over the Betlwoods. But 1 thought the new famulus you
finally settled on was working out okay.”
“Ha! It just goes to show what can happen when you
don’t read the fine print on someone’s resume. It’s too late
now. I’ve made him my assistant and am bound to him, as
he is to me.”
“What’s wrong? I thought he was brilliant.”
THE DAY OF THE DISSONANCE 5
“He can be. He can be studious, efficient, and eager to
learn.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Unfortunately, he has one little problem.”
“What kind of problem?”
Clothahump’s reply was interrupted by a loud, slurred
curse from the room off to the left. The wizard gestured
with his head toward the doorway, looked regretful.
“Go see for yourself, my boy, and understand then what
a constant upset my life has become.”
Jon-Tom considered, then shrugged and headed under
the arched passageway toward the next chamber, bending
low to clear the sill. He was so much taller than most of
the inhabitants of this world that his height was an ever-
present problem.
Something shattered and there was another high-pitched
curse. He held his ramwood staff protectively in front of
him as he emerged into the storeroom.
It was as spacious as Clothahump’s bedroom and the
other chambers which somehow managed to coexist within
the trunk of the old oak. Pots, tins, crates, and beakers full
of noisome brews were carefully arranged on shelves and
workbenches. Several bottles lay in pieces on the floor.
Standing, or rather weaving, in the midst of the break-
age was Sorbl, Clothahump’s new famulus. The young