If the laws of action and reaction had anything to do with it, it should have flopped to the ground a few feet away. But no one was listening to them.

He may be deaf and a little hard of thinking, but elderly wizards have very well-trained survival instincts, and they know that when a tall figure in a black robe and the latest in agricultural handtools starts looking thoughtfully at you it is time to act fast.

After that one thing sort of led to another and pretty soon everyone was fighting to get something – either away, out or even.