“And so, children, that’s how I saved the kingdom. Without me, all would have been lost, and you,” the old man’s eyes twinkled, “would now be slaves of the troll king. Or maybe,” his eyes widened, “his dinner!” At the last word, his thin arms arched out over the children at his feet, gnarled hands spread into crooked, knobbly claws that formed writhing shadows on grass and children alike.
…
“Stamp of Approval”
About the story: No one ever writes about the administrative heroes of fantasy.