Swamped

You think desperately. Mudviper knows the situation better than you, so you decide to run what few ideas you have past her.

"What if you did talk to Rider? What would he be able to do?"

"Not much. Only about a third of the Marshguard are proper military, so we're not as organized as the Bogknights. An operation like this is less of a planned assault, and more like fifty separate squads all moving at once, at their own speed. Rider could get his own squad to retreat; and if he did, a few of the more reluctant squads might follow his lead. But a lot of us are itching for a fight. Even if they see Rider breaking off, they'll keep going. That's if I can convince him in the first place, mind."

"Would that be hard?"

"He already thinks this is a bad idea. But the decision's been made, and he's not the sort to disobey orders. He was already doubtful of the poison, so if I tell him it was completely wrong, that won't change a thing."

"What if... what if it would endanger another objective?" you ask. "Like, finding me. If you told him that the attack would ruin your chances of finding me, what would he say?"

"I don't think you're quite that high priority," Mudviper hisses. "But you might have the right idea. If attacking meant risking something more valuable, he might change his mind..."

"The barge," you say, recalling Lou's words.

"Better, but I don't think that would do it," Mudviper says, shaking her head. "It'd be valuable, sure, but if the attack succeeds, we could take it anyway. Even if we destroyed it in the attack, we wouldn't really be worse off. It's not exactly our top priority."

"Well, you'd know more about what's top priority than I would," you sigh.

"That would be keeping Bogknights away from..." She pauses. "From our fortress. I can't give you more details, but that's a clear enough idea. A small group of Bogknights is sneaking past our defenses. I know about it because they caught me and tried to get information out of me, before I managed to escape them. With most of our troops on the move, there wouldn't be enough back at base to keep them out..."

She turns to you.

"But if we don't find a group of infiltrators at the end of the night, my story falls apart. So, I'm going to have to count on you to provide them. Get some knights you trust together, and take them to our fortress - but warn them that they will be captured. I'll handle stalling the assault force. It'll give you a chance to warn the base, too. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good. I won't repeat myself." She leaps away, towards the advancing forces. "Good luck, Marshall."

You start heading back. You don't have time to worry about what sort of punishment you're in for. All your thoughts are occupied with the question of who to ask for help with the infiltration.