Spitting sand and curses out of her mouth, Nuveril turns to judge whether the flames will be able to jump the distance between the burning wagon and the one that has just been moved. Seeing the bucket brigade at work, she shouts, "Whatever is in there is lost! Let it burn itself out. We shouldn't all die of thirst on this journey to save cargo."
As she reaches the wounded Linah kneels next to the unattended firefighter. She moves her right hand over the body then places her palm on his forehead and says "Licit hoc mal". Her palm lights up for a brief moment as positive energy moves through the firefighter.
"Whatever is in there is lost! Let it burn itself out. We shouldn't all die of thirst on this journey to save cargo."
Almah shouts back at you, "A prudent thought, small one! Except that the man inside that wagon may not be dead yet! I will not give up on him! Keep up with the buckets!"
Through your combined efforts, the wagons are safely secured, the firefighters are saved, the animals are herded back to their pen, and the fire is put out. The mercenaries, soldiers, Father Zastoran, the camel drivers, Garavel... everyone looks upon you in appreciation and thankfulness.
Peeking inside the smoldering wreckage, Garavel sadly shakes his head. "I can see his body, Mistress. Eloais is dead."
Almah grits her teeth, "Blood and ashes, we needed him to provide divinations for the reclamation. Now we will have to send for another when we arrive." She seems to show remarkably little concern over the fate of her astrologer, treating it more as a loss of resources than a personal tragedy. While the camp cleans up from the fire, she walks over to her majordomo and speaks softly to him, within earshot of you. "Garavel, look into whether or not the fire might have been set by someone in the camp. Since the slaves and mercenaries you traveled with were not around when the fire broke out, they are unlikely potential arsonists."
Nodding in obedience, Garavel summons your party over and speaks to you in a huddle. "I need you to help me determine if there is a mystery afoot, and if so, to solve it. Feel free to question anyone in the camp, including myself and Mistress Roveshki if need be, until you find out what happened."
While standing next to Nuveril, he looks down at his ankle area so he can get a good view of her, Little Anger, you work yourself into such a frenzy. Have you though about focusing your anger at the task at hand, channel it until it helps you to accomplish your goal? My master was wise in the ways of the savage wind and taught me the only way to truly master the ferocity, was to harness it., you don't hear any condescention in his voice, just sincerity.
To Garavel, Master, how do you wish me to proceed, do you want me to help the others to determine how this might have happened? assuming that Garavel wants me to work with them to find out what happened, Grall takes a support role and does what he is asked by the other party members. He tells them he is good at tracking and fighting and to put his skills to use if needed.
"Your obedience, as always, honors you, Grall. Use whatever means necessary to find the arsonist. Question members of the camp, survey the ground or the wagon for clues, commune with the divine... anything at your disposal." He looks over towards the wounded mercenaries, just starting to rise. "I need to attend to the wounded and see if there is an incidental hazard clause in their contract. Almah will not be happy if we must pay them additional funds." He nods, then leaves.
Grim-Eyes will survey the wagon and the ground around it for clues.
Survival
Grim-Eyes will survey the wagon and the ground around it for clues.
Survival 1d20+14
"Your obedience, as always, honors you, Grall. Use whatever means necessary to find the arsonist. Question members of the camp, survey the ground or the wagon for clues, commune with the divine... anything at your disposal." He looks over towards the wounded mercenaries, just starting to rise. "I need to attend to the wounded and see if there is an incidental hazard clause in their contract. Almah will not be happy if we must pay them additional funds." He nods, then leaves.
"Do you need help with tending to the wounded?", Linah ask Garavel with a look of compassion the wounded mercenaries.
While standing next to Nuveril, he looks down at his ankle area so he can get a good view of her, Little Anger, you work yourself into such a frenzy. Have you though about focusing your anger at the task at hand, channel it until it helps you to accomplish your goal? My master was wise in the ways of the savage wind and taught me the only way to truly master the ferocity, was to harness it., you don't hear any condescention in his voice, just sincerity.
Nuveril glares furiously but doesn't seem to find words to express her feelings at being offered advice by a gnoll. Instead, she stalks off silently toward the wagon. Ignoring Khalid, she covers her nose and mouth with her sleeve against the acrid smoke and peers into the blackened remains of the wagon, paying particular attention to the corpse.
However, the smoke burns her eyes, and she is forced to turn away, her eyes blinking and watery.
"You!" she calls, pointing at random at one of the men who had helped to move the wagon. "The dead man, he was a shaman of some kind? Did he have enemies in camp?"
One of the mercenaries calls out, "The destroyed wagon belonged to Almah’s personal fortuneteller Eloais, a man from Almah’s distant homeland of Varisia."
Garavel answers Linah, "I believe you have helped enough with the wounded. Time and rest will mend what is left. Please assist with the investigation into who started this fire. They may strike again if they are not caught."
Physical examination of the ruined wagon reveals sooty ashes, a few broken bottles or potion vials, a cracked nonmagical crystal ball, and several pools of melted wax where candles must once have stood. Eloais’s charred skeletal form remains near the center of the wagon. The search reveals no signs of struggle or violence, suggesting that the fortune-teller was killed by the fire itself or from inhaling the smoke the fire caused.
You also see some coins scattered on the bottom of the wagon, charred by the fire. A sneaky character could pocket a few, if they were so inclined.
"A fortuneteller?" Nuveril responds, visibly drawing away from the remains of the wagon as though afraid she might be contaminated. "No doubt the evil spirits with which he consorted turned on him and claimed his soul. We would do well to abandon his corpse and wagon too and get well away from this accursed spot." She touches her lips with two crooked fingers and spits in the dirt, a common ward against evil among the tribes of the savannah.
Linah curtseys and moves toward the burnt out wagon. She approaches those who helped to put out the fire.
"My name is Linah Jamil'Kaid, and i would like to extend my thanks for your help in putting out the fire. Can anyone tell me how the fire started?", she asks and tries to determine the attitude of the mercenaries.
Many of the caravan members look in distaste towards Nuveril, obviously displeased with her comment.
Linah's polite request is met enthusiastically by the hired mercenaries. One of them speaks up, "We were enjoying ourselves around the feast-fire, finishing off dinner with a sturdy drink. We weren’t too fond of Eloais and thought of him as a weakling, really, but none of us actually cared enough to hurt the guy. Some of us thought that Eloais and Almah were..." he looks around to make sure that no one else can here. "Rutting. She was visiting his wagon once or twice a day for the past week. I can tell you Dashki wasn’t at the feast fire with us. He was probably spying on Almah. His obsession with the merchant princess is something of an open secret, with only Almah seemingly being oblivious to his attentions. None of us have a high opinion of Dashki. He is a smelly, rude, feral wildman. Dashki might have burned the astrologer’s wagon to get rid of the competition."
"Grim-Eyes is wanting to know of Dashki. Is he setting fires? Where is he being during fire?" The gnoll druid gestures, somewhat embarrassed, for a more sociable member of the party to ask further questions.
"What role does Dashki have in the caravan? I take it he's not appart of your group or the pactmasters guardians?", Linah asks the merceneries."Do you know where i can find him?"
The mercenaries do not know anything more of Dashki. They know that he typically dines with them, but he was curiously absent during dinner and was no where to be seen during the fire. Perhaps someone else may know...
Grim-Eyes approaches the camel driver and his wife, hoping that her efforts in rescuing the animals makes up for her lack of social grace. "Greetings to Camel Driver and Camel Driver's Mate! Is being good with food-prey safe, yes? No more running in circles like game of Catch the Mother-Pig. Is Camel Driver and Camel Driver's Mate knowing of Dashki during wagon fire? Is missing from memory during night-meal and fire. Grim-Eyes is wanting to know how fire started."
Diplomacy check
"This Dashki doesn't sound like one to be taken lightly, I will join you, provided these men know of his location."
Linah curtseys to the mercenaries and says a farewell phrase and then turns to Khalid and says (out of earshot for the mercenaries):
"I thank you for offering protection, my friend, but i doubt that i am in any danger. We must not make to much of the mercenaries allegations as they sound like hearsay. I noticed that halfling was examining the burnt out wagon, could you ask her if she has found anything and perhaps help her in her investigation? You have always had much keener eyes for details than me. I will go and talk to Garavel aboud Dashki. If i find out more on his whereabouts i will come and find you."
Linah then walks off to find Garavel. When she finds him she says. "Master Garavel, may i lend your ear for a moment? The mercenaries you have hired for this caravan voiced concerns that a man named Dashki might know more about the fire that ravished the camp. Could you tell me more about him, and where i might find him?"
|
"I noticed that halfling was examining the burnt out wagon, could you ask her if she has found anything and perhaps help her in her investigation? You have always had much keener eyes for details than me."
"As you wish."
Khalid quickly spins on his heel, and moves toward the halfing.
"Greetings, my friend, I am Khalid. It has been noticed that you were searching the fortune teller's wagon. Did you find anything of note? Perhaps a reason why this individual was targeted?"
Nuveril gives Khalid's question a dismissive shrug. "The man was a fortune-teller, a consorter with evil spirits. Such always find an unpleasant end. It was the fire that killed him, and his wagon was full of candles. The evil spirits could easily have caused one of them to burst into a firestorm to claim his soul."
"I know no one here," she replies, "and after everyone tried to save this man, I doubt you could find any evidence of anyone near the wagon before the fire began." She gives a glance at the ground around the wagon, wet from the buckets of water and covered with the tracks of everyone who worked at putting out the fire.
Grim-Eyes:
The camel drivers are excitable and prone to finishing each other’s sentences. "Hadran was the first to notice the fire, but my husband and I were distracted by trying to get their animals under control soon thereafter." Hadran seems on the verge of tears. "His favorite goat Rombard went missing during the chaos, and he fears the worst. We thought that Eloais was 'nice enough for a foreigner,' but didn’t really understand his talk of “Cyclones and Fiends and Uprisings." But Lady Almah’s trust in the astrologer was good enough for us to know he was a good man." Their expressions darken, "We knew Dashki a bit from back Solku-way. Used to take rich folk into the scrublands to hunt up gnolls like trophies. Most people here don’t trust him, especially the way he leers at Lady Almah with his mouth all watering like at the smell of a fresh steak. Maybe he done it to Eloais, to remove a rival for Lady Almah’s attention?"
Linah:
Garavel seems distracted, caring for the needs of the caravan. "I have strong suspicions of how the fire started, but I do not believe it would be proper for to voice them at this time. The Lady Almah has asked for an unbiased investigation, after all." Garavel sighs, "But, I have never trusted Dashki, and if anyone in the group were to be revealed as an arsonist and murderer, Dashki would be the least surprising to me."
Nuveril and Khalid do not find anything not revealed during the first search of the wagon.
"See?" Nuveril shrugs. "Nothing. If they had let the accursed fool burn without trying to intercede, we might have been able to find some tracks -- if any were left in the first place."
"Do you know where i can find Dashki? Or anyone that would know where to look?", she asks Garavel with a troubled look.
Garavel shakes his head, "As the tracker for the caravan, he usually steps out periodically to survey the area and report any dangers. It is simply too convenient, however, for him to 'step out' mere minutes before the wagon fire. I don't think it should be more than an hour before he comes back. If he does not, then we will truly know."
"It is troubling if we have a arsonist living in our mids. I certainly hope this is not the case. I will continue to ask around the camp and see if we can get a clearer picture of the fire. Thank you, master Garavel, for taking your time to anwser my questions. One more thing before i go, could you tell me what Dashki looks like?", Linah says then curtseys and moves back to the burnt out wagon.
As she approaches Nuveril she curtseys and says with a smile: "We have not had the opportunity to meet yet. I am Linah Jamil'Kaid, a follower of the Dawnflower. What is your name?". Linah waits for a response then continues: "I noticed that you and my friend Khalid were examining the burnt out wagon. Did you find any clues as to how this tragedy came to be?"
"I am Nuveril of the Lions of the Savannah," she informs the woman. Asked about the wagon, she shrugs. "If anyone left tracks around the wagon before the fire, all evidence was destroyed by the attempts to put it out. I suspect the fortuneteller was undone by the spirits he consorted with, and they would not leave any signs of their passing."
"It is an honor to meet you, Nuveril of the Lions.", Linah says with a gentle tone then continues with a slight sigh. "It is unfortunate that no traces are left around the wagon. Sadly master Garavel had little to add about Dashki, other than to confirm the mercenaries doubs about his character. Appearently Dashki is a tracker for that caravan and comes and goes as he pleases. Garavel hoped he would return within the hour to report any dangers he might have found while searching the area. Do you know if anyone has spoken to the camel driver and his wife? Maybe they have made obserations about what transpired before the fire."
"It is an honor to meet you, Nuveril of the Lions.", Linah says with a gentle tone then continues with a slight sigh. "It is unfortunate that no traces are left around the wagon. Sadly master Garavel had little to add about Dashki, other than to confirm the mercenaries doubs about his character. Appearently Dashki is a tracker for that caravan and comes and goes as he pleases. Garavel hoped he would return within the hour to report any dangers he might have found while searching the area. Do you know if anyone has spoken to the camel driver and his wife? Maybe they have made obserations about what transpired before the fire."
"Do you know if anyone has spoken to the camel driver and his wife? Maybe they have made obserations about what transpired before the fire."
"The gnoll b*~$+ was over there," Nuveril shrugs carelessly. "I could check around the edge of the camp to try to find this Dashki's tracks -- see if he circled back -- but if he is a good tracker, it will no doubt be difficult to find any traces of his passing."
|
|
"If this Dashki typically scouts for dangers, it stands to reason that he would be farther out in the direction we were traveling if is innocent, or if he is wise enough to hide his actions. I will travel a bit ahead to see if I can find him."
Khalid climbs back onto the back of one of the camels and heads off.
Perception:
Survival (Track):
Traveling in a circuit around the perimeter of the camp, it takes only minutes before he spies a dirty, ragged-looking man approaching the camp. He wears a longbow on his back and carries a brace of desert hares on his shoulder for cooking. This is probably Dashki (PICTURE).
As he approaches, the camp grows silent as people turn to watch him. Dashki looks puzzled as he surveys the burnt wagon, "What in the Abyss happened here?"
"Do you know if anyone has spoken to the camel driver and his wife? Maybe they have made obserations about what transpired before the fire.""The gnoll b~@&~ was over there," Nuveril shrugs carelessly. "I could check around the edge of the camp to try to find this Dashki's tracks -- see if he circled back -- but if he is a good tracker, it will no doubt be difficult to find any traces of his passing."
1d20+5
"That would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps you could accompany Khalid? I have no doubt that if there is something to find, your combined efforts will find it."
"I will go and talk to the gnoll scout, and see if she learnt something of importance from the camel drivers. I wish you luck on your endeavour."
After wishing Nuveril and Khalid good luck on their scouting mission Linah approaches Grim-Eyes and curtseys in her usual manner. "Greetings! We have yet to be introduced. I am Linah Jamil'Kaid, a follower of the Dawnflower. What is your name? I was told by Nuveril of the Lions that you spoke with the camel driver and his wife regarding the fire. Did you find out anything of note?"
|
|
Traveling in a circuit around the perimeter of the camp, it takes only minutes before he spies a dirty, ragged-looking man approaching the camp. He wears a longbow on his back and carries a brace of desert hares on his shoulder for cooking. This is probably Dashki (PICTURE).
As he approaches, the camp grows silent as people turn to watch him. Dashki looks puzzled as he surveys the burnt wagon, "What in the Abyss happened here?"
"You are Dashki, correct? We were hoping you might have some insight into the matter. It seems the wagon was set ablaze in a time frame very similar to when you left."
Sense Motive (Dashki's Response):
After wishing Nuveril and Khalid good luck on their scouting mission Linah approaches Grim-Eyes and curtseys in her usual manner. "Greetings! We have yet to be introduced. I am Linah Jamil'Kaid, a follower of the Dawnflower. What is your name? I was told by Nuveril of the Lions that you spoke with the camel driver and his wife regarding the fire. Did you find out anything of note?"
The gnoll smiles wide, revealing a row of dull-yellow sharp teeth. "Name is Grim-Eyes. Grim-Eyes is follower of the Hum. Is happy to meet hunter Linah of Shines-Too-Bright! Is hoping for many good hunts together." She looks over towards the camel drivers as she speaks, "Food-prey tender and mate is being not knowing what happened. Is thinking gnoll-hunter Dashki is set fire." She looks over towards Khalid, "There is being Dashki! Grim-Eyes is wanting to ask about fire."
"You are Dashki, correct? We were hoping you might have some insight into the matter. It seems the wagon was set ablaze in a time frame very similar to when you left."
Sense Motive (Dashki's Response):1d20 + 6
The man appears genuinely surprised, "What!? A fire? What fire? Is it put out?" He sets down the brace of hares and searches about. "I don't see anything. And who are you? Are you some new hire?"
Linah is abit taken aback when Grim-Eyes states her name, but then begins to smile as she listens to the rest. "Shines-too-bright, i never heard that one before", she thinks to herself.
She spins around and peers into the distance as Grim-Eyes points out Dashki. "I belive you are right. Let's see if we can get some anwsers to what caused this fire or if we will leave with even more questions." She invites Grim-Eyes to follow her as she walks toward Khalid and Dashki.
"You are indeed a skilled tracker, Khalid. Mere moments after you set out and here you stand with your quarry", Linah says with a laugh. She goes through her normal routine and curtseys to Dashki. ()
"Greetings! We have not been introduced. My name is Linah Jamil'Kaid, a follower of the Dawnflower. Am i correct in assuming that you are Daskhi? We have a problem we were hoping you could aid us with.
Speaking up close with the man, you immediately notice that his powerful body odor betrays a man with a very loose relationship with hygiene. He dresses in filthy rags and walks with a slight limp due to an old injury. Dashki looks confused at Linah's courtesies, "Um, yeah, that's great. Wait, the fortune-teller? Eloais? Huh, that's... well, that's that. Nothing we can do now. So what do you want me for?"
Dashki loudly proclaims his innocence. "That's a load of camel turd! I was hunting for meat to feed these damned ingrates! Here, look at this. Do you think these hares committed suicide and lined themselves up for me to find? No! I had nothing to do with the fire! How do we even know the fire was set? That idiot burned a hundred candles in his wagon. Perhaps he just got unlucky. We’re in gnoll country. It was probably pugwampis."
Knowledge (nature)
Notoriously
unlucky, these gremlins take disproportionate
amounts of enjoyment from the accidents and
missteps of other creatures, often going to
great lengths to manufacture the perfect
deadfalls or stumbling blocks. They then
wait nearby, both to laugh at inevitable
mishaps and to make sure their personal
unluckiness passes off to their victims. At
some point in the distant past, pugwampis
became enamored with gnolls, seeing
in the beastmen a kindred form and thus
aspiring to the height and deadly prowess of
the savage warriors. Gnolls, for their part,
hate pugwampis even more than other
creatures, mostly due to the gremlins’
weakness and sickening fawning, though
they’ll rarely keep the gremlins around
just to torment them. Pugwampis live in
caves close to the surface and occasionally
venture forth to find victims upon which to
inflict their sick senses of humor.
"As I have been saying!" Nuveril proclaims, happy to find someone in this caraven with sense. "The man is dead, most likely as a consequence of his own actions, and we are wasting time searching for a phantom killer instead of moving forward with our task."