"Good to know, thank you. Does your world's sorcery include any powers like those ones, or no?" 

"Mental sorcery is possible but very obscure."

Nod. "Do you have other questions about our magic? I am still trying to figure out which things are possible with sorcery but not here - I am not sure what transmutation does...?" 

"It turns a substance into another substance."

"Like turning sand into glass by heating it, or more general than that?" 

"I don't heat things up but I can do sand to glass. I've mostly worked in metal before."

"I am still not sure if that means changing the shape of the metal or purifying metal from ore - both of which our magic can do - or if you can, for example, turn metal into glass, which our magic cannot do." 

"I can't do metal into glass, just metal into metal. Like iron into gold or whatever."

"Our magic cannot turn one metal into another metal either. That is quite remarkable." 

"If you say so."

Nayoki nods, thoughtful. "Anyway. Are there precautions that mortals can take to operate safely in Fairyland?" 

"I wouldn't tend to recommend it. Why?"

"Well, when one is trying to solve very complicated problems in a world with limited resources, and it turns out there is another world out there, the obvious next question is whether it has resources that would help with our world's problems." This is almost word-for-word what Leareth said to her before leaving. "It - changes a great many things, if there are other worlds at all. The person who I work for thinks it calls for a full re-evaluation of what is possible and what strategies are available to him." 

"I suppose it's very interesting that there is here, wherever here is, when I wasn't expecting it, likewise. You have a complicated problem?"

"Many of them, really. It would be his decision whether to tell you more details, I think, but that is why he was especially interested in learning more about you, despite the initial alarm. He is elsewhere right now since he was not sure if you were dangerous and what your intentions here are." 

"I don't even know who he is, I can hardly have specific plans about him."

"Well, yes, we know that now. It was not immediately obvious, and also this world contains some Powers which have a tendency to use people as Their pawns, and he prefers to be very careful." 

"Powers?"

Nayoki seems to think hard for ten seconds before answering. "Gods. Does Fairyland have gods?" 

"No."

"Well, our world does and They are rather obnoxious much of the time. The region we are in currently is mostly free of Their influence, which is why we operate here even though it is suboptimal territory in other ways." 

"What do they do?"

"Meddle by creating inconvenient coincidences, usually. If you want to know more, it may be simplest at this point for me to find out whether he is willing to come here and talk to you directly, since he is much more an expert on this subject than I am." 

"...okay."

"I will go speak with him." Nayoki heads out.