Indeed, he's not getting paid the nearly infinite amount required for him to go inside the Black Dome, and be unable to cast spells for the several minutes it might take him to figure that out.

He's just hanging around right outside the Black Dome until Sevar shows up.  Idly playing with some spellsilver, it having become much cheaper nowadays.  Seeing if he can figure out what it would take to put together an assembly line for +2 Intelligence headbands, as Sevar is reputed to have personally invented.  (Keltham thinks she did, but doesn't know for sure because of the Conspiracy; it might've been somebody else, to impress him more, to make up for other demands on Sevar's time.)

Indeed, he's not getting paid the nearly infinite amount required for him to go inside the Black Dome, and be unable to cast spells for the several minutes it might take him to figure that out.

He's just hanging around right outside the Black Dome until Sevar shows up.  Idly playing with some spellsilver, it having become much cheaper nowadays.  Seeing if he can figure out what it would take to put together an assembly line for +2 Intelligence headbands, as Sevar is reputed to have personally invented.  (Keltham says he mostly thinks she did, but doesn't know for sure because of the Conspiracy; it might've been somebody else, to impress him more, to make up for other demands on Sevar's time.)