Achillas Plots
According to Lord Bernard, Alexander was assumed to immediately sue for peace once his water supply was cut off, thus bringing the current standoff to a swift and decisive end.
Which frankly was a bit too optimistic, but both Lord Bernard and Lord Parker were willing to try it given it had very little risk on their part.
However, over the following days, while work on the underground water sections continued, Achillas managed to turn Lord Parker's thoughts on the matter around, claiming that it was too risky.
"What if Alexander does not capitulate? What if he decides to use the threat on Lady Linda and Master Quentin's lives as a bargaining chip to force us to undam the sections? That would highly complicate matters. We should be prudent."
And urged on by Achillas from behind the scenes, many of Lord Parker's officers too tried their hand at this, saying things such as,