Drake’s announcement that he intended to “retire” from active participation in the adventures of the Hand of Fortune caused quite a stir amongst his friends. Vulk in particular was dismayed to discover that his “little buddy” would no longer be at his side. The group wrangled over this for the rest of the evening, with some trying to convince him he was over-reacting to his recent bout of being turned to organic stone, and others simply offering comfort and support. But in the end he was adamant.

“I will always be there for you, my friends,” he assured them. “But I had a lot of time to think while I was trapped in my frozen body… not sure if I was dead, or lost in the Void, or what… I realized I’ve been incredibly lucky, both as a mercenary and as an adventurer. But this was a warning from Kasira, that my luck has run out, at least in this regard.

“So, I’m going to stay here, run the apothecary shop, and get really serious about my research. I have several ideas for things that might make a difference in a fight, and I’ll send those along to you, as they develop. But my main concern is perfecting the healing powers of the Baylorium… in the long run I think that may be the most important thing I’ll ever do.”

Even Vulk couldn’t argue with that, though he remained clearly unhappy. Still recovering from his latest brush with the Shadow of the undead, he was inclined to take his disgruntlement out on Korwin, who was himself slowly recovering from his own ordeal. Fortunately Vulk remained quite busy tending to the spiritual needs of the people of Dür, so their contact was minimal.

Mariala spent some time with Korwin, especially discussing the philosophical and practical aspects of her Ring of Water Elemental Control… he seemed particularly fascinated by her certainty that it was the same elemental that was summoned each time she used the ring. But most of Mariala’s time was spent deeply engrossed in her effort to decrypt the book they had discovered in the torture chamber beneath the keep.

It was actually Devrik who spent the most time with the recuperating water mage. Despite, or maybe because of, the opposing elemental magics they wielded, the two seemed to share a wary fascination for one another. Raven couldn’t decide if it was just a matter of each one sizing up the opposition, a macho interest in who’d win in a fight, or the beginning of a real friendship. She figured time would tell…

Arrangements had already been  made with Ser Alakor for Raven to take up residence in Dor Dür for the remainder of her pregnancy, and Black Hawk had agreed to stay as well, to act as her guardian. He would also take duty with the keep’s garrison. While she would have liked to have told both her husband and brother what they could do with this “guardian” crap, Raven’s growing belly had finally started to affect her ability to move and fight; she swallowed the irritation, and accepted the help.

The money that the group had discovered along with the encoded book had been turned over to the new Constable, which quickly proved to be a real boon to Ser Alakor. Repairs had been started on the keep over a year ago, but Ser Danyes had been diverting the funds to his own purposes in the last several months of his life. While scaffolding still covered parts of the structure, no work had been done all summer. Alakor had been afraid he’d have to either petition the Earl of Burnan for more funds or levy a tax on the town – neither seemed a good way to start his tenure.

But with the hidden stash of his predecessor, he could not only finish the repairs but also provide some assistance to the town itself, which had been sadly neglected. As if to confirm that Kasira smiled on him, a band of wandering Khundari arrived in town the very day he had thought to send to Vinkara for stonemasons. They were traveling south to the United Realms of Karac, seeking employment from any of the princes there, but were more than happy to stop awhile in Dür. Especially since the keep had originally been of Khundari construction, and they were adamant that the repairs could only be done truly well by Khundari. Within a day, the scaffolding was alive with dwarven workers, singing as they worked.

The day after the Khundari started working on the repairs to the keep, the new Eldari cantor for the local temple arrived. She had been dispatched from Tendus at Vulk’s urgent request, and arrived with two acolytes in tow. Vulk was more than happy to spend a day going over the affairs of the parish with Cantor Erina Kunora and then to leave them all in her capable hands. While he knew the work was important, and he’d been more than conscientious in fulfilling his duties, being the spiritual leader of a small backwater mountain town was definitely not where his calling lay!

Several days before that, Erol, Cris and Drake rode out to Tarich Manor so that Drake could finally assess his new property. Nestled in a remote mountain valley, it did indeed prove to be perfect for foraging for herbs and other plants in the surrounding forests. Having been without a master for several years, the property had run somewhat to seed, the caretaker being rather elderly and with no help. Drake decided to ride back to Dür and send his cousin and some sturdy lads out to get things in shape. Erol and Cris agreed to stay behind to get things started.

Returning to Dür, Drake quickly dispatched Danyes and three sons of local farmers back to Tarich Manor. The farm lads, having no hope of inheriting, being the youngest of their families, hoped to earn the post of Baliff from Drake… or Draik, he supposed he should start thinking of himself again. That night was cooler than any since he had arrived back home, and Draik decided a fire was in order in his bedroom.

While cleaning out the great pile of ash, however, he discovered something rather interesting… apparently his uncle had burned many of his papers that last night, but not everything was utterly destroyed… This was worth getting his friends together to see he decided, first thing tomorrow…