Msaka spent over an hour leafing through the various books on the bookshelf as he rested on the pillows in the Adventurers' Guild. The climbing session had left him throughly exhausted, but as he recovered from the exertion, he felt a bit more energetic than before.

"It isn't often that I get quite so thorough a workout," he mused as he paged through the atlas. "I should do so now and then though. It certainly won't hurt."

He glanced over at the guildmaster, who had resumed his dozing in the intervening time. He recalled his earlier thoughts about training his fighting skills, and considered whether that would be wise. He could heal himself well enough if he got injured during any practice, but the idea of willingly letting someone take swings at him with a weapon wasn't something he found particularly appealing.

Still, there wasn't really any other way to do it, and it was a much better situation than having someone who really wanted to kill him doing so. Of course, he wouldn't be able to strike back very effectively. While he could fight with his dagger, and could use his claws or even his teeth in a pinch, he normally relied on his spells, and he couldn't very well use those in a spar. It was a weakness, he realized, and one that he would be wise to address. There were few creatures in the world entirely immune to all forms of magical attack, but many existed that were resistant to some form or forms, and there were always other spellcasters, some of whom might be able to deflect his magic.

Closing the atlas, he returned it to the shelf, and walked quietly over to the guildmaster. The guildmaster didn't awaken at his approach, apparently not being a light sleeper, though he was obviously less deeply asleep than when Msaka had first entered the building.

Borrowing a phrase he'd read in that strange book on the foreign shop, he cleared his throat and asked, "Guildmaster, are you free?"

The guildmaster suddenly sprang to his feet, blinking sleep from his eyes. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "I'm... err... free." He stared at Msaka. "You've been reading that story, haven't you? Always works for them, I suppose. What can I help you with now? Ready for another round of climbing, perhaps?"

"No," Msaka said, hesitating for a moment. "I'd... I've recently become aware that my skill with weapons may be somewhat less than I'd prefer it to be. Can you help with that?"

"I likely can," the guildmaster replied, looking Msaka over. "I take it you prefer to fight with that," he said, pointing a thumb at the dagger Msaka carried. "I prefer larger blades myself, but I'm sure I can show you a few tricks with eyepokers too."

The guildmaster signalled for Msaka to follow, and led him into the other room, where he retrieved a dagger from one of the weapon stands, gesturing for Msaka to move to the middle of the room. Msaka did, and the guildmaster followed.

Msaka considered using a strength-enhancing spell to aid his fighting as the guildmaster approached, but decided against it. He was, after all, trying to learn, not win.

"Allright then, let's see what you're made of," the guildmaster grinned as he took up a fighting stance. Msaka followed suit, wondering briefly if this had been such a good idea after all. Then the guildmaster moved in, and all other thoughts were pushed aside.

For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them traded blows, the guildmaster commenting occasionally on Msaka's technique. While they both managed to strike each other from time to time, the guildmaster did so more often, and with greater force. Fortunately, neither of them were actually trying to injure the other, or some of the attacks might have been much more deadly.

Still, by the time the guildmaster declared the spar over, Msaka was trickling blood from half a dozen cuts. While the guildmaster cleaned off his dagger and returned it to the weapons rack, Msaka worked his healing spell over himself. His magic repaired the damage quite easily, since it was fairly minor.

The guildmaster had certainly out-fought him, though the instructions and excercise he had received had certainly done him some good, as the majority of the cuts he had received came during the first half of their fight. He cleaned his dagger and put it away as the guildmaster strolled out into the main room.

Msaka followed, glancing around at the weapons that were on display. They ranged from the familiar to the bizarre, but Msaka noted that the majority of them were much larger than his dagger. That left him wondering whether it might be a good idea to learn how to use a few of them, to avoid the possibility of being put at a disadvantage by an opponent with a much longer reach. He decided that it could wait for another day, as he had had quite enough of getting cut up in the last while.

Msaka re-entered the main room, noting that the guildmaster was already settling back into his usual spot. "I have had enough for today," he said to the man. "You have been very helpful."

"Always a pleasure," the guildmaster smiled. "Oh, don't forget to sign before you leave." He pointed at the book on the stand. "I don't know if they have a guild where you're from, but it's a tradition at all places such as this."

Msaka didn't see any real advantage in doing so, but shrugged. If it would humor the guildmaster, it was a small price to pay for the lessons he'd received. "Very well," he said, walking over to the desk the book lay on. He picked up the pen and stared at it for a moment, then dipped it into the inkwell and signed his name into the book. He wasn't sure why, but he felt that he'd just done the right thing. Shrugging, he set the pen down and left the guild, neglecting to wonder what had possessed him to sign the book with a flourish.