Swamped

"Let's go down below," you suggest. "I get the feeling Long has some inkling as to what's going on. Plus, we should probably talk to Simone about whether she learned anything while she was captured."

"You'd better not push her too hard," Yvonne says. "She's just been through a lot, you know."

"I don't plan on it, but fine, let me know if I'm crossing the line."

You go down. Simone rushes towards Yvonne and immediately embraces her; given the state of things, it's probably best to start with Long.

"Long. You looked real shaken up by that crow. You want to tell me why? Because it's about to get in a fight with a wizard, and I need to know if we should be sticking our noses in that."

Long looks pained.

"Do you know what the Marsh Fortress protects, Corvus?"

"Other than us, not really. I got the impression there's something and that's what all this stupid fighting is supposed to be about, but all that matters to me is protecting my home."

Long nods.

"That's how most of us see it these days. The official reason hardly matters to any of the frontline soldiers. In truth, it doesn't matter to me, either; I'm simply charged with executing it."

"And just like Rider, you do your job even if you think it's a dumb idea."

He chuckles.

"I suppose I can't dispute that."

"So what's any of this got to do with our situation here?"

"The gods are watching our battle in the swamp, and they are prepared to act if the Bogknights win. That was the crow-man's warning to me."

Well. That was a straighter answer than you were expecting, but you still don't know what in the hells it means.

Where do you go from here?