Alik approaches the tracker Dashki.
"Ho friend! I bring some news regarding the wagon fire."
Alik explains the tracks and takes Dashki to see for himself if required.
"Garavel said that Almah would respect your decision if you thought we should proceed tonight or hold off until the morning. I do not relish the thought of charging blindly into the night, but knowing these puny intruders have run off with property of the caravan angers me. I would rather catch them quickly before they have time to escape if it is not too imprudent."
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"The mercenaries' small fire could have caused the large explosion! If they were summoning an elemental or through the use of sympathetic magic. Or maybe he wasn't a Charlatan and he was summoning an Ifrit or elemental." The witches mind boggles as it wanders from the subject at hand. Her pale eyes look from under the hood.
"Well, I did not want to bring it up before, but..." Zastoran starts quietly, glancing about again to check for eavesdroppers.
"Dashki, the ranger that travels with us... he is rather unsettling. He has had this obsession with Almah since the day he joined us - I've spotted him watching her from afar several times. No one with healthy desires skulks around a pretty woman the way he does; who knows what a scoundrel like him is capable of?"
The mercenary looks down into the cup, disappointed. With a shrug he takes a sip.
"So, why were you just standing there gawking at us?" another of the mercenaries interjects rudely. "Didn't even bother to introduce yourself!"
"Shut up, Dullen," the man with the flagon says sternly, before turning to Corneilious, "Although, a name wouldn't hurt. We're in for the long haul it seems."
Dashki does not answer immediately, instead looking you up and down with his dark eyes. Only after you finish your explanation does he stir. Quickly shoving the core of his apple into his mouth, he stands up.
"Tracks, hm?" he mutters with a full mouth as he licks off his fingers, "I guess I can take a look." Following Alik to the footprints, Dashki kneels down. After barely seconds of inspecting them he speaks again. "Hmph. I expected as much."
"The name is Balckwall. I don't mean to be a bother but you know how it is. You get to a place and it blows up. Things get a bit socially awkward after that. You just need to find somebody you can trust. I don't know who I can trust yet."
Alik waits patiently for Dashki to continue.
"Do you know these tracks?" he prompts gently.
Like the midnight breeze blowing across the dark sands, her mind is ever on the move but she isn't sure what else to ask the kindly alchemist.
Suddenly glad of her dark robes covering her and keeping her protected against the element and prying eyes the Orc-taught woman brings a hand to her face.
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"Ain't that the truth. The name's Trevvis, by the way," the mercenary says, gesturing to himself. He then points to the other five around the fire in turn. "And these are Utarchus, Kallien, Brotis, Yesper, and of course, Dullen. Frankly, they're the only ones here I know I can trust."
"Now there's another six of you here. I'd find you lot suspicious if one of you hadn't saved me and Kallien's necks."
"Pugwampis," Dashki mutters, leaning off to the side to spit before continuing, "Terrible critters that crawled up from the Darklands below the earth. 'Jackal rats,' some folks call 'em, on 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 they try to kill them all the time. But they always come back."
"That's him over there, by that fiery-looking fellow," Zastoran says, pointing across the camp. You see Alik with a dark-haired man, both looking at something on the ground. "He's a strange fellow... you two be careful."
"Bad luck?" Alik says incredulously. "You mean the fire might have just been a twitch of these 'pugwampis' evil eye?"
Alik makes some signs to ward off bad luck and evil.
'Maybe the fire was to get us away from the tree? Stupid as it damaged the tree - hence religious as they aren't bright, just faithful.'
After the kind alchemist answers, she bows from respect and moves towards Alik and Dashki.
Alik sees Garruth and Ruka approaching him and the tracker.
"Good timing. Garavel has advised Dashki's tracking is very strong. He is familiar with the tracks I had located. Little devils of ill omen may have unintentionally caused the wagon accident...with misfortune."
"I, er, no, I don't believe so," Zastoran replies, scratching a spot on his head, "It was just named for its shape before, well..." The old man looks to the dismembered tree and shrugs.
Dashki lets out a snort at Alik's words and proceeds to wipe his face off with one of his sleeves. He does not pay any mind to Ruika and Garruth's arrival. "That idiot always kept a bunch of scented candles lit in his wagon. It would have been easy enough for him to knock them over, even if he took 'caution. But with pugwampis around, it doesn't matter if you try to be careful about things. They just go wrong anyway."
"Good for you then," Trevvis says as he finishes the rest of his water, "Just make sure you stay out of our way when the real excitement comes. We're here to do the heavy lifting."
Alik shook his head, his lips twisted in distaste.
"It seems then that to follow these fiends in the dark of night would be to invite trouble. I suppose then we should concern ourselves with what may be missing or damaged in the camp. Unless you advise otherwise, Dashki?"
"Almah will sorely miss her sage though." she idly comments. It seems without her pet she has become slightly sharp.
"There are no holes in the fence?" Jaykae looks to her sister and shakes her head, "Did you see anyone around here before the fire?" She asks while petting Lyssa's ears to reassure herself.
"Yeah..." says Keiko, as she peers towards the fence, "It seems a bit odd that the animals would get out right as a big fire was starting... without any damage no less. We should look for tracks or something around here..."
"There was only one of 'em," Dashki grunts, poking at one of the tiny impressions with a finger, "Pugwampis are tiny and weak - they can't do much of anything if they're alone. Asides from cause trouble." When asked for advisement, Dashki just shrugs. "Not my place to say. Little bastard could be far or close. It doesn't matter to me."
"The hell is a metaphor?" you hear murmured by someone in the group, though by whom is not clear.
With a groan, Trevvis rubs the bridge of nose between his fingers. "So what do you want anyway? I assume you didn't come over here looking for smalltalk."
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Turning his attention to Dashki "Had you been into the fortune teller's wagon often?" He frowns hearing about the pugwampis "These pugwampis sound detestable" He looks confused when Dashki says it doesn't matter to him "If these creatures are nearby and cause disasters like this wouldn't that be a worry to you as well? Have they been causing other problems too?"
Alik nods in agreement with Garruth's concerns.
"Let us advise Almah and Garavel of our findings."
The tall ifrit strides away to do this.
"Yep you're right, Kei."
Jaykae starts looking around for any footprints that don't look quite normal.
Perception Check:
Moving quickly across the desert sands she just about keeps up with the rangy barbarian.
Keiko also starts searching for tracks curiously.
Corneilious is trying to sound like a smart ass to get a rise out of the Mercenaries. He figures that sooner or later one of them will slip up.
"I keep my eyes on things," Dashki says impatiently in response to Garruth's question, "Nothing like this ever happened before."
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Garavel has not strayed far since Alik brought Dashki to the footprints. You can all spot him standing by a nearby wagon with his arms crossed, eying the mangy tracker with an intense gaze. One of Almah's red-armored guards approaches him and exchanges words briefly, before taking his leave. Noticing your approach, he steps towards you.
"None of our supplies are missing," he says, directing the statement at Alik, "Though apparently a goat was lost during the fire." He glances at Dashki briefly. "Did you learn anything from our tracker?"
Despite his speech patterns, Dashki's words seem to indicate that he is rather knowledgeable. However, his brash behavior and rude mannerisms make it difficult to discern whether or not what he says is true.
At a glance you can see that there is a sizable collection of different hoof prints, as well as small impressions left behind by chicken feet. However, neither of you spot anything out of the ordinary.
"Well aren't you a smart ass," Yesper says, her tone snide and confrontational. She turns to Trevvis and pushes on his shoulder. "This guy's trying to look down on us! Us!"
Dullen makes a point of gesturing rudely at you, though he casts a wary glance in his boss' direction as he does so.
"Thanks for the water," Trevvis says curtly, clearly no longer amused by the conversation, "Why don't you run off to your friends. I'm sure they'd find your magic trick amusing."
Keeping close enough to the barbarian so that she can find out what he has learnt from the tracker.
'Dashki might have good taste in enemies but I trust him not. Someone may have summoned these spirits to perform their mischief. That's if he is not lying, although they could live in the tree I suppose?' The cloaked figure ponders this whilst watching to see the others responses; especially Dashki's to Garavels' slight.
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Garruth smiels and nods to Alik suggesting they "Yes Alik, I think we should speak with Almah." he leans in closer to the Ifrit man and speaks a bit quieter, but still loud enough that Dashki would be able to hear "I'm eager to get closer to her, she's a cutie isn't she?" He sees if there's a reaction from the tracker as he follows the others to speak with Garavel.
With a slight shake of her head, Ryuika believes that she'll never understand non-Orcs.
With that, Corneilious turns and walks away to join Alik, Ruika and Garruth.
"They live in tree? Or in desert?" she wonders. "They let out goat? Should we head after?" The hood turns to look at the pens where the Zerda twins are examining.
"Huh, I'm really not seeing anything out of the ordinary here," decides Keiko as she peers at the prints, shrugging over towards Jaykae.
"Pugwampis?" Garavel says with a raised brow, as he rubs his lantern jaw thoughtfully, "I have never heard of such creatures creatures. And a curse you say? Sounds like superstition to me." With a sigh however, he relents. "Nonetheless, if it is coming from his mouth... I will tell Almah immediately."
The majordomo takes his leave, disappearing into Almah's tent. After no more than a minute, he reemerges and approaches the four of you once more.
"She wishes to speak to all of you personally. Gather the rest of your group and meet us in her tent. We will be waiting." He then heads back towards the large
With a snort Dashki shakes his head and walks off back towards his spot near the tree.
"Me either, Kei. I guess we should go back to the others then and tell them we found nothing." Jaykae seems a little saddened that their search did not turn up anything for them and turns away to look for the others.
Ruika moves off quickly to the Zerda twins, tramping across the sands around the camp. "Almah's tent. We have lead." she says softly, not trying to offend the nice musicians. She looks down at her friend in Jaykae's arms all bundled up.
Slowly Ruika removes a glove revealing a tanned hand, she strokes the lovely furred creature; speaking in a light lilting voice.
"She no trouble?" Ruika asks Jaykae hoping her familiar has not been naughty as she shows the pair towards Almah's tent.
Jaykae looks up at the big woman shyly and nods, "No trouble. She's good. She doesn't even wiggle much." She follows along beside the robed lady to see what has been found.
"Good and you two are good people, else Lyssa would bite." she says simply although the subtle could tell that there was a depth of admiration and affection behind the gruff words.
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Dashki's reaction didn't seem especially strong which didn't necessarily mean he didn't get jealous of people close to Almah, but give him any confirmation either. Garruth follows Ruika over to the twins since the talk with Almah wouldn't start without them, that and an excuse to go talk to the twins couldn't hurt.
"Made a new friend Jay?" The catman reaches to stroke the cute orange fuzzy creature in Jaykae's arms, hopefully he won't be bitten. "It sounds like something called a Pugwampi may be responsible for the fire. Did you two learn anything about the missing goat?" Garruth inquires moving along with them in the direction of Almah's tent.
Alik waits patiently until everyone has entered the tent then he himself enters last.
"Uh huh." Jaykae says to Garruth, forgetting all about her faux pas earlier, "But we couldn't find anything wrong. Someone had to have let the animals out." Her musical voice is lilted a bit for Lyssa to make her feel welcome as she scratches the ball of fur.
Keiko nods and says, "Yeah, nothing was broken or anything. I couldn't find any weird tracks, but people are walking around there all the time. I can't shake the suspicion that releasing the animals was a diversion." She pats the little fox on the head and says, "She seems nice, too. Does she bite, ummm, bad people usually?"
Corneilious follows everybody into the tent.
When you enter the rather large tent, you find that it is dimly lit by a number of small candles. The interior is lavishly decorated, as one might expect of a room befit for royalty. Towards the back of the tent is a pair of luxurious beds, as well as various pieces of fine furniture, all of which was no doubt assembled on the spot. In the space before you however is a large planning table, covered with various maps and documents.
Having expected your arrival, Almah stands at the the table, with Garavel by her side.
"So my gnoll expert told you that these so-called 'pugwampis' were responsible for the fire..." Almah remarks thoughtfully, as she looks at each of you in turn. Garavel remains silent, having clearly spoken his piece on the matter already. "I have nothing but the utmost trust in Dashki's expertise, but even I must admit, I am a tad incredulous about such creatures existing. Do the six of you believe that there is validity to his claim?"
Corneilious wan never really a part of the conversation. He shrugs and looks to see how the others respond.
"She gets grumpy with bad people." Ruika says softly to Keiko opening up to them as the little fox seems to trust them. As she walks into the lavish tent.
Ruika's looks around the tent, pale eyes hidden in the folds of the hood. They flick across the beds; 'Have they been slept in, or mated in? If they have that's more motive, if she was with the Varisian seer.'
"In the desert there are many strange sights. It would explain the missing goat." she states ascertively "But so would a saboteurs?" she wonders outloud.
"We should follow any pugwampi tracks, check them out. Whilst the camp stays upon alert." her low voice one of authority even though she has none.
Alik looks at Almah quizzically.
"Do you not trust this man who was pointed out to me as the expert in these matters?"
Alik shifts his gaze to Garavel. "Why would you tell me to seek his counsel if it is not something you desired to hear?"
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Garruth nods towards Almah "I don't know about these pugwampis, but it seems that something left tracks... unfortunately there are too many unfamiliar scents here, and the smoke does not help, I couldn't tell you what it was. There are stranger creatures out there, if Dashki is trustworthy as you say then I don't see why we should doubt their existence." His amber eyes move to look into Almah's "Unless you know of a reason he might make them up."
"If we can trust this man, as Ruika said, it would probably be a good idea to follow the tracks. Pugwampi or not, something left them."
He looks curiously at the cloaked woman "I don't really follow about saboteurs though... what would they want with a goat?"
Alik shakes his head before anyone can respond.
"It matters not. What matters is to decide if we leave the camp in the night to pursue or not. We may have stopped the fire before they expected and thus preventing the intruders from succeeding at their target. So they may harry us again ere the night ends. Or not. Whatever has made these small tracks may be deadly or a mere nuisance."
Alik shifts to stand as tall as he can in the tent. "I see well in blackness and suspect Catman can as well. We can track and advise of the situation if you wish. Or we can hunt and seek to destroy those who threaten us."
Garavel frowns disapprovingly at Alik's forwardness, but Almah simply waves it off.
"My majordomo's misgivings about Dashki are none of your concern," she says coolly, "Why do his doubts matter if you have the evidence I asked you for? My own are but precaution."
"Unfamiliar footprints give me enough of a reason to believe him. I cannot rest easy knowing that the creature responsible for Eloais’ death is skulking about somewhere out there. It is good that you are up to the task, because I want you hunt down this pugwampi and bring it back here, dead or alive."
She turns to Garavel. "Inform Dashki that he is to accompany them." The man seems to open his mouth in protest, but Almah continues. "He knows the lay of the land better than anyone, and is the only one who seems to know anything about their quarry."
With a grim nod, Garavel leaves the tent. The merchant princess looks to the six of you once more.
"If you have any questions, now would be the time to ask them. Leave camp as soon as you are able. There is no telling how far away it might be by now."