Doc left Furden behind after six months in the capital of the Coalrud Territory. A lot had happened in that time span—there’d been a lot of new business deals, personal accomplishments, and Doc made great strides toward bringing the name of Luck to the world.

He’d made a solid ally with David Roquefell, who helped him set the stage for equality in Furden. Their friendship had led to something even greater: David became the Voice of Trade. Now, there were two goddesses working together to drive the Darkness from the world. David went on to secure business that would empower the two of them, allowing them to make a stand for their goddesses in the future. His plans centered on Doc’s knowledge from Earth, which included the telephone, the telegraph, and several other new, innovative ideas. Besides that, David would work on gaining the ear of the congressional leaders so they could have political backing later.

Not everything went smoothly in Furden. Doc made an enemy of Michael Strongarm, a wealthy businessman tied heavily to Western Expansion, the company behind the telegraph and mail delivery for the nation. Their conflict came to a head with a duel on Boxing Day, with Doc using his gifts from Luck to best the arrogant man.

Beating Strongarm raised the morale of the bestials and the downtrodden of Furden to new heights. With new homes in a community devoted to equality named Aurora, the formerly-oppressed peoples knew hope for the first time in their lives. It was a trend that Doc had started in Deep Gulch and seemed determined on continuing.

Even on the high note after the duel, Doc knew that staying in Furden would be dangerous. The church wouldn’t ignore him forever, and he had more work to do. Despite knowing that, he found it difficult to leave—Fiala had asked to stay in Furden so she could work on the burgeoning makeup business she’d started, but also to have their child. When it came time to leave, his heart ached. Staying would endanger her, their unborn child, him, and everything he was working toward. He accepted the hard path, leaving his beloved first wife behind to go west.

On the train leaving Furden, he came to a decision: he had mines to set up in Vedana, and even all the way up into Kanata, though it would take the dwarven clans and elven tribes coming together to make that happen. His goal was to unite the west into a place where everyone was equal. Two things could make a huge difference if the church of Apoc ever came for him—communication and transportation. With David working on communication, Doc made plans to control transportation, all while working on ensuring they had the money to pull it off. His rail-laid plans would hinge on his trip west. It might all crumble down in ruin, but he had faith. After all, he was beloved by Lady Luck.