Swamped

"You're here now," you note. "Not in the swamp."

"It calmed down after I finally got to the damn place. Enough that I could concentrate."

"That's not what I mean." You take a moment. "The gods work in mysterious ways. Maybe they led you to the swamp so you'd learn what you need to know for tonight."

You don't believe that for a minute, and she probably won't either. But it might get Burgundy off her back.

"You a priest as well as an actor?" asks one of the knights. It's the one who was giving you a fierce look a moment ago.

"Is it that strange? We do shows about the gods," Minnie interrupts. "Know more than a few people in the troupe who started seriously thinkin' about their faith after being in one."

"My point being," you continue, "be it the work of the gods or just coincidence, we're all here tonight. And we all have our own skills. I don't know what the best way to make use of yours is, but I'm glad we have your little group around. But... look, are any of you scouts?"

There's an awkward pause. You were pretty sure that was the case, because if there were any, they would have said something.

"Now, I don't know a lot about the military." After all, the Marshguards aren't really organized like one. "But I do know they've got different people who are good at different things. People who go out and scout aren't necessarily the best at fighting, and people who've trained to fight don't necessarily make good scouts. I'm not saying we'd be great at it, either. But there are tricks you pick up in the theater. Tricks for passing yourself off as someone different, or for drawing attention elsewhere. I think we're the closest thing you'll find to good scouts in here. And going out there without good scouting, well..."

"It'd be a big mistake," Burgundy says, nodding. "Could tell you plenty of stories from East Legion veterans about how things went wrong when they didn't scout first."

"Don't really like either of them," mutters the woman. "But we are in a rough spot."

"I don't like 'em either," Burgundy agrees. "And they're actors, so they could probably tell us a real sweet story if they wanted. But he's got the right read of the situation. So he's not a total fool, at least."

Higher praise than you would have expected from all you know about Captain Burgundy.

"I'm inclined to take the risk. But the rest of you should feel free to speak your minds. Do you have a better idea? Including sitting here doing nothing? I think it's clear enough heading out there without knowing a damn thing is likely to end in disaster."

There's some murmuring. Finally, the one who was giving you a dirty look speaks up.

"Got one quick question for the guy in the Marshguard getup that could help me make up my mind," he says.