Msaka stood outside the magic shop, a silent snarl on his face as he clenched his fists. "That creature is one of the most insufferable idiots I have encountered in my entire time in these places, if not the most so!" he thought angrily, eyes narrowed. "The other spellcasters in this city had better be less insulting, or the shaman can come here and get the elemental himself!"

He forced himself to relax, deciding that he didn't want to draw any attention to himself by appearing upset. Instead, he snapped his attention over to the apothecary, and marched determinedly towards it. He did his best to erase the sour mood from his expression, knowing that entering the place scowling wasn't likely to start that encounter off very well either.

He slowly pushed open the door, viewing the interior from outside. Somewhat more conventional mystical objects cluttered up the walls of this shop, which he hoped indicated a more conventional owner. He was quite relieved to see that the man working within appeared human, rather than another irritating gnome, and breathed a small sigh of relief. He paced inside, closing the door softly behind him before approaching the counter. As he neared, he came to the realization that the man before him looked familiar somehow. He paused, considering the man's features. "The apothecary in Tarna," he realized. "He looks similar to him. This must be his brother - what was his name? Harik, that was it."

Msaka noted that this brother of the Tarna apothecary seemed to share the same predisposition to working with alchemical equipment, though this man's assortment of it was mercifully quite small, taking only part of the countertop, as opposed to all of the room.

He closed the remaining distance to the counter the man was working at, but his approach went unnoticed, so intent was the man on his work. Msaka stood there for several moments, wondering how long it would take before the man spotted him, but finally grew tired of waiting and cleared his throat.

The man looked up, startled, but recovered from his surprise - both from the sudden interruption, and Msaka's unusual appearance - quickly. "Pardon me, I did not see you enter," the man said. "Welcome to the apothecary of Shapier. I am Harik Attar, owner and proprietor. How may I be of service?"

"You have a brother in Tarna." Msaka responded, making it a statement.

"Yes, I do in fact. Is that where you're from? That would explain my not recognizing you. How is he doing?" Harik asked.

Msaka considered his response for a moment, and quickly concluded that a polite answer would get the best reaction. "He is doing well," he said simply, then changed the subject, having decided that there was no point in putting off the inevitable. "I have heard of this land's abundance of elementals, at least compared to other lands. It has been suggested to me that you are one of the more capable spellcasters within this city, and so might be able to assist me with something."

"And what would that be?" Harik asked, his expression neutral.

Msaka hesitated for a moment, then ventured, "I need an elemental. One of water. How can I acquire one?"

Harik stated at Msaka silently for several moments, his neutral expression changing to one of astonishment. "You have come to the wrong place if you are looking for a water elemental," he said at last, speaking slowly. "I do not deal in such things, nor do I intend to. Even if I were to take leave of my senses and do so, I could not help you, as my expertise lies with fire, not water."

Msaka noted Harik's reaction with concern, as his chance of gaining an elemental seemed to have just narrowed considerably. "Who in this city does have skill with the element of water, then?" he asked, trying to keep his agitation from showing, and realizing that he was probably not succeeding at it.

"Aziza is the city's wizard of water," Harik answered calmly, then his voice took on a warning tone. "But unless you can give her a very good reason that you need one, don't even think about asking her. She will not take well to your inquiries otherwise."

Harik's words, and the way he said them, were not lost on Msaka, who silently considered what to say in response. Things were looking even worse now, since he had no reasons he could give. He silently glanced around the apothecary again as he thought, and his gaze soon fell across a row of bottles sitting nearby. The symbols that the various bottles displayed indicated the function of their contents - all seemed to be restoratives of various types. A few of them seemed to be curatives, and Msaka immediately recalled the scorpions of the desert. He didn't expect to be going out there within the next little while, but he decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to be prepared for that eventuality. Several other bottles bore the symbol for magic, which meant they likely could restore mana to whoever consumed them, which meant they too could come in useful.

"How much do you want for those curative and mana pills?" he asked, gesturing towards them.

"Twelve dinars for a poison cure, and fifteen for a mana pill." Harik replied, returning to a businesslike manner.

Msaka arched an eyebrow at the price. "Even one of each will take a lot of my money," he thought. "Let's see if I can talk him down a bit."

"I am willing to pay twenty two dinars for one of each," he said to Harik, keeping his tone pleasant. "I am sure that they are well made, but I do not have..." he paused, trying to remember the title of the land's ruler, "a Sultan's treasury to draw upon."

It was Harik's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I can assure you that twenty seven dinars is far from a Sultan's ransom. However, since you are buying two at once, I will offer them for one dinar less each. Twenty five."

Msaka considered the offer for a moment, then spent another moment appearing to consider it further. Finally, he replied, "With the skill and ease with which you make them, I am certain you can afford to lower the price a little further. Twenty four dinars should suffice in payment."

"Done," Harik said, picking up the bottles and setting them on the counter in front of Msaka, who counted out the required coins. Msaka set them down next to the bottles, then scooped the bottles up and stowed them in his pack.

"It probably wouldn't hurt to remain on this one's good side," Msaka thought. "I might need him later." Clearing his throat, he spoke in as friendly a manner as he could bring himself to. "I will give your greetings to your brother when I return to Tarna. Good day to you."

"Good day." Harik nodded in reply.

Msaka turned and left the shop, already considering his next move. Aziza was apparently the one he needed to speak to, but if Harik had been truthful, getting an elemental from her was going to prove a challenge.