the V-Badger is cute
I guess Rich is trying to nip all of that Wild Mass Guessing in the bud about a double-double cross with the location of the gate.
Haley is right though.
That fact that Girard expected Soon, a paladin, to break an oath means that he didn't understand how paladin's think.
She is also right again, in that putting the message on top of the gate could actually increace the chances of the gate being found.