Striding along the paths between the plants, Msaka quickly reached one of the workers, an older man whos clothes showed the signs of long hours working in the place, as he was covered with various dirt and plant stains. Despite that, he was obviously not too badly off financially, as his headpiece was fastened with a gold pin that had a small but brilliant red gem set in the middle.

The worker was on one knee, carefully pruning a bush, but glanced up as Msaka approached. He stood when it became clear that Msaka intended to speak with him. "Good day effendi," he said, smiling formally. "You have questions, I see."

Msaka nodded. "Yes," he replied. "First of all, what is this place?"

"Ah, you have not heard of it," the worked nodded. "These gardens were established nine months ago by Jafar bin Abbakar, a wizard of this city. In addition to their aesthetic function, they serve to provide many herbs and plants which are rare to this region to those who require them. The business has proven most profitable for him, as it would often take months to import some of these plants from elsewhere, if they could be obtained at all. Thus, those who purchase from here are quite willing to pay well for the speed and ease of acquisition. It is, of course, open to enjoy for those who wish simply to view such rarities."

"Who is this Jafar? Tell me about him," Msaka said.

"Ah, it would be improper for me to say much, but he is a man of great magical talent, having returned from his journey to the place where all wizards study shortly before he began this venture," the worker said, gesturing around at the gardens. "His magic is most easily seen here, as this entire building is filled with it to sustain the plants. Most of them would not survive the desert heat and lack of moisture naturally, and it is a testament to his skill that they do," the worked replied. "He is known throughout the city, though he enjoys his privacy, and leaves the day to day operation of this garden to others."

Msaka paused for a moment, considering whether he should ask what he intended. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to try, and asked, "How can I meet this man? I would be interested in... bartering with him."

The worker shook his head, "As I have said effendi, he enjoys his privacy, so a meeting is most unlikely. If you truly wish to speak with him, then leaving word with one of the other wizards of the city would be the most likely way to arrange for it. The owner of the magic shop in the fountain plaza would be the one I suggest, as he is said to have assisted with a few of the enchantments here."

Msaka hid his displeasure at the idea. "Very well, I will... consider it," he stated, trying to keep his tone even. "Thank you for your time."

"A pleasure effendi. I have grown to love this place, as it is unique in all of the lands of Shapier. May your day be a good one."

Msaka nodded and turned away, walking back towards the entrance. The idea of returning to the magic shop frustrated him, since he knew full well that the gnome who ran the place was unlikely to behave any better than on his first visit. Still, if he could secure the enchantments used in the making of the gardens, it would be tremendously useful to his tribe, and he felt a responsibility to try.

"Not today," he thought. "I will need to prepare myself for going back there, and that will take some time." He frowned. "A lot of time."

He reached the door and stepped back out into the plaza. From this end of the plaza, he had a better view of the Sultan's palace, and it was as impressive as it had been from his earlier viewing point closer to it. The sun shone off of its spires, dazzling in its brilliance, and Msaka narrowed his eyes a bit to shut out some of the light. He gazed at it for a few moments longer, then turned his attention back to his more immediate surroundings.

He spent some time looking through the market stalls and checking the other buildings to see what businesses were there. While the stalls, as usual, held little of interest, one of the buildings proved to be a jeweller's shop, and Msaka took advantage of that to sell some of the gemstones that he had been given to use as needed, summoning them inconspicuously when no one was looking before offering them. He haggled over the price for a few moments, but finally settled on selling half of the stones he had for fifty dinars. Even if he didn't use the money here, he suspected he could exchange it for the currency of whatever place he found himself travelling to next.

That was still a concern - he needed to determine where a suitable creature of water might be found. Certainly not in Shapier, so further travel was going to be necessary. And given what he was planning to do in the next couple of weeks, he'd have to find out soon.

In the meantime, he decided that another workout at the Adventurers' Guild might would be a good idea. It certainly wouldn't hurt, and would give him something to take his mind off of the unfortunate necessity of visiting the gnome again sometime in the distant future.

With that thought, he left the Plaza of the Palace, ready to tackle the winding streets of Shapier once more.