In what must be a stroke of ill-luck that Sinto he met Lord Taboon at the gate to the royal court.
“Sinto!” Lord Taboon called.
What now, Sinto inwardly wailed. But he put on an impressive smile anyways.
“Hello, Lord Taboon.” He greeted.
“I hear that you spent the better part of the day in your chambers. Hope you are well.”
Like you care about my health, you slimy bastard, Sinto thought.
“Of course.” Sinto replied, smiling, “I had a few pressing matters that required my full attention.”
Lord Taboon nodded enthusiastically.
“Good,” he said. “Because this entire wild goose chase with your student is about to end. And you, more than any other, should be fully involved in this. I learn that she possesses magic of astronomical proportions. Your expertise is needed.”
Sinto nodded. “You know me enough, Lord Taboon, to know that I do not frown in the face of duty. The world can count on my ability to carry out that which is within my duties.”
Lord Taboon smiled, and there was something about his smile that irked Sinto. It was something taunting, arrogantly boastful, and knowing. Like he knew something Sinto did not.
When Lord Taboon and Sinto walked into the throne room, they found Henok pacing across the elevated platform on which his throne sat. His robes, black, and glimmering, billowed against his body as he moved. His hair was ruffled and without the adornment of his crown. Henok espied Lord Taboon and Sinto approaching, and then he halted. He paced some more as they came up the stairs towards the platform, and then went back to his throne. He sat, and then began to shake his legs vigorously.
Lord Taboon and Sinto stood before him, like children awaiting a rightly deserved punishment.
“I do hope you both have come here bearing good tidings,” Henok said.
Sinto harrumphed, about to tell Henok that after Lord Taboon’s brash attempt no more news had been heard about Eldana, when Lord Taboon spoke.
“Indeed, my king.”
Sinto flashed him a brief, puzzled look. Collecting himself immediately, he turned to face Henok, his face straight and calm.
Henok nodded. Then with a flick of his hand, he signalled for Lord Taboon to tell his good news.
“The girl is on the move,” Lord Taboon said.
“How did you come about that information?” Sinto asked, despite himself.
Lord Taboon smiled. “A little trickery I performed when the orcs attacked the elf settlement in Ciroc.”
Henok, knowing that Lord Taboon liked to boast of his accomplishments, nodded his permission for him to go into elaborate details.
Lord Taboon smiled indulgently, while Sinto was hating every moment of this meeting, especially with Lord Taboon by his side, but his hands were tied by no ordinary bonds.
“I got a little something from the Technocons. A miniature device that performs the same function as a tracking spell. A tracking spell would require I have a property of hers. But I do not have that. So, I improvised. I had one of the orcs, who I especially tasked to get close to Eldana, stick the device into her. Now I have gotten her location, and she is moving quickly. A few hours ago, she went past Kleas.”
“Sinto.” Henok called.
Sinto looked up, almost surprised at being included in the King and Lord Taboon’s special banter.
“My king,” Sinto replied.
“You were her teacher.”
Sinto nodded.
“What do you think she is up to now?” Henok asked.
Suddenly, in a flash, an image of Camin and Lowus, appeared in his mind and disappeared just as quickly. Sinto knew what he had to do.
“She is a smart girl.” He began, contemplation stealing into his face. “She cannot move on land, especially if it will require that she passes very close to the cities in our control. It is too close to the Middle Kingdom. We have eyes spread throughout the land, searching earnestly for her, and she knows that. My best and only guess is that she is going via water.”
Henok sighed, and reclined into his seat, frowning in cogitation.
At the spur of the moment, Sinto received the spark of an idea that would, curry him a part of the king’s favor, and at the same time, splash some mud on Lord Taboon’s face.
“How quickly did you say she was travelling again, Lord Taboon?” He asked.
Henok re-emerged from his meditative state.
“Quickly,” Lord Taboon replied. “Like she was on a horse.”
“What is going on in that head of yours, Sinto?” Henok asked. “Spit it out already.”
Sinto smiled and nodded. “She is not on land. As I said, she is a smart girl and will avoid traveling over land by any means. I will ask, my king, that you plant soldiers to route them from the water.”
“Last I heard from General Meron,” Henok said, “was that we do not have a fleet ready for a coordinated attack. So I do not know how we are going to go about that.”
Quickly, Lord Taboon spoke, stealing the yet-to-be spoken words from Sinto’s open mouth. He had sniffed out the game Sinto was playing and was pressed to get back on top. Already, Henok was beginning to lean away from him.
“We do not need to bother about risking the lives of the kingdom’s soldiers, my king.” He said.
Henok looked up at him.
“Are you proposing that we apprehend her using the same sources you used in your previous attempt?” he asked.
“That is exactly what I am proposing, my king,” Lord Taboon said. “They were effective. Of course not in her apprehension. But if they had not gotten close enough to stick the tracker into her, we would not have this cord of hope that we have been graciously offered.”
Henok cleared his throat and placed his fingers on his cheek as he went into thought.
“My king,” Sinto called, “If I may.”
“Go on,” Henok said.
“Orcs are not a trustworthy force that one can work out a deal with. They are bound, just like the elves, by duty, love to themselves, and only to themselves. To put this
