Swamped

"We've been sending people after them, to check what they've done and fix it if possible. In this particular case, we were sending someone to check in on a previous investigation that we hadn't heard back from. We received an update from them just before the wizard arrived, and they confirmed that they found our missing investigator. We also had time to make arrangements to bring them back later. So whatever they found, we're going to know about it. If the wizard was trying to stop that, he failed."

"You said a lot there, but you're leaving out quite a few details," you say. "Such as where they went."

"I don't see how that matters to you."

"Well. It would be nice to know just what these scouts of yours have found out about the wizard and his allies' activities. Considering we may have run afoul of them ourselves, I'm not content to just sit back and wait for an unknown faction to stop them."

"We doubt they have any particular interest in your group."

"Then would you care to explain why they snuck into our camp, kidnapped one of our members, and wounded another if they don't have a particular interest?"

Silence.

"Let's make this a bit simpler," you say, annoyed. "I can definitely tell you that these gateways seem rather closely connected to the swamp. So why don't you tell me what you've figured out about what they're doing there?"

"We believe they are after something hidden in the depths of the Marsh Fortress. We have theories as to what it is, but no way to confirm and they relate to what we believe they want here."

"So you won't be sharing those. Fine. But what have they actually been doing, aside from dropping desert creatures all over the place?"