Omira hallors back towards Dashki but is addressing everyone.

"We must have information from everyone who was here at the time of the fire. You are not the only one being questioned Dashki, do us all a favor and cooperate with our questions.  That goes for all of you as well.  If you have nothing to hide then answer our questions quickly and honestly. Where were you when the fire was set?"

Diplomacy: rolled an 18. I don't have it trained so it's just an 18.

I feel my anger mount at this smelly little man for challenging me, but I am able to hold it back.

"You say that you are not glad the fortuneteller is dead but you do not grieve for him. That is all fine, but you have yet to answer the question. That being, what did you see?"

"Almah hired me about a month ago to tell her all about
the gnolls living in these hills," Dashki answers Kyle with a far-away look in his eyes,
"Gnolls killed my mother and
grandfather when I was a boy. They put fire to our village
and slew hundreds. Somehow I escaped with my father to
the town of Solku, not far from here. It was a long time
ago, I’ve forgotten most of what I saw. Terrible things. But
I find it’s the sounds that stay with me. The shrill howls
and barks—hundreds of them at once—that sounded
deliriously close to an audience. Laughing at us.

"Father raised me to know everything about the gnolls,
their customs, their language. So as better to track them
down and wipe them out. All of them. Together we scouted
out their lairs, studied their tribes, listened to them speak
until we could understand what they were saying. They’re
not dumb animals, you know. Not like you might think.
In some ways they’re even smarter than us.

He takes on a grim expression.

"Dad didn’t survive our first raid on a gnoll camp
of the Three Jaws tribe. I saw them fall on him
like hyenas on an abandoned kill, slathering
themselves in his blood and innards. I can
still hear the tear of his scalp and the sound
of his bones against frenzied teeth. Against
this scene I was forgotten. Ignored.

"I escaped, and I carry on the work of
my father.  I'm paid enough to get by.  I don't know how much Eloias was paid, but it was more than flipping cards and telling stories deserved."

To Omira he answers, "I was at the edge of camp looking for signs of a gnoll ambush."

He turns an angry look to Tym then turns back to Omira, "I see you all tearing toward the camp, then saw the fire."

"Is there anyone who can confirm where you were?" Surya asks.

"The whole camp!  They know my smell."

While Emerald certainly didn't take a direct involvement in the stinky gnoll-hunter, she still overheard what was being said. She frowns. "Alright everyone... since the fire is not an issue and the animals are herded, lets' all gather and we'll hear your stories one by one. Almah, if you would kindly, make sure everyone is accounted for?"

---

Kyle:

  Usually the flavor text only bothers to go into poor hygiene if it's someone either A) destitute, or B) Evil.  Dashki was currently employed, but then shooting a man for bad health habits wasn't exactly rational.

Was thinking the same thing OOC. But all Emerald is thinking is this guy must have been RAISED by gnolls to be so... bestial.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:37, Wed 13 Mar 2013.

Addressing Dashki "I'm sorry for your youth, that is a harsh one for sure." Giving Dashki a sincere look.  "I'm sure Almah is grateful to have your services to aid in her journey.  I'm gonna agree to Emerald here and ask we all sit together and go over what happened. Where everyone was and all that will help."

Starts to move towards the center of the camp waving to everyone to follow.  "Lets just take a few minutes and discuss everything openly."

Perception: 6+9=15
Diplomacy: 14

Satisfied with Dashki's answer, hostile though it might be, I head towards Emerald.

  "I have heard that Gnolls were a frequent problem in these parts, but it appears the degree of which has been understated to me so far."  Only so many home villages to go around for being burned down with sole survivors.

  "While I wouldn't doubt their capacity to employ proper tactics, I am curious in what ways you have felt they are smarter.  Knowing where you consider them to be their strongest would help if I found myself needing to act to prevent what has happened to you occurring again for others."

Daski looks flattered by Omira's assurance of Almah's approval but doesn't know how to reply to her small kindness.  To Kyle he simply answers, "Golls trust their instincts more."

On Emerald's suggestion a head count is taken and it is discovered that Rombard, Hadrod the camel driver's favorite goat, is the only one missing.

The interviews:

Garavel sighs, then indicates that he has 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 him.

Caravan Guards: Almah’s personal guard were all
standing guard at her tent when the fire started—none of
them saw anything suspicious at the astrologer’s wagon,
but one did catch a glimpse of Dashki trying to hide
behind a tree nearby; “It was clear that he was trying to get
a look into Almah’s tent. That boy is obsessed with her.”
This places Dashki quite some distance from the wagon
when the fire started, evidence in favor of his innocence.

The mercenaries were enjoying themselves around
the feast-fire, finishing off dinner with a sturdy drink.
They weren’t too fond of Eloais and thought of him as a
weakling. If they ask about Dashki, the guards confirm that
he wasn’t at the feast-fire with them, and one muses that
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 the mercenaries has a high opinion of Dashki.
(Friendly: The mercenaries make a few lewd and suggestive
comments about the relationship they suspect Eloais had
with Almah, and wonder if Dashki might have burned the
astrologer’s wagon to “get rid of the competition.”)

Zastoran: The cleric was reading a book by the fire-pit,
but the mercenaries were being too loud for him and he’d
just stood up to return to his wagon when the fire started.
He can attest that all six of the mercenaries were at the
fire-pit and nowhere near the astrologer’s wagon when the
fire broke out, and that Dashki was not. He thought Eloais
was a charlatan and that Almah is better off now without
his attention, but admits she did seem quite fond of him.
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?” (Friendly:
Zastoran admits that while he thought Eloais was a fake, he
did appreciate his conversation; “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.”)

Camel Drivers: The camel drivers are excitable and prone
to finishing each other’s sentences. Hadrah was the first to
notice the fire, but she and her husband were distracted by
trying to get their animals under control soon thereafter.
Hadrod in particular seems on the verge of tears—his
favorite goat Rombard went missing during the chaos,
and he fears the worst. The two 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 them
to know he was a good man. Asked about Dashki, their
expressions darken but they refuse to say more. (Friendly:
In a conspiratational tone, Hadrah whispers, “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?”)

Dashki: If accused of arson
and murder, he loudly proclaims his innocence—perhaps
a bit too loudly. He claims
to have been scouting at the edge of camp when
the wagon went up, but in fact he was spying on Almah at
the time—Dashki has become obsessed with the beautiful
woman, and it is this secret that makes him nervous
during the interview process. As the interview progresses,
he grows more and more frustrated, crying out, “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.”

If asked about pugwampis, Dashki is grateful for the
change of subject and says, “Terrible critters what crawled
up from the Darklands below the earth. ‘Jackal rats,’ some
folks call ’em, on account of their pointed little heads. They
worship gnolls as gods and infest their communities like
rats. Wherever pugwampis go, bad luck is sure to follow.
The gnolls hate pugwampis because of it, and try to kill
them all the time. But they always come back. Perhaps
their bad luck caused the fortune-man’s candles to start a
fire? Yes, pugwampis. I am certain it was pugwampis.”
No PC has ever heard of pugwampis, and nor has any
member of Almah’s party.
(Friendly: Dashki breaks down and admits that he may
be “a bit too fond” of Almah, but continues to plead his
innocence regarding the fire.)

After Garavel has introduced the PCs to every member
of Almah’s party and they have had a chance to examine
Eloais’s wagon and the animal pen (which gains them
nothing), the major domo takes them back to Almah’s tent
for them to render their final judgment. The circumstances
and attitudes of the others seem to damn Dashki, but
Almah is unwilling to convict the gnoll expert without
more concrete evidence.
No one at the camp, including the PCs, have ever heard
of the “pugwampis” that are central to Dashki’s theory of
what may have transpired, and a few members of the camp
(if asked) suggest that the whole thing may be a lie. Almah,
on the other hand, is a bit more trusting.
“If my expert is correct,” she says, “the hills around here
should be crawling with these pugwampis, or at least some
sign of their passage. If what Dashki says is true, it should
be easy for him to find one and bring it back to me.”
The merchant princess turns to the PCs. “As he is,
however, our best suspect in this affair, it would not do to
send him out into the darkness alone. I’m afraid that your
investigation is not yet at and end. Go out into the desert
with Dashki and find me one of these pugwampis.”
This message was last edited by the player at 03:58, Wed 20 Mar 2013.

After hearing everyone's testimonies, Emerald agrees thoroughly with Almah. "Without anyone even admitting they saw him at the wagon, no evidence, and Dashki even offering a possible culprit, I don't think anyone has the right to pass any judgement yet. My group and I will happily go with Dashki to find this creature."

Emerald gets ready with the others and heads off with Dashki when everyone is ready.

  Kyle decides not to point out to Dashki that not following through on his instincts is what's keeping Kyle from shooting the gnoll expert in the face in front of a crowd of witnesses.  Contrary to what some snipers may suggest, going straight for the headshot is not always the most professional course of action.  Sometimes the most obvious culprit is actually an undercover law official, and it was really Old Man Withers behind the haunted mine.

  That dog druid had the strangest speech impediment, but not as strange as the paint job on that wagon and the obsession with splitting the party.

  "Insane slavers who chase away and loath those who desire to serve them.  Maybe it's just not the same to them if their labor works willingly?"  Of course, while Kyle can identify devils and constructs reasonably well, the local wildlife is not one of his current areas of expertise.

  Dashki seems all kinds of shady, but so far it also seems it would be somewhat difficult for them to set a fire on the opposite side of the camp while playing voyeur.

OOC: Nature check: 2... Yeah.

"So we're heading off into the night, in search of something no one here believes exists, on the say of some obsessed walking cesspit, all to prove the innocence of said cesspit?"

I heft my great axe.

"Well let's get going."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:31, Wed 20 Mar 2013.

Trying to give Dashki the benefit of the doubt (but watching him closely) I reply, "Ok Dashki lets go... you can teach me something of your pugwampis. I've never heard of them but I'm willing to learn and give you a shot.  "I love a good hunt"
  Chuckles and smiles at Tym.

Glancing around Omira thinks to herself we can't all be ignorant as to judge another by their smell though he really needs to bathe.

Starts looking for tracks other than those that are known.  "Ok Dashki looks like your leading the way.  Show me what you found."



Perception: 4+4 = 8
Nature:  2+9 = 11

ooc: Purples my fav color so her spoken will be purple now.

In this case, the group won't be hearing the words, "Dashki-dooski-doo!" any time soon.  Dashki nods to Omira and searches the camp perimeter for clues by torchlight.  By now the last glow of sunset is all but gone, granting relief from the day's heat but making the search difficult in the deepening darkness.  Before long, the group finds dozens of small footprints leading to and from the camp, finally retreating towards the hill country.

As Dashki follows the tracks with intense interest, he answers Omira.  "The little devils are smaller than halflings, but they cause double misfortune for anyone near them."

Surya streches out her hand and recounts the goat's trials.  "The thin rope around my neck digs into my skin as I struggle to get away.  The people at the camp are shouting because of the fire.  They cannot hear my cries for help.  The tiny jackal men laugh at my suffering.  One speaks to me with magic so I can understand the horrific tortures they have in store for me before I become their meal.  He says he saw my master dieing in the fire he set.  They drag me through the cacti then tie me to a bush near a cliff.  They argue, then all but the one who killed my master leaves."

The shadows shift and twist about from the flickering torch light.  Dashki points at some furrows in the ground.  "Skid marks made by the feet of a goat being dragged.  We must be on the right track."

  Kyle doesn't feel bad for the fate of the livestock.  Though it does go against his nature to waste time and arcane resources translating to an animal 'hey, we're going to eat you'.  "I wonder if the Gnolls waste translation rituals on explaining to horses how glue is made."

  He looks to Surya, okay so talking 80% in detailed prophecy is starting to look like it's not just an odd quirk, when it seems to turn up this often.  "Any thoughts on why they would stake it out and leave it behind?  Bait for us, or for something meaner we're about to run into at meal time?"

EDIT: Perc 19.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:59, Sun 24 Mar 2013.

You may roll preemptive perception checks for the upcoming encounter.

Perception Check: 18

"Interesting Dashki you'll have to tell me more over a meal sometime. For now these signs are interesting aren't they?"

Perc: 7=9= 16
This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Sun 24 Mar 2013.

"Smaller than a halfling. A phrase that rarely comes up in serious conversation." Emerald says from experience. She huhs at Kyle's conclusion. "...Does seem odd they would go to that effort over a goat. I guess they just plain enjoy suffering that much." and here she briefly thought Surya was recalling Dashki's history.

---

Perception: Rolled an 18. I am unsure if her clicky on cast is up to date, but with a roll like that, I probably succeed the DC.

Dashki offers no answer, but his face shows he considers the glue question an unusual one.

Surya shrugs to Kyle's question then speculates, "Perhaps the goat is intended to be tribute for a gnoll but they figured it easier to call over their master rather than drag it to him."

After following the trail for several hundred feet,
each hero feels an inexplicable
rise in the natural tension of the environment, as if they
expect something terrible to happen even though nothing
about the terrain has changed. Soon thereafter, a sound
not unlike the brief cry of a human child comes out of
the darkness ahead. A DC 10 Knowledge (nature) check
determines that the sound must be coming from the lost
goat, though the timbre of the cry makes it sound as if the
creature is in pain. As the PCs progress toward the sound,
the local cacti grow more and more intense, until the
hunters find themselves at the edge of a dense thicket of
the prickly plants. The sound of the bleating goat is now
obvious to everyone—and it seems to be coming from
somewhere deep within the cacti.

---

GM junk:
The cactus forest, though very wide, is not so terribly
deep. Only 25 feet separate the PCs from the trapped goat,
but the thickness of the growth requires 3 rounds of careful
maneuvering before a PC makes it to the other side.
With a DC 12 Search check, a PC whose light source
or vision can reach that far can spot Rombard the goat,
tethered to a scrub bush by a hairy, knotted length of rope.
If the PCs carry light sources or are particularly noisy,
the goat’s tiny bleats erupt into full-fledged brays of fear
as it tugs in vain at the rope around its neck. Movement
through the cactus thicket requires a DC 15 Balance check
to avoid the large spines that fill the area. Failure indicates
that the character takes a point of damage from the quills.
Remember that characters who attempt to move at full
speed while balancing take a –5 penalty on their checks.
A character that simply barrels through the field at full
speed without trying to avoid the cacti takes
1 point of damage per 5 feet traveled.
Unfortunately for the PCs, the entire
area is within the unluck radius of
a hidden pugwampi, meaning their
jaunt into the pointy cacti will be a lot
more difficult than they think.
Once the first Balance check
is made, ask the exploring
character to roll another d20,
and use the lowest result. Play
up failed Balance checks by
describing the character’s plunge
into sticky quills as a series of
extremely unlucky events—steppedon
shoelaces, helmet visors slipping
down at inopportune moments, robes
or dresses getting snagged on foliage,
etc. Be sure to say “Oh, how unlucky!”
with each mishap. By the end of “Howl of the
Carrion King,” the PCs will grow to hate the
pugwampis, and this is the all-important scene that
sows the seeds of that hatred to come. Play it up for all it
is worth.

Once the cactus patch has been navigated, the PCs
emerge on a thin strip of open land at the edge of a 15-footwide
ravine. A casual glance down the edge reveals a huge
multi-armed, wickedly barbed cactus dominating the
ground 10 feet below the ledge, almost directly below
where the sad little goat Rombard has been lazily tied to a
scrub bush. He’s covered with cactus quills and has only 3
hit points. Rombard doesn’t stay still, making it difficult to
free the goat. Untying the squirming goat requires a DC 15
Use Rope check. A failed check means that the goat begins
racing around the character in circles, entangling him in
the rope. The character must immediately make a DC 15
Balance check to avoid losing his balance and tumbling
over the ravine and into the arms of the enormous cactus
below, a fall that causes 1d6+2 points of damage. Alternately,
a slashing weapon can be used to cut the rope, and while
the goat’s frantic movements make the rope a tough target
(AC 15), any hit on it with a slashing weapon cuts the goat
free. Of course, both of these checks are also subject to
the unluck aura of the nearby pugwampi. If Rombard is
cut loose, he immediately bolts for the Sultan’s Claw, but
in his panicked flight through the cacti he’s certain to
take enough damage to fall unconscious. A DC 15 Handle
Animal or wild empathy check is enough to calm the goat
so that he can be freed with ease.
Creature: The pugwampi itself hides behind a rock
5 feet from the goat; a successful Spot check (against the
pugwampi’s Hide check)

22:46, Today: Narrator rolled 37 using 1d20+17 with rolls of 20. pugwampi hide check.

reveals the creature’s hiding
spot. It wields a rusty dagger even though it has a crude
bow strapped across its back, and has spent the
last several minutes using speak with animals
to tell Rombard all sorts of horrific
things it’s planning to do to the goat
before cooking him for dinner. If the
pugwampi is spotted, or as soon as
Rombard is freed, the creature emits a
shrill yell of outrage and attacks.

(Since the monster wasn't spotted, it holds it's actions.)

Pugwampi CR 1/2
hp 3 (see page 83)

Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Listen –2, Spot +6
Aura unluck (20-ft. radius)
DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12
(+1 Dex, +2 size)
hp 3 (1d6)
Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +4
DR 2/cold iron; SR 7
OFFENSE
Spd 30 ft.
Melee dagger +3 (1d2–4)
Ranged shortbow +3 (1d3/×3)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
At will—prestidigitation, speak with animals
1/day—shatter (DC 10)
STATISTICS
Str 3, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 6
Base Atk +0; Grp –12
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon FinesseB
Skills Bluff +2, Craft (trapmaking) +4, Disable Device +4, Hide +17,
Ride +5, Spot +6
Languages Gnoll, Terran
Gear dagger, shortbow with 20 arrows
Ecolog y
Environment tropical hills
Organization solitary, pair, pack (3–7), or tribe (8–36)
Treasure standard
Advancement by character class; Favored Class druid
Level Adjustment +3
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Unluck (Su) A pugwampi radiates an aura of unluck to a radius
of 20 feet. A creature in this area must roll 2d20 whenever a
situation calls for a d20 roll (such as an attack roll, a skill check,
or a saving throw) and must use the lowest of the two results
generated. This is a mind-affecting effect that does not work
on animals, other gremlins, and gnolls. Any character that
gains any sort of luck bonus (such as that granted by a luckstone
or divine favor) is immune to the pugwampi unluck aura.
Skills A pugwampi gains a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, but
is somewhat hard of hearing and has a –4 penalty on Listen
checks (which is why they always scream and yell at the tops of
their tiny lungs).
Tactics
During Combat The pugwampi tries
to shatter a weapon wielded by the
closest PC on the first round, then runs
circles and shoots at PCs with his bow in
the following rounds, giggling and shrieking
the whole time.
Morale If the pugwampi is harmed, it
attempts to flee, but in its panic it merely impales
itself on a cactus as it does, leaving the PCs with a
handy corpse as proof of its existence.
Statistics
Gear dagger, shortbow with 20 arrows, a dozen singed Harrow
cards (evidence that this pugwampi was indeed in the
astrologer’s wagon when the fire started)

I make a pathway straight through the cacti to Rombard, using my axe to cut down cacti in the way.

Take 5 damage.

As I am not trained to deal with animals, I merely step out of the way and allow someone else to attempt calming the creature.

Omira draws her bow and watches Tym rush forward and scans the area.

Spot check: 9+9=18, 1+9=10  Trying to maneuver to see what is causing so much noise but in this darkness I can't see anything of note in front of me.  I must admit I'm wishing we had left sooner or waited for dawn.

Balance Check: 3+4=7, 12+4=16
Balance Check: 19+4=23, 12+4=16
Balance Check: 20+4=24, 12+4=16

Sighing to herself she thinks at least I'm staying on my feet.. maybe it will be hard enough for whatever is out here to see me if I stealth.

Stealth Check: 15+8=23, 12+8=20

Thinks to herself, Tym has a direct personality I think I am gonna like him a lot. He will definitely help keep attention from me while I maneuver into position. Scanning area and wondering if anyone is going to actually try to free the goat, where ever he is he's safer till we neutralize any threat.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:19, Thu 04 Apr 2013.

  Kyle is about to suggest that they leave the Goat to it's fate instead of walking face first into sharp objects, unless the only direction towards evidence happened to be that way.  In which case Dashki could go face first to clear his name.

  Then Tym starts playing Desert Lumberjack, and Kyle has to brush some flying needles off the front of his armor.  "I do not suppose anybody else thinks this has the feeling of 'obvious trap'?  Though I am somewhat curious how someone forced a goat in there with such little wear to the surrounding area."  If anything Kyle would have expected a goat shaped hole thrown straight on through.

  Okay, so it looks like the wild beastmen didn't go out of their way to cause every form of suffering.

  "On the bright side, Tym's efforts mean some of us won't need to deal with wasteful injury just trying to walk a short distance."   Kyle would help patch the Shifter up if their puncture wounds got out of hand, or after they were all done with this sorry excuse of an investigation.  The artificer readies his oversized crossbow, and waits for Dashki to go forward before entering the cactus patch himself.

  OOC: Yeah, no way in hell characters without Acro training are getting through without damage.  Unless Tym's efforts at path clearing actually work anyways.

  Rolls in case Tym is acting in futility.
  First Acro double take: 18, then 6. (of course!)
  Second Acro Double take: 6, then 14.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Thu 04 Apr 2013.

"You know, Tym? I think I'm gonna like you a lot." Emerald comments with a smile. Then looks at Kyle. "I'm sure whoever set the trap didn't expect anyone to just barrel through the cacti. But yes, this does feel like a trap. Kyle and I will hang back and watch for ambush."

After all, both Emerald and Kyle had abilities that let them pick at enemies from range in case the ambush was inside the cacti. She also looks expectantly for Dashki to follow Tym, now that the way is cleared.

(Tym successfully cuts a path to the cliff that the others can follow without having to make acrobatics checks)

Dashki follows Tym without comment.  The goat seems to recognize him and struggles all the more as the man warily approaches, weapon's drawn.  Surya follows along as well, hands tucked int her sleeves.  "One who suffers harm so that others do not have to.  Is this not the very definition of the word, 'hero?'  Thank you for clearing a path, Tym.  And yes.  It's a trap."

Just then, the pugwumpi shows itself and charges Dashki!

---

Busy week.  Hopefully will have time to set up combat by Friday night.