"Oh, come now," said Kevan. "You can't seriously expect me to go in and kidnap the girl out from under the nose of her father and I don't know how many other characters. It's not fair."
"Its fair enough and you'll get no more from me," said Alviss. "Be off with you—for if you're not back here by the end of the month, I'll start my war."
"The end of the month? Mortal time or your own?"
"Mine, of course."
"How much time does that give me?" asked Kevan.
The dwarf scratched his head, lost in deep thought. Then he began chanting to himself:
"Junius, Aprilis, Septemq, Novemq, tricenos
"Unum plus reliqui, Februs tenet octo vicenos
"At si bissextus fuerit superadditur unus—" He rolled his eyes toward the roof and seemed to be counting. "That'll give you until tomorrow morning," he finally announced.
"But that's impossible," exclaimed Kevan.