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more than magic: it's a miracle. And so, if all that young Thrumble told us is true, we ought to be seeing a
much more spectacular proof of it right . . . about . . .now! "
The water-dragon let out a spine-prickling howl. "O, I am slain!Again !" it wailed. "The truth has finished
me! O woe, alas, alack, welladay "
"Yes, yes, point taken. Now fall down already!" Master Porfirio directed.
The dying dragon eyed the river uneasily. "Intothat? "
"Oh, for !" Raising one hand, Master Porifiro engulfed the swaying monster in an impenetrable cloud of
smoke which was, for a change, green instead of purple.
It was rather a lot of smoke, veiling the dragon, the bridge, large shares of both riverbanks, and most of
the crowd. People stumbled through the murk, coughing, bumping into things, and calling out "Is that
you?" in a generally useless manner. At last a brisk breeze swept in, banishing the thick haze.
One of the town patrol rubbed his eyes, blinked, and declared: "The water-dragon's gone!"
"Course it is. Didn't you hear that nice young wizard? The truth was spoke and it was the truth that got
rid of it once and for all."
"If that's so, I'd like to lay my hands on that Master Thrumbleand his pa for what they done to our
river!"
"Hard luck. Look across the water. They're gone as well, and them female sword-slingers with 'em.
Prob'ly run off, and good for 'em."
"Come to think of it, where's that nice young wizard? And our Zoli?And our rotten excuse for a mayor?"
"Ex-mayor soon enough, you mark my words."
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"Can't say I care if I ever see himor them Thrumbles again, but what happened to the others? Where did
they ?"
Someone standing by the railing on the downriver side of the bridge gave a shout of amazement and joy
that brought an end to all other conversations. The people thronged the railing, pushing and shoving in an
effort to see what it was that now came drifting slowly out from beneath the shadow of the toll bridge. A
volley of wild cheers went up as the raft emerged into full sunlight, Garth Justi's-son at the tiller, all the
schoolchildren of Overford aboard.
"Magic's nice," said one onlooker. "But give me a miracle any day. Less smoke."
* * *
"Can I take this smelly thing offnow ?" Ethelberthina asked. She indicated the patch of water-dragon hide
balanced on her head.
"You may," Master Porfirio said, closing the door of Zoli's cottage behind him. "Sorry about the smell,
but you know it was necessary. No wizard can conjure a truly effective illusion without some token bit of
the real thing to anchor the chimera."
"Sorry for the delay, too," said Zoli. "We had to settle certain matters with the town council."
"And about time." The girl doffed the piece of water-dragon hide and stepped out of the wizard's
chalked diagram. She was in such a hurry that she almost upset the scrying basin full of river water which
had allowed her to observe the goings-on at the bridge and manipulate the dragon's image accordingly.
"A job well donetakes time," Master Porfirio recited, ever the academic. "And you should certainly take
pride in this one. You're a clever girl, Ethelberthina. Your plan won me back my job, and a promotion to
Deanpro tem . It won Zoli back the respect of the townsfolk and their offspring."
"Anda fat raise," Zoli added.
"It also won us all a clean river, now that I've got the clout to organize a massed faculty cleansing spell,
and it won you hmm. Whatdid it win you?"
"The right to continue her education," Zoli supplied.
"Nnno. The council told us that her father will lose his job for this, remember? And her own money's all
tied up in trust. She can't pay the fees."
"After all she's done for you, you'd charge hertuition ?" Zoli's hand automatically fell to her sword.
The wizard was rueful. "I'm dean, but I have no power over school finances. Our bursar's a
troll literally. Trolls only understand the bottom line."
"Oh, don't worry about me," Etherlberthina said cheerfully. "I'll be earning my own money, soon
enough."
"Indeed? How?"
"By bottling and selling as much Iron River water as I can before you clean it up," she replied.
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"Who would want to buythat swill?" Zoli asked.
Rather than answer, Ethelberthina inquired, "Would either of you have some dragon skin to hand?
Besides this, I mean." She waggled the patch of hide.
Zoli looked dubious, but rummaged through her storage chests. "I'm not supposed to have this," she said
handing the girl a limp remnant. "The king knows that armor made from these scales is flexible, light, and
virtually impenetrable, so he reserves it forhis soldiers. He also knows that it's the only edge those clods
have over the swordsisters, which is why royal law forbids a freelance female from owning even a scrap
of it. But I had to keep this, law or no. It's a souvenir of my first dragon slaying."
"Well, you'll always have your memories," said Ethelberthina, and dropped it in the scrying basin. Zoli
said a highly improper word and fished it out with the tip of her sword, only to have the girl smoothly
swat the blade upward, sending the soaked bit of hide flying. The scales hit the floor and shattered like
thin ice.
Zoli gaped. "The river water doesthat to dragon scales?"
"And dragonscale armor too," Ethelberthina said. "Nowcan you guess who'll buy it from us? Of course
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