Miguel's family and an occasional visiting healer estimated that his wounds would not heal until late Dark Season. It is still early (week 2) of Earth Season so there is over a season to go, but he is well tended to.
Maugis was awakened from bad dreams at Fort Mudlark by a terrible noise. Investigating, he saw dark, fiery-eyed shapes with dark riders on them leaving the fort, the gates being opened to let them out. He spoke first to a timid Wendel who urged him to leave it alone and stay indoors, but he left the tower and went into the main yard of the fort. There, he talked with soldiers and others alerted by the bloodcurdling sounds, and learned that indeed these were the Black Horse Troop mercenaries coming out of the gateway to the Underworld here, unleashed by Baron Ron's own orders to go slay the Sharde or Huru clan leaders in retribution for new, brutal attacks on the settlers. He sent news of this to Boamund and strengthened his contacts amongst the fort's Dronari and Horali by acting as the only Zzaburi who made themselves available for simple acts like blessings and recitations of scripture to calm their irrational minds.
Oomsh expressed concerns to Boamund that he could feel growing Disorder in Aria's Well's lands. As a creature of Harmony, he was especially sensitive to such things. Boamund took a patrol around his lands and spoke with the people, hearing that they were perturbed that Dividd had not yet been punished and that this might upset the Giranois more, whilst news of spreading trouble with the Giranois made its way down south to them. Boamund also spoke with Cyroosta at dinner, and she expressed the strong apathy that had overtaken her since the attempted wedding. She confessed that she had tried to help but had failed, and it was time for others to help; she was done trying. She thought it was not the spirits of the land that were a source of the increasing Disorder, but that they felt it and she did too, but she showed no interest in resolving it.
A visit to St Thosos didn't turn up much help, either. Boamund of course gained audience with Baron Ron, but was quickly told off by an energized, angry Baron that the Giranois had started this new blood-feud and he would end it, and that Ron's intelligence in Fort Mudlark did not lead him to believe that the Baronet there and his biases toward the “frog-men” were the true cause of this feud. Ron told him to return home and keep out of the conflict, rather than throw accusations at the Baron's other lords, but there were indications that Ron might still be open to peace if a way could be found– although Ron showed little hope for such a way.
Stymied again, Boamund turned back to his people. The new tavern Aria's Rest was formally opening that night, and walking by that day he was invited in by one of the owners, the Dronari named Miela (a Pasos-Islander and old friend of Inyana's). He had a tour of this fine establishment and truly it was at least up to the standard of any such facility in St Thosos, or even better. He saw something small moving there, maybe a rat or toad, but could not find any such pest. Miela mentioned that a cellar was being planned and he warned her to proceed with caution in these magically-strong, ruin-bedecked lands.
Boamund returned that night with three of his guards, for the opening party. He noticed that the prices were too high for most normal Dronari to afford coming. Miela told him that Barabalo the Seshnelan sailor/merchant dealt with financial matters here, so he went over to the inn's bar to speak with that man. Barabalo was very intoxicated and at first jolly, but turned melancholy and moody as he was confronted with his Lord's unease about the expensive offerings at the inn. After some soothing, he agreed to accept Boamund's subsidies of the costs so that more Dronari could come, and sent for them to be invited back. Soon the party was going strong, and Barabalo was jolly again. Returning to his guards, who were jolly too, Boamund spotted some stealthy motion as a mug seemed to overturn itself on a nearby table. He found that it was the exotic insect-killing walking device that Miguel had seen in the peasant's farmhouse that collapsed into a sinkhole, but he could not catch the quick, stealthy thing, which fled through a crack in the wall out into the night. This mechanism might help, though, explain why the inn stayed so pest-free and clean– that and the hard work of the proprietors and their staff. Mulling over this event and others, Boamund returned to his guards and ended the night in thoughtful sobriety amidst the ebullient partyers.
After the party, Boamund decided it was time to finish his duty to the Sottogh and see what help they could provide in any peace efforts, as Ilk had offered in return for ridding the land of that sorceror's spirit. He took his guards up north, first to the cave where he saw that the Giranois had removed their totems and there was no sign of ghostly hauntings, and then up toward the Sottogh town. En route, he ran into Brother Amaurius of the Evracians, who was out tending to their fields' local Dronari farmers. Amaurius had spotted Boamund coming and came to parley with him, speaking in his affected, overly florid prose and quiet voice that made communication difficult. Amaurius tried to get more information out of Boamund about his intent with his visits to the Giranois (clearly the Evracians knew of this going on), and then spoke of how the Evracians (especially him, as one of the monks who might have divergent beliefs and maybe even be open to debate and compromise) sought peace, just like Boamund's people did. He managed to get a little jab in there about how Boamund's folk used violence as a means to this common end, but Boamund didn't receive Amaurius's invitation to parley with much enthusiasm either, regarding it as a possible delaying tactic or other subterfuge. You departed from this Evracian with an agreement to speak again once you passed back southwards, but did not bother to heed this agreement.
At the Sottogh's village, Groad met your band with an entourage of ritually-painted and armoured Giranois warriors, and led you through their town, once again passing the stone-covered well or pit. Boamund saw Groad draw close to him and watch his reaction, then the two conversed briefly, with Groad confessing some discomfort about how Malkion willed whatever was happening there to be, “even if Red River Tanok does not.” It seemed there were interesting politics at play in the Sottogh lands, and Groad had developed a rapport with Boamund in terms of common ground of being warriors, leaders and perhaps peacemakers– in some obscure way, Groad and Ilk must not see eye to eye on some issues? But visiting Ilk, you found that she had already prepared some tea and knew of your success ridding the land of this vengeful spirit. She also confessed that she had grown convinced that you were blessed in some way by Granno, unlike other wall-men who were cursed. One interesting view she held was that peace between the clans and wall-men was important, and that the clans must not unite or they would be destroyed. She even felt that all neighbours on Giraine should simply remain separate and at peace. Boamund made an agreement with her that he would take words of peace to his leaders and she would do so with the other Giranois leaders, to try to end this conflict. She closed with an interesting prediction:
“Wall-men that spill the blood of Giranois or take their shattered bodies aboard their ships for blasphemous enslavement will only fan the flames of hatred by the Huru, Sharde and others. That would risk fully re-igniting the fires atop Burnt Priest's Hill, long has it been dark and baleful indeed would be its conflagration anew.”
In closing your pact, and departing, Ilk joked that maybe her granddaughter would enjoy her own private “tea ceremony” with one of your men who seemed to like the tea, and this joke did not go over well even amongst some of the Giranois watching with Groad (would a Giranois truly ever have amorous relations with a wall-man, or allow it to happen? You doubt it, and ones you've known would not even joke of such things!). You sped home and made preparations to spread Ilk's words to your people as promised.
Elsewhere in Glorantha, out on the open seas, your other leaders were in a bit of a pickle. You awoke, hazily, naked and bound and covered in filth (some of it their own), in a small wooden cell with a heavy door, under which some light crept in. All five of you were there: Ahappi, Shaven, Jim, Curly and Bobard; the rest of the crew must be elsewhere. You were not on the Shadow, you could quickly tell, and the burden of madness still was fading from your minds. Something had happened- you had faint memories of a fog cloud, and much yelling, then… you were here.
And you felt a power here, a prickling of magical energy. Looking around as you began to loosen the ropes that tied your hands behind you, you spotted a symbol of a spear with a noose hanging off it, and recollected that this was known to be the sign of the nefarious Dripping Beards gang of coastal pirates. Aha! Your captors might be these blackguards! Ahappi pondered your situation and the past, and wondered if you might have accidentally opened a quest that led you not to Barran or the underworld, but on a wrong path to a nasty fate. The Dripping Beards were known theistic madmen who worshipped the demon Wachaza and did terrible things to people…
Soon you were all untied, but still trapped in this cell, the brig of some sizeable ship out at sea. As you talked over plans, you heard someone coming down from the deck and you prepared to jump them as they opened the door. But they stopped outside the door, listened, yelled to the above decks to their “Cap'ns” (multiple?) that you were still on some other plane, and then as Ahappi bellowed a challenge, yelled again that you were “back again” and that you might need “a thrashin'”. But you had Ahappi's Plastron blessing upon you and were ready to give thrashing back if you could– even if you were devoid of your belongings, you had your considerable talents.
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