"Maybe another few minutes. Redoing some of this based on your answers... Know any mages who aren't?"

"Yeah. How much are you offering for details?"

"Tch. You guys haggle over everything, don't you?"

"What, don't you?"

"Not really! Not on stuff like introductions! I'd tell you all about my buddies and people I know from town if you asked."

"Tell me about them and I'll answer your questions!"

He laughs and starts describing people. The stern and angry but very scary to firebenders warband commander - lost his daughter to them, poor guy, that's why he hates 'em so. The wise old waterbending teacher with a strange sense of humor and a fondness for freezing people's legs together as a prank. His childhood friend who learned healing waterbending instead of combat waterbending, because it's a woman's discipline. All the other members of the warband, from nervous Faalis to melancholy Grissi to annoying but ever-cheerful Baylee.

"I know some people, mostly people who are into history. You want knowledge mages only or other kinds too?"

"Knowledge, force, uh, I have a list hold on..." He shuffles through some papers. "Also structure, sun, defense, heat, maybe illusion, maybe death. The others are probably useful but less straightforwardly and immediately?"

She knows people! Most of them are history buffs of one kind or another. There's a death mage that would probably defect to the Fire Nation. There's an illusion mage that would never do that but might decide to make things more interesting, for a definition of "interesting" that includes wars and revolutions. There's a knowledge mage who'd be fascinated by the other world, wouldn't want to go to the trouble of defecting to the Fire Nation with patrons right there, probably wouldn't try to get involved in things beyond answering questions... and is back on the mainland.

She doesn't know any really stunning choices but there's a few possibilities.

"We might be able to handle that illusion mage, keep them out of trouble or at least making trouble for the Fire Nation... But illusion isn't really on the hit list. Why would they try for wars and revolutions?"

"For fun. To watch people try to deal with it. I think people are nicer where you're from."

"...Well, we've got a war already so hopefully helping us win and watching us deal with it will be fun. Illusion isn't super useful... At this point I kind of want to talk to them and sound them out if we're gonna do this."

"I can hold the door but Valanda might not like it if I do it for long, he'd have to go run things if time was passing in Ira Sani."

"I'll pay the fast guy to explain things to 'em, what's his-"

Nik appears beside them. "Happy to be of service. Twenty four rings to explain Milliways to and fetch this person if they're in Ira Sani - and willing - you can have Dareni verify my progress. Giving me a bribe for them will presumably help."

"-Ah. Yes. Deal. Dareni, how much to hold the door and tell Nik where you think they are and verify he's trying to fetch them?"

She names a reasonable price and suggests a really clever way to try to keep the illusion mage under control.

And now Nik is zipping through Ira Sani looking for said illusion mage. Shouldn't be hard.

"Yes, yes, Sahgar, here, what do you want?"

"I've been hired to bribe you to go into Milliways. Surely you've heard the gossip from Dareni by now? From what I've heard of you, you'll enjoy it. There's a war that needs your help!"

"A war! Yes, I've heard of the other-worlds-every-book place. Thought it was fake. Sounds fun. You mentioned a bribe?"

"You get it if you let me take you to Milliways. I think illusion mages weren't number one on their list, but as the only proper mage in a world of people with different magic, you'll surely be enourmously useful to whoever wants to hire you."

"Oh, illusion is going to be enourmously valuable in a war that's being fought without it. An army with mages can easily crush any army trying to do without. It won't really even be fair. Almost disappointing! Sounds like both sides have magic though, just not Hari magic? So maybe it'll be kind of fair. Lead the way."

"Correct. Follow me. At the run, please, time's funny in Milliways."

Sahgar follows, sprinting. The weird vampire is much faster, which shouldn't really be true - agerah are supposed to be top predators! Ah, well, it's probably his magic.

"And here we are, one Milliways. There's a translation aura inside."