A week after the fall of the Creep Giant, a grand banquet was held in the open-air courtyard of the Royal Palace.
The air now carried the scent of roasted meats and fresh bread.
Long tables were laden with simple, hearty fare—a testament to the ongoing famine, yet the sheer abundance was a defiant symbol of hope and recovery.
Nobles, knights, and merchants mingled, their relieved laughter echoing off the palace walls. At the head table, King Harius III sat flanked by the heroes of the hour: the newly minted Marquis Charles Hummer and his family, the Lord Arnold, and High Archon Seraphina, looking regal but weary in her formal vestments.
In a place of special honor sat a handful of other Dwarves and Half Orcs from the Underbelly, their gruff faces filled with a pride and wonder they rarely showed.
The one person missing from the table was the Whisper Healer himself. No one knew where he was, and the Hummers politely deflected all inquiries.
