Swamped

You need Stefan on the scene. He's the one who's been looking over anomaly numbers the hardest.

Which means you're probably going to have to humor him a little on Gregor's involvement. But that shouldn't be too bad; you just need to make sure that whatever they're planning is at least partially in your control.

And that's the sort of thing you'll need help with. Which makes one of Rudolph's recommendations stand out.

"We'll have Corvus take up the rear on a desert-horse," you say. "Barb, go find him. Gregor, you didn't actually say if you've got anything too big for the sandrunners."

"Smallest cauldron I could use for this would take both hands. It'd be iffy, Director."

"Then we'll play it safe and have Corvus bring it on the desert-horse. They've got much better carrying capacity."

With that settled, you start leading the sandrunners out. When Corvus arrives, you give him a quick explanation. He gets a pained expression on his face as Gregor hands him the cauldron, but he dutifully puts it in a saddlebag and climbs on board.

After everyone gets mounted, you start riding out. You hang back a bit at first so you don't overtake Corvus; you tell everyone that you're giving him directions to the site, since he might get separated due to his slower mount.

And you certainly do intend to do that. But you can also use this chance to clarify the situation with Stefan and Gregor, as well as mention any other points you'd rather not talk about in front of everyone.