none would have believed , in the final years of the century of the fruitbat , that discworld affairs were being watched keenly and impatiently by intelligences greater than man 's , or at least much nastier ; that their affairs were being scrutinized and studied as a man with a three-day appetite might study the all-you-can-gobble-for a dollar menu outside harga 's house of ribs ... well , actually ... most wizards would have believed it , if anyone had told them .