"There are people visiting him, yes. We've found that every town, of any size, has much to offer us, and we much to offer them."

"People. What power do you represent, the servants were unclear."

"We are members of an alliance of worlds known as Vanda Nossëo."

"An alliance of worlds."

"I remember how ridiculous it sounded when I learned of it. There are many worlds. We have the means to travel between them. Some worlds prefer to remain independent, but many of them have become allied. We seek out worlds not in contact with anyone else, and we build trade routes between those worlds and ours. We heal people, and we take immigrants."

"I see," says the gydja, calmly, although she is quite sure that she does not. "Witchcraft is allowed within the county of Nerike; you may work your magicks within Örebro, for the benefit of its residents."

"Thank you! Will we cause alarm if we go to each house offering healing? If so, would you honor us with an announcement that might reduce the alarm?"

"Of course you will. No mere announcement will prevent that, if the reports I have heard of your powers are correct."

"We'd appreciate one anyway, if it might make people more willing to come to us with illnesses and injuries, or goods to trade."

"If you would like an announcement then I will make one at the funeral tomorrow. If you wish to avoid causing alarm then you should offer your services from a shop or the town square or this temple. I have already sent one girl home to hide with her mother, and I think she will be disappointed if you follow her there."

"Do you have recommendations, among a shop or the town square or the temple?"

"I suppose a shop would cause less inconvenience for those who are already using the temple and the town square."

He points at an empty space. “Can we set up there?”

"I don't see why not." Or at least she sees no reason why this spot should be more objectionable than any other. "I'll assign you a guide to the area, if you don't mind having one."

"We'd be delighted to have one." Two of the visitors go over to the designated spot, pull something out of their backpack, and begin expanding it into a tent; it's truly astonishing how so much fabric could have fit into a bag so compact. They start setting up various shiny objects; Mark gestures and now the tent has a halo of sparkles.

That should attract lots of attention!

The gydja assigns them three men from her personal staff, who should be capable of answering questions about the town and other ordinary things. One of them wants to know whether they plan to depose the king.

"No," Mark says immediately. "We will work very hard to convince him to join Vanda Nossëo, and if there are several potential successors we'll favor one who wants to join Vanda Nossëo, but war is a great evil and we do everything we can to avoid it, and with a situation like this it will definitely be avoided."

The guides find this very confusing on several levels, so they round it off to the wizards claiming to be peaceful and call it a day.

Most people initially think the tent is pretty sketchy, and most of them are preparing for the ceremony besides. At some point a boy brings a sick horse to see if the wizards can successfully heal it.

Five of them can't do animals for one reason or another but one has it wished on differently and can. The horse is healed.

"Would you like anything while you're here?" she asks after patting the horse on the head. They have stands out, by now, with mirrors and jewelry and little singing boxes and timepieces and compasses and exotic foods.

"Oh, I don't have any money for stuff like this. Thanks, though."

"Oh, we don't get paid in money mostly, we accept pay in stories. Stories about the way newly-encountered people live their lives are very valuable in our society, because everything changes so quickly once we arrive."

"Oh, huh. Uh... one time the emperor called for people to fight the muslims, way back before I was born. So my uncle Akë went and fought, and he didn't come back for seventeen years, because after we drove out the muslims they had to go fight agains the Hungarians and the Russians. He says he killed about sixty men in battle just himself, though."

She writes this down exactly as he said it. "Thank you! You can pick something out."

"Thanks! My friends can too, if they can come up with stuff to say?"

"Absolutely!"