I don't think it was Tonk talking to Denth. More likely one of the priests still there when Lightsong attacked. It's too bad he didn't know how to use a sword. And I'm assuming that Llarimar is also being held at sword point, but it might help to mention that.
I wonder though, if Lightsong had instincts to know how to sneak, know how to interrogate and investigate, why wouldn't he have instincts on how to best deal with the soldiers? Of course, the encounter is not yet over, so anything could happen. It would be funny though, even if Lightsong's past life knew nothing about fighting, if Blushweaver's past life did, or something like that.
I think that they were torturing her because they wanted command of the Lifeless themselves, which kinda sucks, since now they have Lightsong captive, and he has the rest of the army.
But then, maybe she was sneaking in herself, and was caught... a little out of character, but since we don't know what her past life was, it's possible. More likely that her "contact" in the palace betrayed her, but it's still possible. And I suppose it's proof that Lightsong loves her that he rushed in to help without thinking about the Lifeless, plus, he'd have to search the rooms to find the ones that were his, and those rooms are big; getting from one to the other may have taken too long.
On an earlier note, I am confused as to how the fighting over stopped. In theory, once drawn, once the fighting begins, it wouldn't stop until everyone who wanted it was dead. Interesting that Denth and Tonk didn't come out until after the fighting stopped.