"It is a shame to meet you this way and here, Gorosk."

The young priest replied, attempting to be as articulate as he could when repeating the obviously orcish man's name. He provided a courteous smile despite it being clear all along he knew what it was he was to do; that they both knew as much at that. He took in a long drawn breath as the justice behind him folded his hands behind his back, observing the turn of events. The watchful eyes of the much older man said much by themselves, that he was not hopeful in any of this. Were it truly so bad here in this land, that it was almost assumed or known all were guilty, and worse yet, guilty in the eyes of the gods? Or just was it by chance that the dogged, tired man worn by a lifetime of this type of arbitration just expected an orc to be guilty? He truly had acted no different in each of their cases but this was unknown to all of them, by design even. Whatever sense of "fairness" he would put unto them in trial would likely be evenly cast if his demeanor was consistent.

In all this time, all this thought aside, the priest stared down Gorosk in a way that was far from menacing - a procedure that truly was "looking through him", so to speak. It fit the bill for the type of stare a master could give a pupil at the monastery, sizing them up, albeit this time said master was supposedly a god working through magic. Maybe a man working through the perspective of a god's magic or altogether something else but it was uncomfortably familiar. For as long as the penetrating gaze held, it soon ended predictably with the ritual the two deciders of fate had done before, this time Gorosk being unable to see what was communicated as the leading younger man turned his back to him.

When he returned to face forward once more, the elder spoke up, again reciting the words, "Judgment in the eyes of the holy has been passed. You may pronounce divine judgment in the eyes of our god upon the next."

The two shuffled on down the uneven stone floor without a word more. For better or worse the half-breed had avoided being condemned outright although it might really have just been another moment of stayed execution. He did know, however, if he was doomed, then certainly the beast of a woman crammed into the tiny cell at the end was just as hopelessly doomed as he. Whether that brought solace or not, only the disciple of his art knew.

When the priest arrived at last to his final charge, he looked up to her. It was clear at first he was going to ask her to kneel but held his tongue when he realized the woman all but visibly radiated pride. It may have been that she would concede and she simply intimidated him or it could have been she might have well tried to strike him for making such a demand or something else altogether that made him opt against this. He would concede to making this work, one way or another, and all he was going to do to do so was hope that the patron divine of this tiny village in the wilderness would find this suitable all the same. His lips gave a soft smile all the same, asking her just as sincere as he could manage the same question he had begun with each time.

"Please come forward and allow judgment."

[@BangoSkank][@Hellion]