Mus'ad sighs in relief as the last tiny creature drops, and nods in emphatic agreement with Al.
"Yes. The cactus here is the most painful I have ever seen." He agrees and returns to staunching the flow of blood from his arm.
Farasha picks up the pieces of her shattered scimitar.
"By the love of Dawnflower what cursed luck!" She swears
Turning to the party she inspects them
"Who among you is in need of healing?"
Mus'ad nods in agreement.
"It would appear that tales of their ill-fortune were not exaggerated. In the slightest." The half-elf agrees, looking at the remnant of the shattered blade and touching the hilt of his precious Jambiyah.
"If you wouldn't mind most noble representative of the dawnflower, any blessings you could share would be most appreciated." He smiles gratefully, indicating his wounds.
Sefu sheaths his blade and moves to join the others
Mus'ad nods in agreement.
"It would appear that tales of their ill-fortune were not exaggerated. In the slightest." The half-elf agrees, looking at the remnant of the shattered blade and touching the hilt of his precious Jambiyah.
"If you wouldn't mind most noble representative of the dawnflower, any blessings you could share would be most appreciated." He smiles gratefully, indicating his wounds.
Farasha nods and places hands on Mus'ad
"In the name of the Dawnflower, the Most Holy and Compassionate Queen of the Sky, I heal thy wounds."
Farasha looks about
"Would anyone have a spare weapon?"
The goat continues to bray loudly, tugging at its tether.
'Are any here good with animals? Can someone calm the goat?' Al prods one of the creatures with his foot. 'Should we take one or two of these things back as proof for the Princess? Or maybe the goat will be enough ey? And where has Dashki gotten to? Dashki!' Al calls the mans name.
Dashki did not come through the dense field of cactus with you. There is no answer when you call for him.
Mus'ad smiles with relief as the priestess gives her blessing to the half-elf. He stretches carefully, smiles broader at the lack of pain, and Salaams to her.
"A thousand thanks and blessings upon you and your calling O Most Radiant of the Dawnflower's servants!" Mus'ad exclaims. "You are a shining example of both faith and beauty, and it is an honor for this unworthy one to receive your gracious gift!"
While the smiling Sha'ir's complements are perhaps a bit over-flowery, even for this region, he seems sincere.
"I'm sorry Al. I'm afraid I'm not much good with animals. Unless you think it would like to hear the 'Tale of the Bumbling Barber'?" Mus'ad asks, grinning at his own jest.
'Let us take the goat and prehaps one of the dead creatures back with us, and maybe Sefu can try to track our friend Dashki ey? See where he has gotten to.'
"Yes,..." Mus'ad agrees, a pensive look replacing his usually more gregarious expressions. "I hope nothing happened to him."
He regards the goat, and then the field of prickly doom with a wary eye.
"Um, I don't suppose that you can find a safe path through that, can you? As much as I enjoy being the recipient of the Dawnflower's blessings, I would prefer not to ask too much of her at any one time!"
We should wait for dawn.
And can somebody quiet this damned goat ? .
Farasha looks about for an easier path back through the spiny cacti
'Although I wish to rest, I think we should go now and find what has happened to Dashki. Either some harm has come to him or he has left us here ey? Either way I would like t ocatch up to him.'
Mus'ad nods in agreement with a grin, obviously feeling much more adventurous thanks to his healed wounds.
"If we're careful and take our time, we shouldn't have nearly the same difficulty as trying to sneak up on these guys." The half-elf says, indicating the diminutive creatures.
:)
"I also would like to know what has happened to our guide, as it turns out his theories about the pugwampis was correct. I understand him not entering the cactus, but he should still answer us. Unless the Pugwampis got to him first?"
Mus’ad, a search of the small corpses reveals a few tools and curios, probably nothing of real value. Each of the little beasties has a tiny dagger, uniformly in poor condition – rusted, bent, or on the verge of falling apart. Three of them also have tiny bows, in barely better condition – they may have minor value as curios or children’s toys, but they would be extremely difficult for any of you – even Al – to use effectively.
Beyond that, one of the creatures wears armour made of a scorpion shell lashed over its back, one carries a scorched Harrow card depicting a pair of cavorting goblins leading a hooded man, another carries a broken wooden holy symbol of Sarenrae, and the last wears a shoddy looking amulet made of string and a mouse skull.
After Sefu has calmed the braying goat, soothe dit and untied its rope, you are ready to try the way back through the cactus. Staying close to the light of Nasir’s wayfinder, taking the course slowly and steadily, and with the more dextrous assisting the less so, you are all able to thread your way back through the dense cactus field without further mishap.
Emerging back into the rock and cactus strewn vale, you find Dashki sitting calmly atop a small boulder, cross-legged, working at tying a small noose around the neck of another dead pugwampis which has been gutted by his scimitar.
He looks up as you begin emerging from the cactus. “Ah, I see that you have rescued the missing goat. You made much noise – it is not wise to shout so, in the night in these areas, where the sound can echo for miles about. We should move, for gnolls and worse may have heard the shouts.”
Dashki finishes tying the noose around the neck of the small corpse, then ties the other end of the twine to the end of his staff, where it hangs like a macabre doll. That done, he pulls himself to his feet and begins hobbling away to the south.
“Well,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “Are you coming? I think we now have proof that my theory on the fire was true.”
After calming the goat Sefu approaches Farasha untying his sword belt. "Here Priestess , it would be my honor to lend you my blade." He says holding his scimitar out to her "I do not need it that much and am sure you could put it to good use" He says with a small bow of his head
Al roles his eyes as Dashki starts to lead the group back to camp, but starts to follow the old man, at a resonable distance so as not to get to close to his smell. Once clear of the canyon section, Al will move to the left of the group, keeping them in sight but also scanning for potential threats.
Mus'ad shakes his head as Dashki departs, and looks at Zephyr, who has reappeared during the re-crossing of the cactus and hovers at Mus'ad's shoulder, holding a glowing mote in his hand. Seeing Mus'ad look his way, the Gen quickly bows in midair, and proffers the glowing mote to Mus'ad. The Shi'ar accepts it with a bow of his own head, and smiles as the mote fades into his palm.
"Thank you noble Zephyr." Mus'ad nods again to the gen. He then turns and gives an exaggerated 'after you' gesture to the others. "SHall we?" he asks with a smile, and then starts out after the hunter and the silent Al.
After calming the goat Sefu approaches Farasha untying his sword belt. "Here Priestess , it would be my honor to lend you my blade." He says holding his scimitar out to her "I do not need it that much and am sure you could put it to good use" He says with a small bow of his head
“Well,” he says, looking over his shoulder. “Are you coming? I think we now have proof that my theory on the fire was true.”
Farasha frowns, not trusting their erstwhile guide. She follows him nonetheless.
With the way known, the return journey to camp is much swifter. Within fifteen minutes or so you approach the Sultan’s Claw. At the outskirts of camp you are greeted by Garavel and two of the mercenary soldiers, who escort you back to Almah’s tent.
The Pactmaster Guards who stand watch outside the tent seem very reluctant to let Dashki within, but Garavel quells their protests with a look, and ushers the group including the gnoll expert inside.
Almah greets you as before. Dashki looks around the tent (and at Almah) with undisguised interest, then seems to remember himself and holds out his cane with its grim trophy. “Pugwampis,” he states.
Almah stands and examines the little corpse with horrified interest. After a moment she straightens, wrinkles her delicate nose (at the corpse or at the smell of Dashki it is not clear) and looks at the rest of the group.
“So, these things are real. Do you think they may have indeed caused the fire? Did you encounter many of them? Were they difficult to kill?”
Al steps forward and bows low to Almah.
'We do indeed my lady, this band of creatures was tracked from the campsite and they were also in possession of the missing goat. They lay in wait for us, five of them, but we killed them all. Not without mishap though, the stories of the bad luck that travels with these creatures are well founded. It seemed that everything that could have gone wrong did, and their piercing shriek shattered some of our weapons! But working together we dispatched the little devils. We cannot change the tragic events of this night, but we believe we have discovered the cause of the fire, and avenged Eloais' death.'
Al bows again and steps back to his original position.
Almah absorbs this for a moment, then nods. “You have all done well. However, my concern is that there may be more of these creatures about. Do you think this is so?” She looks about.
Dashki steps forward, and bows low. “My lady,” he says, “you are wise indeed. There are surely more of these beasts about. They do not hunt far from home, there must be a nest of them nearby. They typically lair underground, or in man-made structures. Perhaps that old church or monastery or whatever it is to the north? I suspected that the wild-life kept away from that place because some large predator laired there … but it could be pugwampis.”
Mus'ad's gently pointed ears also perk up at the mention of an old structure, though not with the undisguisable interest displayed by the dancing tale-teller. He looks at Zephyr with a small smile before turning back to the conversation.
"IF such a place is their lair,... Now that we are aware of the creatures abilities, I humbly suggest we plan a strategy before we approach. Perhaps the prayers of the priestess or my humble abilities may be able to lessen the effects of the Pugwampis' unnatural luck, if not cancel it out altogether. At the very least, we should plan on taking extra weapons." Mus'ad suggests wryly.
"And very few of us are able to see well at night, while the creatures did not seem inconvenienced by the darkness in the least. DO you know if they are nocturnal Master Dashki? IF so perhaps an approach at highsun, when they would presumably be asleep, would be advisable?"
Farasha's eyes gleam with the thought of the abandoned structure
"Surely it is a righteous thing to cleanse these theiving vermin out before they harm others. The Dawnflower, may She shine brightly for a million-million years, will bless our mission."
Nasir, you’re too excited thinking about the abandoned building and what treasures or secrets it may hold, to pay much attention to Dashki.
Dashki seems somewhat annoyed by Mus’ad’s question, but pulls his attention away from Almah long enough to answer. “Yes, yes, they see very well in the dark, and are most active then. They are less attentive and lazier during the day. Of course, at the height of the sun it becomes very hot in this land, as you may have noticed. But it is smarter to face them during the daylight, yes, I agree.”
Princess Almah looks thoughtful. “It has been in my thoughts that this place, the Sultan’s Claw is too open, not defensible should the gnolls discover us. Yes Dashki, as you have advised me. Now that Garavel and the rest of you,” she gestures to you all, “have arrived, we are free to move on. It seems to me that this abandoned monastery would make us a good base of operations; we may be less obvious , less likely to be seen if we are inside; it may be defensible if we are discovered and attacked; and it is close enough to Kelmarane that it should make a good staging point for scouting missions or an attack.”
She gazes at you all. “I will ask you to investigate this place. If the pugwampis or some other creature indeed lair there, rid the building of them, ensure it is safe, then return with your recommendation on its suitability as a base.” Her pretty face eases into a smile. “But for tonight, rest. You have well earned it. Your tents have been erected, and I will see that my guards watch over you while you sleep.
“Before you go though, there is one more thing to discuss; Dashki, you may go, the rest of you stay a moment.”
Dashki looks sullen at being dismissed early, but a stern look from Garavel sees him out of the tent.
The Princess looks at you all again. “There is the matter of your contracts. You have been chosen for your range of skills, skills that will no doubt be useful in seeing Kelmarane freed of gnolls and restored. But further, you have been chosen because Garavel has seen something in all of you, some desire to come to this place, or chase the gnolls back to their mountain, or see Kelmarane a free town. It is my intention that the six of you will be my primary tools in this venture. I will be relying on you.
“Here is what I offer; to assist in my task of seeing the gnolls driven from Kelmarane, and the village restored to the influence of the Pactmasters, I offer each of you two hundred pieces of gold. In addition, any treasure or spoils of war that you discover that is not the property of the Pactmasters, I will give you fair claim to. Lastly, if Kelmarane can be freed from the grip of its occupiers within the space of a week, I will offer a bonus in the form of a grant of property within the village.
“How do you find my offer?” She waits expectedly for each of you to answer.
Mus'ad looks surprised at the princess's offer. He quickly glances at Zephyr, then back again, just in time to see Nasir bow. He follows suite, and Salaams with a smile.
"Most gracious my lady. I can only hope that my meager skills can provide assistance to your quest equal to your generous offer!"
Zephyr also bows deeply in respect, but only from the waist, as befits a noble Gen.
Al echoes the sentiments of the others. 'Your offer is very generous my lady, I will not let you down'
Bashad looks incredulous at the princess' speech and his jaw even drop a little when he see the others' reaction .
He then cross his arms and say nothing , looking hard at the princess .
Almah looks to Bashad. “What vexes you warrior? Please, speak your mind. You do not find this offer acceptable?” Her voice is even, her face serene.
Garavel watches the young warrior closely, his face betraying no emotion.
Bashad:
That's what I thought ...
First: You ask us to risk our lives for you and you don't even know our names ! Where I come from , a good employer take time to chat a little bit with his people .
Secondly : Your so called offer is no real choice there. Before we came , you only had 8 people able to fight not counting you and Dashki. And they are not even having set watches unless I'm wrong. Any attack by a gnoll raiding party would have let you devastated if not captured for the slave block.
Let's not mince words. Your only chance of retaking the village is us and you make unclear promises of reward IF we do it within ONE week.
ONE WEEK against a village full of gnolls .
Now I'm a good fighter , I can kill a gnoll but two would be tough and three would kill me unless I'm real lucky . How many gnolls are there in Kelmarane now ?
Garavel swiftly draws his sword from its sheath, the naked blade glinting in the candlelight, and steps to within striking distance of Bashad.
:
“You forget your place,” Garavel says softly. “In most places you would die for such insolence, and few would mourn your passing.”
“Hold Garavel,” says the princess, putting up one hand. “I do not think you chose this man for his diplomatic tongue. It is a long ride back to Solku to hire another swordsman.”
She then looks at Bashad, and despite what she said to Garavel, her voice turns cold when she speaks.
“To answer you in order; of course I know your name Bashad of the Dustwalkers, as I know the names and business of each of you. My major domo researched each of you before recruiting you, and has of course communicated that information to me. I am sorry if this evening has not held enough, as they say ‘chit-chat’ for you, but perhaps you have noticed that events have been rather unusual this evening. A friend of mine has died. As I explained to you when we met earlier this evening, I had intended to meet you all with a proper meal – events of the evening changed that plan.”
Her jaw sets at the mention of Eloais’ death, but after a brief moment she continues. “Out of interest, where are you from Bashad? You speak Kelish with a Katapeshi accent, and the research Garavel has done indicated that you have dwelt in the city for some years, working in the Nightstalls. Where I am from, a noble-woman working for the Pact Masters need not explain herself to those she hires. I am doing you a courtesy by doing so.”
“The second; of course you have a choice, as do I. You are free to leave at any time; you will even be given transport and supplies enough to see you back to Solku. If you feel that this operation is being run poorly, or that the task you are being hired for is beyond your capabilities, please do so. I may not have time to hire someone to replace you, but you can be replaced. I have soldiers here who have your skill, if perhaps not your motivation … or what I thought was your motivation. In fact, there are ten trained warriors in this camp, not including those in this tent or Dashki.
“You are perhaps right in suggesting that security here is not all it should be, though incorrect on the matter of watches. Would a gnoll attack devastate us? Perhaps. It is a moot point; they do not know we are here, else we would have been attacked already, and as you have just heard me explain, my next step is to find a more secure location to set up this camp.
“Now, if you wish to open negotiations, then do so. I welcome it. But do not continue to insult me. Make a counter offer if you will. Is two hundred gold pieces not enough? Then tell me what you expect, that is how one negotiates. A week is not long enough for you? It is not a condition of contract. Do you wish a bonus without meeting the requirements for one? Perhaps allowing you to keep spoils of battle was too unspecified also. If you wish it, I will ask you to return all such to me in return for a higher set payment. What say you?
“As for the last, I had intended to brief you on what we know of the situation in Kelmarane when you had all had time to rest, and your heads were clearer for planning. The exact number of gnolls within we do not know; that is something I hope you will find out. We do know that it is an entire tribe of the beasts (although they range far – not all are within the village at any time), and most tribes in the Pale Mountain area number between fifteen and forty warriors. Obviously I do not expect six to stand against forty; retaking the village will not be a pitched battle on an open field.”
Bashad seems surprised by Almah's response :
"40 gnolls ? Why a watch in the city has more people than this !
I was in error . Obviously , a week is a reasonable time to deal with them then . Also there is a little misunderstanding there. While it's true you are paying me for extra duties , I'm still a Dustwalker and so an agent of the pactmasters . I was given leave to come here so indeed I'll do my best to help you as my new superior while I'm here but my first loyalty is with the Pactmasters.
Now to reply to your questions I was born and grew up in Katapesh. I am indeed not used to flowery words and my words were indeed a bit rough given the actual situation . You can of course order me around but you did ask for our opinion .
I accept your offer . "
Almah gestures for Garavel to stand down. With a show of reluctance he does so.
“Please, forgive me,” says Almah softly. “It has been a long day … a difficult day. If I have been unclear on anything, I apologise. Please rest assured that you will be well compensated. I intend to be very generous once Kelmarane is rid of its occupiers; I cannot be more specific at this stage because I do not know what state things in Kelmarane will be in, what property and wealth remains there.
“You will not be alone, you will have resources to draw from. Should you decide that the best path is to use my soldiers in an all-out assault, I will take that suggestion under advisement, and give you those resources if the plan seems worthy. If you are wounded in the course of things, Father Zastoran will offer you his services as a clerical healer without charge; he also has a selection of potions that, though he is loathe to part with them, I have instructed him to sell you at cost.
“I do not wish to offend you Bashad – any of you – or see you dead, or a pauper. I hope that I have assuaged your concerns.”
Sefu watches the interaction with interest. The money seemed fine to him, well more then he had ever saw in one place for sure. The gnolls were an issue, and he would gladly kill them for free ,Oh yes he would help. But he stands in the shadows and says nothing, let those they want to talk have a say, but the money sounded good to him and gnoll killing is most noble calling. Anyone who sees him in the shadows maybe be taken about by his smile and the hate burning from his eyes.
'It has been a long day for us all I think, with all this action after a long days travel. Let us get some rest before we venture to the monestry tomorrow ey? Although I would ask if Farasha or your priest can heal my wounds. They are not to bad, but I would like to be at my best before tomorrow.'
Mus'ad seems curious at first as Bashad speaks up. Then a little concerned as steel is drawn. Zephyr immediately floats forward, as if to protect Mus'ad, but the Shi'ar nabs the back of Zephyr's vest and pulls him back a little. Zephyr looks as if he is about to launch into a verbal tirade, but a motion from Mus'ad silences him. Albeit unhappily. Mus'ad holds his own tongue and watches the conversation with great interest. Though he visibly relaxes when the swords are put away.
He nods in agreement with Al's wishes for rest and preparation before making their way to the monastery.
"Yes, I think a night of rest and preparation will do us all good." He smiles to all in the tent, then bows to the princess.
"May the gods and goddesses protect your dreams as your guards protect you." He Salaams to the princess, then follows the others out when they leave.
“Yes, if that is all, please rest well. I have asked Father Zastoran to wait by your tents. He will tend to any wounds you may have sustained.”
Back out under the night sky, Garavel directs you to where three two-person tents have been set up not far from the feast fire. The white bearded priest waits nearby, and as you approach, greets you and directs you to a late supper that has been prepared for you; cool water, flat-bread, lamb kebabs and figs.
He inspects people’s wounds, pulling out cactus quills and applying bandages and salves as necessary. He tells you that in the morning he will have the full favour of Nethys’ blessings, and will be able to magically cure any wounds that remain.