After leaving the infirmary, Baddock decided to take some time to explore Rephidim, get his bearings, and learn what he could about the strange and fascinating city in which he now found himself. It was truly unlike any place he had been so far on Sinai. Wandering about semi-aimlessly for the time being, the young human now finds himself entering the Bazaar.

A brown bat dressed in black stands in the shade of one of the desolate-looking buildings lining the streets dominated by the Bazaar. She plays an odd instrument that looks roughly like two flutes stuck side by side, and a weird creature that looks somewhat lupine – but perhaps crossed with a kangaroo and/or an armadillo – plays some bongo drums to one side. A wide brimmed hat is set out before the odd couple, with a few shekels being tossed in it from time to time.

On the opposite corner, three Kavis in garishly-colored costumes engage in acrobatic feats of modestly impressive skill, flipping over each other and juggling colored balls. Likewise, they have a receptacle set out to catch any shekels tossed their way by appreciative passers-by.

In a booth along the way, a grizzled-looking white wolf – a Jupani – with a patch over one eye hawks his wares – trinkets carved from ivory, by the looks of it. "Honest Makah has a deal for you!" the wolf bellows, waving the carved knickknacks about, which look vaguely like some sort of tools … but it's hard to discern just what purpose they might serve, other than conversation pieces.

Baddock makes his way slowly down the street, his curiosity making him take a moment to study each person he passes. Drawn by the sound of their music, he approaches the bat and her companion, taking a seat near them to rest his feet and enjoy the musicians' performance.

The brown bat continues playing, not showing any idea that she has gained a stationary audience … but the shelled dog-thing, its eyes covered by a visor-like piece of its chitinous outer covering, makes a sloppy doggy smile, his tongue wagging about as he looks in Baddock's direction.

There are many species to be found in Rephidim, but it seems that, at least in this part of town, there are more of the ferret-like Kavis than one finds elsewhere. (Baddock didn't see a single one of them in the Temple, at the very least.) Many of them are merchants and proprietors of small, temporary shops set up in the Bazaar. Even as Baddock enjoys the music, a Kavi family tears down one booth, and another group of Kavis just as quickly put up another in its place. These creatures seem to be especially rushed and frantic, as if they have barely any time in which to do anything.

His presence having been acknowledged by one of the musicians, Baddock smiles back. Subconsciously, he quietly taps one foot in time with the music. He looks over to the brown bat, studying the strange instrument she's playing. The boy notices the manner in which it's operated and pays attention to each note it produces.

The instrument produces notes that sound somewhat willowy, but a little breathy as well – not perfect, not totally refined and smooth, but with just a faint edge of roughness to it. Some might find that it gives the performance a little more character … but it probably wouldn't do in a concert hall. Despite the odd tonal quality of the instrument, the skill of the musician is not in doubt in the least, as her fingers deftly move up and down the holes on the flute, occasionally wiggling with a trill, in the exotic-sounding melody – made all the more exotic by the odd accompaniment of the enthusiastic drummer.

While Baddock is watching the performance, he is bumped into from behind. At an instance's judge, he can figure that it's someone probably no taller than he would be standing – or not much taller, anyway – and furred. He can just catch the words "monkey face" from the departing Bazaar-goer.

Baddock twists around to see who had just bumped into him, but quickly forgets about it, and turns back to continue enjoying the music.

The song takes a while longer, with a buzz of Bazaar-goers milling behind Baddock – and occasionally being so rude as to step right in front of him – but his vantage-point of the performance is rarely interrupted, for the most part, even despite the loud shouts of the booth hawkers here and there. At last, the melody finishes, though the over-enthusiastic shell-dog seems inclined to keep playing his drums a little while after the bat finishes … that is, until she gives him a light poke with her boot. He then stops, and grins happily, looking quite pleased with himself for no apparent reason.

The brown bat bows, a few shekels are tossed into her hat by some of the Bazaar-goers who paused long enough to listen to the song to its completion … and then the audience breaks up, leaving only Baddock there for the time being with the two musicians.

Baddock smiles widely, obviously quite impressed with the entire performance. Still seated, he looks up at the brown bat. "Hey, that was great!"

"Why, thank you!" responds the brown bat, as she collects the shekels from her wide-brimmed hat, dusts it off, then places it on her head, cleanly fitting her long ears through two holes cut into the rim. "I am Vielanika, of the Bards' Guild."

The shell-dog barks, "Rhym Rawrii!" He thumps his fuzzy chest with a stubby-looking paw-hand.

Baddock nods and jumps down off of his seat. "Nice to meet you both!" He bows politely, then looks up and smiles. "I'm Baddock Shen."

Vielanika says, "Well met!" She puts one slender hand to her chin, as if in thought, then says, "I can't quite place your accent. And I know quite a few languages and dialects. I would be curious to know if you're a visitor to Rephidim?"

The young boy nods and smiles. "I just got here." He then adds, "Are you a visitor as well?"

Vielanika giggles, waving off the question, then she shakes her head. "No, no, I've been here a long, long time. Well … not that long, really, but I dare say I don't count as just being a visitor anymore … even though I do tend to travel quite a bit."

Rawrii nods his head. "Rots!"

Baddock grins. "Hey, cool!" He scuffs a foot along the ground idly. "I'm just exploring Rephidim, right now. I thought I could find a good master here who would train me."

"Really?" asks Vielanika. "You want to be a musician, too?"

"Sure, I'd love to be one!" Baddock smiles happily. "But I also want to get stronger." He unzips his jacket, and pulls up a side of his shirt just enough to allow his bandages to be seen. "I don't want any more of these." He tucks his shirt back in.

Vielanika winces, and Rawrii makes a whimpering noise. "Dear. Got into a bit of a scuffle here? There are a few bad parts of town you have to be careful about… "

Baddock shakes his head. "Nah, I got ambushed in Bosch." He grins as he zips up his jacket. "I won, though."

Vielanika does a double-take. "Bosch? Did you say Bosch?" Then, she furrows her brow … then breaks into a smile. "Oh! Hee! BOSCH! Of course!" She covers her mouth as she giggles. "And I'll bet you taught all those monsters a lesson, too, huh?"

"Yep!" Baddock giggles, though his smile fades a moment later, and he hangs his head a bit, looking suddenly forlorn. "But… part of the pilgrims' path was destroyed. There wasn't much we could do about that. I… don't know what happened to it, but I really hope no one gets hurt… "

Vielanika makes a curious expression, then pats Baddock on the head. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure the Temple can build a new one. And when you get older, maybe you can be a Knight, and go out and teach those monsters another lesson!"

The smile returns to Baddock's face as his heart once again lifts. He nods, "Yeah, maybe… " He adjusts his cap a bit. "So where are you headed?"

"Nowhere, presently. I'm just biding my time in Rephidim a while, earning a little traveling money. Then … well, it all depends on where Rephidim happens to be floating over, as soon as I can earn passage to the surface." Vielanika winks.

Baddock smiles. "Sounds like a plan. I think I'm gonna keep exploring Rephidim for a while. You guys wanna come with me?"

Vielanika giggles. "Well, that depends on what your parents think about that, I suppose. I wouldn't want them thinking that I'm dragging you off somewhere without their permission!"

"Oh, well… " he half-smiles weakly, looking down at his feet a bit. "I haven't seen them since they disappeared a few months ago… " He then looks back up, with a more reassuring smile on his face. "But, I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Vielanika blinks. "Disappeared? That's … that's terrible!" She looks about. "Maybe I can find some Guardsmen to help you find your parents… "

Baddock shakes his head, "No, it was… well, pretty far from here. Nowhere in Rephidim. I'm not even sure exactly where." He shrugs. "My mom and dad are probably looking for me, anyway. I'm sure they'll check a big city like this, y'know?"

Vielanika nods. "Well … if you have any trouble, just wave down some of the Temple Guards. They're always eager to help children." She sighs, as she looks up at the clock tower that looms over the Bazaar. "Well … nice to meet you, but Rawrii and I had best be going. We have some errands to keep. But if we go on any adventures, and run into you again … well … we'll keep you in mind, okay?" She gives the boy a conspiratorial wink.

Baddock smiles and nods to Vielanika. "Yeah, I should probably get going too. Nice meeting you both. Take care!"

The shell-dog sniffles at the ground, finding a little rat-spider-like pest, and snapping it up for a quick – if not entirely hygienic – meal. And then the brown bat waves at the human boy, grabs the shell-dog by his chitinous scruff, and leads him away from the corner.

Baddock waves back to the pair, then continues off on his way through the bazaar.

The sights and sounds of the Bazaar are almost overwhelming, especially to one such as Baddock who hasn't seen them before. As he makes his way through the crowds, barely able to find an open enough spot to walk freely without getting jostled constantly, it therefore probably isn't too surprising when he discovers that he must have taken a wrong turn … as he finds himself in an alleyway between a couple of decrepit buildings, with the booths and tents in the main street behind him … and a pile of broken wooden and stone debris blocking the alleyway about midway down.

The pile of debris is probably about eight feet tall, give or take a bit here and there, though it tends to pile up higher toward the walls supporting the mess on either side.

Footsteps can be heard behind Baddock – the first footsteps he's been able to pick out from the noises of the Bazaar since his visit here, really.

Baddock looks around, frowning. Deciding there's nowhere to go but back, he starts back towards the main street just as he hears the footsteps.

Three Kavi youths – or that, is, they're probably youths, given what little Baddock knows of the race – stand, blocking Baddock's way back to the main street. They look pretty scrubby, the middle one missing an ear, the right one having a snaggled tooth sticking out between his lips, and the left one having shaved odd patterns in his fur.

"Ey. Monkey-boy. You think you's better'n us Kavis, huh? Huh? Thinkin' you's better'n all us furs, huh?" One-Ear (for lack of a name, since they haven't introduced themselves) says in a weaselly voice.

Snaggle-tooth is holding a wooden bat. Shaved-head is holding a thick stick with stripes painted on it, used for some sort of game, probably. Only the middle one doesn't sport anything that looks obviously like it could be used as a crude weapon.

Baddock stops, looking at the three Kavi. His furrows his brow, a bit concerned and confused. "Well, no, not at all." He rubs the back of his head. "I'm not really sure how you got that impression. Did I… do something wrong?"

Snaggle-tooth says, in a shrill voice, "You're the one's gonna get an im-press-ion, smarty-boy!" The other two laugh at the "witty" comeback.

"I get first swing," says Shaved-Head, as he starts to advance, smacking his stick against an open hand. "Lemme show him how we deal with monkey-boys 'round here!"

Baddock blinks, then smiles in a decidedly non-menacing way. "Oh! You wanna fight? Here?" He looks around. "Not much room to maneuver in, but if you're sure… " His hand quickly snaps from the back of his head to his bo staff, which he pulls out of its sheath with a high-speed twirl. He drops back into a fighting stance, still smiling that odd, almost inappropriate smile.

Shaved-Head pauses, looking uncertain at the proficiency with which the boy handles the staff. He looks as if he's about to back off … but Snaggle-Tooth goads him with the tip of the bat. "Go on," mocks Snaggle-Tooth. "WE'VE got sticks, too! And if that's not good enough … " He leers as he points over his shoulder to One-Ear. "… he's got a special surprise!"

Shaved-Head warily steps forward, looking newly bold in the face of peer pressure from his friends. He tentatively swings his stick from side to side as he approaches Baddock.

Baddock nods to himself as he sizes up his opponent. He then speaks to the Kavi. "I'll let you have first strike," the human boy says, "So make it count!"

Shaved-Head looks to be taken off guard by this generous concession from his opponent … but as his ears flush from embarrassment, he emboldens himself up in the face of his comrades, and makes a wild swing with his stick, shouting a loud "keeeeyaaaaa!" as he does so.

As soon as Baddock saw the swing begin, he braced himself, clearing his mind as he folded his arms, gritted his teeth, and prepared for the impending impact of the stick.

The stick hits quite solid and hard across the upper part of Baddock's left arm. That will leave a bruise. It takes a split second for the others to see what's happening, but they apparently have decided that Baddock must not be a fighter after all, as they start laughing exaggeratedly, bowling over and kicking their heels.

Shaved-Head, looking quite sure of himself now, steps back. "Heh. That'll show ya. Ya gonna cry now, monkey-boy?"

The boy winces from the sheer force of the blow, but has no visible reaction otherwise. He looks up at Shaved-Head… not crying, but grinning. "Heh… Ya call that a hit? If I wanted a kiss, I would've called ya 'Mommy'." He shifts the postion of his feet. "Oh yeah, one other thing… " He leaps right at Shaved-Head, his bo-staff whistling through the air as it twirls, aimed at its intended target: right in the Kavi's mid-section. "YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!!"

Not only is Shaved-Head caught terribly off guard and overly (and erroneously) confident … but Baddock's blow is delivered with true skill, even despite the minor injury sustained on his left arm. The bo stick smashes, unimpeded, into the Kavi's midsection, knocking the air out of him as the ferret-creature's eyes go wide and his mouth puckers with the sudden exhalation. He is knocked backward, stumbling and falling into a pile of broken crates and dishware, causing it to collapse upon him and partially bury him under the debris. He can be heard gasping for breath under the pile, as the two others look at Baddock with newfound respect.

"Eyy … that'n was purt good," says One-Ear, looking almost regretful. "But you hit him real bad. And I'm afeared we gots ta make you pay for that'n." As he says this, Snaggle-tooth advances with the bat.

Baddock nods, placing his bo stick back into its sheath. "Well, if ya got to… " He reaches down to his waist and draws his sword, taking a step back and holding it at the ready. "But no more freebies, if you're just gonna waste 'em."

Snaggle-tooth stops in mid-step, his eyes go wide, and he mutters, "Dagh," under his breath. He looks back to One-Ear. "Forget this! I'm outta here!" He drops the bat and bolts for the street.

One-Ear sneers at his comrade's departure, then digs under his coat. "Heh. I was wanting to save this for a special occasion … but I guess this is it." He pulls out what looks like an old-fashioned, archaic pistol. He blows across the top of the barrel (for who knows what purpose other than showmanship), and pulls the lock. "Eat chitin, monkey-boy!"

The pistol looks to be in pretty bad condition, for what it's worth. It appears to be made of wood and the strange material that people call "chitin" around here, and seems to have seen far better days.

Baddock knows there's nothing he can do against a firearm. Not head-on, anyway. Sticking his sword back into his sheath, he leaps up at one wall of the alleyway, preparing to rebound upwards and to a higher point on the opposite wall. It looks as though he's attempting to repeat the triangle-jump all the way to the top of the buildings.

And, as impossible as it might seem, that's exactly what Baddock does, as – thankfully – none of the masonry gives way against his daring act of acrobatics. A loud *crack* can be heard below as the firearm discharges, but there's no chance to take a peek down – and the important part, anyway, is that Baddock doesn't feel as if he's been hit.

And another important part … is that he is now on the top of a roof of one of the adjacent buildings. The shingles are missing in several places, and there's no telling how sturdy the roof is, as many of the buildings in this area look like they really should be condemned. Still, it's better than being shot.

Baddock smiles, and lets out a relieved sigh. He looks around, trying to decide where to go from here.

Cursing can be heard from the alleyway … but the way is clear. The Kavi apparently doesn't sport the same skills … or if he is, he's not taking his chances anyway.

Baddock unzips his jacket as he takes a look around. Noticing the Temple off in the distance, he grins and takes off in its general direction, dashing along and leaping from rooftop to rooftop.