Figures drifted past his eyes, one after another.
Smells and sounds accompanied the swaying figures, churning in his mind until the images he imagined became a muddled mess.
Ruger's last thought was that, although those old wizards of the Holy Tribunal had strengthened the invigorating effect released when the conscription scroll unfurled, it apparently only helped them hold out long enough to get through the door, rather than collapse asleep outside and disgrace themselves as wizards.
After all, some wizards cared a great deal about such things. Breaches of etiquette and dignity were unacceptable.
Grumbling about those old wizards of the Holy Tribunal seemed to have become his last source of mental support.
Creak!
Ruger jolted awake and shifted again, drawing a creak from the Old Recliner beneath him.
He tilted his head back and looked around. He was already in his drab temporary quarters, with nothing but cold stone blocks in sight.
Tilting his head, he assessed his condition and gradually remembered that he seemed to have barely managed to leave the Bedroom Space after his meal. In his dazed state, he had insisted on returning here, then climbed onto the recliner and fallen asleep. Judging by how he felt, quite some time must have passed. He had slept long and hard.
"Whew-"
He let out a long breath and lay sprawled silently on the recliner.
At last, he had the time and energy to assess himself further. In his earlier, dreadful condition, he simply could not muster the concentration to make an accurate judgment. Now, after probing his condition, he found that his mental power had improved considerably compared with what he remembered, though he had no idea how long ago that memory was from.
Everything was like a tangled skein, like random scribbles on paper, yet the