Fool's Proof

Former Royal Fool Malfred Murd let himself get disgruntled, disgraced, and dismissed. Now a penniless exile— whose self-appointed magpie advisor Corvinalias is leading him further into perdition day by day— Fred takes a gamble that might win back a little of his former glory. All he has to do is trick a sweet, batty old lady into thinking he can work magic.

But the lady is Dame Elsebet de Whellen, proud ruler of a technologically advanced country that's poised between survival and destructio...