The laws definitely prohibit stabbing people without their permission. They don't exclude non-humans from requirements or protections, and they don't prohibit stabbing people or consuming human flesh or blood (or in fact killing people) if the participants agree. They do recommend archiving a verified contract to reduce the risk of later misunderstandings.

"So, you've mentioned a few times that you think you know a lot of things we don't. And that's great, that's really valuable! So I think the highest priority is to see if we can figure out where your home is. But if we can't figure that out, I want you to explain things across a really broad region of what you know, and then I'll want to narrow in on a few things that are really inconvenient or valuable to us to see if you can help with those. And once we've figured out some top priorities, we should figure out how difficult they are to implement. If they're easy, we should try and get as many people working on them as possible, and pay you out of the discovery share. Or if they're difficult, we'll need to put a group together to study and implement them, and we can structure it like a normal company. Do those options make sense to you?"

What a refreshingly sensible legal system! 

Elspeth will explain the surrounding geography of the Old World but does not particularly expect any of it to be recognizable. 

“I have indeed mentioned knowledge which your compatriots have indicated is not known here. Do you have a handful of flour or sawdust? I could demonstrate the principle behind firearms and cannons fairly easily. Um. Stop me if I ramble. Your healers seemed especially interested in potions which can heal grievous wounds in a matter of moments- there are many potions I know how to brew, and many others which I do not, those are just the ones your healers were most interested in. If my belt pouch survived the battle, it contains all the ingredients I would need to make a small number for demonstration. If not, most of the ingredients grow well in environments such as this. I would caution you though: such potions will result in fewer people of all ages dying from miscellaneous disorders. This of course is a good thing, however fewer deaths does mean more mouths to feed and so it would be wise to be careful and aim for a corresponding increase in food production… Um… if you don’t know about crop rotation yet, I can improve food yield in the long term. Um. I have seen only bronze weapons thus far. I know how to make blast furnaces which can get extremely hot, and can teach how to work iron and steel which are much stronger than bronze. I can teach steam power which is a means of causing carts and ships to move without an animal pulling or wind pushing. The obvious use of a steam powered cart is cheaper faster trade, and this can be compounded by means of rails, however such carts can also be armed and armored and used in war fighting. And then of course the black powder I was speaking of. A means of rapidly projecting iron projectiles the size of a grown man’s torso many miles and with great accuracy- and with the force to pulverize stone walls when they land.” 

Elspeth thinks for a moment, and peers into this girl’s mind. 

“I realize it is easy for anyone to claim fantastical knowledges, which is why I am so eager to give a demonstration.” 

Elvish maps are made using scrying magic, and the archives have an accurate sketch over an area nearly five thousand miles across. However, it doesn't especially look like anything Elspeth would recognize from home. Oikon is apparently located where a large river splits into a sprawling river basin and meets an inland sea.

"Lots of that sounds useful! I'll call for some flour from the kitchen! Food production is definitely a priority. Most of our annual production is wheat, and we have to use up the reserve every decade or so. Military spending isn't that high, but it's been growing... I think the Empire uses iron for more things, so if they're getting more aggressive we might need to be prepared for better weapons. And we could use metal for lots more things if we could process iron quickly. Do you know if your furnace can melt it? If we could cast iron, that would be way cheaper than a blacksmith's time. Other major economic sectors are woodcrafts, clean water, and papyrus production? Any thoughts for making those cheaper?"

“Blast furnaces can render iron fully liquid, and precisely modulate the carbon content for more strength and corrosion resistance. You can also alloy in other metals such as nickel for corrosion resistance, but that feels like another digression. I’m sorry. Um. Nuln was known for our forges, firearms, steam engineers, and mage craft, not so much woodworking. I’m afraid I have few insights there except perhaps for very specific knowledge of ship hulls. For clean water, that was always one of my pet projects but no one wanted to listen. It would have been expensive to put in quality sewers, you see, and the wealthy could always just cure resultant ailments with potions. Those with money didn’t particularly care what happened to those without. It was one of the more frustrating aspects of Nuln… I would be delighted to collaborate on that, but your cistern and aqueduct are probably the biggest progress you could make there. That, and sterilizing the water via boiling and filtering. Steam power can be used for pumps though, and that can aid with distributing clean water directly to homes, and with removing waste water. I confess, I know nearly nothing about papyrus. We had the printing press in Nuln, but we used either parchment or paper, depending on how long we needed it to last. I think Araby and the tomb kingdoms used papyrus, but I’ve never been to either of those places. My kind don’t particularly like the sun and it was very bright there.” 

"Sewers? Do those matter much? We just collect the water for the aqueduct upstream of where people dump waste. The ability to raise water without magic would be helpful, though. We have some machines that can do it, but it is difficult to move enough, and more weight above the filter makes it faster. We need to send mages every few days to raise more. How does paper work? We know how to make parchment, but it's very expensive compared with papyrus and we store long-term records as nodes, anyway."

“Paper is essentially flat thin wood pulp. I know only the very basics there. It was produced elsewhere and never a point of interest for me, I confess. Steam engines will continue to run as long as they are supplied with a steady stream of fuel- be that wood, coal, or charcoal. A common practice in Nuln was to place the engine in an easily accessible location, have cheap unskilled labor shovel in the fuel, and then transmit the force wherever you needed it by means of gearing and shafts. They could quite trivially get the force transmitted several hundred feet away, but then a pump could pressurize a pipe and force fluid through it over very great distances. 

Adequately disposing of waste is very important, yes. Otherwise it will leech into the ground and fester. Merely living near waste water can be almost as bad as ingesting it. If, for example, one empties chamber pots or other bodily waste into streets or canals, and then lives in a building overlooking them, one can still become sick.” 

"We hadn't noticed that! Neat! I can have some people try making 'paper' off of the description, too. But let's keep going broad. Do you know how to let people need less sleep? Or a better solution than entry fees for if foreigners come to the city and don't get insurance but do something where a local would need it? Do you know how to tell when it's going to rain? And then we also need to talk about your magic. We need to figure out if we can learn it or if you need a bloodline, and also if there's anything we can generalize to natural magic from what your know about yours."

“I know certain potions can allow someone to continue functioning for a few days without sleep, but often with consequences when the potion wears off- immediately dropping and sleeping for a day, for example. I’m afraid I don’t know much about entry fees. That wasn’t a system we used. If a foreigner broke a law, they were simply imprisoned and if it was a serious law, they were executed. It… wasn’t a good system but I didn’t know how to improve it, and people were resistant enough to change that I had to pick my battles as it were… 

As for telling if it will rain? Um? I would assume your people know how to look outside and see if there are dark clouds visible. Im afraid I’ve got nothing beyond that.

I too am very curious about the interactions of our magics. I can function near indefinitely as long as the winds of magic are sufficiently energetic to allow it, but it almost looked like your wizards are drawing it to themselves? I would be very interested in learning that, if possible.” 

"Rited mages produce mana in their bodies, and can draw it from their personal node. We sometimes store mana in constructed buffers, but that can be dangerous and it leaks or explodes if you add too much. A human mage mostly won't run down if they have time to convert something, normally we use heat in the ground. I use a buffer because I carry my archives and I want a lot of safe margin on them, and because I'm half-elf, and elves have smaller personal buffers than humans. But if I were doing something big, like if I was putting up a building or another water filter, I'd have a dedicated and temporary buffer and all the mages would work from it, with one standing by just to make sure the level didn't get too low or too high. I can sense some magic around you, but I don't know the name for the energy type, so I don't know how I'd draw on it. Maybe if I just place a buffer around it? Cause it's already magic?"

In the meantime, someone has arrived with a bag of flour.

A half-elf! So elves CAN mate with humans after all…

“Fascinating. I have never before heard of the winds of magic behaving in such a manner. If I didn’t know better, I would guess it were an entirely different universe with an entirely different set of magical laws… actually…” Elspeth shakes herself. “Anyway. I made myself a similar device- where I come from it is called a Black Periapt. It can hold an arbitrary amount of power safely, and does not leak, but is extremely difficult to make, and the more overzealous witch hunters would call it heresy. You are welcome to try to use the power contained within. It would tell us something very interesting whether you could or couldn’t. I would, at some point, like to try siphoning off the- I don’t know if you see it the same way I do- that strange winds-of-magic-teather you seem to have. If it worked, I could add some to the Black Periapt each day, and then use it next battle without having to wait for the killing to stir up Shyish…”

Elspeth will take a pinch of flour, and light one finger on the opposite hand with a tiny trickle of magic- she is no pyromancer, but making a flame is one of the easiest things a wizard can do. “This would work with a candle,” she says, “but I don’t see any around and this seemed convenient. Pay attention, you should feel a slight breeze.” 

Elspeth tosses the pinch of flour into the flame. The fine powder burns near-instantly with a bright flash and a faint wave of force. 

“Powder burns swifter than solids- sawdust will burn faster than a log, for example, and burning creates force. By burning more swiftly, you can create all of that force in a shorter period of time. Black powder burns more swiftly still, and more energetically.”

Elspeth makes a rough tube of her hand, packs a pinch of flour in the opening, and the touches her flame to it. Another flash, and a puff of unburnt powder blows out the opposite side of her hand-tube. The redness and blistering on her palm are already fading. 

“If you construct a metal tube, and place within a pre-measured amount of black powder and an iron or stone ball fitted to the tube, you can project the ball out the end in much the same manner- but with much greater force. I have seen thumb-sized balls from infantry-portable firearms punch through multiple steel chest plates and the people within. Larger devices of course being correspondingly more destructive.” 

"Wow! A bunch of things were really confusing about that! What's heresy? You're welcome to try drawing from within the buffer, but we should maybe make a smaller one first in case you rupture it! Why does killing people make your magic stronger? Are you resistant to fire or was that more of the healing magic you used for the arrow wounds? Do you know what makes some things more flammable than others? Are all powders more flammable than solids by the same factor? Does this mean that if we found a way to dry oil, it would be even more flammable? Is that what 'black powder' is? Cause I know ink is sometimes made from oil soot so it's definitely black but I don't think ink is very flammable! Why does the tube have to be metal but the ball can be iron or stone? Is it actually good to make weapons that dangerous? It seems like you could just make weapons that are only barely strong enough to kill someone instantly and then they'd be less wasteful!"

“Um… that’s a lot to unpack…” Elspeth thinks for a moment. “Ok, in order… I think… Heresy is… not something I agree with personally. Um. Some people- the people in power- believed that there were gods watching over everything. Gods being- I don’t know how to describe it. Beings of arbitrary power. Some, allegedly, were good, some were evil. Do note, that I never personally witnessed any evidence of these beings which could not be explained by magic- either the religious leaders consciously deceiving their followers, or unconsciously performing what they believed to be divine miracles. It was illegal- punishable by death- to not worship the so-called good gods. Other things which looked like not worshipping them- or which looked like saying mean things about them or otherwise disrespecting them- also illegal. That was heresy. It… wasn’t particularly internally consistent. My species’ existence was considered heresy. You’ll notice I’m not all that eager to go back. Only part of that is because the place was very on fire when I left. 

Second: yes, I would be delighted to do magical experiments and that is one of my great life passions. Standard procedure where I came from was to do so in a stone room with reinforced walls and special wards to prevent collateral damage if someone made a mistake.  

Fire is actually one of the things that can significantly harm me, but this was a very small quantity. My kind heals very fast provided we are decently fed. It’s why a drop of my kind’s blood is an ingredient in a large number of restorative potions. 

I do not actually know what makes things more flammable than others. Certain researchers in Nuln believed that certain substances contained an invisible thing called Phlogiston which they released into the air when burned, and that air had a certain capacity to accept Phlogiston. I… don’t think this is fully accurate, but it has been an acceptable working model for them. 

Things burn faster when powdered because- and bear in mind this is citing a probably false theory- more surface area is exposed to the air and so more of it can give Phlogiston to the air at any given time. One could “powder” oil by atomizing it- that is, rendering it into a fine misting. That is not what black powder is, but it occurs to me that perhaps it would be wiser to wait to tell you the exact compound until a price was agreed upon? Your healer indicated that was a thing. Regardless, I do not want many things and my “price” would be very low. 

The tube does not HAVE to be metal, but it must contain a very great quantity of force and also be able to flex without cracking or rupturing. I have ever heard of impoverished towns in great desperation creating cannons out of very large wooden tree trunks, but they are unreliable, inaccurate, and prone to catastrophic failure. 

In my opinion it is worth making such weapons, but I suppose that is a decision your people must make for themselves. Where I come from, armor is often made of things more durable than bronze, and our empire was assailed on all sides by many large and terrible creatures which could shrug off entire volleys of musket fire. I would certainly prefer to have a battery of great cannon backing me up next time I see one of those titans. Even without though, the ability to eradicate ranks of- say- goblins quickly and without risk to your soldiers would be beneficial I would think. I am generally opposed to starting fights, but once one is forced upon you, I am in favor of ending it swiftly and decisively with as little risk to your own side as possible.” 

"Oh, I agree that weapons are a good idea. I just mean that we might not need very many that could kill a titan, or pierce more armor than a soldier could wear? Do you want to talk contract pricing now, or would you rather take a day or two to rest while I think more about how much we'd value all of this, and the best implementation methods?"

“I can be flexible. Though if I’m using up hospitality, or if the cost of lodgings will later be taken out of the contract pricing, it seems good to know that now.” 

"Still building hospitality, not using it up! I'd guess months, not days, until that changes. You're welcome to pay for your housing out of the contract or out of your fees for helping with the battle. At standard rates the surgeon would cost about a tenth of that. But I could also put you up for a few months! You should be close to the city core, but it's kind of expensive. Or you could stay at the charity house. It isn't that far, but it's kind of crowded."

“I see. I didn’t realize there would be payment for helping with the battle. Well, you know this place best. I defer to your judgement on the matter.” 

Her judgement is easier to trust when Elspeth watches it happen. 

"Fighting is valuable, we pay all the soldiers! And you helped a lot! We wouldn't penalize you for spending the time before the battle on context and tactics instead of negotiating a contract! Anyway, you could definitely afford your own place, but you don't know the market so it'll be easier if you stay with me for at least a couple of weeks."

She could also recommend a place for Elspeth to rent, but if Elspeth doesn't trust her as a host she probably wouldn't trust her recommendation, either. Besides that, she isn't dwelling on the housing decisions, and is instead mostly packaging magical notes on the conversation, and trying to extrapolate further from the many new ideas. If most places are ruled by soldiers and the rich people are smiths, is Elspeth's world mostly ruled by the people who make and fire the cannons? Still smiths, probably. Who fires a cannon? Still soldiers? If they can kill someone instantly you probably need fewer of them, so maybe there are fewer soldiers, but they're more powerful? That sounds like it would make it even more likely that soldiers would rule, yeah. But apparently the people in charge aren't very good at long-term reasoning or evidence analysis? That's pretty weird, then, cause soldiers have to be good at those things. Otherwise they'd do the obvious thing and not go into dangerous battles!

Her thoughts aren't easy to read. She seems to be more-heavily warded than the other mage, though Elspeth has more than enough raw power to handle it.

Elspeth isn’t intending to push it. People who are dishonest tend to have that dishonesty top in their minds. She will trust this adorable (bad Elspeth) half elf girl. 

“I don’t mind staying with you for a few weeks. If I could get hold of some raw materials, I could begin work on some proof of concept pieces? I don’t know if my satchel survived, but I could always go find some herbs and whatnot in the surrounding countryside? Or with some bronze and a few minor other things, I could make a cannon to demonstrate so you can see I’m not overhyping it. Unless you think your people would be more impressed with a blast furnace? Or… do you have access to a magical laboratory? I would be interested in investigating the interactions of our magics?” 

"Of course! I think anything you dropped was collected by the captain. He's at home recovering, we could go visit or I could send someone to pick it up. I can get you some bronze. Do you also need a smith, or a forge? A single really hot furnace would be more useful than a single powerful weapon, I think, but you'd know better if one looks more exciting and impressive. And I have a warded workroom, but for serious testing we'd want to go further from the city. I'd need to draw a lot of mana to put up serious wards, and that would inconvenience people if we were too close."

“Again, I defer to your judgement. I’ll make whatever you think would most impress those who’s opinions matter.” 

"Eh, lets just start with something smaller in scale."

She conjures an invisible cube of magic, and it lights up gently with some "mana".

"Can you draw from it? Or break it, and get the mana out of the air? This one's small enough it should just make a pop."

“Fair enough.” Elspeth looks with not her eyes. The winds of magic have a few tiny eddies around the cube, but the contents themselves seem utterly inert. Odd. Even the so-called religious miracles have magical plumes…

”Nothing,” Elspeth confirms. “Are you able to feel the winds?” She lights her finger on fire again.

"I can sense something, but it's very... dispersed? I've seen natural magic before, and it's at least a bit similar. With magecraft, the structure of the spell is mostly instructions. With natural magic, the spell and the effect are kind of the same thing, and this is more like that. Where do the winds come from, to your knowledge?"

“Shyish- the amethyst wind- is the wind of death. That is the wind I am mostly attuned to. Unfortunate aesthetics, but powerful effects. Most flows naturally from the great vortex, but some also is released when someone dies. The other winds likewise flow from the vortex and have specific natural sources. Aqshy- the red wind- comes from fires for example. 

Do any of the magical items I carry seem different to you? Would it help you if I were to remove those items?” 

"I can kind of see a difference in the magic from the fire and from you. How well can you see them? Can you tell if I'm right that there wasn't any red in the air before you lit the first candle, but there's a tiny bit now? And your magic items definitely don't look like ours. There's no nodescript in them, they look magic in the same way monsters and mages are, not in the way we enchant things."

She pauses to think for a moment.

"Does the red wind come out of fires that weren't lit or observed by a mage? If a house burns down from a lightning strike, and no one comes by until later, is there a lot of red wind around it?"