After looking over the applicants, Devaguea called in Serena, and talked with her a while. Eventually they decided that she would step down from her current position and take over the official position of Viceroy, while the druid would be tapped to turn a section of the desert into farmland. The researcher would be funded as well, but not in charge. However, that wasn't happening for at least two more months, maybe even longer, as they had to prepare the small town and map the surrounding area before they could appoint a Viceroy. Though that did give Serena time to find a replacement.<br/><br/>Sadly, the adventurers he had hired to do his scouting for the missing dwarves returned, and they had NO good news. Apparently none of the women had survived the first month, and their effects had been scattered among so many different barbarians they hadn't been able to get much of anything. A small dagger and a pendant was it, both bearing Rusilkia's house's crest on them. He paid the adventurers from his personal funds, as their hiring had not been official to help deny the fact they were, just barely, spies. The dragon then set aside the two items to return later, and returned to his paperwork. First he needed to get the mapping party BACK, then...<br/><br/>It was the last day of the month when he sent for Rusilkia, no longer able to hide what he had found. Sak'bas was... somewhere, and he had told Anke he would need her help breaking some bad news to someone. Not help to break it, but help in managing the fallout. So Anke was already in his personal office, a pair of kegs of potent alochol were nearby, one larger and a small one for him, and two large flagons as well.