Yantur pants as he rushes out of the burning wagon. He shakes his head, "We're too late for whoever was in there." He'll go back to dousing the flames but will focus on the side closest to the other wagon.
And are you rolling a strength check for the horse or for yourself?
The flame is doused, slowly but surely; Ruven's effort of tossing dirt before the flame can reach the wagon seems to give you more time - though if it will be enough...
There's no one alive in the burning/collapsed wagon and since the fire has gone down a little I'll shift over to the wagon that everyone is trying to move.
I imagine that the wheels of the wagon are sitting into the sand. So I'll grab a shovel, rock, whatever and try to scoop away some of the sand that's in front of the wheels. With luck, that'll make it easier to move. When I think I've done enough of that to make any kind of difference, I'll add my own flimsy strength to the effort.
Sihdrin will try to coordinate all the people trying to move the wagon into one simultaneous push. "Hopefully, together, we can nudge it forward! On my mark... one, two, three... MUSH!"
As Sihdrin counts down to three, your combined efforts with the other men and women grants results at last - you pull the wagon some ten feet forward before the weight is too much - but it is enough. It is well out of reach of the wagon's fire.
Only one goat remains to be penned - and the flames still need to be doused.
Now that the other wagon is out of danger, I'll return to dousing the flames.
Letting the herders get the last of the goats, Alfred turns his attention to the fire, casting create water on it to help douse it.
Once the wagon is clear, I'll spur my horse over to whoever needs the most help. If its the final goat, I'll run him down and chase back to the herd.
Alfred will turn his attention to the fire, using create water to help douse it.
The goat runs west. Hazem chases after it. "WAAAIT!!!" Hazem trips, gets up, pats himself off. The goat stands and waits until Hazem finishes, then takes off again, with Hazem in tow.
They go west, then east, then west, then east. Hazem is clearly not making any progress, although is stamina is quite astounding..
Sihdrin is not entirely successful in his endeavour to pen the last goat - though chasing after it, the goat is distracted long enough for the elderly couple to route it into the pens. The woman lets out a loud groan. "Ah cannae believe tha' goat. Stubborn like a child, yeh. Yeh 'ave our thanks, stranger."
The man secures the fence and gate of the pen as he glances over at you with half a smile. "Yes, we're indeed grateful, but that fire is still roaring and the animals won't rest until it's out. You should help them."
It takes half a minute of your continuous effort to douse the wagon's roaring flame, but when it is done the wreckage is a sad sight, burnt to the ground. With sweat dribbling down your faces, Garavel arrives and gives you all a pat on the shoulder. "Well done."
"Indeed." Princess Almah strides up next to Garavel. "We might have had the entire camp wrecked if you hadn't arrived when you did. Of course, had you arrived earlier there would have been less damage in the first place." She gives Garavel a bit of a scornful glance. "No matter. Meet me in my tent shortly. I have orders."
She strides past you; even with her stern tongue, her face was relieved from what you could tell. Before you have the time to head on over to the tent, the halfling comes waddling over to Alfred, taking his hand and shaking it with gratitude. "By the Dawnflower, you saved Kallien's life, stranger. I am Father Zastoran - will you honour me with your name?"
"Alfred Windbottom, but call me Alf." Alf replies as he watches Ruven continue to dig; it appears to be something she enjoys doing. After a quick chuckle, "Ruven, come and let these good people get comfortable with you. Not everyone enjoys sleeping in a hole."
Saarah takes a breath as the chaos in camp settles down and the fire is put out. She looks a little sad as he looked over the ashes of what's left of the wagon. I'll never get paid for last night now she thought with a sigh. Seeing Garavel approach the group she smiled a bit, seeing an opprotunity unfolding. Garavel since there isn't much left of his wagon, I'm pretty sure Eloais is dead and he owes me for my...services last night, do you think you could pay me?
"Aaah, that is a big scorpion! Is it... is it yours?"
The halfling studies the scorpion, with a bit of caution.
As Saarah approaches Garavel, he throws her an icy cold glare. "I am not responsible for Eloais's debts. No."
Saarah stomps her foot and pouts a little Oh come on its not my fault he's dead.... Seeing how she had a good feeling she wasn't going to get paid she gave up and stormed off after Almah, following the princess to her tent.
"Ruven is my companion, yes. The last several years we have been kindred spirits wandering around the desert."
Feeling a littel nervous around the princess, Yantur isn't quite sure if he was supposed to follow her or not. To be safe, he decides to hover around Garavel and do what he does.
Sihdrin will make sure his horse is securely tied, in a shady spot if possible, fed and watered before proceeding to the princess's tent.
Garavel glares at Saarah as she runs to the tent, his frown incredulous. "And it is my fault that he is...?"
He sighs and peers at Father Zastoran and Alfred. "I apologise for breaking your conversation short, but the Princess is no doubt impatient to get to meet you."
With that, he marches to the tent. When you enter, you see Princess Almah with an absolutely furious glare in her eyes, towering over the elf. "Eloais is dead! And your first priority is running to me to get paid for your whoring!?"
Contrary to her stern nature previously, she is visibly upset of the passing away of this man, and her eyes speak daggers. She turns her sights to you as you enter. "Garavel, you're slow. I have no patience for small talk now. I want you to investigate the camp. Find out why the fire happened. Question everyone. And I mean everyone," she glares at the elf.
Garavel walks over to Saarah and takes her, almost forcibly, by the arm. "We will question you first, then."
You have no time to talk to Almah as Garavel leads you all out, beyond the perimeters of the camp. "She assigned us to the task since we weren't there when it started," he says. "It could have been an accident - or it could have been intentional."
Since you have been in the camp for a while, you know who everyone is; you know Almah has four personal guards - they never treated you with any interest, and you haven't even caught their names. There's six mercenaries, also a bit of a detestable lot, but at least they let you feast with them - and more (if you so wished). There's Father Zastoran, too obsessed with his alchemy and books to discuss anything but that (and faith) with you; Hadrod and Hadrah, who prepares all the meals and tends to the animals; and Dashki, the alleged gnoll expert, who you also have had difficulties getting to know.
When the fire started, you were sleeping - and Father Zastoran can attest to this.
"I suppose the first thing is to find out who is supposed to be here, and make sure that matches with who is actually here."
"Garavel, perhaps you can help us concieve a possible motive. We all have our own reasons for wanted to find Kelmarane, but what of the expedition? Who sponsors it, and do they have foes who would see it fail? Or maybe a personal vendetta... who was Eloais?"
"I have to say it does seem suspicious. How does such an out of control fire even start in the first place when we're miles from anywhere else? I think we need to find out how this fire got started.
As the burning wagon seemed to be the focal point, Yantur will begin picking through what's left of the wagon to see if he can find anything of note.
UNHAND ME YOU SCOUNDREL Saarah shouted as she cracked him across the face with an open hand.
Once they get to their destination she takes a deep breath. Now before you start getting ideas in your thick head, I was taking a nap after an afternoon appointment with one of the mercenaries. Now stop being such a brute and go find who actually killed the man, I mean he did owe me money, but that's no reason to kill the old bag of bones.
Hazem strolls up to the group, tossing Camel treats into his mouth, his face covered in Soot. "Hi Guys! Look what I found! there's an entire barrel of them over there!" As Saarah smacks Garavel, Hazem's eyes grow wide, "Oh... I don't know if That was a good idea."
Garavel easily dodges the elf girl's slap, only letting go once they are outside of the camp's perimeter. "Before I left the camp, we were eighteen. Six mercenaries, four personal guards, Father Zastoran, Eloais, Dashki, the camel drivers, Almah, me and Saarah." He glances at the elf woman when he speaks the last name.
"I have no idea what the motive could be. Eloais was Almah's personal fortuneteller. A man from Varisia."
When Yantur goes to the burnt-down wagon, he finds a charred body laying on its back, a cracked crystal ball in one of the corners, sooty ashes, and a pool of wax - candles, by the looks of it.
"I suppose I can start with Father Zastoran if someone else wants to do a full head count before starting with the others." Alf heads back over to the halfling priest, "How is the patient doing?"
I wonder why he wasn't able to get out of the wagon... Yantur thinks to himself.
He will attempt a more thorough search and see if he can find anything that will shed some light on this.
Hazem walks up behind Yantur, nibbling on an apple core, glancing at the charred body, "I think he's dead... maybe you should just take the time and do a thorough search..?"
Having explained her whereabouts to Garavel, Saarah will head to talk to the mercenaries, as they are one of the few groups that will talk to her. Hey guys, just want to know what you guys were doing before the fire broke out, Almah wants to make sure it wasn't any of her people. Don't worry this is just a formality I know it wasn't any of you, but I need to check
Diplomacy roll:
Sense Motive:
Sihdrin will walk the perimeter of the camp while making a headcount to see if anyone else is missing. He'll also look to see if there are any obvious tracks leading to or from the camp.
@Sihdrin: Examining the camp, you find that nobody is missing. There are four guards near Princess Almah's tent; Father Zastoran is tending to the two people that were burnt; there are four mercenaries close to the firepit; the elderly couple is still there; and a man with no relationship with hygiene is scuffling close to one of the wagons. By Garavel's count, that would be all of them.
@Alfred: As you approach Father Zastoran, you see that he has prepared ointment and is carefully tending to the horrible burns. He is startled when you speak to him, though he turns to you with a smile. "Oh, hello again, Alf. Kallien's vitals are fine, though she won't be waking up in several days at this rate... Trevvis here will also be fine."
@Saarah: "We were feasting by the firepit," one of the women says. She shrugs.
Sihdrin will approach the filthy man, hoping to get a better look at him and to see what he is scuffling at.
"Oi there, what are you searching for?"
"Good to hear. I have not focused much on healing in my time in the desert, but I have picked up a bit here and there. What do you know of Elois? Do you know of any reason why someone would want to kill him and risk the entire encampment in the process?"
@Yantur: Searching through the wagon, you find a small pouch in an unharmed compartment underneath the bed. Inside, you find fifty-five gold pieces. Trying to decipher why Eloais couldn't leave the wagon, however, proves to be a bit of an enigma. The door wasn't locked - yet you surmise he was in the middle of the space when the fire begun.
@Alfred: "All I know of Eloais is that he was an intelligent, well-travelled man who happened to take up a distasteful profession." Father Zastoran looks at you with half a smile. "I for one don't believe in Harrowing - as far as professions go, Eloais was a bit of a charlatan, in my opinion. He was from Varisia, though, and Princess Almah was fond of him. Nobody else in the camp could discuss the poetry of Bellanais or the music of Absalom. Those intellectual debates will be missed."
@Sihdrin: The man glares at you. His clothes are dirty and stained, and his hair is black and oily. A dagger hangs in his belt from the front. When he speaks, it is curtly. "Nothing."
I take the pouch of money and give it to Garavel.
"Sir, this was underneath Eloais's bed. Though he was in the center of the wagon, I couldn't discern any reason why he didn't simply flee the wagon when it caught on fire; the door wasn't locked and it would seem he would have had ample time to do so...unless of course, and this is just conjecture, he was already unconscious or dead when the fire started."
Yantur will then wait for Garavel to give him orders.
Sihdrin grunts and leaves the rude man alone... though he will find a shady spot and observe from a distance.
@Yantur: Garavel nods and takes the pouch of gold from Yantur... before he gives it back. "You are doing a good job. Share the gold with your companions, and keep investigating the camp and asking question. I will check with the others."
He is clearly impressed with your work and obedience.
@Sihdrin: You find a spot nearby the tree, though your observation doesn't last long before he climbs into what appears to be his own wagon - and he slams the door shut.
"If you think of anything else helpful, let me know. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better." With that, Alf will take his leave of the priest and go talk to the herders. "I hope we got all the animals caught. Do you know anything of this matter that might be of use?"
Yantur will start by searching the area around where the wagon caught fire. See if there's anything there that shouldn't be or appears suspicious.
After that, he'll start questioning the people who were closest to that wagon to see if they saw or heard anything. I'm not sure if that requires a roll or not.
...."I'm bored.. "
Hazem gets up and starts walking around the perimeter of the camp. He's going to actively search for any tracks that lead out.
@Alfred:
"Of course, dear friend. Good luck in your investigation." The halfling bows to you. The camp seems to have gone quiet as you walk towards the herders. The woman is cooking by a fire - nervous by the looks of it, as if the production of another open flame would be audacious - while the man is sulking on a stool by a wagon that must be theirs.
"Oh, hello there! We got most of the animals, yes, except for Rombard..." She sighs. "My husband is a little lost, Rombard was his favourite goat. After the fire, he went missing... but that's not why you're here, is it?"
As you explain yourself, the man turns to you. His eyes are puffy. "Sorry for the state I'm in... we were the ones who noticed the fire. Came outta nowhere. We called out for everyone, but then the animals somehow got out of their pens and we had to concentrate on wrangling them all back in. Don't recall seeing anyone by the wagon either."
@Yantur:
As you search around the wagon, you see little that stands out. The flames had begun to lick the scrublands around it, and it would have burnt down everything - yet it never did, thanks to your efforts. Checking the interior of the wagon once more in passing, you puzzle together everything that must have happened inside. From the position of the burnt body, the scorched chairs and the table, there are no signs of violence or struggle.
@Hazem:
The exterior of the camp makes the area look a lot smaller than it is, yet trailing between the wagons, it feels like a very small city. .
Sihdrin is already wandering the perimeter of the camp, so he will help Hazem.
The wagons make for an interesting layout. All around tracks go from one end to the other, a mixture that is almost nigh impossible to discern the difference. Yet Hazem manages to follow the different tracks in different directions: one of a pig trails around two wagons - those of a goat walk around all over the camp... though in the end, you find nothing that aids the investigation.
"I FOUND SOMETHING!! OVER HE... oh wait, nevermind.. those are just my tracks.. "
I'll go up to the people who were in the the wagon closest to the blaze.
"Hello. I was wondering if I could ask a few questions: how long ago did the fire start? Did you see how it started? Did you see or hear anything unusual before the fire or was anyone acting unusual in any way?"
"Do you know of anyone who would have a motive to start the fire and risk the entire encampment?" Alfred asks as he tells Ruven to go wait by the tree so as not to scare the animals.