 Early on, there is also a short excursion into our world, in which Jorian is frightened by a passing giant truck, has a mutually uncomprehending encounter with a police officer in a patrol car, and is very glad to get back to the familiar dangers of his own world.Two other tales are set earlier in Novaria's history; "The Emperor's Fan," which illustrates the perils of a magical artifact, and "The Fallible Fiend", a satire told from the point of view of a demon named Zdim, who is condemned to service in the perplexing world of humans.A final story, "The Honorable Barbarian", is a sequel to the Jorian sequence, relating the adventures of his younger brother Kerin in the far east.