The Race (A Gladius Adventure Series - Short Story)

This is a short story for middle grade readers featuring the main character, Gladius Oldmont, from the fantasy adventure novel Gladius and the Bartlett Trial, by J. A. Paul. In this exciting story, Gladius competes in the Bartlett Trial Preliminaries, an annual race for future Bartlett Trial newbies, but before the race begins, Gladius learns the truth behind the mystery of a community death. Could this new discovery unexpectedly change the outcome of the race? The only way to find out is to run The Race.
This is a short story of approximately 6300 words.