Swamped

"Hmm. I have some understanding of out of control ether in general. There's a chance that this-" you point to the frozen person in the mask "-is the work of time ether running wild. So if your story has anything to say about that, it might be best if you shared it."

"It was hard to follow, since I'm not a wizard myself. But my best understanding of the ending is that the magic followed him when he returned to his own time. It got... violent, I think? But he apparently was able to fight it off - something about needing another kind of ether, which he couldn't access in the past."

"Did it specify which kind?" If the ether could be stabilized in the present, then maybe it can be stabilized in the past - just not by the time traveler. But with most ether, you use its opposite to stabilize it - and you've never heard of an opposing type to time magic even in legend. What would that even be - place magic?

"The description had a word I couldn't translate at all," the researcher sighs. "Evinatso. It might be an ether type, or it might be a technique. Oh, but there was one thing I found odd about it... that word was the title of one of the grebling books. Maybe it was a loanword one way or the other?"

"That sounds like a Vak word, actually," you muse.

"Vak?"

"A grebling language. I learned a little of it during my apprenticeship... long story. I don't know offhand what it means either, but perhaps we can meet later and I can take a look at it."

The researcher looks a little nervous.

"In a place of your choosing, of course. There's a lot of other matters to take care of."

"Sure. Meet me at the hostel, assuming it's still standing once this is all over. What's your name?"

"You can call me Long," you reply. "Yours?"

"Just call me Badger," they reply. "It'll work for our purposes, at least."

You nod, and thank Badger for their time. Now you really have to see the doctor, though. You run into the hospital...

And immediately see someone you weren't expecting.