It wasn't difficult to locate the Royal Palace, even for the likes of Puzu who had never even got close to the higher districts. A huge skyship was hovering over the building casting a wide sheet of shadow all over the city.
Posters and commercials about the coming events were all over the town. "Did you know this?" Asked Puzu to a random stranger.
The first thing the random stranger said was to ask where that terrible smell was coming from. Then, after having imposed on Puzu a distance of ten big steps, he explained that not only everybody did indeed know but that also they were all invited to the show. Apparently, everyone had received at home an official, royal invitation. Everyone but Puzu.
"I am a respectful member of this community." Muttered Puzu offended. "I am an entrepreneur; I contribute to the prosper of the city! I pay my taxes, well, most of them. Ok, some. Ok, I don't but that means nothing! Tell you what: I will participate in the joust!"
"I could not care less." Said the stranger before disappearing into the crowd.
With the determination of a bear hunting for honey, and full of mean intentions like a bee defending her hive, Puzu speeded up and reached the outskirts of the palace.
There, quite a lot of people had gathered. There were tents and gazebos everywhere. Bazars and parlors and all kinds of stands such as food stands, or drink stands, or trinkets stands and the always popular torturing stands.
In the markets, you could have found curiosities from this or that land. Exotic oils that smelled more like sweat than any other fragrance. Pelts and skins of never-seen-before animals, and people. Clothes that, although beautiful to look at, they were uncomfortable to wear; very colorful clothes though, shiny like a fist in the eye with unusual motifs and decorations such as painted eggplants or printed fingers (yes, human fingers. Individually, without the rest of the hand.
A guy under a gazebo sold real estate, beautiful keeps, and manors with views on either nothing or something. Another merchant, who seemed truly passionate about his job, sold torturing equipment.
Puzu thought about having his own tent full of manure to promote his business and manure awareness. Fortunately for everyone else who attended the event, he already had other plans that day.
There was a long queue of colorful individuals waiting to get their names registered for the tournament or to get their tickets. Puzu, last to arrive, was at the tail of the line. Lucky for him, people left in a hurry accusing the mysterious, foul smell that had suddenly infested the place.
Walking up towards the registration table, Puzu swallowed hard at the view of the two enormous guards that were flanking the clerk.
"Next!" Yelled the little man at said table, he was so bald you could have seen what was on his mind. He compensated with a big, massive beard that made him look as if his head was upside down.
"By the endless scourge! May my hair regrow and fall again! What is this smell?"
"That'd be me, man sir. I've heard the tournament is open to all, I'd like to take part in the games."
"No, no!" The little bald man waved his hands back and forth. "Open to all, yes but that means all humans! No elfs, trolls, gnolls or whatever you might be."
Before Puzu could protest, guards were called in.
"Guards! Remove this... this... creature! From my sight at once. Gosh... did you bath in the sewers?"
The guard on the right advanced then stopped and stared at his partner. "You take it."
"Ain't gonna touch no sewer creature, dude." Replied the other.
"I am your senior. You should listen to who came first." Said the first guard sounding all-wise.
"World spins always ahead, old dude. Never look back."
While the guards got busy in a verbal fight, Puzu quietly walked away.
Being resolute like someone who's very resolute, Puzu decided to have a seat in the crowd and enjoy the show. So much for his resolution, isn't it?
He walked through the main gate and, at his surprise and others' disgust, nobody stopped him. They tried, oh yes, they did. They warned him, intimidated him, even called him words and names but nobody dared to physically touch him. A guy proposed to tape together two or three spears so to be able to stab the stinky demon from the distance, but he got his wrist displaced when he tried to raise the new weapon. On the way to the hospital someone had to mention it: "You know we got javelins and bows, right? Without mentioning nets, chain maces, bolas and at least another hundred means of hurting one another without actually engaging physically."
"We live in a world without honor." Said the guard with the displaced wrist before the sedatives kicked in.
A nice, old school arena had been set up in the baseball stadium.
Puzu walked in and sat in the front line, the one for VIP, very important peasants. He would have climbed up onto the stages for the nobility if he hadn't been afraid of heights.
The king of Warka, whose name Puzu could not remember (it was Gino. Maybe, or Pino. Probably it was Alcibiades. Something with letters anyway, Puzu was sure of that.), spoke to his subjects and his guests from the tallest balcony.
He made a brief speech about how love could unite two cities and bring two families together. Everyone seemed pretty bored.
It was fun when the king, introducing his son, prince Taddus, realized the kid was no-where to be seen. Everyone laughed but not too much nor too loud least to get beaten for lack of respect to the royalty by the guards nearby who, hiding behind their helmets, were laughing too.
The princess was there, thou. In a physical way at least. She was a little blonde thing all bent over her smart-tome.
Then the sky turned gray. Clouds gathered all over Warka and lightning struck the center of the arena. People gasped, and gulped, and swallowed hard.
It was at this moment that Puzu's story truly began... which now makes us wonder: why have we wrote down all this gibberish when we could have started right from Chapter 3 sparing us a good deal of pain?
A/N: Hi there, if you liked this chapter and if I made you laugh, giggle or just chuckle a bit, please consider giving it a vote.Thank you!See you in the next Part.
