Magic, after all? He felt the untrimmed hair at the nape of his neck rising. But then, maybe it was just… — Keith Laumer

“Just what is your position here?”

“I’m an adviser to his Majesty.” Nicodaeus smiled blandly. “He thinks I’m a master of magic, of course, but among these feather-heads a little common sense is sufficient to earn one a reputation as a wise man.”

“Him and his pet dragon—”

“More folklore, I take it?”

“Well, I never actually seen this dragon.”

“Hmmm. Funny how nobody I’ve met has seen it, but they all believe in it.”