"Not the livestock. Just the shepherds," is, all things considered, a remarkably minor quibble. The sharp point of Flint's retention relents a little; he goes so far as to settle back into his chair.

"But yes. You're to go there to track and kill whatever is responsible for the attacks. And I would prefer"—not to put too fine a point on it, but—"That we not inflame some old border dispute in the process."