Chapter 12
In Which Glenda Is Belatedly Rising through the Ranks of the Order by Means of Her Family’s Wealth and Status, All because She Wants to Kill Cameron So Bad, Oh She Wants to Kill Him So Bad, You Don’t Even Know, She Really, Really Wants to Kill Him.
And the mad sorcerer was seen in broad daylight, ‘making out’ with his . . . sister?”
The three knights nodded enthusiastically. Though they knelt in the shaded interior of a high-topped tent, the summer heat baked the air about them, drawing sweat from their rugged faces and moistening their leather armour. Altogether, they produced an unbelievable odour.
Elder Beth, with her braided cone of white hair, sat patiently before the kneeling men in a wooden chair carved with vines and leaves. A gift from the elves—and one such elf stood at her side.
Before the Elder could launch into further inquiries, Glenda interjected, “Could we have a physical description of this ‘sister’?”
The knights looked at one another, frowning with the effort of remembering, before the bearded one spoke. “Pretty little thing. Wavy golden hair in eh, ringlets. Had some strange mannerisms.”
Glenda wrinkled her nose, turning to the Elder. “It’s Sir Cameron.”
“Sir Cameron is his sister?” The bearded knight sounded astonished.
Elder Beth pursed her lips, wrinkles appearing in fine webs, and exchanged a glance with Glenda.
“No, you fool, he’s been transformed again.” Glenda’s tolerance for the bulky men filling the tent was waning.
“I almost kissed a man?”
What in the world had Cameron been doing?
“More importantly, we’ll need a description of the disguised sorcerer,” said the Elder, pointedly ignoring the knight’s distress.
She wiped sweat from her brow with an age-withered hand.
“Where he went in the town. Which merchants he visited. Whether this was a first-time visit, or one with established relationships. Doubtless he’ll be spooked now, he’s unlikely to return, but if some need was being met?
” The elation in Elder Beth’s smile made her look decades younger. “He’ll have to meet it elsewhere.”
Glenda caught on to her meaning. If she’d been on Passionweed, no doubt this would have brought a rush of giddiness, but as it was, she felt only cold satisfaction.
They’d have to withdraw troops from their constant attrition with constructs in the foggy borderlands to free up enough men to patrol the surrounding towns—but learning the movements of the sorcerer, and most importantly when he left his stronghold, could greatly accelerate their plans.
Even without the Passionweed, Glenda managed a small smile of her own. See you soon, Cameron.