The hat rose a bit.
‘Wed all be terribly bucked,’ said Nijel.
‘Hear, hear,’ said Creosote.
The hat rose some more. ‘You’re quite sure?’ said Rincewind.
‘Yes!’
Rincewind cleared his throat.
‘Down,’ he commanded.
The carpet rose from the ground and hovered expectantly a few feet over the dust.
‘How did-’ Conina began, but Nijel interrupted her.
‘Wizards are privy to arcane knowledge, that’s probably what it is,’ he said. ‘Probably the carpet’s got a geas on it to do the opposite of anything that’s said. Can you make it go up further?’
‘Yes, but I’m not going to,’ said Rincewind. The carpet drifted slowly forward and, as happens so often at times like this, a rolling of masonry bounced right across the spot where it had lain.
A moment later they were out in the open air, the storm of stone behind them.
The palace was pulling itself to pieces, and the pieces were funnelling up into the air like a volcanic eruption in reverse. The sourcerous tower had completely disappeared, but the stones were dancing towards the spot where it had stood and … >No.’
‘Spiked grill ready to skewer -?’
‘It’s a bucket,’ said Conina flatly, giving it a push.
‘What, of scalding, poisonous -?’
‘Whitewash. Just a lot of old, dried-up whitewash.’ Conina jumped down.
‘That’s grandfather for you,’ said Creosote. ‘Never a dull moment.’
‘Well, I’ve just about had enough,’ Conina said firmly, and pointed to the far end of the tunnel. ‘Come on, you two.’
They were about three feet from the far end when Rincewind felt a movement in the air above him. Conina struck him in the small of the back, shoving him forward into the room beyond. He rolled when he hit the floor, and something nicked his foot at the same time as a loud thump deafened him.
The entire roof, a huge block of stone four feet thick, had dropped into the tunnel.
Rincewind crawled forward through the dust clouds and, with a trembling finger, traced the lettering on the side of the slab.
‘Laugh This One Off,’ he said.
He sat back.
‘That’s grandad,’ said Creosote happily, ‘always a-’
He intercepted Conina’s gaze, which had the force of a lead pipe, and wisely shut up.
Nijel emerged from the clouds, coughing.
‘I say, what happened?’ he said. ‘Is everyone all right? It didn’t do that when I went through.’
Rincewind sought for a reply, and couldn’t find anything better than, ‘Didn’t it?’
Light filtered into the deep room from tiny barred windows up near the roof. There was no way out except by walking through the several hundred tons of stone that blocked the tunnel or, to put it in another way, which was the way Rincewind put it, they were undoubtedly trapped. He relaxed a bit.