Calling On Dragons Quotes
"You ought to turn him into a toad," Trouble said, looking up from washing his right front paw.
"NONE OF THIS NONSENSE, PLEASE," which Morwen was engaged in repainting.
"Toads?" purred a new voice. "I'm tired of toads. Why don't you turn somebody into a mouse for a change?"
"You had fish for dinner yesterday," Morwen said without looking down.
"Nonsense. Where in the rules does it say that I can't grow what I please in my own garden?"
"Don't be provoking, Morwen. You're a witch. You're supposed to grow poison oak and snakeroot and wolfsbane, not lilacs."
"Apples are a basic necessity for witches," Morwen said.
"I'm not planning to turn anyone into anything, at the moment, but I'll keep it in mind."
"Who's not doing it? Why shouldn't he—or is that she? And who says so?"
"My goodness gracious. Thank you very much, ma'am."
"One of these days, I am going to have to work up a spell that will let me understand other people's cats as well as my own," Morwen said.
"It's only to be expected. Who ever heard of a polite cat?"
"I'm not leaving while that idiot of hers is still here," Scorn said with a sidelong glance at Grendel and Archaniz.
"As long as you know what you're getting into," Jasper said.
"Don't be silly," Morwen said over her shoulder. "You're coming with us. I want you to tell your story to Telemain and the King. And how else are you going to get a decent meal?"
"I thought the buckets were obvious," Morwen told Telemain. "If there are wizards around, I want to be able to get rid of them in a hurry."
"Soapy water," Telemain muttered. "Buckets. I still say it's terribly inelegant."
"I've designed a prototype, but it requires the immediate accessibility of a target. It has therefore been impossible for me to run the necessary tests to ascertain its effectiveness," Telemain said.
"You know that rabbit you wanted us to watch?" Trouble said. "Well, he's kind of upset."
"Trouble studied the porch roof, as if he were hoping to spot a fly."
"You've got plenty of donkey-cabbages," Chaos said. "And donkeys are nearly as stupid as rabbits, so it's not as if Killer lost anything by it."
"Why do you think witches never color their hair?"
"I'm sorry about this, Killer," Morwen said. "Those cabbages aren't supposed to work on rabbits."
"I don't mind being helpful," said Killer. "What problem?"
"We all discussed it and decided you might need help," Scorn replied.
"That beast has a gait that would rattle the teeth out of a troll."
"The full-sized, er, splotch. I believe you said there was one?"
"That self-centered, conceited idiot! Of course you were quite right."
"This time the Society of Wizards has gone too far, and I'm not settling for throwing them out of the Enchanted Forest or limiting their power. This time I'm going to see the end of them, I swear I am, even if it takes two centuries. By my fire, I swear it!"
"If I run into any wizards, I'm going to eat them."
"The size-changing spell must have had something to do with it."
"Thanks," he said. "Um, could we just sort of skip the part about presenting me to the dragon for now?"
"You're not falling," Scorn said. "You're floating."
"I asked the castle mice. A couple of them are friends of mine, and they gave me the whole story."
"Don't tell anyone, will you? If Scorn finds out, I'll never hear the end of it."
"Mouse holes? That's awful. We'll never find them all, and even if we did, the mice would just make new ones."
"Are you sure?" Killer asked. "Positive," Cimorene told him.
"I'm afraid it will take a while, but we'll bring him as soon as we can."
"Nobody's worse than Fiddlesticks," said Trouble.
"It's so nice to be able to just sit down, without worrying about what you're sitting on," Cimorene said.
"Excuse me, ma'am," said the man in the overalls, "but if this ain't your donkey, whose is it?"
"Rabbit," Morwen said. 'Judging from his behavior, a permanently hungry rabbit."
"My peas are perfectly round, and hard as rock. I sell them by the bag if you want to scatter them on the floor for maidens disguised as huntsmen to walk on, or you can buy one at a time for sticking under the mattress of a visiting princess."
"That idiot rabbit is worse than Fiddlesticks."
"Goodness knows how he'd react if he saw Kazul."
"The air was damp and smelled like rotten eggs, which didn't help any."
"What he really needs is warmth, rest, and a bowl of hot broth…"
"It must have taken a lot of work to build a place like this. Couldn't she have just kept them away somehow?"
"If the sword has started leaking Enchanted Forest magic, the best thing we can do is to get it back to the forest quickly."
"I'm just as good as I was a hundred years ago. Better! I've got more experience. And I give personal service."
"Backshock occurs when the accumulated magical energy contained within an enchantment-in-process rebounds upon the magician casting the spell due to his inability to maintain control."
"I see no reason why not," Morwen said. "You heard what it said last night about hunting for the fairest in the land. If it can do that, it ought to be able to look for a sword."
"We are all getting too tired to think," she said. "We will do much better in the morning."
"I'd forgotten how big it is," Brandel panted.
"Magic mirrors... They're also cranky," said Morwen.
"I still can't believe it," Brandel said, tipping three sausage patties onto his plate and handing the platter to Cimorene. "Vamist never liked the idea of wizards. They weren't traditional enough for him."
"Don't start on that again," Morwen said. "You'll use up all your energy burning your hair."
"Yes, what we need now is a plan. Can you give us directions to this Vamist person's house, Brandel?"
"It's lots nicer than a swamp," Killer put in. "There's plenty of clover—at least, there's plenty for rabbits. I don't know if there's enough for six-foot donkeys with wings."
"Wizards don't need magic to do nasty things."
"No, I'm going to collect them for my garden," Morwen said. "Goodness knows when I'll get another chance."
"That's the idea." Cimorene coughed and glared at him. "That's the idea."
"Good," said Cimorene. "Do them after we get back."
"If I'm not a ghost, why is that—that cat prancing through me like this?" Killer demanded.
"And you have no business aiding and abetting the theft of important magical items from the King of the Enchanted Forest," Cimorene said.
"Babies and princesses are of no practical use whatsoever," Morwen said. "Most of them, anyway. And the ones that are useful don't need to be kidnapped."
"The Society of Wizards happened. I just wonder where they've all disappeared to."
"Good riddance, wherever it is," Scorn said. "What a mess."
"You think Mendanbar's in the castle?" Cimorene paled slightly. "Why don't you know?"
"I've lived in the Enchanted Forest for a long time. I was here four years ago when the old King, Mendanbar's father, died. Believe me, when a King of the Enchanted Forest dies, the forest makes sure everyone knows it."
"Princesses are people. Some of them aren't very sensible, but they're still people."
"I'm not giving up," Cimorene repeated. "And I'm certainly not waiting a hundred years!"
"Motherhood suits Cimorene," Morwen thought as she watched the Queen of the Enchanted Forest and the King of the Dragons making peculiar noises over the infant Prince Daystar.
"As soon as the Society of Wizards figures out she's not in the Enchanted Forest, they'll look for her with dragons."
"No, Daystar," Cimorene replied gently. "Not now. This is for later, when you're older."