"No, that should work. Building pumps and aqueducts might be cheaper in the long run than structure mages, though, depending on what the local hydrology is like. You also have to worry about pipes freezing, but burying them deep enough usually works. Need to take some readings or use a knowledge mage to figure out how deep."

"Will that be better than getting them warded against temperature changes?"

"Might be cheaper. I gather heat mages charge about twenty-four per item if it's not too big, but pipes are big. I'm not sure how expensive extra digging and pipes would be. Maybe our Glorious Leader knows."

"Glorious? Really? I'll give you a ring if you tell me one glorious thing he's ever done."

"Don't bother. It's a sarcastic cultural reference I find amusing, that's all."

"Well. We might be able to convince our Glorious Leader to eat the cost of warding the pipes himself, this is his pet project. Maybe. Speaking of which, he wants at least the first city to be human-friendly, I'm guessing you know more than I do about what that means. Any ideas?"

"Mm. You guys do cities differently. A bunch of little changes that add up, probably. You guys don't have bicycles here, they're handy little vehicles that are near impossible for anyone but humans - and maybe Caralendri - to use. Human-friendly might mean bicycles and bike-only areas on the road, but vehicle traffic can be really frustrating to manage so maybe not. It might mean free public water fountains and restrooms and trash collection bins. Costs money, but you can pay for it with taxes and they're convenient. Mass transit is maybe useful for everyone - like very short flights just across the city, on a schedule, that you can rely on always running and always costing the same. Though I hear force mages are going to be thin on the ground around here. I might be able to invent something to help with that. Wide streets help. Maybe taller buildings so you don't have to walk as far to get to interesting places on average."

"I'll think about all of that. We'll need to talk to our Glorious Leader about some of it at some point, too."

"Really picking up on the glorious leader thing, aren't you? I mean, he's trying."

"He's trying! Trying to do what? Doesn't matter, an attempt has been made, of some kind, to do something. Something only useful for a bunch of human children that aren't even his."

"I suppose you're just here for the money, then?"

"A ring and I'll answer that question."

That's pretty much a yes. He just laughs and says, "Bye for now, then."

He can find Valanda, if that's who he's looking for, asking Dareni questions about Thelm Ret's plumbing and poring over sketches.

"Hi," he says at a good interrupting point, "I just finished giving Ahgari the crash course version of Intro to Civil Engineering and I realized you'll have to worry about the pipes freezing around here. Burying them deep enough or heat mages will fix that. Not sure which is cheaper. You think a plumbing design session is on order next?"

"That's why we're looking at other cities but it can't hurt to hear how another world does it. Sure, I'd love it if you explained."

Here's how they stop pipes from freezing - and do other plumbing things - in Toronto!

"How much of that is important and how much is just compensating for metals being rare?"

Gold-plated titanium pipes will last centuries, probably. So, some. And he can tell which is which.

"That's useful, thanks. Do you want to supervise this kind of thing? I thought I could have Ahgari do that, he knows things, but that doesn't work if he can't get people to listen to him."

"Mmmaybe? 'Foreman' is definitely something I can do, though not my dream job. Ahgari doesn't have an attitude that gets people to listen easily, but you can tell them they only get paid if they follow his instructions, might fix it. Or they might just resent him. It strikes me again that you don't have much if any managerial experience."

"None at all! Why, can you teach a class on that too?"

"Sure, why not? Management is a bit fuzzy though."

"How about if I arrange a time tomorrow when I can get everyone to listen? It'd be good if more people than just me heard this one."

"Just you, huh? Do you think I disappear when you stop needing something from me?" says Dareni.

"Oho, she speaks, and with a nice bite. Management might not be something everyone needs to hear about, hm? Not everyone is going to end up managing. Some won't care to pay any attention at all. Though I know some good tidbits about arctic survival for such a broad audience."