Amadeus was expecting to see an announcer or commentator. The Nobles sometimes had duels when two wizards were unable to settle a disagreement. Duels were normally between two individuals who represented their families and they seldom ended in death. "We aren't barbarians," the Nobles would boast. Normally a very charismatic Noble would dramatically introduce the two duelers and give a play-by-play throughout the fight. His job was to make the fight interesting and to entice the crowd to make bets on the winner.

This crowd however needed neither commentator nor announcer. They cheered wildly without restraint. In fact, even though Amadeus was still a distance away when the fighting started, he knew the exact moment it did start. The exact moment that the fight started, the entire crowd went into a frenzy of hoots and howls.

By the time they arrived, the fight had already begun and a crowd had surrounded the arena. There was no way Amadeus would be able to see the fight from behind the sea of heads. The crowd made the humid heat all the more obvious but the energy in the atmosphere was electric. The air had the saltiness of sand and the bitterness of blood.

"We be too late. We at back row," muttered Badaboom in a disappointed tone.

Amadeus kept silent; not being sure of how to respond. Was Badaboom actually pouting?

"Here, humie too short to see fighting pit. Come on shoulder," Badaboom offered. He lifted Amadeus onto his shoulders so that he could get a good look at the action.

Perched upon Badaboom's huge shoulders, Amadeus could make out two large Rokuth. They both looked young and inexperienced, unlike the battle hardened guards. It was hard to believe that one of them would die today. The fight had already started but something seemed odd. Amadeus' eyes darted back and forth between the two fighting Rokuth; confused. It didn't look like a fight at all. One Rokuth was delivering blow after blow, while the other Rokuth only stood there trying to defend himself. He wasn't fighting back.

"Why isn't he fighting back?"

"The one hitting is Thudza, the other is called No-One. You see rock on back of No-One," Badaboom pointed at the rock strapped to one of the fighter's backs. "Is tiny! Is shame for Rokuth to have such small rock on back. Rock big mean Rokuth strong; rock small means Rokuth weak."

Amadeus could make out the rocks strapped to both the Rokuth fighting in the center of the arena. One rock was indeed much larger than the other.

"When Rokuth small, start with small pebble on back. Roktuh train every day to be strong. When stronger, rock bigger. Rock keep getting bigger until Rokuth is full size."

As Badaboom explained, he gestured a growing rock by increasing the distance between his two inward facing palms. "Finally, Rokuth go to trial. Bigger rock means bigger boom boom!" Badaboom slammed his fist into his hand with gusto as he made his point.

"Isn't it unfair to pit a weaker Rokuth against such a strong one?"

"No. When Rokuth is born, before know of strong or weak, is given pair. Pair is trained together and finally trial will leave only one from pair alive. Is Rokuth way, weak die and strong survive. See Thudza rock, is very big for Rokuth who just come of age. No-One knows this. He give up and ready to die."

What Badaboom said was true. It looked like No-One was losing as Thudza pummeled him relentlessly. No-One was doing a good job defending, but there was no way he was going to win unless he fought back.

"Look around Amady," Badaboom gestured at the sea of heads in the arena. "All Rokuth have rock on back. Bigger rock means Rokuth more important. Chief of Rokuth has biggest rock." He then pointed at the rock that was strapped to his own back proudly, "Look, Badaboom is ranked 200 among Rokuth. Pretty good huh?" Amadeus nodded politely and turned his attention back to the brutal fight unfolding before him.

Blow after blow landed on the Rokuth called 'No-One". He tried shielding his face in a defensive position, but Thudza kept pounding on him with terrible ferocity. The tiny rock strapped on No-One's back looked odd. It was different from the other Rokuth's. Firstly, it wasn't gray in color like the other rocks. It was black and had a shiny surface. In terms of size, it also paled in comparison to the large boulder strapped to Thudza. Flecks of blood spattered into the air as Thudza's left uppercut connected with No-One's jaw. Amadeus' thoughts wandered back to a particular day from his childhood.

"Amadeus, help me-oof!"

Flecks of blood spattered on the snowy ground as a small frail child lifted up his hand as a cry for mercy. Three older boys surrounded the child, circling like vultures. Agusto, largest boy with red hair and freckles looked menacingly at Amadeus, who was standing at a safe distance.

The small child was Icarus, Amadeus' best friend. The two had shared almost everything, and enjoyed each other's company. They spent all their free time together. Madam Marcella called them inseparable. Icarus gripped something tightly in his fist as he tried crawling away to safety.

"Give us the coins, Icarus." Agusto bellowed.

"N-no, they're not my coins. They belong to my m-m-om," Icarus replied. "P-please, just let me go."

Amadeus watched in horror as one of the other boys, stamped on Icarus' hand and kicked him in the head. Icarus fell backwards from the impact, but never let go of the coins in his hand. He rolled into a defensive ball, shivering in pain.

"Give it to us, or we'll pry it out of your cold dead fingers. We don't care if you live or die." Agusto spat on Icarus. "You're just another weakling. The coins will fill our bellies with wondrous things."

The snow crunched under his feet as Amadeus cautiously took a step forward.

Agusto shot him a warning look. "Take one more step, and you join him here."

Amadeus froze in position, and weighed his options carefully. His hands were balled into fists; shaking.

"You can run off like the coward you are, or we can beat you within an inch of death. The choice is yours." Agusto smiled as the other boy lifted his huge fist to show Amadeus the blood stains on his knuckles.

Suddenly, a Noble patrol happened to walk past the secluded alleyway. These Noble guards were enforcers, meant to keep the peace among the commoners and ensure they completed their daily tasks. Everyone froze in place except for Icarus, who was still shivering in pain. The two Nobel patrolmen took one brief look at the scene laughed at each other, delighted that commoners would turn on each other. They walked off without a word, pretending not to notice the tussle. As their footsteps faded, so too did the hope of Icarus being rescued from this predicament.

"Amadeus, help me... please!" Icarus shouted with tears in his eyes. The three larger boys shifted their gazes towards Amadeus, staring him down. They chided him to make a move. Amadeus hesitated for a moment before responding.

"I-I'm sorry Icarus," Amadeus stammered in fear. "I'll run off to get help... I promise I'll be back." He backed down and fled the scene, shouting for help. No one responded to his pleas for help.

Amadeus was jolted back to the present by the intense cheering as the Rokuth trial continued. He couldn't shake off the memory that just resurfaced. The guilt was heavy, and had been haunting him for years. Icarus died that day. By the time Amadeus had gotten back to Icarus with help, Icarus had been beaten to death, and the meager coins missing from his cold dead hand.

Why Icarus why? Amadeus thought. Why wouldn't you just give them the coins?

Why didn't you protect your friend? Another voice echoed in his head. The scene before him looked awfully familiar now – a defenseless person being beaten to death by another. Amadeus' heart raced.

"Is there any way to stop this fight?" Amadeus blurted out.

"Hmmm?" asked Badaboom, who was too busy paying attention to the fight.

"Is there, any way to stop the fight?" Amadeus repeated, louder this time. This voice was barely audible above the loud cheering.

"Only one way, if someone offer to buy No-One. The Chief stop fight."

"The Chief?"

Badaboom nodded and pointed a large finger towards the large podium overlooking the arena. There was a large throne elevated the other spectators, made of white bones. "There. You see? Chief Dabos sit on top of big throne."

"So, he will stop fight if someone buys No-One?" Amadeus asked excitedly.

"Yes, Chief Dabos like big biznas. Chief looooove shinies. He keep strong Rokuth for army, sell weaker one for slave. Only thing is—"

Amadeus did not wait for Badaboom to finish. He had already slung down from Badaboom's shoulder and was weaving through the crowd towards the large throne made of bones.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys. Amadeus is supposed to be smart but sometimes he just does things at the spur of the moment. I guess no one's perfect. If you enjoyed the read, don't forget to vote and comment!