After many problems, Kitu and his team managed to cross the great mountain range, but not without losses. Due to the dangers of the mountains and their vast extension, it was inevitable to encounter monsters or beasts along the way. They suffered injuries and setbacks, more so due to the burden of carrying a heavy rock to its destination without using carts or pack animals. On one occasion shortly before descending through the mountains, Kitu and his team encountered a pack of wild wolves, with no escape, two members of the team risked their lives luring them to another location while the rest escaped. The plan worked successfully but after waiting a day for the two members and seeing that they did not return, they simply left, praying that they were still alive and asking the prince for a rescue team for them.
Full of wounds, hungry, thirsty, exhausted to the extreme, with only sheer force of will managing their weak bodies, Kitu and his three companions managed to reach the entrance of the great city. Due to his travels, he was immediately recognized by one of the guards. Immediately upon seeing his condition, they took him in along with his people and took him to Trina's herbalist's shop. Although the place was humble and small, no one questioned the quality of herbs and medicinal potions for sale, mainly because of its manager and owner, Trina. A teenager of perhaps 16 years old who, despite her young age, was indisputably the second best herbalist in the entire kingdom, only surpassed by her teacher, the leader of the herb sect, Cain.
That afternoon Trina was reading as usual, due to her posture when reading one would assure that she wanted to get inside the book, literally. His face was only a few fingers away from the book; there are people who claim that that distance is reducing every day.
– Miss Trina! We bring some wounded, they collapsed at the entrance to the town, we believe they were attacked.
Hearing this, Trina put her book aside and immediately stood up. He ordered his servants to help transport the wounded to the back room where they would be treated. With a slight glance at their bodies he could deduce their condition and the necessary countermeasures to take.
– The four people have wounds on their backs and legs, their hands are destroyed and apparently they have not eaten in days. I need you to bring ointments to treat everyone's wounds and then bandage their hands and backs with a sheet of paper to avoid infections. I also need you to prepare the ingredients for a medicinal soup, look in the blue book on the first shelf at the entrance, it's the third recipe. Don't worry, when I finish the soup I will wake you up with some salts and you can talk to them.
For the soldiers as well as for all the people of the kingdom, Trina was the closest thing they would have to a saint, a goddess, a divine being in their entire lives. Not only had Trina given up all the riches and prestige of remaining the sole disciple of the grass sect leader to be with them, but all the treatment she provided was completely free. Everyone knew that no matter how small or serious your affliction was, Trina would treat it with the utmost attention and wouldn't let you go until she saw you better. Although she did not remember faces and frequently refused to leave her store, everyone had her in high esteem to the point that her store subsisted on donations, even the royal family themselves made notable contributions and their workers accompanied her at will without receiving pay some.
– Thank you Miss Trina!
Nodding her head, Trina headed to her private room to wait for her cauldron and the ingredients for the medicinal soup. He effortlessly added each ingredient to the cauldron in an order and timing based on the recipe. For her, everything about herbalism was as natural as breathing, as if she had been born just for this.
After a time similar to two incense sticks, a powerful and heavy smell came out of the private room. Everyone knew that it was Trina's medicinal soup, although the smell was not the most appetizing, they knew that there is no medicine that tastes good and if it did it probably wouldn't be medicine.
– Bring the mole salts, burn them a little and bring them up to your nose. Also bring a blue lotus candle.
Without delay his two assistants arrived with a small plate with what appeared to be coarse salt and coffee. Before burning it, both assistants as well as Trina tied a wet handkerchief around their faces to cover their noses. Upon seeing this, the guards covered their noses with the closest thing they had. They knew perfectly well the effect that the smell of those salts had when burning, they had lived that experience firsthand. It was common for them to have accidents during their training and when they fainted, Trina made them smell the burnt mole salt, an experience that everyone described as "smelling the devil's feet."
Burning some of the mole salt, the assistant tried to blow the smoke from it towards Kitu's nose. After a few breaths Kitu's eyes flew open and he began to gag hard and stuff his nose.
- What's that! It smells like…! Ahh!
While Kitu tried to contain his urge to vomit on the spot, the assistants repeated the same process with the other patients.
– Me… Where am I? I remember running as fast as possible for help… I…
– You're at Trina's herbal shop, you fainted at the entrance and we immediately carried you here. You should thank Miss Trina for treating you.
Understanding his situation, Kitu turned to look at the young woman next to him with the utmost respect. He knew who she was, throughout his travels it was inevitable that he would suffer an injury or that someone from his tribe would get sick, so without hesitation he always went to Trina's herbalist's shop.
–How could I not recognize Miss Trina? Thank you very much for helping us, I swear on everything I have that I will repay you in the near future for all this help.
– You don't have to pay anything. I do what I can and what I like. Please finish your soup.
Nodding his head in gratitude Kitu left this matter promising in his heart to repay him with the profits he would make in the future. With the little strength he had, he picked up the bowl next to him only to smell a powerful smell that made him recoil instantly. Although the smell was strong, it was nothing compared to the smell he felt when he woke up, so enduring it as best he could, he finished the entire soup in one gulp.
– My dear soldiers. – Kitu said while burping with difficulty – It is of utmost importance that I meet the prince, I need to discuss an important matter with him.
– No problem, just let Miss Trina accept and we will gladly escort you.
Kitu understood Trina's rules well so he waited until she treated them and made sure they did not have any other injuries. It wasn't until the next morning that with complete difficulty Trina let Kitu leave the herbal shop. Only due to the circumstances of the case did she let him leave, leaving his companions behind to recover.
The soldiers escorted Kitu along with his belongings that they had guarded with the greatest attention, after all, who would dare to offend a Moox? Even soldiers were not exempt from the kingdom's rules.
At the castle they received Kitu with great detail, something common given that his arrival always involved a new shipment of wood or some other negotiation. Unfortunately, on this occasion he was not in the mood to have fun and was eagerly awaiting the prince's arrival. In order to speed up their meeting, he even indicated the reason for his visit to the servant, knowing that he was one of the prince's most trusted people. It was only until he heard quick footsteps coming from the hallway that his anxiety reduced.
– My prince regret…
Before finishing his sentence Kitu stopped when he realized that in front of him was not the prince but the same servant from before.
– Excuse me, due to the importance and delicacy of the topic, the prince has requested to change the meeting place. If you would be so kind as to follow me.
– With pleasure, just the shipment…
– Don't worry, I'll take care of it personally when I return.
With these words Kitu followed the servant. He tried to calm his nerves and anxieties since he knew the prince's way of acting. If he detected any indication of need on their part, it is likely that they would end up with nothing. He had to get a good deal for the mine and then he would negotiate help to solve the problem of the collapse and the rescue of his companions lost in the forest, this way he could ensure that the prince abided by the original deal due to his honor and obtain future profits. for the tribe.
At the same time, Valthon was in his own dilemma. Before him was what he fought for so many years, only to find that it never belonged to him. His head was a mess at this moment, he was trying to find every possibility that would allow him to get the mine or at least part of it but every part of his being was screaming at him that it wasn't worth the effort. Part of the reason he was in this dilemma was because he didn't even know if he should immediately report the mine.
[Is this what you are looking for? What if it's just a coincidence? But they already know about this, don't they? If they don't know and I inform them, I will only be giving it to them, but if they know and I don't, they will know. Curse! I bet that bastard is having fun right now. I must find a way to get some. But how? I can pretend to send people to check and get some of the ore, hide it and when they leave everything will be fine, but what excuse do I give? Were you worried about your safety? It's stupid. Verify to avoid wasting your time? Maybe, but they will still suspect me, they will probably ask how long I have known about this so the "verification of the news" must not be slow. But that won't give me time to extract much. Damn!]
Without noticing it, Valthon arrived at the secret room, calm and absorbed in his thoughts. At the door of the room was his servant who, without realizing his master's state of mind, approached with obvious emotion on his face.
– My lord, this is it! He finally fulfilled his dream. They found a mana mine!
Upon hearing these words Valthon came out of his reverie and returned to reality. Resigned to his future, he placed his hand on his servant's shoulder, gave a sigh, and before he could say a word, an explosion threw them to the opposite wall.
Despite its strength, this explosion contained enough power to destroy that wall alone. Amid debris and smoke Valthon coughed and struggled to his feet, trying to clear the dust to see the source of the explosion only to be met by two of the four people he least wanted to see at that moment.
Before he could curse, a slight creak of a door was heard, only for Valthon to see another of the four people he least wanted to see, Kitu, peeking his head out in fear. Feeling that he had already fallen into the depths of the abyss, he heard words that he would later describe as "a spell that takes away the soul."
– Which of you said manna mine?