Msaka scanned the plateau again. There were signs above the entrances to several of the buildings. Reading them, Msaka quickly found the word Magic displayed over the entry next to the stairs leading up. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so difficult after all.

He walked to the opening, and looked within. A large chamber lay inside, lit by candles placed strategically around it. The center of the floor was dominated by a large pentagram, obiouvsly designed for spellcasting purposes. Shelving dominated the left wall of the room, filled with all manner of books, containers, skulls, and other things. A doorway on the far side of that wall opened into another chamber that he couldn't see into from where he was.

This had to be the place he was looking for, but there didn't appear to be anyone around. He was uncertain whether he should enter the place without being invited; the owner might not approve, or it might be against whatever laws they had here.

He repeated the spell of detection that he had cast at the pool, and immediately sensed magic throughout the room. Strong magic, though it did not appear to come from any particular source. "Even more reason not to enter uninvited." he thought, "They may have warded the place against intruders."

Returning later seemed the only sensible thing to do. He could stand around waiting, of course, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. Better to use the time learning what he could of this city, and whatever laws it had. Msaka turned back towards the plateau, and crossed it to the large building with two doors. The signs above it indicated it was "The Welcome Inn", and he was curious to find out what that was.

Inside the building was a much larger chamber, with a small flight of steps leading down into it. Several low, round tables were spaced around the floor, with cushions surrounding them. Stairs led up on the left to an area above, and a beaded curtain hung over a doorway to the right. Several people were seated on cushions at the tables, eating or talking. A woman wearing a white dress was clearing one table of trays, and turned as he entered, somehow sensing his approach.

A look of surprise crossed her face for a moment, then was replaced by a slight smile. "Habari bwana. Naharak sa'id effendi." she said, "Welcome to the Welcome Inn. I am known as the welcome woman." With the exception of the three foreign sounding words, she spoke fluently in Swahili, with an ease that indicated much practice. "If you would like a meal or a room, simply take a seat at one of the tables and I will serve you." She turned back to collecting the trays, leaving Msaka to his own devices.

He didn't really feel hungry just now, and did not see any use for having a room to himself. Still, at least he knew what this place was for now. He turned to leave, but spotted a large board on the wall between the exits, with several notes attached to it.

"Perhaps these will tell me something of use." he thought to himself, and approached the board. Reading over the notes, he found only two of interest. One indicated that the spellcaster's name was Kreesha, and the other was a short listing of laws. Most of them seemed rather obvious, but one set his teeth on edge. "One may not use magic here?" he muttered, scowling. "What fool made that law?" Though it was irritating in the extreme, he resigned himself to obeying it, reminding himself that he did not need any trouble here.

He exited the building, and began walking down the wide stairs leading westward. He could see various tents and stalls set up in the area below. Perhaps there, he would find something of use.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found himself surrounded by the stalls he had seen from above. A wide variety of people seemed to be trying to sell an even wider variety of goods, some of them with very loud calls to passersby.

Msaka was looking them over, when a voice called out to his right. "You there young man! You look like the sort of person that could appreciate my fine antiques and collectables! What can I sell you today?" Msaka turned his head towards the person. An older man was standing atop a small table, a younger man standing next to him. The old man continued, "How about this genuine Rubik's Cube! All the faces have been painted the same shade of red to make it easier to solve! Only ten royals!"

"What is a Rubik's Cube?" Msaka wondered, but the old man kept right on talking. "Gadzooks there boy! That isn't a suit afterall! I know exactly what you need!" the old man reached behind him, and picked up a small boxlike object, waving it in Msaka's direction. "This here is a genuine Norelco electric razor, once the property of Mr. Norel himself! With this, you can take off all that unsightly body hair!"

"Pop!" the younger main exclaimed. "That's one of those leopardmen. He's supposed to look like that." The older man continued, oblivious. "Runs off any standard wall outlet, just plug it in, and shave away!" "Pop, there aren't any wall outlets in Tarna, you know that!" the younger man argued, exasperated. The older man turned to the younger man, irritated. "I know that perfectly well, dummy, but he might not! Now be quiet before you cost us the sale!" The old man turned back to extoll the virtues of his wares further, only to find that his potential customer had departed, stalking angrily away.