Gregorius receives no reply from Tasia, but the following letter from Magvillus arrives a few weeks after he sends his letter there:
Sodalis Gregorius,
I am sure it will relieve you to learn that your covenantmate Tasia is safe, and she has been reunited with her familiar, Vrahos. She has reported the incident you describe to the other Quaesitores, and we are most grateful to you, Fray, and Stephan for effective her rescue. We have every confidence that you can meet the Amazon threat, and do so without drawing undue attention from the mundanes.
For the moment, Tasia has retired to a location that I cannot divulge. It will be for her to decide when she wants to discuss her encounter with the Amazons.
Wishing you good fortune,
Quaesitor Hadrianus of Guernicus
Gregorius also receives a quick reply from the Boustaphan:
To Gregorius:
We understand the gravity of your situation. We will dispatch an architect to assist you before the snows fall. After he has made an assessment of the situation, we can discuss payment for his services.
In the meantime, we have provided you a casting tablet for Aegis of the Hearth of the sixth magnitude. While you may keep this tablet as long as you need it, I would advise that one of your number learn the spell before your next casting. We would be pleased to loan you laboratory notes for a spell of the proper magnitude, once you have made us aware of the magnitude needed.
Tribune Boustaphan, Gigas
[The proper level for lab notes is going to be 36, unless Viola improves her CrVi score or her lab in the meantime.]
Threat from Amazon Raiders
Our plans to seek out the Amazons appear to have been pre-empted by their own raiders. Nova Castra has received word of small raids by them moving gradually in our direction. The most recent such raid I am aware of, on [date], was around 50 miles southeast of the covenant. The pattern of the attacks appears to be following the course of the river Lik.
The raids themselves appear to be intended to take prisoners (primarily men and girls), and to acquire provisions. It is not therefore clear whether the raids have us in mind as a target, or whether they are simply heading in our direction by happenstance. Given the events that befell Tasia, however, my inclination is to act assuming the worst; that the raids, whilst apparently small, are part of a larger effort seeking our destruction.
I am therefore preparing to intercept the raids before they can reach the covenant. With me are coming Fray of Bonisagus, [Timaios of Guernicus?] and Wishbone and Asena of Flambeau. Viola of Merinita is remaining at the covenant.
Our plan is to kill the raiding party, capturing and interrogating its leader in the process if possible. I am also looking to interrogate one of the Amazon's magic users, and we may travel further towards the Amazons' lands to achieve this if necessary.
I do have some concerns about Asena's involvement. Whilst her wolves are highly useful, she has a fascination with the idea of Amazons which goes well beyond the bounds of good sense, and appears to feel a sense of kinship with them. I do not know how far she is likely to take this, and may be altogether misjudging her, but I intend to keep an eye on her behaviour during the mission.