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“It is true that he has been... struggling,” said Graves, “and I cannot speak to the veracity of the rumors, but Jackson is indeed still in charge over there.”

Hmm. More forthcoming than Zeff expected, though not by much. “Then why have his men not pushed Abolish back? He should have several subordinates who are capable of dealing with Bloodeye, too.”

“There have been developments in Intar.”

Ah. He’d been wondering if Graves would bring that up. Zeff already knew something about that himself, of course. Vito Sebolt had reported back to Warrenhold about a surprise attack on Livingston Grand Castle in the heart of Andeyal, and then Warrenhold had relayed the information to the Rainlords here.

According to Vito, Abolish had killed several important diplomatic figures and would’ve gotten many more if not for Jackson’s intervention. Apparently, it was the work of Jercash’s men, though the Devil’s Knife himself had not actually been seen there.

“The overall war effort is moving apace,” said Graves. “Winding down, an optimist might say. Abolish has already been driven out of Kavia, Melmoore, and now Vantalay, which only leaves Sair. But Abolish are only the instigators of each conflict. Each front is still in need of Vanguardian protection and oversight for a bit longer, while negotiations are organized and local agitators are dealt with.

“And of course, these waves coming along hasn’t helped anything at all. Now everyone is also busy with rescue operations on top everything else. Meanwhile, the scattered remnants of Abolish have no doubt been consolidating their forces for another major offensive. Taking advantage of the chaos. Numerous false flag attacks have popped up in Intar, attempting to pull the country into the war against Sair.”

That last part was news to Zeff. He hadn’t heard about any other attacks besides the one at Livingston. “False flags? Abolish is attempting to portray us as aggressors now?”

“Indeed. It is almost certainly Jercash’s work, but Jackson has been keeping the narrative under control. Still, the situation there is tenuous. I suspect that Jercash and Bloodeye have already linked up--and moreover, that most of Abolish’s manpower has been funneling straight into Jercash’s hands while the rest of us have been occupied. He seems to be the only active participant remaining from among Abolish’s leadership, so it makes sense that the lower ranks who are still thirsty for war would seek him out instead of the others.”