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It was also clear, however, that the RPMP really didn't want to side the Vanguard, if at all possible. Why else would they have decided to help the Rainlords run Abolish out of Miro? They were probably worried about inviting the Vanguard in and then never being able to get rid of them.

Like what had happened to Sair.

That was Raul's interpretation of events, anyway. But even after all the intel he'd gathered over the course of this mission, he was sure that he was still missing some of the big picture here.

So he couldn't help himself. When he happened upon a tall building marked "Officer's Quarters," he decided to give it a closer look. He had to wait for the door to open, but that was no great issue. The facility was bustling with activity.

The conversations therein were a bit more interesting to him than the ones outside. There was talk of the war in here, of the progress being made. The officers' morale seemed a bit higher than that of the rank and file. Maybe that wasn't abnormal, though. Raul didn't have much experience with this sort of thing.

Arumoro did, however. Perhaps he would ask the reaper's opinion later, once he wasn't trying to concentrate so hard on listening to a half-dozen other conversations.

At length, he overheard one by the stairs that piqued his curiosity.

"--we don't depart soon, their situation will worsen," someone was saying in Mohssian. "Graves could move against them at any time."

"I disagree," said someone else. "If he abandons Ridgemark, it would allow Abolish to join us there and overrun the RPMP. He wouldn't risk losing the entirety of the South to us."

"You underestimate the capitalist swine. Between the Jailer, the Black Artisan, and the Linebreaker, they have more than enough power to hold Ridgemark without the Vanguard's help."