“Glah!” I said intelligently.
“How’s that again?” Grimble inquired.
“I… um, I can’t place the person, just offhand,” I lied. “But you know how absentminded we magicians are.”
“Of course,” the chancellor smiled, for some reason relieved.
“Now that that’s settled,” Aahz interrupted, “I believe you mentioned something about our wages.”
Grimble scowled for a moment, then broke into a good-natured grin.
“I can see why Master Skeeve leaves his business dealings to you, Aahz,” he conceded.
“Flattery’s nice,” Aahz observed, “but you can’t spend it. The subject was our wages.”
“You must realize we are a humble kingdom,” Grimble sighed, “though we try to reward our retainers as best we can. There have been quarters set aside for the court magician which should be spacious enough to accommodate both of you. Your meals will be provided . . . that is, of course, assuming you are on time when they are served. Also, there is a possibility . . . no, I’d go so far as to say it is a certainty that His Majesty’s generosity will be extended to include free stable space and food for your unicorns. How does that sound?”
“So far, pretty cheap,” Aahz observed bluntly.
“What do you mean, ‘cheap?’ “ the chancellor snarled, losing his composure for a moment.
“What you’ve offered so far,” Aahz sneered, “is a room we won’t be sleeping in, meals we won’t be eating, and stable space we won’t be using because we’ll be in the field fighting your war for you. In exchange, you want Skeeve here to use his skills to save your kingdom. By my calculations, that’s cheap!”