Hurtash Belarn-Dûr

Hurtash Belarn-Dûr, called Hur'

Among dwarves, song belongs to the evening watch, when the day's work is done and the stone has been honest. Hur' has carried that evening watch everywhere it had no business going: the roads, the human ports, the edge of the battlefield. He sings before a charge the way he would by a hearth, because he chose this trade to make hearts richer, and he means it. People take him for an entertainer. He is the ear of a guild far more influential than anyone cares to admit. No one has ever seen him write anything down.

Describe him

There is always a little more noise around him than anywhere else, and a little less tension. A human will see only mismatched trinkets in his braids; anyone who knows dwarves will read a journey there, a ring for every city, a sleeve for every road. His smile is reassuring, the smile of someone who has seen far worse than your evening and still wants to share it. Hold his gaze for a moment. He saw you come in, he knows who with, and he never stopped singing.

Play him

Have him sing loud, all the time, most of all when things turn grim. Let him be the first to laugh. Let him distract, soothe, fill every silence. Then, in the middle of a chorus, have him slip into a player's ear a sentence spoken three tables away, in a low voice, by someone who thought the racket covered them. The players will work out on their own that he sings so that others will talk. And keep, underneath, a man who keeps nothing to himself. Whatever he hears tonight, his guild will know before the season is out.

What he says (rarely)

"We sing before the charge. After, there are fewer voices for the chorus."
"Sing with me. Louder. Back there in the corner, they just said your name."
(never missing a beat on the drum) "Smile, drink, don't turn around. The man in gray has been lying all night."