the right thing... or, necessarily, even read. Chal Camadrid knew well that information won more than wars-- it was power itself. Instead of throwing out the insouciant letter as soon as he opened it, the former magister took a step back from his emotional response and considered what he knew. Firstly the matter of Harrington, for however much it had fallen into decadence, it was the former political center of the entire country. If this Hyena had not reduced the glory of the city to rubble by now, the knowledge contained therein would prove invaluable.
And, Chal had to admit, holding that territory would go far in the eyes of the other warlords. He had sent his own letter to Steingott in the first place because he desperately needed allies, Johanns alone could not form the chain of unity alone. It needed other links. Either the man had been browbeaten by the Hyena's, or he trusted them, which was it? More importantly, how much would it cost Chal to find out? The letter seemed sincere enough, and there could be little to gain from treachery in this matter. Even if they had heard of the attack on Johanns, and even if they planned to take advantage of the weakness, there was no way they could credibly pose a threat to the city.
So, the letter had to be sincere, but what he was not about to do was march his army anywhere. As predicted, the invaders were integrating passably into the town, and the repairs of the city were coming along nicely. What he needed was food, winning had come at great cost, and he could ill afford to sit on his hands.
He accepted the invitation. Convincing the other Heralds - his only true equals in the city - to let him go alone proved harder, but in the end, he was quite capable of convincing them that protecting the city mattered more than protecting him. He would ride alone. He was fully aware that he could die messily on this course of action, or worse, he could become a prisoner.
Ever since the fall of Harringon, the gauntlet of war lay thrown, and Johanns would fall if he did not act. And so, he acted.
Fortunately the trip was not long, as Chal was only a passable horse rider, and ill suited for 'toughing it out' as it were. He carried enough food and water, and riding clothes, which he wore for the days of travel between the cities, only switching to his magister's finery when he reached the area that he anticipated encountering the barbarians.
He had made sure to bathe regularly in the streams he encountered, at least.