"Pff. I'm sure your story's great, we're just a tough act to follow, is all. Love to listen to it later, but unfortunately I can't talk to anyone here without help."

"This casting of tongues will last through your investor meeting," the man says, "but after that you're on your own. On the other hand, I don't know that much communication is needed for adventuring! You see horrifying undead monstrosities, you stab them."

"What is it you speak?" asks Hagan, who is wearing a hood and a mask through which only his eyes are visible. "I have a great many languages. Razatlani and Varisian and Taldane and Tien and ancient Orisian and Vudrani and Kelish and some Elven."

"Unfortunately we seem to be from a different plane. I call my language the King's Tongue. It's technically an old Dwarven trade language, but if we're right about being from a different plane of existence then I'd be really surprised if anyone here had it."

"Huh," he says. 

"So what is your story?" asks Fazil.

"We were pulled here by some kind of mage yesterday. Not sure why, but given how he tried to kill us we're expecting him not to be a lot of help in reversing it. Before that we were from a place called Ferelden, which is currently both embroiled in a civil war and facing an ancient mystical threat called the darkspawn, which if left unchecked will destroy every civilization on the continent. We're the only people who have a shot at gathering the forces necessary to oppose it, and we need to get back to do it soon, before the country is overrun. - also I recently learned that the person I'm in love with is the son of our late king, and I'd like to get back to him so we can talk about the whole thing where he's a possible heir to the throne and I'm an elven commoner. This is obviously much less important than saving the world, but apparently people like drama."

"You were pulled here by an evil mage who wanted to use you in a dark ritual," offers the bard helpfully. "Tightens up the opening. And I don't like 'talk about the whole thing' as much as 'win my father a title in the fighting', personally. 'talk about it' isn't very compelling as a goal, it doesn't sound like a happy ending."

"Father can't hold titles because he's an elf. The happy ending here is the one where we resolve the succession crisis some other way, Prince Alistair assures me that I am much more important than any dreams he has of royal life, and we are too busy rebuilding the Gray Wardens to listen to anybody's opinions about it. - the probable ending is the one where we die fighting the archdemon and its darkspawn horde, but I can be flexible on that."

"I like her," says Hagan. 

"'die by his side fighting evil' is a perfectly good happy ending," says Mahdi.

"Unless the prince is resurrected," says the bard. "Too much complication. Just leave it at returning to your true love."

"I must return to my love to see if the son of a human king and the daughter of an elven tailor could possibly have a future together. How's that."

"Yes, that seems all right."

"Do people have issues with elves where you're from or something?"

"So you don't here! That's one thing this place has going for it, then. The humans wiped our civilization out and enslaved us like a thousand years ago, and it's only in the last little while they've stopped seeing us as property. We're still working on improving that to 'people'."

"Well, probably some investors will like feeling socially progressive," says Fazil doubtfully. 

"You want the Andorans," says the bard. "Because they're Andorans, mostly, but also that fellow's at least a little bit elf, which can't hurt."

"I haven't pitched to them before, what do you -"

"Make big promises, sound very angry about oppression? Of anyone by anyone, they're not particular. If anyone's Good, play it up. They're not very sophisticated investors. They use the intimate tense all the time but they're not deliberately being rude. Don't get onto the subject of politics."

"Well I'm a fan of them, from that description. Minor logistics stuff, I will need someone to help me buy a shield later if you want me at my most useful, and as a rule you guys can handle healing but not armor, so I should take all the hits while we're in the field?"

"That's the idea, yeah. We don't have the kinda budget for resurrections, so don't get youself into anything you can't handle."

"Cool. We don't have resurrections where I'm from, so I'm pretty much gonna assume that death is a game over. Please keep me in one piece or my entire world is doomed. Where are the Andorans, and do I owe you anything for the spell or the pointers?"

"The universe has its ways of repaying good deeds," says the bard peaceably. 

"We tip him if we make it back in one piece," says Fazil. "The Andorans are that bunch over there."

"Solid. I can tell a story, but please jump in if they want to know anything about how you actually do things, because I arrived here literally twelve hours ago."

And she can go talk to the Andorans.

The Andorans are lighter-skinned than the locals and wear more closely fitted clothes. They size up the four of them and then order drinks. "So who are you?"

"Aria Tabris, not from this plane of existence. I was kidnapped by an evil mage for use in a dark ritual last night, and since he tried to kill me immediately afterward, I'm guessing he's not going to be very much help in getting home. Home is currently embroiled in a civil war, and simultaneously facing an ancient mystical threat known as the darkspawn, which will wipe out every civilization on the continent if they're not stopped. Unfortunately, I'm about the only person who can rally our forces before the darkspawn horde overruns the country, and I'm stuck here. Naturally I'd like to go home and save everyone as soon as possible. Particularly because I recently learned that the man I'm in love with is actually the son of our late king and a possible heir to the throne, and I'd really like to get back to him and see if the son of a human king and the daughter of an elven tailor might be able have a future together. Normally I'd say it's impossible, since where I come from elves have a long history of being enslaved, oppressed, and generally treated like muck someone stepped in, but I just bet that saving the world is the sort of thing that makes people overlook that.

"I am tragically short on funds to pay for my trip home. I am, however, very good at stabbing things. I heard you might have something that needed stabbing."

"That's a little unbelievable."

"She doesn't speak any known language," Fazil offers in support of her. "And she was very surprised that no one held it against her, that she was an elf. And do you recognize the make of that armor?"

"And the rest of you?"

"Cleric, wizard, ranger. We just wanted to fight evil and, uh, oppression and so on, but when we met Aria we knew we'd been called here to help with her quest."

"What's the proposal -"

"El-Amara. It's the capital of the ancient Osirian province of Thuria, but it's been mostly uninhabited since the first age of the pharaohs. There's an imperial reward for clearing it out of monsters and cultists and, uh, slavers, so it could be settled again."

"Cultists of -"

"Ahriman."

The Andorans exchange glances. 

"The Pharaoh of Forgotten Plagues built Ahriman a terrible gateway to our world in the wastes of the western desert, and ever since then his evil followers have had a foothold there," says Fazil. "We have to protect our homeland."

"All right," says one of the Andorans. "Standard contract?"

"We want four hundred gold up front for supplies. Half the reward is yours, if we succeed, and half of incidental discoveries, and you are indemnified against liability for harm that comes to us or crimes committed in the course of the effort, except if a court finds you had a policy of recklessly encouraging criminal conduct among adventureres you'd invested in -"

The Andorans pull out some sheets of paper for everyone to sign.

Sounds good to her. ...she can't sign her name very well, and can't read the papers at all, but they don't speak her language anyway and if she gets it wrong it's not like they're going to know how her name is supposed to be spelled.

"That should cover getting you a shield," Fazil says. "All right with you if we leave at dawn?"

"Yep! I just meet you down here?"

"Yep! I'll get the permits done this afternoon."

"Cool. Thanks so much, I look forward to working with all of you. I'll see you at dawn."