Apparently the general did. His eyes glittered at the thought of the new force we had placed at his command. I could see him mentally licking his chops in anticipation of the next war.
“Big Julie!” he declared with a broad smile. “You and your … er … boys are more than welcome to settle here in Possiltum. Let me be one of the first to congratulate you on your new citizenship.”
He extended his hand, but there was an obstruction in his way. The obstruction’s name was J.R. Grimble.
“Just a moment!” the chancellor snarled. “There’s one minor flaw in your plans. It is my intention to advise the king to disband Possiltum’s army.”
“What?” roared Badaxe.
“Let me handle this, General,” Aahz said soothingly. “Grimble, what would you want to do a fool thing like that for?”
“Why, because of the magician, of course,” the chancellor blinked. “You’ve demonstrated he is quite capable of defending the kingdom without the aid of an army, so I see no reason why we should continue to bear the cost of maintaining one.”
“Nonsense!” Aahz scolded. “Do you think the great Skeeve has nothing to do with his time but guard your borders? Do you want to tie up your high-cost magician doing the job a low-cost soldier could do?”
“Well…” Grimble scowled.
“Besides,” Aahz continued. “Skeeve will be spending considerable time on the road furthering his studies . . . which will of course increase his value to Possiltum. Who will guard your kingdom while he’s away, if not the army?”
“But the cost is …” Grimble whined.