"Oh, I'm going to, it's just going to take more work than that. Starting with getting somewhere she can't find me." He turns back to Tabitha. "I have a communication spell, lets me send a twenty-five word message and receive one in return. I'd like to keep an eye on what's happening here while I'm gone, if you'd be willing to help with that."

Tabitha nods.

Tabitha points at Raafi. "Target?"

"If I try to get Scyelen back I will be."

"Don't worry, Raafi! I'll protect you! We'll fight side by side, joined by the heat of battle! Ooh, you know what you need? A good sword. We should go into town and get you one!"

"No, Kirche."

Kirche pouts at him. "I was being serious. What do you think we should do, then? If you can figure out where Scyelen is through your bond somehow, we should at least scout the area from the air."

"I think I need to get somewhere safe, figure out what resources I have, and come up with a plan that has any chance of working. If it makes sense to call you in I'll do that. In the meantime my advantage is mobility; if I'm found I can teleport out. Anyone I need to grab before I do is a liability."

"We want to help. You don't have to..." Kirche trails off as Tabitha tugs on her sleeve.

Tabitha shakes her head.

"What? But..." Kirche protests.

Tabitha shakes her head again.

"Fine," Kirche pouts. "I hope you aren't being silly," she says, though it is unclear if she's talking to Tabitha or to Raafi.

"Thank you," he says to Tabitha. "I have a couple of loose ends to take care of here and then I could use a ride, if you're willing - toward the palace, I might be able to pick up some useful rumors there."

"We will wait."

Beside her, Sylphid trills and straightens in a way that might be an attempt to stand at attention.

"Thank you," he repeats, and backs away a few steps to where Siesta is standing. "I don't know how long this will take - I could be back tomorrow, or it could be months. Will you be okay here, or do I need to figure something out?"

Months?

"Where Miss Scyelen goes, I go," Siesta says firmly. "Wherever that ends up being."

"That's not really an option right now. I could bring you to visit your family, if you'd like, and come get you again when I've got her back."

Siesta shakes her head with a smile. "I'll be waiting here for you to find her."

"All right." He gives her a hug. "Tell Tabitha to tell me if you need anything, I can come back for a little while if it's important. I want to look at her room before I go, did you clean it up after she was taken?"

"I moved Miss Scyelen's material possessions into your room, but as far as I know the room itself hasn't been repaired yet."

"That makes sense. Could you tell if any of her clothes were taken?" He starts heading in.

Siesta goes with him.

"Yes. The correct number of uniforms and other sets of clothing were all in her wardrobe where I'd placed them."

Sigh. "Not very surprising. I could track her by those, if she had them. Was anything taken, that you could tell?"

"Yes actually. While I was moving her textbooks, I noticed that the princess's gift was missing."

"- that's worrying." He hurries along.

Scyelen's room: exists.

The largest pieces of furniture are all still in place, though the bed has been stripped.

The wall that formerly had a window now has a much larger hole. There is rubble strewn about, some of it swept into the corner under the hole.The only notable features of the hole are the way the edges are melted and warped outward, as though something burst out, rather than in.

He examines the hole and the rubble, seeming slightly relieved at what he finds there though still pretty tense overall. "Was there anything strange about the bed?"

Siesta shakes her head. "Not at all. If you don't count it being covered in dust from the wall."

"Good," he nods, "all right. Quick stop in my room and then I'm gone."

He doesn't have much unpacked, even now, but he grabs the walking stick from where it's leaning against the wall and packs up the writing supplies from the desk, and then looks through Scyelen's things for something small and innocuous to bring with him.