Roc and a Hard Place

The mischievous demoness Metria wants a child of her own, but the stork won't answer her summons — so the Good Magician sends her instead to gather Xanth's citizens for the trial of a giant roc accused of some unnamed offense. Chasing down witnesses old and new becomes Metria's real education in what she actually wants. The nineteenth Xanth novel turns one of the series' recurring tricksters into its detective.