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general turned to me again, ignoring the pike, and glared down from his full height.
    “Who are you?” he asked in a tone which implied my name would be immediately moved to the head of the list for public execution.
    “Who’s asking?” I glared back, still not completely over my mad.
    “The man you are addressing,” the king interceded, “is Hugh Badaxe, Commander of the Royal Armies of Possiltum.”
    “And I am J. R. Grimble,” the chancellor added hastily, afraid of being left out. “First advisor to His Majesty.”
    The general shot another black look at Grimble. I decided it was time to get down to business.
    “I am the magician known as Skeeve,” I began grandly. “I have come in response to a gracious invitation from His most Noble Majesty, Rodrick the Fifth.”
    I paused and inclined my head slightly to the king, who smiled and nodded in return.
    “I have come to determine for myself whether I should consider accepting a position at the court of Possiltum.”
    The phrasing of that last part had been chosen very carefully by Aahz. It was designed to display my confidence by implying that the choice was mine rather than theirs.
    The subtlety was not lost on the chancellor, who raised a critical eyebrow at my choice of words.
    “Now, such a position requires confidence on both sides,” I continued. “I must feel that I will be amply rewarded for my services, and His Majesty must be satisfied that my skills are worthy of his sponsorship.”
    I turned slightly and raised my voice to address the entire court.
    “The generosity of the crown of Possiltum is known to all,” I declared. ‘’And I have every confidence that His Majesty rewards his retainers in proportion to their service to him.”
    There was a strangled sound behind me, from the general, I think. I ignored it.
    “Therefore, all that is required is that I satisfy His Majesty ... and his advisors ... that myhumble skills will indeed suffice his needs.”
    I turned to the throne once more, letting the king see my secret smile which belied the humility of my words.
    “Your Majesty, my powers are many and varied. However the essence of power is control. Therefore, realizing that you are a busy man, rather than waste time with mere commercial trickeries and minor demonstrations such as we have already seen, I shall weave but three spells and trust in your wisdom to perceive the depths behind them.”
    I turned and stretched forth a finger to point at Buttercup and Gleep.
    “Yonder are my prize pair of matched unicorns,” I said dramatically. “Would your majesty be so kind as to choose one of them?”
    The king blinked in surprise at being invited to participate in my demonstration. For a moment he hesitated.
    “Umm ... I choose the one on the left,” he said finally indicating Buttercup.
    I bowed slightly.
    “Very well, Your Majesty. By your ward shall that creature be spared. Observe the other closely.”
    Actually, that was another little stunt Aahz had taught me. It’s called a “magician’s force,” and allows a performer to offer his audience a choice without really giving them a choice. Had the king chosen Gleep, I would have simply proceeded to work on “the creature he had doomed with a word.”
    Slowly, I pointed a finger at Gleep and lowered my head slightly.
    “Walla Walla Washington!” I said somberly.
    I don’t know what the words meant, but Aahz assured me they had historic precedent and would convince people I was actually doing something complex.
    “Alla kazam shazam,” I continued raising my other arm. “Bibbity bobbity”
    I mentally removed Gleep’s disguise.
    The crowd reacted with a gasp, drowning out my final “googleep.”
    My dragon heard his name, though, and reacted immediately. His head came up and he lumbered forward to stand docilely at my side. As planned, Aahz immediately shambled forward to a position near Gleep’s head and stood watchful and ready.
    This was meant to imply that we were