They can witness more assorted appointments!

Deskyl isn't any less annoyed about the mages' dwindling on this visit, and declares after the second appointment that she's perfected her single-person anti-dwindling technique and can start working on range and the ability to protect more than one person at a time.

"How much range might you get?" asks Tse Witwex.

    "She'll be able to cover the entire Temple-Guild; it'll take a few months if she focuses on that specifically, visiting every week or two, or longer if she works on other things at the same time."

"From here, do you mean, or from the city?"

    "From here, Ma'am. She can do it from the city but that would take a year or two at least."

"I see. The goldmages seldom use their magic within the Temple-Guild, but perhaps something can be worked out."

    "She'll notice them if they're in the city and will usually be able to go see if they'd like her to cover them."

"That won't cover our whole operating range, but it wouldn't hurt."

    "Did you have something else in mind, Ma'am?"

"No, I don't know what your limits are. It will be nothing but beneficial if you can cover mages in the city and during planned appointments within the Temple-Guild."

    "Yes Ma'am."

    "She'll be able to make a machine that will let you talk to people in the city from here, but that might take a year or so; they don't have the tools to make the parts she needs here."

"I'm not sure what the use would be, but I'm sure someone will be interested in something like that."

"It would let you tell her when you'd like her to cover a goldmage somewhere other than the city, Ma'am, without having to know about it when we're visiting."

"Mm. We'll look into it when it's available, then."

"Yes Ma'am. We'll keep you updated."

They're shown out.

And they go back to the city.

The city hustles! It bustles! It hums, it thrums! It has a busker with a flute! It has an overturned cart full of rice and an argument about that in progress! It has someone dragging his ten year old son by the ear through the street, snarling! It has a bunch of little children playing something that's a cross between jacks and marbles near the well! It has a laundress balancing her basket on her head!

She pauses to watch the father and son.

"- good for nothing friends! You think I break my back and save up money so you can go buy them sweets? You think they're going to steal from their fathers and buy you things? Their fathers don't have a dime, because they're drunks, but I'd rather be a drunk than have a thief for a son!"

"I'm sorry I'm sorry sir -"

"You're going to go cut a switch when we get home -"

"Sir please -"

"Shut your face, boy."

Kid's gotta learn sometime. She continues on.

There's a spice merchant with prettily arranged bins of turmeric and red pepper and fresh basil and strings of garlic! There's a fabric shop with nice muslin and expensive silk! There's a farrier's, closed for personal reasons according to the sign on the door! There's a greengrocer with a sale on pears! There's a mud puddle, and a little girl with a muddied dress miserably running after her briskly striding mother trying frantically to explain that she tripped while the mother stonily ignores her! There's a little old lady and her little old husband holding hands and going for a walk adorably! There's a beggar with one leg! There's a person distributing caged songbirds who do not have very much room in there!

Ooh, pears.

There's something not quite right with that girl and her mother; they're both far too upset for the apparent situation. Deskyl zips up to the former, runs a demonstrative circle around her, and offers to pick her up.

The girl skids to a halt when Deskyl runs between her and her mother and starts crying. The mother ignores her for a few steps, then pauses and looks over her shoulder. "Ixasi! Now!"