The atmosphere in the dungeon was grim for the entrapped spies. Swven's and Landel's faces were stoic, they did not even feel the slighest bit of trouble in torturing their own kin.

  "You will answer my questions, now won't you?" Swven repeated.

  The youngling still was not sure so the captain signalled Landel. The latter was about to amputate the other hand of the youngling's brother when he shouted:

  "Wait! Wait! I will speak..." He could look at his brother being tormented anymore.

  "Good decision." Swven said.

  They were able to extract vital information from the two. The interrogation was executed perfectly and now Captain Swven had acquired quite a useful pawn. He had managed to do something that should have been done the first time Harwin and his party took control of town-hall.

  One month had passed since the unfortunate assassination attempt. Farelen had not regained his senses in that timeframe. As for the rest of the party, they had remained safe for the most part. Under the protection of Captain Swven and the precautions undertook by Captain Viyetral, all the preparations were officially in order. All that was left now was the execution of the plan.

  The council-men were all anxious as the agreed upon time had finally arrived, but to their surprise, the captains had not made any new moves. After a few more days of no movement, the old men of the council, as naive as they were, decided that their opponents had accepted defeat.

  However, fate had different plan. Few men had began announcing a proclaimation to the towns-folk — an invitation of sort — to attend an address near the town-sqaure.

  For the most part, no-one paid heed to their words. Then, a small group began to gather in-front of the town-square. It included Captain Viyetral, Jarel (the revolutionary puppet), some family members of Jarel, Harwin, Landel, and few other important figures. It was then that the small folk began to form a crowd near them.

  Soon hundreds had turned into thousands. After much anticipation, Viyetral finally signalled Jarel to step forward and take the stage. The latter gathered up his courage and began his speech:

  "Citizens of the First town! I am grateful to all of you for gathering at this place. Some of you may know me, but for those who don't, I am Jarel, a fellow merchant like the most of you. More importantly, I am the part of this town like the rest of you."

  The crowd cheered at his remarks. Jarel was not an ordinary man, he was the most experienced and richest merchant in town which meant he had enough charisma to capture the hearts of the crowd. That was not the only thing, he and his ancestors had helped build most of the infrastructure of the town, from the roads to even educational institutions. Most notably, he was part-human which meant that he was well-respected by the minority of the town as well.

  "We have been prospered greatly in the last few centuries, but it is not due to the efforts of the leadership, no, it was only possible due to the efforts and hardwork of all of you. Now there is a great threat to our progress. We have prospered and developed ourselves whilst our leaders continue to have the same old mindset. In my hand," he raised a letter, "is the formal announcement for raising of all sorts of taxes on the common populace."

  The crowd scorned at this which worked exactly as intended. Jarel continued:

  "But, why have they been raised now? The town already has everything it needs, we are not at war, and the merchants of this town have already helped in the construction of necessary infrastructure, so then, why? Is it not for the unnecessary luxuries of the council-men? How great of a residence do they require this time? How many have you ever been allowed in the town-hall? Is it not the place where your elected leaders reside, then why can you not visit them and have them lend you an ear? I ask you, do you want to pay anymore to a council that has abandoned the very people who have raised them to their current status?"

  The crowd jeered, but some of them were still not sure. So, now came the along the second phase of the speech:

  "Well leaving the previous matter aside, many of you are already aware that the representatives of the sword-saint, Graftel, came here as the guests of this town. Instead of honoring the guests, their have been two attempts of assassinations on them! You might not believe my words, so these men here, who are the guards of this town, can testify to it."

  Few younglings stepped forward and reaffirmed the accusations of Jarel. These were the same men who had attacked Harwin and Viyetral in the alley. The crowd gasped at this development, but there was more to say:

  "Of course, this is not a reason to raise a revolt, it is not a reason to disrupt the peace of the town. We could have solved this problem a proper and thorough investigation, but there is more to the matter." Jarel added.

  Viyetral signalled for the freed up slaves, who were saved by Farelen, to step forward (they wore cloaks to hide their identities). The speaker continued:

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "These poor girls are as much part of the town as you and me. They are your and my own daughters, so is it not the duty of a parent to protect their children? Yet, they were subjected to the torment of the worst sort! By whom you may ask? By your very own elected leaders! If you do not speak against it now, it can be your blood the next time! Do you really want such men as your leaders from whom your own children are not safe?"

  The crowd jeered once again, but this time their voice was one. The small folk was now ready to revolt at a moment's notice. It was not as if this was an overnight change; as soon as Viyetral had put the council-men under-arrest, he had ordered his men to begin to ignite the sparks of an insurrection amongst the townsfolk. The speech by Jarel was just the final seal.

  "If you are against injustice then tollow me to reclaim the town from the corrupt!"

  Jarel began to march towards the town-hall, and following him, was almost the entire population of the First town. Harwin and his party had scattered already and were no-where to be found.

  Soon, the the revolutionaries had reached the gates of the town-hall. None of the guards understood what had happened, but they immediately began to take defensive positions.

  "Where is the commander!?" One of the guard shouted.

  Captain, rather Commander Swven, was no-where to be found, either. Thrandul had already been instructed of what to do, so he made his way to the council-hall. The old council were prading over their success of defeating the representatives of Graftel, unbeknownst to the situation outside. Thrandul charged through the door.

  "What is the meaning of this! Have you forgotten your place Thrandul?" Quintel, the head of the council, scolded.

  "I beg your forgiveness, but a large crowd has gathered in-front of the gates. They intend to storm through, what should we do?" The tongue was of Thrandul but the words were of someone else.

  The council erupted with panic, even the arrogant Qunitel was sweating from fear. After much pondering, they decided to head check on the matter themselves. They came face to face with Jarel, now the leader of the revolt.

  "Jarel, you brat! How dare you!?" Quintel shouted.

  Jarel was much much younger than the council-men, even though, his appearance was similar to them — it was due to his ancestry.

  "It is time to answer for your crimes. The town demands answers and we shall have them!" He replied

  The populace behind him cheered at his stand, but not only that, they began to climb over the gates as well.

  "Shoot arrows at the bastards! Kill anyone who tries to enter the premises!" Quintel ordered Thrandul, but he did not move or say anything which further angered the old man.

  "You scoundrel! I shall deal with you later. You there," Quintel pointed towards a youngling "kill them!"

  The youngling looked towards his commander who did not meet his eyes or reply. After much pressure from the council-men, he finally shot the arrow. It was targeted straight towards a young man, but just before reaching its target, it was cut in half by a large figure.

  "That is not the way, lad. You are meant to use this to protect the people of this town, not to attack them!" Swven commanded, he wore a cloak to protect his impersonation of Farelen.

  The youngling immediately dropped his bow and stood straight. The council-men wore a disgruntled look.

  "You finally showed your face, acting commander. Where were you when this crowd decided to vault over the walls?" Quintel asked.

  "None of your concern, old man. This assembly of younglings was founded to the guard this town and its residents, not to serve the council. Therefore, we shall hear what the townsfolk have to say." Viyetral finally showed himself. He then turned towards the crowd and asked:

  "What are your demands!?"

  "TRIAL! TRIAL!" The crowd shouted in sync.

  "I suppose that is their decision. Commander Farelen," Viyetral turned towards Swven, "Have them open the gates. We shall conduct a trial here and now, as justice should be swift."

  "Younglings! Arrest the council-men at once!" Swven ordered the nearby guards.

  The council was old, fat and weak, so they could not have resisted. Qunitel looked towards Thrandul as a final hope, but he too, faced the other way. The younglings, who were under the direct command of the old man, were the ones who had put him and his men in chains which had further appalled him.

  Just in a matter of moments, the entire crowd surronded Harwin and his party who were now acting as the judges. Jarel represented the town whilst the council-men were basically all on his own.

  After Jarel presented all his evidence, Viyetral looked towards Quintel.

  "Do you have anything to say in your defense?" Viyetral asked.

  "All of these are fabrications! The honourable council has never employed the services of these men, who attacked you in the alley. More importantly, we are old men with families, we would never have laid hands on these girls! This brat, Jarel, arranged for all of them to commit perjury. He only wishes to take over the council." Qunitel spoke fiercely.

  Although, Jarel had managed to capture the hearts of the small folk, the words of Quintel managed to create doubt amongst them once again. It was true that the former would benefit the most from the deliverance of punishment on the council-men. On top of that, the girls and the soldiers were not important figures or linked to important figures in the town that their words could be trusted without any questions.

  "Your points are valid. How about the former commander, Thrandul? Would his words hold any weight? Captain Thrandul step forward!" Viyetral ordered.

  Quintel looked in horror as his former loyalist was called upon. Well, it was not as if his loyalty was bought by anything material, he was forced to do the dirty work of the council for the safety of his family. Viyetral had already hidden his family, so now he could speak freely, but more importantly, in favour of his former comrades.

  "They are indeed younglings who had been trained by myself. However, I can not take responsibility for their actions as they were assigned for the protection of the council. Infact, they were a separate group which directly and only adhered to the commands of the council-men." Thrandul reaffirmed the claims of Jarel.

  "What about now, Qunitel? Do you have anything else to say?" Viyetral asked once more.

  "How can we trust the words of your associate, rather your friend? This could be your way of helping replace the leadership of this town, without permission from the sword-saint, to install your own puppet." Qunitel's point once again created doubts.

  "Hmm, that could be the case, but how about a testimony from your own council? Your own men? Will that be suffice?" Viyetral replied with a grin.

  The next group of men that stepped forward sealed the fate of Quintel and his last loyalists. It was part of a carefully orchestrated scheme by Harwin.....