Stormwind City, Sunday night.
After a lengthy trial in Stormwind Keep that stretched deep into the night - or rather early morning, Sid Howler, chief of security at the Pig and Whistle and long associated with the Old Town group known as the Curs, was found guilty on two of six charges brought against him.
I was unfortunately not there as I had been informed I was not allowed at the trial - something I am SO sad about. Now instead of sitting on a chair taking notes all night, I had a good sleep and thanks to friends and trusted sources I still got all the information I needed. I call that a win-win.
Howler was convicted of forming an organisation for criminal purposes and resisting arrest.
He was found not guilty of improper distribution of military-grade weaponry, endangering the King’s subjects, accessory to grievous bodily harm, and attempted murder.
The sentence, delivered by Sir Darius Agrovane, was ten lashes at a post and a period of community service, the precise nature of which is to be issued later by summons from the court.
So ends, at least for now, one of the stranger chapters in the Pig and Whistle affair. Though given the number of unresolved questions left lying around the courtroom like spilled ink and broken chair legs, I would not advise anyone to mistake “verdict delivered” for “matter concluded.”
Howler pleaded guilty only to resisting arrest, specifically in relation to Lieutenant Quill Lethryss. To all other charges, he pleaded innocent.
The Crown, represented by Miss Flowershroud, presented Howler as the guiding hand behind organised criminality in Old Town, arguing that his leadership of the Curs had enabled smuggling, violence, intimidation, and the undermining of lawful authority within the city.
The defence, led by Atrapa Roald, argued that the Crown had failed to prove most of the specific charges brought before the court. While not denying that individual members or former members of the Curs had committed crimes, the defence repeatedly challenged whether those acts had been ordered, directed, or knowingly authorised by Howler himself.
That distinction would prove decisive.
The Weapons Charge
The first charge concerned the alleged improper distribution of military-grade weaponry.
The prosecution claimed that former employees had come forward to describe weapons being obtained or moved, including goblin arms from Undermine and a cannon allegedly smuggled from Ka’resh. These claims formed one of the more dramatic parts of the Crown’s case.
However, when witnesses were called, the evidence became less firm than the opening statement had suggested.
Captain Jane Thompson of Whiskey Company confirmed that during a search of the Pig and Whistle, a tunnel had been discovered in the cellar. She also confirmed that she had not previously known of the tunnel, adding, in one of the evening’s more practical observations, that she was “a guard, not a building inspector.”
Yet Thompson did not confirm that the tunnel had been used for military-grade weapon smuggling. Under questioning from the defence, she further stated that Whiskey Company had no reports of smuggling activity from Northshire in the last calendar year, and no known connection between Howler, Old Town, and the Twilight Hammer or Twilight’s Blade.
Quill Lethryss testified that she had briefly been part of the Curs and had taken part in a delivery involving small weapons referred to as “dusters.” However, she also confirmed under cross-examination that she had not personally witnessed the tunnel being used to transport military-grade weaponry.
Kyrin, another former employee, admitted to having smuggled Black Blood weaponry while employed by the Curs, but stated that this was done on her own initiative and not on Howler’s orders.
In the end, the court found that while there was evidence of smuggled goods being transported by members of the Curs, the Crown had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that the weapons were military-grade, nor that Howler personally authorised or directed their distribution to enemies of the Crown.
Sir Darius stated plainly that suspicion, however strong, could not substitute for proof.
On that charge, Howler was found not guilty.
Endangering the King’s Subjects
The second charge concerned endangering the King’s subjects.
The prosecution sought to connect Howler and the Curs to threats and possible violence beyond Old Town, including concerns around the Slaughtered Lamb and the sheltering of Kyrin after she left the Curs.
Siranorae Stargazer, a private of the Penal Legion assigned in connection with the Slaughtered Lamb, testified that the Curs had caused concern and that the Battalion had been made aware of potential threats. However, she also described several of the relevant acts as isolated rather than clearly orchestrated by Howler.
Her testimony, colourful as it was, did not establish that Howler himself intended to endanger the King’s subjects.
The court found that the witness accounts were not fully corroborated and that sufficient evidence of intent, tied specifically to Howler, had not been provided.
On that charge, Howler was found not guilty.
The Criminal Organisation Charge
The charge that did stick was forming an organisation for criminal purposes.
On this matter, the court found that the Curs existed as an organised body under Howler’s leadership. Though several witnesses testified that members acted independently on occasion, Sir Darius concluded that the overall weight of evidence demonstrated a structured hierarchy engaged in repeated criminal enterprise.
This included smuggling, unlawful contracts, organised violence, and other illegal activity.
The court was satisfied that Howler knowingly engaged with and directed such an organisation for criminal purposes.
On this charge, Howler was found guilty.
This is perhaps the central point of the verdict. The court did not accept that every criminal act committed by every Cur could automatically be placed at Howler’s feet. It did, however, accept that the Curs were more than a loose collection of colourful Old Town personalities with poor impulse control and a suspicious fondness for tunnels.
The court found them to be an organised criminal body, and Howler responsible for leading it.
The Reed Charges
Two of the most serious charges concerned Knight-Captain Bella Reed.
Howler had been accused of accessory to grievous bodily harm against Reed and attempted murder of Reed.
The defence called Private Joaseph Faulkson, who gave testimony concerning the first raid. Faulkson stated that he arrived after violence had already begun, and that he found tavern patrons in a stand-off with masked individuals who were reluctant to identify themselves.
He further testified that the warrant produced that night was later found to have been signed by someone without the authority to do so. According to Faulkson, the attempted removal of Howler under such circumstances could lean toward the definition of kidnapping, and a person facing removal by unidentified personnel under an invalid warrant might reasonably feel threatened.
The court did not rule that every action taken by Howler or those around him was lawful. It did, however, find that the Crown had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Howler ordered, encouraged, or intentionally assisted the injuries suffered by Reed.
On the charge of accessory to grievous bodily harm, Howler was found not guilty.
The attempted murder charge failed for similar reasons. Sir Darius stated that attempted murder requires proof not merely of violence, but of a specific intent to unlawfully kill. The court found that this essential element had not been proven.
On the charge of attempted murder, Howler was found not guilty.
Resisting Arrest
The final charge was resisting arrest.
Howler had already pleaded guilty to one count of resisting arrest, specifically in relation to Quill Lethryss. The court accepted that plea.
Sir Darius found that Howler had physically resisted officers seeking to execute a warrant, including struggling with Lethryss and using force to prevent detention. The court determined that this resistance, under colour of lawful authority, was unjustified and unlawful.
On this charge, Howler was found guilty.
Sentence
Having found Howler guilty on two of the six charges, the court noted that both convictions fell under grade five offences. Sir Darius sentenced Howler to ten lashes at a post and a period of community service, with the details of that service to be determined and issued by summons.
Howler accepted the sentence with resignation.
“Mmh. So be it, ’en,” he said.
The court then adjourned.
After many hours of testimony, objections, procedural disputes, unexpected witness turns, and enough references to tunnels to make one wonder whether half of Stormwind is standing on a cheese riddled with holes, the legal outcome is now clear.
Sid Howler was not convicted as a would-be murderer.
He was not convicted as a distributor of military-grade weaponry.
He was not convicted of endangering the King’s subjects.
He was not convicted of directing grievous bodily harm against Knight-Captain Reed.
He was, however, convicted as the leader of a criminal organisation and for resisting arrest.
That leaves Stormwind with a verdict, a sentence, and a great many remaining questions.
The court has spoken on Sid Howler’s guilt - but it has not, however, answered every question raised by the road that brought him there. In future articles I will go into more details about the trial as well as reactions from people involved.