It seems kinda weird that they didn't know weapon use basics. Perhaps it was some kind of inexperienced guard forces whose position had devolved into something largely ceremonial after long term peace and not actually fighting for a long time due to excellent fortifications of being underground and such, and what fighting skills they still retained weren't suitable for facing monsters, but more along the lines of making minor arrests and dealing with drunks, while Cray's skills were suitable for fighting monsters and generally more serious combat against more serious foes with more variety of body types and tactics and strategies than random minor dwarven criminals and drunks?