Msaka dozed late into the morning, letting his body recover from the caravan journey and all of the fatigue it had brought. The bed was a welcome change from sleeping on the ground, and the relatively fresh air that circulated through the room from the window was likewise a welcome change from the less than pleasant odor of sauruses that had tended to hang around the caravan camps. After everything he'd been through, he felt himself justified in being lazy for one morning, despite the fact that he knew he needed to start looking for someone to help him acquire a water elemental.

Finally, realizing that the sun was nearing the top of the sky, he sighed and climbed out of bed, slipping his sandals on before he unlocked the door and headed out to the common room. He quickly found an empty cushion at one of the tables and sat down. He spent several minutes pondering how to go about his search as he waited to be served. "I can't just ask people here where I can get a water elemental," he thought. "They would just become frightened and angry, given their experiences with the things last year. So perhaps I should simply discover who in this city is skilled with magic..."

His thoughts were interrupted as his breakfast was deftly set down in front of him. He abandoned his planning and began eating, the presence of the food finally making him realize how hungry he was. Nonetheless, he made certain to watch the room and its occupants, just in case anything of interest happened.

Apart from a rather noisy celebration of some sort at one of the back tables, nothing he considered worth noting occurred during his meal, which he finished quickly. Pushing the plates away, he sat back and thought about his plans again. "There is no sense in wandering around wondering where to go. I'll ask the owner of this place, if anyone here knows, he should."

He stood and approached the innkeeper, who spotted Msaka's approach and stood, executing a formal bow. "Good morning to you. I trust all is well?" the innkeeper asked politely.

"Yes, it is." Msaka replied, aware that the man would not be interested in a recounting of his problems even if he was in the mood to speak of them. "I do have a question for you. Who in this city are the most skilled users of magic?"

"Three names come to mind," the innkeeper replied. "Aziza the enchantress is the most well known, though she is also quite difficult for people to see, as she likes her privacy. The other would be the gnome Keapon Laffin, the owner of the magic shop in the fountain plaza. Also in the fountain plaza you may find the apothecary, the owner of which is a wizard as well. There are other spellcasters in the city of course, but I have little knowledge of them."

"Where is this fountain plaza?" Msaka asked.

"Head straight north as you leave the gate plaza, and you will arrive there shortly." the innkeeper replied.

Msaka nodded. "That is all I need to know." he said.

The innkeeper bowed again, and returned to his seat, and Msaka quickly strode to the door and left the inn, having decided that the fountain plaza seemed the most likely place to find what he needed.

He made his way across the gate plaza and down the street leading out of it, staying on it this time, rather than venturing down any of the side streets. He soon found himself emerging into another plaza, dominated by a large fountain in the middle, with several stalls and shops scattered about the edges. The sun glittered off of the fountain's water as it splashed down into the pool below it, a relaxing sound that seemed to affect business in the plaza - the merchants carried out their business more quietly than their counterparts in the gate plaza.

Msaka's attention was drawn to the two shops that the innkeeper had mentioned. The signs over both of their doors clearly indicated what they were, though they were otherwise fairly inconspicuous amidst the stalls around them. "I suppose the magic shop would be best to try first," Msaka decided after a moment's thought, and paced across the plaza towards its door.

As he approached, he stopped for a moment, staring at the sign. The eye on it was shifting position to follow his movements, which he found distinctly unnerving. Realizing it was probably just a minor magic intended to show off, he shrugged and continued to the shop. "A waste of magic, but perhaps they feel it improves their reputation." he decided as he opened the door.

The interior of the shop was filled with bizarre objects, which cluttered up shelves along both sides of the room. An equally bizarre proprietor sat on what seemed to be a small, floating cloud in the middle of the room, his face displaying a wide grin. Msaka looked around, trying to comprehend the myriad oddities, many of which were unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

His confusion was interrupted by the diminutive shopkeeper, who spoke in an quirky voice that Msaka immediately found annoying. "Where's it at, cat?" the gnome chattered. "Come for a spell? That's really quite swell! Which one I'll sell, who can tell?" The proprietor then burst into an even more annoying laugh, apparently considering his rhymes to be hilariously funny.

Msaka didn't find them amusing at all, but held his irritation in check as he stared at the creature. Its manner might justify tearing it apart, but he could sense that it also had a great deal of magical power, and he would probably need its help to acquire the elemental.

"You are Keapon Laffin?" he demanded, a slight growl in his voice.

"Laffin's the name, bafflin's the game!" the gnome prattled. "Like something you see? It's all sold by me! Too bad that none of it's free!"

Msaka glanced around, resisting the urge to declare that he wouldn't want the stuff even if it was. "What sort of magic do you use here?" he asked, fighting to keep the growl from growing more noticeable.

"The magic shop? There, I'm a master of air. But I sell other spells too, Lou. Perhaps one to you?" the gnome grinned widely

Msaka closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "How appropriate that he uses air magic. His head is certainly full of it." he thought, then looked at the gnome again, having made up his mind that he probably wouldn't get anything useful out of the creature. "I'll remember that." he grunted, then turned and stormed out of the shop.

"See you later, Slater! Have a ball, Paul!" Keapon called after him, then burst into laughter again as Msaka slammed the door.