Wolf Bloodline

The Path To The Mountain

We arrived in a town called Tiro, in the east of the First Kingdom. Our goal was to convince the Naiton clan to join our fight. We didn't know if they would accept our offer, but we had to try. Their location was further away than we expected, so we had to buy a horse-drawn carriage.

They were looking for us everywhere and we were walking around with our black cloaks on our heads, our aim was to stay as far away from the eyes as possible. Of course, having a panda with us made this situation a little more difficult.

For a moment I remembered what my uncle had said as we walked. The Epic had almost as much authority as a king. So it was quite normal for us to be searched in most places. Kings couldn't do anything because they feared a great war. Kings most rightly thought of the welfare of their people. It wasn't pleasant to think about, but it was the truth.

After our horse carriage search, we decided to rest for a while. We should have stayed out of sight, at least until the crowd outside had dispersed.

Inside, I asked Babu, "Can I ask you something?"

"Absolutely! What's the problem?" he said.

"When you spoke to Master Yix, I heard about 'Ki' power. A strong man mentioned it but I don't know much. Do you know anything? You were training to control Ki power; how much can you control?"

"Hmmm. Let me think..." He said.

"Ki is life energy. Every living thing has Ki power, but only the Cronus lineage or powerful individuals can fully use it. For Ki control, I trained with my Master for a long time but never fully controlled it," He added. "To control Ki, your mind must be empty. One focus and long meditation. If your willpower is strong, you may achieve what you want."

Lezlie joined our conversation and asked, "What is it like to completely unlock Ki power?"

"If I succeed, my strength will increase tenfold. I could even heal someone with a non-severe wound or illness by touching them with my hand. However, the downside is that it requires an incredible amount of life energy, leaving me exhausted and powerless, or worse. That's why only the strongest can fully harness their Ki."

The prospect of controlling Ki power was exciting. But as with any power, it required hard work to activate. At least that's what Babu told us. Since we were in a restaurant, we decided to order some food to pass the time. Lezlie, Babu, and I were famished, but Hiroshi didn't eat anything. He remained vigilant, scanning the room for any potential trouble. "We need a carriage to climb the mountain," he said calmly. "But we don't know much about this place. We could waste a lot of time trying to find one."

Babu replied, "That may be true, but since we know our destination, it shouldn't be too difficult."

Just then, a man stood up from the table behind us and approached us. He appeared to be a regular villager but seemed eager to speak with us.

"Are you planning on traveling between the mountains?" he asked.

Babu replied, "Yes, but why do you ask?"

"Nothing special. I just thought I could take you there. But why do you want to go, I want to know?"

"We need to speak to the leader of the Naiton Bloodline," I said.

"What subject would you like to talk to him about?" He said.

The man wanted to know, but I wasn't sure how safe it would be to be honest with him either. I just spoke the way I wanted.

"We have an offer for him that will change the course of the war," I said.

"I see. It will be difficult for you to get there without a horse-drawn carriage. If you need one, just let me know and I can take you."