How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He rummaged in a pile of clothing and tossed some garments to Theo. "Get behind the coach. Put these on. If there's any question, say you're a Trebizonian."
"I can't speak Trebizonian."
"Neither can they. Very well, you'll be a mute Trebizonian. Get on with it. Not a word out of you. Do as I say."
Theo ducked around the coach and pulled on the costume: a long, striped robe which, by its smell, had not been laundered for years, and a tall, cylindrical headpiece with a tassel. (4.26-29)
Here Theo plays the "wild barbarian" character to scare off some soldiers. There might not be Trebizonians in our world, but we still can't help but wonder what they would think about this.
Quote #2
"My servant?" The count beckoned to Theo. "This fellow? Trebizonian, as you see. Hardly an apprentice of any sort, eh? Can't speak. Only grunts. I spared his life on my last campaign. He's been devoted to me ever since."
The officer stared at Theo. Las Bombas went on.
"A faithful creature—as far as you can trust any of these savages. Strong as a bull, though you wouldn't think it, looking at him. Poor devil, he's quite mad. Calm and peaceful in the ordinary way of things. What sets him wild is officers with horses. Even I can't control him then."
Taking the count's hint, Theo growled and bared his teeth in what he hoped would pass for a ferocious grimace. Terrified, at the same time he felt himself an utter fool.
"You should have seen what he did to my last aide." Las Bombas gravely shook his head. "Those Trebizonians go straight for the throat, you know." (4.37-41)
Again Las Bombas says that the Trebizonians are absolute barbarians. He does so for a worthwhile purpose—to get the soldiers of his back—but, in doing so, he paints a (probably) false picture of people he may never have met. If everyone thinks the Trebizonians are savages without actual knowledge of them, how is that fair at all?
Quote #3
"As occasion demands. I have, my boy, spent my life in constant study. Initiate in the Delphic Mysteries, in the Grand Arcana, adviser to His Exalted Serenity, the prince of Trebizonia. I have been instructed by the Great Copta himself in summoning spirits of the dead—with, naturally, a reasonable amount of help from the living." (14.18)
In order to establish his credibility as Dr. Absalom, Las Bombas reports that he went to really exotic locations. Here then, foreignness is a good thing, as it lends him experience in the realm of the arcane.