‘There seems to be some uncertainty?’ said Coin.
‘If I may counsel-’ Hakardly began.
Coin waved a hand. The walls vanished. The wizards stood at the top of the tower of sourcery, and as one man their eyes turned to the distant pinnacle of Cori Celesti, home of the gods.
‘When you’ve beaten everyone else, there’s only the gods left to fight,’ said Coin. ‘Have any of you seen the gods?’
There was a chorus of hesitant denials.
‘I will show them to you.’
‘You’ve got room for another one in there, old son,’ said War.
Pestilence swayed unsteadily. ‘I’m sure we should be getting along,’ he muttered, without much conviction.
‘Oh, go on.’
‘Just a half, then. And then we really must be going.’
War slapped him on the back, and glared at Famine.
‘And wed better have another fifteen bags of peanuts,’ he added.
‘Oook,’ the Librarian concluded.
‘Oh,’ said Rincewind. ‘It’s the staff that’s the problem, then.’
‘Oook.’
‘Hasn’t anyone tried to take it away from him?’
‘Oook.’
‘What happened to them, then?’
‘Eeek.’
Rincewind groaned.
The Librarian had put his candle out because the presence of the naked flame was unsettling the books, but now that Rincewind had grown accustomed to the dark, he realised it wasn’t dark at all. The soft octarine glow from the books filled the inside of the tower with something that, while it wasn’t exactly light, was a blackness you could see by. Now and again the ruffle of stiff pages floated down from the gloom.
‘So, basically, there’s no way our magic could defeat him, isn’t that right?’
The Librarian cooked disconsolate agreement and continued to spin around gently on his bottom.
‘Pretty pointless, then. It may have struck you that I am not exactly gifted in the magical department? I mean, any duel is going to go on the lines of “Hallo, I’m Rincewind” closely followed by bazaam!’
‘Oook.’
‘Basically, what you’re saying is that I’m on my own.’
‘Oook.’
‘Thanks.’
By their own faint glow Rincewind regarded the books that had stacked themselves around the inner walls of the ancient tower.
He sighed, and marched briskly to the door, but slowed down noticeably as he reached it.