Msaka's walked in the direction of the city, soon passing out of the hills onto the savanna. A giant ant and a croc fell to his magic at different times as he travelled that night, unaware of his presence until a barrage of spells ended their lives.

He rested during the following day beside a large boulder that gave both some protection from being spotted and shade from the sun. It wasn't until early into the second night of heading back that he spotted something which gave him pause; a large band of crocs that were travelling together across the savanna.

"Something is very wrong here." he mused, frowning as he watched them from a distance under the protection of a Hide spell. "The Simbani man was right, they would never normally be here in such large numbers together. What could be causing them to do this?"

He continued to observe them as they moved off into the distance, very concerned about what he was seeing. While it would probably cause problems for the people who lived out here on the savanna, he was more worried about what roving bands of these creatures might do in his tribe's territory. Apart from killing or scaring game away, many of them together would pose a serious danger to any of his people that were away from the protection of his village.

"I will have to find out more about this in the city, if I can." he decided as they moved out of sight. "But finding a way to get to that desert land will have to remain my first priority. If they will become a threat, then whatever the shaman is going to make might be needed for use against them."

Having made up his mind, he set off again, passing swiftly and stealthily over the plains that remained between him and his destination. Fortunately, the rest of the night was uneventful, and as the sky brightened towards dawn, he was able to spot the city's towers on the horizon, and the farmlands surrounding it.

"Too far." he thought as he looked at the city, "It would take a couple of hours to reach it, and I'm tired enough as it is. I will get there tomorrow." He scanned the area around him, and located a small dip in the ground's level, perfect for avoiding notice. He walked over to it, sat down and removed his pack, and hungrily ate some of his food, noting that he would have to summon more from his hut soon.

Having satisfied his needs, he lay down and slept the day away, though his sleep was haunted by dreams of being chased by bands of crocs, which kept him from getting as much rest as he would have liked. Still, by the time the sun set, he awoke as refreshed as he was likely to get, given the circumstances.

He quickly snacked on some fruit before continuing towards the city, closing the remaining distance. As he neared the outlying orchards, he noticed that one of them appeared to be damaged - some of its fields had burned, as had the main buildings. "What happened there?" he wondered, but decided not to investigate further. It wasn't his concern, and he didn't need some superstitious fool deciding that he had been responsible somehow. "It is too late to help now, anyway." he concluded, looking back at the terrain before him.

As he did so, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A greenish object, lying amidst some of the burned area. He almost dismissed it as a plant that had somehow escaped the fire, but curiousity got the better of him, and he looked more closely. The object was certainly no plant, and looked very much like a humanoid sprawled on the ground. "A croc." he realized grimly. "From the damage done, a lot of them must have attacked at once. They are having trouble here as well."

Msaka scowled, thinking again of the dangers the beasts would pose to his tribe if they were behaving similarly in the jungle. They were hardly known for being stealthy though, so perhaps avoiding them wouldn't be as difficult as if it were something with a greater knack for escaping notice. That would still be cold comfort if any of his people were killed by them.

He continued through the cultivated lands, frowning all the way. As he approached the city gate, he reminded himself to stop doing so - it wouldn't make a very good impression on anyone, particularly the gate guards, who might get suspicious. "I hope these people don't decide to make me a convenient target for blame for the attack." he thought as he climbed the steps into the city. The guards watched closely as he went past them, but didn't give any indication that they were thinking of stopping him, and he felt somewhat relieved at that.

Turning left, he soon found himself on the middle plateau, and stopped to consider what he should do next. Most of the people in the city would probably be sleeping by now, so the marketplace was out of the question, despite the fact that it would probably have been the best place to find out about the crocs if it were still active. The sorceress or the apothecary might still be awake, but he didn't feel like dropping in on either of them at the moment for various reasons. That left the inn as the only place he was likely to find anyone who could be of use.

He strode towards it, and quickly reached one of its doorways. He entered, looking around as he did. A few people were present, most of them talking quietly to one another over plates of food. One individual he recognized among them; the foreign merchant. "Just who I was looking for." he thought.

The foreign merchant had spotted him as well, and waved in a friendly manner. "Ah, effendi, I am glad to see you have returned. I was thinking that I might have to leave without you. Please, come join me." He smiled widely as he spoke, displaying his full, mostly white set of teeth. For some reason, Msaka found the expression less than reassuring, but forced himself to return the smile with a small one of his own, and approached the table, carefully considering what he should say.