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Layali shakes her head a little in response to Almah's question. "Very little that is concrete so far, unfortunately. I did not find any signs that Elois had been attacked before the fire - it seems that the fire was indeed the cause of death rather than an attempt to hide evidence. As for who did this.. we cannot say for certain yet. Your man there-" Layali glances over at Dashki before looking back to Almah, "He claims that it may have been a 'ghul' that did this."
Layali remained silent as her companions managed to stir Dashki into an explosive outburst. It seemed as though his facade had shattered, but was he honestly telling the truth now, or was he a clever actor? The guard watched the man levelly, scrutinising him carefully for any signs that he might still be lying.
Perception/Investigation: 5k3 = 26 Layali glances at the samurai as he joins the conversation mid-way through. A not entirely unwelcome intrusion, however, as the Rokugani's question caused Dashki to give a ..somewhat contradictory answer. Adding that to the fact that she was sure that Dashki was not being entirely forthcoming with his answers, it looked rather suspicious."So.. the fire was all you were interested in, yet you were nowhere near and had no involvement? That's somewhat contradictory, do you not think?" the guards asks, fixing her gaze on Dashki and pointedly ignoring the lout's crude comments. "Where were you during the fire? It was noticed that you were not around to help put out the flames, yet you reappeared after the fire was gone."
Layali finds Dashki smoking a pipe and staring out across the desert, a scowl on his face. He looks up as she approaches, rising quickly to face her. "What do you want?" he snaps in annoyance.
Layali regards Dashki calmly for a moment before she speaks. "I just have a few questions, Dashki. I would like to know if you saw anything unusual or suspicious around the camp leading up to or during the fire in Eloais' caravan." As she talks, the assassin watches the man's body language carefully for any reactions to her words.
A Jackal expert? Interesting.. Layali thinks to herself as she nods her head again. "I should perhaps talk with him also. Has Dashki worked with you for long?""A few months," Almah shrugs. "He has a... history... with the cult. It's made him useful in determining how to handle the ones that have claimed Kelmarane for themselves." Useful perhaps, but a traitor has already turned once.. there's always the chance they can turn again.. Layali thinks to herself. It was perhaps time to have a word with the Jackal expert and at least find out why he did not help to put the fire out. She also wanted to get a measure of the man herself and decide whether he could be trusted given his history. Look them in the eye, talk to them, find out what kind of person they really are.. "Thank you for your assistance, Lady Almah. I will go and speak with Dashki to see if he perhaps saw anything." The Assassin then heads back to look for the man she saw earlier.
Almah frowns at the description, but she is nodding as well. "Dashki," she says as soon as Layali finishes, "my expert on the Jackal cult. He should be around here somewhere, but I don't know why he wouldn't have been helping put out the fire. Now that you say that, though, I didn't see him either." A Jackal expert? Interesting.. Layali thinks to herself as she nods her head again. "I should perhaps talk with him also. Has Dashki worked with you for long?"
"Greetings in Shilah's name," Layali formally replies, returning the greeting. She noted Almah's wariness as she spoke - something to consider later, perhaps. But, for now, she had more pressing concerns. Spoiler:
Layali nods in response. "I shall ask around. The reason I ask you this is that I saw a man around by one of the wagons that I did not see assisting with the fire - I wondered if he was one of your men or not." The Assassin will describe the man she saw to Almah, watching the other woman carefully as she does so.
Almah, watching Khaliq go through his motions, turns to look up at Layali as she approaches. "Hello," she says, a little warily. "I greet you in the name of Shilah... Daughter." Her eyes seem to search you. "What can I do for you?" "Greetings in Shilah's name," Layali formally replies, returning the greeting. She noted Almah's wariness as she spoke - something to consider later, perhaps. But, for now, she had more pressing concerns. "I wished to ask you about your people, if I may. Did you notice if anybody from your camp was unaccounted for during the fight against the fire?"
Layali's frown only deepens as she seems to consider something for a moment. She turns to glance behind herself, before moving her gaze back to where it was. The best thing to do would probably be to ask Almah about her group and if everyone was accounted for during the fire.. the keeper decides. Picking her way carefully back over the wreckage, Layali heads back to find Almah, wishing to ask her a few questions.
Perception/Investigation (Search) 5k3=37
The Keeper spends some time carefully picking through the remains of the wagon, looking for any hints to the source of the fire. She approaches the remains of the diviner, examining him carefully before she stands up again. "It doesn't look like he was subjected to any violence before the fire - either the smoke or the flames themselves killed the diviner," she comments to the other people looking around the wreckage. She falls quiet after this, seeming to think to herself as she gazes around the camp. After a moment, her attention seems to focus on another wagon a short distance away and she frowns faintly. Spoiler: Layali matches the man's gaze when she spots him, watching him levelly for a few moments. Internally, she wonders if he is a part of Almah's group, and if so, why he didn't help and what his job is here.
"I would ask you to undertake this investigation," he continues, "for it is my duty to protect Almah, and if this was a deliberate fire, whoever did this has already killed two people." Two people at least.. the Caliphate guard thinks to herself as she surveys the damage. One group had already dropped out of contact, and now the group following had been attacked or sabotaged. Perhaps the fortune teller had discovered something he shouldn't have. But that was merely conjecture - she would need to investigate thoroughly to discover the facts Layali nods her head to both Garavel and Almah. "I shall look into this," she says, agreeing to their request. This group was her group for now, and in any case, it was too early to rule out this incident as being linked with her own task. At Garavel's suggestion, the assassin nods. "It may be worth examining the outside of the caravan also, and surrounding ground. If somebody approached the wagon there may have been some trace of their passing left.. although with the rush to put out the fire, that is not guaranteed, of course." Stepping over to the wagon, Layali carefully checks the outside of the caravan and the ground it stands on for anything amiss or any signs of foul play. Her intention was to move inside the caravan after she had checked the outside thoroughly first.
As Garavel rushes towards the burning camp, Layali also strides quickly towards the flames. Trouble indeed.. Quickly taking in the scene before her, the Keeper assesses where she would be of most use. She wasn't a healer and she had never had much of a way with animals. Putting the fire out would be the best thing to do. The assassin joins the bucket line, hoping to help speed up the rate at which water is being thrown onto the burning caravan.
It was a motley crew indeed that this caravan had gathered.. the keeper had thought to herself when they had first set out from Medinaat al'Salaam. Doubtless, each of the crew had their own reasons for being there. Money, perhaps, foolhardy adventure or desperation, even. None of which were Layali's reason. She had her orders, and she would see them through. During the travel, the guard keeps a quiet, but watchful eye on both her surroundings and the caravan. So far all had been quiet and uneventful, but that was no reason to let your guard down. She had a feeling that trouble would be on its way soon enough. Expect the unexpected, and prepare for the worst. Then, you would be ready for anything.
Very, very brief background is done, along with personality and appearance. The background isn't as well written as I'd like and could do with a bit more detail, but it's a start. I will try to expand it a bit more and re-write it so that it's less stilted, but it should be enough to make a start with.
I'm ready mechanically, but still need to do a background and appearance - I'll try to get those done today.
I'd like to try the duel-wielding. I haven't given Layali Ambidexterity - I'll take the 5 TN penalty instead. I think I've done all the crunchy stuff now, apart from weapon damage (as I'm not sure what these are without the book). Some skills probably need renamed too. Just need to work on appearance/background/personality entries and them I'm all done, barring any mistakes that need fixed or changes that need made. (As an aside, this is making me want to go play Assassin's Creed again :D )
Checking in with Layali. Still got a bit of work to do, but the basics are mostly done I think. |
