A giant turtle, Great A’Tuin, swims through space carrying the Discworld on its back. The disc rests on the backs of four enormous elephants. Although the existence of the turtle has been confirmed, cosmochelonians and astrozoologists have not yet determined its sex. The astrozoologists of Krull are preparing a vessel that can be lowered over the edge of the world to investigate.

The city of Ankh-Morpork is burning. Bravd the Hublander and his friend the Weasel watch the rising smoke from a hilltop. Two people on horseback approach them, followed by a beast of some kind. Bravd and the Weasel recognize the wizard Rincewind. The other rider is Twoflower. Twoflower is responsible for the inferno demolishing Ankh-Morpork. Bravd and Weasel expect Rincewind to be afraid of them, but he has been so afraid for so long that he is “suffering from an overdose of terror” (10). He will have to calm down a little before he can be properly afraid of the two highwaymen.

Bravd goes to investigate the bulky box on legs that has been following the wizard and Twoflower. Rincewind warns them that the object is protected by a power called reflected-sound-as-of-underground-spirits (which translates to “echo” of “gnomes”, or economics).