As he picks the pugwampi up Manuun also finds some slightly burned harrow cards on the ground.
Ohrmizd would undo the path he opened with his shield and scimitar through the cacti.
Once out of the cactus field with both, the pugwampi and the goat, and no immediate threat of death by cactus any more the group travels back. But the pugwampi still seems to be a bringer of bad luck, as more often than normal, someone steps into a hole, or stumbles over a stone.
A short walk later the group arrives at the camp again.
After the third time Ohrmizd stumbles into a rock he looks back at the pugwampi pissed up then at the other members of the team "Have you seen that? I am not sure this is all due to the goat's weight... may it be there is really some bad luck around?"
Once they arrive to the camp Ohrmizd approaches Father Zastoran with the goat, letting others inform Garavel about their pugwampi quarry "Hello Father. It seems Rombard has suffered badly from that pugwampi. Can you do anything for him?"
The man soothes the goat's soft belly.
"You want me to waste my precious magic or bandages on a goat? Get it to the cameldriver." Father Zastoran tells.
Ohrmizd is struck by the hard words of the man, he frowns but just retires silently... "Ok, Rombard... it seems they do not want to help you. Do not worry, good goat, we will find a way to help you..."
The Sarenrite ask help to the others to bring then the goat to Hadrah and Hadrod. He smiles wide at their side "Look what have we found lost in the middle of a cacti field!"
Leaving the goat at their feet, Ohrmizd soothes it once more with his hand "Good goat"
"Rombard, you poor little thing!" Hadrah greets the goat huggin gand petting him. And Rombard is glad to be back with people he knows.
"Thank you very much for bringing him. Hadrod tells.
"Sarenrae cares for the weak and defenseless. It is only my regret that I cannot do more for Rombard. Let's hope the Healing Flame will recover him soon" as he says this Ohrmizd taps the goat's side and much to his surprise the wounds on the animal disappear.
The Keleshite raises a quick prayer with a sign "For Saranrae! The goddess has blessed us with her healing!"
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When everybody has settled at the camp again Manuun tries to collect his thoughts:"So what do we think happened here?"
"The Pugwampi sneaked into the camp and entered the Wagon of Eloais? Thats how he good the Harrowing cards. At this moment, helped along by the aura of bad luck which this creature emanates, a fire started from the candles inside the wagon, probably while the fortune teller was sleeping."
Manuun looks at everybody to see if anybody has found any other evidence, then he continues:
"Afterwards the pugwampi used the confusion to steal a goat for himself, but that is probably of no great concern to the matter at hand."
"I think it happened differently. The pugwampi came to steal a goat. They were near the wagon so Eoais was unlucky. He knocked over a candle and started a fire, while trying to put out or escape the fire he fell, hitting his head on he crystal ball. Either knocking himself out or killing himself. Or he fell and hit his head first then the fire started. I'm not sure which of the two things happened first. The card were burnt, so they could have blown there, or been grabbed up as the pugwampi was making off with the goat."
"I think it's more likely the pugwampi knew about the goat beforehand than the cards."
Ohrmizd nods convinced while Soraya speaks "Yes... that has sense. Just look how Manuun ended up falling on that piece of s&$& and how I stumbled continuously while coming back to the camp..."
"Maybe the cards are just the way the fortuneteller is pointing at the responsible of his death... or perhaps the pugwampi indeed entered in the wagon and took some of them. Either way it seems we have resolved the investigation" and pointing to the tent "Let's go and tell Garavel and the princess about what we have found"
Assuming the Goat Wranglers are aligned, Ohrmizd requests audience with Garavel and retells the group's findings to him and the princess.
As the group approaches the tent, they are held back by the impressive guards that watch over Almah all the time.
Princess Almah waves the group in, and the guards let them pass. "I hear you have solved the case of the fire? Tell me, what have you found?"
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"Greetings Princess Almah. Yes, we are certain about enough about what happened to say it was an accident."
"As Dashki said, pugwampis are real. We killed one while searching for the goat. It had taken the goat and tried to prevent us from reclaiming it. Pugwampis do carry bad luck. It affected those of us near it."
"Eloais fell, or tripped and hit his head on his crystal ball. That was the only injury on his body aside from burns. Whether it happened before or after the fire started we aren't sure, but his candles started the fire. He was unlucky because the pugwampi was nearby."
"We found nothing suggesting any person in camp was involved with starting the fire."
"You got that 'pugwampi'" Almah inquires.
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"Your Highness", Manuun starts once more. "We found no evidence of anybody from the camp being involved onto the fire. Actually we believe the fire to be a unfortunate accident helped along by this little creature.", he continues pointing on the Pugwampi.
" This is a pugwampi, a local creature known by the gnolls to be a bringer of very ill luck to everybody who goes near him. We found him when we were checking tracks outside the camp. We know he went into the camp yesterday and stole one of Hadrods goats. While doing so he also went near or into Eloais wagon and took a deck of harrow cards from him."
"As I said these Pugwampi carry with them an aura off ill luck. Since we met him, we are plagued by one little accident after another."
"Anyway when poor Eloais sat down for the evening to check his crystal ball once more, the creature went near or into the wagon. The bad luck it caused might have brought Eloais to slip. He knocked over some candles and hithis head on the crystal ball quite hard. Unconcious as he was, he could not douse the fire in time and the whole wagon went ablaze within minutes."
"We cannot prove that it happened exactly like this, we think it was something along this lines."
"That settles it for me. Well done." Almah states.
She looks past you out into the night, pondering the situation. "There must be more of the creatures living nearby. The Sultan’s Claw is obviously too exposed a location. I know that a monastery to Sarenrae stood near the village of Kelmarane. It is probably a ruin nownut that building would probably still make a much better base of operations for the coming battle for the gnoll-held village."
"Your next task is to go there and prepare for the whole caravan to move there. Garavel, you provide them with details."
"Good. We will depart as soon as the day breaks" comments Ohrmizd "What do you know about that monastery Garavel? Can you point it out in the map for us?"
"It's one or two miles in that direction." Garavel tells pointing roughly North.
"Do you know who built it and why was it abandoned into ruins?" Ohrmizd looks in the direction pointed.
"The monastery was built by the Church of Sarenrae, paired with a Temple in the town of Kelmarane itself. It is one of the two sites I intend to restore...."
"The monastery bears the name of St. Vardishal. The monks there were slaughtered during local troubles. Cultists of some sort were responsible I believe."
"I'm not your history teacher. You should have paid attention in school." Garavel replies. "Good night." He leaves to his wagon.
"Ok boss! We will try harder!" Ohrmizd bends in front of the princess "Have a good night Princess Almah"
Once back at the camp he discusses with Soraya and Manuun what they do know "The Monastery of St. Vardishal... do you know anything about the mad cult that killed the monks?" Ohrmizd sighs as his companions demonstrate a wide knowledge "You two know a lot. Where did you made your studies?"
Slowly walking through the tents, Ohrmizd joins with the others at the campfire, greeting the guards or any other member of the caravan still awake "Good night! Sorry we made late to the dinner. Is there anything remaining to fill the belly?"
"The monastery might have been occupied by who knows what creatures nowadays... we have to be mindful and prepare well. We will need ropes, food, and perhaps a camel or horse to move stuff is necessary" Ohrmizd reflects while he stares at the bonfire.
”Do we really need horses or camels mad bags of bones more likely to throw us than do what we want? What’s wrong with using the two feet the gods gave us?” Tahlumilali says sulkily upon hearing of Ohrmzid talking about using those flea bitten creatures.
”Give them a chance I’m sure they’ll grow on you. Soraya do you know what kind of general layout we should expect at the monastery?” She says smiling at her husband’s antics.
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Manuun looks at his heavy backpack: "Somebody to carry this would sure be nice."
"I don't think we need a horse for half a short walk of half an hour. And if you are right and the ruins are inhabitated by some creatures I dont want some animal giving us away before we can make our own picture of the situation."
Then he looks hopefully at Soraya if the Dervish can provide any additional information.
"Garavel promised we could keep anything we found during our job. And a monastery ruin is sure prone to hold some valuable pieces of art I do hope" Ohrmizd explains himself "I meant the need of one camel to carry up stuff. But you can be our bag of bones if you are against Tahl" Ohrmizd laughs in good mood with the elven for the misunderstanding.
Ohrmizd would follow Manuun's advice and ask Dashki about what he know about the monastery and if the gnolls might be in the area.
Given the trek is apparently short and they mostly have all the basics required for the exploration of a ruined monastery, Ohrmizd relaxes exchanging stories about the mysteries of the desert before he finds a good spot near the bonfire and takes a well deserved sleep.
The next morning Ohrmizd prepares his few possessions and once everyone is ready he checks a last time with Garavel about the location of the monastery "On the move!"
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Later that evening Manuun finds himself a quiet place and takes out the harrowing deck. he shuffles it in his hands as if he is not able to decide what to do, before deciding:"My destiny is in this cards, so lets find out."
After selecting some cards he shuffles them and draws one. The Crows.
"Interesting, but not what I would have expected. Maybe Ohrmizd is right about the camel. But in such a dark context? Maybe I should be careful what I pick up."
After considering for some time, he continue dealing the spread.
The Past:
The Big Sky
The Twin
The Avalanche
"Hmm I assume the burndown of the Monastery was very violent. Much more than I thought."
The Present:
The Dance
The Queen Mother
The Mute Hag
Manuun is very disturbed by this spread. "A dark secret is lying beneath the surface. I alwas felt that the Pugwampi explanation was to easy, but this is much worse than I feared."
The Future
The Trumpet
The Demon's Lantern
The Brass Dwarf
"The direct assault might bring good results, while guile will leave the outcome in doubt. Not as clear a message as I hoped but it will help us decide what to do tomorrow."
The night is peaceful. To those who have peace of mind. For those who don't, every cricket heard, and every shadow that moves in the light of the fire is a potential threat.
Some animals are heard through the night and an owl flies over the camp every now and then. But nothing more happens. As the day dawns Garavel appears to check that you're on your way.
Soraya can only disappoint in repose to the queries about the monastery.
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing more I can say with any confidence. Unlike temples, which do follow certain design rules, there are no standard layouts for monasteries. My guess would be it would follows architectural styles used locally. But, I'm not familiar with those."
"I only know what was available in the Temple records in Gurat. Aside from its destruction, supposedly at the hands of some cult, there was nothing else available. Kelmarane was only slightly less a frontier in the past than it is now. Records were sparse. We may find more at the monastery or temple in the records kept there, if they haven't been destroyed."
Soraya is up as always slightly before sunrise so she is ready for prayers as the sun comes up.
As everyone else readies for the journey to the monastery, Soraya suggests bring extra water, carried by the camel.
"While it would only make sense for the monastery to have its own water source, we may not be able to use it immediately. We should also be prepared to find it is no longer usable."
"Dashki will show you the way. Is there anything else, or are you set?"
During the evening Ohrmizd opens an eye and finds out Manuun playing with the harrow deck "Will tomorrow bring peace to us Manuun?" the man relaxes hearing the crackling of the fire and the harrowing dance of carts "If I ask you about certain person... can the cards tell us what is going on with her?"
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The next day Ohrmizd has the breakfast peacefully among the others in the caravan. Perhaps making some pun about how some were scared by the shadows of the night.
When Soraya comments about bringing water with the group, Ohrmizd giggles "Oh! Water yes!" but when he sees the woman picking up the water he approaches to sincere himself with her "Do not worry about water. Whatever water we shall need, the goddess will provide"
The Keleshite checks out his scimitar and shield are in place, dons his armor and packs a bit of cheese and bread that was left over from the breakfast.
Then, as Garavel approaches to check out Ohrmizd nods to him as a greeting "With your leave boss, we are ready to depart. Any late minute order?"
Once everyone is ready Ohrmizd opens the walk towards the monastery with Dashki "On the move!"
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During their morning trek Ohrmizd approaches to Soraya "I am curious. Did you offer yourself for this reconstruction mission of the temple or were you ordered to do so Soraya?"
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Manuun looks up to Ohrmizd:" I am not sure, but the cards speak about a dark secret behind all this. But I am not really well versed in Harrowing, so I cant tell you any more details."
"One of my uncles maids was reading the cards for the people of the neighbourhood. She taught me the basics and I never really used it. But if you want to give it a try we can look for your woman tomorrow evening."
Afterwards he asks Ohrmizd: "You look like you have an easy Time carrying your things. Do you think you might carry a few of my things on the trip?"
"Of course you are right Ohrmizd, the Everlight always provides" echoes back sincerely.
"I suppose you could say I volunteered after I was selected. I didn't know this project was planned so I couldn't volunteer for it. Nor would I have, doing so would be arrogant considering my position. When I was informed I would be undertaking the mission, I was overjoyed, that a neophyte like me would be chosen over other, more experienced and prepared possible candidates is a great honor. I never considered refusing."
"Sure, I can carry some of your stuff. I am used to this long treks myself" Ohrmizd pads the slender man's back and laughs "Well, if you can check with your cards, I would like to know what do they say about a woman called Haleen. She is an important figure of my past, and I fear she might be in trouble at Kelmarane"
[...] "I suppose you could say I volunteered after I was selected. I didn't know this project was planned so I couldn't volunteer for it.[...]"
"Volunteering after selection! That is a great concept I give you that" Ohrmizd smiles amused at the idea "I can see why that can be a honor for a faithful one. If there is anything I can do to help you, I will provide"
Still interested on the temple mission Ohrmizd follows with another question while the group walks under the morning's sun "Did they give you details on why they want the temple reconstructed as of now?"
During the walk to the monastery Ohrmizd will try to talk with Dashki "So... do you think the gnolls might have taken the monastery as their lair Dashki?"
"No." Dashki replies.
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Once everyone is ready Dashki leads the way. It's almost an hour's walk through the undulating landscape of this desert. You see more of the cactus you met last night. The ground is hard dry earth, but in palces the wind has collected sand. Tumbleweed comes past in places.
As you come closer the ground raises and it goes uphill. The vegetation gets thicker and more green. This hides the ruins o fthe monastery in a way. But the higher portions of it still stand out. Scrub brush and a light, patchy carpet of weeds invade the monastery through two huge fallen sections of the western wall. The exposed nave beyond is a huge hallway littered with bits of debris ranging from tiny rocks to enormous sections of collapsed masonry. Most of the roof above the long promenade is gone, but several jagged pillars remain.
Observing the tumbleweed rolling Ohrmizd presses on his walk "The desolation of this place unnerves me"
A while after walking up the hill the Sarenrite stops in front of the huge structure to contemplate it in its magnificence "Wow! Look at those pillars, and the windows. This place must have been gorgeous. How is it possible people let this place rot in such a terrible way..."
Kneeling at the path that seems to get out of the place, Ohrmizd checks left tracks "What do you think Dashki? Do you think any creature has been coming in an out from this place?"
"I think it would be a good initial plan to look around the structure, just to check if there are any alternative entrance, or any danger we could spot" starting to walk around he adds "At the least we will have a sense of the shape of the place"
Lofnaiali felt a pang of sorrow seeing the temple in such disrepair. She understood how important a temple could be for a person. For a moment the scent of incense laced with chants danced through her memories. Grandmother... her hand traced the hilt of her blade gently. She memorized every groove and dent with her finger tips. She stoops down and rakes her fingers into the soil for a moment as if searching for traces of it’s former glory. Lofnaiali stands up and turns to Soraya and Ohrmizd “I am sorry that the sun has set on the house of your goddess. Maybe one day the sun may rise again on this temple. I know how special these places are.” She gives them a warm and sympathetic smile.
" You are truly a very empathic person Lofna. Perhaps you will change my thoughts about elves " Ohrmizd observes the small ritual very touched "It would be encouraging to see the Sun bathing once more the interiors of this place "
"Do you elves revere the goddess of the Healing Flame?"
Tahlumilali looks over at Lofnaiali as she talks to the others. He has a sudden urge to grab her and never let go, he bumps his shoulder against hers and winks at her.
"I'm not sure about most elves as we would be called forlorn by our people, but I'm willing to pray to most gods if it will keep me from dying today."
Tahlumilali says the word forlorn like it had a bitter taste and he couldn't wait to spit the word out of his mouth.
With a shake of his beaded and braided head Tahlumilali lays his tattooed hands the sand and allows a bit to flow from one hand to the other and slowly lets it slide from his hands to fall back to the ground. With that the elven scout begins to look for signs of passage from the temple.