"Courage does not always roar. Valor does not always shine."
-Tomi Adeyemi
A very wealthy man of royalty sat on his throne, in the throne room. The man had a long red beard, of Irish decent. Two men stood by the throne and another one entered.
"Sir Godwin! How are our borders doing?"The king said.
"Not good your majesty, we need that stone."Godwin said.
"You see my friend, the stone we seek is far away in the Goblin country. That is why we are holding the tournament."
"Goblin country? That's off continent."
"Yes it is. I'm sending 12 potential men including you Godwin and my son."
"Prince Elric sir?"
"You are to protect him at all costs. Can you suggest any other people to go along?"
"Faulken is good in a fight sir."
"Very well, then. Get the tournament set up. We need fighters."
Godwin smiled and walked away, and outside. Right as he left, Fareman and Malcom arrived at the gate.
The two decided to let the donkeys go free before they showed the flyer and walked into the kingdom.
Godwin saw the two men and went to confront them.
"Are you two here for the tournament?"Godwin asked.
"Yes, we are."
"You have swords? You must be Experienced in combat."
"What does the competition consist of?"
"Well, combat challenges and sparring. I'll need to confiscate your weapons. Just for now."
Malcom looked at Fareman who had always had his sword by his side, but surprisingly, Fareman threw his sheathed sword into Godwin's outstretched hand. Malcom did the same with his sword.
"Go into the throne room and wait for everyone else to arrive."Godwin said, as he walked away.
Fareman and Malcom walked passed rows of bleachers and racks of wooden swords to get into the castle.
They had to wait multiple hours for all 30 contestants to arrive before the king explained everything.
"Gentlemen! You will be tested with combat in this tournament. The top 9 will move on. You will be prepared and the winner will be give. 100 golden coins!"The king said loudly.
The doors opened and 2 men were chosen to compete. Everyone walked outside and the seats were filled with the townspeople who wanted to watch. Malcom and Fareman grew nervous but they were able to strategize further but quietly.
"There are no guards. This will be too easy."Fareman whispered.
"I don't know, I just don't know."Malcom whispered back.
"When we get closer, I'll sneak back in and get the jewels."
"Alright, good luck."
"I don't need luck."
