He had no time to wring hands. He asked about transportation because clearly this land was larger than he took it for. Methods of getting around just the city exceeded his wildest expectations. If he was to escape, a horse might not cut it.

"But what moves the--Ah. Like the horseless wagons on the streets. A metal caravan." He cast a look around again at the tables. Rather like a moving house. But the next interested him far more.

"And you say there are airborne methods of travel?"

Now it was time for him to look more like a dazed newbie as he leaned forward. To fly.... a dream that captured the imagination. To laugh at gravity, truly, like a bird. Altaïr's art of movement, though it took him leaping on and off perches hundreds of feet high, only involved a series of fancy falling, grabbing, and climbing.

"I suppose I could ask things such as 'how large is this city' or 'where can I get books and ink', but those I can find out just by listening or looking at a map."