Among The Mountains

We crossed multiple plains and mountains on a horse-drawn carriage. It was an intense and arduous journey due to the bad storm and troubled roads. We almost lost the carriage many times, but eventually reached the nest of the Naiton Bloodline.

I was excited and went ahead to see what it was like. I was surprised by what I saw. Their home was a large castle in the mountains with a beautiful waterfall cascading down from the top of the mountain next to it. The water was clear and beautiful.

The castle was surrounded by trees planted later. It seemed like the perfect place to live. Babu and Lezlie were surprised when they saw this place, but Hiroshi wasn't impressed.

When we arrived at the front of the castle, the driver shouted, "Open the door! I brought supplies from the city."

One of the men above the castle noticed us and told the driver harshly, "No strangers can be brought here. Take them back now."

"They want to talk with the leader about The Epic and The Elite Soldiers," replied the driver.

"If our leader Suramu doesn't like this idea, you and your friends will suffer the consequences. And don't forget, I'm not doing this because I trust them, but because I'm looking for hope in our war," warned the man before shouting, "OPEN THE DOOR!"

The gate of the huge castle began to open slowly and we entered. After a short time, the driver stopped the carriage and said, "Here we are, the one and indestructible Kingdom of the Bloodline of Naiton."

"Thank you for putting your life on the line so we could get in here and for protecting us. We won't make you regret it," I replied.

The driver nodded in approval. We got out of the carriage and followed him into the castle. At the entrance, they searched us and we had to leave our weapons and dangerous items.

Hiroshi stared angrily at the person he left his gun with and warned, "If anything happens to this gun, you can be sure I will remember you."

We entered the castle and it was larger than it appeared from the outside. It was bright and clean with expensive works of art around. The man who let us in guided us to the leader's room. I wondered if he was as strong as an epic or even a real king.

As we arrived at the leader's door, the man opened it and said, "Come in, the leader is waiting for you."

When we entered the leader's room, he was sitting on his throne with a table in front of him. He stood up and said, "Welcome, I am Sumaru, the fourth leader of the Naiton Bloodline. One of my people told me about you. He said you wanted to talk to me about something about the epics. Since everyone in the whole kingdom is talking about you, it shouldn't be hard to know what you want."

"What we want is something we all want, but we need help to make it happen. We are looking for a group of people who will stand with us without fear. It may sound more than bullshit, but we need the help of people like you," I replied.

"What exactly are you planning to do?" asked Sumaru.

"The army of the First Epic is quite crowded. Too much for the four of us. So join our war with the people of your lineage and help us put an end to The First Epic's evil plans," I explained.

Sumaru gestured for us to sit down and said, "Sit down, let's talk a little bit."

After we sat down he started to talk, "First, as much as I want to put an end to the bad ruling of the First Epic, I cannot do that. Secondly, even if we fight with you, it's obvious that we can't win with an army. And thirdly, I don't even know who you are or what you're capable of."

"I can understand if you don't trust us, but I can't ask anyone else for help, we are each other's only hope at this point," I replied.

"Well then, brave boy, tell me what lineage you come from," asked Sumaru.

"I'm sorry, but I can't share it with everyone," I replied.

"You come here and ask for help from a leader you don't know but don't trust him enough to say your bloodline. How can I fight beside you like this?" asked Sumaru.

I couldn't think of anything else to say to save the situation. I took a breath and said, "I'm a descendant of the Wolf."

The leader's expression turned serious and surprised. A man beside the one who opened the door looked at me as if I was crazy and said, "These lunatics are trying to trick you. The Wolf bloodline is extinct and there's no way they're alive."

I turned around and took his sword, holding it to his throat. Hiroshi stood up and said, "Hey, kid, it's not worth it. Let's go."

We left the man and the sword and made our way to the exit without saying anything. As we were about to leave the room, the leader shouted, "I will consider your offer. But there are things I want you to explain to me."

We turned around and sat back down. The leader said, "You two, leave us alone for a bit." The men who guarded the door left the room and we started to talk.

"Having a wolf descendant could change the course of the war. Given that your friends are strong, there's still hope to win the war. But that may not be enough," said Sumaru.

Hiroshi lit his cigar and asked, "Then what's on your mind?"

"A long time ago, the First Epic destroyed the previous space where we used to live and took many of my warrior's prisoners for fear of losing the war due to our population growth. I have lost dozens of comrades, and he forces many of my people to search for valuables like diamonds and gold in the mines, just for fun. He's afraid of losing his rule. If we save the people of my bloodline from there, we will be very strong in battle," explained Sumaru.