"You are injured," Msaka declared, "And if you do not get your leg healed quickly, you will lose it." Seeing that the Simbani man was still too shocked by his sudden appearance to reply, he went on, "I will heal it for you, but you will have to put down that spear first. I will not help anyone who is threatening me with a weapon."

"What... what are you doing here?" the man responded shakily, slowly lowering his spear. The blood loss was affecting his strength, and he probably wouldn't have been able to keep it raised much longer anyway, Msaka realized.

Msaka was about to respond, but then realized that telling the man it was not his concern would probably just antagonize him. Instead, he replied, "I am travelling back to the east from the liontaur city. I heard your scream, and came to help. We might have been enemies a year ago, but there is no need for that now." Pointing at the man's leg, he continued, "I need to heal that wound, or you will bleed to death."

The man stared down at his leg, surrounded by a pool of blood, then nodded. "As long as it is nothing but healing that you work," he said quietly, "I will allow it." "That easily?" Msaka wondered, walking up to the man. Then he remembered - the Simbani tribe respected healing magic, despite hating anything else done with it. "Fortunately for him." he thought.

He crouched down next to the man, and danced his fingers as he spoke the incantation for his healing spell, building the web of energy between them. Then, he passed his hand slowly over the wound. As when he used it on himself, the magic sealed and repaired the injury, leaving only a pinkish tint to the new skin, which would fade in time. Msaka stood up and stepped back. "There. Your leg will be fine now, but it will take time for you to recover from the bleeding. I do not suggest trying to fight anything else for a while. If you can avoid it, anyway."

"I should not have said that last part." he thought to himself with annoyance. "Even if he isn't as skilled at quiet movement as I am, it won't do any good to proclaim it to him." Fortunately, the man hadn't noticed the comment, as he was standing up, testing his weight on his leg.

"So, killer of dinosaurs and food of ants, I now ask you in return, what are you doing here?" Msaka inquired. "Are you trying to find more horns to take?" As he spoke, he looked the man over. Strength and agility showed in the man's frame, but not a flicker of magical talent showed within him. This wasn't surprising at all, given who he was and what Msaka had seen him do previously.

The man looked up at him. "I am taking messages to other villages." he paused for a moment, "I shall have to add this meeting to them. It is unusual enough that I should see one of you, even if it was not here and like this." His expression was both curious and cautious, which was not a bad thing as far as Msaka was concerned - at least the man wasn't openly antagonistic.

Msaka raised an eyebrow. "If you think that my saving your life is that important to your villages, then go ahead and tell them. I do not think that it will interest them that much though." he said, his words chosen to be as neutral as he could manage.

The man shrugged. "The fact that I will reach them because of you is important enough. I do not like your use of magic, but I would be dead if not for it. Even so, I do not want you to use it any more while near me." the man answered, a momentary scowl flashing across his face as he spoke the last sentence. Still, it disappeared just as quickly, Msaka noted.

He considered what the man had said. From the sound of it, he had just made as good an impression as could be expected, and that was exactly what he'd been hoping for, even though the request against using magic grated on him. "Would any of your messages be of interest to me?" he asked, trying to change the subject before an argument started.

The man replied, "Only one might be. The crocodile men of the river have become more agressive in the last few months. There are more of them around, and they are often seen in groups now, when they were mostly seen alone before. We have had to fight them off far more often than normal. It is unknown why this is, but it will be a very bad thing if it continues."

Msaka nodded. "I would not want to be attacked by a group of them. Alone, they are dangerous enough." Remembering that he was trying to be polite, he finished, "Thank you for telling me this. I do not have any news of my own to tell you, I am afraid."

"I will go then." the man said, picking up his spear. "I do not want to stay here after what has happened, and I will not be able to sleep again for a while either. Kwa heri, leopardman."

"Kwa heri." Msaka said in reply, and watched the man leave. The loss of blood showed in his movements, which were less than energetic. "He had better not get attacked by anything else tonight, or he is a dead man. That would be a waste." he thought, "Both for him and for me."

Frowning at the idea, he set off again, moving as swiftly and silently as he could manage. The fact that he was in pursuit of a creature that might very well turn him into a dead man was very much in his thoughts. "At least the cow people will remember me well if that happens." he thought wryly.