Dialog w/ Tarmana won't progress

[Mah Al Ibara]

This is my second time playing through, but I've encountered a problem I didn't have the first time. I've sided with the Owen, apologized on behalf of Haven, blown up the Thabhlen Pass, told the Mascha that the Owen must be freed, and given General Aquila the order to fight for the Owen, but Tarmana is acting like there's still a problem, and the deal isn't finalized. I know there's more, because he's supposed to ask me to get signed statements from the Ukat and Ahriel.

 

I say "What is your offer?" and here's how the dialog goes:

He says I can enter the Vol if it's to fight the Mascha.

"Your cause is just. We will help you now."

Tarmana looks worried.

"What is wrong?"

Tarmana says he's heard we only fight for vassals, and asks if I can really help him.

"I might be able to convince General Aquila to help you right now." (In fact, Aquila's army has already marched.)

"Go talk to him [actually it's her, dude]. If you really think you can convince him, you should." Debate breaks out, conversation ends.

 

Obviously I did something differently this time, but I'm not sure what. Last time they became vassals, and signed a pact to that effect. There are no longer any conversation options with Aquila that would seem to advance this process. Is this a bug?

[Randomizer]

The sequence should be:

Speak to Owens in Mandraka about deal and you don't need to apologize

Blow up Thabhlen Pass

Go back to Mandraka and report the blow up

Go to Vol Gates to give General Aquila his orders

 

The signed statements is from the Vol and Ahriel as one of the four possible Borgen tokens.

[Mah Al Ibara]

Thank you. I'm not sure the apology makes any difference, because I apologized last time, too, and it worked out fine. I think I may have given Aquila her orders before reporting the blow up? But when I walk into Madraka, the people all cheer me, so they know about the blow up. Thabhlen Pass doesn't come up in conversation options with Tarmana anymore, so I don't know what I can do at this point to get back on course.

[Mah Al Ibara]

Well, I found that if I went back and said "We will only fight for a vassal," the dialog finally progressed, which is weird, since Tarmana had already made clear he did not want Vol to become a vassal. And if, in the next dialog box, I say "I can't ask you to become a vassal," we end up in the same deadlock. This guy really wants to be my vassal, while insisting he does not want that. This time I saved just before the conversation, so I tried again and said "Mom wants you to be her vassal," and that worked. So now he asks me to destroy the gates of Thabhlen, so it seems I jumped the gun on that one. So I end that conversation, start another immediately, report about the gates, and everything goes smoothly from there. Weirdly, he never asks for the signed statements from the Ukat and Ahriel this time. *shrug*

[Mah Al Ibara]

Doh! I was mixing up Tarmana and King Borgen. It was Borgen who wanted the written statements from the Vol and Ahriel.