One guard crossed his arms and blocked Amadeus from going any further.

"Stop! Who goes dere?" grunted the guard.

"I'm Amadeus, commoner of White Harrow. I come in peace. I wish to enter your town to buy supplies for my journey."

The guard examined the three of them and snorted. "You has two tree huggas wit cha. Tree huggas not welcome in Da Bez Town."

"Who, them?" Amadeus gestured to Rei & Izumi innocently. "They're harmless"

"No," insisted the guard. "Tree huggas no go. You show us shiny or you leave too."

"Shiny?" Amadeus paused, trying to understand what the guard wanted from him.

"Shinies," the guard nodded grimly; rubbing his index finger and thumb together. "Shinies for biznas. No shinies, no entry."

"Oh... shinies." Amadeus loosened the drawstring for the leather pouch and showed the white gems to the guard. "Is this enough?"

The guard grinned widely, suddenly appearing to be friendlier. "Yes, shinies!" he exclaimed delightedly. "Da Bez town do big biznas. Many come to buy and sell. All with shinies welcome, except tree huggas and nobs."

Amadeus could understand 'tree huggas' meant Izenth, but what in the world was 'nobs'?

"Nobs?" Amadeus repeated.

"Yes, nobs not welcome. They use dem magicks to kill many Rokuth."

"Oh... nobs." That description was clear enough.

The guards heaved the large double doors open and the main path into the city came into view. The path beckoned enticingly with the hope of water. "Welcome to Da Bez Town. Please, enter!"

"What about my friends?"

"No," the guard insisted. "I has said many times! Tree huggas not welcome in Da Bez Town."

Amadeus looked at Rei and frowned, as if to ask him permission to proceed.

"It's alright Amadeus, we'll wait for you here."

"Just don't forget to get water for us... and some food if possible," Izumi reminded him.

Amadeus nodded. "I'll be back soon," he said as he slipped between the two huge doors as the guards pulled the towering doors shut behind him with a bang.

The inside of the town was full of people. Not just people who looked like the guards outside, but they seemed to be from all corners of the world. I wonder why there are so many people in this strange town. What is going on here? Amadeus was surrounded by crowds of people, yet he felt all alone inside this strange town.

Amadeus made his way towards the town center, looking for a shop to get water and food supplies for the rest of their journey. He kept one hand rested on his leather pouch, not wanting to be pickpocketed.

Amadeus was no stranger to pickpockets. The commoners in White Harrow had quick hands and nimble fingers, especially the desperate ones. They often stole from each other and this infuriated Amadeus. He couldn't understand why commoners would steal from their own kin.

He pushed his way past the crowds and found rows of shops close to the town center. He noticed that all the guards, administrators and shopkeepers all wore the same thing. They all had a single loin cloth around their waist, and a rough string which secured boulders and rocks of all sizes to their backs. The ropes formed an X as they crossed along their chests. They must be Rokuth.

Amadeus strolled down the street, looking for water. While extremely thirsty, he didn't have enough strength in him to move any faster. It wasn't only the Rokuth trading in the streets, but many temporary shops were set up by all manner of people. They looked as foreign to Amadeus as he did to them. After a couple of minutes he finally found a shop housed in a stone building that sold water.

Pushing the large door aside, a bell tinkled as Amadeus stepped into the shop. All assortments of oversized items adorned the shelves and displays within the shop. The shopkeeper was a Rokuth, and was in the middle of sorting the goods on one of the shelves. There was a rock strapped to his back, just like all the other Rokuth that Amadeus had seen in the town. What was it with these people and rocks? The large burly shopkeeper took one look at Amadeus before getting back to his task. Amadeus shuffled nervously towards him. Uncertain, Amadeus cleared his throat, trying to get the shopkeeper's attention.

"Um... excuse me sir. I'd like to buy some water."

The shopkeeper peered down at him. He was bald except for a single ponytail which sprouted in the middle of his head. Amadeus would have laughed if the shopkeeper's large muscles were not so imposing.

"Everyone wants water, show me shinies!"

Amadeus hesitantly reached into his pouch and pulled out a single white gem. "How much water will this get me?"

The shopkeeper bent over to bring his face closer to the gem sitting on Amadeus' hand.

"Yes, this is good shiny."

He studied the gem closely before walking to the back of the shop. He emerged with a large waterskin which was the size of a sack of potatoes. It looked heavy; too heavy to lift. Amadeus would have to drag it out to the others.

"One gem will get you this. We has deal?" the shopkeeper extended an empty palm, waiting for payment.

Not much of a haggler, Amadeus agreed immediately. "Yes, we have a deal." He placed the single gem gently on shopkeeper's enormous palm with both hands, partly afraid to offend the large burly man.

"Gud to do biznas with you. My name is Badaboom."

"That's an interesting name, I'm Amadeus." Amadeus extended his hand and Badaboom held it firmly and shook it. Ok, maybe he held it a little too firmly, Amadeus was lucky enough not to have broken a few bones in Badaboom's strong grip.

"Badaboom is sound I makes when I fight. All dems nobs don't know what hit dems," he explained proudly. "Your name too long, I call you Amady."

The shopkeeper smiled, showing the front row of his teeth with one tooth missing. He handed the abnormally large waterskin to Amadeus, which sank to the floor in a heap. Amadeus immediately popped the wooden cork and drank the water until he was satisfied. Water dribbled down the sides of his mouth with each glug.

Finally, Amadeus let out a contented sigh. The wiped the corners of his mouth and plugged the cork back into the oversized waterskin. Refreshed, he rubbed his hands together and prepared to give the waterskin a good tug. As he pulled and pulled on it, the large waterskin inched its way towards the shop door, leaving a line trail on the dusty ground.

Suddenly, sounds of cheers and screams erupted from all over the town.

"What is happening?" Amadeus asked Badaboom.

"Is time for trial. All Rokuth do trial when coming of age," he answered. "You go see trial. Is must-watch! Two Rokuth battle; one live, other die."

"That's horrible." Amadeus blurted out without thinking. He was disgusted by such a brutal tradition.

"This is Rokuth way. All Rokuth do trial when come of age. Outsider will never understand," the shopkeeper waved off Amadeus' comment.

Amadeus peered out the shop. It seemed that the entire town was heading towards to Arena and the street he was on was emptying out. Everyone headed towards the same direction, chatting excitedly among themselves.

Curiosity got the better of Amadeus. He wanted to go see what the commotion was about. Might as well take a look since I'm here, he thought to himself. Here we go! He tugged aggressively at the waterskin with a grunt, dragging it towards the door. It hardly moved. Amadeus peered down at the outrageously large waterskin, frustrated.

"Badaboom, do you mind if I leave my waterskin here and come back for it later?"

"Sure, Amady. Nobody come anyway. I close shop now. All'o dems go Da Bez Arena." The shopkeeper lifted up the waterskin effortlessly and placed it on the countertop. "Come, I take you now. We go together."

How could Amadeus refuse an offer like that? He followed quietly behind the shopkeeper, wondering what event was so important that it would draw the entire town to it.

Author's Note: Hope it's not too challenging trying to follow how the Rokuth talk. The way they talk is half-modeled after Orcs. Don't ask me whether they're Orks from Warhammer or Orcs from Warcraft. I don't know! If you found the chapter interesting, please vote, comment, & share. It helps in the rankings to keeps me motivated to write on.