What? We don't need to go mind reading people. Malfang is clearly guilty! Even if we take her story as fact, taking the booze as "damages" without having a senior mage (or a judge we appoint) award them is clearly inappropriate. Return the grog to the orc girl, heal her injuries (we are a bio mage!) and make the following announcement:
"There is no conclusive evidence one way or the other to determine who started the fight. Both accounts agree, however, that the apprentices under the Steel of Steel took the grog without paying, either as brazen theft, or as "damages" for assaulting them. Regardless of who started it, it is inappropriate for a mere apprentice to take justice into their own hands in that manner. The remaining barrels are to be returned to their original owner, who will be healed of the injuries she sustained in the fight. Malfang and the others will be left to heal naturally as punishment for failing to report the alteraction."
+1
+1 It does look suspicious that Malfang stole the alcohol, but it's also suspicious that young Orc Woman accused two dwarves who were most likely not there. In the end it is Malfang's faulty for stealing grog and subsequently partying right afterwards without telling us anything. If Malfang continues to get into trouble related to booze, we might have to send her to AA meetings.
So stealing grog in exchange for being attacked is not alright, and getting stabbed and then not telling anyone is not alright, but stabbing someone because they made you a crappy offer and then lying about it is alright?
what about the deep stab wounds i mean we need at least tell the orc off a little for stabbing the trolls
He'll probally say it was self defense. Let's just drop this case in a way that everyone will just let it go.
It was a she, but this. We don't know what happened, it's a trivial matter, and everyone's probably lying at least a little. Singling out one party or another for some bureaucratic infraction isn't going to help anything. Authority's often a matter of
grace more than it is knowing what to do in every situation.
what about the deep stab wounds i mean we need at least tell the orc off a little for stabbing the trolls
Even here, Malfang's probably not totally above stabbing herself to fake the incident, and we already know the trolls consider being ritually sacrificed by their drider overlords to be an honor. Might explain why the dwarves were there in one story and not the other, in fact- maybe they lacked the stones to take a few knifings like Dear Sister and her pets did.
All of which goes back to my stance of "This is a clusterfuck, let's smooth it over and then forget about it."