The sun was almost halfway down to the horizon by the time Msaka approached the city gate, its light striking the walls and spires of Shapier at just the right angle to send a dazzling brilliance reflecting from them towards anyone approaching. He kept his gaze down towards the sand most of the time, as looking directly at the radiance was rather painful. Still, he allowed himself a quick glance up at the sight, and had to admit to himself that it did look rather impressive. The gate guard on duty nodded politely as Msaka finally passed through the gates into the gate plaza, which as always was filled with merchants and buyers haggling over the wares on display.

"Odd," Msaka thought. "I would have thought they would want to speak with me about the caravan, but perhaps the others said all that was needed." He glanced around the plaza, stifling a yawn which suddenly threatened to burst forth, and shook his head as he realized how worn out he was from the final leg of the trip. "I need to arrange for transport to that other land as soon as I can," he sighed to himself as he began to cross the plaza towards the door of the inn. "But better to be rested first."

He quickly reached the inn and went inside. After arranging for a room, he headed straight to it, declining the invitation to eat first. While the caravan trip had not provided an abundance of appetizing meals, he was more concerned with getting some sleep than with eating, and the fact that he'd have solitude for the first time in several days only made the choice that much more enticing.

The room was not the same one as he'd had last time, but was furnished and decorated in the same style, giving it a vaguely comforting familiarity. Msaka quickly locked the door and scanned the room, unwilling to easily let down his guard even so. Nothing untoward turned up, nor was there any sort of magic active in the room. He sighed in both weariness and relief; at least there wasn't any trouble lurking, waiting to disturb his rest.

The window was another matter, but there was little he could do about that. Closing it at this time of day and thus cutting off the circulation of air would probably make the place unbearably hot. Nor was warding it to prevent entry a good idea; he'd have to discharge it before he left, and doing that might damage the surroundings. Still, it was unlikely that anyone would try climbing through it in broad daylight, no matter how bold they were; it would attract far too much attention.

Msaka shrugged off his pack and shed his desert attire, piling everything on the table in one corner of the room. Standing clear of the furniture, he flexed his limbs and stretched for several moments, yawning widely as he tried to work out the knots in his muscles that had built up from the days spent in the saddle. Feeling somewhat more relaxed, he stepped over to the bed and flopped down on it, rolling to the middle and covering his eyes with one arm.

While he dozed off quickly, he found himself unable to rest well, instead drifting in and out of an uneasy sleep that left him more tired than when he first lay down. As he awoke for the fifth time, he sighed and lifted his head, looking groggily around the room. Nothing seemed out of place, yet he found himself unable to shake the strange, subtle feeling that something was not as it should be.

Or perhaps, he decided, it wasn't quite so strange - it was similar to the feeling he'd had out in the desert, near that battle site he'd climbed to. This time, though, the sensation was slightly more... familiar?

He shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it. "What could be here that would call to me in this way?" he wondered. "I never sensed anything the last time, so whatever it is must have happened since then... or perhaps it is some thing, rather than some place..."

He lay his head back down on the pillow, still feeling quite tired in spite of the sensation. He was too weary to deal with it at the moment, but at the same time, it was going to be difficult to rest here unless the mystery was solved. Perhaps he should go somewhere else? But where? He could hardly sleep out in the city streets, even if it seemed that they were usually unoccupied. Another inn, perhaps, but that would mean paying for it as well as this one - hardly a tempting thought given his dwindling supply of coins.

Perhaps, he wondered, he might be able to take a nap at the Adventurers' Guild? That would be somewhat unorthodox, to be sure, and he might have to fend off attempts by the guildmaster to regale him with tales of past exploits in mountaineering, but it certainly seemed a better option than staying where he was...

He sighed and slowly sat up, shaking his head once again in a vain attempt to bring himself to his normal level of alertness. Too many distractions and disruptions to his plans seemed to be presenting themselves for his liking, even for something so simple as getting some rest. Then again, there was no guarantee things wouldn't get even more... interesting.

Standing, he stalked over to the door and left the room, quickly passing through the inn and out into the plaza on the now familiar way to the guild hall.