The Hand of Fortune was met with great excitement by Prince Rhoghûn when they returned to the City bearing the Axe of Arghün. The announcement and official presentation of the recovered great artifact was made to the assembled nobles of the city-state five days later, during a massive state dinner. The Umantari adventurers were presented as heroes of great daring and immense cultural sensitivity for having not only recovered the long-lost artifact, but handing it over to its rightful owner without thought of keeping for themselves. The exact details of how they came to find the weapon were glossed over, of course… At the end of the meal the Prince named the five humans as D’har Koem, friends and true allies of the Khundari people.

The general public opinion of the humans rose sharply in the wake of this announcement, and social invitations began pouring in from the various clans and guilds of the city. Even the old battle-axe Dhama Jhertin was forced to reign in her hostility to Mariala in the face of this swell of public approval. Mariala didn’t for a moment take this as a true change in the old woman’s feelings about outlander tarts teaching the beloved royal princess , but appreciated the respite from constant backbiting nonetheless.

The day after the public presentation was Toran’s 33rd birthday, and his new companions were invited to join his family in celebration. The party was especially epic as it also celebrated his receiving a Medal of Merit from the Prince for his own part in recovering the Axe of Arghün and his actions during Arlun Parek’s late machinations. The next two days were spent recovering.

The tenday that followed was a relatively quiet one, as the group continued about the usual duties and pursuits – studying, teaching and training. Mariala and Vulk divided their time between tutoring the royal children and pursuing their own arcane or religious studies, while Korwin delved seriously into his own magical studies and engineering plans for various gadgets and support materials (especially ones that might turn a profit). Erol and Devrik spend a great deal of time training with Toran and the other Shadow Guards, as well as giving combat training to both Cris and Jeb. Jeb in turn strove to help Erol improve his archery skills, though it seemed slow going sometimes. Devrik made a trip to Dor Dür to visit Raven, and when he returned he took Vulk aside.

“I have a favor to ask, my friend,” he said, rather solemnly Vulk thought, when they were alone. “Although Raven and I are bonded in the eyes of her people, we are not truly wed by the laws of civilized lands, or of the Church. We’ve discussed it much in recent months, and I would like to make her my wife in law as well as in custom, before our child is born. Raven has agreed, and we would both be honored if you would perform the ceremony for us.”

This was one of the longer speeches Vulk had ever heard his comrade make, and he was touched at the request.

“Of course, my friend,” he replied, grinning. “The honor would be all mine! When did you want to do this? The last time I saw Raven… well, I’m guessing there’s not too much time left before –”

“Two months, she figures,” Devrik interrupted, suddenly seeming a little embarrassed. ” I assume women know more of these things than we do. Anyway, I thought Kristala Va would be good… it’s supposed to be an auspicious day for this sort of thing…”

“Indeed it is, and so it will be,” Vulk laughed, slapping his friend on the back. He surreptitiously winced and shook his numbed hand as they settled down to work out the details.

♦ ♦ ♦

And so it came to pass that the entire Hand of Fortune, including their servants and animals, rode out from the gates of Dürkon on the morning of 27 Glacia. The weather so far that winter had been unusually mild, with far more rain than snow, and the roads were a morass of mud and standing water once beyond the well=paved highway of the dwarven city-state. But they had no rain during the actual journey, and the group arrived safely beneath the walls of Dor Dür in the late afternoon of the 28th.

Constable Ser Alakor and his brother Draik, Raven and her brother Black Hawk, and several other friends and allies were on hand to greet them. A welcoming dinner gave everyone a chance to reconnect before the serious planning for the wedding began. The next several days were spent in gleeful preparation, as their friends quickly took over the whole affair from the slightly dazed Devrik and Raven. Mariala took the younger woman, inexperienced in the ways of civilized traditions and ceremonies, under her wing and to the town’s best seamstress. Korwin spent a considerable amount of time working on some sort of surprise, while Vulk and Draik oversaw the preparation for the wedding feast. Erol and Toran mainly kept Devrik and Black Hawk out of the way by sitting and drinking with him or otherwise occupying his mind.

At sunset on Kristala Va Devrik Askalan and Raven of the Golana Rethmani were wed by their friend Vulk Elida, Cantor of Kasira in the Temple of Dür before their closest friends (and several score of other castle and town folk). As the ceremony began a murmur ran through the crowd when it was seen that snow had begun falling outside. By the time the ceremony was over, and Vulk had named the couple man and wife, several inches of snow had covered the town and the lands around for perhaps half a mile. Korwin looked inordiantely pleased with himself as the wedding party made its way through the beautiful, muffled winter dreamscape to the Great Hall of the keep and the wedding feast.

The party continued long into the night, long after the new couple had retired to their rooms, celebrating both the wedding and the arrival of a new year. It was generally considered the best time anyone had had in Dür in a very long time. If the ghost of Ser Alkakor’s evil predecessor haunted the keep that night, no one noticed. When the sun rose the next morning very few were awake to see it, and the snow had vanished as if it had been a dream. Devrik and Raven spent the day in their rooms, which few of their friends noted since most of them were abed themselves until at least afternoon…

On the morning of 3 Novara the Hand prepared to return to Dürkon, minus Devrik, who planned to spend at least the next tenday with his new bride. At breakfast Ser Alakor drew Vulk and Mariala aside and asked them for a small favor. It seems that a messenger had arrived the night before from one of his outlying manors, the village of Kadail, with news of a missing youth. It was unclear if the lad was a run-away serf or the victim of an accident or foul play. In any case, before he raised the hue and cry for a runaway, Alakor wished to eliminate the other possibilities.

“It is only a very little bit out of the way of your return journey,” he explained to his two friends. “I would consider it a great favor if you could stop on your way and see what you can do… find the missing boy if you can, or determine if he’s a runaway. I’ll send one of my pages along, you can send him back with your report before you continue on to Dürkon…”