"He collects sorcerers and most of them are older and better than me."

"What are his - goals - in doing that?" 

"We're pretty generically useful? It makes people reluctant to mess with him, means if he wants something it's easy to have his vassals arrange it even if they have to trade for it, makes the court more defensible."

"I see. What sorts of threats do courts need to be defensible against?" 

"People trying to take the members for their own courts, mostly."

"Do other courts also tend to fight with sorcerers?" 

"It's not that any of this is very common, but sure."

"I see. What sorts of things do courts trade with each other for?" 

"Books, vassals, art, plant cultivars... why?"

"I am mostly still just asking general background questions about how your world is arranged, since it seems rather different from this one, and the existence of other worlds at all is an important discovery so I wish to know more." 

"It's not all that much safer for mortals to mess around in other less Thorn-occupied parts of Fairyland."

"You said that, but - it seems like giving up far too soon to ignore the existence of another world simply because it is risky for people of my species." Slight sigh. "Would you - or perhaps other fairies - be open to trade with this world, if there were transport between them? I am not sure if that has happened previously with the mortal world you already knew of." 

"...for your books and so on? I... guess? I mean, people don't trade with the mortal world, but if you wanted to make it really easy somehow you'd get takers."

"Hmm." Leareth looks thoughtful. "If this world were to make trade very easy, would that in itself attract the negative attention of Thorn or others?" 

"You could do it on a different continent but I assume there are people like him anywhere."

"It does seem that the vassalage system would advantage people like that. Do you know of any helpful court leaders, in other regions?" 

"Haven't traveled much. I was twelve when he got me."

Wince. "How did that happen?" 

"I don't really want to talk about that right now."

Leareth considers this unsurprising. "Anyway, do you have questions for us now?" 

"What do you... do... here? What is this group of mortals I have landed on about."

"It is somewhat complicated. The most direct answer is that we are trying to fight the gods. The reason is because They, almost universally, seem to dislike innovation and progress that improve the lives of mortals, and so my earlier attempts to found kingdoms that were better places to live tended to be stopped, and I think I cannot win that fight without taking it directly to Them. The specific plans and strategies are not something I wish to share, and also - may be subject to change, given the new information. Most of the people at this particular facility do magical research, mainly god-related." 

"Huh, okay. You have satellite facilities?"

"It is a much larger organization than just the people here! We have a considerable military presence, for example; one reason why is that this area is not claimed by any gods, but I do not take for granted They would not like to claim it, if I left that option possible." 

"Which you fend off with a military? I don't know much about what mortal militaries are like..."