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it to Saint-Germain.
    Saint-Germain’s small hand closed on the hilt. “So I might,” he said lightly, and tucked the weapon into his sleeve before stepping into the hall.
     
    Text of a letter from the Pope of the Nestorian Christian Church of Saint Thomas in Lan-Chow to the Nestorian community in K’ai-Feng.
     
    In the twelfth month of the Year of the Rat, the Thirteenth Year of the Sixty-fifth Cycle, the one thousand two hundred seventeeth Year of Our Lord, to the Pope and congregation in K’ai-Feng.
    Greetings from Lan-Chow.
    We are certain that you have heard of the latest Mongol incursions here, and we wish to reassure you that we are, by the Grace of God, unharmed. There have been many battles to the northeast but they have not penetrated this far, and we are confident that the reinforcements promised to the garrison here will be sufficient to keep the barbarian invaders from reaching our walls.
    A fortnight ago, during the first real storm of winter, one of the local customs inspectors discovered that an innkeeper has been passing messages to the Mongol spies. This despicable act was related in the Tribunal and the man has been sentenced to death by exposure, both for the sake of expediency and as a warning to any others who may seek to enrich themselves by such treason. We have said a Mass for the repose of the wretch’s soul, as Our Lord has admonished us to do, but I must add that most of us believe that the criminal is far from redemption.
    The last news we heard of the outer world came some little while ago from a foreigner passing through Lan-Chow to the Mao-T’ou stronghold. He informed our District Magistrate that he had seen evidence of Mongol raids at two locations along the road here, and had lost one of his three outriders in a skirmish with a band of outlaws, though he could not say whether they were Mongols or highwaymen. From him we have been led to understand that the Paulist Church in the West is filled with tribulation, just as Cha Ts’ai prophesied so long ago. It comes from departing from the words of the master and listening instead to the disciple. We will pray that they may be guided out of the darkness of the soul they have made for themselves, and remember at last that the Way of God is found through the brotherhood of creatures, and the dedication to those principles for which Our Lord died. In this, certainly, we are in agreement with our Taoist brothers.
    We have agreed to provide this Shih Ghieh-Man with more information as we get it from the other churches in the Empire, and he has said that he will send word to us if he learns anything of importance.
    The signs are for a long, wet winter here, which will bring more snow into the mountains, and will block the passes until late in spring. Already travelers are being warned of the danger of venturing too far into T’u-Bo-T’e, as the Land of Snows is treacherous at the best of times. The farmers in the district have been saying that they are apprehensive about their winter crops because of the heavy rains, and it is true that onions and cabbages are not as plentiful as they were at this time last year. Many valleys to the north of us were visited with blight, and as a result there is little grain for them to store away. If the Mongols have suffered equally, they will return with the ferocity of hunger when the rains stop. It has been suggested that all farmers establish a system of sentries so that they will not be taken unaware if Temujin’s horsemen should decide to come into the western mountains again, which seems all too likely.
    We have agreed to send three of our congregation into Tien-Du and K’i-Shi-Mi-Rh to discover if any of our churches still endure there. If our future is as bleak as some of the army captains have warned us it might be, we all may be forced to leave this place and seek elsewhere for our homes. Mei Sa-Fong will head the group, for he is the most knowledgeable of the congregation, and has traveled