There were many people in the city.
The city in the desert was called Hadar, which meant "the watchman in the desert." It was an old eastern language; probably, many learned wizards didn't understand it. Upon entering, Soran had a sense of returning to the western regions in the middle ages. The mixed population was a bit like Jerusalem, both desert and western, and they were trading with different languages and accents. Some eastern merchants were reluctant to enter the western continents so that many goods would be sold in cities on the edge of the desert.
After coming here, Soran felt that he had forgotten about one important thing.
That was to study the spell 'Comprehend Languages'.
Damn the local language!
