Dawn was just rising as Sam approached the intersection of the human, gnome, elf, and dwarf district. The size of the inter-species trade hall was at least four times larger than any other building he’d seen since arriving in the Seven Decks. “It’s no New Century Global Center in China with its’ 18 million square feet, but damn, it’s bigger than any sports arena or civic center in the U.S.” he thought to himself.

As Sam walked into the hall from the human entrance, he found separate receptionist desks designated for each of the districts. He approached the gnome counter and said, “Good morning. I’m Sam, and here’s my documentation for my tour of the gnome merchant district.”

The receptionist replied, “Mr. Sam, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Have a seat and your guide will be out in just a moment.”

As Sam took a seat, he could see past the reception desks into the warehouse where goods were exchanging hands between the different races. Many translators of each race were running frantically back and forth between different groups, trying to facilitate or complete trade negotiations.

Since arriving on the Second Deck, Sam caught glimpses of gnomes, dwarves, or elves only a few times, and each time, they were too far away for him to make out any details or hear them speak. He was hoping during his tour that he might learn some of the gnome language with his Words of Understanding skill. Razz the weapons merchant had told Sam that most inter-race trades took place in this hall, and that only the Elves could speak and understand the language of the other races without a translation stone. Sam found out from the system shop that translation stones were really, really, really expensive. When he went to view one for sale in a jewelry and stone store, they required him to show a letter of credit to even get in the store, but they still wouldn’t even let him hold it without an oath affirming his ability to purchase it.

“Hello. Mr. Sam?” Melvin the interpreter said as he approached. As Sam nodded, Melvin continued with a smile, “Just follow me. All your paperwork is in order and we can begin our tour immediately.” Melvin looked to be around 30 years old, was a little over six feet tall with severe acne scars covering his face, and Sam noticed he tried to keep his mouth closed when he spoke to hide his extremely crooked teeth.

“This gnome tour is going to be great, even though it’s a little short,” Melvin joked.

Sam laughed and could tell he was going to get along with Melvin, and replied, “you’re not belittling the gnomes with that comment, are you?”

“Ha! Absolutely not. I was just about to explain to you that one of the difficult things about translating gnomish is they love to use word-play and puns. Unfortunately, puns don’t translate very well. Also, Gnomes are very proud of their short stature. Telling a gnome they are short is like telling a human they are handsome or pretty.”

As they continued to walk through the giant hall, Sam asked, “If it’s not too personal a question, how long have you been giving tours in the Gnome District?”

Melvin stiffened a little when Sam starting asking the “personal” question. He initially thought Sam was a decent fellow by his joking, but quite a few of the rich arrogant shits he gave tours to over the years would make fun of his teeth or facial scars. When Sam only asked about his work, he was hopeful this would continue to be a pleasant tour. “I specialize in gnomish culture and trade, and I’ve been doing tours for almost four years now.” Melvin didn’t look like it, but he was almost 5% gnomish, which made him one of the best translators the hall had. Unfortunately, they didn’t want him in the trade hall because the merchants were uncomfortable looking at him, or would make fun of him, so he was on tour and document translation duty.

Sam felt a good “vibe” from Melvin, so he took the risk of exposing his ignorance, and asked, “Why is it that only elves can speak without a translation stone?”

Sam didn’t realize that very few people on the Second Deck had any interest in learning the language or culture of the other races. Most only cared about what they could trade. Melvin replied, “You’ll see soon enough, but only elves can actually hear all the sounds the different races make when speaking. When the gnomes speak, you will only hear a few of the words they say. It will look like they are mouthing words, without making a sound.”

“Interesting! Does the translation stone allow you to hear all the sounds?”

“Mr. Sam, unfortunately, we're not allowed to discuss any details about the translation stones we use.”

Sam replied, “Of course, not a problem. So, how long does it actually take to get out of this building and into the Gnome District?”

“I know right, this building is massive, but just down this hall is the gnome reception area. We’re almost there.”

Sam focused on keeping his jaw from dropping at the sight of the little gnome women working behind their receptionist’s desks. Unlike the human side, their desks had fancy writing utensils that were connected to the wall with small tubes. Sam could see what looked like the vacuum tubes that some banks back on Earth would use to send you money if you were in the teller drive thru. He wanted to spend hours just in this reception room as he turned his head to the sound of what looked like a steam powered photocopier.

As Sam waited for Melvin to finish presenting their paperwork for entry. Sam noticed a bearded male gnome making deep grumbling sounds to one of the gnome women. Seeing her blush, and the reactions of the gnome girl next to her, he guessed they were flirting. Sam laughed to himself as he thought, “they’re so short and fat, they’re kind of cute, but how the heck do the women keep from falling over with those huge boobs?”

“Everything is in order, Mr. Sam. Time for us to go. Once we step out that door, we are in the gnome district and subject to their laws. Please don’t speak directly to anyone other than me, and don’t touch anything without asking me first.”

Sam nodded, pointed at the gnome woman Melvin had spoken with, and in an exaggeratedly deep voice said to Melvin, “She is really small!” while bringing his hands close together as if she were only a foot tall.

Sam noticed the gnome girl blushing, and Melvins’ eyes widen with surprise as he said quickly, “Mr. Sam, please follow me now, and quickly.” as he almost pulled Sam through the door and out into the gnome street.

Sam asked, “What was that all about?” as Melvin shut the door to the hall.

“Your hand gesture was the equivalent of making an hour-glass shape with your hands to a human woman. Plus, even though you were speaking to me with an unusually low voice, since it was clear you were talking about the girl, under gnomish law she could have demanded you take her to bed.”

“What! Take me to bed!” exclaimed Sam. He had thought, based on his observations, that she might take his hand signal and voice level as a compliment, but he never imagined there would be a law that would allow her to take him to bed!

“Exactly, and gnome women are very open to all kinds of physical relationships with other gnome men and women. Gnomes are basically a crafting, building, sexual orgy race. If I didn’t get you out of there, I’m not sure what might have happened. Now, let’s get moving before she comes out looking for you.”

Sam quickly followed Melvin down the street, but soon commented, “My goodness! It’s so clean, and it smells so good here!”

“Yes, gnomes are an incredibly clean people. They have mechanical devices that pump all their waste into a field, and then another device that turns that waste into fertilizer. Plus, they don’t allow any work animals to urinate and crap all over the city streets, only magic driven steam carts are allowed.”

Sam nodded while enjoying the fresh air, and asked, “What kind of gambler activity should we expect?”

“Gnomes are a different race and their culture differs significantly from humans. The System’s gambling quests are geared towards enticing gnomes.” Melvin noticed the confusion on Sam’s face and continued, “Gnomes would never physically attack, kidnap, rape, or use physical force to steal from another being. It is so against their nature, it would be a complete waste of time for the System to entice them with gambling quests which require any of those type of actions.”

Sam asked, “That’s really interesting, so what type of gambling quests do gnomes get?” Melvin’s explanation made sense to Sam, because he had received several gambling quests that were directly related to things he wanted.

Melvin replied, “Aside from all the weird sexual quests they get, they might get a gambling quest to copy your invention, or to improve on your invention and sell it themselves, or to get you drunk and convince you to sell a patent you own, or something like that. If you have a valuable invention or prototype, you better keep it hidden from gnomes.”

Sam snorted, “I’m safe then, because there is nothing I could invent that is anywhere near as amazing as all these steam-powered gizmos of theirs.” However, Sam made sure his clothing fully covered his tattoos, and when Melvin wasn’t looking, he casually took his rings off and stored them in his tooth crown storage device, and then replaced them with one of the generic rings he acquired on the first deck.

As they turned a corner, Melvin pointed ahead and said, “You see all those people in the street just up ahead? That is the market. We’re going to get lunch, and you can visit a few of the shops before we have to leave.”

“Melvin, if the gnomes won’t physically fight anyone, how come the other races haven’t conquered them or turned them into slaves?”

Melvin replied, “Ahh, I understand your confusion. I said they won’t physically attack someone for their own selfish gains in a gambling quest. They will compete in arena competitions so long as the recall function is activated, and they will defend themselves with extreme violence. They have some crazy powerful weapons that can blow up entire cities. It also makes little sense to kidnap or blackmail a gnome. If you kidnap one, and try to make them give up their secrets, they have an ability where they can instantly kill themselves, and they will use it before giving up their secrets or betraying other gnomes. If you try to take a gnome hostage to ransom them back to another gnome, it won’t work. All other gnomes know in their core, that it is part of the nature of the kidnapped gnome to kill themselves. Of course, then the entire gnome city or community will band together to exact revenge against the attacker. You never just pick a fight with a gnome, you can only pick a fight with an entire gnome city.”

“Wow, that is crazy!” replied Sam.

“They’re not perfect or anything. They argue and bicker among themselves, make fun of other gnomes that are too tall, or pick on gnomes that are stupid, etc… but when picked on by outside forces, they band together.”

Melvin guided Sam to the edge of the street as they arrived at the market, and said, “What type of food would you like to eat?”

“Is gnome food different from human food?”

“Yes, it is much better!” replied Melvin.

“Can I purchase food from several different food carts and place it in my storage device? I would like to take it back and share it with my family?”

Over the next hour, while Sam sampled and purchased food from many different food stalls, what really caught his attention was how the gnomes worked. They automated almost everything. Gnomes used small metal devices that reminded him of the pen used by The Doctor, in the Doctor Who TV show back on Earth. The gnomes simply pointed their “pens” at their different automatons to direct them to do the physical work for them. Sam smiled to himself as an idea came to him while watching one gnome exchange what looked like a battery pack that powered an automaton, for a fresh one. The "mana batteries" reminded him of the batteries used in power tools back on Earth.

Sam really liked Melvin and felt miserably guilty for what he was about to do. “Melvin, I know we don’t have much time left, but before we go, I want to visit that craft shop again, the one with the purple-bearded gnome.”

Melvin replied, “Not a problem, it’s on our way back to the Hall anyway.”

Sam listened to the “laughter” of the purple-bearded gnome and his assistant. He learned from Melvin that they were not being “jolly”, but were laughing and joking about how stupid Sam was for asking questions about some of the shop’s gadgets and tools, that “even a gnome child could figure out”. After getting approval from the store owner, via Melvin, Sam dug through a box of comparatively cheap storage rings to distract everyone from his real goal. While “shopping” he kept track of the timing and path of a cleaning automaton in the store. Unexpectedly, and interrupting his plan, Sam found a storage ring with an unfamiliar enchantment on it. He could sense there was something different about it. He could also tell the storage ring’s capacity was only about one cubic foot, damn near useless, but his gut was telling him there was something special about it.

“Melvin, please ask the gnome how much this storage ring is.”

A moment later, Melvin replied, “He will sell it to you for 100 gold!”

Sam did his best job of acting, by widening his eyes in pretend shock, and said to Melvin, “Please reply to the gnome that your client wants to know if the storage ring has a massive storage space to match such a massive price!”

After some back and forth with the gnome, Melvin replied, “He says that the storage is one cubic foot.”

Sam pretended to look both surprised and disgusted by squinting his nose and dropping his jaw, and threw the ring back in the pile before turning to leave.

Before Sam took two steps, he heard the gnome saying something to Melvin, and Melvin interpreted, “The gnome said he quoted you the price for a different ring, and didn’t realize you wanted the small one, but he would give you a deal on the small one.”

Sam shook his head no, while squinting his mouth in distaste, but then said to Melvin, “I don’t think I’m interested, but it depends on what kind of deal he is offering.”

Melvin spoke to the gnome again, and then said, “This gnome is crazy. He’s trying to get you to pay 20 gold for that useless storage ring.”

Via Melvin, Sam bickered back and forth with the gnome for a few more minutes before finally agreeing to pay 12 gold and 90 silver for the ring. Melvin was shaking his head, thinking Sam got fleeced, but Sam’s gut was sure there was something special about it, and he just needed more time to and privacy to inspect it properly.

On the way out of the store, Sam “tripped”, knocking Melvin towards the cleaning automaton just as it was raising its’ metal broom from the floor. The broom smacked Melvin in the head, opening a bloody gash and knocking him off balance. Simultaneously, Sam raced forward, but while “catching” Melvin in his attempt to safely lower him to the ground, Sam’s arm also accidentally hit Melvin in the head, knocking him out.

The gnomes’ eyes were wide with worry, and they moved towards Sam and Melvin to help, but they stopped when they noticed Sam casting a healing spell on Melvin.

Sam was actually busy doing two things simultaneously. He was using his Words of Understanding skill to decrypt the enchanted translation stone in Melvin’s ear, while also using his hidden healing enchantment tattoo to mend the cut on Melvin’s head. However, Sam didn’t stop there. He healed all the acne scars on Melvin’s entire body, and straightened and cleaned his teeth. The pain of Melvin’s teeth straightening caused him to start waking up, but Sam was finished by the time Melvin completely opened his eyes.

“Damn! That hurt! What happened?” Melvin asked as he looked up at Sam.

As Sam stood up, pretending to wobble from mana exhaustion, he reached down, trying to help Melvin to his feet, and said, “Melvin, I’m so sorry! I tripped knocking you into the cleaning thing over there, and then when I tried to help stop you from falling, I made it worse knocking you into the ground where you hit your head pretty hard.”

The gnomes were speaking excitedly to Melvin as well, and he turned to Sam reaching up with his hand to feel his teeth, and asked, “You healed me?”

Sam looked down slightly, raising his eyebrows, trying to look sheepish, and said, “I hope you can keep this private. I don’t like to advertise that I can use a healing spell. It utterly exhausts me and I will be drained for a few days, but it does a whole-body moderate healing on a person. It was the least I could do since I injured you with my clumsiness.”

Melvin kept touching his teeth, and feeling the skin on his face and neck in disbelief, but finally said, “This level of healing costs a fortune. I can’t afford to pay you.”

Sam noticed Melvin was quite a handsome man now that his teeth were white and straight, and his face, neck, and body were no longer covered with deep acne scars. Sam replied, “You don’t owe me anything. I injured you! However, it would be a big favor for me if you don’t tell anyone.”

Melvin pulled a small mirror out of his storage ring to look at himself, and said, “I will do my best, but everyone is going to notice the changes!”

Sam grunted in understanding, and said, “Maybe if you keep your hood up over your head when we return, you could leave the Hall for the rest of the day, and when you return, you can tell them you and I received a confidential gambling quest we were able to complete after we returned to the human district, and that the quest reward healed your scars and healed an ailment I was suffering from as well.”

Melvin was only half listening to Sam as he continued to look in the mirror, but when Sam finished talking, Melvin had tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Mr. Sam. I will do as you suggest, and not tell anyone of your help!” He looked over at the chattering gnomes and said to Sam, “Even if the gnomes tell their friends, I doubt any humans will ever hear about it.”

“Thanks Melvin. That’s the best I can ask for.”

“Oh! We need to get going quickly! If we get back too much past our scheduled time, the receptionist will stop us, and require extra payment from you. If that happens, they will surely notice my changes.”

All the way home, Sam smiled about how happy Melvin was. However his good mood was somewhat soured by how he injured and tricked Melvin in order to inspect the translation stone in the first place. He really felt like an ass. “Why couldn’t Melvin have been a dick! Then I wouldn't feel so bad.” he thought.