"What will he do with what he's stolen?" "He's in the pay of the Vras chief." Mathea sighs. "The sage will be settled at the Vras seminary. Along with her books. I expect yours will be there and you'll be able to look at it. The acolytes will be ransomed. That's just a way to get money out of our chief." "So your chief will pay the ransom?" "Yes." "But you are planning to pay for your daughter yourself?" "Yes, well, I don't like waiting around for other people to sort things out."