Hi again,
Verker held Vowka, fuming and frothing in anger at the “murderer”, while the half-dozen Giranois from his family/clan/group milled about, gesticulating to the north into the swamp where you guessed they saw the assassin run off to. But they did not want to pursue him themselves. Soon you found boot-prints, of a large person, and tried following them, but lost them after not too long. Meanwhile, the Captain spoke firmly to Verker, who was reluctant to let him near Vowka, and convinced the agitated Giranois man to let him inspect the wounds, with Fraud Shaven soon joining him. Vowka was alive, but barely.
You withdrew the blade carefully (spying no poison or other things on it; it seemed a normal, cheap dagger) and then Ahappi applied a Regenerate spell to seal the deep wound. Vowka remained unconscious even after Boamund rushed off to the Manor and grabbed a healing potion, which you got Vowka to swallow but saw no further effects from. Ahappi remained with Verker, who still would not let Vowka go, at the Giranois camp while Bobard and Curly stood guard there. Verker was insistent, then, that someone pursue the “murderer”, but like the other Giranois would not leave.
Soon Boamund and Fraud (others?) headed off into the swamp to pursue the would-be murderer. The tracks were difficult to follow even with the muddy ground and Boamund's glow spell. It became clear that the person leaving the tracks was trying to evade trackers, and doing a good job of it– they knew their way around the wilds. On and on the pursuit went, back and forth through the swamps and eventually into the badlands north of them, seeming to aim for no particular point you knew of but going inland. You lost the trail once, losing a lot of time, but then gained ground on your quarry as they seemed to take some wrong turns and leave some clearer traces. Soon you knew they were close, and then the arrow came flying in from the darkness, out of Fraud's field of view, hitting him in his side and impaling his gut. But he could still walk, and hobbled in pursuit of the nearby attacker, as did Boamund amidst his Glow spell.
You caught up with the attacker- indeed a big, hulking man, whose Boamund's spell illuminated as Dividd the Hunter, long one of the Shaven family's Dronari on Giraine but known for his feral demeanour, poor hygiene and great belly as well as recently erratic behaviour. Shaven caught up with Dividd and engaged him, while Boamund raced in from behind. With a quick spear thrust, Boamund impaled Dividd in the back, knocking him flat and leaving him crippled. Dividd's savagery turned quickly to pitiful whining and begging to be healed and released. He avoided questions about why he attacked Vowka until it became clear he would not be released, then he admitted that he had been compelled by voices coming from his belly, and he showed some fear of these voices and whatever power they represented. Then Dividd, fearful of the retribution of the Giranois but cognizant that there was no clear chance of escape now, bargained to be brought back to Aria's Well and given whatever justice was deemed appropriate by you Talari, rather than to be taken to the camp where he'd surely meet a terrible death. You dragged him back by morning, his wound stabilized but not to the point where he could run off.
Vowka survived the night and seemed to be on a very slow track to recovery, still unconscious but not needing further healing (unless you could find powerful magic that could repair a Major Wound). Word spread through the settlement of what had happened, and then that Dividd had been caught as the erstwhile assassin. He was taken to the small prison cell where trusted guards were set upon him. Boamund explained this situation to Cyroosta, wondering if a spirit possessed Dividd, and she apathetically inspected him but saw no such spirit there, although she seemed more interested and puzzled, but could offer no further help.
Verker had spoken some cryptic words about “the wisdom of the nose” to the Captain, as a way to find the murderer's nature, and the Captain pondered this. Reunited, your band spoke at the Giranois camp about the situation and the idea sprung upon you to ask the Mraloti, who (with their pigs) were famed for their sense of smell, even moreso than the trolls. None of you had much interaction with them, now that Miguel was incapacitated, but the Captain and others came to their mobile encampment just east of the Giranois camp to see what the Mraloti might be willing and able to do.
Their leader, the fierce lady Narak, was surprisingly cooperative and not as stand-offish and gruff as usual. She expressed her gratitude for being welcomed into this land of the Shaven family, where her Sounder (family unit) and pigs had found comfort and safety. So she quickly agreed to try to help. Dividd was brought to the mud-wallow of the Mraloti's pigs the next day, where Narak and her folk had prepared a ritual to smell out what evil infected Dividd. They chanted in their strange Manirian backwoods-dialect and gesticulated while the great big pigs stared at a terrified Dividd. Verker watched with you from the sidelines, his face intent with furious interest.
Narak's chanting evoked a strange yellow mist to seep from Dividd's body, especially his belly, as he screamed about the “Yellow Skin”, then fell prostrate. The terrible stench of this mist could be smelled from all around the camp- this was now clear as the odour that made Dividd unpleasant to be around, but it was no spirit or living force. Narak was visibly disturbed by it, speaking out loud that this was some wicked enchantment that she did not know for sure how to deal with, but could hold it temporarily in the power of the Mraloti ritual, wielding some strange pagan-like power over this exotic sorcery. You speculated that it must have something to do with the Vadeli, and old tales of the “Yellow Vadeli” or “Golden Vadeli” came to some of your minds- a ruler caste or something that had been fabled in legend but never seen since the Dawn.
[for summary, see e.g. <a href=“http://glorantha.tumblr.com/post/104733087463/who-are-the-vadeli-what-was-the-empire-of-chir” target=“_blank”>Who are the Videli. What was the Empire of Chir.</a> ]
But what could you do with this sorcerous essence that hung suspended in the air? While Narak searched her mind for ideas, struggling to keep it captive, Verker sprung into action. He ran screaming across the mud-wallow, claiming that this was his destiny. But you had other ideas and did not think it right for another Giranois to suffer. Two of you raced after him and tackled him, pinning him in the mud as he raged in despair.
But then the Captain had a curious look come over his face; an expression of peace unlike him, but also stern intent. He leapt into the mist-cloud, instantly wracked with pain and conflict, writhing with spasms as the essence forced its way in through every pore and orifice of his body… becoming the new Yellow Skin of Captain Ahappi. Verker howled in horror as the rest of you watched in stunned wonder…
Now what?
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