Daubeny was lucky his turban hid the distaste his sneer radiated. Nothing is as pointless and wasteful as the intrigue the powerful create.
Standing quietly and following his group, the warrior quietly adds, "Perhaps it's not a rival of Eloasis, but a foe of Almah responsible. He did encourage the trip after all, and if the trip bodes well anyone with disaste of Almah."
"We should speak with this Dashki. Let's ask around after him. It's a small camp, so it shouldn't be hard to find him." at that, Amelia sets about asking around for Dashki.
Raikdar sticks with Amelia. He tries to help her question the drovers.
Knowing that few people will be willing to talk with him, Lysander follows Iraonar, ready to keep an eye out for trouble and recall what relevant facts he can.
Iraonar walks over to the caravan guards. "Good day gentlemen I am Prince Iraonar. Ms. Almah has asked my friends and I to look into the fire. Would you mind telling me what you saw and heard just before and during that time?"
Following Iraonar, the warrior gives the guards a nod. "Anything could be helpful for us to determine what happened." Pointing to Lsyander and Iraonar, Daubeny adds, "There are some sharp minds at work, eager to piece together what happened."
Amelia and Raikdar come over to the camel drivers tent near the animal pens. They are a late middle aged human couple. The man introduces himself as Hadrod and his wife as Hadrah.
"We saw you coming in with Garavel. Will you be staying with us for long?", asks Hadrod.
Hadrah follows up with, "I hope so. We have not had any decent company since we joined Princess Almah's expedition. You two seem like such a nice couple."
"We're work associates. Not a couple." Raikdar explains with a scowl.
Iraonar, Lysander, and Daubeny walk over to the caravan guards (three men and three women). The light hearted banter stops when Iraonar addresses the group. They stand up and the leader of the group says, "Thanks for your help with the wagon. Most of our gear was on it. It would have been a great loss.".
One of the other guys laughs and say, "It would have been a long dry trip you mean. All of our ale is stored on that wagon."
The leader turns to him and say, "Shut up!" He turns back to you. "You don't have to let the princess know about that. She would prefer a dry camp."
"None of us say anything when the fire started. We were all sitting around the campfire waiting for dinner. The first we knew about it was when we heard Eloais screaming. We ran over but it was alreay too late to do anything for him."
"I am not in a relationship with him. I apologize if I gave you that impression. As far as staying wit the group, we will be, for the foreseeable future."
"Oh, my mistake dear. Which gentleman are you seeing? The strong one in the armor or the one with the exotic pet. You seem to beautiful to be seeing the pretty boy or the one that smells of sulfur."
Hadrod says, "Stop pestering her dear. I am sure that we will find out more about them as they travel with us."
Lysander quirks and eyebrow at the talk of hidden alcohol. "Interesting. What else was on that wagon?"
"None of them. They are all my precious allies, but my marriage will likely be arranged."
"We need to ask some questions. The fire may not have been an accident." Raikdar puts the conversation back on course.
The magus studies the reaction of the couple as he mentions that the fire may not have been an accident.
"Do you know why he didn't leave his wagon before it got him?"Iraonar asks
Hadrah completely ignores Raikdar, "Do you mean to tell me that you are traveling alone with 5 men? That is not proper. You should have a hand maiden or at least a eunuch to protect your virtue. People will start to talk. This camp is full of gossip mongers. Why just the other day I hear a rumor about the caravan guards and there sleeping arrangements. It seems that they rotate partners faster than a wagon wheel. Clearly we are going to have to do something about your sleeping arrangements. You must stay with us here."
Hadrod says to Raikdar, "Terrible business with the fire. We were over by the cooking fire helping to prepare dinner. The guards and the cleric were with us. The guards were being load and crude. The cleric was trying to read but after a while he got up and left."
Lysander nods at Iraonar's inquiry and seconds it to the caravan guards. "Yes! Why didn't Eloais avail himself of any suitable means of egress from the combusting vehicle?!!?" The alchemist draws out a notebook and begins writing at a furious pace.
The guard responds to Iraonar and Lysanders, "Can't say why he stayed in there but it happened fast. One explosion and the wagon was fully engulfed by the fire."
"Shouldn't the guards have been standing watch?" Wonders Raikdar.
Hadrod replies to Raikdar, "Nothing really happens during the day. The guards patrol at night when the predators come out."
Amelia smiles and says "They are all nobles in both fact and spirit, and would never attempt to abuse my chastity."
Lysander's eyes widen with morbid fascination at talk of an explosion. "Do you know of any accelerants he kept in the wagon capable of generating such an effect? And are there any spellcasters in the camp who might be capable of such?
The mental effort of speaking in such laymen's terms leaves Lysander breathing hard.
After the guard answers Lysander Iraonar asks, "Have any other major misfortunes hapened recently, or have you had an increase in accidents lately?"
The guard looks back at his group. The all shake their heads. "Not that we know of. We never had any reason to go inside the man's wagon. Everything has been quite so far. It's not a good way to start a journey.
Lysander ponders this information, unsure what leads to pursue next. He scratches his head, contemplating. "Are there any in this caravan who dislike Almah's leadership?"f
Approaching the couple that Amelia and Raikdar have been questioning, Kol-Relden just hears one of them mention something about the guards patrolling against predators. Moving up, he says to the pair "You mention that the guards defend against predators during the night. What kind of predators are common in this area?"
"Probably giant scorpions!" says Amelia in that joking-but-I-hope-I'm-not-right sort of way.
"Why is it not good to start a journey Quietly?",Iraonar asks.
"A cleric?" Raikdar asks Hadrod. "Where might he be now?" Raikdar looks around to see if he can spot the cleric. "Maybe he saw something."
The guard shakes his head at Iraonar, "This journey is not starting quietly. The fire and death are a bad omen. What else is going to happen?"
Hadrod responds to Kol-Relden and Amelia, "Giant scorpians, jakels, and many other beast prowel the night but there are also bandits and gnolls out there."
Hadrah tells Raikdar that the cleric may be in his wagon, "Its the small on over there with the symbol of Nethys on it."
Raikdar considers giving Hadrah a rebuke about minding the morals of her betters. Meh, not worth the effort. He thinks. then stomps off to question the cleric of Nethys.
Lysander considers the information carefully. "Omens. An interesting method of predicting events. What do the members of the caravan think of Almah's leadership on this journey?"
"So, is that offer still open to sleep in your wagon, dear lady?" asks Amelia, as she glances around looking for the signs of Giant Scorpions, whatever those signs might be.
Raikdar knocks on the side of the cleric's wagon. "Hello. Can you come out and talk? We're trying to figure out how that fire got lit."
Lysander turns to his musical colleague. "Excellent. Perhaps we should speak with Almah's guards now?"
Iraonar looks to lysander and says,"Sounds good." Then he turns back to the guards,"Thank you for your time if there is anything else you can think of that would be relevant in this mater please come speak to me. Fare well" and with that he starts toward Almah's guards
Lysander follows along toward Almah's guards, scribbling notes.
Staying with the camel drivers as Raikdar goes off to speak with the cleric, Kol-Relden will tilt his head slightly as he asks his next question. "Anyway, let us move away from discussions of beasts and monsters. Do you have any idea of how the fire may have started? Did you happen to see anyone around Eloais' wagon?"
"Indeed, let's talk about something else." says Amelia uncomfortably.
"I guess I would add the question: if you had to suspect anyone of setting the fire, who would you guess it to be?"
Lysander shuffles over to the two guards, ready to take notes. "Err... We have a few queries..." He looks desperately to Iraonar for help.
"Yes, she did." Raikdar notes the array of equipment. "We're trying to learn if the fire was a coincidence, or if it was caused by an enemy. I was wondering if you may have seen, or heard anything suspicious, or unusual?"
Iraonar lets Lysander have a go at being the face but at the look of desperation in Lysanders eyes Iraonar steps forward and with a warm smile says,"I am Iraonar and my friend here is Lysander. Almah asked us to look into the fire. I was hoping you might tell me what you saw and heard at the time of and leading up to that incident."