Kim asked. Metria opened the bag. There were ten tokens remaining. “I don't see how I'm going to serve all of these in time,” she said. “I've already used up several days, and the others are scattered all over Xanth.” “And what you have already accomplished along the way is remarkable,” Ichabod remarked, “If I understand what I have heard correctly, you have enabled Princess Nada Naga to marry a Prince, shown the way to resolve the problem of a viable alicentaur species, reconciled a four-century alienation from your daughter, abolished a longtime curse on Castle Roogna, and discovered a significant lost history of the Kings of Xanth—and you haven't yet finished your job. This reminds me of the type of chess problem I used to see in the newspaper, wherein the challenge is for White to win one pawn, but along the way occur casualties of rooks, bishops, knights, queens, and threatened checkmates. But the pawn is won.”
