John:

My question about the identity of the magician in The Innkeeper's Song was perhaps more basic than you make it out to be. My question, simply, is this: are this magician and Schmendrick one and the same person?

I agree that Song is likely not a sequel to Unicorn. Whether or not they share the same universe seems unanswerable, but this is largely irrelevant in magical terms. What we do know is that this magician and Schmendrick share the same master, or - remotely possible - have masters who share the same name. This is the tantalizing hint I referred to in last issue's review.

On reflection, and perhaps in response to your note on the subject, I'm more inclined to believe that Schmendrick is the magician of both stories.