Don't worry, as far as I understand, the elf easily, quickly, and definitively resolves the issue of inactive players.
Don't shoot me.
Here's someone who can tell me how absurd this interpretation of the clue sounds:
Etrap -> Turkmenistan -> Caspian Sea -> Seleucus I -> Seleucid Empire -> Syria -> Diocese of the East -> Egypt -> Addax
And let Guru choke on it.
