Dusk was finally giving way to darkness as Msaka left his village behind, the gate clacking closed behind him, and the farewell of the gate guard echoing in his ears. He set out westward, toward the savanna, which lay between the jungle and the liontaur city that was his destination.

Familiar as he was with the jungle and terrain, he travelled quickly, far more so than any outsider would have been able to manage. Still, the distance was considerable, and the night slowly wore on. As Msaka walked, he contemplated what little he knew of the world beyond the jungle's borders.

The savanna tribes were of little interest to him or his people under normal circumstances. Only rarely did his people meet any of theirs, as neither had much interest in the others' home, and they were active during different times of the day. The savanna tribes also had no skill in magic, and were often hostile towards those who used it, a fact which did nothing to improve his opionion of them. With the recent troubles on top of that, they would probably not be very happy to see one of his kind, so avoiding them was definitely the best thing to do.

The liontaurs were much the same, though they at least were not hostile to magic. Many of them did, however, show an aggravating level of arrogance towards other peoples, his own included. They too, were not likely to look on him in too friendly a manner given the near war of last year, but that he would have to overcome somehow, as he needed access to their city.

As for what might lie beyond those places, he knew almost nothing. The desert land lay to the north, far to the north, but just how far was unclear.

His route to the liontaur city seemed fairly obvious. West to the jungle border, then south and west to the magical pool that lay some distance beyond. He had been there once before, not so long ago, when it had been time for him to create his staff. From there, west across the savanna to the river, then up the river until he reached the city. The problem was what he might meet between here and there...

As if on cue, Msaka suddenly detected motion through the trees ahead. He halted and stared towards the disturbance, which was almost immediately accompanied by a hostile screech. A serpentine form was sailing towards him through the greenery - one of the flying cobras common to the jungle. He immediately knew there was no way to evade the thing, it was too close, and knew he was there. Forcing himself to concentrate, he mouthed several words of power, and gestured broadly with both arms. He was rewarded by a flicker of green light which surrounded him for a moment, then faded. The snake's poison was no longer a threat at least, but that would not stop its bite.

He cupped his hands together in front of him, allowing the spark of magical energy that appeared between them to grow into a crackling ball of electricity. Raising his hands towards the snake, he let the spell dart off towards it. It struck the snake's tail solidly, causing it to hiss angrily in pain. Unfortunately, it kept on coming. He summoned and released another lightning ball, but the snake managed to drop below his spell this time, and the blast fizzled uselessly against a tree behind it.

The cobra lunged at him. He swung wildly at it with his right hand, trying to drive it back with his claws. The snake proved quicker however, and sank its teeth into his arm. He snarled and pulled back, tearing his arm from the snake's jaws, and brought his hands together for another spell. The snake snapped at him again just as he released a bolt of flame, which blasted the creature's wing. Its forward attack changed into a downward fall, unable to keep aloft with its wing badly damaged.

That gave Msaka all the time he needed. Another ball of electricity slammed into the grounded snake, stunning it, quickly followed by a swipe of his claws that slashed open its head. The cobra convulsed, then went limp. He stood back unsteadily from his now dead opponent, breathing hard. While he had not often been in fights like this, the few he had had always left him with the same exhausted feeling.

He glanced down at his arm, feeling the ache of the wound now that the battle had ended. It didn't look serious, and his Venomward spell had kept the poison out. Still, it was bleeding, and open wounds were dangerous in the jungle. Drawing on his power one more time, he danced his fingers in an intricate pattern, building a web of magic between them. He then swept his left hand over the injury. The wound sealed over and faded away as he did, not even leaving a scar to indicate it had ever been there.

Msaka gazed down at the dead cobra again, and forced himself to relax, though not too much. Other predators might have heard, and be approaching. Realizing this, he slipped away through the trees, putting distance between himself and the body. He didn't want to be around if anything did show up - he had had enough danger for one day.