One week later…
I hobbled on my crutch to the front of the Four Weapons, getting ready to open for the day. Nya had done her best to fix up my knee, but she told me that my left leg might always be weaker from now on. I was determined to prove her wrong, but for now, I had to manage with a crutch.
Things had not gotten much better, though. Not yet. I couldn’t forge anything while leaning on a crutch, so business was very slow. I was limited to only being able to sell what I had already made, but that wasn’t very much.
To make things worse, rumors of a war had been spreading around Ignacia. I had also seen skeletal warriors called Skulkins riding by on their loud vehicles. Honestly, they didn’t seem very bright to me, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t dangerous. They proved that when the kidnappings started. I knew that someone had to be leading them. They were barely smart enough to walk on their own. Many families of those who were kidnapped heard the Skulkins say the name Lord Garmadon. Just the name put me on edge for some reason. I was especially paranoid because I couldn’t protect Nya very well in my condition.
Another thing that had been gnawing at me was how I had summoned fire. It would’ve been an understatement to say that I was confused. But looking back, it sort of had been foreshadowed: not being burned by a flaming coal, feeling like the fire in the forge was fueling me, my father’s words all those years ago…
Wait.
My father.
He had always loved fire, but could it be more than that? I said I had fire in my blood, so did he mean that I had some sort of ability passed down from him?
Pyrokinesis?
Was it even possible?
Well, duh, because you used it yourself.
“Hm, all tools for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja?” an unfamiliar voice said. Startled, I turned to see a man with a white beard that was so long it reached his waist browsing the weapons and armor in the shop. I hadn’t even noticed him come in. He wore robes of a sensei and a broad woven hat and looked to be old, but agile.
“How did you get in here?” I demanded, not even hearing him come in. I didn’t even remember unlocking the door to the shop yet, and after my last experience with a break in, I didn’t feel comfortable with his silent entrance.
He just smiled mysteriously.
“Ninja?” I said, going back to his previous inquiry. “You’re a long way from finding a ninja in these parts, old man.”
The man maintained his mysterious smile. “Not as long as you may think.”
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