Early the next morning, Rett woke from a restless night. Grudgingly pulling on clothes, he returned to the courtyard, reacquired his horse, and began the short trek to Castle Riveroak, to deliver his report to Blackdragon and Princess Artemis.

His thoughts roamed as his well-trained mount picked his way out of the city and onto the path to the castle. Wondering who he could nominate to succeed Jecroth in the order and block Cholendan from gaining more power. Wondering how best to deal with the Cult of Vaylond. The tensions in the city were approaching the boiling point, and the cauldron could bubble over in riots at the slightest provocation. What's more, Tradarr could not be quietly removed, as had so many in the past. Some of his followers would not be missed by the commoners of the cult, but Tradarr was an indispensible public figure. And his death would make him a martyr. No, the cult would have to be exposed as a fraud, but Rett's operatives in the crowd at Tradarr's demonstrations had been wholly convinced that Tradarr's miracles were real, or were at least based on powerful healing magic. If the source was not his god, then where could it be hiding?

Before he knew it, he had reached the gates of the great castle. He approached the guards and greeted them warmly. "Is Blackdragon in? I have a report for him about the Red Bastion Expedition."

The guard shook his head. "The royal family isn't here at the moment. We suspect that Artemis took Blackdragon and her daughter on another secret trip to the countryside. They've been known to do that from time to time, without telling anyone here, so they couldn't be followed and brought back to take care of their responsibilities. But if you would like to wait in the study, I'll see if we can't get in touch with them. They usually leave an amulet around through which we can alert them to an emergency or something of import."

Rett nodded and proceeded into the castle. He clambered through the building to the small council room, where Blackdragon usually chose to meet magi of the city guard. Plopping down heavily in a comfortable chair, he closed his eyes peacefully and was soon again fast asleep.

(OOC: Okay, last call for anyone else who wants to announce their intentions, out of character of course. I'll make one more post tied to the disappearance, and then word will be sent back to Rolshin.)