Having retrieved the ghost tree's heart, Msaka spent a short time searching for a suitable place to rest and recover, eventually locating a ravine cloaked with shrubs, a small stream flowing along its bottom.

Msaka drank and refilled his waterskin before settling down, exhausted from the travel, the battle, and the healing afterwards. Within moments, he was asleep, dreaming peacefully.

The day passed quietly, though a stiff wind came up just before sunset, blowing loose leaves and dust down into the ravine. Msaka was startled awake as a particularly large leaf blew through the plants surrounding him, and landed on his nose. He sat up with a yelp, then quickly realized what had happened and lay back down again, muttering a curse under his breath. Everything that had happened on his mission so far had left him more jumpy than normal, and while it was justified, it was also annoying.

He dozed for a while longer, finally stirring about an hour after sunset, as the last light was fading from the sky. "Time to send the heart to the village." he thought, digging around in his pack for something to eat.

Removing some meat and fruit, he ate, considering as he did so what his next course of action should be. He still needed to find the hair of a creature of water, and an elemental of water somewhere. The elemental was supposedly most likely to be found in the desert land to the north, but where to find the right kind of water-creature was another matter. Either way, he'd gave to go somewhere else too look. He couldn't risk asking the liontaur sorceress about either of those things, because she might figure out what was going to be done with them. "Not that I know anyway." he muttered quietly.

"Perhaps I should accompany that foreigner when he leaves." he decided, "He seems to want that anyway, and if he is going to the desert land, then that would help me greatly as well." Msaka frowned. "As long as he doesn't have any motives in mind I wouldn't be pleased with." he concluded silently.

Finishing his meal, he picked up his pack, climbed out of the ravine, and looked around for a suitable area to perform a sending. He spotted a fairly flat, clear area a short distance away, and walked over to it, setting his pack down against a bush near the edge of the open space.

He broke a branch off of a nearby tree, and carefully traced a small pentagram on the ground. Finishing it, he set the stick aside, and stood at the edge of the pentagram and prepared to cast his spell.

He performed his Sending ritual, drawing his magic forth to power it. As always, it took some time to complete, but the completion of the rite was rewarded by the activation of the pentagram, and the image of the shaman formed within it.

"You have something to report?" the shaman asked. From his tone, Msaka sensed that the shaman expected good news, and would be most displeased if it was not forthcoming. "Fortunately, I do have good news." he thought.

"I have acquired the heart that you need." he replied, trying not to sound too pleased with himself. "From a ghost tree, which was magical enough it nearly killed me."

"Good!" the shaman said, smiling slightly. "Send it here immediately. I can prepare it for use, though you still need to locate the other two items before the ritual can take place for their use."

Msaka nodded. "I will send it to my hut as soon as this conversation is over." He was a little annoyed that the shaman seemed almost not to have heard the fact that he'd nearly lost his life, but knew that it wouldn't do any good to complain about it.

"From that statement, I take it there is something else?" the shaman queried, looking a little less pleased. "I hope it is not bad news you have to give me."

"No. It is just..." Msaka paused, "Have the crocodile men been more active there than normal? One of the cow people told me that they have been more bothersome than usual recently."

"We have not had any problems with those beasts." the shaman declared, his brow creasing. "And if the cow people are having trouble with them, that is their problem, not ours. If it keeps them distracted, that is all the better for us."

Msaka briefly considered asking what use the heart would eventually have, but realized that the shaman would have told him by now if he was intended to know. "Very well." he said, "I will probably seek out the elemental next, since I may have a way to get to that land safely."

"Good. Report again when you have found it." the shaman answered, "I will go now." The shaman's image faded from view, and Msaka performed the closing part of the ritual, causing the pentagram's power to fade away.

"Well, nothing really helpful there." he mused. "At least the crocs aren't causing problems back home." Msaka briefly wondered what might get them stirred up on the savanna but not in the jungle, but quickly abandoned the train of thought, realizing that he didn't know enough about those creatures to make any valid guesses.

"Well, I'd better get the heart home before the shaman gets there." he concluded, walking over to his pack. Carefully, he fished out the heart, holding it gingerly as he cast the spell to send it to his hut. It disappeared, and Msaka allowed himself to relax a little.

He picked up and shouldered his pack, and began the long walk back to the liontaur city. With any luck, he hoped the other things the shaman wanted wouldn't be so difficult to acquire.