Msaka re-entered the city a short time later, passing by the night time gate guards, who gave him stern looks as he did. Even in the dim light, he could see quite clearly they were less than happy to see him returning. He climbed the stairs and rounded the corner to the middle plateau, and looked around it. There was not a single person to be seen, nor did he hear anyone moving nearby.

So much the better for avoiding trouble, but at the same time, it meant he would have little to do until morning. These peoples' habit of sleeping during the night and being active during the day seemed odd, but without his peoples' enhanced senses, daytime was probably easier for them to work in. And since they lived less by hunting and more by herding and farming, the advantages of night were perhaps less useful to them. Still it felt odd to be within a city full of people where none but the guards were awake at night.

Msaka walked over to the trees that had been planted nearby. They were species from the jungle, and that alone made the place seem a little less strange. He glanced up at one of them. It was tall and straight, with smooth textured surface that formed rings around the trunk every foot or so up. "Perfect." he thought. Stepping up to the tree, he reached up and took hold of it, digging the claws on his fingers into one of its trunk rings. Pulling himself up, he hooked his toe claws over one of the lower rings.

Slowly, he climbed the tree, eventually reaching the branches that radiated out from its upper reaches. He clambered out onto one of the wider branches, perching on it, and gazed out over the city from its heights. A breeze was blowing, rustling the leaves a little, but the tree itself remained steady.

Except for the lack of people, the city appeared much the same as during the day to him. It wasn't unpleasant to look at, but it still wasn't what he preferred in his surroundings. Still, he supposed, it served those who lived here well enough. It would have to do for him as well, alien though it was, as would whatever other places he might have to travel to.

"No magic." he thought. "How can they all live without it? Do they not realize how useful it is? Or are they afraid of its power?" Either seemed possible, though equally illogical to him. It was not going to be easy constantly dealing with magic-bereft people, but he was going to have to get used to it, or he would never be able to accomplish what he needed to do. He continued staring out over the city, contemplating how best to handle all of the strangeness he was likely to have to endure.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been up the tree, but he suddenly heard voices from below. Looking down, he made out two men walking past the trees towards the inn, conversing as they went. He could see their clothes well enough to know they were foreigners, though their smaller details were lost in the gloom. He glanced up at the sky. The moon had set, and the horizon was beginning to brighten. Msaka sighed quietly. It would probably not do to be found up in the trees come dawn, despite their being a relatively comfortable and familiar seeming place for him. He waited until the two men disappeared into the inn, then carefully climbed back down to the plateau.

He walked towards the stairs leading down to the bazaar area. Given the range of things which seemed to be sold there, and the people that sold them, it was possible he might find something else of use once the place became active, or find someone who could tell him about the desert land he would eventually need to visit. Descending the stairs, he found the lower plateau still devoid of people. He would have to wait, but that gave him time to eat before dealing with the merchants. Remembering who was stationed there, he put some distance between himself and the bottom of the stairs before getting the food from his pack.

By the time he finished eating, a few stalls had been set up for the day, though the sun had not yet risen. Msaka browsed through them, talking to the owners, forcing himself to be as polite as he could manage. It didn't feel right, but it was necessary. While none of the things for sale at most of the stands seemed particularly helpful, he did notice one where leather goods were being offered for sale. Perhaps the man running it would be interested in buying the pelts he had stored, though of course, he would have to leave the city to get them. Trying to summon them in the middle of the market would be a decidedly bad idea.

Msaka continued to browse as the other stalls opened for business, buying a whetstone, a small cooking pot and some spices from several of them. He haggled as well as he knew how for each item, but wasn't too successful at it, haggling not being a skill with which he was very familiar. Still, the pot and spices would help liven up his food, and if he was forced to fight with his dagger, the whetstone would be needed to keep it sharp.

Msaka returned to the bazaar entrance, and waited until the old man's attention was elsewhere before slipping past, heading up to the middle plateau, and then out of the city.

He walked a short distance south along the city wall, then summoned his staff, and used its power to send the pot and whetstone to his hut, and bring the pelts stored there to him. Releasing the staff, which immediately dissipated. He collected the pelts, and returned to the city. The old man was busy harassing someone else when he reached the bottom of the stairs, so Msaka was able to avoid his unwanted attention.

Returning to the leather goods stand, he put on the best sales pitch he was able to, emphasizing the difficulty of acquiring such pelts. It hadn't actually been difficult, he'd been given them before he left, but there was no reason for this person to know that. The man examined them with an expert eye, listening silently to Msaka's speech. "Vizuri, bwana." the man said at last. "Eleven royals." Msaka agreed readily, having expected less than that. "Perhaps I am not so bad at this after all." he thought as he accepted the coins.

Turning away from the stand, he headed back towards the stairs. If he could just manage to get past that old man unnoticed one more time, he would be able to say that it had been a very good morning.