"Indeed," said Mihris out loud, "we heard the claim but not the evidence. Right now it is the word of one person against another. Esteemed Duke, would you be so kind to show us the bird that managed to fly so far in the blizzards and find you in these snowy fields, and the message the bird carried?"

Ignazio is initially startled at the message, looking over to the sides and around searching for its origin, eventually eyeing Vanys and instinctively knowing it to come from him. The caravan masters fumbles and stutters at words to explain, and eventually settles only on a couple of palm gestures as if asking you to wait, "... Be patient." he answers.

Emial sneers as he spins on his heel before making it all the way back to his initial position, "And exactly who questions the authority of a Warduke?" at which point Mithann nervously intervenes and tries "Warduke, these are the ones I've personally asked..." and Emial interrupts her, "I know these are your puppets, priestess." he pauses to raise one eyebrow and twist his mouth in almost disgust at your group, "I merely inquire what sort of authority would this one's words have against that of a high-ranking representative of the Lord's Alliance." he adjusts his gloves, making the motion almost a show of the large golden signet ring over one of them, "No matter... I traveled this way under orders from Marchion Selin Raurym of Mirabar, and have been trading bird messages with my superiors since I left my fair city." he produces and holds up a small rolled parchment, "They warn me of individuals such as these that might interfere in our dealings with our neighbors, and I've inquired on each name list our caravan master provided me." he eyes Mihris smugly, "Including yours." he eyes the others in the crowd before continuing, "And with the authority bestowed upon me, and through the means available under the circumstances, I dispose of such individuals as you've just witnessed. And the bird already flies back to Mirabar with the news of my success." he crosses his arms behind his back, eyeing you for a moment before making his way back to Ignazio's side, "We may continue, caravan master." 

And with that, Ignazio takes a step forward, "So has spoken the Lord's Alliance!" he coughs and fidgets a bit, seemingly uncomfortable, "Now, let us hear the judgement of the divine through our beloved priestess Mithann, keeper of the Shrine of the Morninglord in Bryn Shander and a Ten-Towner herself." and a disheveled Mithann is waved forward by Ignazio.

Mithann slowly steps towards the center of the area, exhaustion clear in the dark circles under her eyes and her wobbly footing. She eventually starts speaking, "Blessings of the Eternal Sun that will once again bathe these lands in its glorious light, dear travelers. It is only under guidance of our Sun and with the best interest of the folk from Ten-Towns that I do this, and certain that it will be for the best of us all." she pauses for a moment to close her eyes, breathe, and concentrate, "A few nights ago, I dreamt that the sun shone warm and brightly over us, so bright that it woke me up in the middle of the night, and I felt so restless that I couldn't get back to sleep despite my exhaustion. I paced a bit away from the caravan as the cursed boreal lights of the Frostmaiden shone above us, and it was then that noticed something happening some distance from me and approached it." she pauses and looks over to someone in the back of the gathered crowd, "It was then that I witnessed it. She danced naked over the snow away from out group, gleefully praising the damned lights of her goddess." she points towards a young dour-faced lady, Ionna, and a shaking indignation starts to show on the priestess' face "None would celebrate our curse and dance under Auril's cursed lights, if not under her sway. None could stand the cold deep in the night biting right at their skin, if not kissed by the Frostmaiden herself. She would offer us all to her evil goddess as sacrifice!" she grimaces and tears roll down her cheeks, "Curse you, cultist! Begone from us! Amaunator judges you!" as Mithann shakes on her footing, almost falling over as Ignazio reaches to help her balance and Ionna at the other side of the circle offers no reaction besides her features twisting in deeper anger, a wide-eyed Gerard holds her and a caravan guard quickly positions himself by their side, ready to escort them back down the hill as the other travelers nearby all immediately step away.

As a nearby guard steps in to help Mithann, Ignazio steps again towards the circle, looking solemnly at your group and waving towards the center of the circle, "The judgement of our honored guardians, chosen by the priestess herself, if you please." 

((Colors to better distinguish between the NPCs talking. Hope this scene isn't moving too fast. We have a bit more time now.))

(Can I roll perception, or if he's openly showing it, history or something else to verify the ring is simliar to it should be? Considering how well the last history roll went I imagine I have some idea.  Addditionally from what I understood of the previous history check for Warduke. He in fact has 0 authority in this area; far from his own territory right?)

(From previous conversations, we learned Wardukes were high, higher than Cloaks for instance.  But did that previous history check distinguish a relationship between Warduke and whatever rannk "Marchion Selin Raurym of Mirabar," would be?)

(also. Is " a few nights ago" from before she approached us then? its mildly difficult to parse days in a pbp lik this. I feel like it has been a few nights persay)

10 History if needed here

21 Perception if needed

5 if you want a diff roll and want to just add from my sheet.

((Red, yes, you know the Lord's Alliance has zero authority in Icewind Dale and the Ten-Towns, the closest city that is part of it would be the Mirabar he mentioned. Even Luskan is not in their territory, though you know after recent events they've been interested in joining, even buying their way in if possible. From what you can see from not too far away, the ring seems genuine, probably made of gold or at least polished brass, rather large:

And yes, Wardukes are certainly in the upper half hierarchy of the Lord's Alliance, some of them may even be adventurers, but most of them are diplomats or hold other political positions in the member cities. The mentioned Marchion however, is not per se a Lord's Alliance rank, but rather the name the position of monarch takes in the city of Mirabar (equivalent to "King"). Since the city of Mirabar is part of the Lord's Alliance, the Marchion would also be part of it, but not specifically a rank. You know that the city of Mirabar "nearby" is governed by this Selin Raurym, and is friendly with neighboring dwarves, some dwarves even participating in Mirabar's armed forces.

As for Mithann, the lunch-talk you had with had was just yesterday (busy day, huh?) and then you talked again when the caravan stopped last night. The "a few nights ago" she mentioned has to be at the least before you talked to her.))

(overall a little fast probably. Since its awkward to respodn to the warduke now that he priestess has started. but I'm gonna respond to the Warduke and ignore the priestess' commentary currnetly)

(Also. Some of my assumptions concerning law practices are basically stemming off the forgotten realms books concerning the lords alliance, luskan, icewind dale.  So, I don't know how accurate they are to this Adv Path. hopefully accurate. If not, let me know but I'll be at work till a good 10 hours later.  Or you could simply take it as a bluff. Thats also fine.  Either way Red is pulling at straws and has rolled high history so it feels like that works
Also if you need any rolls GM its okay if you want to roll them using his stat sheet considering. Otherwise I'll look at my phone at lunch and can roll stuff-I just can't edit text well on phone)

Red twitches at the proccedings and takes a few steps away from the group, and gives a flourish of a bow-a proper bow but one easily noticed to be rather filled with vinegar. "Sir, I mean no disrespect. but what authority do you stand with? You have a title of authorty, perhaps, but not here, Here you are simply a passanger-same as any of us. This is not your teritory, it is far far from it. The Lords Alliance is currently inquiring as to a joint alliance with Luskan, Ice-Wind Dale and the like. That does not afford you rights as of yet beyond that of a passanger-with income. You have no right to claim a life-as you stated, if The Caravan Master chooses to expel from his caravan, that is his right. As travlers we all trust in the Caravan Master to be genuine and just." Red looks at Iganzaio, lingering for a moment on "just" in case the man is scared of the title of warduke and is also uncomfortable with this-or if he's being bribed to weigh upon him that his whole business is built on the lives and trust of travlers " Not You, nor He, Nor any of us "judges"  have any right to a forfiet life upon Icewind Dale. That is up to the Dale to judge."   Red feels like he likely was disrespectful, but he's panicing on the inside and can't stand the disregard for territory nor reasonable logical proccess.
"Further steming from this. Marchion Selin Raurym has requested of a Warduke? If you are traveling as a Warduke unto Icewind Dale under a public diplomantic cause, where is the enterogue? They would be good to speak to as well, as they would hold magistrative positioning and could provide us with a wealth of researched Icewind Dale laws-As we are in Icewind Dale, and must abide by their laws, not the laws of the Lord's Alliance. I request to speak with your specalist unto these matters."  Red fires in the dark, It is very odd for a Warduke to travel alone, much.
"What kind of bird? I am truly surprised it can cover such an astounding distance-weeks of travel, in such a short time-Further more with such intense and dangerous weather. I would dearly meet this bird- and I request to see your bounty paperwork.  I request a proper proccess, this doesn't fall under Icewind Dale, nor Lord's Alliance method of giving Trial."

Red was not standing alone against the (false) Warduke - Mihris was not far, just enough to let others know the man has his support, this is not a lone voice, but not too close to destract from the speech. "Emial" could fume all he wanted - tiefling's pupilless eyes were made for the staring contests, he did not force her to lover her gaze. But she did extended her hand when the Warduke showed the parchment, supposedly containing information about a "pirate".

Mihris did not talk just yet and was waiting for duke's answer to Red's words.

Sense motive for the warduke 13

Insight for Priestess Mitherann 16

Mia was freezed in place.  Unusually for the lively little elf, she lost her word, and didn't know what to say. But her brain is in full gear, trying to figure out what happened. ( He knew it! He knew we supported Edgar, giving him supplies! Did someone inform him? Does this mean there are other spies among us?) Mia prepared a Guidance spell for Red. She uses it for her instead and observes the crowd, seeing if there is someone showing a strange reaction. 

Guidance:4

Insights:14

But things are taking an unexpected turn. When Mithann accuses Ionna, Mia takes a few steps back as if she is hit by cold hard iron. The elf girl helplessly watches her friend, Gerard and his partner are taken away from the hill. Mia drops her head and grabs her hood. She closes her eyes, imaging her home land, the High Forest. The leaves shone like emeralds under the sun. The rivers sang songs of their mother streams. The friendly animals who played with her. And her parents who always stood tall and loved her like the Grandfather Tree. She says farewell to them all. When Mia opens her eyes, she makes up her mind.

The little elf stands beside Mihris. "Miri…" She says. "I'm thinking something crazy. I'm going to tell them the truth!"

(OOC: Oh things are getting interesting! By the way, Mia is going to tell everyone that she charmed fake warduke and everything she had heard from him. This action may put her into difficult very position, but she really wants to save her friends and stops the imposter )

Ignazio takes a step ahead to respond, "Dear partner, please remain calm. As caravan master, I've accepted their guidance and judgement after action was demanded of me due to the rum-..." and you see as a troubled and scowling Emial stands behind him, eventually stepping ahead and interrupting him, a dour look upon his face "Allow me, Ignazio." the clears his throat and breathes in to calm himself, and speaks with scorn "Dear passenger, our caravan master has trusted our judgement as representatives of political and divine authorities to do just so. No life is hereby claimed by us, we are merely expelling these criminals from the caravan, as you've just said." his eyes trail off to the ones already descending the hill for a moment, a hint of frustration upon them, "This is not Lord's Alliance land, but this caravan comes from Luskan and has been placed under my protection by High Captain Hartouchen himself, and through that, under protection and guidance of the Lord's Alliance. Furthermore, the crimes of that individual have been committed in Lord's Alliance lands, merely stepping over borders is not a reason for us to forget it and allow him to flee justice." he emphasizes his following words with an index finger pointing downwards "And I neither report nor explain the reasons of my journey and the messages to my superiors to low life interlopers such as yourself. If you're somehow dissatisfied with our judgement, you're welcome to join them." he nods towards the path downhill and takes a step back.

Ignazio purses his lips, sighs loudly and shakes his head looking at you.

"The truth is never crazy and always comes out. But sometimes should be given slowly to let others digest it." Mihris was also talking quietly and everyone's attention had to be on Warduke and Red at the moment. "Why not just ask first? As if "how can he prove he is even a true Warduke"? Mithann is an experienced priest and has to be able to make others speak the truth. In fact, why don't we ask her to  to just that? A circle of truth can show who is the real criminal here."

Being supported by a guard nearby, Mithann listens to your words, and meekly poses herself to quietly respond "That... I'd have to pray for this grace of the Morninglord for that." she manages, breathing deeply to steady herself "But He'd only respond... tomorrow at first light of the Eternal Sun, as is dictated." she sighs and looks around, "But would such... provocation... of the Warduke be wise?" 

"Thanks Miri! You are always my voice of reason. Yeah if Mithann can use her Zone of Truth, that will be the ace up our sleeve. Though I have a concern. Maybe…maybe." Mia takes a deep breath. She taps her cheeks with her both hands."Ah! Worry too much and doing nothing is silly! Let's try first and see how it goes!"

Mia steps forward and says aloud."Provoke a warduke is surely a bad idea. If he is a REAL WARDUKE! All we have known is that he joined caravan alone with no servants. Isn't it STRANGE for a noble blood like warduke? And master Ignazio,you knew this! The first wanted poster you showed us isn't Redd Gaoch. We pitied the first accused and gave some supplies. And then somehow the warduke suddenly accused a totally different person! Don't you think it's WEIRD!"

Mia turns around. She looks at the exhausted priestess. " … I may have provoked the wrong person. This might be a crazy, foolish move. But luckily we have a way to figure it out.  Mithann, if you are a priestess and former adventurer, you should know the Zone of Truth. The miracle which can reveal one's true intention. Please cast it now. And see who is lying here!"

Vanys places his arm on Mia's shoulder. He has stayed quiet throughout the ordeal trying to place everyone into the larger picture, but his efforts have been mostly fruitless up to this point. As Mia starts to get agitated, he attempts to calm her down and says, "The priestess said that she would ask her god for the blessing to do that tomorrow. We must be patient for now." Adding in with a quiet whisper into her mind, he says, "We need a moment to plan. Everything that we have discussed until this point has gone awry and we need at least a moment together to reorient before we continue to make rash decisions. Simply attacking and throwing all our cards on the table seems unwise."

(OOC: I also think that a cleric needs to take a long rest to change their list of prepared spells... However, if we were having a trial it seems to make sense that their priestess should have prepared Zone of Truth beforehand as that spell would be seemingly invaluable in holding a fair and just trial... Regardless, she must have not prepared it for some reason so I doubt that she can even mechanically cast the spell today.)

"What Mia is trying to say here, dear Ignazio, is that for the sake of your reputation and the safety of Ten Towns we need to get to the bottom of the problem, let the accused speak in their defense, getting the full truth. Right now Warduke Emial is acting as an owner of the caravan who personally decided to expel some people. Is this the case? Because if it is not, than the law dictates a fair trial, and nobody is above the law, not even the Warduke. We sure can afford to wait until the sunrise, when esteemed Priestess could get her prayer of truth. Then we shall know who is the criminal."

((Oops, I have missed posts #227 and #228 possibly by simultaneously posting myself, I'll try to clear those rolls below.))

Red: You try to read the Warduke's meanings behind his words, but try as you might and even if parts of his logic has holes, you at times almost find yourself nodding with it at times before you stop yourself.

Red and Mialee: As for the Priestess, I'll double in that roll with some Medicine information. Mithann seems both sincere on her report and utterly exhausted, it seems she hasn't slept the night of the attempted theft NOR managed to rest in ANY of the following nights. ((Mithann currently has 4 levels of Exhaustion.))

Emial prepares a posed response to Mialee, just at it seems it's Ignazio's time to grow impatient and interrupt "Now, now! That's quite enough!" he cuts in, almost in shouts, some surprised murmurs around the crowd die down, then the caravan master takes a moment to breathe and compose his clothes back in place "Priestess Mithann vouched for your group's judgement in this trial to bring an outsider view on the matter, one that I thought would be guided by investigation, not groundless accusations. If you have something to sow doubts upon the validity of the Warduke's judgement I ask you to show it or remain silent. He is no owner here, but through the will of the highest sponsor of this group back in Luskan, he has fair measure of authority." he breathes sharply and looks at the others gathered around, "And if you're so eager for my judgement, elf, then let's get this over with." he unrolls the wanted poster you've seen before and shows it openly for all around to see, "Edgar Prospero, wanted by the Flaming Fist for many a crime in the city of Baldur's Gate. I hereby expel him from this..." <muffled frustrated cursing> "... caravan!" he sneers at you, "As for you." he waves your group towards the center of the circle again as a couple of guards leave the circle, probably seeking Edgar, who wasn't up here on the hill, "Your judgement, so we can close the matter." and nearby Mithann manages a few steps forward, eager to hear you.

"You heard our judgement - no one is guilty and exiled until tried out with proper procedure and the zone of truth. The matter should be closed tomorrow, when Priestess Mithann can arrange the prayer."

Mia stays silent. She lets her friends speak first and focuses her mind on Emial. The little elf is desperately searching for something that she can use to overturn this trial. 

Insight:22

Ignazio twists his nose at Mihris' words, proceeding to calmly look at each one of the others in the group for a moment, as if waiting for something.

Mialee: Quietly observing Emial as the others exchange words, you clearly read him somewhat... lost. He seems to be trying to focus on two things at the same time, at first retorting Red's points, and secondly—a moment at which you detected a clear mood change for the worse—when the girl Ionna was expelled by Mithann's judgement. Emial watched as she was escorted downhill and now seems more centered upon himself and lost in thought and planning than paying any attention at the trial, allowing Ignazio to talk in his stead. The priestess' judgement clearly shook him, and all the time he fidgets at his signet ring absently.

Mia was desperate. Her friends are in danger. She has to do something! With a bloody effort, Mia does something she never imagined. The little elf channels to her power as seer and uses it at her own will. 

Time starts to flow slowly. A moment is stretched into seconds. Mia can see every action of Emial, and reads his intention behind it. The result is astonishing. (Why does the imposter care about Ionna? Does this means Mithann accused the right person?)  Concealing her dizziness and panic, Mia approaches her friends and tells them everything she has just seen.

Vanys listens carefully, and from everything that Mia is saying, he shares his thoughts, "If Mia's judgment is indeed correct, and the priestess really saw Ionna worshipping Auril, then it would seem that the imposter is, in fact, working with the servants of the Frostmaiden. However, we don't know anything for certain until the priestess can create her zone of truth. Until then, protecting her must be the priority."