After Garavel hands Kaspar back to Alem, Zoisa tries to get Garavel's attention.
"Hey, Garavel...you vetted everyone for this expedition, right? Can you tell us anything about Dashki? The guy was poking at the wage about the same time we were, before Mr. Hoof-in-Mouth here insulted him by insinuating he was responsible and claiming Eloais was a woman."
Not really sure what to make of the interaction between Zoisa and Reuleaux, Sey turns to Miriam and says quietly. "it wasn't supposed to be such an obvious investigation. Besides I can't think straight when I'm hungry, I thought some food sounded like a good way to go before getting started. I spose I'll go try to track down this Daski fella. Have a good evening."
Seyhanna checks to see if Fawziya is joining her, and then heads off to look for Daski.
Garavel has appeared at the cookfire with Alem, and glances at Zoisa as she asks her question.
"He was hired by the Madam and she trusts him," he responds.
Though his face is emotionless, its hard to tell, but the canter of his voice is hesitat, probably unwilling to discuss such matters in front of mercenary company.
You go off to find Dashki, and after a few minutes find him alone, far off from camp, looking out into the distance warily. He hears you approaching, and utters two very stern words.
"Go away."
"Can't do that. Just like you, I have a job to do here." Walking to stand closer, but still giving Dashki some space. "Keeping an eye out for gnoll attack? With recent events, perhaps your skills should be focused toward camp."
Kaspar grins sheepishly as Alem gives hims a stern look. "Yes Garavel, thank you. I hope he has not caused too much trouble." Confiscating the fruit, he stores it in his robes while Kaspar watches with eyes like saucers. "Come along, you." Alem places Kaspar upon his shoulder in time-out.
It appears there is more to this Dashki fellow than Garavel wants to be known. Perhaps he might discuss such things in a more private setting. In any case, whatever plan Reuleaux has concocted should prove entertaining.
Garavel nods, and bids the mercs to hurry up with their meal as there's still tasks to get done before they can set out.
He beckons you to follow him over by some currently empty tents. When he is sure you are alone, he faces you, stern look as always.
"Alright, what do you wan to know?"
Dashki says nothing at first, but then reaches around to his back and slowly pulls out his dagger. Its a curved style, very similar to the scimitar that hangs at his hip. There's a tense few seconds, and then he pulls a sharpening stone out as well and begins to work at the edge.
"I don't want anything to do with that little worm," Dashki growls. [b]"And that includes those in his little group. I have my job, and I'm doing it. If that bothers you, take it up with Almah."
It seems he has a very special place in his heart for Reu. A very hateful place. He is not going to cooperate.
"Like Seyhannah said, Almah wished this examined subtly," Fawziya says quietly to Miriam. "As I am taking you into our confidence, I expect the same amount of discretion from you that Almah placed in us." She withdraws a pair of silvers from her pouch and hands it to Miriam. "We are both sell-swords, so I would not expect you to do this for free. These are yours, as repayment for your information and silence on the matter. There are eight more waiting for you at the end of this investigation, assuming that your tongue has remained still at the successful conclusion."
"If that be your wish, so be it," Fawziya says coolly. "From what I have been told, however, I suspect that Almah will not judge you kindly. There are those that claim you set the blaze to kill off your rival for her affections. If you wish us to report that to her, we shall. If you have reason for us to examine elsewhere, however, this would be your chance to offer it. I suggest you consider your next utterance to us carefully." She crosses her arms, waiting for the gnoll expert to speak.
Garaval eyes Reuleaux, a steady look on his face as he nods and pockets the money.
"Yes, Almah trusts Dashki as an expert, and having seen him work I am inclined to believe his skills aren't faked."
The subtle raising of an eyebrow only detectable to you gives you the feeling that Garavel knows more about you then he admits freely, perhaps one of the reasons he scouted you specifically.
"However...I have never trusted Dashki, and if he were the murderer I would not be surprised. I have no basis. Call it.... a feeling."
There seems to be a small metallic nodule protruding from Garavel's head under his hood.
Dashki stays silent. You're about to walk away when he suddenly speaks.
"Pugwampis. If I had to guess. It would have been pugwampis that killed the fortuneteller."
Seyhannah glances at Fawziya doubtfully. Turns to Dashki and says "I havnt had the pleasure of meeting Pugwampis. Perhaps you could tell us more about them and what you have you seen to make you believe they are the murderer. I hate to be melodramatic but the fate of this expedition could rely on us finder the perpetrator."
Seyhannah is skeptical to say the least, but she believes in second chances and Dashki may be due for one.
Fawziya returns Seyhannah's skeptical glance, but allows the woman with softer words speak, hopeful that now that Dashki's jaw has been pried open the answers will spill from him.
Alem silently watches the exchange between the gnome and the major-domo. Disappointed at first that there appears to be no plan for the wagon after all, Reuleaux does prove to at least be amusing to watch. For all of his strangeness, he is proving to be surprisingly effective.
Remember to use spoilers, and its like a metal thing that literally sticks out from the side of his head.
"We have seen him give a demonstration of his skill, and he has shared information on gnoll habits that we have been able to use to avoid and discourage their approach. Trust me if not him, Dashki is worth his weight for what he brings to this group."
Dashki seems to soften a bit with Seyhannah's more gentle approach. He relaxes his stiff posture, and he relents what he knows.
"Terrible critters what crawled up from the Darklands below the earth. 'Jackal rats,' some folks call 'em, on the account of their pointed little heads. They worship gnolls as gods and infest their communities like rats. Wherever pugwampis go, bad luck is sure to follow. The gnolls hate pugwampis because of it, and try to kill them all the time. But they always come back. Perhaps their bad luck caused the fortune-man's candles to start a fire? Yes, pugwampis. I am certain it was pugwampis."
While unable to see the stud herself, as soon as Reauleaux begins rambling she knows she's got to act fast. She sidles up to Reauleaux and elbows him in the ribs.
"Hey, Reauleaux!" she says, giving Garavel a pained grin. "Remember what happened last time you started rattling off assumptions before thinking about them?"
She gives an embarrassed giggle.
Seeing the thing for himself, Alem pays keen attention to Reuleaux. That looks like no piercing that I have ever seen. He must be well traveled. Perhaps Father Zastoran would take a liking to him, as he did to Eloias.
"Jackal rats?", Fawziya queries, her smile coming back to her face. "Hmmmm, that sounds possible. Perhaps we should check the scene of the blaze ourselves, Seyhannah, for evidence of the passing of these pugwampis?"
"It's definitely a lead. Good as place to start as any. I'm not sure we will find anything more than the others at the fire site though. Thank you Dashki. Is there perhaps anything else about these creatures that that we might look for to implicate their involvement?
Reuleuax rubs his rib slowly with a sad, down-trodden look, his gaze cast down on the sands...
"Oh by every god and his mom!" Zoisa says, rolling her eyes.
"Stop actin' like I'm the big mean bully! I'm lookin' out for us! So you foot doesn't wind up in your mouth!"
"It is a Pactmaster's favor," he interrupts Reuleaux, "a device commonly implemented by those in my line of work. It protects me from mind alteration to a certain extent and ensures to my employer. While it does hamper my emotions, I find the trade-off acceptable."
He does brush his head piece to one side to show the metallic nodule embedded in his head. But at the speed in which he returns it back in place, it may be he wears this headpiece for more than heat protection.
"Is there anything else?" he asks. "Have you completed your investigation?"
"They're small creatures, usually not alone. I doubt they would have stayed this long after causing so much chaos though."
You both move to the scene of the fire once more. It does indeed appear to have smallish footprints of a humanoid mixed in with the normal sized human ones. Oddly enough, there even seems to be some fresh gnome sized footprints all around the wagon as well.
With a worried glance at Fawziya, Seyhannah draws her scimitar and moves into defensive crouch scanning the area for signs of attack.
Garavel rolls his eyes at the strange short man who had probably spoken more than 5 lifetimes. He repeats himself.
"Have you finished your investigation?"
Fawziya, you don't know anything about Pugwampis.
Seyhannah... as you look around the cart for some kind of clue, you hear a sudden noise inside. In swift motion and a small yell you jump in and slice at the attacker, a burnt pice of caravan cart wood that fell from the ceiling. A mighty foe indeed!
Turning to Fawziya "We should get back to the others. Let Almah and Garavel know that we've had gnolls this close to camp. Right under our noses."
"Ah, say no more...say no more. Indeed to be free of emotion, letting logic run its course unfettered...truly that must be every man's dream."
"N-no, its not that, I think my mango chutney from brunch went sour..."
Zoisa appears shocked.
"That's awful! Emotions are what make people people!"
She quirks an eyebrow at Reauleaux.
"We had mango chutney? I just remember the hardtack."
When he launches into his wild theory about decaymorphs, she facepalms.
"Please, PLEASE leave magic to the mages here. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and I've seen giant talking lemons who are a@~&&#@!s in my dreams!"
Alem listens to the gnome's strange tale with interest, interrupting at various points to ask clarifying questions. He had never heard of these "decaymorphs" before, but then, he was ignorant to the vast majority of knowledge to be had. There were many who interacted with spirits and other entities that most mortals go about their whole lives without ever being aware of. Reuleaux would not even be the first person with such powers that Alem had encountered in his travels with Hassan.
"These decaymorphs sound sinister to be sure. But what is their nature? Are they planar beings, from the Plane of Shadow perhaps? Or are they undead who must be banished from this world before they can rest in Pharasma's Boneyard?"
When Reuleaux finally reaches his all-too-reasonable conclusion, Alem is most impressed. "Yes, yes. If it was not someone from our own camp, and my investigations would point that it was not, then it must be someone from the outside!" There is just one small problem with this conclusion. "But one problem remains. According to Father Zastoran, Eloias was a charlatan with no true magical ability. A priest of Nethys would not make such accusations frivolously. How can Eloias serve as the - you called it the 'focus point from their ethereal window', yes? - the focus point if his spiritualism was false?"
"Was there, like, another name for decaymorphs or something? It sounds like something that COULD happen. Can you show us where they are, if you're the only one who can see them?"
"Maybe you should talk to Father Zastoran about it, then? If they're attracted to the faithful he'd be next on their s#it-list."
"Quite, Seyhannah. Gnolls, and these 'pugwampis' that Dashki mentioned. Maybe one of our allies knows more about them, for I have never faced them in battle - all the better for them, of course!" She returns to the group, listening to them squabble about shadowy creatures.
"'Decaymorphs?'", she questions, raising an eyebrow. "Are they in league with the gnolls and pugwampis? No matter - they shall fall to my sword, like all who stand in defiance of me!"
Zoisa blinks as at Fawziya's statement, and there appears to be a sound in the distance, almost like a cart coming to a screeching halt on cobblestones, despite being miles from civilization.
"Wait? What?! The gnolls attacked the wagon?!"
"Not directly, at least," Fawziya explains. "Seyhannah and I had a conversation with Dashki, and he believes that pugwampis are to blame. They worship gnolls as gods, so the gnolls may have sent the jackal rats to do their bidding. We noticed some small footprints at the fortune-teller's wagon, which may be those of the jackal rats, but wished to discuss things with the rest of you before we investigated further. Have you learned anything else?"
"What's a pugwampi?"
"I know not and care not," Fawziya says dismissively. "Only that if they worship gnolls as deities, then they shall know me as Fawziya Godslayer."
Zoisa blinks again.
"Wow. You're intense, lady!"
"We also found evidence of fresh gnoll tracks as well. So that means a gnoll has been in camp. Possibly since the fire, the tracks seemed fresh. " after a second her face scrunches into a questioning visage "What by Sarenrae's light is a decaymorph?"
Reuleaux does not recall anything about Pugwumpis.
As you guys compare notes on what you've learned, you hear the crunching sound of footsteps in sand behind you. It seems Almah has arrived.
"A mercenary has informed me that you have concluded with the investigation as you had time to sit down and have a meal with them. What have you discovered?"
Garavel gives you all a stern look, clearly indicating his hand-picked adventurers should do their best to impress the boss.