Dumgarth's Court
The following is written on the side of a small, one-room building in the center of many tribes. This building is primarily constructed of large planks of metal; smaller tribes may use Bark instead.
Hail, and Welcome to Dumgarth's Court.
We pray ye come here due to ye own volition, and ye never, ever come here due to commiting a crime against ye tribe. This court is here for one simple reason; to punish those who ruin their reputation, either due to being a bad member of their tribe, abandoning their role, or any other crime determined by the tribe. If ye are here due to a crime, we ask ye to plead honestly to it. Ye will suffer less if ye are honest, and ye can start ye road to recovery. If ye fight for innocence, ye will be placed across from ye victim, or another who ye victim asked for. 5 members of ye tribe will be placed in the court. Ye and ye victim will give ye sides of the story, and the court will have any evidence of ye crime that they can find. If ye can prove yourself innocent, ye walk free. If ye can't, the tribe will give ye a fair punishment. If ye fellows cannot determine ye innocence, they will ask for the glorious Dumgarth to aid ye. We will place the metal in the Hand of Dumgarth and let the gods sort ye out. We pray for ye to avoid this place at all costs.Jury Duty
The requirements to send yourself to court changes from tribe to tribe. Some tribes are small enough that the 5 members of the court are the eldest 5 members of the tribe. Others use messenger animals to find different people to come in. Others, especially those that despise crime like Humans, will use those with "strong moral compasses" that are likely to be able to tell when others are lying. No matter what, most courthouses stick to a Jury of 5 individuals. Some tribes may go for less or more, given population size, disease, or other factors.
Type
Courthouse
Punishments for Crimes in the Arengold Forest
While all tribes handle crime differently, they tend to fall into three distinct categories. Almost all Dumgarth Courts are led by 5-10 Paladins, Champions, or holy servants of Dumgarth that ensure the punishment is carried out in full.- Community Service. The individual pays back to their community by working without much rest or reprieve. The goal of the Court is not to work the person to death, but to ensure that the person makes right whatever crime or headache they've caused.
- Paladin Training. The individual, for mid-rank crimes, learns respect, discipline, and worship by training under a Paladin for a series of days, weeks, or months. The Paladin decides whether or not the individual has repented for their crime, and to what degree the individual must work with the Paladins. This punishment changes much from tribe to tribe; some require the individual to work for Sages or Clerics, others for Monks.
- Death. The Individual, determined irredeemable in the eyes of the court or the gods, must be killed in the Courthouse. They are buried how their family would want them to be buried, or buried underneath the Roots of the tribe. This is typically done with a Greataxe, the holy weapon of Dumgarth.
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