:But he came over the moor, you say? What about the Haşar?: Çet's companion asks, ducking slightly to step through the door. She wears polished chainmail over leather armor that's seen better centuries. A sword rests at her hip.

Sable jerks awake. He's not a light sleeper, but being face-down on a wooden table is not the most restful.

"What?" he says. He blinks warily, trying to place his surroundings.

"O! Nya homdarta," Çet points out, smiling at him.

"E Zeterse, Sabuqy Weqyington. E Sabuqy Weqyington, Zeterse."

:Hello!: Zeterse says. The words reach him via some channel that isn't his ears, appearing fully formed in his mind like a message in a bottle. :I'm Zeterse, one of the guards in Haşarur. Çet was telling me you came over the hills. Do you know where you are?:

"No, I have no idea."

:Unfortunately, my linguistic talents only go one-way,: Zeterse explains apologetically. :Can you shake your hand yes or no?:

Sable looks at her blankly, at a loss for what to say. He settles for holding his hand up and making a vaguely apologetic shrug and a bewildered expression.

:Oh! I'm sorry. Move your hand up and down, as though you were petting something for yes, and ball it into a fist for no,: Zeterse explains, demonstrating the indicated actions. :Flap yes if you understand:

Sable flaps his hand, feeling faintly ridiculous.

:So not only do you not speak Zabarhagy, you can't be from anywhere in the southern reaches. Do you know how you got here?: she asks.

"No," Sable says, balling his hand. He may as well start trying to teach them a few of his words, since there's not much else he can do unless they explain.

:Okay, well you're on the outskirts of Haşarur, in Barhagy, in the southern reaches, on the coast of Tarça. Does any of that sound familiar?:

"No," Sable says again.

:They must be from one of the other moons, then,: Zeterse says to Çet.

Turning back to Sable, she adds :Okay, well you showed up somewhere in the Haşarlands -- a dangerous runewaste guarded by Haşar. We're sort of out in the middle of nowhere, but I'm sure we would have heard if someone had figured out how to travel from one of the other moons, so I'm afraid I have no idea how you could have gotten here.:

:Çet says you're welcome to stay with them for a while while you get things figured out, or we can probably find you a place in town, whichever you prefer. I'm dispatched to deal with this all morning, so if you have some questions, or if you want basic language lessons, we can do that now. Does that sound okay?:

Sable nods and starts pointing to various objects, in the hopes that this will cause language lessons to happen.

So Zeterse will run through basic vocabulary for everything within line of sight, interspersed with grammatical tidbits (:So that's actually a children-class noun, because it's made of unprocessed wood:, and :No, questions have the object before the subject.:)

Eventually, Çet interrupts to ask (via helpful Zeterse translation) whether either of them want some breakfast. They weren't planning on guests, but they've got enough porridge to go around.