On Culpability and Consequence

The recent conclusion of our vigilantism warrants reflection for the purpose of improving my own understanding of events and for any who may seek truth in records around the fate of those involved.
 
First an explanation of context. Darnath, Gramlek, Kalgan, Omnu, Sylvie, and myself initially went in pursuit of Ragnar and Tovoch out of our desire to determine their involvement in the burning of Groundbreak. The best lead we had on the issue was that those individuals were likely operating out of the town of Stoneheart. We did not know the true extent of their involvement, the motivations for their actions, or any parties who may have been complicit to the destruction and murder of Groundbreak inhabitants. Upon our arrival in Stonehearth, we learned of the Mayor's frequent employ of Ragnar and Tovoch, leveraging them as general "problem solvers" whenever something inhibited the town's productivity. We also learned that Ragnar and Tovoch kept very close company with a minor named Ciara, who was rarely seen socializing around the town. Sylvie concocted a plan to lure Ragnar, Tovoch, and their assistant Sylvie out of Stonehearth so that our personal conflict may be resolved without incidental involvement of the residents of Stonehearth. Ultimately, we apprehended the trio, and made our plans to return to Tradefront while interrogating the three. Concurrently, Darnath acquired access to Stonehearth's mayor's logbook, which will be referenced later.
 
Now that the context has been established, I may begin the explanation of the complexity of the situation. From interrogating Tovoch and Ragnar, and through reliable means of learning the truth from them, we established the following chain of events. Firstly, the mayor of Stonehearth recognized the steady decrease in the town's prosperity, a trend that surely pointed to the ultimate, economic failure of the city. Those employed by and inhabiting the town would be beset by steadily increasing poverty and loss of their livelihoods. Secondly, the mayor, upon determining that the trend in the town's income and expenses, contracted Ragnar to find a solution to the problem. The mayor and Ragnar had a strong relationship, nearing that of being partners to some degree. So, delegating this responsibility to Ragnar's creative mind is a reasonable conclusion for one who is occupied with the operations of the town. Now, Ragnar, weighing his own personal strengths and weaknesses, determined that a profitable, short term action could be made to adjust the trend of the towns operations by disrupting the operations of Stonehearth's greatest competitor: Groundbreak. Ragnar acquired the information and schedules of Groundbreak's caravans, determining a opportune time to cause a maximum disruption to their supply. Ragnar then delegated the responsibility and details of this particular mission to his long-time partner - Tovoch. Tovoch took the plans that Ragnar had outlined and became responsible for executing them. For this operation, Tovoch would need man-power, individuals strong enough to fight off the caravan's protectors and skilled enough to drive the caravan once it had been taken over. Tovoch had existing connections to orcs in the region, likely due to his heritage as a half-orc. He was able to approach such a group on good terms, offer them a form of contract - the details of which were never made wholly clear - and dispatched them to carry out the mission. Ultimately, the raiding party saw fit to attack more than just the caravan, laying Groundbreak to waste, slaying many of its residents, and evicting the rest.
 
Stonehearth's mayor's logbook, the contents of which were accessed by Darnath, confirmed key details of this chain of events. Firstly, the town's finances are in a clear downward trend. Second, the mayor did establish a contract with Ragnar to determine a solution to the town's impending financial crisis.
 
In all of this, the clear victims of the wrongdoing are the former residents of Groundbreak. They, being innocent actors seeing to their own livelihood and prosperity, had disaster thrust upon them in the form of axes, arrows, and flame. However, the set of perpetrator(s) of these events is poorly defined. Surely, the individual orcs who brandished their blades and torches are culpable for their actions, but beyond that, my certainty is much less clear.
 
An analogy before continuing: upon achieving victory in a war, the soldiers are celebrated for their contribution. In addition, the General who commanded them receives rewards and accolades for his guidance and planning, despite likely never engaging in the battle himself. Furthermore, the king is showered with glory for bringing victory to the nation. Even beyond that, the national pride is brought to the forefront of everyone's mind - "how great is our nation of the fatherland." So, despite the soldiers being the ones standing in battle, the General, the King, and the nation as a whole, all claim a share of the responsibility for the victory.
 
Who too then, should culpability for wrongdoing be applied? Though the raiding orcs brandished the steel, they were not acting in isolation. They received motivation and incentive from Tovoch. Tovoch too, the general to the orcs, received his orders from Ragnar. Ragnar acted on behalf of the mayor of Stonehearth. The mayor of Stonehearth acted in the stead of the towns denizens. Following this chain of motivation, I must consider who is considered culpable to destruction of Groundbreak.
 
My assertion is thus - one cannot be culpable where choice does not exist. A stone cannot be culpable for the damage done when thrown, for the stone has no choice in action.
Furthermore, for culpability to apply, the choice made must correlate to an intent of wrongdoing. Could a smith who crafts a dagger be culpable for a murder in which that dagger was used? Possibly, for the smith made a choice to craft an implement of violence. However, could a smith who crafts a carpenters hammer be culpable for a murder in which that hammer was used? I would assert no, for the smith's choice was to craft an instrument of peace. I assert even further that neither smith could be culpable for the decisions of those who use the tools they created. For the free-will of the murderers is tangential to the free-will of the smiths. The smiths' actions had no affect on the mindset or choices made by the murderers.
 
In the case of Groundbreak, then, I must consider where choice was made for the wrongdoing. The orcs' choice to raze the town makes them directly culpable for their choice. Tovoch's choice to execute the plan to attack the caravan, to instigate violence, ensures his culpability. Despite the plan omitting any intent to do harm to the town, that destruction is a direct consequence of Tovoch's choice for violence. Furthermore, Ragnar's intent to disrupt the caravan lays culpability upon his shoulders as well. Ragnar made a clear choice for illegal, immoral action to be taken against the property (and ultimately lives) of his neighbors. The last relevant choice to consider is that of the mayor's. The mayor's choice was to rescue the town's financial situation. While the mayor's choice is directly related to the events that transpired, I must apply the concept of intent. While the other individual's choices innately included wrongdoing, the mayor's did not. In fact, the mayor's attempt to prevent the town's imminent financial crisis, had no consideration of Groundbreak, its people, or its operations what-so-ever. Thus, the line can be drawn and culpability applied.
 
Beyond the culpability, I cannot answer the consequence of this situation. This is a lesson I may learn by observation of the events that transpire. Tovoch, Ragnar, and Ciara have been delivered to the guardsman, Jarvis, in Tradefront. Jarvis, he who upon which the responsibility has fallen, will mediate the application of justice to those individuals to answer for their actions. I hope to observe how he weighs the passion and needs of those wronged against the scope of each individuals contribution to the crimes.
 
The last thing which I must confess, is my own culpability to the fate of Ciara. Up to this point, one may recognize that her name has appeared only twice - once to mention her association with Ragnar and Tovoch, and once to mention her delivery to Jarvis. In no context has she had involvement with the events at Groundbreak, nor has her culpability even been considered. Rather, Ciara's involvement is merely that as a by-stander caught in a disaster. Ciara's delivery to Jarvis is purely that of completion of the apprehension of Tovoch and Ragnar. Her hands are entirely clean of the Groundbreak's ashes. However, her connection to Ragnar and Tovoch must not be underestimated. In our brief conflict, the child placed her own self at risk in defense of her allies. Leaving her in freedom while the other two await justice creates a risk in which Ciara may act incorrectly and attempt to free her allies from the necessary judgment that they require. This detail must still be made clear to Jarvis - Ciara's involvement in this case is not as a perpetrator.
 
I fear, after reflecting on these recent events, that our return to Tradefront cannot come soon enough. Should ill-fate come to Ciara, my own involvement would place me as directly culpable for it. My actions placed her in captivity. My choice placed her to be judged adjacent to Tovoch and Ragnar. This girl does not deserve a failure of justice.