"You send a letter to City Hall, or drop one in their letter box. Letters are processed by the City Office every day, but response times may vary."

Nod.

"The second item is that the Watch would like to employ your services. I estimate we have 61 serving Guardsmen who would benefit from your ability to fix poorly healed injuries. We'll of course pay your rates, but I'm interested in arranging a bulk rate if possible, or priority in exchange for anything you may find useful for the Watch to offer."

"Poorly healed - oh, like that one person's knee? That I can't do for very many people per day. It's a maximum of three per day and that's if I don't give anyone my language to serve as a translator."

Then they're going to be in a bidding war with wealthy adventurers and Wall-Lords and probably the human nobility from up north, once they manage to catch word. The rich people are going to run out eventually, but Zevara is half-concerned that Blai is going to have run off to one of the Walled Cities or the human lands by then. He's not quite the [Healer] of Tenbault, it sounds, but if Tenbault is any reference...

Actually, she might not want him staying in Liscor, in the long term.

"Should I interpret that you don't think it's logistically feasible to commit to a bulk contract, because the timeline would be too long compared the volatile factors in your situation?"

"Yes, and because there's no - upstream input to the spell, that I could myself save money on by buying in bulk."

"Unfortunate, but understandable. I'll just say that if you ever have uses left at the end of the day, the Watch Barracks will more likely than not have someone to take you up on it. I expect some Guardsmen will also seek out your services of their own impetus.

"That's all I had for you. Do you have questions for me?"

"I don't think so."

She'll ask for his current address for anything which might come up, and let them go, then. She would appreciate it, but it's not required, that he notify them if he moves.

She'll write to the City Council. In addition to her usual weekly reports, she means, but she knows nobody actually reads those. Whatever they do with the information isn't any of her business, but she advises that they have a strategy for when the other cities and the north come knocking. In any case, she's discharged her responsibilities.

And then it's time for his evening channel.

Seventy-eight customers this time, and fewer random people to watch the show. The crowd is slightly better ordered.

(If he asks, the desk will clarify that it's fine tonight but not in the future. Dross is supremely awkward about this.)

"Tomorrow we'll rent from the Mages," Blai tells Dross.

Burst of positive energy goes out.

Dross has unfortunately done his job too well and there are still no extras caught inside the newly-36-foot radius. Less disbelief this time, but nonetheless happy customers.

"Are you doing this again tomorrow?" a Drake asks.

"Not here, but I get two every day whether I use them or not, so I will try. I will most likely rent a space from the Mages' Guild."

"There'll be a notice at City Hall, for the new location?"

"I would expect so."

And they are free!

Well, Blai is. Dross is still on the job, until Blai dismisses him. There are still hours left in the day. (Evening.)

"Do you suppose we can secure that rental tonight or is it too late?"

Yeah, Dross has no clue about the Mage's Guild's opening hours.

"It's not too far out of the way so we can drop by to check?"

Blai nods and sets off in that direction.

Mage's Guild: open!

Chamber: bookable.

The recommended casting chamber (there were a few options presented, but Meirryl advised a clear winner) is actually in a secondary building, a sort of Guild-run convention center. The chamber is the largest of three "casting theatres" designed to allow viewing of complex circle castings by visiting [Mages].

The theatre is 25 feet in radius. There are four viewing balconies, each about 200 ft². A catwalk at the top is maybe another 200 ft² of standing space. Some parts of the ceiling dome descend for placement of material components, but probably they should not have injured people clinging to the descending frames even if they can, actually, take the weight. There are a lot of different ways to set up the actual casting area below, too many to quickly summarize.

Of course, "[Consultant Mage] Meirryl already sent word of your requirements," the Drake at the desk says. "We have a configuration drafted which should be ideal for your purposes." It essentially turns the casting area into two and a half floors, though the lower floor and upper half-floor requires a ladder to access and might not be great for mobility-impaired individuals. "More injured visitors should use the viewing balconies, which are accessible conventionally from the upper floor."

The added verticality probably makes up for the limited radius, but he'll take it at least for tomorrow - "In the long term, what would it cost to commission a building like this but bigger?"

He'll pen Blai in on the schedule.

"...These chambers are enchanted in a lot of ways because they're for spellcasting, and it seems like you don't need that for your work? And you might not need the configurability of the lower floors? The enchanting and parts of the design and construction are done in-house by the Guild, and I haven't heard of us doing commissions before, so I don't think I'm allowed look it up in the books and quote you something based off that. If you want, I can try guessing—from a laydrake's perspective—how much a building with a similar layout but no enchantments and no moving parts might cost?"

"Yes, that latter estimate is what I meant."

He spends a while thinking and counting on his fingers.

"Sixty gold," he decides. "That's not counting the land, which will be fifty gold in this part of the city for the size of your building, perhaps half that in a more outer part."

(Reminder: 20 silver : 1 gold; Blai has earned 63 × 2 + 78 × 3 = 360 silver = 18 gold today, of which 6.3 is owed to Dross.)