Swamped

Why, it's the patroller he incapacitated on the way here. If I recall right she specialized in poisons. Maybe she knows the answer to your venom question.

The Marshguard doesn't acknowledge Dean at first.

"I trust they didn't give you any trouble, Ringer?"

The bell rings twice.

"Good. Always a risk bringing martial artists in for questioning, never know when they might try to pull something. That's why I find it's best to have a hostage ready, just in case." She looks at you and smirks.

"Who is she?" you whisper at Dean.

"She's one of the guards from last night. I had to knock her out. I, er, hope she doesn't bear a grudge. Anyhow, it seems she expects me to do the talking, so sit tight."

"What are you two whispering about?" she growls.

"Oh, ah, I recognized you and Marshall wanted to know why. That's all."

"And I'm more than a little bitter about it. Never wanted to be on patrol at all, but no, we had a strike force out there so we were shorthanded here. If that means ol' Doc is out watching for sneaks like you instead of looking after the wounded, so be it."

"You're, ah, the Marshguard medic?"

"Ha. As if we're that organized. But yeah, I'm one of the few around here who knows how to do more than dress a wound. And they stuck me out on patrol, where you damn near choked me."

"I took care not to hurt you too much..."

"Hmmph. It's not the harm that gets to me, it's the time I lost. Been busy ever since we got back. I still haven't had time to give you lot a proper looking-over; especially that missing arm. From what I hear, it's fresh after the last rain, right?"

You nod.

"And you spent last night running all across the swamp. Do you even know how nasty it'll be if some muck got into the wound? But that can wait. Right now, I have some questions for the one with all his limbs intact."

"My name's Dean." He's clearly worried; he didn't say "the".

"Dean, then. You're the most senior of our captives, so maybe you can tell me why you thought it was a good idea to come snooping around here with all your friends."

"I wanted to clear up a misunderstanding. But I thought it would be hard to do that through official channels."

"Misunderstanding. Would you mind elaborating on that."

"I'm on pest control. Two nights ago, we had a greatrat problem. But when we found the nest, I concluded we had to deal with them without making noise. So, I lead my team out to gather fly eggs to poison them."

"To the breeding grounds."

"Yes. Where, well, we noticed some Marshguards. I decided it was best not to draw their attention, as they might decide to take advantage of our rat problem, or just attack our group."

"Did you point the flies their way? Poor Blackeye's swelling still hasn't recovered."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I was in a rush, I might have thought of something less drastic otherwise. I'll apologize to Blackeye personally if that's what has to be done. The point is, we only used the poison on the greatrats. We weren't going to use it on you all. I wanted to clear that up, but I didn't think I could just explain that without also handing myself over to you. And, well, I figured if the officers found out I was going to do that, they'd stop me."

"And why did you come so close to the base, then? You could have surrendered once you were in our territory."

"Well, by that point, we had noticed your strike force gathering. We changed plans to get you worried about infiltrators, in hopes you'd call them back."

"Mudviper says you caught her as she was escaping from your base."

"Pure luck. She was hiding, we were looking for a hiding spot to avoid our own patrols, they happened to be the same place."

"These knights you came with. Most seem a little young to be your squadmates."

"I picked newer members because they'd face lighter punishments if we were caught. I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. Walter's not so new, but he was familiar with our patrols. I needed his help to get out of Bogknight territory."

"Right. Well, that's enough for a basic report, then." She turns to you. "Ringer, are you confident you can handle the older one alone if he tries any moves on you? He is an unarmed fighter, after all."

One ring.

"I'll trust your judgement, then. As for you, we need to have a look at that wound. Really should have sooner, but it's been busy today."

Ringer drags Dean away, and Doc grabs you by the arm.

"Come on. We're heading to what passes for the infirmary around here. Try to keep up."

Once again, you find yourself being lead through the Marshguard base. Once again, you find yourself wondering if you really should just go along quietly.

literally everything is going according to plan, so, yes. ask if they know your dad. tell them that he probably doesn't have one arm like you

I mean, you don't want to get an infection or something, so
Let's roll with it

You decide not to even bother causing trouble. After all, you might well have a problem with your arm wound, and if so, better to have it dealt with now. You just follow Doc until she stops outside a door.

She looks around a bit, then unlocks it and drags you in.

This is not at all like the infirmary back at base. There's a bed in one corner, but you can't help but notice it's got chains attached to it. There's also a lot of locked cabinets. Doc really seems to like to lock things up, which somewhat worries you.

"Don't touch anything," she says. "If you're wondering about the locks - unlike you Bogknights, we don't have the luxury of a proper medical supplier. I have to settle for what I can get my hands on, a lot of which is dangerous or addictive except in the tiniest of doses."

"And, um, the chains on the bed?"

"That's when I've got a wounded patient who won't listen." She drags you over and locks a manacle onto one of your ankles. "It also comes in handy for making sure a prisoner doesn't try anything. Now, let's have a look at that wound."

She pulls your armor and shirt off, then starts unwrapping the wound.

"Hmm, looks about as good as can be expected given the circumstances. I'll give it a quick cleaning just to be sure. And you could probably stand to have some new bandages anyhow."

You stand there awkwardly as she goes off and opens a cabinet. She comes back with a small ball of cotton and a bottle of something.

"This is what I was talking about before. Alcohol's good for this sort of cleaning, but I can't count on getting ahold of the mixtures that are actually designed for it," she explains, dipping the ball into the bottle and dabbing it on what's left of your shoulder. "Even when I do, there's more than a few poor souls here desperate enough to drink it. But mostly I end up with rum and brandy. Far from ideal, but it's really the same with everything we get here; we count ourselves lucky if we get the good stuff. Usually, when we do get it, it's by taking it from you."

She walks away again and locks up the bottle, then opens another cabinet and pulls out some bandages.

"That's what it's like on this side of the swamp. I hope you remember that when you get back."

She wraps up the wound again, and locks up her supplies.

"Right. Before I dress you back up, is there anything else wrong? Physically, I mean. Can't help you if you miss your stuffed bear or something like that."

"My father, actually," you mutter.

"Family issues? You and everyone else on this base. At least you might get to go back one day. Us, we've got no family except the Marshguards." She grabs your clothes. "If that's all it is, I can't help you any more."

"My father's missing," you say, a little defiantly. "Maybe he found his way here."

"Wouldn't know. We don't talk about our pasts here. Safer that way. So I sure as heck don't know anyone who might be your old man. If he's here, you'll just have to hope he finds you on his own. We're done here, so get dressed."

She puts your clothes back on and unlocks the manacle before leading you out. It occurs to you that you're not likely to get a chance to do laundry while you're here.

Doc's taking you back to your cell now. You wonder if it's worth striking up a conversation, or doing anything else other than just being pulled along.

i do, in fact, miss my stuffed bear

Wait is that...Mary? Doing...chores?

Can't help you if you miss your stuffed bear or something like that.

It's been years since you thought about your bear. You'd kept it with you all this time, right up until the theater fire.

You wonder how things might have been different if you'd been able to turn to it for comfort. You didn't feel like you had anyone in those days. Father was gone, Henry was too distant, and Sandra had vanished too.

It would be nice to have now, too. Granted, you're not feeling so alone any more; but you can't exactly talk to your fellow Bogknights easily. There's too much distance between the cells, and there's always a guard telling you to quiet down.

Suddenly, Doc stops. You stumble a bit in surprise, and then you see Mary Baker scrubbing the floor, with her hands chained together.

"The hell are you doing, Grips?" she yells at a nearby Marshguard. "If you've got time to watch a prisoner work, you've got time to work yourself. Take her back to the cells."

"Hey, now, I'm doing her a favor," Grips protests, a smirk on her face. "She was feeling too cooped up in her cell. So, I let her out in exchange for doing a little work for me. There's no harm in it, long as I keep a close eye on her."

"You're a damn fool, Grips, but lecturing you about why can wait. Get up, Bogknight."

Mary reluctantly picks herself up. It doesn't look easy with the chains.

"Lead her back, Grips. I can't watch two of these fools by myself."

"Bah, you're such a spoilsport, Doc."

"You're getting off lightly because you're new. Whoever thought it was a good idea to let you put a prisoner to work, though, they don't get that excuse."

Mary gives you a quick glance. She mouths "I have a plan" to you silently while the Marshguards are busy talking.

Should you let her go ahead with it? Or signal her to stand down?

signal her to stand down with a roadside flare

Actually, maybe you can convince them to let you help out around their base. You only have 1 arm and they're short staffed as it is. You're not much of a threat and honestly...even as a prisoner everyone has been pretty nice to you. You wouldn't mind helping out a bit.

You shake your head. Things seem to be going smoothly for now, and from everything you've heard, you won't be stuck in here for too long.

Mary looks a bit disappointed, but nods slightly in acknowledgement. You admit to being curious about what the plan was, but it's not as if you can talk about it.

Well, maybe you could. The argument between Doc and Grips is getting rather loud, you'd be surprised if they could hear you.

"You know full well just how many wounded we've got right now, you're the one treating them! And here we have five prisoners who can pick up the slack. Why shouldn't they?"

"What good does it do to put them to work when you need at least one guard to watch them? It works out the same for numbers."

"Watching's less work. We could assign them to guards who would otherwise be ending their shifts."

"It's not less work at all, which you'd realize if you could actually be trusted with guard duty. You need your full attention on them in case they try anything."

At this point, they seem so focused on the argument that they don't even care what they reveal to their prisoners. For instance, you didn't know that the Marshguards had a lot of wounded.

What exactly happened? You want to ask, but reminding them that you're listening might just cause them to quiet down.

Is there some way you can draw them into revealing more?

You might try something, but it looks like Grip's buddies are coming along. They'll likely join in on the argument, and from what you know about the marshguards (especially if they're as stressed as you think) you might see a couple of fists fly. Just stand back with Mary and watch what unfolds.

Nothing comes to mind, but then you spot two more Marshguards pointing at Doc and talking to each other. And now they're headed this way.

It seems the best move might be to just stay quiet and keep your head down. It looks like the argument is going to escalate on its own.

"Doc," says one of them. As she talks, you can't help but notice a horrible smell come out of her mouth. "I can't help but notice you're giving our good pal Grips a hard time. Now, the three of us may not have been here long, but we stick up for each other. So maybe you'd like to back off a bit."

Doc gives them both a glare.

"Are you threatening me, Rotmouth? Are you, in all seriousness, threatening your own medic? Do I genuinely have to explain why this is a terrible idea to you?"

"I'm not threatenin' nothin'. But you know... there's more than a few of our old crew here, and more on the way soon. I think it's worth keepin' that in mind before you cross one of us."

Doc just laughs.

"You don't understand how things work around here at all. This is the swamp. If you're in the Marshguards, you've got two choices - you can learn to listen to those of us who know what we're talking about, or you can die out there in the muck. It doesn't matter who you were back in the outside world, even if you've still got connections in here. You don't pick a fight with those who outrank you."

You feel her grip on you loosen, and then she shoves you to the wall. A dagger flashes in front of your face; a warning to stay put, no doubt.

"Especially not the medic. Now, I'll give you one chance to..."

The third Marshguard flings a slicer at Doc's head, which she promptly dodges.

"...to make utter fools of yourselves, evidently," Doc sighs. "Really, Anchor, I thought you were smarter than these two."

"I am," she growls, pulling out another slicer. "They'd waste time letting you talk before striking."

Grips shoves Mary aside, and she quickly runs towards you, as you watch the fight unfold. It turns serious, but watching carefully, you watch Doc make precise strikes with her dagger, and a few moments later, each of the three suddenly collapses.

"Lazy swampleaf," Doc explains, grabbing you both. "It's hard getting the sleeping agent out, but it's the only way some of these fools will understand. I trust you won't give me any cause to use it on you?"

You shake your head.

You hope she doesn't notice you grabbed one of Anchor's slicers. You're getting the distinct feeling that you may want a weapon on you, just in case.

---

You're now Mudviper, and the meeting is going even worse than you hoped.

Razor's convinced you sabotaged the assault, which is accurate, but that's because it was a stupid idea in the first place. Claws is more sympathetic, but she's still upset that Rider vanished on your watch.

Bigfoot's just in a generally bad mood, as always. She never seems to get on with anyone. She's asking questions, but they mostly seem designed to get on your nerves.
And then there's Mantis, who you can never figure out at all.

Naturally, Mantis asked the question you were most unprepared for, which was...

"So are you free after evening patrols"

"Do you have time to spare after this evening's patrols, Mudviper?"

"Oh, hells. Mantis, we've been over this before. I'm not 'troubled' and I don't need to 'unburden myself' in your little confessional. And if you dare try ordering me to..."

"I merely thought, with Rider's disappearance, matters might be weighing on your mind more heavily than usual. I only wished to remind you of the option, should you desire to avail yourself of it."

"Stay on the damn topic, Mantis," Razor growls. "I still want to know what the hell she was doing last night."

"I told you. I warned Rider of a Bogknight infiltration attempt."

"And, in doing so, you got him to send half our force running on a wild goose chase while the infiltrators made it right to our front door. I also can't help but notice that you escaped alone, rather than helping your aides."

"I had important information about the poison. Given that the entire basis for the assault was that someone blamed the Bogknights for our recent troubles, I thought it was quite relevant to get that information back here swiftly."

"You could have used a crow," Bigfoot says. Urgh. She knows perfectly well why you couldn't.

"They guard their roost better than we guard ours. And, for that matter, they check it more often, because they've got more soldiers who can read. Even if I'd taken the risk of sending a crow, it could be days before one of you noticed it."

"Rider would've checked," Claws mutters, barely even talking to you.

"And that would have been very helpful when he was already leading our assault force, wouldn't it. If you ask me, you're all as much to blame for sending him out so recklessly."

"Perhaps we are focused on the wrong issue," Mantis says.

Is he just changing the subject because he doesn't want to account for his vote? You honestly can't tell.

"Based on Mudviper's information, it would appear that the recent poisoning outbreak was not the work of the Bogknights - or at the least, not a plan approved by their captain. In which case, should our most pressing concern not be to determine the actual cause?"

Razor growls.

"You know full well she's being soft on Long."

You clench your fists.

"Are you daring to suggest I would endanger the Marshguards just to protect someone I once knew? This fortress is my home as much as it is yours. I have nothing to go back to. If I betrayed the Marshguards, my only reward would be going back home to languish in a cell for the rest of my life."

"And what if I am suggesting that?" Razor gives the sort of smirk you've learned to despise. "All you've given me in response are words. I want something stronger than that if you're to stay among us."

Well. What else can you offer as an answer?

if you have some hard evidence on you, use it. nothing comes to mind though, at least, not without combing through 12 pages. but if you don't:

pick a finger. look razor dead in the eye and stone-cold chop it off of your hand. do not break eye contact. do not flinch. do not say a word. you can do this

Razor is a bully. Not as bad as the people who sent you here, but still he's just trying to throw his weight around.

You really hate bullies.

He hated that Rider was at the top of the Marshguard food chain, and with the news that he's vanished Razor is trying to throw his weight around. That includes getting rid of the officers closest to Rider, and hopefully anyone who'd follow them. If you can shut him up now, though, his power grab will screech to a halt, and more importantly, you'd preserve Rider's seat.

Corvus isn't the most talented marshguard, but he was loyal to Rider, and he's a decent tactician. You want him to temporary fill in Rider's place on the council. Of course Razor has one of his lackies he wants to fill the position as well...they might have to fight it out...but of course, if you can shame Razor, you could probably ensure it's a fair one.

CHALLENGE HIM TO A DUEL, WE'LL SETTLE THIS

You look Razor directly in the eye.

He's trying to scare you. There's a vacant seat on the council now, and under normal circumstances, you'd be favored to fill it. Razor and Bigfoot might not like you, but they respect your skill. And fundamentally, they wouldn't even be worse off with you taking Rider's place; most of your votes would be the same.

But there's a good deal of blame that can be placed on your shoulders here, and Razor's taking advantage of that. He must mean to put one of his own in the position. And Mantis, disliking ties, will probably swing his way unless there's a credible alternative; then he'll favor some form of test to decide between them. Bigfoot can be counted on to support that, whether Razor does or not.

You don't think there's any chance that alternative candidate will be you. Both your loyalty and your competence have been called into question. And the only one you stand a chance at proving is the former.

Looking directly into Razor's eyes, you reach into your pocket, and pull out a key.

"This is my one belonging from the outside world," you say. "The key to my cell, which I was given in order to escape. Ever since then, I've held onto it, because it's all I have."

Your gloves start to crackle. You grab the key and pull it apart. Electricity surges through the pieces as they fall to the ground.

"And now, I have nothing save the Marshguards."

Razor is clearly upset, but he's also got no response. Nor does anyone else.

Every one of them has their own mementos of their past lives. None of them could imagine doing what you did just now.

It's Bigfoot, out of all of them, who finally breaks the silence.

"I have no doubts about her loyalty. Acquit."

"Acquit!" Claws declares quickly.

Mantis nods.

"Acquit," he says silently.

Razor looks frustrated. But you can tell what he's thinking, and that the vote he's about to cast is sincere, even if he doesn't like it.

"Acquit," Razor growls, just barely holding himself back from spitting out the word.

It's unanimous. Your loyalty is no longer in question.

"Mudviper," Claws says, obviously not wanting Razor to get a word in edgewise. "The command council has concluded that you lack the skill to fill Rider's seat, but that your loyalty is beyond reproach. In light of these facts, I would like to ask. Is there anyone else you would recommend for the vacant seat?"

You've been thinking about this ever since Rider's disappearance, and there's only one answer you can give. Only one person you know who can be counted on.

But will you be able to persuade them to see him in the same light you do?

"Corvus," you say.

"Corvus!" Razor howls. Bigfoot looks angry. Even Claws is taken aback by the idea. Only Mantis doesn't seem to have a reaction - just like him, you note.

"Are we talking about the same Corvus who sent his entire squad to attack three Bogknights, and lost? The same Corvus who crawled back in hours after you did because most of his squad had been tied up? That Corvus, or do we have another one I don't know about?"

"That is the Corvus I am putting forward," you say, unflinching.

"And would you care to tell me why, exactly, we should put him on the council over someone like Crosswinds or even Doc? What possible redeeming qualities could that fool have? I knew you'd suggest someone on Rider's side, but why him, of all people?"

so corvus got a bad squad

Doc has her hands full managing the much lacking medical care at the fortress and Crosswinds can never be found when you need them!

You have 3 reasons for suggesting Corvus:

Unlike EVERY squad leader in the marshguards, Corvus has never lost a single squad member to the swamp. His crew didn't even succumb to the recent poisoning outbreak. He knows that sometimes the better route is patience and surrender can sometimes be the safer choice. That's saying something considering the other members of his squad.

One of Rider's main roles was introducing and training new recruits (with the exceptions of the hand-picked recruits the other council members chose either for...personal gain...or for the elitism that comes from joining a squad of the big 4. Corvus was able to take some of the most worthless recruits we've seen and turn them into a cohesive unit. Heck, he even taught greeneye how to bring out her latent ability! And because of him, every member of his squad has some degree of literacy.

And finally, and most uncommon, like Rider, Corvus has heard the call.

His crime was theft, and but that didn't mean he had to come to the swamp. Corvus chose the swamp and most importantly, Corvus chose the marshguards.

That's your offer, who would you 4 put up?

"Let's begin with the attack on the barge," you say. "It's true that Corvus ordered his whole squad in, rather than leaving reserve members, as he's meant to. It's also true that despite a two-to-one advantage in numbers, he suffered a humiliating loss and was taken prisoner."

You look Razor right in the eye.

"But none of you were there for his debriefing afterwards. Do you know the reason he ordered his whole squad in?"

"No. Why?"

"Because he'd realized how out of shape they were after the storm. He knew they had trouble working together regardless. He thought it better to have everyone on the assault, so that they might learn a thing or two."

"So he was trying to build himself up by bringing his squad down," Bigfoot snarls.

"Hardly. His evaluation of his own conduct was as harsh as anything he had to say about his squad members. When he was done, Rider simply said 'I have nothing to add to your own assessment.' That's why I believe he has the necessary judgement to serve on the council."

There's a pause. Claws, in particular, is looking thoughtful.

"Judgement after the fact is one thing,"  she says. "But his squad still has a poor track record overall. Seems to me that suggests the lessons might be coming too late to do much good."

"They all had poor track records individually. They've improved substantially under Corvus, despite some mishaps. Recall that two of them managed to steal a lifeboat and claim a Bogknight prisoner. Five years ago, when those two were on my squad, I can say with confidence they wouldn't have been able to pull that off even with the best of luck."

"They only had to overpower one Bogknight who was, as I recall, hiding in the boat."

"They had to evade a number of patrols to get to the barge. That took skill. And I'll remind you that Corvus leads one of the only squads where every member can read."

"There's more to the command council than teaching Marshguards to read," Razor snarls. "We have to make crucial decisions about the safety of all our troops."

"And Corvus is exceptionally good at that. Look at every squad he's served on - they never lost a single member while he was around. Because he knows how to be cautious."

"And what about the attack on the barge?" Bigfoot asks, with an accusatory tone. "Seems to me that having five members fall in the muck with no one on standby to rescue them isn't that safe."

"Not really, no. But ensuring they were all competent swimmers before doing that makes it considerably less reckless than it would otherwise be."

"What about loyalty?" Mantis asks, speaking up for the first time in a while. "We have just finished evaluating your own loyalty, after all; it seems a more than reasonable question to ask."

"His loyalty?" You smile. "Well, I have an interesting piece of news in that regard. Corvus has heard the call of the swamp."

The room falls silent as everyone contemplates this.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Razor asks, finally. "The call of the swamp is why the Bogknights fight us. It's a mark against him, in my view."

"If he faced a serious charge in his homeland, it would be," you agree. "But he's a mere thief. Even if he were on the run, he'd be able to join the Bogknights, and if anything it would be easier. Yet he came to us, despite hearing the call."

Again, no one responds.

"And I'll remind you that Rider heard the call, as he was fond of reminding us. Not to mention that Corvus has never revealed any information while he was captured. I am more than convinced of his loyalty."

"You make an interesting case, Viper," Claws says. "But I'm not quite convinced. I'll have to take a closer look at him before I can lend my support."

"One last point," you say. "I would remind you that Captain Long is missing. There's a chance that Ash will take command of the Bogknights. If that happens, you'll be bringing Corvus in here on a daily basis anyhow, as no one knows Ash like he does."

Mantis nods.

"The case has been made. I will not advance Corvus as a candidate formally just yet, but I will definitely give him consideration. We need not fill Rider's seat today; after all, he may yet return to us, if your theory is true."

"Fine. I'll look into his capabilities myself," Razor says, sounding defeated. "I don't expect much, but perhaps he'll surprise me."

"Is that all, then?" you ask. "Can I finally leave?"

"No," Bigfoot says. "There's one more issue we need to discuss with you first."

"And what would that be?"

this kid with the one arm

"The one-armed prisoner," Bigfoot says. "I keep my ears open, and I know Rider's been interested in that newmuck. What I don't know is why. And as Rider's most trusted officer, I imagine you have some idea."

Hells. You really don't want to explain this. But Rider's not here to object - of course, that's why she's raising it now, isn't it.

"I would be betraying Rider's trust were I to answer that," you say. "Do you have a specific security concern regarding that you would like me to address, or are you simply prying in another Marshguard's personal matters?"

"She's got a point, Bigfoot," Claws interjects. "I don't go digging up your past, that's how we do things. So why's this a big deal?"

"Because Rider has been giving out missions which have the primary purpose of capturing a single Bogknight, one who is too new to have any information of value to us," Bigfoot replies. "If these missions are being conducted for personal reasons..."

"And which missions would these be?" you ask. "Marshall's only been here a few days, there can't have been that many. If you mean Corvus' raid, the intent there was to gather supplies. It's just that Marshall arrived that same day."

"What about the mission you just returned from?" Bigfoot snarls. "Seems odd to me that you'd get yourself captured."

"We were caught by surprise. And our main objective was gathering intelligence about the poison. Are you telling me that you suspect something else happened?"

"Well, I do," Razor interjects. "You can't tell me you didn't talk with Long."

"In order to find out what he had to say about the poison. Once I knew that, I made my escape. I don't see what you're getting at; we've already discussed my loyalties."

"And what else did you tell him?"

"I told him we were concerned about the possibility of poison. But I didn't tell him about our problems; only about the eggs taken from the breeding grounds. I didn't consider that sensitive information. Feel free to take issue with that judgement."

Razor steps in close.

"And when you told him we were concerned, did you tell him we were debating whether to attack?"

You did, in fact. But should you really say that here, considering the circumstances? How should you answer?

"How else would I have convinced him to let me escape?"

It was an exchange of information. Your goal was to gather evidence about the poison and Long delivered. The threat of an attack was the one card you had to play. You used it to get your info and suggested you could avert an attack if he released you. You'd return to base with information in hand, mission success.

You didn't know that the attack had been approved, nor that they'd send half of a weakened force out while a group of Bogknights crept towards the fortress. Not to mention they ordered the attack without waiting for you to return with actual information.