Msaka awoke as the sun rose, bringing with it a moderate breeze that blew softly into the room, billowing the curtains. He sighed and rolled over, then sat up. "At least I'm not stiff this morning." he thought. "That would not be very amusing today."

He stood and stretched, yawning expansively. Looking around the room one last time, he walked to the table and picked up his pack before heading out onto the balcony and down the stairs.

Only three people were in the main hall this morning, and one of those was the welcome woman. As he passed through the room towards the door, Msaka briefly wondered whether it was because he was up early, or if the caravan had drawn people away. He shrugged as he exited the inn. "I guess I'll find out shortly." he thought.

Msaka strode across the plateau, ignoring ruffling of his fur from the breeze, determined to reach the caravan well before it left, so that he'd have time to get accustomed to riding these 'sauruses', whatever they might be. Awkward as it sounded, he supposed that it would be far superior to walking for weeks on end.

He turned the corner, and quickly reached the stairs leading to the city gates. As he descended them, he could see a crowd of people and animals gathering in the open area outside the gates. The caravan, of course, though probably not all of the people there were going to be part of it. Some were likely just there to load goods on the animals before it left, others to say goodbye to their friends or family who were leaving.

Msaka felt a twinge of loneliness. None of his friends or family were going to be here, nor was he likely to see them again for a very long time. This caravan might well return here well before he did, depending on where it went after arriving in Shapier, if it didn't just turn around and come right back; and those who were going to be travelling with him were unlikely to include anyone whose abilities would be worthy of respect, much less anyone he could bring himself to trust. He sighed. It was going to be a very solitary trip, even though he would be surrounded by people all the way.

He passed between the gates, and walked out into the throng of people and animals. He felt a little uneasy, both from the fast paced activity of so many people going on all around him, and the fact that he still wasn't really sure just what he'd got himself into. He began looking through the crowd for the merchant, warily avoiding the sauruses, as he'd been told they were called, which reminded him altogether too much of the dinosaurs of the savanna. He suspected that they could be quite dangerous, despite their much smaller size, and the fact that these people commonly used them as transport didn't do much to counter that concern.

"Effendi!" came a call from nearby, off to his left. "I am glad to have spotted you there, as you must learn the fine art of riding before we depart!"

Msaka turned to see the merchant waving to him from a short way off. One of the animals was tethered near him, apparently equipped for riding. Looking at it, Msaka began to have second thoughts about the wisdom of this whole idea, but quickly pushed them out of his mind, aware that it would do him little good to back down now.

He approached the merchant, who smiled widely. "They are not so frightening as all that, effendi, so long as they are well treated." he said, seeing Msaka's obvious reluctance. "It is a simple matter to ride them, as they are intelligent enough to respond well to your commands, but not so intelligent as to think they know better."

Msaka looked from the merchant to the animal, still unconvinced. "What do I need to do?" he asked.

With some coaching from the merchant, several minutes of effort, and one near fall, he managed to get into the saddle, get accustomed to sitting on the creature's back, and get used to staying balanced as it was led around. It took several minutes more to learn how to command it properly, but by the time he was done, he was less uneasy about the whole affair. While it wouldn't be effortless, it would certainly be easier than travelling the distance on foot.

"Very good, effendi, you have mastered it quickly." the merchant grinned, then glanced around. "We shall not be leaving for a short time yet, so you may decide whether to practice further or not while you wait. I must attend to other things before we leave. Excuse me." The merchant waved and walked away into the crowd, heading towards a group of sauruses that were being loaded up with trade goods.

Msaka sat there for several moments, unsure of what to do. Finally, he decided that it'd be in his best interest to be as proficient as possible at riding the animal before the caravan left. Carefully, he commanded it to walk forward, and slowly rode it among the crowd, unwilling to urge it to a faster pace. "The last thing I need is to overdo it, fall off, and kill myself." he thought, scowling.

The caravan was soon ready to leave, all of the goods having been packed away and the people having readied themselves for travel. Msaka steered his mount towards the side of the column as it began to move, unwilling to be boxed in by the other riders. Apparently, he wasn't expected to ride in any particular place, just to stay with the group. "I'll get my chance to ask questions later, I suppose." he thought.