And what is the professional wizard's greatest reward for completing a
particularly arduous and dangerous task? Is it the accolades of a grateful
populace? Is it huge amounts of gold and silver tossed about his feet? Is it
the complementary vacation in the pleasure gardens of Vushta, or his official
removal from the tax rolls? Although all of these other factors are important
for the wizard to feel truly honored, they pale before the professional
wizard's basic and oh-so-necessary demand: The stipulation that he never has
to repeat that particularly arduous and dangerous task, or one even remotely
like it, for as long as he shall live.
Truly professional wizards, after all, must set priorities.
-- How to Hire a Wizard and Still Profit From the Upcoming Netherhells Crisis,
-- by Ebenezum, Greatest Wizard in the Western Kingdoms
-- (book still in progress)
The professional wizard, it is said, should always watch his hands.
Actually, the truly professional wizard should watch a great many other things
as well, including the reactions of his audience, the door or window that
constitutes the nearest exit, and, perhaps most important, the constantly
fluctuating interest rates on his retirement account in the First Bank of
Vushta....
