"It'd be nice if we could get enough for a proper population, but - well, I'm not sure if the realm just dislikes arbitrarily powerful magic, or if it really is that rare across the multiverse."

"Yeah, I suppose we can't collect reliable statistics if the multiversal collection method itself might be biased."

"It's seriously annoying! I think there's almost certainly a selection effect for - what's best called interestingness. Though plenty of uninteresting people get scooped up, too. That you have to get lost first is also its own selection bias; not a lot of all-powerful wizards getting lost in the woods."

"You do have to get lost? It won't fetch you from, like, your backyard or something?"

"Not that's been reported. Frisland was a bit of an exception - the entire island popped over, we think because someone botched a ritual to return home."

"...that's a very unusual and novel way of botching something. Huh."

Small laugh. "Ritual magic can be strangely unpredictable sometimes, especially if you're messing with the ley."

Nod.

"So how are you liking it here?"

"It's—I mean, I miss home a bit but not anyone there, I didn't have family and such—and I like it here, magic is so good."

"It really is! It's great that you're settling in nicely, first gens often have a bit of trouble." She's fully willing to let the conversation wind down after that; her group's drifted off a bit.

Yeah and he got what he wanted. He's not sure there's anything more interesting to do before the lord shows up and banquet commences but he looks around for anything that catches his eye anyway.

There's not much. People are starting to file over to their seats, which are assigned by job. Even the servants are sitting, and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of actual servers. 

Well then. To his seat.

After a bit, the lord arrives. There's a sense of presence about him, almost like static across nerves but not quite. The air shimmers around him.

The lord takes his seat in silence, then claps his hands. With a shimmer, drinks appear at every setting, and food fills the platters in the middle of the table. There's a tremendous variety of things, clearly from multiple cultures. He gestures, and people begin to eat while he turns and converses with those seated near him.

...oooooh. Wow he's so sorry Tetsuma isn't here for this, they'd love it.

They probably would!

The banquet lasts a while. People start trickling out after about an hour and a half; some people stand up and move around and start socializing some.

He'll socialise, too, without a clear goal this time.

People are fairly sociable! 

So is he! Even his shy character!

The banquet will go well into the night, but it does eventually wind down.

And back home he goes, extremely exhausted.

Tetsuma greets him with a hug. "Hey. How'd it go?"

"It went pretty well! I got about as much as I think I could about the artefact—" He relays the conversation to Tetsuma.

"...Okay, either that's a bizarre coincidence - which I wouldn't put past this realm, it's already weird enough that most places have humans - or Reim and his mom are from my world. That 'softly glowing white ball' sounds a lot like a fox spirit's star-jewel."