Msaka slowly opened his eyes, blinked at the light, then closed them again. "Too early." he thought drowsily, "The sun is still up." He shifted position a bit, then lay still again, waiting for sleep to return.

Then he remembered that he was trying to get himself ready to be awake during the sunlit hours, and groaned with displeasure. He slowly lifted himself into a sitting position, cursing softly as he discovered that sleeping on the ground had left numerous kinks in his muscles. He slowly flexed his limbs, trying to stretch them. "I will have to use the inn from now on, even if it's expensive to do so." he thought. "It's not worth saving money to feel like this when I wake up."

Still feeling a little sore, he fished some of the remaining food from his pack and ate it while considering what he should do with the rest of the day. "What time is it." he wondered, and glanced up through the trees. "Early afternoon." he realized, spotting the sun still fairly high in the sky, "Which leaves a lot of time..."

He finally decided to head down to the bazaar, and see what he could find out there about Shapier, as well as the caravan troubles. Given the nature of the place though, he was likely to hear as many tall tales as truths, but any information he could garner might prove useful later, if he could tell which was which.

Finishing his meal, he shouldered his pack and walked out of the trees, then crossed the plateau to the stairs. He was halfway down them when he spotted the old man's stand near the bottom of the stairs, and his brow creased. "I don't want to run into him again." he thought.

Glancing around him, he spotted two other people nearby, also heading down the stairs. Realizing they were his best opportunity, he continued down the stairs, keeping as much as possible to the shadows while deliberately pacing himself so the two of them would stay between him and the stand. Hopefully, the old man wouldn't spot him, or would at least start harassing the other two instead.

Fortunately, he managed to get past without being seen, although as he moved away from the entrance, he heard the old man calling out to others. Feeling pleased that someone else had become the target, he began looking around the bazaar in earnest, both for any useful goods, and for anyone who might be from the same land as the merchant.

He stopped at a few stalls as he walked, engaging in short conversations with their proprietors, trying to garner news of the region and the north while avoiding being talked into buying anything. Some merchants were more talkative than others, but unfortunately, many of them seemed only to want to talk about what they were selling.

Most of the rumors he did manage to pick up were about the causes and damage of the crocodile men attacks. Of what was said, the only thing he judged useful was that another attack against a farm had occurred overnight, causing serious damage and several deaths.

Frowning, he continued wandering the bazaar for a while longer, passing by vendors selling everything from cured leather goods to candied fruits to perfumes. None of it struck him as being particularly desirable, though plenty of other people seemed to be buying the things.

He was about to turn back towards the entrance when he spotted a familiar figure ahead - the man the merchant had been talking to last night was apparently a merchant himself, as he was presently operating a rather large stall that held a bizarre assortment of wares, including several rolled up rugs that towered over him.

Msaka observed the man silently for several moments. "It might be interesting to find out what he'll say to me about this caravan trip." he decided, then scowled. "But after what I saw him say last night, he'd better not claim there aren't any dangers, or I'll see his innards hanging from the highest tree in the village."

He approached the stand, deliberately putting on a neutral expression as he did. He certainly didn't want to give any indication he was expecting anything. As he neared, the man, who had just finished selling some odd brass item to a customer, spotted him and smiled widely. "You are interested in my wares?" he called out in a friendly manner. "You shall be seeing many such things soon enough, effendi, but perhaps you wish to get an early start on your purchasing?"

"You are from Shapier." Msaka responded as he reached the stall. "And apparently know that I am going there soon. I am interested in knowing about that land. Tell me what I may expect there."

"That is quite a question to ask." the man said. "What can I say, that will not seem a pale shadow of Shapier's true majesty? It is a vast desert land, with mountain ranges to the north and south of it. The twin cities of Shapier and Raseir are located one against each range, standing proudly above the desert sands. It is inhabited by both humans and kattas, with many from other regions passing through, and some staying, so enchanted by the beauty of the land are they. One can find nearly anything one might desire there, though it is true that rarities may come at a dear price. The land is ruled by a most wise and just Sultan, and Rasier is governed by an Emir in his name."

Msaka listened quietly as the man expounded on the virtues of his homeland. While he seemed to be praising Shapier a touch more than was necessary, the details he was passing on were certainly worth hearing.

"You will like it there, I am sure. It is hot during the day, as one expects of a desert, but it is a fine, dry heat, most unlike what I understand exists in the jungles of this land. At night it grows quite cool however, so one is not unduly disturbed in their rest. There are many dangers in the desert itself though, some of which are only to be found at night. This is why all but a few brave souls choose to travel by caravan, as travelling alone is most dangerous."

"I have heard that there are troubles with the caravans recently." Msaka interjected as the man paused for breath. "What have you heard about those?"

"Oh yes effendi! It is most frightening!" the man exclaimed, apparently enthusiastic about the topic. "Recently, several caravans have vanished without a trace! Now, caravans simply being destroyed, that would not seem so mysterious, as raiders do exact their price from time to time. But if it was raiders, then were are the remains? No, these caravans have vanished entirely, and it would seem that only some tremendous magic could accomplish such a feat. I hope that the wizards of Shapier find out who is responsible soon; such a threat to free trade cannot go unchecked!"

"So you think that the caravan I will be leaving with is in danger?" Msaka asked, carefully avoiding letting his thoughts show.

"Effendi, it may be. Perhaps by the time you reach Shapier, the danger will have passed, but if not, then I hope your powers are as great as Hakhim believes, for you may be the only thing that can prevent another disappearance." the man said, sounding somewhat deflated. Then he brightened. "But enough of this depressing talk. Surely there must be something here which you are interested in owning." He gestured at several sticks of incense on display. "Perhaps some of this to burn at night, to aid in sleep? It can be quite hard on the body, sleeping on the ground for weeks at a time, as will be happening to you all too soon. They are only two royals each, effendi, and will last for an entire evening if burned all at once, longer if not."

Msaka stared at the incense for a moment, considering the offer. "One night will hardly make up for weeks of that." he thought, "But I suppose it won't hurt, and he was honest with me."

"I will give you two royals, and you will give me one stick of incense and twenty commons." he said. "I do not have a lot of money to spare right now."

"Done!" the merchant exclaimed. "That is a fair bargain."

Msaka exchanged his royals for the incense and commons, and put them away. "It is time for me to go." he said, then began making his way back towards the bazaar entrance. "Good health and good luck to you, effendi!" the man called out after him.

As he neared the entrance, he tried to keep behind other people to avoid notice, but this time the old man's sight proved sharper. "You there young man!" came the all to familiar voice, and Msaka sighed in exasperation, readying himself for another verbal assault.

"I hear you're looking for a tree to cut down! I have just what you need!" the old man declared, waving his arm towards a pile of tools on display. "A fire axe, given to me by Smokey the Elephant himself! Yessir, it's even autographed! See his signature crack across the middle? It's the real thing!"

"Pop, that axe cracked when you dropped it last week." the younger man next to him protested. "And everyone knows that Smokey the Elephant is just a child's tale."

"Quiet, dummy!" the old man declared, turning on the younger man. "No wonder I can hardly sell anything, what with you contradicting me all the time!"

For a brief moment, Msaka stopped and considered buying the axe simply so he could use it to hack the legs off of the table that the old man was standing on, but he quickly overcame that impulse, knowing full well that much as the old man would deserve it, he would be blamed as the troublemaker. Instead, he stalked away up the stairs with a growl, getting away as quickly as he could.