Calix and Owen were walking to the courtyard to meet up with Brandon. Meet up being a loose word for fight. As they were walking in the corridor Owen asks Calix “Hey buddy listen, I know where to get some Kona. We can make a stop there and get so-”
Calix replied angrily “What- no. I want to fight fair”
Owen inquired “Look Calix, I know you have honor and all of that but if you really want to ride the dragon, which by the way we need a name for. I’m just saying if you want to ride ‘it’ you need to win this fight”
A few moments of silence passed, Calix broke it “So you’re saying you doubt me?”
Awkwardly Owen replied “Ahh…well…um kinda.”
Calix laughed. “Nah its fine, I doubt myself to, but no I don’t do drugs”
Owen shrugged “Your choice”
They reached the courtyard where Brandon was practicing with Xai. He saw Calix and stopped and came over. “Ah you actually came, I thought you were going to bail, but any who I’ve asked Mr. Emblem here to referee our match” He said while gesturing at Mr. Emblem who came over.
He exclaimed “Boys! So you know all the rules, well I hope you do. It’s going to be a first to 2. Bring your sword to the side of the opponent’s neck or chest to get the point, good luck!”
Brandon had brought a sword from home, meanwhile Calix chose one from the rack. As they entered the ring Mr. Emblem whispered to Owen “Want to place bets?”
“Um sure, I bet 10 kroos on Brandon”
“Hmm, well that’s unfavorable but sure I’ll take it, who knows Calix might get lucky”.
The 1st match began and immediately Brandon went on the attack. He jabbed forward which Calix dodged and then Brandon went for a leg sweep for which Calix went for the parry but Brandon pulled out last second and struck upwards which Calix dodged by a centimeter but by the time Calix figured out what was happening Brandon’s sword was at his neck.
Mr. Emblem blew a whistle “That’s one point for Brandon” After a pause “Ok at your positions anddddd go.”
This time it was Calix who went on the attack, it was a combination of right and left swipes all of which Brandon parried with ease and Calix realized this wasn’t going to work, he did the same maneuver that Brandon did in the first match by jabbing forward and then going for the legs but he didn’t pull out and Brandon saw it coming from a mile away and he simply jumped over it.
Calix took a moment to breathe and Brandon took the opportunity to go on the counter attack. He had a wide stance and was swiping furiously. Calix just barely defended the flurry of attacks but he saw that Brandon had a consistent pattern which was Right swipe, left swipe, diagonal swipe and then a left swipe. Calix waited for the second left swipe and when it came he ducked and flung himself on Brandon’s side and brought the sword at his neck.
The whistle sounded again “That’s one point for Calix, score is 1-1. Final match commencing in 3, 2, 1 and go.”
Calix decided to go on the attack again and put even more power on his swipes. This time Brandon wasn’t as lucky as when Calix did a hard swipe down, it made his sword fly out of his hand. ‘Yes this is it’ Calix thought. He went for the finishing blow and Brandon decided to replicate Calix by falling to the ground. Calix stabbed down and Brandon rolled to the side towards his sword and picked it up. He was still on the ground though so Calix went for another stab which Brandon just parried.
Calix tried another time slicing downwards but Brandon did a forward role and stood up. When he stood up Calix’s back was turning to face him but he didn’t turn fast enough and by the time he swung around, Brandon’s sword was already at his neck.
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Owen said awkwardly “Well, yea Calix lost but Me. Emblem you own me 10 kroos” Owen looked over and Mr. Emblem was nowhere to be seen “Damm.”
Calix was panting “Good, good game Brandon” he said through his breaths.
Brandon “Yea not bad, well guess you aren’t getting your berries and herbs loser” he said as he walked off. When he was gone Calix punched the floor in anger.
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5 days later Calix went to the Black market again, alone this time. He entered the guarded doors and as usual Brandon was there. Brandon announced “hey it’s the loser, what can I do for you Mr. Calix.”
Calix chose his words carefully “Hey uh Brandon, so I was thinking about actually paying for the berries and herbs but before I purchase them I want to see if they are still fresh.
“Oh of course, sure let me just take them out” He took out the berries from a drawer labeled ‘Drawer 4’ and the herbs from a drawer labeled ‘Drawer 14’. Calix wasn’t actually here to see if they were fresh or not, he was here to see where they were kept.
He pretended to examine them, squeezed a few berries and told Brandon “Yep they look good, I’ll come with the money in 2 days’ time” and left without saying anything else.
That night in his bedroom, Calix locked the door, opened his window jumped out and landed the 14 foot drop. He took his bicycle and went somewhere, 45 minutes later he returned and used the window ledges to climb back into his room.
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The next morning as usual Calix ate his breakfast quietly. As he was about to leave he remembered something and asked his dad “Hey um dad can Owen also come on the trip with us tomorrow?”
His dad looked up from the newspaper and chuckled “Oh sure I have no problem, as long has his parents are ok with it”
“Thanks dad” and Calix hopped on his bicycle and headed to school. Owen was already there and approached Calix “Ok so my parents said I can go with you and your dad, but there’s no point going if we can't get the flandle berries and the poiso herbs for your dumb plan to ride the dragon, no offence”
“None taken” replied Calix as he hopped of the bicycle. “So about the berries and the herbs, yea we are kinda just gonna uh steal them from Brandon.”
There was a silence
“We are going to do what now???, man I swear these plans are getting worse and worse. HOW EXACTLY DO YOU INTEND ON STEALING FROM A ROOM THAT’S ALWAYS GUARDED”
“Ah that’s the thing, its only guarded in the morning-”
“Calix If you are about to say-”
“Yep we are going to break into the school at night!”
Owen sighed “Yea that’s what I thought you would say”.
Calix went on “So last night I snuck out of the house and did a few laps around the school perimeter.”
“Like a scout mission?”
“Yea exactly, so I saw that there were guards but only on the corners of the school, and the gate isn’t guarded so we can just jump over it. Our plan is going to be simple, sneak out, meet at the school, enter, head to the black market and take the ingredients”.
“How do you know where Brandon keeps them?”
“Because yesterday I went to him and tricked him into showing me where they were kept, well it wasn’t exactly a trick it was just me seeing where he took them from”
Owen sighed again “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”
Calix grinned “Just trust me, when am I wrong?”
Owen raised an eyebrow but didn’t reply and started to walk towards the first class, Calix followed.
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That night Calix went through the same procedure, locked the door and jumped out the window. By the time he reached the school gate Owen was already there.
“You’re late” Said Owen while leaning against the gate
“Yea well I’m here now” grunted Calix as he was climbing the gate, Owen followed pursuit.
A word wasn’t spoken between them as they crept down the corridors and then down the stairs. They reached the metal door which was the black market. What was strange however was that from under the door you could see that the lights inside were on.
“There’s someone inside” Whispered Calix
“I knew this was a bad idea” Whispered Owen back
“Well, no turning back now” and he kicked the door open.
Inside there were 3 empty bottles of whiskey and 2 bottles of alcohol on the table. A few seconds later a drunk and woozy Brandon appeared from around the corner. He exclaimed “Oh my gosh Calixxxxxxx, Owennnn how ae yo my dudes” and then he fell over. It took him a full 20 seconds to find his footing. “Hey ye hos lfe”
Calix confusedly replied “Uh, life is …..good”
Brandon then put his hand in his pocket “O no I lst my Kona Poder”
Owen inquired “You take Kona?”
Brandon laughed “how do yo thing I bet Calix” his words came out slurry.
Calix replied “Damm. So uh we will be going, right after we take a few things.” Calix headed towards the drawers where the flandle berries and the poiso herbs were kept and took them.
Brandon tried to put a sentence together “Hey yo can't ta my stuf”
Brandon came in for the punch and Owen intercepted pushing him to the ground. Brandon lay there like a baby and took his sweet time to stand up again. He went to kick Owen in the chest and Owen caught his leg and spun him around till he fell, and he fell so hard that combined with the alcohol it was enough to make him faint.
“Well that’s the end of that” breathed Owen, come on take your stuff Calix and lets get out of here.