Dark of the Sun (Saint-Germain #17)

Dark of the Sun (Saint-Germain #17) Page 15

Outside the mud-brick walls of Turfan where during most winters a sea of Mongol, Uighur, Jou'an-Jou'an, Turkish, and Persian tents besieged the town with merchants and their goods, there were now only a few tents, and a cluster of improvised paddocks for the camels, mules, and ponies of the stalwart or desperate travelers who had arrived there before the snows came. Eight bodies hung on ropes from the city walls, their flesh blackened and becoming mummified in the dreadful cold. The ground was now thigh deep in yellow snow, and there was more coming from the wind-bludgeoned clouds above.

Baru Ksoka halted his clan not far from the entrance to the town. He had taken up the lead position in their numbers only the day before, and it was an effort for him to remain in the saddle. "Everyone hold!" he shouted, barely heard over the wind. "The gate of Turfan is ahead. I and Imgalas will ride to the gate, to secure a place for us, our herds, and flocks. We will try to get places for all of us inside the walls. Zangi-Ragozh, come with me. The officers of the town will want to know about you, since you are not Jou'an-Jou'an."

From his place on the driving-box of his wagon, Zangi-Ragozh signaled with a wave to show he had heard. "We are going to the town gates, Dukkai," he said. He stood up on the box and called back to Ro-shei, who rode immediately behind him, "We're going to the gate."

Dukkai was protected by the double-flap from the worst of the wind, and wrapped in bearskins over her winter clothing. "Then we will have a chance to rest and get warm, and for our animals to be fed and watered. I will chant for their strength and endurance; the gods have demanded much of us." Her pregnancy was going better than it had, and she might have ridden with the other adult women, but she tired quickly, and Baru Ksoka had decreed that for the sake of his child, Dukkai would continue to ride in the wagon.

"So we hope to be restored. If all is well in Turfan." Zangi-Ragozh kept his voice level.

"All well? Nothing is well, here or anywhere. Yet it may be that they will let us stay here and recruit ourselves for the next stage of our travel. At least we will not have to bed down in snowdrifts, as we have done the last four nights." There was a brief, awkward pause, and she spoke more quietly, "I am sorry you won't be going on with us. It was not a decision he made easily, asking you and your companion to leave us."

Zangi-Ragozh gave a shrug she could not see. "Baru Ksoka is taking the northern route, and I am planning to keep to the middle, going through Karashahr to Aksu, which would part us in any case. Turfan is as far as I want to come into the mountains, especially in this winter-I might as well be in the distant northern forests." He knew she wanted something less final, so he added, "We may meet again in Kashgar, if you take the Amber Trail, in Tashkent, or Tok-Kala. I will ask for you and the Desert Cats wherever I go, all the way to Constantine's City, if I push on so far."

"That is a greater journey than any I have traveled. Do you want to go there?"

"I am bound for my native earth, which is some distance from Constantine's City," said Zangi-Ragozh.

"In the Carpa-Ti Mountains, I recall you said," she remarked. "Baru Ksoka said we may reach Kashgar on the Amber Trail, if we find no good pasturage in Dzungaria. The last one of our Kaigans to lead us to Kashgar was Baru Ksoka's great-great-great-uncle. It is a very long way to Kashgar, I think." She was improved from a fortnight ago, but she still had much discomfort, and she had to shift position frequently or risk more aches and cramps; the furs whispered as she adjusted her position behind the driving-box. "I hope it isn't too rigorous, making our way there."

"It may prove more demanding than is usually the case," he said carefully. "Consider how difficult it has been to get to Turfan."

"Surely it will not be so harsh in the West," she said, repeating what the Desert Cats had been saying for three fortnights.

"I hope it is not. But it may be that the desolation is spreading." Zangi-Ragozh waited for her to respond.

She was silent for a long moment, then said, "If you think this is not a wise thing to go so far, then tell the Kaigan."

"I have," said Zangi-Ragozh. "When he informed me he had decided-much as it embarrassed him-that it would be best if Ro-shei and I left your clan."

"But you saved him. His wounds are healing almost without fever because of you." She was deeply indignant. "How can he serve you such a turn when you have spared him suffering and restored his health? and saved his child within me, for that matter?"

"I think he is worried for the clan, which is what a Kaigan must be; I cannot argue with his decision, for it is what I would have done, I suspect, had our situations been reversed," said Zangi-Ragozh. "Many of the Desert Cats see my companion and me as interlopers."

"Not interlopers," said Dukkai firmly.

"Not to you, perhaps, but to most of the Desert Cats: Ro-shei and I are barely tolerated, and that will not change for the better." He softened his voice still more. "If the winter is as hard as the rest of the year has been, resentment toward our presence will only increase."

She sighed. "I know you're right, for I can feel it as if it were a sandstorm building, just beyond the limits of sight, and I understand that Baru Ksoka did not decide the issue without much reflection, but I am still abashed that you should be made to-" She stopped as a wooden horn sounded and the gates of Turfan began to open.

"I think we had best move up now," said Zangi-Ragozh, and twitched the reins to put the pair of ponies moving. "It seems that Baru Ksoka wants me to present myself."

"You mean he wants you to translate for him, if you can," said Dukkai, sounding disgusted. "In case the men of Turfan no longer know the Silk Road coign."

"Then that will be what I shall do, although he will probably have little use for me. Turfan is more a caravan camp with walls than a real town," said Zangi-Ragozh, taking care not to force any of the clan's carts and wagons aside as he threaded his way toward the head of the line; the snowy road made the way difficult, and it took all Zangi-Ragozh's skill to keep the ponies from floundering in the roadside ditch that lay hidden beyond the uneven furrows left in the snow. At last he drew up behind Baru Ksoka and Imgalas.

Two dozen armed men in bearskin cloaks stood in the mouth of the gate, their spears and bows at the ready; they shouted in ragged unision, "Halt, you Jou'an-Jou'an!" They spoke in the Mogol-Hunnic-Turkic patois of eastern Silk Road merchants. "You may not enter!"

Baru Ksoka stopped his pony and signaled to the rest to slow, as well. "Tell me," he said quietly to Imgalas, "do you suppose they mean to kill us?"

"I think they fear we will kill them," said Imgalas, deliberately raising his voice enough to carry to the contingent of guards.

"Well. we have no such intention," said Baru Ksoka, and addressed the men barring their way. "I am Baru Ksoka of the Desert Cats clan of Jou'an-Jou'an. We have wolf-pelts and goats to trade, and a few strings of Chinese copper cash to pay for shelter and food."

One of the guards stepped forward. "You will have to surrender your weapons, and you must pay us in gold."

"We need our knives, but if you must have our lances and arrows, you may hold them. We would rather keep our bows. Without arrows, what harm is there in letting us have them?" He studied the guards. "Can we not trade the pelts instead of giving you gold? Gold cannot warm you."

"You are right as far as it goes," said the guard. "But we must think of better days to come, and for that, we must have gold."

"Then," said Baru Ksoka, "we are at an impasse. We do not trade in gold, but in furs and goats and copper cash." He rubbed unthinkingly at his forearm; his half-healed wound was aching from the cold. "If you cannot accept what we have, then I fear we will have to camp outside the walls."

"There is a Uighur caravan outside. Talk to them about your pelts," the chief guardsman recommended.

"We saw them, and the Persians," said Baru Ksoka.

"One of the Persians died yesterday-they found him frozen." The guard laughed harshly.

"I wish you would reconsider. We have children with us, and women with child."

"Then guard them well and ask your gods to bring back the sun," said the guard, stepping back, and motioning to his companions to move as well.

Zangi-Ragozh, who had been watching this with a growing sense of the inevitable, called out, "I have a little gold with me."

Baru Ksoka swung around in his saddle and stared at Zangi-Ragozh. "It is unnecessary for you to-"

"If Dukkai is to deliver a healthy baby, it is," said Zangi-Ragozh. "I am in a position to help her, and you."

"If you do it, it can change nothing," Baru Ksoka warned.

"I realize that," said Zangi-Ragozh. "My companion and I are going on to Aksu and Kashgar, and you are taking the northern route. It is for Dukkai that I do this, so she and her babe will be able to endure the deepening winter." He set the simple brake before sliding back into the wagon and searching for the small strongbox in which he carried as much money as he wanted others to know he had. He opened the lock and drew out three gold bars, saying to Dukkai as he did, "I hope this will give us a little respite from the demands of travel." The gold shone against the heavy black leather of his gloves.

"You do not have to do this," said Dukkai.

"But I think I do," said Zangi-Ragozh. "This may be the last opportunity I have to-" He stopped as he closed the strongbox and set the lock again.

She nodded, color mounting in her face. "I know."

He held up his hand. "Let me give this to Baru Ksoka." He held up the gold as he stepped back into the driving-box. "Ro-shei!" he called. "Will you take this to the Kaigan?"

Ro-shei came up beside the wagon on a red pony and held out his gloved hands. "I will do as you ask," he said.

Handing Ro-shei the gold, Zangi-Ragozh said softly in Imperial Latin, "Have a care-those guards are not in good form, and they are seeking an excuse to attack."

"I think so, too," said Ro-shei, and carried the gold to Baru Ksoka. "My master gives you this for the benefit of your clan."

This generosity was shocking, and the Kaigan hesitated to take the three bars. "This will not be forgotten." He coughed and spoke to the guards again. "Very well. I have two bars of gold. That should secure us lodging and food for four or five days, and shelter and fodder for our animals."

"Two bars of gold is not enough," said the guard, recovering himself enough to bluster. "We must have more."

"Then three strings of copper cash into the bargain," said Baru Ksoka. "It is a handsome sum-twice what you would require in better years."

"But as you say, this is a bad year," said the chief guard, then spat. "Still, two bars of gold and three strings of copper cash should suffice." He gestured with his spear. "Go down this street and you will come to three inns. Choose whichever one you like, and pay the landlord in advance. You will be able to stay for four days. If you must remain longer, whatever the cause, we will require more gold. Give me your payment as you enter." The passage the guards formed was hardly wide enough to let two horses abreast pass, as if the guards were unwilling to give any leeway to the Desert Cats. "Give your spears and arrows to Nuchcusal there. He is our warden."

Nuchcusal, a brawny man in a vast bearskin cloak, stepped out to block Baru Ksoka's progress. "I will hold these in the gatehouse. You may claim them again when you leave."

"We each have our marks on our spears and arrows," Baru Ksoka declared as he surreptitiously slipped the third bar of gold into the interior sleeve of his tiger-skin mababa. "If you try to substitute any other, we will know." He handed down his quiver and his spear. "There. See you keep them safe."

The leader of the guard came up to him. "Two bars of gold and three strings of copper cash." He held out his hand, all swathed in shaggy, tahr-skinned gauntlets. "Give them to me."

Baru Ksoka handed over the two gold bars, then made a great display of taking the strings of cash from his saddle-bags and presenting them to the leader of the guards.

"This will do," the leader announced. "Let them pass." He permitted the Desert Cats to pass into the town, but the guards followed them as they went down the street where they had been told to go.

Ro-shei brought his pony alongside the wagon. "Those guards are a suspicious lot." He spoke in Latin again.

"Who can blame them?" Zangi-Ragozh asked. "Think what they have seen in the last year."

"I think of those bodies hanging over the walls." He waited a moment, then went on, "It won't take much to turn the guards into marauders."

"You are remembering Paulinos Oxatres," said Zangi-Ragozh, recalling the Byzantine commander with distaste. "His men were already trained soldiers, not like these guards. They were used to killing. I doubt such is the case with these men, at least not yet."

"They would be more than willing to learn, by the look of them. I will remain awake tonight, and on alert." Ro-shei allowed the wagon to move ahead.

"What do you think they may do, those guards?" Dukkai asked, and added before Zangi-Ragozh could speak, "I think they may demand more money to permit us to leave."

"That is one possibility," said Zangi-Ragozh. "They may also invent charges to impose upon you and confiscate your trade goods as payment."

Dukkai took a short while to answer. "That is likely," she allowed, and started to chant softly.

The inns were little more than two-story mud-brick houses with a number of small rooms protruding in many directions. All three had stables, barns, and paddocks, and all had a bedraggled look about them, testament to the severity of the weather.

"We will need to occupy two of these inns," Baru Ksoka declared loudly. "Dur Moksal, you and your family, and four other families will go into that inn"-he pointed to the southeast side of the square to a building with a sign that showed a rough-carved bed and cooking fire-"and I and the rest will go to this one." The inn was on the northeast side of the square, a slightly larger edifice with a sign over the door saying in four languages Travelers' Rest.

"Which four families?" asked Imgalas, scowling against the wind.

Baru Ksoka considered, then said, "Joutan, Guadas, Rodomi, and Ksai. The rest, come with me." He dismounted and led his pony to the front of the inn, calling out, "Landlord! You have travelers!"

Dukkai had stopped chanting and was looking out through the double flap. "Is this where we will stay?" she called to Baru Ksoka.

"Yes!" he shouted back. "All of you, turn your animals over to Imgalas, and then go to the inns. Neitis, help Imgalas. You, too, Erasai!"

There was a sudden flurry of activity as the Desert Cats got down from their ponies and wagons and carts and began to gather their animals together. They worked efficiently, each keeping to his assigned task as they did every night making camp. Soon the ponies and goats were separated into two groups and contained with rope enclosures held by the oldest members of the clan while Baru Ksoka sorted his people out for the two landlords who had come out of their inns to deal with the unexpected arrival.

"Where do you wish me to go?" Zangi-Ragozh asked as Baru Ksoka came up to his wagon.

"Since you are treating Dukkai, you had better come with her. She will have a room in the Travelers' Rest. I have arranged it with the landlord. You and your companion may have a chamber to yourselves." Baru Ksoka glanced over his shoulder. "The landlord is demanding a silver bar to lodge us."

"I have enough to pay for it," said Zangi-Ragozh. "And the other landlord? What of him?"

"He has asked for five strings of silver cash," admitted Baru Ksoka. "You know what town-dwellers are. What is the use of gold and silver and copper when it is winter? Can it keep you warm? Can you eat it?"

"You must not mind them," said Zangi-Ragozh. "Most men seek treasure of one sort or another, and gold is sought everywhere."

"By fools," said Baru Ksoka. "Still, I am grateful that you have such metals with you. We would fare badly outside the gates."

"As the Persians are being forced to do," said Zangi-Ragozh, and changed the subject. "My companion will look after our animals and this wagon, if it is all the same to you."

Baru Ksoka held up his hand. "I understand. And I am relieved that you are so careful." He looked at Dukkai. "How do you go on? And how is the infant?"

"It is moving," she said. "It is eager to get out into the world, and that troubles me."

"That is why you ride in the wagon," he reminded her, and gave his attention to Zangi-Ragozh once more. "I thank you for all you have done, and I am sorry that you needed to do anything. I, and my family, and my clan will be obligated to you for at least another generation."

"There is no need," said Zangi-Ragozh. "You have helped Ro-shei and me to travel more safely in this terrible year. I am obliged to you for that."

"You are obliged to Dukkai," said Baru Ksoka, and started to turn away, but hesitated, saying, "You are to be certain that Dukkai is well. I have a lammergeier claw, to help her gain strength."

"Why do you not give it to her?" Zangi-Ragozh asked.

"She is the magician, not I." With that, Baru Ksoka strode off toward the entrance to the largest barn, calling for the goats to be brought "To get them out of the snow tonight!"

Dukkai went back into the wagon. "I don't like being inside rooms," she said. "This wagon is hard enough, but to have solid walls!"

"Do walls bother you?" Zangi-Ragozh asked, already aware that they did.

"They trouble me. With a tent, no matter how fine the skins that cover it, it isn't so very enclosed. With brick walls, a room is more a grave than a room." She fretted at the edge of her bearskin robe.

"They can seem so," he admitted apologetically. "I grew up in a stone castle." It had been not unlike the larger inn, but hewn from living rock high in the fishhook of the Carpathians, more than twenty-five centuries before. "It does not bother me."

"More of your foreign nature, I see," she said, and opened the double flap again to stare at the inn.

"If there is a blizzard coming-and it seems likely that there is-you will want to be inside. Mud brick holds out the cold better than a skin-covered tent." He half-rose, preparing to get down from the driving-box. "I will help you out of the wagon from the rear platform."

She sighed. "I shouldn't let you do so much, but I thank you for the care you give me."

He secured the simple brake and called to Ro-shei, "Will you take the wagon in hand, old friend?"

"That I will," said Ro-shei, dismounting and coming up to the wagon. He gave Zangi-Ragozh's cinder-brown pony a friendly pat as he loosened the lead that had kept it following the wagon for most of the day. "I will groom and feed them and be sure they have water. I will come this evening to report on the ponies and the camels." He stood aside while Zangi-Ragozh helped Dukkai out of the wagon, remarking to her, "You and your clan will be warm tonight."

"I guess," she said dubiously.

Zangi-Ragozh got into the wagon, took some more gold and silver from his strongbox, then pulled out a small chest, saying to Ro-shei as he emerged from the wagon, "I believe we could both use a change of clothes-what do you say?"

"I would be glad of it," said Ro-shei, and gathered the two riding ponies and the three camels together; he led them and the wagon with its two-pony hitch off toward the stable.

The clan was breaking up into two parts, Gaudas, Moksal, Joutan, Ksai, and Rodomi going with Imgalas, the rest following Baru Ksoka into the Travelers' Rest.

It was a stark place, with an eating room around the central chimney, and three corridors branching out to the various rooms. Two steep staircases gave access to the upper floors. The landlord, engulfed in a wolf-skin cloak, greeted the Kaigan with greedy obsequiousness that would have been comical at a less harrowing time. He promised in three languages to light a fire for his guests, explained that the bath-house was out behind the kitchen, and offered to heat it, as well. "For a string of coppers more."

"I have already promised to pay you," said Baru Ksoka.

The landlord cringed even as he insisted, "You have promised payment for a room and for food, nothing more"

"We will do our own cooking," said Baru Ksoka, motioning to Jekan Madassi. "This woman supervises our meals, and she will do so here."

"Of course you will do your own cooking," said the landlord. "You will also pay for the use of the bath-house."

Baru Ksoka glowered at the landlord. "You are asking too much."

"I want a bath," said Zangi-Ragozh calmly from the rear of the group. "I will pay for heating the bath-house."

Baru Ksoka made a gesture of appreciation, took the string of copper cash Zangi-Ragozh proffered, and pointed him in the direction of the stairs. "Before you bathe, you will want to secure your quarters. I have arranged who is to have which room: your room will be at the end of the upper corridor. There are stairs on the outside of the building, if you would rather go up that way, or so the landlord tells me."

"I will," said Zangi-Ragozh, "though I may use the outside stairs to go to the bath-house." He gave a single nod to the Desert Cats and said to Dukkai, "A bath would do you good. Why not plan to bathe when I am done?"

There was an awkward silence, and then Dukkai answered, "If it will aid my child, I will do it."

"I think it will," said Zangi-Ragozh, and took up the chest he had brought from the wagon as he started up the stairs toward the corridor that would lead to the room he and Ro-shei had been allocated.

The landlord took the string of cash and squirreled it away inside his cloak. "I will have the bath-house heated at once." He studied Jekan Madassi for a short moment, then said, "I will order wood brought for your fires. If you need pots or spits, there will be a charge for them. I will bargain for some of your wolf-pelts."

"We have what we need," said Jekan Madassi brusquely, then clapped her hands to summon her family to assist her.

Watching this as he climbed the stairs, Zangi-Ragozh had a sudden pang of sadness as he realized that he would be parting from the Desert Cats in a few days. As he continued westward toward Europe, he would do as he planned and ask about them, but he found he was already resigning himself to their loss. He went down the corridor, noticing how low the ceiling was; occasionally the beams almost brushed his hat, trying not to listen as the voices of the clan faded behind him.

By the time he emerged from the cramped room to go to the bath-house, many of the Desert Cats had made their way to their quarters, and the first aroma of cooking meat was insinuating itself onto the chilly air. Zangi-Ragozh took his change of clothes with him, along with a wide drying sheet. He used the outer staircase, taking care not to slip on the icy treads, and made his way to the stable before going to bathe. He found Ro-shei securing the wagon by the light of two oil-lamps; the ponies and camels had been brushed and fed, and Ro-shei had a scrawny chicken soaking in a bucket. "You found something to eat," he said in Byzantine Greek.

Ro-shei laughed. "Such as it is."

"I trust you will enjoy it," said Zangi-Ragozh.

"I will, more than you will your taste of pony's blood," Ro-shei responded.

"Are you planning to bathe?"

"Later, yes, I am," he said. "When the Desert Cats are done."

"I have carried the clothes chest to the room."

"I know," said Ro-shei. "I saw you take it." He pulled up a plank stool and dropped onto it. "Are you going to sleep there, or here in the wagon?"

"In the wagon, I think. On my native earth."

"Do you still intend to let the Desert Cats have it for Dukkai?" Ro-shei asked, although he knew the answer.

"Certainly. In this snow, the wagon would only serve to slow us down, and only one box of jewels and gold is still in it; I will move it tonight." Zangi-Ragozh regarded Ro-shei for a short, silent while. "You said you thought it was a good idea."

"I do still," said Ro-shei. "But I wish we had more pack animals. Two ponies to ride, two to pack, and three camels hardly gives us any margin for losses."

"Then I will purchase pack animals, tomorrow." He nodded in the direction of the wagon.

"Good," said Ro-shei, reaching down for the chicken and beginning to pluck it. "Not much meat on these bones."

"Be glad there is any," said Zangi-Ragozh.

"You have not taken anything from the magician, have you." It was not a question.

"No. She is pregnant, and I do not know what of my nature might pass to her child. There have been times when she has come to me for comfort, and that has resulted in a kind of intimacy; she has given me some of herself then, and that provides a little nourishment, tenuous but real." He looked away.

"Do you think she would accept you as you are?" Ro-shei asked, trying to wipe away the wet feathers clinging to his hands.

"I have no notion. She tolerates my foreignness, so she might ..." He finished his thought with a slight nod.

Ro-shei stopped plucking and looked directly at Zangi-Ragozh. "You are losing flesh."

"So is everyone else," he countered, deliberately oblique.

"But you might not have to; we will be going on soon, and she will remain with her clan. Surely she would not begrudge you what you seek?"

Zangi-Ragozh took a little time to answer. "whether she would or not, I will not ask her."

Ro-shei shook his head. "She might prefer that you let her decide."

"But what if she does not?" With that for a parting shot, Zangi-Ragozh turned and went off through the densely falling snow toward the bath-house.

Text of a report by Apostle Lazarus in Kumul to Apostle Jude at Cambaluc; carried by Uighurs and delivered six months after it was written.

To my most revered Brother in Christ, Apostle Jude of the Holy Redeemer Apostlary of Cambaluc, the greetings and Kiss of Peace at the Mass of Christ in the 535thyear of Salvation, from the Apostle Lazarus at Holy Trinity Apostlary at Kumul.

Surely, my dear Brother, God has laid His Hand most heavily upon His people and the people of the earth. I have seen for myself the horrendous hardships that many have had to endure since early last spring. I fear that there will be no remedy in the coming months, for the year has been so cold that many crops did not grow at all, and those that did were poor and lacking virtue. In this region, many have asked to be baptized, fearing that the end of the world is come, and wanting to make an offering of their miser as will as to secure their place in the life that its to come. The congregation here is double what sit was a year ago. I tell the story of Our Lord to those in need of comfort, and I pray for the souls of those who died unshriven and tin sin, so hat they, too, may rise from the toils of Hell to the Glory of Heaven.

I regret to inform you that the six sacks of rice you entrusted to the Celestial Turks have not arrived. The leader of the caravan tells me they were stolen, which may or may not be true, for as much as I wish not to be suspicious of my fellow-men, I am daily reminded of the want around us, and I know the Turks are not above profiting from the misfortunes and wretchedness of others. I wish I could send some token of my appreciation for your concern, but I fear this is impossible. Kumul has twice been raided, once by Khitan clans, and once by a group of men from the Wu-Wei garrison. I have learned since that in many of the farther regions of the Middle Kingdom, the soldiers have turned raiders and brigands, which does not surprise me, given the capacity for ferocity that marks so many of those who have not yet accepted the promise of redemption that makes it possible for Christians to bear their ordeals without the desperation that those who have not must endure.

If I have any such news to impart to you, you may rest assured that I will do so, using the most trusted couriers I can find, for in these times, when men are tested in their faith and their flesh, I know that even the most devoted may be moved to stray from his duty. In the spirit of this responsibility, I must inform you that the road to Urumchi has been badly damaged by a landslide and is not safe to traverse. I recommend that anyone traveling the northern route of the Silk Road wait at Kuldja until a new road has been cut, or an alternate route established, for there may be more slides in that area. I have sent messages about this and related matters to the Magistrate at Wu-Wei, to the Apostles at Khanbalik, Khara-Khoja, and Ning-Hsia, and to the garrison at Chanchi-lah Pass informing them of our situation here and asking that they let us know what their circumstances are. Perhaps, if we remain in contact, we may be spared the worst of this calamity that continues to bring so much distress to the world.

Rarely have I felt more ardently than now the disadvantages of dealing with peoples and clans whose languages have no written form, nor any other means of keeping records than the spoken word. Now, when famine and rapine are upon us, to have no way to make our losses and our numbers known beyond the apostlaries of our Church, I find myself battling dissatisfaction with my fellow-men because of the widespread distrust of writing, and the lack of willingness on the part of so many to carry written messages, for fear that the words may work a magic spell upon those who carry them. If you may prevail upon the Turks and the Jou'an-Jou'an not of our faith to consent to bear written messages, I will number your name with the Saints of God. Barring such success, I ask only that you make every attempt to maintain your records and correspondence as best you may, until this travail ends, or God calls us to Him.

Amen

Lazarus, son of Seraphim, Apostle of

Holy Trinity, at Kumul