Steelpon (Chapter 9)
Gabriel is in the library on the 10th floor trying to concentrate on a book about the old kingdom, but Noah sits across from him making an annoying popping sound with some candy he had gotten from the Ranch. Gabriel is still amazed about how huge the library is. There are many rows and the bookcases reach almost to the ceiling. Pixie Notes bring books on a subject whenever a student asked for them.
"This is so difficult," Gabriel says through a yawn.
"Yeah, you're telling me. Where in the world are Leo and Elu?" Noah asks around his mouthful of candy.
"Leo is helping his dad with something in the master quarters and Elu is studying in her room," Gabriel lies. He knows that they are in their spot in the commons. The three had decided that their place was private and they couldn't have others coming and telling other people about it. Gabriel flag down a Pixie Note that floes by; it turns out to be Eve.
"Yes, Master Gabriel?" she asks.
"Eve, is there anything here about the crud language of trolls?" he asks. Eve makes a face.
"Of course, but those creatures are gross," Eve states.
"No kidding! Please bring me some books if you find, them, though." With that, Eve flies off. She returns with three giant books, and Gabriel and Noah groan when they hit the table.
"Hey, Blake isn't still bullying you is he?" Gabriel questions, flipping open the first book.
"Yes, but he hasn't hit me which is good." Noah repies nervously looking around as if Blake is listening.
"I told you to tell me when they bother you, bro. He is afraid of me because he knows I'm pretty nifty with a blade." Gabriel grins.
"Yeah, I've been watching you, dude. The way you bend the Will inside of you to launch yourself forward when you attack is deadly. Too bad you still can't do basic spells." Noah teases, lifting his glowing finger up.
"Ugh. It makes me mad that you guys have gotten so good that you don't even have to say the spell." Gabriel crumples his paper in frustration.
"You'll get it eventually. How is practice with Maze?"
"It's tough and challenging. Maze likes shooting lighting in my face. I almost forgot! He asked me to get my new sword from the armory today." Gabriel says, jumping up from the table.
"Wait, what about the assignment?" Noah complains.
"We'll get it done when I get back, I swear!" Gabriel slams the book he is reading shut and makes his way to the staircase.
The Armory is above the library on the eleventh floor. It's always loud because Champions go there to forge their own weapons and shields. Gabriel locates Master Max, the head of the Armory.
"Hi, Gabriel. Maze said you would be coming. Master Max is a dwarf with a long blond ponytail that touches his back. His brown apron is stained with smudge and oil.
"Yeah, he wants me to try to use a new blade because the one I am using is a standard long sword, but he thinks it is slowing me down. I think he wants me to try using a saber."
"Hmm, interesting. I think Maze is trying to turn you into your mother. She used an enchanted saber blade." Max pulls out a long box.
"Hi'ya Max!" comes a friendly voice from behind. "I came to get that weapon from you," Lance says showing off his perfect smile. He is wearing his Steelpon Knight armor and has a nasty bruise on his face. Steelpon must be a messy game, Gabriel ponders. He thinks of all the other times that the twins Figgus and Banks came into the room with bruises and cuts. Gabriel had also gotten the chance to meet the other team members of the Bloodsheds' team, Paul Knights and Grace Parker—she was the goalie and the only female on the team.
"Hey, Lance," Gabriel makes space for Lance to stand next to him.
"Hey, Gabe. So yeah, Max...you got that thing for me?" Lance asks excitedly.
"How are you even going to use this on the field, Lance? It's going to slow you down." Max shakes his head and leaves Gabriel's box on the counter. Reaching behind the black curtains, he pulls out a huge gun that resembles a Gatling gun.
"Whoa!" Gabriel moves out of the way so Max can pull the whole thing out and hand it to Lance, who is looking happier than a schoolgirl getting her first car.
"Oh, Max! You have outdone yourself. This is perfect for the field. Well, I'll see you guys at the game this weekend. We're the first game against the Boltbirds." Lance points at the heavy gun. It begins to levitate and follow him.
"Later, guys. Thanks again, Max!" He waves and exits through the doors.
"Well, here you go, Gabriel. Sorry about that. Lance has been waiting for that since the year started. Don't know what he is going to do with that thing on the field." Max hands Gabriel his box. Gabriel opens it and gasps. The saber is silver with a red hilt.
"Thanks, Max!" Gabriel grips the saber and executes a few quick swings.
"That should speed you up, I guess," Max say scratching his head.
When Gabriel leaves, he finds Leo climbing the stairs and looking really excited.
"I just saw Lance, man. He had some type of gun behind him. I bet he has got a big plan for the game."
"Leo, you still haven't told me the rules of the game," Gabriel reminds him.
"Oh you're right! You know what? Let's grab Elu and go to the coliseum and I'll show you," Leo said. When the boys find Elu, she is practicing her Will with Master Lee.
"The only reason why I'm going with you guys is because Gabe hasn't seen the game before," Elu mutters while blasting a red bolt from her fingertips at a floating target.
"Ms. Redbird, you really have mastered that basic Nis Foe spell." Master Lee says approvingly while glancing at the shattered target.
When the three finally make it past a series of friends, they head for the giant coliseum that is located behind the tower. It's massive and the size of a football field.
"Why is this so huge?" Gabriel asks.
"Because people from the Ranch and Witchclock come to watch sometimes depending on who's playing." There are six banners flying around the entrance of the coliseum. Each s diifferent from the next.
"So, the first banner is for the Boltbirds; their colors are gold and blue. The second banner is the 'Snakeskins' and their color is obviously emerald green. Next is the Hollowfaires, whose colors are orange and black. The next one is the Harpiedusters and theirs is purple. Then the best team in all the world-- the Bloodsheds! Their colors glow crimson red. The last team is Hydrahydra, and you can see they're sapphire blue," Leo explained while pointing from flag to flag. "I think the Boltbirds are practicing right now. We should be able to slip through over here." The three are about to enter when there is a large *Boom* from the inside.
"What was that?" Elu cries out.
"That was one of the earth fists!" Leo squeals. "We got to get in there," he continues while speeding toward the entrance.
"I don't believe you three are supposed to be here," sneers a familiar, nasty voice. Master Winton approaches from behind. "Practices are closed to non-players. Wouldn't want you going off telling other teams plays, hmm?"
"We wouldn't do that," Leo says in horror.
"Oh please. Just get out of here." Master Winton fans them away.
"I do not like him," Gabriel says when they have distanced themselves from Winton. "I wanna punch him right in his Buddha face," he continues.
"Don't worry, man. Just wait till this weekend! I'll explain it, and you'll be seeing the game played by one of the best players," Leo enthuses.
"It's a brutal sport anyway," Elu mutters, rolling her eyes.
When they get back to Champions' Peak, they head to the dining hall. It's packed, and everyone is talking about the upcoming Steelpon game.
"The Boltbirds runner Felisha Stone is super-fast...nothing is going to stop her." Peter Campbell shouts over Josh Mitchell who is recounting just how hot Felisha is.
"Are you kidding? Lance is way faster and way more agile than she is." Leo argues.
"Why don't you take bets?" Mary Barnes asks as she separates the boys from their scuffle. Mary Barnes is one of Elu's friends. She has a friendly smile and curly jet black hair.
"That's a great idea!" Leo exclaims. "If the Bloodsheds lose, I will drink Tardusk, and if you lose, you will do it." Leo extends his hand to Peter.
"You're on." Peter is looking a bit nervous as he grabs Leo's hand in a firm handshake.
A confused Gabriel whispered to Elu, "What is Tardusk?"
"It's a disgusting drink that Ogres love. It is the squashed intestines of creatures called Octfisks who are waste eaters; they tend to feed on dying animals." She wrinkles her nose and puts the sandwich back on her plate. "I think I just grossed myself out." She hurries away, holding back her rising bile.
No wonder Peter hesitated, Gabriel gives a shudder.
When Leo and Gabriel make it back to their room, there is plenty of talk about the bet that Leo had just made.
"I appreciate you having so much faith in us, Leo." Lance can't stop laughing. "But dude," he continues, "It will suck if we lose! Well for you mostly."
"I'm not going to lose because the Bloodsheds have one the best Runners," Leo points to Lance confidently...
Lance continues to chuckle. "We do have the toughest wings," Leo says turning to Figgus and Banks who both give a silly wave to all the guys who had gathered to hear.
"The all-seeing watcher Paul and the best goalie Grace Parker." When Leo mentions her name, some of the guys pretend to faint. Grace Parker is a senior Champion who is indeed beautiful: a high elf with glittery gold skin, faint green hair and big brown doe-like eyes.
After the boys are done messing about, Gabriel showers then gets into bed, eager for morning. He can't wait to see how the game will turn out! However, he keeps tossing and turning, partly because he is excited, but he is also uncomfortable. It doesn't help that traces of salt still linger in his bed from his previous attempts at spell work before bed. Nevertheless, Gabriel's body finally gives in to sleep.
When the sun comes through the window it lights Gabriel's face; he opens his eyes and sees the whole room had changed to a deep crimson red. Everyone is showing their spirit by wearing red hoodies underneath their Champion jackets.
"Come on, Gabe! Wake up! We need to get good seats!" Leo throws on his hoodie.
"Is it cold outside?"
Leo laughs and shakes his head. "Oh how little you know." He glances over his shoulder at Gabriel and exclaims, "This is going to be epic!"
The path from the tower to the Ranch and the Coliseum are packed. There are Champions, satyrs, high elves, dwarfs, hobgoblins, and elementals.
"This game is going to be awesome!" Leo shouts over the crowd as they enter the Coliseum. People rush to get high seats, and the late arrivers sit close and look down onto the dirt field with a circle in the middle. On each side of the Coliseum are two pillars and on top of the pillars are cages that hold different colored creatures. Through the crowd and the roar of the Coliseum, Gabriel sees Mary, Elu, Noah, Josh, and Peter.
"Leo, they're over there in the middle!" Gabriel heads in their direction with Leo close behind.
"Took you guys long enough. Thought you ran off, Leo," Peter huffs when they take their seats.
"You wish. Okay, so Gabe, you see those things in the cages up there? Those are nymphs. They control the elements during the game. To make this easier to understand, are you familiar with the Masks' game of Rugby?" Leo asks over the roaring crowd.
"Yeah. I am."
"Well, this is like that but better," Leo says right as the Bloodsheds race out of their side of the tunnel. Above their tunnel entrance are five red long flags. There is a roar from the crowd. All the team members are covered in armor like medieval knights...if knights wore red armor, that is. On the opposite end of the Coliseum, the Boltbirds pour out of the tunnel, their blue armor flashing in the sunlight. There are also five long blue flags above their entrance. An eruption of cheers comes from the crowd when Felisha, the Boltbirds' Runner, blows a mocking kiss at Lance.
"Okay, so they're about to get in position. The Runner—that's Lance--is up front. His job is to get the ball into the goal on the other side. The wings are Figgus and Banks; basically, their job is to protect the runner from the other team's wings and the nymphs' element-like attacks. Paul's position is a little weird. He gets on that large pillar behind the goalie net. His job is to watch the field and call out what the nymphs are about to throw at the players, so he's called the Watcher. Finally, there's Grace. She's the goalie. Her job is to stop the ball from getting into the net."
Gabriel looks at the net. It is only about the same size as a soccer goal, maybe smaller.
"First to five wins." Leo explains.
"Where's the ball?" Gabriel asks. Leo points at the levitating gong in the center of the field.
"The gong will sound three times then fold in on itself to turn into a ball about the size of a basketball...just a bit smaller. When the ball hits the ground, that's when the fun happens," Leo says with a crooked smile.
Paul, who is in the back, placed the Gatling gun-like machine next to himself on the large pillar's flat surface. Lance gives the crowd a thumbs up. Grace crouches low in front of the net. The nymphs up above look like they were sleeping, and Gabriel can't fathom how they can sleep with this much shouting and excitement.
The levitating gong begins to vibrate on its own. Then there is a loud *Bong,* and to Gabriel's surprise, silence falls over the Coliseum. Everyone freezes to stare at the field. Lance, who had been smiling, is now serious and pulls down his helmet to cover his face. Figgus and Banks who had been showboating now crouch in running positions.
Then comes the second *Bong.* The nymphs start to wake from their slumber. They glow with reds, blues, greens, and pinks. To Gabriel, they don't look too happy about being awakened. Finally a resounding third *Bong* sounds; then the gong folds in on itself, shifts into a ball, and hits the ground with a loud *thud*. Lance speeds toward it, and so does the Boltbirds' runner, Felisha.
They both stop immediately when one of the nymphs above waves her hands and circles of fire surround Lance and Felisha. The crowd roars madly, and from there, the game field fills with obstacles at random from the nymphs. Figgus takes off toward the Steelpon ball but is stopped by a giant fist that springs from the ground that sends him flying back by one of the nymphs from above.
Banks and the two Boltbirds wings race for the ball.
"Ice Wraiths! Banks, get low!" shouts Paul from behind. Banks does a fantastic roll just in time to dodge the ghost-like creatures. The Boltbirds' watcher was slow to call out the danger for his wings which results in them being not so lucky. The Ice Wraths pass through them and freeze them solid. "Are they dead?!" Gabriel cries in panic.
Meanwhile, Leo cheers like mad when Banks scoops up the ball and heads toward the Boltbirds' watcher with Lance and Felisha close behind.
"No, Champions have tougher bodies than Masks, so we can handle it. And the effect usually lasts for a minute, sometimes less. But I guess I should tell you that the nymphs in the cages control all the elemental obstacles. They mostly stick with keeping surrounding players in a circle of fire or making Ice Wraiths freeze them. Sometimes they make an earth fist like the one that just came out of the ground to hits the players. But what you really want to watch out for is the mini-portals. They pop out of nowhere and can take a player who is running from one side of the field to the other, or sometimes they even send players falling from the sky."
"NO! NO! NO!" Peter shouts. Leo and Gabriel look back to the field. Banks had knocked down the other wings player, but a giant earth fist had jumped up to hit him-- before he is thrown back by its force, he throws the ball in the air above him. Lance, who is running behind him, jumps in mid-air to catch it...and tries to get Paul's attention.
Paul is standing in the back, but on cue, he makes his staff appear and touchs the Gatling gun. There is a blast of wind so hard that the Coliseum feels its gust. The first blast knocks the Boltbirds' goalie inside their own goal, and their watcher flies off his platform. The Gale launches Lance forward along with Felisha, who is shot with so much force that she is flung into an Ice Wraith and frozen. Undeterred, Lance cocks his arm back and throw the ball towards the net.
The Boltbirds' goalie is still trying to get out of the net when the ball slams into his stomach from Lance's throw. That's when the crowd erupts. One of the long blue flags catches fire and falls off of the entrance to the Boltbirds' tunnel in burnt fragments.
"That's how the points are noted," Leo shouts over the mayhem.
"Like I said before, when all five flags are burned up, that team loses."
The Goalie gets up, takes the ball, and kicks it back down the field to Felisha. From there, the game becomes messy! There are Firewalls that players try to avoid, but instead, they end up getting hit by giant earth fists or frozen. Figgus had been going at it with the other Boltbirds' wing. They slam each other into the Coliseum wall or throw each other into an obstacle. Even with all the chaos and gameplay, the crowd roars and Gabriel is amazed. He wants to play, too. Watching Lance is amazing. He is so graceful on the field...and swift! When he does have the ball, Felishia is unable to tackle him or even keep up. Even with the obstacles slowing Lance down, Paul on spoint calling out each obstacle. But the game's intensity is crazy; Gabriel is shocked that even the Watchers, Paul and Grace, get hit with obstacles as well.
The Boltbirds finally made two points, but The Bloodsheds only need one more to win. Banks shields Lance, who is in possession of the ball. Figgus keeps Felisha and her two wings back through sheer force. Paul is hit with so many Ice Wraiths that his red armor looked like it is starting to crack from the cold. The Boltbirds' watcher is hit with a rock fist and sent flying off his platform again.
"Paul! Fire!" Lance shouts as Banks picks him up and throws him into the air to be launched forward by the wind blast. Lance's body graces the end of a rock punch while flying forward. While in the air, Lance pushes the ball forward, clenching his fist, and slams them together and shouts,
"AKA DA RUSE!" A purple cannon shot erupts from Lance's fist, and the ball speeds like a rocket toward the goalie.
"LANCE MADE THAT SHOT TOO CLOSE! IT'S GOING TO SEND THAT GOALIE FLYING!" Leo shouts.
"NO! THERE IS STILL HOPE!" Peter shouts back. Sadly for Peter, Leo is right. The force from the ball did indeed send the goalie flying backward from its strong impact. The goalie fell into the net, and the last blue flag lights up, and the crowd loses control. Gabriel shouts alongside them. A spray of red mist bursts from the ground and finds its way into the air; on the field Lance, Banks, Grace, Paul, and Figgus stand victorious. Peter, who looks as if he is going to be sick, looks even more upset when Leo shouts, "You know what's up!"
When both the heartbroken and celebrating fans finally empty out of Coliseum, they pack The Ranch. The students make their way to the dining hall, and everyone discussing the game make it a merry time. Gabriel and Leo drink Troll blood until they feel sick, and Elu sits looking at them disapprovingly. When the time comes for Peter to drink the Tardusk, Leo hoists himself up on the table and pulls Gabriel up with him.
"My fellow Champions, some of you may know about the bet I had with Peter Campbell, but to those who don't, I'll tell you now," Leo's shout echoes in the dining hall. People started to laugh when Peter's face turns red. Even the Boltbirds' players laugh. Despite the levity, Gabriel thinks both teams looked awful. Lance has deep cuts all over his body; Paul's lips are blue from frost, and Banks has broken an arm.
Meanwhile, Leo continues, "Peter thought the Boltbirds would win, and I thought the Bloodsheds would win, and we agreed the loser would have to drink Tardusk!" People make gagging noises.
"Now, you won't go back on a deal will you, Peter?" Leo taunts.
"No, I won't. A true Champion never backs down from a bet," Peter answers through gritted teeth.
"Well then, good. Dad, can you bring the man a drink?" Leo turns from the Champions' tables to the Masters' table. Even the Masters look a little tickled about the bet.
With his mighty red hair flowing behind him, Farish stands and holds his goblet out. Immediately, a foul smell fills the dining hall. It smells like a combination of gasoline and sulfur. Some people start gagging and covering their noses. Even Farish has to hold his breath as he walks it down from the master table and hands it to Peter, who looks as if he were about to cry. But he holds his nose and starts to drink. People begin clapping and pretending they are choking. When Peter finishes the goblet, he smiles and then promptly vomits. People clap when he is done, and the Boltbirds' wings come over and put him on their shoulders.
"Brave man he is!" Leo shouts over the loud dining hall. The rest of the night is loud and full of fun. When the boys are finally back in their quarters, Lance is thrown into the hot tub and there are cheers of celebration at the Bloodshed's victory. Gabriel and Leo, who both are shirtless and look as if they both could use some sleep, shout to Lance, Figgus, Banks and the rest of the guys, "WE SWEAR ON OUR LIVES WE WILL PLAY FOR THE BLOODSHEDS!" There is a roar from the team, who then pick up Gabriel and Leo and throws them into the hot tub.
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