“Although sometimes even this part may seem disproportionately large. Then, when that part collapses, it takes everything along with
it.”
“It happens,” said Juffin. He looked like someone who knew what he was talking about. “Very well now. I hope you won’t have time to get bored in your voluntary
incarceration, Sir Shurf. I doubt your Rider will appear in my presence. If he does, he’ll regret it. I’m going to let you out from time to time for exemplary behavior. I’d
suggest that you refrain from sleeping for the time being, though.”
“I think I should, too,” said Lonli-Lokli. “I will easily manage to stay awake if you disarm my Rider in three to four days’ time. If not—well, you will have to
resort to minor violations of the Code of Krember, just like the good old days.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Juffin. “We won’t have to take it to court. That, I promise.”
“I have never doubted it, even for a second,” said Shurf. “Every cloud has a silver lining: I have quite a few books in my office I have been meaning to read.”
“Very well then. Consider this adventure an extended vacation. You can start right now because Sir Max and I need to go to the Refuge for the Mad.”
“You think we’re that bad?” I said, smiling.
“Even worse: no one can help us,” said Juffin, “so we won’t stay there long. We’ll just visit our fellow comrades in distress and try to find out what sorts of
dreams they dream. And that will be it. Now be a good sport and bring Shurf’s books to him. I don’t want to look into the face of some scared courier.”
“Aw, Juffin,” I said, shaking my head. “You could’ve come up with a more convoluted pretext for kicking me out of your office. If you and Shurf need to talk secret stuff
behind my back, you could have used Silent Speech.”
“How insightful,” said Juffin. “Look at the kid: he’s a regular genius! ‘Secrets.’ What secrets? I just wanted to make you run up and down the hallway so you
don’t feel like you’re a great hero and a poor victim all at once.”
“Right,” I said, walking out of the office.
Whatever Juffin was saying, my wise other heart was positive that they were going to talk secrets. The boss reeked of mystery, and I could smell it a mile away. But I was magnanimous enough to
leave the two of them alone. It would be tactless of me, in any case, to gallop up and down the hallway and return a minute later. I decided to give them enough time to talk all the secrets they
wanted.
Slowly, very slowly, two-steps-forward-one-step-back slowly, I crossed the Hall of Common Labor, walked backward down the hallway, and went into Lonli-Lokli’s spacious office. I picked a
stack of books from the white bookshelf over his desk and smiled an involuntary, bewildered smile when I remembered Shurf’s recent grumbling about The Pendulum of Immortality, which I had put
in the wrong place. The guy was probably my best friend: after all, we even dreamed the same dreams—well, some of the same dreams, anyway.
Funny. I hadn’t thought anything of that sort before he tried to kill me.
I returned and put the books on the desk in front of Shurf. He stared at them, thinking.
“Perhaps this will be enough for a while. But not for long. May I ask you, gentlemen, to bring something else from my office?”
“Sure,” said Juffin, nodding. “By the way, the old university library has accidentally come into the possession of this soon-to-becrowned monarch of Fanghaxra. He inherited it
along with his residence.”
“Hey! That’s true,” I said, remembering. “You can make a list, and I’ll dig through the books tomorrow. Then the next day I’ll—”
“Dream on,” said Juffin. “Tomorrow you’re meeting your subjects, and then it’s your official coronation. Have you already forgotten?”
“Gosh, I did forget. All right, I’ll rummage through the books right after the coronation. It’ll
it.”
“It happens,” said Juffin. He looked like someone who knew what he was talking about. “Very well now. I hope you won’t have time to get bored in your voluntary
incarceration, Sir Shurf. I doubt your Rider will appear in my presence. If he does, he’ll regret it. I’m going to let you out from time to time for exemplary behavior. I’d
suggest that you refrain from sleeping for the time being, though.”
“I think I should, too,” said Lonli-Lokli. “I will easily manage to stay awake if you disarm my Rider in three to four days’ time. If not—well, you will have to
resort to minor violations of the Code of Krember, just like the good old days.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Juffin. “We won’t have to take it to court. That, I promise.”
“I have never doubted it, even for a second,” said Shurf. “Every cloud has a silver lining: I have quite a few books in my office I have been meaning to read.”
“Very well then. Consider this adventure an extended vacation. You can start right now because Sir Max and I need to go to the Refuge for the Mad.”
“You think we’re that bad?” I said, smiling.
“Even worse: no one can help us,” said Juffin, “so we won’t stay there long. We’ll just visit our fellow comrades in distress and try to find out what sorts of
dreams they dream. And that will be it. Now be a good sport and bring Shurf’s books to him. I don’t want to look into the face of some scared courier.”
“Aw, Juffin,” I said, shaking my head. “You could’ve come up with a more convoluted pretext for kicking me out of your office. If you and Shurf need to talk secret stuff
behind my back, you could have used Silent Speech.”
“How insightful,” said Juffin. “Look at the kid: he’s a regular genius! ‘Secrets.’ What secrets? I just wanted to make you run up and down the hallway so you
don’t feel like you’re a great hero and a poor victim all at once.”
“Right,” I said, walking out of the office.
Whatever Juffin was saying, my wise other heart was positive that they were going to talk secrets. The boss reeked of mystery, and I could smell it a mile away. But I was magnanimous enough to
leave the two of them alone. It would be tactless of me, in any case, to gallop up and down the hallway and return a minute later. I decided to give them enough time to talk all the secrets they
wanted.
Slowly, very slowly, two-steps-forward-one-step-back slowly, I crossed the Hall of Common Labor, walked backward down the hallway, and went into Lonli-Lokli’s spacious office. I picked a
stack of books from the white bookshelf over his desk and smiled an involuntary, bewildered smile when I remembered Shurf’s recent grumbling about The Pendulum of Immortality, which I had put
in the wrong place. The guy was probably my best friend: after all, we even dreamed the same dreams—well, some of the same dreams, anyway.
Funny. I hadn’t thought anything of that sort before he tried to kill me.
I returned and put the books on the desk in front of Shurf. He stared at them, thinking.
“Perhaps this will be enough for a while. But not for long. May I ask you, gentlemen, to bring something else from my office?”
“Sure,” said Juffin, nodding. “By the way, the old university library has accidentally come into the possession of this soon-to-becrowned monarch of Fanghaxra. He inherited it
along with his residence.”
“Hey! That’s true,” I said, remembering. “You can make a list, and I’ll dig through the books tomorrow. Then the next day I’ll—”
“Dream on,” said Juffin. “Tomorrow you’re meeting your subjects, and then it’s your official coronation. Have you already forgotten?”
“Gosh, I did forget. All right, I’ll rummage through the books right after the coronation. It’ll
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