'In interest of doing so, could you tell me what you saw, being the premier witnesses?'
"Like we said, we were here at our fire cleaning up from dinner and I looked up to see the wagon in flames. I didn't see anyone nearby, soon after that the hired swords ran into the wagon to save Eloais. We went to calm the animals that got spooked and were jumping their pens."
Cautiously, Faysal investigates the messy camp site.
You see a tent in chaos, with clothes and trash everywhere. The campfire seems to be burning out and there are bones from dinner strewn wherever they landed after they were plucked clean.
'Thank you,' Makin turns back to face Vadoma and whoever else had accompanied him.
'Let's find this Dashki, shall we?' He walked over to Faysal.
'Any luck?'
"Sadly, no. The lad may well have scampered off, though with all the gnolls about,i fear for his safety."
With a grunt from the dark a mangy young man with darting eyes and ragged clothes materializes. He looks Faysal in the eyes and then looks around the camp checking that nothing obvious is missing. His eyes finally come to rest on Makin. Seconds later the smell of an unwashed traveler hits your noses. This man boy is not to fond of hygiene you think to yourselves. With a bit of a growl he asks, "Who are you and what do you want with my stuff?"
"Hello Lad. I'm FAysal, this is my friend Makin. We've been asked by Almah to find out how the fire in her fortune tellers wagon got started. Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"
Makin stares straight into the uncouth man's eyes, though he stays silent.
His look speaks of recognition, suspicion and challenge.
Dashki says in a raised voice, "I did no start fire!" He limps into the camp favored one leg more than the other, and steps in front of Faysal using his size to attempt to intimidate the smaller man. He keeps his eyes fixed on Makin and positions himself not to be surrounded by the two. As he nears the odor becomes more sickening.
"Is your leg hurt lad? I can help you if you wish."
'Where were you, when the fire started? Do you have an idea who started the fire?'
"Me leg was hurt before when a gnoll tried to chew it off. Me was here at fire eating when the fire started.", he says nervously.
'Did anyone see you here, and more importantly did you see anything?"
"Yes, it is actually very important that you tell us if you saw anything. It would be horrible if we had some sort of monster nearby our camp."
Long Shou, disappointed that his search proved fruitless, notices the commotion around the newly arrived boy. As he approaches the rest of the party, he wrinkles his nose. "To keep cleanliness is to honor your ancestors," he mutters under his breath to Makin. He takes a careful look at the young man.
"No! I tell you me was at my fire. Me had nothing to do with that fire. How we know fire was set? That idiot burned lots of candles all the time, maybe he unlucky. We are in gnoll country, was probbly pugwampis."
Long:
Makin smiled quickly at Long Shou, before turning his gaze fully on Dashki.
'Pug-a-what-eys?'
"Terrible critters what 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 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.”"
"Pugwampis. Lovely. So did you see any when you were at the fire?"
"If there was one of these 'Pugwampies' near the camp, do you think you could help us find it?"
"I didnt see the fire... I mean no, me no see the pugwampis. We are in gnoll country they should be easy enough to find."
'Then,' Makin smiles, 'find them. There should be tracks from the caravan.'
Long Shou, after studying the boy, gets a rather mischievous grin across his face, making his beard dance. "You look like leg hurt, young man! I am acupuncture master, can cure it very fast!" He winks at the rest of the party, whips out a very long, pointy needle from his bag, and advances at Dashki.
"I no work for you, I work for Almah. And you old man you keep your needles to yourself!"
"Fine, let's bring you to Almah and see what she has to say on the matter, but she did seem enraged by the fire. She won't be easy on you without proof, and you'll definately need proof for the pugawampi part of your tale!"
Intimidate 4+1=5! To get Dashki to show us the tracks immediately
"Come now Makin, we don't have to be so harsh to him. But Dashiki, he does make a good point. It will look much better to Almah if you went above and beyond your call of duty and proactively found the cause. I imagine she would appreciate it greatly."
Faysal takes a step back from the group, and looks around at the camp. Aside from the Drovers, the guards, and Almah, who esle is there?
Garavel, who had been shadowing your investigations finally speaks up and says, "Pugwampis huh? Well Almah will want proof, dead or alive. Dashki will do as you ask to fulfill this investigation." He says the last part as he stares into Dashki's darting eyes. It appears Garavel doesn't trust the boy either. "I will inform Almah of your plans, are you going hunting now?"
At that point an old man dressed as if he was born in Katapesh approaches your conversation seemingly drawn in by the ruckus. He smiles at Garavel and settles in to listen to the drama unfolding. You recognize him as the one who was helping the injured men during the fire. Garavel looks at him and nods his head in greeting saying, "Evening father. "
'Father,' Makin nods his head.
'Yes, I think we will go hunting! Should be fun, us and Dashki, out after dark!'
At this Makin draws his wayfinder from under his kaftan, resting two fingers on it he quietly says a word of power, and it illuminates, shedding light.
"Night missions are guaranteed trouble. Ah well, a job is a job..."
Faysal approaches the older man
"Greetings Abu Garavel. Before we set out on this ill advised night time snipe hunt, have you any words of wisdom to share?"
Zastoran laughs "Oh little man I am not Garavel's father, The pactmasters are his only family. I am Zastoran, Cleric of Nethys. They call me father do to my age and ability to make healing liquids. I am the caravan pack rat, if you need it I might have it. Books, paintings, pointy metal things and of course healing droughts."
'Truth-telling elixirs?' Makin says, eying Dashki.
Dashki says confidently, "we are looking for a little humanoid that’s much smaller than a halfling, with light fur, dirty claws, and a tiny jackal head."
"Very well then Father, let's us chat a while. I could use a healing drought or two, possibly some scroll,s if you've such things about you?"
Faysal will go 3rd :)
For faysal:
Edit: I'll go third then.
"I'll take 2 healing potions, light please. Watching my figure."
You push out into the dark with Haldo in the lead followed closely by Dashki, Long, Vadoma, Fayal, and Makin. The lights of Haldo's torch and Makin's wayfinder dance on the landscape creating small illusory figures that eerily haunt the shadows.
For Long:
For Faysal:
For Makin:
For Haldo:
For Vadoma:
All of a sudden Vadoma lets out a sigh.
Makin points and yells at the figure, moving towards it.
Vadoma, clueless, continues marching forward, taking a quick glance at the sky while thinking about the "pugwampi" that she is chasing.
'Behind a tree, I thought it was behind us!'
Makin peers into the shadowy edges of his light's reach.
Haldo stops, drops his pack and prepares his crossbow.
"We're being surrounded! To arms!"