[Game Thread] I. The Sultan's Claw

[Rook]

Il'tehp stands quietly in the presence of the princess. It is certainly not his position to question someone of her station much less to argue with what arrangements she deems appropriate. He is somewhat uncomfortable with the group's discussion, this is not his arena, and so he decides to leave the matter to the others.

[Ockerdoodle]

"Thank you princess, I have no more questions. If my companions are ready, I'm prepared to begin investigating the camp."

Alphard looks to the others for confirmation. The look on his face says, shall we go?

[Bismuth]

Karsh nods his agreement to Alphard.

[AlwaysCivilMike]

[Khavhan the Investigator]
As the group talked to the princess only one thought was running thru his mind…. “She so wants me. “ It was his lot in life....to have women want him so. Of course, it had never been a princess but really…could he blame her? If he was a woman he would be in love with him too. Looking over at the princess he gave her a brilliant smile that probably made her week in the knees. “Hey, I might well give her a few moments in the sun right?” With this thought his smile went even wider. Of course, this train of thought was totally interrupted when gold…..REAL GOLD….was brought into the tent.

As much as Khav loved women…he loved GOLD more. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets as the chest was set down on the ground. If it was possible…his grin became even wider. “WELL….it is hard to say no to hard currency. It looks like you have your help princess.” His eyes came off the gold and turned to the rest of the group and was ABOUT to say something but was cut off when Alphard handed over the card. At hearing about the winds bringing it and about prophesies of fire, Khavhan ROLLED his eyes. It figured that the whole charade would start with a gnome. What did his father once say to him about gnomes? “Son, if you ever meet a gnome…make sure to check your coin purse.” This situation was odd because the Alphard had nothing to gain with a sham…but then again.

He pushed the thought from his mind and said to the others “Ok, so we have some investigating to do. What if….*nods*Khalid and I take the 4 Pactmaster guards and the 6 mercenaries. The rest of you take the 2 middle-age cooks/animal tenders, the halfling cleric and 1 trail guide. We can meet in the middle of camp when we are done to compare notes. Sound good?”

 

I am FURIOUS! I wrote this post already and some how forgot to post it! DOH!

[DarkTower]

The PCs leave Almah's tent into the blinding, dizzying sun, with the Pactmaster guards escort them out. The two guards stop outside the tent flap and cross their arms silently, their turbans gleaming white in the day. Thinking that perhaps they can cover more ground if they split into two groups, they follow Khavhan's idea and split into two groups.

Alphard, Karsh, & Il'tehp
Looking around, the three see the gnome and two older couple. The older couple are rounding up the camels they rode in to the caravan with and tying them together. The red headed gnome is in front of the burned wagon, picking up the harrow cards, looking at each shaking his head before stacking them into a jumbled deck. The alleged trail guide does not seem to be within view.

Khalid & Khavhan
The two Pactmaster guards are standing right behind them. The mercenaries are at the wagon, stepping around the gnome and giving him an annoyed glance as they pick up the mess left from the fire.

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard, seeing the gnome as a kindred spirit, skips off to converse with the red-headed man. He hides the Harrow card in his pouch before approaching.

"Greetings, sir! I wonder if I might take some of your time? What are you doing collecting those cards? Do you need any help?" He flashes the gnome a winning smile, hoping to win a new friend.

[Bismuth]

They split into two groups, Karsh's group move to investigate their 'designated' targets. " There is someone missing " points out Karsh. As they near the older couple Karsh enquires of them " the trail guide, do you know where he has gone? ".

[Of Line and Flow]

The enforcer raises an appraising eyebrow at his confederate this day. "I will have a word with the sellswords," he declares aloud under the watchful eyes of the Pactmaster Guard. "Here." He clamps Khavan's hands around a lumpy ball of what remains of his shirt, the same shirt he used to wipe down the body of the burned man. Congealed blood, soot, and sweat give it a slimy, crusty texture. It is disgusting beyond belief. "I swear, bits of that damned corpse flew everywhere. See me when you're through."

----

After a quick drought from his waterskin, Khalid returns to the site of the burning wagon in a foul mood. The air still reeks of ash from wood and flesh. With little fanfare he joins the mercenaries as they separate the trash from the salvage, watching and listening like a hawk. Ten minutes pass before he straightens his back with a stretch, lights his pipe, and takes a couple good draws. "I can pick them; that's for sure. I risk my life, run into the fire, save the mystic, and what do I get for my trouble? An Atta-boy, and I'm right back cleaning up the mess. No bonus! Is that justice to you? I'm telling you, next time, I'm staying with you. There's no sense in risking my neck for nothing." He offers his pipe from left to right. "Did you lumps see what the hell happened?"

"Ho, look sharp," he soon whispers. "I'm going to see if I can't get my bonus anyway." He enters the smoldering wreckage and spends several minutes rooting around inside for anything salvageable.

[DarkTower]

Alphard
The 'ginger gnome' looks up and shades his eye sot view the fellow gnome. He puts the other hand holding the deck on his hip. "Greetings. Thanks for all your help back there, nifty trick you did with those animals... Oh, yes if you could help me pick these up... it's the last thing of Eloais's that wasn't eaten up by the fire. They were so-very-important to the man and it's heart breaking to just see them blown into the desert like that."

As they pick up the cards the older nome continues talking. He's probably centuries older than Alphard but still he's quite nimble. He says that his name is Zastoran- "personal physician and spiritual advisor of this humble caravan. You know, it's good to see another gnome for once" he gestures to Alphards' symbol of Saremrae "and a gnome of faith at that. I my self am a dedicated follower to Nethys[1]... I used to have some really good debates about Nethys, Saremrae, the afterlife, and all sorts of culture and music with Eloais. Not a one of these others here can discuss the poetry of Bellianais or the music of far-off Absalom. Eloais was well traveled and intelligent. I will miss him." The gnome stops to wipe away a tear and to compose his self before finishing up on picking the last of the hallow cards. Of all the original assorted team here, Zastoran seems to be the softest and most civilized.*

Karsh
"Who? Dashki?" the man squints his brown face and spits in the sand[2]"That scoundrel's here somewhere. The last I saw him was near Lady Almah's tent when I was feeding the goats... wait. There he goes." The older man points to a wagon a short distance away and Karsh turns to see the trail-guide lurking in the shadows from around the corner of the wagon. Karsh barely gets a glimpse of him before he quickly withdraws behind the wagon when the camel driver pointed in his direction.

The man ties the last camel to the pack. "You know, you're not much like other orcs I've seen. You're an orc, right? Not many around here..."

Khalid
"Did you lumps see what the hell happened?" The pipe goes around and the mercenaries account what they remember what happened. They say that they were enjoying themselves around the feast-fire, finishing off lunch with a sturdy drink of pesh whisky, when all the sudden they see smoke near the Sultan's Claw. They can't give much more help and claim to have seen nothing else before racing in to help. They continue to say that they weren't too fond of Eloasis and though of him as a weakling. One of them, the swordswoman that Karsh and Khavhan healed by the name of Kallien, takes a long draw from the pipe and mentions that the trail guide was with them as usual but had left just before the fire started so he might have seen more. Khavhan muses that he was probably spying on Almah- his little obsession. It seems to be something of an open secret among the camp with only Almah seemingly being oblivious to his attentions. The mercenaries hand the pipe back to the enforcer,*making a few lewd and suggestive comments about the relationship they suspect Eloais had with Almah and their nightly hours in his wagon. They joke that Dashki might have burned his wagon down to 'get rid of the competition' and laugh about it as Khalid leaves into the astronomer's wagon.

Physical examination of the ruined wagon reveals sooty ashes, a few broken bottles and potion vials, a cracked crystal ball, and several pools of melted wax where candles must have once stood. There seems to be no signs of a struggle or violence, suggesting that the fortune-teller was killed by the fire itself for from inhaling the smoke the fire caused.



[1] Nethys: The God of Magic. The All-Seeing Eye observes Katapesh, seeing there a realm of wonders and strange magics. Even as Nethys's mystics come to Katapesh to learn from ancient scholars and obtain exotic reagents, they proselytize the marvels of their deity and the universal power of magic. Many chase tales of ancient ruins and site of power long lost to the wilds, ever pursing forgotten lore for the greater glory of their god. Nethys's symbol is a plain mask, one half white and the other black.

[2] spitting in the sand: this is no small gesture of disrespect. Water is like gold in this land and to spit what precious moisture you already have because of something/someone that's disagreeable is to show that you'd give up a bit of your self to display how much you distain you have for the subject.

[Bismuth]

" This man Dashki, he has wronged you in some way? enquires Karsh, " and I am a half Orc if it really matters to you. He decides to wait for a reply before going to find Dashki.

[DarkTower]

Karsh
The man's face grows dark at the question. At this point the man's wife, who was eavesdropping not to far, comes up and whispers in a conspiratational tone, holding her veil to her face "We knew Dashki a bit back Solku-way. Used to take rich folk into 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 Eloasis, to remove a rival for Lady Almah's attention?"

[Bismuth]

" Thank you for this information " as he says this Karsh looks towards the wagon which he saw Dashki hide behind, " I think I will try and find him and ask him a few questions ". Saying this he begins to make his way towards the wagon, he notices there is still the smell of smoke hanging in the air around the camp.

[Ockerdoodle]

Alphard removes the Harrow card from his pouch and hands it over to the other gnome.

"Here, take this as well, it blew to me on the wind, and I think you would trasure it more than I. I'm deeply sorry for the loss of your friend. I never knew him, but I'm sure he was a wonderful man.

Alphard bows his head and murmurs a prayer on behalf of Eloais to Sarenrae, and pauses before continuing.

"Do you have any idea how the fire started? Or, " at this point Alphard lowers his voice and looks quickly over his shoulder before again making eye contact with the gnome, "do you know who might have started the fire?"

[DarkTower]

Karsh
The first thing to hit Karsh before he rounds the wagon is the smell. Humans have a particularly sour smell if they don't bathe and that smell fills the druid's delicate nose right away. He then comes face to face with Dashki, standing there and ready for a fight. The powerful body odor betrays a man with a very loose relationship with hygiene.

Dashki is dressed in filthy rags and props himself up with a gnarled wooden staff, one leg being lame. Long, filthy hair covers the man's dirty face as he regards the druid. "What you want, orc half-breed? What you want?! I cut you throat! Leave alone. Think me fire starter? Fool." The man speaks like a gnoll, with snappy, broken, and gnarled sentences. The trail guide's hand wonders down from the staff to his belt where a rapier and curved knife rests at his belt.

Alphard
Zastoran takes that last card, the card of the Cyclone, and thanks the other gnome with slight hesitation. He goes over to the Sultan's Claw where Il'tehp buried Eloais moments ago and buries the deck with the dead body. Alphard bows his head and murmurs a prayer on behalf of Eloais to Sarenrae. Zastoran overlaps him with a prayer to his own God and Alphard pauses before speaking. "Do you have any idea how the fire started? "Or," at this point Alphard lowers his voice and looks quickly over his shoulder before again making eye contact with the gnome, "do you know who might have started the fire?"

The other gnome lifts his head from the bow and grudgingly admits that he finds Dashki to be unsettling, and his obsession with Almah somewhat disturbing; “No one with healthy desires skulks around a pretty woman the way he does; who knows what a scoundrel like him is capable of? I don't want a murderer among our company.”

[Of Line and Flow]

Originally Posted by Dashki

"What you want?! I cut you throat!"

Listen 23