"- he should try asking specifically for my grandfather Afen Kisantami, who the linguist probably has heard of and might be able to get in touch with. Shi Cubrio is not a good place to stay but it shouldn't be overtly hostile at all and he can try promising people bribes if that seems like it will help, it's one of the places where that's normal."

Grilbek teaches some Celestial. It's kind of fun to be doing something important that doesn't use wizarding skills.

When he does hear and see a god speaking to him (and it has to be a god, nothing else should be able to do this across planes), he decides he should probably listen to him.

"Me go Anitami. Me go Afen Kisantami?"

"...did you somehow find out about Afen Kisantami in space -" The linguist backtracks and recasts that in simpler words they've covered.

"Yes. Me speak Anitami Amentan Lintalai Arcadia. Lintalai speak Afen Kisantami."

This is not accurate but he really doesn't know how to explain gods with what they've managed to communicate so far. Grilbrek tries to communicate the concept of money so he can offer bribes.

The linguist is eventually convinced that some combination of bribes and professionalism warrant an email to Afen Kisantami that there is something he will really want to see, does he want to come to Shi Cubrio and see it.

He would!!!!

"I don't like it. It could be - some kind of trap, some kind of - assassination attempt - maybe they heard what you're working on -"

"I'm sure they heard what I'm working on, why else would they want me? - oh, you mean that project. How would they have heard about that."

"I don't know. I just don't like it. You could ask Aitim what he thinks."

"Aitim doesn't think! He has the wrong hair color for it. I want to go."

"Text me once you figure out what's going on, all right? And if you mention the children I'll know something's wrong."

"All right, all right." 

Off he goes.

The linguist in Shi Cubrio has a blue intern meet him at the airport and bring him in to meet the alien!

"The alien asked for you by name," the linguist explains, when he gets there.

"....in Anitami???? How are you communicating -"

"Me go Anitami. Me go Afen Kisantami?"
"Yes. Me speak Anitami Amentan Lintalai Arcadia. Lintalai speak Afen Kisantami."

"Lintalai? - can I meet the alien -"

"Yes, I got the clearance for that, wasn't hard to sell 'anything the alien wants he gets' -" The alien is over here! "This is Afen Kisantami," he says, gesturing at Afen.

The alien has pointier ears, a broader nose, and redder eyes than an Amentan, but otherwise has about the same body plan, accounting for the shorter height and disproportionately long arms.

He's avoided learning any more of this language than he has to- Anitami will probably be more useful, if that's a different language than this one. Marthammor Duin did impart a few phrases directly into his mind; he hopes those are Anitami.

"Me Grilbek. Me speak Lintalai. Lintalai speak- 'my grandfather, Afen Kisantami, who the linguist probably has heard of'. I go Anitam, 'get in touch with' Lintalai 'family'?"

(The phrases he quotes are, in fact, in perfect Anitami grammar, though there is some stumbling over the pronunciation.)

This is the BEST THING that has happened in ALL OF HISTORY including the births of all seven of his children.

"Afen Kisantami," he says. "I am delighted to meet you, Grilbek. Anitam would be happy to host you. Lintalai - is alive? Told you how to find us?"

"Go Anitam? Grilbek speak if go Anitam. Lintalai is happy," which is one of the few positive adjectives he's confident in, "-I speak my language?"

Grilbek is intrigued by the possibility of learning a language from a world-class linguist, but it seems lower priority than communicating about Arzum. He still has to make the portal, after all.

"Speak your language! I will try to learn it." - "- he wants to go to Anitam," he adds as an aside to the local linguist, "I'm sure we can hammer out some kind of credit for you all but he should get to go where he wants - Lintalai's my granddaughter who went missing, she's been - meeting aliens -"

"Lintalai told me about you- Afen Kisantami, her grandfather who the linguists would know, she said. What kind of linguist would linguists in other countries know? The kind I'm overjoyed to meet. It's an honor to meet you, Afen. Where should we start? Numbers...?"

Grilbek counts off on his fingers to indicate the first, hoping that's universal, or nearly so, anyway.

"LIntalai told me about you," he echoes carefully. "Lintalai told you about me? Lintalai told me about Afen Kisantami? Lintalai told you about linguists? One. Lintalai told me about one linguists."

-cool. Grilbek has never put his mind to how to teach a language, but this seems like quite a sound method. Or learn, rather, since Kisantami seems to be doing the leading, here. It's always edifying to watch an expert work.

"Lintalai told me about you. Lintalai did not tell you about me. I told you what Lintalai told me. One linguist, two linguists. One wizard," he says, pointing at himself. "Lintalai, Afen, other linguist, Grilbek- four people. Three Amentans, one Arzumian."

He's quite pleased with the term, 'Arzum'. Of all the things their world could be named, to be named after magic. Quite gratifying, on a personal level. His parents would be so disturbed by it.

"Lintalai told you about me! Lintalai did not told me about you. Lintalai told - Aitim, Kan - about Arzumian people. Aitim, Kan, Lintalai- three people? Three Amentans. You told me what Lintalai told you."