Msaka resumed his regimen of practice for the rest of the day and the following two, feeling a trifle overworked trying to master so much new magic at once. In addition he continued his physical workouts at the guild, though he felt himself reaching a plateau in some respects there. The wall had become too familiar, and as such, climbing it wasn't really helping him improve much more. The guildmaster still beat him regularly in their sparring matches, though at least the matches were becoming a bit more even, and Msaka was beginning to strike a little more quickly than he'd been able to before.

At the very least, the food at the inn was filling, even if a lot of it was oddly flavored. On top of that, while sitting there listening to gossip often proved unproductive, the occasional useful bit of information found its way to his ears. Unfortunately, the most interesting thing he heard was also somewhat disturbing. Apparently, the croc attacks in Tarna had increased greatly since Msaka had left, their numbers far larger than had been anticipated. While there was no word of their presence in the jungle, as most travellers there stuck to the savanna, it was likely that they were being just as much of a problem for his people as they were to the plains dwellers. True, his village itself was safe enough from detection, but in order to hunt, it was necessary to leave, and that would leave them open to attack.

As Msaka finished his meal at the inn on the night before the caravan was to leave, he spotted a member of the city guard winding through the crowd towards him. Being unsure as to what he might want, Msaka remained seated, watching the man approach.

The guardsman quickly reached him. With a respectful nod, he spoke politely, "Effendi, the enchantress Aziza requests that you meet with her at her home as soon as it is convenient on a matter of some importance. May I know your reply?"

Msaka didn't speak for a moment, instead pondering the reason she'd want to talk to him again. It seemed unlikely that she'd have changed her mind about the water elemental. A lot of other possibilities presented themselves, only some of which would be helpful. Realizing that the guard was standing there waiting, he blinked to clear his thoughts and responded, "I will be there... shortly."

The guard nodded. "Thank you effendi." With that, he turned and departed, making his way through the crowd towards the front door. Msaka sat for several moments more, his curiosity returning, but still unable to anticipate what she might want. It was possible it had something to do with the earth elemental he'd battled a week ago, but if that was the case, why had she waited?

Realizing he wasn't going to get any answers sitting there, he stood and picked his own path to the door, emerging from the inn into the night-shrouded gate plaza. The air was a bit cooler than usual, though by no means uncomfortably so. Only a few other people were present, all of them in the process of heading somewhere else.

Msaka stood silently for a few moments, an odd feeling lurking at the edges of his mind. He hadn't really stopped to think about it before, but he had grown used to the routines of the city and its people, and though they were far different from his own home, he was just becoming aware that he'd actually grown to accept those differences, frustrating though they might be at times. It was certainly not what he'd been expecting to happen, and now that he realized it, it troubled him in several ways.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts out of his mind. They could wait for a more appropriate moment, and Aziza probably wouldn't appreciate his taking a few hours to work things through. He turned and walked across the plaza, plunging into the darkened street that led away from it.

As had been the case since the earth elemental attack, he traversed the city without incident. He wasn't sure whether the attacks had actually ceased or if the spellcaster behind them was simply waiting for the right opportunity. Whatever the case might be, he remained as alert as he had been. Familiarity with the city didn't lessen his habit of expecting trouble to happen there one bit.

At last, he strode down the street leading up to Aziza's door and knocked solidly upon it. He waited for a short moment, then Aziza's voice spoke, "You may enter." With that, the door swung open, and Msaka stepped inside.

Aziza stood near the table, awaiting him. "Welcome," she said, politely and formally. "Please be seated."

Msaka obliged, crossing the room to sit across from Aziza, who took her own place on a pillow as he did. "I am curious as to why you asked me here," Msaka said. "I suspect it is for some other reason than our last meeting."

Aziza nodded silently. "You were recently attacked by an earth elemental," she stated calmly, not making a question out of it. "It would have been for the best had you informed me directly at that time, but there is no use in debating that point now."

Msaka made no reply, and she continued, "You defeated that elemental, and I believe you captured it as well. Since you have shown no reason not to be allowed to retain it, you will be allowed to. If you will agree to it however, I would like to examine it for a time. I believe I can discover who is behind its summoning with a spell I developed following the events of last year. I will return the elemental to you once I have completed this. Will you agree to it?"

Msaka considered the offer for a few moments. It seemed worthwhile, especially given that he had no real use for the earth elemental himself at the moment, and didn't anticipate needing it in anytime soon. "The elemental will be unaffected by this testing?" he asked.

"It will cause no change to the elemental," Aziza confirmed, nodding slightly. "You will be able to use it for any purpose it is capable of fulfilling now."

Msaka nodded in turn. "Very well then. If you can discover who attacked me, I will lend it to you. They are probably the one behind the caravan attacks as well, so it would solve your problem too." He shrugged off his pack and pulled out the sack containing the elemental. A loose potato was pulled out in one of the folds of the sack, and bounced onto the table, rolling partway across it. Msaka quickly snatched the errant vegetable up and returned it to his pack while Aziza silently raised an eyebrow at the spectacle.

Doing his best to pretend nothing unusual had happened, he set the sack down on the table. "I didn't have anything else to put it in, so I bought a sack of vegetables and stored it inside," he explained. "If you want to transfer it into something more appropriate, feel free to do so."

Aziza nodded. "Thank you. I will inform you when I have an answer."

"You may have to do that by sending," Msaka said. "I'm going to be visiting your other city for a while. I'm leaving with the caravan tomorrow."

"I will do that then," Aziza replied.

"I will leave you to it then," Msaka declared, standing. Then, a bit more quietly he added, "Thank you for doing this. It will help me a lot."

Aziza stood as well. "You are welcome. Good evening to you," she stated, the same formal politeness in her tone.

Msaka nodded and walked to the door, which swung open to allow him through. Things seemed to be going his way in the last few days, he noted, then wondered how long it would be before that changed again.