I write from Cragstone with concern.

Lord Basho was most intent upon meeting with me; he wrote that he had uncovered something from Ispar and that he was eager to show it to me. His note said nothing more than that he and the monk Asoka would arrive yesterday, and I made the necessary preparations to receive such important visitors into our library. I hear that Asoka is a legendary fiend for sake, and I must say that it was quite a feat to import some from Hebian-To.

Neither of the men appeared.

Then, this morning, I received word of a strange man wandering the swamps east of Yanshi, blind and fatigued. He fit the description that I know of Asoka, but I have never met the man and the rumors had passed through several hands. I cannot be sure.

If this note finds Basho Genji and Asoka well, then my concern is for naught. I am sure that there is good reason for the missed appointment. If any, however, sense the presence of Asoka or Basho Genji, I urge you to investigate their whereabouts, especially if they answer your communiques cryptically or not at all. Basho Genji is not one to miss an appointment. I fear that something has happened to him.

I will be away to the northlands for several weeks, but will look forward to any news that you might uncover and send.

I am your humble servant,
Tacitus the Scholar.