I was glad I wasn’t a priest. There seemed to be all sorts of things over which one could have moral dilemmas, none of which would have bothered me in the slightest.

“But perhaps it’s best that I have,” he continued after a moment, “for the hermitage has a magical creature of its own. The hermitage is built in a grove, at the source of a little river. There has always been a wood nymph living there.”

I sat up straight. “How very exciting! I had no idea we had a wood nymph in Yurt. I’ve never seen one before-I’ll definitely have to visit this grove. So how do she and the hermit get along? Is that what you’re going to investigate? I wonder if it’s the nymph who is annoying the count.”

He looked at me and looked away, seeming to find the idea of a wood nymph much less exciting than I did.

“The old wizard, my predecessor, must know about the nymph,” I continued. “I’ll ask him when we get home again. There’s a lot of the old magic of wood and earth that he knows but which they don’t teach at the school.”

“My investigations have nothing to do with the nymph directly,” said Joachim. “But with you along, it may be easier to deal with her if she appears-I’ve never seen a nymph myself. The bishop has sent me to the hermitage on a matter concerning the saint’s relics kept there.” This sounded dull again. But apparently it was not dull to the chaplain. “Why would the bishop send me on such an important commission?” he burst out.

I lay back again with my legs crossed, looking into the leaves above us. Very high up, hidden from view, a bird was singing gloriously. “You’ve been royal chaplain of Yurt,” I said, “what is it, five years now? And I know you were at the cathedral for a year or two after leaving the seminary, before becoming chaplain. The bishop has had plenty of time to see your abilities. Maybe he trusts your judgment more than that of the priests in his cathedral chapter.”

“If he’s giving me this kind of responsibility,” said Joachim gloomily, “I’m afraid he may even be thinking of making me a member of the cathedral chapter.”