"He came in to my workshop right after I'd flipped the sign, I had barely opened my mouth to say hi, and he was gone."

"We can try to scry him when the guards get back."

"Thank you your grace."

"We're glad you came to us." He takes his pendant, closes his eyes.

And she disappears.

"Merenre!"

" - Ismat! How are you here - are you all right -"

"I - seem fine? - I just told the pharaoh you'd vanished and that I thought it was some succession-diddling assassin plot, what would a plot like that want with me, I'm not pregnant -"

"There are a bunch of people from different planets who've appeared here at random. I haven't the slightest idea how but I don't think it's anyone Osirian -"

"How bizarre - perfectly inexplicable - what's going on among us randomly appearings, then -"

"You being not pregnant has what to do with it -"

"Well, no reason to kill her to manipulate the succession. - this is my wife. And I am a prince of Osirion."

"I suppose someone might think I'm pregnant, or just not want to chance it. Anyway, your brother knows you're gone and I was in the room with him when I disappeared so hopefully he's on it."

"I didn't prepare Sending. Can tomorrow but it might be too late." 

"Well. Welcome to our house. The short one is Isun, who is from a different planet, and the one translating for him is Eskillimi, who is from an additional different planet, and the rest of us plus everybody crowding at the windows normally is around here or lives here but that one's from another different planet that made more systematic contact months ago."

"We are always delighted to learn of new worlds and of new peoples we can have friendly trading relationships with."

"Well, at least it's a top notch selection of aliens."

"Aaron, if you have been summoning aliens here against their will so that you can sell them wands and buy their lightbulbs, you should stop that, it's very rude."

"You never let me have any fun! - I'm kidding. I have not done this. So everyone's clear."

"Sell them what now? Buy their who?"

"Lightbulbs are devices that produce light with electricity," says Eskillimi.

"Wands are sticks that let our kind of person do magic."

"What's electricity?"

"Uh, the thing lightning is made of."

"Huh. We'll buy some of those, if someone's selling them."

"This is great but we still don't know how to get any of you home."