The kinder the old gentleman appeared, the less certain Ruger felt. He kept feeling that it confirmed the suspicion in his heart, but this was already beyond his ability to handle. He stood on the projecting terrace and admired the scenery with Big Guy for a while, then turned and strolled leisurely toward the Library.
Mahama also went back to his little experiments.
The Old Wizard Darius and Varin had already left.
Ruger walked along at an easy pace. Tonight would send shock waves through the entire Vango Family, but one person's joys and sorrows were not shared by everyone else. He could already imagine the scene: when the Old Wizard went to see Family Head Phyllis, he would naturally sense that the room no longer held the aura of a Four-Ring Wizard. All the mysteries would be revealed.
Of course, leisurely as he was, he also had mysteries of his own waiting to be revealed.
On the way, he had a bold idea-very bold, very far-fetched, and a little greedy. Of course, this little Kobold felt that his little bit of greed could also be understood as wishful thinking, as dreaming a beautiful dream.
His teacher's strange condition had given him the idea.
He wondered: suppose his teacher had already died, leaving behind some means to produce an incomplete substitute after his death, one prepared in advance to teach Ruger and fulfill the promise he had made. Could the Demon Wizard-the Demon Wizard appearing now-be the same, only with a different purpose? A lingering consciousness with a mission of its own? Of course, the premise was still that the Demon Wizard really had died.
This Wizard, something of a legend and shrouded in deep mystery, seemed to be testing and selecting something, judging by their two encounters. There were