Without a word, Sealvach leaves the tower and passes by Arekhel who is fast asleep along the length of a fallen log. Without his sword, the Gambler's hands are free and cursing under his breath, he pulls forth a pack of cards from inside his cloak and heads away from Gwalchmai to the other side of the hill out of view.

Upon the Guard Captain's orders, Gwalchmai aids Targon and Ohmarr bury the dead men beneath a cairn of stones and rubble by the tower walls. Maleg stands by but does not go to aid the militia men.

Billy meanwhile runs upstairs after the departing warriors, congratulating them on their brave fight. Both Relg and Valdo ignore him however.

Gwalchmai soon follows and after passing Boldor, enters the room to see the trial of the traitor Urmahd. Billy is busy gabbling just in front of him:
"Why masters you have still not got his tongue to wag! Can't we just leave him here with the walking dead! If they kill him at least he won't be alone when he comes back! They can have tea parties and the like! Oh, I wonder what happens to his soul? Does it ever find rest?"

With no one paying attention to him, Billy soon ceases his mutterings and feigning disinterest, starts to examine the walls around as Lochan leaps forward to crush the words from Urmahd's very lips.

"Guards!" shouts Valdo seeing the action, "Restrain those men!" He points at both antagonists and the militia men jump forward to separate Lochan from the traitor. The young Ranger tries to break free a strangled curse ready on his lips as he is pulled roughly back from Urmahd who sniggers and stamps his feet at the other man. In a more normal tone, the Guard Captain continues:
"Lochan, come here. I need to speak urgently with you."

Lochan grudgingly complies, ignoring the object of his hatred further. They step back out of earshot and speak in hushed tones as Coru arrives from downstairs. "Sir, I have a request. I wish to express my opinion of the prisoner..." Relg hangs back, clearly with something to say but waits for Lochan to finish. 

As the two men talk, Froin watches the interrogation continue. Tempers flaring, very few clear heads. "...Vagabonds, Thieves!" The Dwarf hears this, and almost shows signs of pain, but they are hidden well behind his thick beard. In a carefully steady voice he speaks once more: "I will repeat again, Urmahd. For your benefit. You cannot change the outcome of your destiny now but by Mahal, you better tell us what you know of the Szreldor attack and what part you took in it or you will not live long enough to even think on it."

Suddenly the prisoner gets to his feet in a hurry and stands facing the Dwarf, clearly angry. He still leans against the wall however for support. "What right have you, Dwarf, to demand of me in this way? Eh? What right? I speak not to those that speak or stay silent when it suits them and shield their doors or raise prices whenever it pleases them or their King? Huh! Too long have the Dwarves held sway over the fortunes of the Northern peoples and kept them in thrall of the only source of Iron hereabouts. No,
I will not bow to your demands!" The man crosses his arms and stares at the Dwarf, mutterings of confusion sound from those militia men who have heard his words. Froin feels the eyes of at least some of them carefully regarding him anew.

Meraina and Heladil motion for Froin to back off a bit as Raddish comes forward once more. They regard the Hobbit Ambassador with interest as he tries to evince information from the man before them.

"Excuse me, Sir Urmahd," Raddish says with a soft tone, "but I would wish to ask you some questions that I think you may need to answer." Before Urmahd can answer him, the Hobbit continues: "I met with a person who claimed to be your half-brother." Urmahd shows shock and Raddish nods before adding: "This was all before we met in these unlucky circumstances. Now, he claimed that you stole money and jewelry from your foster mother to finance your travels."

Urmahd stands unbelieving, staring at the Hobbit as do most of the others in the room so Raddish quickly continues: "...so I think it would be best if we checked up on this tale before we return 'your' goods," he pauses for emphasis, "because I believe there could be something unusual in the way you may have acquired them!" 

Urmahd splutters a quick reply:
"What you... he says is false! He never got on with me, always was against me. He just wants more for himself, ungrateful wretch. Well that is just fine because I plan never to see them all again!" Urmahd spits to the floor.

Raddish answers:
"I don't know if it is false or not, but if the others agree, I will check before returning your goods as you call them. And let me give you a suggestion. You have a good chance to live as a free man if you cooperate with us, instead of making petty deals. The Elf Heladil at least has given his word. Think about it."

The traitor looks around and sees the reaction of those around to his recent words and calms himself before adding: "It is true that I am not like some of you. My foster mother was indeed a woman from the south and I do have a half-brother, son of a dog that he is!" He spits on the ground at his feet before continuing:
"My true mother was a Szreldor slave in Szrel Arkasa in the reign of the King's father, Maldor IV. I don't know my father and don't know my own early history - as if I would tell you scum anyway!" he suddenly shouts vehemently.

The guards tighten their grip upon Urmahd and force him to quieten. He struggles weakly but is held fast. He chooses to continue: "Well, I must have been an orphan, taken in by the goodly northmen of Buhr Alltan, but my looks were always different from the other children and I grew up a bitter youth with few friends. There was little love for me in the family so when I heard of an uncle living far on the borders of this land, I chose at last to leave and find my life elsewhere. They wouldn't have understood my wishes, they had never listened so, yes... I took some money from my parents house so that I could travel to my uncle Keddrun in Buhr Copar but that was many years ago and since, I have repaid for my... loan, many times over. Now do you see, huh? Now you tell me whether it is a crime to seek your own way in life. To start from nothing, with nothing. To make a living for yourself just like everyone else!"

The man shrugs deeply and then lets himself drop to the floor, catching his guards unaware and they lose hold of him. Urmahd does not run however and only crosses his legs and stares at the Hobbit before him, awaiting an answer. Raddish however spots Valdo from the corner of his eye and waits for the Guard Captain to speak.

Valdo shakes his head with a sad smile and pats Lochan's shoulder before straightening up. The others catch a last few words before the two men approach the group once more..." yup, a tricky matter but I promise to support you when the time comes. Now..."

Relg now sees his opportunity to speak with the Guard Captain and leads him aside once more, motioning for Lochan to join them also. "This man has experienced too much physical pain already to see more tortures as a threat. But there is another way. Tie him and blindfold him. He will talk, I assure you. I have a way that might well persuade our prisoner hear to..." he begins to mumble so that the others cannot hear.

After a few moments both Valdo and Lochan smile in agreement and nod at the Gargath's suggestion. Motioning to two of the remaining militia men, Valdo whispers to them a few short words before he waves them away and approaches the others holding Urmahd. They haul the prisoner to his feet once more.

Speaking with raised voice so all in the room can hear clearly, Valdo speaks to the traitor: "It will soon be dark and we must all be on our way, our tasks are not yet over and we have little more time to play word-games with this traitor. I have thought hard on what we should take as our course from now on and it seems we have little choice. If this fool does not wish to bargain hard for his life then so be it. Now, listen close Urmahd, traitor of Buhr Criocha! You are in the lands of my Lord and I am his right arm, therefore what I say here is law to be upheld by those sworn to the allegiance of Lord Mahrdhricks. I say that a traitor who thinks only of his self and does not wish to aid us is of no further use." He points a steady finger at the cowering wastrel before him. "You are obstructing us from our tasks even by your very existence so I say you must be removed. We know of your treachery and that is enough for us. You shall be bound and blindfolded and..."

Urmahd, seeing his death in the eyes of the resolute warrior before him, begins to babble his pleas almost incoherrently and shakes his arms where they are griped to either side by the guards. "Enough!" belows the Guard Captain and motions for two militia men to bind the man's wrists and ankles with stout rope. Heladil and Raddish step back as a third guard holds Urmahd's head from its shaking to tie a thick strip of cloth over his eyes. 

The traitor's wailing increases in volume and one of the militia men gives him a back-handed smack across the jaw that stuns him.

Tying the blindfold tight, Valdo nods and whispers to two of the militia men standing by. None of the group try to stop them when the guards drag the whimpering form across the room to the open hole in the wall. Valdo, Lochan and Relg go with them and two militia men take up stations quickly to either side of the opening. Urmahd recovers and sneezes heavily within the confines of his blindfold before beginning to wail against his gag once more.

"You have caused much death and suffering and for that there is only one answer," speaks Valdo, motioning for the man to be forced to his knees in the crumbled opening, forty feet above the rock strewn ground below. Wind driven rain patters onto Urmahd's upturned face as he struggles in the grip of the militia man behind him: "What, what are you going to do to me? I must have a trial. I will explain everything to your Lord. I..."

"It is too late Traitor! You forfeit your life!" And with that Valdo nods and the militia man pushes Urmahd forward, out of the wall of the building...

...and as he falls forward, a tortured scream erupts from his throat and continues even as the two militia men to either side of the opening grab the material of Urmahd's clothing and haul him backwards into the room once more, throwing him to the floor.

His wailing cry cuts off abruptly and the traitor rolls himself into a ball on the floor, sobbing with fear and relief.

Valdo kneels by the man and pulling a slim dagger from its sheath, pulls away the gag across his mouth and gently raises the man's chin towards him with the flat of the blade and once more demands if the traitor will talk.

"Yes, yes! I will tell you everything. Please, please..." wails the wreck on the floor.

"Speak then or next time there won't be hands to catch you!" answers Relg, snearing.

"I...I," he splutters as Valdo hauls him to his knees by the knot of rope at his back. The man yelps but swallows and continues, staring at the Guard Captain before him.

"Look, I didn't want to get involved with the Szreldor, I have nothing against the people of the northern villages, I lived their myself. I am one of you. They just gave me no choice!" He looks around pleadingly at the resolute faces of his jury and quickly continues: "Listen, I made a bad mistake... two years ago... which has haunted me ever since. I... was working with my uncle Keddrun, selling finished metal goods from the Dwarves of Luspardanrod and I happened to have a gambling debt with a Szreldor chief that I owed. Well they found out I had a supply of weapons ready for one of the Northman Barons... and the Easterlings demanded I pay them off with the weapons. Well, it seemed a good idea and... well after that, I managed to build up quite a deal supplying the arms the Szreldor needed to squash a rebellion of tribes in the east. Unfortunately, Keddrun found out and became furious, claiming that the Szreldor were enemies of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills and would cease all trading with us if they found out... but I had pressure on me from the Easterlings to increase the sales. When I got up the courage to cancel the deal, the next I heard was that my uncle had disappeared. I wondered for a long time what to do... and finally decided to go look for him. I started searching and asked other traders if they had seen them, I even asked the Dwarves even though my relations with them had turned sour but for the sake of my  ncle, I looked. It was then that I was picked up by a Szreldor warband and taken to Szrel Arkasa to the court of Maldor V. I was informed that as of then, my uncle was held in the dungeons of the King under my goodwill, for if I did not conceed my aid to the Szreldor overlords, Keddrun's life would be forfeit. It was blackmail pure and simple."

He pauses to conciously stop his shoulder's from shaking before continuing:
"That was a year ago. I was also told at the time that I would be forever watched and any sign of my speaking out to anyone else would be an immediate sentence of death. I had to comply, it would give me time to think. But I am still thinking and I still don't know what to dio. As of this moment my life as agent for the Tirana Koresh is over and my life is already worthless. Keddrun is probably dead already and I soon will be. That is why I speak of it all to you now. I need protection from the Szreldor and in return may try to drive a dagger into the machinations of the royal court in Szrel Arkasa."

The man sighs and tries to wipe the grime from his forehead with one arm, but failing. A forlorn and dejected heap, he stares out into the falling rain but listens up when Valdo clears his throat to speak: "Your tale is a sorry one traitor, but you still haven't given us course to spare your, as you say, worthless life. How and why did you aid the Szreldor in attacking the northern towns. What is their mission?"

"I was told by another agent to aid the warband of Loruss Gars to infiltrate the northern Buhrs. They did not say why. I was told the plan of using the coffin of my missing uncle to be able to escape before the Szreldor attacks by this same contact. As the lady has said I hid some of the money of my uncles business in the outer wall in Buhr Criocha so that I... could try and secretly aid the people to rebuild their homes. That is why I want my money chest back. It's all my uncle's wealth and there may yet be hope that somehow I can free him from the Szreldor."

Urmahd suddenly bursts into tears, a dishevelled and pathetic figure and wails:
"Do you think I like those Szreldor dogs? Do you think I don't hate myself for being part of them? Every day I see myself in a mirror, a Szreldor pig looks back at me. What can I do? My life is a mess, I am lost!"