The trip to the Adventurer's Guild was uneventful, though it did take a while, thanks to Msaka's having to cross the entire city to reach it. Msaka was immediately greeted by the guildmaster, who was in a much more alert state than he had been on the last visit, presumably not having attended any parties the night before.

It didn't take much convincing to arrange for another sparring session; the guildmaster seemed quite enthusiastic about it, though Msaka wasn't sure whether to take that as a good or bad sign. Nonetheless, the two of them went into the practice chamber and set at each other, the guildmaster's scimitar against Msaka's dagger. The guildmaster had the obvious advantage during the fight, both in reach and skill, but by the time it was over, Msaka had one less cut than he had had at the end of the previous match. The fact that he seemed to have improved at it, slight though the difference may have been, put Msaka into a better mood than he'd been in when he arrived. He even went so far as to heal the guildmaster's wounds as well as his own.

That effort was followed by another round of climbing, during which Msaka managed to progress all the way down the wall. He still was far from being a master at such efforts, but certainly had become far more capable at the task than when he'd started working at it the other day. The guildmaster seemed pleased at his progress, beaming as he called up instructions, many of which involved stories of his own climbing expeditions.

Finally, feeling exhausted, Msaka stepped away from the wall. "Enough for today," he panted. "I'd be happy to never see a rock face again!"

The guildmaster grinned widely. "You mustn't stop practicing, or you'll get out of shape!" he declared. "I regularly practice at it, just so I don't lose my edge. Besides, even a spellcaster like yourself can always use better developed muscles. After all, some things in this world can't be solved by magic, no matter how skilled you are with it."

Msaka frowned. He knew that statement was true, but disliked it nevertheless. Without responding, he stalked over to one of the cushions and sat down heavily on it, rubbing his aching limbs in the hope they'd be less sore later.

"On the other hand, there are certainly some situations which can not be solved without it," the guildmaster said, taking his own place against the side wall. He had obviously not been blind to Msaka's reaction to his last statement, and apparently sought to smooth over any difficulties. "I told you before, I believe, that there has never been a peak I could not scale. That is true, but it is also true that without the aid of some magic, there would have been some which defeated even my prowess."

Msaka didn't comment, choosing to continue massaging his arms and legs. There was little he could think of to say on the matter anyway, and he didn't feel like saying something that would appear silly.

"The one I remember best lies to the north and west of here. It is an old volcano, now extinct, though I hear some unusual events of this past winter caused a short eruption once again. Mount Draconis it is called, and is normally unclimbable. It is too high and too steep for anyone to manage without aid. I have that aid, in the form of a few enchanted devices to assist me in climbing when needed, and was thus able to reach the top and gaze down into the center of the volcano. Such a wondrous sight that was, but then, that was a wondrous land."

Msaka remained silent, and the guildmaster went on. "There might even be a few things you'd be interested in there. Magic aplenty in that land, and I understand a magic shop was opened up some time back by a person from your homeland, a liontaur. Then, there is the science academy, although I suppose you might not find it quite as interesting given their noted hostility to magic. Many other things though, and with events of this winter, maybe even more things than I remember."

The guildmaster frowned. "The only unfortunate thing is that some of the island was apparently hit by the eruption on the death of the Dragon there, damaging the scenery. On the other hand, it may have produced some interesting new features to climb on." The guildmaster's frown disappeared, apparently cheered by the thought. "At least now Silmaria and Atlantis are safe, whatever the price in shrubberies may have been."

Msaka arched an eyebrow. "Atlantis? What is that?" he asked, finally breaking his silence.

"You haven't heard, of course, how silly of me," the guildmaster chuckled. "Atlantis is the sunken land beneath the waves, inhabited by tritons, the transformed descendants of those who had occupied the land above until the Dragon's attacks caused them to place their city underwater. Few visit there, but it is reportedly a beautiful place, though the inhabitants don't take well to uninvited visitors. Still, they can be helpful to those who don't invade their city, especially mariners in distress. They were at war with Silmaria for a while last year, part of the troubles surrounding the Dragon. Things have returned to normal now though, or so I hear."

"What are tritons?" Msaka queried, suddenly very interested. This guildmaster's knowledge might prove very useful indeed...

"What do they look like, you mean? They are part human, part fish, or so the story goes. Of course, they breathe water, so they can't very well visit land, but they range widely across the depths of the sea. Spellcasters exist among them, as with others, though how many always varies with the tale teller. But, few or many, they certainly have retained a great deal of the power that saved them in ancient times."

Msaka nodded slowly. "I see," he said, falling silent again for a moment. Trying not to let his thoughts show, he stood up and stretched. "I have to do some other things before the end of the day. Thank you for your time," he declared, nodding a farewell.

"Good day!" the guildmaster called after him as he left the guild, smiling ever so slightly. Unhurriedly, he made his way back to the inn, in a far better mood than he'd expected when he arrived at the guild. He now knew where he was going to go once his dealings in the land of Shapier had been concluded.