Swamped

"I'd be happy to explain that, it's just a matter of where to begin. I mean, it's sort of a weird story how my group and I even ended up together, and without that I don't know how I could really make it clear why we're in this desert in the first place..."

You can already see him getting more annoyed. Good. That means he won't be too inclined to poke into the details.

"But the short version is, we ended up stuck here. So the greblings of this camp have graciously allowed us to stay here until we can return home, and in exchange for their kindness, we're helping out with their work where we can."

"Seems to me there's a perfectly serviceable human-sized wagon right over there, can't you just ride out in that?"

"It's a bit more complicated than just transportation and supplies. See, there's this rather delicate political situation back home, and..."

"Spare me the details," he says, very predictably. "We'll just have to see what the church has to say about your little arrangement, after it decides the camp director's fate."

Hmm. He sounds unpleasantly enthusiastic. Dominique said he never had any evidence, but the way he's coming across now - well, he may not have anything meaningful, but he sure seems to think he does.

Maybe you should try asking him just what, specifically, he's going on about. But considering how much he clearly dislikes you, that's going to take a careful choice of words.