Swamped

We must act first, recapture and convince our prisoners of the great danger Ash poses not to us, but to them. Sew discord and sedition in the Bogknight ranks.

Are you going to eat that?

"Let's start with how I knew him," you say. "He was a courier, like me. For a while, he treated me kindly enough. Shared his food with me when I got mine taken away for slacking or whatever else. Even encouraged me to start reading. Then the soldiers came."

You really don't like remembering this part.

"We worked for a bunch of merchants, but they were rotten to the core. The one who housed us had some of his more unscrupulous activities exposed. He and his couriers were taken away when his mansion was raided... all but two of them."

"You and Ash."

"Ash got me away. At first I thought it was out of kindness. But he led me to another merchant, one who had gained quite a bit of the last one's business after the raid. And that's when Ash started showing his true colors."

You pace around for a bit. It's hard to talk about this sitting down.

"I don't know if Ash really tipped off the soldiers, or if he just said that to get in the merchant's good graces. Either way, he started being less of a courier. But I was just as much of one, and he was always asking me for 'special favors'. Tasks he said he didn't trust the others with. I went along with it, because he was the only friend or family I had. But I can see now that he was trying to get out of that world, whatever the cost, and I was just a useful tool to that end."

You turn to Razor.

"That's the sort of man he is. Oh, he'll talk people up, even show them talents they didn't know they had. But in the end, it's all about what they can do for Ash. If they stop being useful, he discards them."

There's a flash of anger in Razor's face. Damn, you must have hit a nerve somewhere. Maybe it's something to do with how he ended up here?

"And if he winds up in charge of the Bogknights, we can't face him on his own terms. Leave him to his own devices, he'll focus on rewarding the loyalists, which is bound to just cause problems for him down the road. But if we attack him, we give him an enemy to fight off. That lets him build support, fortify his position. Plus, I know him, he'd fight us with way nastier stuff than just poison."

You don't even know how to bring up the letters he sent you.

At first you just didn't know how to respond. That was before Rider took you under his wing, showed you the same kindness Ash did, only this time it was real. He knew when to give you space to know your own mistakes, and when to lecture you. (And hells, could he lecture.)

Most of all, Rider never asked you for a favor until Marshall showed up. And when he asked, it was... not exactly as an equal, but there was no pressure on you to accept. He genuinely wanted your help.

Rider was teaching you to be your own man, not just a grunt who worked for him. It's only now that he's gone that you're starting to realize just how much you've learned.

"Your tactical concern is noted," Razor says, snapping you back to the moment.

You feel like he hasn't quite grasped what you're saying, but then, you feel like he'd say something nastier if he didn't think you might have a point.

"Next order of business. I've been told you've heard the call of the swamp. I want to know everything you can tell me about that. When you first heard it, what it's like. Anything at all."

Now that's a question you weren't expecting from Razor. What can you even say?

i always thought it was wrong to say you heard it, it's more of a smell

I was on the run and pretty wasted when it happened. It was like, a sudden wave of homesickness for a place I'd never been. It helped that I didn't have much of a home to start with. The call gave me some direction. I just knew I had to go to the swamp.

You ever dream of your mother? Like from when you were an infant. She'd cradle you and sing you to sleep, of course you don't remember it, and you can't really process the words, but it's comforting nonetheless. The call is like that, a forgotten lullaby.

Lots of folks who hear the call join the Bogknights because they've heard terrible things about the Marshguards. Me, well my self-esteem wasn't so great. I figured I deserved to be among the rejects of the world, as long as I could get some booze. Though, I'm glad I ended up here. Oddly enough, with the most unlikely and unlikeable people, we've managed to build a family.

One more thing about the call though, it never really goes away. It's kind of a part of you. If you ignore it, it can drive you mad.

"Well, for starters, 'heard' is kind of simplifying things. You feel it everywhere. Nothing smells quite right, you feel out of place, kind of dizzy... well, okay, I was pretty drunk when I first felt it, so it's hard to say where the one began and the other ended. Maybe it's not always quite that bad. But I didn't feel quite right until I stepped into the swamp."

Razor looks thoughtful.

"Did you know right away that's where you were headed? Or did you have to work that out the hard way?"

"I knew I needed to come to the swamp. Didn't know why. Of course, I had a few close calls with the merchants before then, so I probably would have ended up there sooner or later just out of desperation. Thought about joining the Bogknights, but I figured they'd never take a wreck like me. Might even have handed me back if the merchants demanded it." You let out a weak laugh. "Besides, I'd heard the Marshguards had decent booze."

Razor smirks.

"Ah, yes. You joined right in the middle of our crackdown, didn't you."

"Yeah. Just my luck. I want some good hard booze right when you're taking it away. I don't think I was even all that surprised, honestly. It was about how my whole life had gone up to then."

You shake your head a bit before continuing.

"But things were a lot clearer once I got here. Sure, I was still a total mess, but for the first time I could remember, I felt like I was home. Wasn't a great home, but it was what I had."

"So, the call of the swamp is a sense of homesickness for this place?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Don't know where it comes from, but somewhere deep in my heart, I love this stupid stinky craphole filled with deadly beasts."

"Interesting," he says. He's looking thoughtful. "Is that all you have to say on it?"

"Well... for a while, I fought the call. Tried to go anywhere but the swamp. But it just got worse and worse." You don't know that you want to mention that Ash fought it harder than you ever did. "I feel like if I hadn't listened and dragged myself over here, I'd have gone mad."

Razor seems to be taking it in for a while.

"Good, good. Now, I think I have just one more question for you at the moment."

Oof, you're not sure you're going to like this. What could he be planning to ask?

hypothetically, if i told you we were mounting an attack on the bogknights 20 minutes from now, what would your plan be

How would you deal with a traitor?

"How would you deal with a traitor?"

That's a harsh question. But not unfair for a potential councillor, you suppose.

"Well, I guess it depends on what they did and why. If they sold us out for money, say, I'd be all for just tossing them out into the swamp to fend for themselves. But if they thought we were making a big mistake, I think I'd treat that more as insubordination. Depending on what exactly they did, of course. Say, if they killed one of us, I couldn't forgive that no matter the reason."

"So you're saying that you'd give the traitor a hearing, and then decide their fate?"

"Well, yeah. I guess I am. Isn't that how it's normally done anyhow?"

"That is what we do out here, yes," Razor says. "But I didn't ask the question to test your knowledge of the process."

"Then what did you ask it for..."

You realize the answer before you finish your question.

Razor suspects there's a traitor on-base.

And the way he's going about this, he probably wants your thoughts on who it might be. Or maybe he thinks it's you, it's hard to tell what he's thinking.

How do you even respond to this?

...are you thinking Mudviper?

Oh wow. This explains, a lot about Razor's actions lately. His closeted attitude, his aggression towards other council members, his keeping of a small group of trusted marshguards...If he suspects someone it's been for a while. You've been really focused on your group...or being wasted so you haven't noticed anything outright...have you? What has Razor seen?

You wonder if he might mean Mudviper... but then you remember what Crosswinds said. Even Razor voted to find her loyal. He's a lot of things, but he'd never make a vote like that insincerely.

If she was on his list of suspects, she isn't now.

But come to think of it, this has been going on for a while. Razor's been keeping to himself a lot even by Marshguard standards. He's given grief to every member of the council... even Bigfoot, who he generally votes with. And most of his orders are going to a small group... which makes sense if he's making sure he can give them his trust.

So that's what this is all about. He wants to know if he can trust you. You were recommended by Mudviper, after all. His goal isn't to get a crony on the council, it's to gain a loyal ally.

It takes you a moment to register that. He thinks there's a traitor on the Council itself. Or at least, someone high-ranking enough to be considered a candidate. You have to wonder what he's seen to find that plausible.

The main signs of disloyalty you've seen lately have been from Rotmouth's group, and that's not all that unusual among newmucks in the Marshguards. Most of them simply don't like being told what to do.

But Razor would have seen much more sensitive information than "we've got a few troublemakers". What could that be?

Maybe you should just ask him.

"Is it that you've seen something troubling, sir?"

He chuckles, in a way that sounds both amused and defeated.

"I've seen many troubling things in my time, Corvus. You'll have to be more specific."

Right. He doesn't want to just answer - not out in the open like this. But if you ask about the right thing, he might tell you something interesting.

What should you ask?

does it have to do with that rando newmuck rider's been so darn interested in

Whatever happened to that guy Bigfoot replaced when she made the council?

"Well, for one, I was wondering if you might have some insight into why Rider's been so interested in that newmuck," you say carefully.

"I have some suspicions. Nothing more than that."

The look on Razor's face tells you he's not opening up about that. Maybe you want something less directly related to current events.

"Actually, there's something bothering me. I never really got what happened to Silver. You know, the councilor we had before Bigfoot. There wasn't a death announcement, but I never saw him around afterwards."

"He was pardoned," Razor says. "Just suddenly got a letter saying that, after twenty-eight years, they'd dropped all the charges against him and he could go home a free man."

"What?" You can't believe it. You've never heard of a Marshguard being pardoned.

"We kept it quiet at the time because we didn't want anyone frustrated at their own sentences turning on him before he left. It's not really a secret any more, but we don't go spreading it everywhere. For reasons I hope you can appreciate."

Hmm. Well, you're curious now. It doesn't seem clearly related to the traitor question, but Razor almost certainly knows more than he's letting on.

You think you'll continue with this line of questioning. What will you ask next?

Who delivered the message that Silver was pardoned? Such sensitive information should have been handled by one of the council members.

Do we know if he made it back alright?

Seems odd such a respected member like Silver just left and didn't say anything. Kinda odd considering what had happened only a few weeks earlier...

"Who delivered the message? Are you telling me it just came by crow?"

Razor shakes his head.

"No. They sent a special courier out with one of the charity supply drops. I suppose they didn't want to appear to be involved with our less reputable partners." He chuckles a bit. "Silver left with them. We passed it off at the time as saying he wanted to escort them to the edge of the swamp personally."

"And it wasn't some kind of trick? A real pardon?"

"Most nations are content to leave their criminals rotting out here in the swamp. Kandria's the only place I know where they hold that much of a grudge. But Silver was just a thief from Lacran. A damned good thief, mind, one who slipped away with the crown jewels."

"That was Silver?" you ask. "The one the Queen was so furious with?"

"The late Queen. She took it rather personally. Blamed him for all sorts of things, even after he fled to the swamp. Her daughter wrote the pardon after taking the throne."

"Still seems weird. I mean, Silver was very respected here. Even with a pardon, if he went home he'd still have a reputation waiting for him."

"Well, those of us who haven't felt the call of the swamp tend to still wish we could go home."

Razor actually sounds wistful. That's a new one on you.

Then you remember something.

"Hang on," you say. "Now, this was a while back, and my memory's kind of fuzzy about that whole time. Hadn't really started pulling myself together yet. But wasn't Silver handling some kind of negotiation with the Bogknights around then?"

"Yes, I thought that odd at the time. He would have wanted to finish that up; it wasn't like him to leave work undone."

"At the time." You can't help but notice those words.

"Silver's been sending me letters since he left. I know a bit more about what was going on now, but it's mostly a personal matter."

"Mostly."

"You'll latch on to anything, won't you?" Razor laughs. "Well, then, here's what I can tell you. The pardon was written three years before it actually arrived."

"Three years! It took that long to get to the swamp?"

"It certainly shouldn't have, even considering the circumstances. Silver found that odd, too. Thought that somebody, somewhere along the line, was holding things up."

"But it didn't show up here until that supply drop?" you ask. "So the holdup wouldn't have been here."

"True. However, it came at an inconvenient time for those negotiations. And whoever decided that it was time to make use of the letter must have found that out from somewhere."

Oh. That's a good point.

What do you ask next?

Man, better keep that info about Silver to yourself. Shorty loved Silver, really admired him. Give him the chance and he'll still talk about his exploits (Silver stole jewels from a queen, Silver snatched a book from Burgundy, heck, there was the one about Silver stealing...the rain...something? huh, don't really remember that one, better ask Shorty about it sometime.)

But wait, Razor, but those negotiations did finish. Rider took Silver's place alongside Claws at the negotiations table. We agreed to Long's new set of combat rules regarding the rain, there was a big prisoner swap and everything. I may have been stealing swigs from the medbay back then but I remember at least that much.

...were there other provisions in those negotiations? Ones that Silver was pushing for?

"But, hang on. The negotiations worked out, didn't they?" you say. "The prisoners were exchanged, we settled a new rain treaty, think there was something else but those were the big ones. I was kind of out of it back then."

Razor doesn't say anything.

"But then, I guess I wouldn't have heard of anything that failed if the council were keeping it close to their vest, would I?"

"About fifteen percent of our members are from Kandria," Razor says. He seems to be leaving it to you to figure out the rest.

"Kandria. Right, I think I heard about this. There was a failed revolution some time back. Rebels were either hunted down or fled to the swamp. But the hardliners are running things now, and they want vengeance. They want the Bogknights to hand over any identifiable Kandrian prisoners as soon as possible." You stop and think for a bit. "So let me take a bit of a guess here. Silver was trying to get a formal treaty saying they wouldn't send any prisoners back, no matter what their home countries requested."

"Indeed. It was a sticking point. Silver thought Long was personally amenable to it, but was facing pressure from his superiors back home."

"Let me guess. Back home in Kandria."

"I don't know what trick Silver had in mind to get that agreement, but whatever it was, we couldn't do it without him. Rider and Claws did manage a strong agreement, it's true. But not one that could provide our Kandrian troops with a sense of relief."

"Why didn't Silver stick around to see that through?"

"I have my theories, but they're confidential. Regardless, I think you have enough information to grasp the nature of my worries now."

"You think we've got a Kandrian spy in our midst."

He doesn't say anything. He's not going to confirm it or deny it, not here.

"I believe we are done here, unless you have anything else to ask. Best be quick if you do, though. I'm a busy man."

Well. Do you?

Razor, someone helped that prisoner escape. No one armed newmuck is going to know to hide in the walls of our Rookery.

Do you know anything about that?

And Razor then calls Crook over.

"Well, there's something that's been bothering me for a while. It's about the escapee."

Razor doesn't respond. He probably wants you to get to the point.

"I got ambushed poking my head into a hidden storage room in the Roost. There's no way a newmuck would know anything about that when I bet hardly anyone on our side does. And for that matter, why send Grey-maw to check there? Seems an odd place for a one-armed Bogknight to be hiding."

Razor simply smirks.

"Why, hello, Crook," he calls out. "I was just about to leave, but why don't you join us for a moment?"

Crook wanders over to the table. Wow, he looks nervous. Even more nervous than usual for someone Razor's called over.

"Now, Crook. I understand you were on duty when our prisoner went missing."

"Um. Yes, sir. Very careless of me."

"Careless indeed. Why, I remember seeing you heading down the ladder to the Roost, and found myself wondering when exactly you had learned to write. And you know, it's odd, but I could swear that was right in the middle of your shift."

"Ah, I can explain..."

"Might the explanation be that you were somehow involved in the prisoner's escape?" Razor says. He never was good at sticking to the subtle approach.

Crook looks pale as a sheet. He's clearly searching for an excuse.

Now this is the Razor you know. He's terrifying. You don't know if Crook really helped the escapee or not, but you can't help but pity him.

You can't say you're comfortable with how Razor's handling this, even if it turns out Crook really did do it. Maybe you should intervene. Take over the questioning yourself, try a better approach than this.

But what is that, exactly?

why'd you do it

Time to play the good cop.

"Tell me why, Crook," you say suddenly. You're not sure if you're bluffing, but Crook's usually up to something. And he's certainly hiding something now.

"Tell you why what?" he says, after a moment of surprise.

Razor gives you a glare, but he also seems curious. Maybe you can take control of this from here.

"I know you, Crook. You slack off all the time, and you've never really taken to the swamp, have you? You still want to get out of here. But as much as you want to leave the place behind, you care about us. You wouldn't sell us out. You wouldn't be aiding in a prisoner's escape for a bribe, or even for kicks. It's a lot of work, after all."

Crook lets out a deep breath.

"So I made a deal with the prisoner," he says carefully. "Nothing big. Marshall's not trying to escape the fortress, just trying to stay away from him and his crew." He gives Razor the dirtiest look he's willing to risk. "I think Grey-maw's questioning was the final straw."

Razor looks serious.

"Wait. Grey-maw questioned Marshall?"

"Uh, yeah? What's that supposed to mean?" Crook looks baffled, and you are too. She's Razor's right hand, why would she question a prisoner of importance without him knowing about it?

"I thought she questioned Jackson. Dammit! I should have known something was off when the wrong prisoner was reported missing."

Wow. You thought you'd seen Razor mad before, but it was nothing like this.

"I'll deal with your transgressions later, Crook. It seems you've stumbled onto a larger problem, one that takes priority. For now, keep Marshall hidden. I need to speak to Grey-maw, and work out what's going on."

He gets up, leaving the two of you sitting there. You feel lost.

"So, ah." Crook says. "Shall I just, ah, go now?"

Like you have an answer. What are you even supposed to be doing now?

Let's go check on Greeneye and the crew. Take Crook with you. Tell him about wanting to smuggle Starling into see Jackson.

...Marshalls' in the laundry basket isn't he?

Might as well pretend like you dont notice.