Ezhno's eyes and mouth were wide open, staring at the scene that had played out. He had just witnessed a man being killed right before his very eyes. Only two words popped up in Ezhno's head at the time. "Savagely Brutal." He had never seen anyone savagely beaten up by another human until they were dead.

He could not shake the fact that he was let off pretty easy. 'That could have easily been me back then,' he thought to himself. Maybe it was because he was just a child or maybe he was just being toyed with. He could have easily been killed like the man he just saw today. This more or less made him realize the simple truth, that he was weak and he needed to learn how to defend himself, so he did not end up a dead bloody mess on the ground.

Witnessing someone die today was not the most shocking thing to him though. He was not scared of the fact that the man died, since he had witnessed many scenes of animals being slaughtered around the village, so death was not a huge thing to Ezhno.

He was more shocked at the scene of the shorter man's jump the moment the kick touched his stomach region. 'I really wish I could talk to the shorter fighter,' he thought to himself. 'I have so many questions, but I have no clue on where to look, or who to ask. Here is someone going though what I am experiencing, but I have no way of asking him what the hell is going on.'

After the thoughts lingered on his mind over and over, he put the them in the back of his mind and said to himself, 'Today I have finally seen what takes place at the fighting pits, and I really don't see or understand what all the excitement surrounding the pits was all about. After I finish the rest of my food, I am just going to head off back to the village.'

Ezhno continued to savor his meal as he watched a few men with a wheel barrow chuck the victor of the fight on it and roll him out of the arena through the gated entrance. He then watched two other men chuck the body of the larger man into one of the carts as another 6 men began to scrape up what was left of his head and begin to scrub and wash the floor of the fighting area.

A few minutes later Ezhno finished his food, he thought throwing the box out would have been a waste. He figured he could find a use for it back home and continued to put the empty box in his burlap sack. He stood up and did a quick stretch, picked up his burlap sack and strapped it to his back and started his way back to the arena stairs.

As he made his way, something from the other side of the quarry sparkled and shined into his eyes distracting him for a moment, and before he realized it he had just walked into an older gentleman, and they both fell back on their behinds.

Ezhno rubbed his eyes and stood up right away. He started frantically apologizing to the old man, because he knew it was his fault and genuinely wanted to let the older man know he did not do it on purpose. He really did not have any money to compensate, if the old man started screaming about it.

After a minute of bowing and apologizing, the old man said to Ezhno, "Why the rush young man?" Ezhno continued to explain even further about what had just happened. The older gentlemen, who looked to be around 65 to 70 years old said, " I see..." he then continued, "Well, as for compensation...." When Ezhno heard the word "compensation" his heart felt like it stopped, but the next words surprised him even more. "You shall accompany this old man for a little bit and watch a few rounds of fights."

Ezhno really wanted to head home, but since all he had to do was sit down and watch a few fights and not give any form of coin compensation he could not turn the old man down. It was his fault in the first place that he knocked the old man down and it was the least he could do to make up for it. He then said to the old man, "Ok, it would be my pleasure to accompany you then."

With a hearty laugh, the old man replied, "That's the spirit young man! Men testing each others skill, and beating each other up is something young men as yourself should be looking forward to watching."

Ezhno put his hand behind his head and gave a half hearten laugh. He honestly did not care to watch such brutal things, but as the next fight went underway, to Ezhno's surprise, one could say it was a rather lack luster, dull fight. The two men exchanged a few blows, then a few minutes into the fight, one of the fighters took a solid kick to the head, and was knocked to the ground, flat on his back, and admitted his defeat.

After seeing the uninterested look on Ezhno's face, the old man said to him, "Not all fights are as brutal as the last fight you witnessed. Some come to the pits to test their skills, others seek fame and money. The fighters in the last match must have had no choice. He must have been a slave to the pits and if he did not kill his opponent, it could have easily been himself beaten to death."

Ezhno was in a state of shock at the words the old man had just said to him. In an astonished loud voice he said, "Slavery!? How could there be slavery in the Traherne Kingdom? I thought that was abolished a long time ago?"

The old man looked at Ezhno, and with a sigh he answered, "Even though it is illegal to own slaves in this kingdom, a lot of those in power at the time did not like the rule of the land. They found a loophole, and under the guise of "Apprenticeship", they are able to own slaves. These people are forced to sign contracts stating until the apprenticeship fees are paid off, or until an amount of time has passed, they are to serve their master well. Under these types of laws currently passed in this kingdom, they can force the person into basically signing a contract of slavery. Do you honestly think those under the contract will have many means to earn money, let alone a good wage? With these laws in place and under certain circumstances, if the contract is breached it is even possible to be punished by death."

"Why couldn't they just pass new laws to try and correct the loopholes? Those enslaved... couldn't they just try running away in the middle of the night?" Ezhno said to the old man.

The old man sighed again and explained, "Since this only affects a small percentage of people, they turned a blind eye to it. Since the people are not revolting and those in power are satisfied with the way things currently are, why would they want to change it? One could try to run away but how far would they go before being caught? You could brave the wilderness, but with the amount of wild beast running around, could you last long enough to get to the next kingdom or get far enough away that your contract master could not find you? If you do get caught, what waits for you is probably a harsh disciplinary session. Then comes the medical bills and more than likely your contract will be extended even further. In the eyes of those unfortunate enough to fall into this ploy, it would more than likely be easier to try and pay off your fees or wait until your apprenticeship contract is up. Since you are not chained up and you have food and a roof over your head, some people willingly give up their free will and freedoms for a little security and peace of mind, instead of suffering the rough hardships on their own."

Ezhno, was shocked at the news he just heard. He was not aware that something like this existed in the kingdom. His parents had told him they were slaves from the neighboring kingdom and were set free when the Traherne military took back the mines they were enslaved at. So hearing that slavery still existed did not bode well with him. He then thought to himself, 'Since my parents were new to the kingdom and did not know any of its rules and laws, did they sign a contract with the village head? Am I no different than a slave? Luckily, I have no contract and still have my free will and freedoms.'

Seeing the ugly perplexed face on Ezhno, the old man knew he probably touched a sore spot with this young youth. As the next fight still had yet to start the old man waved at a vendor. As the vendor came closer, the intoxicating smell shook Ezhno from his thoughts. His belly had a mind of its own and grumbled.

The old man looked at Ezhno and laughed as he said to the vendor, "Give me two of those mutton casings in bread and put all the extras you have on it." Ezhno could not help but stare at the food that was passed in front of his face. One could clearly see the saliva droplets on the side of his mouth. The old man handed over a few coins and then handed one of the wrapped up casings over to him.

Surprised at the gesture, Ezhno gulped and put his hand out while shaking his head back and forth, politely refusing, he said, "Old man, even though it looks delicious I can not take this, I have no means to pay you back for it."

With a deep loud laugh, the old man insisted, "Boy, just take it! Think of it as an apology for bringing up a sour subject just now. You could also think of this as an old man's selfish wish."

"Selfish wish?" Ezhno asked, with a confused look on his face.

"This used to be my grandson's favorite thing to eat. It was the only way I could bribe him into accompanying me here when he was younger."

"Why is he not with you today?" Ezhno asked again, while confused at all that was being said to him.

The old man sighed and stared off into the distance. His eyes slightly misted over as he answered, "He went and followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps and joined the military. Sadly a few months after joining there was a battle with another kingdom over a mine and some land they took over, and he perished in combat."

Ezhno was well aware of this battle, it was precisely the same battle that freed his parents from their shackles, and he could not help but feel grateful to those that helped them escape that life. In this situation he did not know what to say. After a pause he said, "Old man, it looks like I have opened up a memory that should have been left unopened."

They both looked at each other, the old man then said, "Enough with talks about the past and enough of this old man business, just call me Gramps."

Ezhno nodded and replied back, "Gramps, my name is Ezhno." At the same time, he took the mutton casing and bread from him.

The old man could not help but nod in approval and gave a big smile back at Ezhno.

After taking his first bite, Ezhno could not hide the joy beaming off his face. This was the best thing he had ever eaten before. The meal before this was trash compared to what he was now consuming. He wanted to hold back and savor it but the urge to gobble it down took over his body. Watching the scene, Gramps could not help but laugh, he then said to Ezhno, "Good, right?"

All Ezhno could do was vigorously nod as he stuffed his face with the mutton casing with bread. Bite after bite of mouth watering goodness was happily ingested. He did not realize that it ended until he had taken a bite of paper. He was instantly saddened at the thought that this was probably the last time he would get to taste such an exquisite meal.

Just then, two men finally walked to the center of the arena. They did not immediately fight and appeared to be waiting for the signal.

"This is the betting period Ezhno. Let's make things more interesting today and place a bet." Gramps suggested. Ezhno was sweating a little when he heard the words "place a bet". He really did not want to take the risk of loosing the last of his coins, but he also did not want to turn the old man's suggestion down.

He thought about how to respond for a bit before his better judgement kicked in, "I do not have any money Gramps, I will just sit here and watch instead." as he said this, the perspiration on his body set in faster.

The old man could not help but shake his head at him, "Boy, who said you had to wager your own coin? This old man has plenty of coins, so don't worry about it and just pick the fighter you think will win."

Again, not wanting to turn the old man's suggestion down, with a slight hesitation he nodded and looked over the fighters a little more closely. After a minute of thinking, Ezhno pointed to the fighter on the left hand side and said, "I choose that one right there."

"Good eye," Gramps replied back to him in a satisfactory nod. "What made you decide on him?"

"I do not know how to really explain it. While he was warming up, I saw some subtle movements that did not seem to be normal and he also has this confident air around him. Even though the other guy is bigger and also appears to be a lot stronger, you can see he has a nervous twitch to him and could also say a fearful aura to him. Even though he is trying to hide it, you have to watch him closely but every action he is making, indicates that he does not want to fight this man in front of him."

Nodding at everything Ezhno was saying the old man then said, "I actually know something about this fighter. He is the grandson of one of the Generals I served under during the time I was in the military. That young man has enhancements. He is what the people would call an Enhancer."

Ezhno looked at the old man with confusion, "Enhancements....? Enhancer....? What the heck is that?"