Stormwind City, Sunday night.

There are trials, and then there are trials that begin with allegations of military-grade weapon smuggling, proceed through surprise witnesses, tunnels, Black Blood weaponry, self-incriminating former employees, a great many objections, and eventually leave half the courtroom wondering whether the prosecution had brought a case, a fishing net, or merely a very ambitious collection of rumours with shoes on.

Sid Howler’s trial was one of the latter.

As reported previously, Howler was ultimately found guilty of forming an organisation for criminal purposes and resisting arrest, while being cleared of the more dramatic charges of attempted murder, accessory to grievous bodily harm, endangering the King’s subjects, and improper distribution of military-grade weaponry.

But the verdict alone does not capture the evening, so here is first part of a deeper more in-depth look at the trial.

The judgement tells us where the court landed. The trial itself tells us how it stumbled, shuffled, objected, corrected itself, took another sip of water, and eventually swam to a sort of shore.

This article is the first of two looking more closely at how the case unfolded. We begin with the Crown’s presentation, its witnesses, and the strange journey from tunnels beneath the Pig and Whistle to a courtroom where most of the prosecutioners witnesses said the exact opposite of what you would expect of a prosecutors witness.

A Serious Opening, Followed by Immediate Questions

The prosecution, led by Miss Flowershroud, opened by laying out six charges against Sid Howler: improper distribution of military-grade weaponry, endangering the King’s subjects, forming groups or organisations for criminal purposes, accessory to greater bodily harm, attempted murder, and resisting arrest.

Howler pleaded innocent to all charges except resisting arrest, which he admitted in relation to Quill Lethryss.

The Crown’s opening on the first charge was striking. The prosecution claimed that Howler’s own employees had come forward, at great personal cost, to expose illegal arms activity. These alleged accounts included goblin arms and technology stolen from Undermine, as well as a cannon supposedly smuggled from K’aresh.

A cannon from K’aresh is not exactly a misplaced butter knife. One would assume that if such a thing had been dragged across continents, hidden under floorboards, passed through Old Town, and tied to an organised criminal network, the Crown would have arrived with evidence strong enough to flatten a small hill.

Instead, the defence almost immediately asked a very practical series of questions: where was the weapon, had it been recovered, was there evidence Howler had been in Undermine, and had the defence received the statement being referenced?

That question of disclosure became one of the evening’s first recurring problems.

The prosecution stated that Howler had been informed of the charges. The defence replied that being told about charges was not the same as receiving the actual evidence and statements required to prepare properly. The judge noted that opening statements were not themselves evidence, but also indicated that if material existed as part of the prosecution bundle, it should already have been served.

It was an early sign that the trial would not simply be about whether Sid Howler had broken the law or not, but also about whether the Crown could clearly show what it had, when it had shared it, and what any of it actually proved.

Captain Thompson and the Tunnel

The prosecution’s first witness was Captain Jane Thompson of Whiskey Company. A, in theory, sensible choice. Thompson had overseen a search of the Pig and Whistle and could speak to what had been found there.

It became clear very quickly, however, that Thompson had not expected to be called. She stated that she had not organised the raid, but had ended up overseeing it. The prosecution appeared to present her as someone whose “thorough efforts” supported the Crown’s case.

Thompson confirmed that she had taken charge of the search of the Pig and Whistle. She also confirmed that a tunnel was discovered in the cellar, apparently (apparently? was this never confirmed?) leading in the direction of Northshire.

This was the moment the prosecution appeared to want. A tunnel beneath the Pig and Whistle, in a case involving alleged smuggling, is certainly the kind of thing that makes a courtroom lean forward.

Unfortunately for the Crown, a tunnel on its own is not proof of much.

When asked whether she had previous awareness of the tunnel, Thompson answered:

“No. I’m a guard. Not a building inspector.”

That answer may not have advanced the legal argument much, but it did briefly restore my faith in plain speech.

The prosecution argued that the mere presence of such a tunnel beneath a city previously infiltrated by dangerous enemies was concerning, especially in light of claims that the passage had been used for more than weapon smuggling.

The defence then did what the defence repeatedly did throughout the night: it narrowed the question from what might be worrying to what could actually be proven.

Was having a tunnel illegal if properly permitted and structurally sound? Thompson said that, as far as she knew, it was not.

Could Thompson confirm who owned the Pig and Whistle? She could not.

The defence stated that the legal owners were Tallulah and Ally Blackbriar, then asked whether anything found in relation to the tunnel would automatically be Howler’s responsibility. Thompson answered that if illegal items or activities were due to him, then yes, but that responsibility would also fall jointly upon the owners.

That is a much less dramatic answer than “the tunnel proves Sid Howler’s underground empire.”

The defence then asked whether there were any known connections between Howler, Old Town, and the Twilight Hammer or Twilight’s Blade. Thompson said no.

Had Whiskey Company received any reports of smuggling activities from Northshire in the last calendar year?

Again, no.

So by the end of Thompson’s testimony, the Crown had established that a tunnel existed beneath the Pig and Whistle. It had not established that the tunnel was illegal, that Howler owned the building, that the tunnel was used for military-grade weapons, that there were smuggling reports from Northshire, or that Howler was tied to the earlier cultist incursions invoked by the prosecution.

As first witnesses go, Captain Thompson did not sink the Crown’s case entirely.

But she did poke several clean, cannonball-sized holes through the ship.

Enter Quill Lethryss

Next came Quill Lethryss.

I shall attempt to describe this testimony in a manner suitable for publication, though I confess the temptation to simply write “Quill happened” and move on is almost overwhelming.

Lethryss was called by the prosecution, but first requested to approach the bench to discuss something with the judge regarding the case. There was some irregular discussion around her role, including the possibility of her joining the legal side of matters after giving testimony. The court allowed matters to proceed, while reminding all present that witnesses were to address counsel through the court.

That reminder would prove necessary.

The prosecution asked Lethryss to give her account of operations involving smuggling. The defence objected that the question was too broad and did not relate clearly to the specific charge regarding military-grade weaponry. The objection was sustained.

Before the prosecution could properly reframe, Lethryss began explaining anyway.

She stated that she had previously joined the Curs for a brief period, perhaps a month, and that during that time Sid (Howler) had asked her to assist with a delivery. The items were small guns he had allegedly called “dusters,” involving small black pellets. She said that she and another individual, Hal, delivered them to a group in the Recluse.

The prosecution then tried to narrow the matter to large-calibre weapons, cannons, or munitions. Lethryss confirmed experience with smaller weapons designed for discretion.

Asked whether these arms were brought in via the tunnels on Sid’s orders, she answered that she did not know. She knew of the tunnel’s existence, but could not confirm or deny its use for the weapons.

That should perhaps have been the end of her usefulness on the military-grade tunnel question.

It was not.

The prosecution then shifted toward another matter, asking about people escaping guard custody. Lethryss herself noted that this appeared to concern a different charge. The defence objected. The judge directed the prosecution to relate the question to a relevant charge.

The proceedings then entered a foggy stretch in which Ally Blackbriar, the Pig and Whistle, smuggling, violence, ownership, and escape from custody were all pulled into the same net. The prosecution argued that the Pig and Whistle was now in question as a smuggling ring, that it had tunnels beneath it, and that violence had occurred there.

The defence repeatedly objected that the actual charge was improper distribution of military-grade weaponry, not merely “things happened at the Pig.”

Eventually, Lethryss was asked whether anyone had been caught in smuggling operations she personally saw.

Her answer was:

“Not in my own. No; the rest I am uncertain.”

That answer did not exactly put a cannon in Howler’s hands.

The prosecution did manage to draw from Lethryss that she had helped Sid’s people escape during her time with the Curs, and that Sid had asked her to “check” on them. However, under cross-examination, she confirmed two important points: she had not personally witnessed the tunnel being used for military-grade weaponry, and Howler had not personally instructed her to attack guards in the incident concerning Ally Blackbriar.

Instead, she said a fight escalated after the guard involved began “frantically throwing his shield.”

Quill’s testimony gave the Crown some suggestion that Howler directed deliveries and that Curs activity included weapons and interference with custody. But it also gave the defence exactly what it needed to weaken the more specific charges: no direct witness to military-grade weapons moving through the tunnel, no confirmation of the tunnel’s use for that purpose, and no clear instruction from Howler to attack guards in the matter raised.

The prosecution had called her, but by the end, one was not entirely sure whether that had been strategy, optimism, or a tragic misunderstanding of Quill as a legal instrument.

Kyrin Takes the Stand

If Quill’s testimony was chaotic, Kyrin’s was at least chaotic with confidence.

Kyrin introduced herself with no rank, no title, no last name, and as a former employee of Sid. When asked about her duties, she answered that they involved punching people in the face, mostly Curs, because they annoyed her.

This was perhaps not the most conventional employment description ever entered into court, but it had the virtue of clarity.

The prosecution asked whether she had taken part in organised crime.

She said yes.

Had she taken part in smuggling?

Not that she remembered.

Had she witnessed smuggling?

Yes.

The questioning then narrowed, after objections, to weaponry and military-grade weaponry. Kyrin eventually stated that the only thing she saw being smuggled was Black Blood weaponry, but that this was done by her.

When asked whether it was done on orders, she said the orders were hers.

The prosecution attempted to tie Kyrin’s actions to the Curs by noting she was still under Howler’s employment at the time. Kyrin answered that this was why it was covered by her immunity deal.

That sentence managed to be both legally useful and profoundly unhelpful, depending on which side of the courtroom one was sitting.

On the violence against Kyrin, the prosecution pressed the idea that she had been beaten or pursued after leaving the Curs. Kyrin clarified that the Curs had wanted to beat her, but that no actual beating occurred. She said she fled, suffered wounds outside Sid’s residence, and was shot by “Bella Baneberry,” identified during the questioning as one of Sid’s employees.

But when asked who ordered the beating, Kyrin answered:

“No one.”

She described the situation as chaotic, involving smoke thrown in a room and some present Curs charging at her. On cross-examination, the defence asked whether those who tried or allegedly tried to harm her acted on their own free will and without instruction from Howler.

Kyrin confirmed that, adding that she was “pretty sure he looked at me menacingly,” but that this did not sound like proof.

The defence also asked whether her own habit of punching other Curs had been her own decision rather than something ordered by Howler. Kyrin said it was of her own discretion and to her “utmost pleasure,” and that she would do it again.

The prosecution did manage to establish that Howler gave orders at times, including orders to assault someone “at times,” according to Kyrin. But when asked whether Howler ordered her to smuggle, Kyrin said no, adding that this would have been a terrible idea because she would get lost.

That may be one of the more persuasive defences against being used as a smuggler I have heard.

By the end of Kyrin’s testimony, the prosecution had established that former Curs did commit crimes, that weapons were smuggled, and that violence existed around Howler’s circle. The defence, however, had established that these acts were often independent, chaotic, or personal, rather than clearly ordered by Howler.

In other words: yes, Old Town contains criminals.

The harder question remained whether Sid Howler was legally responsible for the specific crimes charged.

Stargazer and the Slaughtered Lamb

The prosecution next called Private Siranorae Stargazer of the Penal Legion, connected to the Slaughtered Lamb. Her testimony concerned alleged threats, possible violence connected to Kyrin’s sheltering, and the broader question of whether Howler’s people posed a danger outside Old Town.

Stargazer testified that she was not employed at the Slaughtered Lamb, but assigned there by her unit following rumours concerning the establishment and in order to prevent regulars, tenants, and patrons from being harmed by an angry mob. What? Why is a military unit tasked with this? Unfortunately no one questioned it so we may never know.

The prosecution asked about threats toward the Lamb because it was allegedly sheltering one of Howler’s former employees. Stargazer said that after Kyrin’s return, some employees rushed in despite being told not to show force, and that Howler “bumbled behind.” She also stated that a bomb threat was pronounced later by Sid if Kyrin were hosted at the Lamb, but added that she had previously dismissed it as a manner of speaking, much as telling someone to “go to Fel” does not necessarily imply intent to throw them into a Fel pit.

In a city where half the population threatens to murder the other half twice a day but rarely acts on it that is a valid and important point.

Stargazer described the Curs in sharply unflattering terms: uneducated lowlifes, miscreants, and a group prone to smuggling, threats, and random action. She suggested the Lamb was placed on alert due to possible danger, but repeatedly distinguished between Sid directly ordering matters and his people acting unpredictably.

Perhaps most notably, when asked whether she concluded these acts were isolated or part of a broader organisation associated with Howler, she answered that they were isolated acts. If Sid was guilty of something, she said, it was being a negligent old man recruiting lost souls so they had a place to live in Old Town.

That is hardly glowing character testimony but it is also not exactly the portrait of a criminal mastermind with every blade, fist, boot, and explosive device moving precisely by his command.

On cross-examination, the defence explored whether the Slaughtered Lamb had hired Howler’s security services. Stargazer confirmed that Niyay had done so on her own, against the judgement of many, and that it had gone peacefully at the time because there was no sign of Kyrin.

The defence also asked whether Stargazer knew if Howler currently possessed bombs or explosive devices. After several objections and rephrasings, Stargazer said she did not know. To her, Howler worked with boots, leather, and nails. She had not witnessed any bombs, though she would not say he had none, as that would require proper investigation.

Once again, the pattern repeated.

The witness painted Howler’s circle as dangerous, unruly, and potentially criminal. But when pressed for direct proof of the specific charges, the answer often became uncertainty, speculation, or activity by individuals other than Howler himself.

What the Crown Proved, and What It Did Not

By the time the prosecution rested, the Crown had shown several things.

It showed that the Curs were a real organised group.

It showed that members and former members had engaged in criminal acts.

It showed that weapon deliveries had happened.

It showed that Black Blood weaponry had been smuggled by Kyrin.

It showed that the Pig and Whistle had a tunnel.

It showed that Howler’s name and influence loomed over several Old Town incidents like a bad smell in a damp cellar.

What it struggled to show was something narrower and more legally necessary: that Howler personally ordered or authorised the specific most serious charges brought against him.

Did the Crown prove that Howler distributed military-grade weaponry to enemies of the Crown?

Not convincingly.

Did it prove that he intended to endanger the King’s subjects?

Not clearly.

Did it prove, at this stage, that he ordered the harm or attempted murder of Knight-Captain Reed?

Not through the prosecution’s witnesses.

Instead, much of the Crown’s own evidence seemed to establish a more complicated picture: a criminal or semi-criminal Old Town organisation, led by Howler, populated by people who frequently acted on their own initiative, sometimes violently, sometimes foolishly, and sometimes in ways that even their own former associates struggled to explain.

In other words, A tavern full of trouble is not the same as proof of attempted murder.

A tunnel is not proof of military-grade weapons.

A former employee confessing to smuggling on her own initiative is not proof that her employer ordered it. Especially not when she herself got an immunity deal with the crown.

A witness calling someone a demented old man surrounded by miscreants may be insulting, but it is not, by itself, a conviction.

The Crown did eventually secure a conviction against Howler for leading a criminal organisation. But the prosecution’s own route there was neither clean nor elegant.

It was full of objections, drifting questions, witnesses who corrected the premise of the question, and moments where the defence appeared to gain more from the Crown’s witnesses than the Crown did.

Next up is the second half of the trial which turns from tunnels and former employees to the first Pig and Whistle raid, the invalid warrant, masked operatives, the submitted statements, Howler’s own testimony, and the allegations concerning black sites, Void torture, and Knight-Captain Reed.