"If everything is going south, why are you laughing?" Raagu asked.
"I'm not laughing." Inxialot looked at her as if she was insane.
"I've been sitting here the whole time and he never laughed." Zolgrish put his right hand where once his bladder was in a sign of sincerity.
"Never mind." She sighed. "Activate the Gargoyles, but make it look believable. We don't want the disciples to discover that this is just a test. They are here to learn a lesson and if they don't, I'll put you in charge of the next test as well. Raagu out."
The idea of spending even one more minute out of his lab, of leaving so many ground-breaking experiments unattended, made Inxialot focus on the screens with unwavering determination.
Then, after a few minutes, he got bored and pressed the button that activated the Gargoyles' energy core to speed things up.
***