Thomdril shrugs “Here is the deal, we know you aren’t telling us everything. You know it, and so do we. But, we cannot force you to tell us. Heck, even if Nasir here decided to cut off your right hand that wouldn’t do us any good. You would just spout out any information that would fly off the tip of your tongue just to save your hand.”
Thomdril walks to the other side of the man. “But, if you were willing to share whatever it is you know, whatever you were doing, and it would lead to us figuring out what exactly happened here it could lead to a reward. Think about it Almah finds out that you gave us some critical piece of information that leads us to solving this mystery before us... who know what she would give for that.”
Thomdril places a hand on Nasir’s shoulder; “Lets go see what we can find out from the others.” Beginning to walk away he says over his shoulder; “We are always here to talk Dashki.”
Turning to Thomdrill and Viridi, Nasir hears Dashki mutter something about Pugwamis. ”Do we want to go back and interrogate him about this Pugwamis? I vote for rejoining with the others and pursuing this Pugwamis later.”
Nasir shakes his head, ” I apologize for coming off that way Thomdrill, I do not like having to use my size in that way but it seemed to be the only way we could get information from him, and still we seemed to have failed.” Nasir growls low, frustrated that Thomdrill’s and his tactics only seemed to give them more questions.
”Sometime we should work more on that interrogation tactic for the future”
As the three of them walk about towards the wagon, Thomdril puts his arm on Nasir’s shoulder. “No need to apologize. Sometimes bruit force works, sometimes talking nicely works, and then sometimes you just have to do both...” putting his arm down and pulling his cloak shut against the sand and wind. “We have a possible lead with these Pugwamis, and if that Dashki guy did do something he knows we are looking. He might slip up and try to cover his tracks. Then we will have him.”
Nodding towards the wagon; “Lets hope they had better luck than we did.”
Shiiru looks around at the others, "Hmmm, yes and we should probably hurry over to them, it seems that they may be working to start a brawl," Shiiru sighs and shakes his head, "which is likely to be counterproductive regardless of if the man's guilty or not." Shiiru lowers the body where they are, "We'll come back and finish this in a minute then." He then starts off to where the others are interrogating their witness, though this time he does look back to make sure the others are with him before truly leaving.
Fulk shrugs and follows Shiiru. "Not much here worth examining anyway."
Amori frowns, torn. He does want to help the others with whom he has been assigned a task, but at the same time, to abandon the body of a deceased innocent seems... somewhat rude. Still, no Pharasmin, he gently places the charred corpse on the wagon and joins Shiiru to see what is going on with the other group.
Shiiru, Amori and Fulk amble up to the others as they work through their interrogation. Shiiru looks around trying to size up the situation, "How's your end of the investigation going?" He asks, a little wary. "I hope this small," he wrinkles his nose, "dirty man wasn't giving too much trouble?"
”He knew far less than we had hoped.” Nasir smiles toward Shiiru, ”But we did learn that our Thomdrill has quite the silver tongue isn’t that right?”
Nasir face erupts into a large grin and clasps Thomdrill on the back. ”Dashki told us he had nothing to do with the fire but gave us a new lead, Pugwamis. What do you all find out at the cart? Did you figure out who set it on fire?”
Shhiiru looks relieved to see they've left the man without starting a fight."Pugwamis?" he asks.
"Oh yes, aren't those the creatures that . . ."
"I've never heard of those, what are they?"
He shakes his head, "Well I'm glad you've got something. The only thing we found is that it is possible that it was an accident. Come, we'll tell you about it as we go. We left the body because it looked like there might be trouble over here, but we were just about to give the man some sort of funeral. He deserves something at least."
Thomdril give a wave of a hand and a heads his head; “Oh I am not sure if its the silver tongue or the silver hair. Once you get to be my age you learn to kind of just roll with the situation and see what happens.”
Hearing Shiiru mention that it might be some kind of accident, Thomdril speaks up; “Accident you say? Dashki mention how he was always burning candles and that he probably knocked them over... the only thing is if there is something I always do in close quarters I am extra careful about it. But then again, accidents do happen. I suppose.”
“I say this in no disrespect. But, Lady Almah doesn’t seem to have a good reign over her caravan. She was not sure who was driving in front or behind, and does not know anything about the personal lives. I tried to ask her if someone might have received a bad reading from the fortune teller, that could have been a great lead.”
“Oh yes, a funeral. That would be... great.” Thomdril is looking around at the land around us. How in the heck do you bury someone in sand? Won’t the wind just uncover the body over time? This will be an interesting thing to see, Thom.
Nasir looks around at his companions ”It seems I was mistaken at what Pugwamis was.......I thought it was someone here in the caravan. I apologize.”
“I am with Thomdrill, this all seems to convienent to be simply an accident. Even if there is some creature that is following us and planning to kill us all we must deal with that.”
“If no one has any ideas, I can bury him the way that my people bury the dead out here. We will need a white linen, some water from a silver urn, and the thing that he held most dear, his harrow deck perhaps. ” Nasir looks at the smoldering caravan that use to be Eloais’s living. ”It is possible we can not find anything like that in there, we will do without it.”
Nasir direct Shiiru and Thomdrill to figure out which direction Katapesh is from here. ”His head must be pointing to the light of Katapesh” he tells them.
Meanwhile, he ask Fulk to help him dig a small grave for the man, not too deep, just deep enough ”The land will the do the rest”
Once this is all done Nasir begins pouring water over the body from the silver urn onto the body then slowly wrapping it head to toe in the white linen.
”From the land we came and from the land we return” And with these final words, Nasir lowers the body into the shallow grave, the sand already beginning to claim its most recent victim.
"Convenient?" Amori asks thoughtfully. "But for whom? I know that the politics of Katapesh are cutthroat, but who would benefit from this occasion? Surely it would do more harm to the caravan's efforts if Master Garavel or Mistress Almah were harmed in this blaze than him?"
He shrugs slightly. "I am just thinking aloud. Do not mind me."
"Pugwampis..." The bard frowns behind the cloth that covers his face as his mind flicks absently through what knowledge he has of them. Being a slave did not lend itself to one's education, but he had heard all manner of stories passed between masters, and maybe some of them included these creatures.
After helping Nasir collect the cards of the Harrow deck, Amori stands silently over the cairn, his fair brows furrowed. Looking up at his companions, his eyes crinkle into a smile. "Well, we have some information now, but should we speak to other members of the caravan?"
"Ugh. Pugwampis. I hate those things."
”Er... pugwampis? What are those?”
"Pugwampi's are a type of gremlin that revel in the misfortunes and mistakes of others. Enough so that they often do anything they can to create those misfortunes." Shiiru spits, "Filthy creatures."
"With what we know so far, it could be true that Pugwampis are responsible," Shiiru turns to Thomdrill, "regardless of how careful he was. However, I do not think that this means our investigation is done. Just because it is possible, doesn't mean it is our reason. When we are done with this, we should try to find more witnesses."
Shiiru steps forward, looking around to see if he can figure out the direction of Katapesh, and discussing it with Fulk to see if the two can figure it out together.
Thomdril will help out in anyway he is able, he will help look for some kind of remains of items that could be in the char and soot. Maybe some of the burnt Harrow Cards, maybe any of the gems or crystals he would have used as a focus in his practices.
Thomdril approaches Nasir with whatever he might have found, if nothing is found he will take two of his gold coins and rub them in ash and try to pass them off as the Fortune Teller’s coins.
Once handing the items or coins to Nasir, he stands silently watching Nasir performing the ceremony. As Nasir finishes Thomdril says silently, almost under his breath; “Good fortunes follow you as The Eternal Maiden welcomes you home.” He places a handful of sand ontop of where the body was laid to rest.
Fulk does his best to determine the direction of Katapesh, with Shiiru's aid.
Working out the direction to Katapesh is fairly easy and between Fulk and Shiiru you are confident you have it right.
Nothing interrupts the burial, and although most of the caravan ignores you, a couple of people - Hardrod and Hadrah, Father Zastoran, and Garavel - come over to pay their respects. They allow you to lead proceedings though, and do not interfere.
Shiiru sits quietly and solemnly through the ceremony. As it is ending, he whispers his own prayer, though only those closest can hear it, "Magic has nurtured you, and now you nurture magic. Return to the netherworld with peace, and may Nethys' blackened hand guide you."
He stands for a few moments longer, but as things start to break away, Shiiru stops the three men. "I appreciate that you three came to help pay respects. We are now looking for some help in finding out what happened to him. Did any of you see anything before his wagon caught fire?"
Nasir saddles up to Shiiru when he sees him talking to Garavel as well as the others. ”Yes Garavel, maybe you can be more helpful than Almah was, did you notice anything? Or at the very least Garavel, you can point us in a good direction as Lady Almah gave us almost nothing to go off of. Perhaps you too Lady Hadrah, did you spot anything right before the fire started that help explain what happened?”
Turning to Viridi, Fulk grimaces. "Pugwampis are fey that even other fey dislike. They're tremendously unlucky little gremlins, and love nothing more than causing accidents and the like so that others can share their misfortune."
Garavel looks coldly at Nasir "The Lady, quite rightfully, chose you people as you have no ties to the group. You can be objective. I have suspicions, as I'm sure she also does. But it would be unfair, and wrong to base any decision on those. Your job is to uncover proof." With that he turns on his heel, and walks off.
The others are much friendlier. Hardrod seems close to tears, while his wife, Hadrah launches into an epic story of what happened "I was the first to notice the fire, and then, just as I was raising the alarm the animals escaped. Well, we had trouble chasing them! Rombard, our best goat, took right off, and then the camels, and the sheep and....." as she rattles on father Zastoran grins widely. "... and then you turned up,a nd all of a sudden the fire was out."
"But Rombard is still missing." Hadrod puts in, a crack in his voice showing his upset.
When they have finished Zastoran gives his account "I was reading by the fire. The caravan guards were all there, being their usual jovial selves, though strangely Dashki was not. I decided to find somewhere quieter, and stood to move. That was when I heard Hadrah shout. From there it is a bit of a blur. The guards moved to help, and then I had, Trevvis and Kallien to deal with."
"It is harsh, and I would not wish the poor man the fate he suffered, but I cannot help but think that the LAdy Almah will be better off without that Charlatan feeding her fables."
Thomdril walks up to Nasir and gives him a nudge; “Its not worth it. Just let him go. But he is right, there has to be some proof out there.” Turning towards the rest of the group. “What about the wagon? Was there nothing there? I understand that with everyone running around and throwing water about that it would have messed up proof around the wagon, but maybe there were tracks that were missed?” Thomdril shrugs his shoulders.
“We didn’t get much, but we did get the bit about the Pugwamis... They are mischievous and could have caused the fire. Plus those are local to this area. Maybe they were lured here?”
Thomdril nervously begins to play with a dagger. Flipping it in and out of its sheath, flipping it around in his hand, blade to pommel. We need to get something happening here. This is my ticket to possibly finding her...
Seething with anger as the rage build up from Garavel’s seeming complacency, Nasir relaxes at Thomdrill’s wise words. ”Thank you my friend, I just don’t understand why he wont help at all. Even suspicion can be followed up on, if it is a dead end so be it.”
Nasir sighs heavily, ”You are right though Thomdrill, we must pursue what is in front of us. This Pugwamis is certainly a lead. Although I feel like we may have others. Perhaps someone could question Hadrah more closely as well as Father Zastoran.”
“I could speak to the mercenaries, maybe they saw something as they leaped to help put out the fire. I shall start there if anyone wants to join me.”
Nasir begins making his way over to the grouping of guards sitting around there caravans.
”Hail friends! I have come to offer my apologies for the wounds that your comrades have received in the fire. How are they doing?”
Shiiru raises his eyebrows at Garavel's seeming unconcern, but says nothing. He sits and listens patiently to the priest and his wife as they tell their story. Hmmm . . . The fire then chaos, I wonder . . .
As they finish he looks at them solemnly, "So Rombard is still missing. Has anything else gone missing? And is there anyone that seemed like they might want to take Rombard?" It's a little thin, but creating chaos to steal something, it's at least another possibility.
Amori tilts his head thoughtfully. Who among the caravan would like to steal a goat... Probably no one. Pursing his lips behind his veil, he looks to his companions. "My sense is that no one in the caravan would want a goat, even," he nods gravely at Hadrod, "your best goat, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I suggest we keep an eye out for Rombard. It would do no harm to our investigation, I'm sure."
Thomdril is going to move away from the burial site. He is going to give the wagon site a look over just Incase things were missed. Tracks to and from, maybe something that stands out that might shouldn’t be there, etc...
Hadrod bows low to Amori, his hands together in exaggerated thanks. "I believe you are correct, he probably just ran, scared in the tumult. You help is appreciated though." With that, he moves off to his own fire with his wife.
Amori smiles behind his veil, eyes twinkling. "It is no trouble at all, Master Hadrod." He shifts slightly, uncomfortable with the display of respect, but moves onwards swiftly. "Hm... Master Al'Issaf, Master Fulk, you two have lived in the wilderness before, yes? Could you possibly find Rombard's tracks? Or, for that matter, any tracks in the area of the wagon?"
He looks towards the wreckage of the wagon, his smile fading. "I know that there were a lot of tracks around it, probably from those of us who went to put out the fire and the like, but... anything's better than nothing."
”Aye” Nasir says slowly as if he is intentionaly pausing on his response.”It is good that there were no more needless deaths this day.”
Nasir takes the ale, raises the aleskin and looks at the mercenaries, ”To Kallien, may the heat of Katapesh wake her soon and to Trevvis, may all his piss come out”
Nasir smiles at his his own joke and sits down. ”How long have you all been with this caravan? If you don’t mind me asking, has anything like that fire happened before? Also, I apologize, I have many questions on my mind. Did any of you know Eloais? Did anyone visit him recently and get their fortune told? Maybe someone who could hold a grudge because of what they heard?”
"We have questions too. That wagon going up was a bit odd. Though I dare say we are better off without the fop. Taking a share of the water and giving what? Dreams and portents?" Another man takes up the story.
One of the women puts a hand on his arm to stop him though. "What we mean to say is that, though he wasn't much liked with us, we don't see any reason why someone would start a fire like that." she says. "We were all here together when the fire started. For a change that skank Dashki wasn't here. Probably trying to sneak a look at her ladyship again. So we had some peace. I would have been nice if it wasn't for what followed."
”Dashki normally hangs around the caravan guards?”That is surprising, that seems important, I must tell the others this. ”Now why would a man such as Dashki hang around with you lot?
My friends and I are trying to do some justice for the man and find out what happened. If it was an accident so be it, but all the same we want to put this unfortunate incident to rest. Please if you can think of anything odd about Eloais that may help, I would appreciate.”
“I think I am going to check out some tracks but I never was that good of a scout. Anyone want to come give me a hand? I have a good bit of water left in my skin to share” he says as he pats his waterskin.
"I have done a bit of tracking in my time. Let us see what there is to see." Fulk says, before trying to track down this goat.
"Dashki normally hangs around the caravan guards?" That is surprising, that seems important, I must tell the others this. "Now why would a man such as Dashki hang around with you lot?"
"Well, we tollerate him better than most I guess. No one particularly wants him around." the first guard says.
"My friends and I are trying to do some justice for the man and find out what happened. If it was an accident so be it, but all the same we want to put this unfortunate incident to rest. Please if you can think of anything odd about Eloais that may help, I would appreciate."
"Good luck with that." The woman replies. Although you can't quite tell if she is sincere.
Shiiru nods to the Hadrod, "Thank you for your help." He watches Nasir walk off towards the mercenaries, then Fulk and Thomdril moving to the wagon again. Taaso, comes out of the darkness, brushing up against Shiiru's leg. "Well my friend, where do we go next?" Shiiru turns to Viridi and Amori, the only two left here, "I'm going to visit Father Zastoran, and see if he has anything to say about it. Would you like to join Taaso and I?" He reaches down, scratching the cat's head for half a moment as he speaks, to indicate Taaso. "It may not get us anything, but it's probably the next best stop before we start forming theories."
"Hm..." Amori inclines his head slightly. "Most likely wise. I'm not going to be very much use in tracking anything down, I'm afraid." He looks to Viridi and then to Shiiru. "I'm willing."
”Yes thank you for your help”, Nasir says gruffly as he takes another swig of the ale.
He stays there for a little bit listening to the mercenaries as they tell each other stories of their own various travels across the lands of Katapesh and beyond. They have no clue what means to live out here. As much as I am angry at them for not helping, still I I would feel guilty if they perished out here.
As the mercenaries start to slow down and go to their various task, Nasir gets up and looks for his compatriots again.
Thomdril will lend aid to Fulk as we look around.
Shiiru nods, accepting the company, and walks towards where Father Zastoran would be.
"I was reading by the fire the guards had gotten going, but they were being too loud. As I stood to find somewhere quieter, I heard the alarm raised and rushed to help."
Seeing Thomdrill and Fulk looking around the wagon, Nasir walks over to them, swearing under his breath.
”I am sorry my friends, I have failed us. I spoke to the mercenaries, they either don’t know anything or they are unwilling to help. It’s hard to tell with mercenaries. Did we find anything over here? Please tell me what I can help with.”
"Er..." The lost-looking half-elf nods at the mage. "...sure, I'll go with you."
I really need to start paying more attention to things...