How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She walked to her left and found a gate, opened it and went through, closing it carefully behoid her because she could see that wall and gate were there to keep the rabbits out.
This vaguely surprised her. The man they were looking for surely had no need of such things. He could point out a line with his finger, and no creature—except perhaps an even more powerful magician, and the rabbits didn't look that—could come beyond it. (11.53-54)
Tilja is surprised that Faheel has a garden wall to keep out creatures that might eat his fruits and veggies. After all, he's a super-powerful magician, so what's the point of having such a mundane and practical thing like a wall when he could use his powers to the same effect? What Tilja hasn't realized yet though, is that Faheel is a man before he's a magician—which we'll see in the normality of the rest of his home.
Quote #2
"Well, I think I am the man you are looking for. My name is Faheel."
Already, with a sinking heart, Tilja had guessed this was so. So old, so feeble and unsure of himself. So quiet and peaceful too. How could he wield powers enough to hold back the might of the Empire from the Valley for twenty more generations? Was all their long and dangerous journey for nothing? (11.83-84)
When Tilja meets Faheel, she's really disappointed. How can this old geezer possibly help her? He barely looks powerful enough to stand up, let alone magick an entire Valley. Needless to say, Tilja's in for a surprise.
Quote #3
"I don't understand," she said. "It's just something a traveling magician gave me to keep my hair up. Somebody else had to do that for me. If I touched it the magic didn't work. But since I came here something seems to have woken up, and it's much stronger than the plain hair-tie magic. I can feel it even when it's me holding it." (11.91)
Faheel says that the magical hair-tie the Ropemaker gave Tilja has pretty strong magic. Tilja's surprised—it's just a scrunchie that some gangly guy gave her to keep her hair out of her eyes, right? But when Faheel asks about it, she realizes that there might be more than meets the eye to this hair thing.