Out on a limb

Balar watched the exchange with interest. The stranger might be just what they needed to diffuse the situation. He dropped his axe into its loop and stepped forward.

"Perhaps you might vouch for us with your captain here. We have no wish to fight in a siege but we vow not to interfere either."

He realised there was no good reason for the man to agree. God's he wouldn't if the tables were turned, but there was just something about the way he looked at Lina that made him risk the request.