welcome,' said Wonse, eventually. 'A pure formality, of course, and I am sorry to bother you with such petty detail.'
The big bundle appeared to sway in the breeze.
'No trouble at all,' squeaked the head thief.
'The king graciously desires it to be known,' said Wonse, 'that it would be pleased to receive coronation gifts from the population at large. Nothing complex, of course. Simply any precious metals or gems they might have by them and can easily spare. I should stress, by the way, that this is by no means compulsory. Such generosity as he is confident of expecting should be an entirely voluntary act.'
The chief assassin looked sadly at the rings on his fingers, and sighed. The head merchant was already resignedly unshipping his gilt chain of office from around his neck.
'Why, gentlemen!' said Wonse. 'This is most unexpected!'
'Um,' said the Archchancellor of Unseen University. 'You will be…that is, I am sure the king is aware that, traditionally, the University is exempt from all city levies and taxes ...'
He stifled a yawn. The wizards had spent the night directing their best spells against the dragon. It was like punching fog.
'My dear sir, this is no levy,' protested Wonse. 'I hope that nothing I have said would lead you to expect anything like that. Oh, no! No. Any tribute should be, as I said, entirely voluntary. I hope that is absolutely clear.'
'As crystal,' said the head assassin, glaring at the old wizard. 'And these entirely voluntary tributes we are about to make, they go…?'
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