After the meeting with Tyleerius I went back to my quarters. Malichus, my Chamberlain, was there and he was eager to know how the meeting went. (Malichus is more than a Chamberlain. He is not a slave, rather, his family has served mine for generations. He has been my most trusted advisor and confidant since my parents' death.)

"And so, my lady, did the meeting go well?" he asks.

"I think that it went well."

He gestures to a servant that we wish to be alone. After the servant leaves, closing the door behind him, I tell Malichus about the meeting. "I must have had too much wine to drink last night. I forgot to mention that the Province produces camels."

"A small thing," laughs Malichus.

"There was also the matter of the Greeks." I add ruefuly. "I neglected to mention the Syrians in our population so when Tyleerius asked if there were no Syrians in the Province. I told him that when I said 'Greeks,' I really meant Syrians because the majority of Syrians have some Greek blood. You know how I tend to lump Greek and Syrian together because they all speak Greek." I sigh. "It must be the long journey and then the party last night."

"Don't worry about it," he soothes. "What did the Vicarius say when you told him about the bandits?"

"He was concerned and he questioned me closely about it. Did you know that Syria has been experiencing dramatically increased bandit activity? It is all very mysterious, you know. Usually, you expect more brigandage when there is an economic downturn. But that is not the case this year."

"Did you tell him what you learned from the group captured near Mampsis?"

"Yes, I told him how they were aware of the attack on AfonsHenri's unit before it actually happened. Unfortunately, by the time that we knew it, it was already too late to send a warning."

"Usually bandits are small autonomous groups -- a local criminal element. It was very strange that this group in the Negev was aware of what was happening in distant Syria!"

"Yes! It seems to indicate that all these attacks are related."

"Do you mean, coordinated under a single command?" he inquires.

"Yes!" I say emphatically. "Did I tell you that our bandits understand the Parthian dialect? I told the Vicarius about this and he was intrigued. He suggested that the Persian Empire might be behind these attacks on our trade routes."

There is a knock on the door and one of my clerks enters with a pile of dispatches which have just arrived from Provnicia Arabia. I take a moment to go through them. "There have been two more attacks -- one near Dumat, followed by another near Azrak in the Wadi Sirhan."

"How unfortunate!" murmurs Malichus, shaking his head. "It is spreading."

"I must tell the Vicarius at our next meeting."

"Will you go now?"

"No, I will wait for his summons. He had some other appointments after mine. Perhaps I will go to the souk to pass the time. Have an escort ready. I will do a little shopping while I await the Vicarius' pleasure. I do not expect that he will be ready to see me until late this afternoon."

"Very good, my lady" says Malichus, bowing as he leaves the room.