Thanks for the reply. A couple more thoughts:
The rank/position of Captain is currently vacant, and was being primed for Oswyn. It was really just a matter of him wanting to accept the rank and proceed with the formalities to make it official.
OK, I see. This could use a little more clarity.
As for the reason for letting Angus go, I thought it was pretty clear that Angus used his leverage to reveal who had the Dagger stolen. He did give Angus his word that he'd let him go, and so my goal was to also use that decision to convey to the player that Oswyn tries to be an honorable man despite being somewhat conflicted at times.
I understood the conversation, yeah. I mentioned it because regardless of his reasoning, it's a very rogue (maybe unlawful, even) action that he commits to with little hesitation and which seems unlikely to play well with the emperor, who is absolutely furious over the theft. It's not really what I would expect from a committed soldier and future captain, but if that is your intended takeaway, that's fine. Along with our other data points, we can draw some conclusions from it.
I'm trying to put my finger on what's tripping me up here. I think maybe I wasn't sure if I was meant to read him as conflicted or not, or in what scope. His comments at the cemetery have more of an uncomfortable "warrior in peacetime" tone.
I'm making this sound like way more of a big deal than it actually is. Sorry.
With regards to his association with Oswyn, Emperor Junon does say to Bayard during the meeting in the throne room: "Bayard, I assume you have no qualms about working with an old friend?" I'm not sure if that's enough to drive the point home. But I figured that, along with how candid Bayard and Oswyn are with one another, would be enough to convey to the player that they grew up together. Again, the scene can probably use some work to be more to be either explicit or even implicit in more ways.
That specific line can also be taken as court sarcasm, which was actually my first instinct as I didn't recall his name from the cemetery; they could be hated enemies and the entire exchange could be written the exact same way (though their discussion outside the chamber dispels that consideration). I think concluding that they grew up together is a bit of a jump (I didn't get that), but I did gather from everything given that they were at least friends or former colleagues, if sometimes a bit contentious with each other.