Swamped

It's probably best to go see Rider. He'd probably have already checked out their gear for animals anyhow, so he can tell you where to look.

It's not hard to find him. He left the wagon right outside the priest's tent. A quick glance inside reveals him, Marshall, the priest, and another grebling you don't recognize offhand. Must be the other prisoner.

"Rider, could I have a word with you?"

He turns towards you.

"Will this be long?"

"Probably not."

He steps out of the tent.

"So we just caught a prisoner and, um, she says she's going to kill you if she sees you."

"I see," Rider says. He doesn't sound the slightest bit surprised. "Where is she?"

"The stable. They're going to take her to the medical tent once, um, once I get back with the right restraints."

Rider seems lost in thought for a moment.

"If you know something about what's going on here, maybe you can share it?" you ask pointedly. "Or if you won't, you can at least point me to the shackles I'm looking for. Rudolph says they're intended for animals."

"Did she know I was here?"

"She seemed to panic when I mentioned your name."

"Then they aren't actively hunting me, at least," he says. "They probably don't even know I've left the swamp."

"Who isn't? I'm not accepting cryptic nonsense for answers here."

"Our other prisoner can explain it to you. I need to speak to Long now." He starts walking away. "Jebediah has custody of the shackles you're looking for. He'd be reluctant to use them for a prisoner, but I think he can be convinced of the need."

"You need to talk to Long? What for?"

"I have preparations to make," Rider says calmly, as though that explains anything. "Thank you for the warning."

You know full well you're not going to get any more details out of him. So you suppose you might as well head in.

When you do, Marshall looks at you, puzzled.

"Where's Rider?"

"He said he was going to talk to Captain Long," you say. As if you understand why. You turn to the prisoner. "So who's this?"

"A fellow priest," Jebediah says. "He's under my protection, so if you're going to be asking him anything, I need to be present. Make sure you're treating him with respect."

"Well, as it happens, I do have some questions for him."

The prisoner looks at you expectantly.

"Go ahead, then."

Where do you even start?