| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from King Bumis Heir | Action/Adventure/Drama/Comedy/Romance | PG 13 | None | No update page |
Overview[]
The gang arrives in Nuo Ju, where a few people have gone missing.
Chapter 13: Kidnapped[]
Book 2: Water
Chapter 13: Kidnapped
The gentle mild breezes that blew through the skies of northeastern Shiwei province were far warmer than the southern Oma Kingdom. The weather of northeastern Shiwei province shifted to a more dry and arid temperature as the gang neared the borders of the Junggar tribe in the Si Wong territories. Rong Yan steered Shen toward a mountain range while Unaraq navigated him around as he read the map.
"We should stop in the town that's hidden in the heart of the Nuo Ju mountain range," Unaraq suggested.
Aloi was asleep while Tanaraq sat nomad style as she peered down below them and looked at the mountain terrain and its surrounding environment. Rong Yan glanced back, "Is it the one right ahead? Because I agree Shen needs rest and we've been in the air for almost a day and a half."
Unaraq placed his hand above his eyes and squinted to look over yonder he could see a village surrounded by natural mountainous walls. They most definitely were ignored by the war since their town would be difficult to conquer.
"Yep, that's the one!" Unaraq said Rong Yan nodded, "Everyone hold on we're preparing for a landing!"
Shen roared and descended below just outside of the village, what he believed to be a good distance from any of the homes. So no one could have disturbed his dragon or be afraid of such a creature. Unaraq shook Aloi he made sure she was woken up, she smacked his hand she wanted to sleep longer.
Nuo Ju in the heart of the Nuo Ju mountains.
"Get up, we're here!" he told her, she whimpered in dissatisfaction she felt groggy and heavy-eyed "I'm up...I'm uppp!" she drawled she then sighed. Tanaraq picked dirt out of her nails which was a surprise she would have screamed if her nails were dirty. Recently, she hasn't cared about hygiene as far as high maintenance went.
Tanaraq wandered off to read the signs near the village she shouted to Rong Yan, "They have a stable master!" Rong Yan waved his hand in a gesture indicating a form of thanks. He grabbed Shen's reigns and led the large, elongated red dragon into the village. They received plenty of stares as Shen slithered into the village, no one's ever seen a dragon from the Fire Nation. Let alone a dragon without legs most of the dragons that inhabited the Earth Kingdom had four to six legs.
While Rong Yan focused on speaking with the stable master Aloi roamed around and examined the nearby area. There she saw two guards who attempted to calm down a woman who sobbed. She approached the woman with concern she inquired to the woman, "Is there anything I can do to help? I am traveling with the Avatar."
The woman wiped her tears with her sleeves she frowned and took a gander at Aloi she stammered her words, "M-my d-daughter has been ki-kidnapped!"
Rong Yan paid the stable master some good amount of coin to take care of Shen, he looked about and saw Unaraq and Tanaraq they had a conversation while Aloi was a few yards away and spoke with a stranger. He padded toward Aloi and the woman he wondered what occurred.
"What's your name? Do you know by who?" asked Aloi, she tried to gather as much information as she could from the woman so she could share it with Rong Yan. A tall Fire Nation neared them and interrupted, "Are you okay over here?"
"Yeah this woman's daughter was kidnapped," Aloi answered a little cold, she still hasn't forgiven Rong Yan for what happened a few days ago.
"M-my name is Chouqi, and my d-daughter's name is Huanle. She's a teenager with tan skin, with brown eyes and brown-colored hair like mine," she finally responded to Aloi's question. She turned to the man's attention then back at the airbending nun.
"Is this the Avatar?" she pointed at Rong Yan while she looked at Aloi and guessed. Aloi nodded and crossed her arms, "Yes this is Avatar Rong Yan."
"I will do everything I can to find your daughter, do you know any whereabouts or is there anyone in this town who's threatened you and your daughter?" Rong questioned her raising questions that could be helpful in the investigation.
"I haven't seen her in over three days, not that I know of or not that she's told me. It could be the hermit on the peak for all I know!" she replied her voice quavered with emotion she was saddened at the loss of her daughter. She hoped the poor girl would return home soon.
Rong Yan bowed to the woman with the formal respect given in the Fire Nation, "You have my word, Chouqi. Your daughter will be returned to you safely."
Rong Yan and Aloi turned around they padded back to Unaraq and Tanaraq, Rong Yan rolled his eyes and wondered, "Why does it seem like the hermit outside of town is always the bad guy?"
Aloi ignored him and nipped quicker Rong Yan sighed this is what he gets for siding with neither woman. Except Tanaraq continued to interact with him even after he shoved her off of Aloi, she felt like Rong Yan liked Tanaraq more than he liked her. She felt like she could be tossed to the side, she was overthinking things she believed in her head that because Rong Yan mastered airbending that he didn't need her anymore. She only made herself more emotional deep down inside there was a sliver of fondness she always close to him.
Aloi wandered off while Rong Yan met up with Unaraq and Tanaraq, Unaraq concerned he asked, "What did you say?"
"Nothing all I mentioned was why is it the hermit is always the bad guy she just ignored me coldly," Rong Yan disclosed to both Unaraq and his sister.
"She'll get over it, just give her time," Unaraq brought up.
"So what's up?" Tanaraq interrupted.
"Chouqi is the woman over there still sobbing over the loss of her daughter she believes her daughter was kidnapped three days ago. She blames it on the hermit outside of town, but personally, I want to ask around for clues," Rong Yan explained.
"Let me guess he does dark magic too right?" Unaraq joked, Tanaraq exchanged looks at both of them and shook her head, "Suddenly during a serious time you two decide to crack jokes?"
"What? That was funny," Unaraq frowned.
"I'm going to assume stereotypically from what we've encountered he's an old bald guy who's up to no good," assumed Unaraq.
While in the southwest section of the village as they continued down the block they realized the houses shifted in shacks. They were now in the poorer section of town off in the distance sat an older man possibly in his late fifties. His skin was sun-kissed and damaged by the sun, his skin was darker in some areas than normal. He was bald and barefoot and had few teeth here and there in his mouth, he crossed one leg across the other and used a flat-headed tool and picked out the gunk underneath his toenails.
He jammed the tool in between the nail and the nailbed as they approached it finally let loose and flung toward Unaraq and landed on his forehead. Unaraq jumped and screamed when he felt the wet gunk splattered on his forehead. He ran around in circles like a quail chicken without a head there had been a pail half-empty with water near a well. He dumped the water onto his head he was now soaked but the gunk had been washed off.
The man Unaraq questioned about Huanle and the hermit.
He stared at the dirty old man with a scowl, the old man simply stared at him with a simper and gave Unaraq a hearty chuckle. Rong Yan and Tanaraq shared a laugh with the dirty quinquagenarian maybe Unaraq deserved it after he shared a bad joke.
He muttered to himself, "Torngark curse you, old man."
Rong Yan questioned the vagrant, "Do you anything about a sighting of Huanle daughter of Chouqi? Her mother claims maybe the hermit on top of the mountain kidnapped her." The old man bit off the tip of his toenail, the nail was large, thick and yellow. Tanaraq looked away in disgust while Rong Yan remained nonchalant.
"Huanle? No, I've never met her although there are rumors Chouqi received a blow to the back of her head years ago. She has memory loss, and that blow must have made her insane. The hermit she mentions, there is a hermit but he's mostly harmless," answered the old man.
"Are you sure you're not the one who's insane?" wondered Unaraq as he insulted the old man.
"That's a good observation! Maybe I am!" smiled the dirty man he showed Unaraq his three dirty rotten teeth.
"THEN WE CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" yelled Unaraq in frustration.
Rong Yan didn't question the old man's story any further whether it led him nowhere or somewhere he wasn't sure but he considered it some clues to the investigation. Maybe the old man was right and Chouqi was insane, while Aloi didn't share everything with him he did believe the woman.
It didn't seem like he was eager to bother Aloi she was probably flustered with emotions and didn't want to speak to him. He slightly bowed his head to the old man while Tanaraq and Unaraq left, Unaraq irritated by the old man his sister tried to calm him down.
Tanaraq neared a girl and her boyfriend who treated each other kindly with affection she interrupted the two lovebirds, "Sorry for interrupting here I just wanted to ask questions on the hermit up in the mountain peak," she wondered. The girl stood down while she permitted her boyfriend to speak for her, "Yeah what about him?"
"One of the local mothers' daughter hasn't returned home she thinks the hermit might be involved. Do you know or seen anything?" inquired Tanaraq. Unaraq wandered off he hoped to find someone of his own to ask questions.
"Oh yeah we were just talking about Huanle, we haven't seen her in three days either. As far as I know about the hermit, he doesn't come down here all that often. I know the earth sage's apprentices here venture to the top of the peak and offer the hermit food," replied the boyfriend.
"Your best bet learning more about the hermit you could go talk to the sages in the temple on the northern section of the village," added the young man his girlfriend held onto his arm tightly.
At the same time, Unaraq ventured down the different streets of the slums where he saw a man who hammered nails into wood. He was probably focused on some project he slowly approached the man, the man was middle-aged with a thick bushy black mustache as his most noticeable feature. The man noticed a shadow and he glimpsed at the man who proceeded toward him, "May I help you with something, young man?" the man questioned Unaraq.
"Do you know anything about the hermit that lives on the peak?" asked Unaraq, the older man wiped the sweat off his forehead and responded, "Not much other than there are times where loud noises echo from the peak. Not sure what he's doing up there might be magic of some sort, it shakes up a lot of people."
"Thank you for your time," bowed Unaraq.
"Why?" asked the older man.
"He might be a suspect in kidnapping," Unaraq disclosed to the man.
"Be careful while you're up there," warned the man, Unaraq nodded and returned to where he left his sister. Tanaraq herself roamed about and peeked her head around while she scanned the area for her sibling.
"Where'd you go?" she asked him.
"I went to ask someone else while you spoke to that couple, what did they tell you?" he returned an echo question.
"The boyfriend told me, the hermit doesn't come down to the village all that often but the sages venture up to the peak and donate food to him. If we go to the temple here they might be able to help us further. What about you? What did you learn?" she responded then asked her brother.
"The man I talked to mentioned that loud sounds echo from the peak sometimes, he's not sure if its magic or how else he's able to produce the sound," Unaraq replied.
They joined Rong Yan and shared what they learned from some of the locals, "It's your call, Rong Yan, do you want to head up to the peak? Or ask the sages at the temple for further information?" suggested Unaraq.
"I think we should head for the temple we might learn some precautions about the hermit before heading there. I want to be prepared," Rong Yan said.
Meanwhile, Aloi ventures out of the town on her own hoping she could find the girl when suddenly she hears a scream. She reacts to the sound of the scream being startled herself and ran in the direction of it, she snuck on a hill and observed. Three men exited a home and mounted on their ostrich horses and fled the area. She slid down the hill and darted toward the door of the large home, beside the home was a woman knelt she sobbed.
The woman heard footsteps and cowered a bit while she crawled backward she noticed the cloth boots first and slowly observed the person in front of her. Instead of being confronted by one of the soldiers it was an Air Nomad nun.
"Please don't hurt me!" the woman cried out.
"I'm not here to hurt you I saw what happened who were those men?" Aloi questioned the woman.
Qizi the widow who lost her husband in battle.
"Those men are soldiers that were stationed here, the taxes here in the Oma Kingdom are light, and so they haven't been paid in quite some time. They bully the citizens here and extort them for money, my husband served in Oma military. I don't have to give them a damn cent, and King Gao Zu created a law that protects the widows of soldiers," the woman addressed Aloi explaining how the laws of taxation worked in the Oma Kingdom.
The widow wiped her tears away Aloi extended her arm out to the woman, she hand shook in fear and she held onto Aloi who pulled her up to her feet. "Thank you, young lady. Would you like to come in? It's pretty cold out here," offered the widow. Aloi nodded, "Thank you so much."
The woman opened the door to her home and Aloi followed right behind she was concerned about the situation and continued to ask further questions, "If its illegal to tax the widow of a veteran, why do they continue to do so?"
"Because they're thugs and Gao Zu hasn't paid them, they don't have money to send back to their families nor to feed themselves. In all honesty, I blame the king," disclosed the woman with Aloi.
"So then why haven't the guards done anything to the soldiers?" she asked the woman.
"Because these guards don't have authority over the soldiers, only the governor's guards over in Lintao have any authority over these thugs. But we're two days southwest of the capital," the woman responded.
"Pardon my manners I'm Qizi, and you are?" she apologized and introduced herself, Aloi extended her hand to shake Qizi's hand, "I'm Aloi, a friend of the Avatar."
"The Avatar?" wondered Qizi.
"Yes but he's busy investigating another matter, but when he's readily available I will bring him to you," Aloi assured Qizi.
"I just hope you don't come too late, I don't have money for them. They already threatened to burn down my home, today. I spent my husband's life savings on giving him the proper burial," frowned Qizi.
Rong Yan, Tanaraq and Unaraq reached the local temple where the Oma Kingdom citizens of Nuo Ju regularly visit to worship their deities and seek enlightenment. The large building was in the shape of a tower and constructed of limestone brick, the roof was decorated with stone shingles painted dark green. They entered the building the hall that led toward the worshipping chamber had tapestries of the Oma Kingdom and a long dark green rug with golden accents.
There was a woman in the front cleaning she wore robes similar to the common Earth Sage, her robes were made of cotton fabric. The robes she wore were dyed dark green with golden accents and interior linings. Her hair was styled in the shape of a pyramid she wore a dark green headband around her head. She looked at the entrance of the temple as the door opened and peered over at the guests who entered. She bowed to them, "Is there anything I can help you with? A blessing? Guidance?" she asked them.
On the wall behind her before the archway that led into the worshipping chamber was a painting of what the Earth Kingdom depicted Tiandi the All-High's appearance, a bald old man with a long white beard. On the counter was a jade statue carved of their god of death Yama.
"We were looking for further information about the hermit who lives on the peak," Rong Yan answered.
"Oh you mean ol' Giman, sure what do you want to know?" the woman wondered.
"Well according to the citizens they claim all sorts of outrageous claims about him, like a practitioner of the dark arts, loud echoing sounds from the mountains, a woman believes he might have kidnapped her daughter among others," Rong Yan replied.
"Don't you listen to those crazies, Giman is a good person very religious too. He seeks isolation from others to reach his full potential in enlightenment, we donate goods to him when we can," she smiled.
"You mentioned a woman's daughter is missing?" asked the woman concerned.
"Yes Chouqi one of the local mothers hasn't seen her daughter in three days, we thought maybe if we wandered around town and asked some folks they'd maybe see something," Tanaraq nodded.
At the same time Aloi was having a good time with Qizi they were having a great conversation while they ate Qizi's vegetable stew. She lost track of time she thanked Qizi for the meal, "Thank you for the meal. I will be returning with the Avatar tomorrow if you don't mind."
"Not at all I could use the Avatar's help, thank you, Aloi," thanked Qizi. Aloi headed out the door she tapped her staff which extended the wings of her glider. She air-jetted into the sky and flew back to Nuo Jo village the sky was darkening, she needed to meet with Rong Yan and Unaraq to give the information she gathered on her own.
After a few minutes, she returned she spun her staff and slowly hovered safely to the ground in the distance she saw Rong Yan, Unaraq and Tanaraq. She jogged at a speed where she was able to catch up to her companions.
Unaraq heard footsteps behind them and he glanced back to see Aloi behind, "Aloi!" he shouted surprised and excited to see her.
Rong Yan and Tanaraq turned around Rong Yan stepped forward and asked her, "Where did you go today?" she ignored Rong Yan and gave information to Unaraq, Tanaraq felt that cold feeling and silent treatment Aloi gave to Rong Yan.
"Unaraq! I gathered some information while I was out on my own, just outside the northwestern area of the village is the home of a widow. I witnessed soldiers extorting this widow of taxes after they left I approached her and she mentioned that she's exempt from tax under a law created by the Zu dynasty. Her husband served in the war and was killed in action, the men who are stationed here aren't paid well enough and they 'tax' the locals for protection. If she doesn't have the money tomorrow they'll burn her home or worse," Aloi reported.
"Oh no that sounds terrible we should confront them before they try to demand her of taxes," Unaraq replied.
"Exactly my thoughts I'm going to need your help then, you and I tomorrow afternoon we can take them out," Aloi attempted to convince Unaraq.
"Shouldn't we get Rong Yan's help? I mean he is the Avatar," suggested Unaraq.
"Nah that guy is too busy being mean and searching for Chouqi's daughter," Aloi responded.
Rong Yan ignored her obvious strike at him he interrupted, "Grow up, Aloi. You can't be mad at me because I stopped you from hurting someone."
Aloi ignored him and continued to question Unaraq, "So what do you say?" Unaraq sighed and nodded, "I'm in."
Rong Yan gestured Unaraq to step aside with him so they could have a private talk, they both stepped off to the side. Unaraq questioned Rong Yan, "Yeah what's up?"
"I know she's ignoring me because I prevented her from hurting your sister. Which by the way isn't mad at me at all. But I wanted to tell you that I'm going to follow you guys and help when you need it," Rong Yan brought up.
Unaraq placed his hand on Rong Yan's left shoulder and replied, "Look just let me handle this one. I understand you want to help but it's clear she doesn't want it." Rong Yan nodded finally agreeing to what Unaraq had to say. They entered an inn Aloi and Rong Yan purchased separate rooms while Unaraq shared the same room as his sister Tanaraq.
The next morning came in, the window boards were wide open which allowed the sun's rays to hit Rong Yan's eyes. The evening before was a little too hot so he decided to have opened the window to let in a small breeze. The light began to penetrate through his eyelids that he suddenly had woken up. He purchased some tea from the innkeeper downstairs and joined Tanaraq who sat at a table in a corner. Rong Yan hadn't bothered to have purchased animal fat paste for his teeth. He's gotten used to the way Air Nomads and the Water Tribes practice dental hygiene.
"My brother and Aloi left earlier this morning, I don't have anything to do but if you want help finding that hermit. I will come along," hinted Tanaraq.
Rong Yan swished the tea drink in his mouth before he swallowed it he replied, "Really? Thanks! We could start as soon as possible might be a long day ahead of us."
"I'm just a little frustrated," he added.
"Is it the whole Aloi thing?" she guessed.
"Yeah, she's ignoring me and giving me the silent treatment only because I defended you. I didn't want you to get hurt," Rong Yan said.
"Let's not forget you shoved me off of her but I'm not mad. I forgive you, I told you she was a drama queen," mentioned Tanaraq, he tittered nervously apologizing, "Sorry I was in the heat of the moment and needed to stop the fight."
"It's okay," she smiled forgiving Rong Yan for what happened a few days ago. Tanaraq stood up and left the teacup and saucer on the table. Tanaraq stretched her body she realized this Giman character lived on the peak of Nuo Ju. Chances are it'll be a long hike and she couldn't risk a sprain of any sort, Rong Yan stood up and stretched as well.
Meanwhile, Unaraq and Aloi arrived at Qizi's home outside of the village in the northwestern part of the center of the mountain range of Nuo Ju. Qizi was outside beside her home where she hung up clothing on a line to dry. She had just hand washed her clothing it had been three hours past morning, Qizi turned to see her new friend Aloi near her with a stranger.
"Aloi who's this? Is this the Avatar?" inquired Qizi.
Aloi completely forgot about Rong Yan that she promised Qizi she'd be protected by the Avatar. She shook her head, "No, unfortunately, the investigation has consumed his time but this is another of my traveling companions. His name is Unaraq, he's the prince of the Southern Water Tribe."
"The prince of the Southern Water Tribe? Here?" wondered Qizi she spared no effort and lowered to her knees to bow to him but Unaraq put his hand on her shoulder, "Please you don't have to kneel in the Oma Kingdom I'm just a regular guy," he said humbly.
"Oh my apologies," she apologized she rose to her feet and dusted herself off.
"I'm here to help my friend confront the soldiers for you," Unaraq mentioned, Qizi slightly bowed her head, "You honor me with this sacrifice, Prince of the South." Qizi had continued to hang the clothing to dry on the clothing line while Unaraq and Aloi searched the perimeter around Qizi's home. Just so they can familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment.
At the same time, Rong Yan and Tanaraq finally reached the trail that could potentially lead them to Giman's house. The signs that directed them to the trail haven't been inaccurate as of yet. They hiked up the next several miles of the trail that took them a few hours to reach. Rong Yan peered at the skies above and saw the Sun was now in the center of the sky, he determined the time of day to be noon. In the distance he could see a stack of smoke emitted from a location nearby he squinted his eyes to look below and noticed they were farther up the mountain itself. He mentioned the smokestack to Tanaraq who panted right behind him while she rested her hands on her knees.
"There! Do you see the smoke? That must be where the hermit's house is at?" Rong Yan exclaimed as he pointed at the smokestack.
Tanaraq panted, sweat produced from the pores of her skin she wiped her face of any sweat and took deep breaths in and out as she tried to compose herself. She nodded, Rong Yan extended his hand out to the exhausted tribal princess this hike was enough evidence to prove that Tanaraq was lazy.
Rong Yan held Tanaraq's hand after twenty more minutes they finally reached the peak of the mountain. It was flat and a cabin with a small garden and a small patch of land where a corral sat. Inside the corral were two livestock animals a cow-hippo and its calf-hippo.
To the left was a small garden full of vegetation different plants were grown here from carrots to mangos to spinach. Rong Yan licked his lips the smokestack rose from behind the home which Tanaraq and Rong Yan found out to be an oven.
The oven was designed like a dome this clay oven reminded him of the ovens back in the Jongmu Air Temple. The cabin itself had intricate designs similar to an air temple, in the distance, a figure observed as Rong Yan and Tanaraq trespassed on his land but had not revealed himself. The door to the cabin was wide open inside they could only see a stack of books and empty parchment. Rong Yan chose not to snoop around he exited the home and shut the door behind him.
"Well judging by the oven and the designs on the home its safe to assume the owner is an airbender," assumed Rong Yan excitedly.
"How do you know?" asked Tanaraq.
"I've lived in the Jongmu Air Temple for over a year, the oven is made of clay and its shaped like a dome. The details near the foundation of the home carved to look like airwaves and were painted gray the owner has to be an Air Nomad," described Rong Yan as he gave further detail to his claim.
"Wow what a fascinating observation," Tanaraq commented, suddenly Rong Yan and Tanaraq.
Back in Qizi's home Unaraq and Aloi waited inside with the widow where they conversed about different things that happened in the world. Unaraq and Aloi shared their stories with Qizi as well which kept her glued to their conversation and she wanted to know what occurred next. She snapped out of the focus when she heard bangs on the door. That had to be the soldiers. Unaraq and Aloi prepared themselves.
Qizi composed herself and sighed she opened her door and met face to face with the leader of the trio of thugs. He was tall and beefy he looked pretty intimidating there were two men behind him one tall and lanky the other was short and stocky. They appeared to be well-armed too, the leader of the trio had a Dao sword sheathed on his hip while she couldn't make out what the other two had.
"Qizi do you have the money I asked you for" the man questioned her, the widow nodded she took a step back this is where Aloi conjured a ball of air large enough to fit through the door. Aloi pushed the airball out of the door which pierced through the tax collector's defense and knocked him into the air before he hit the ground with a thud. The other two took ma bo stances ready to fight the airbender. Aloi ran out she pivoted herself in a gen gua stance she spun in a full circle and shot out two different blasts of air out of her palms which collided into each soldier and knocked them away from the widow's home.
The men tumbled and rolled on the ground Unaraq stepped out the leader recognized his clothing and shouted to the two he led, "He's Water Tribe! Kill him!"
Zhang the tax collector and his men.
The men were more infuriated at the sudden appearance of Unaraq rather than the physical assault committed by Aloi. Unaraq gasped Aloi returned to the gen gua stance she gave another full spin and conjured an air swipe with her staff, the two men flew backward again. Unaraq unsheathed his machete the tax collector charged at him full speed, Unaraq ducked under the swing of the Dao sword. Instead of delivering a killing blow he used the pommel of his machete and struck the man on his left scapula. In hopes, he'd injure the tax collector's swinging arm.
The tax collector winced in pain and Aloi had enough of them she shouted to Unaraq, "Get near me I'm going to shatter their eardrums!" Unaraq nodded and darted toward Aloi she created a muffle barrier she shifted into Kakala-rtu stance, similar to the Squirrel Toad stance but instead of kneeling the foot positions are front foot bent at the knee, back food extended back and slightly bent at the knee. Her arms were extended out the men gathered themselves and charged toward Aloi who made a simple clap.
Outside the barrier, a thunderous clap could be heard birds escaped and fluttered away from the tremendous sound. The men stopped in their tracks and fell to the ground paralyzed to the sound. The figure in the trees heard the thunderous echo he turned to look to the northwestern direction where the sound was produced and glared. He observed the man and woman below him who also reacted to the sound.
"By the gods that sound was deafening!" cried out Tanaraq who covered her ears.
"That had to be Aloi! Come on we have to go!" Rong Yan said.
"How do you know?" inquired Tanaraq, "That's a thunderclap its a part of the calamity school of soundbending," Rong Yan replied.
He carried Tanaraq in his arms she had not expected to be lifted without her permission she squealed. He didn't care they needed to get to the bottom of the mountain as quickly as possible. Rong Yan sprinted and hopped off the trail of the mountain and conjured a cushion with his feet which broke his and Tanaraq's falls as they scaled the mountain down.
The man in the trees witnessed the whole thing he gasped and whispered to himself, "...the Avatar."
The men screamed as their ears ruptured the short stocky man's ears bled while the others remained disoriented on the ground their ears rang heavily they couldn't hear a thing they felt stunned. The tax collector was the first to burst from the ground after a sudden stun he turned tail and ran. The lanky tall soldier was next and he too sprinted after the tax collector. The stocky man cried out while he tried to stop the bleeding.
"Wha-what did you do to me?" he cried out to Aloi, he crawled back and pointed at Aloi screaming, "WITCH! SHE'S A WITCH!" Unaraq turned to the left to see Rong Yan had scaled down the mountain with his sister in his arms.
Qizi exited her home she questioned Unaraq, "What was that sound?" he pointed at Aloi, "She's a soundbender."
The short and stocky soldier continued to scream bloody murder because he wasn't permitted to listen to himself. Qizi concerned she questioned Unaraq again, "What's wrong with him?"
"She ruptured his eardrums, he's nearly deaf at this point," Unaraq answered Qizi's question.
Rong Yan and Tanaraq approached Unaraq, "We heard the thunderclap up at the top of the Nuo Ju peak everything alright?" Rong Yan asked Unaraq.
"Is he?" guessed Qizi, Unaraq nodded and Qizi threw herself at Rong Yan, "The Avatar visits my home! This is quite an honor I wish my Sensu was here to meet you," Qizi shed a tear why she held Rong Yan tight.
"Sorry I'm late I visited the hermit's house, the pleasure is mine ma'am," said Rong Yan. Qizi let go of him Aloi turned her head in another direction she burst out and yelled at Rong Yan, "Why do you have to come..." she paused and then mocked him, "...save the day, as always? Why can't you let me do something on my own?" she argued.
Qizi, Rong Yan, Tanaraq and Unaraq were startled at Aloi's sudden bad manners. Rong Yan gasped he thought to himself maybe he needed to give her a hug she was sort of clingy a few days ago. She held her but she pushed him off of her, "Don't touch me," she told him. He let go of her with his hands up in the air.
"I need you to leave me alone," Aloi said she felt she needed to establish new boundaries.
Unaraq stepped forward he knew he could calm her down since they have become very good friends since they met. Rong Yan was about to argue with him but Tanaraq held him back she whispered in his ear, "This isn't the time or place to argue wait until we're flying." Rong Yan nodded and sighed he scanned the area near him the soldier was nowhere to be seen.
He had ran off Rong Yan had a gust of wind to reel the man back toward him with air suction. The man screamed as he fell and had been dragged back toward the Avatar and his friends. Rong Yan grabbed a stick nearby and wrote the man questions in the dirt in the Oma Kingdom dialect of the Earth Kingdom language.
Kwang, the man who communicated with Rong Yan while he was partially deaf after the thunderclap.
He knew while the man might have been deaf he could still communicate with him, in the dirt was written "Who are you? And who's your commanding officer?"
The short soldier coughed and stammered his words, "I'm Kwang and Zhang is the name of my commanding officer, the other guy who was with us his name is Ping."
Rong Yan nodded he continued to write in the dirt, "What do you do and your friends do when someone doesn't pay your taxes?"
"We normally either destroy their homes or kidnap their relatives until they pay off the ransom," replied Kwang.
"If the ransom isn't paid what happens to your captives?" wrote Rong Yan, "We haven't gotten that far yet, the family members always pay the ransom," responded the soldier.
"Where are the captives being held?" Rong Yan scribbled into the dirt.
"They're being hidden in a cave not too far from the trail which leads to the peak," answered Kwang. Rong Yan slightly bowed his head to the man as a form of thanks he let the soldier flee from the woman's land. He never looked back he just scurried away.
Rong Yan and Tanaraq left the home of the woman while Aloi and Unaraq remained. After several minutes later, they returned to the village of Nuo Ju. Tanaraq and Rong Yan strolled down the streets of the town Tanaraq glanced at Rong Yan and apologized for Aloi's impudent manner, "I'm sorry about what's going on with your friend. She embarrassed you in front of that lady. You need to tell her something," advised Tanaraq.
Rong Yan sighed, "I know. Just a few days ago she was clingy and now she doesn't even want to talk to me. All because I prevented her from hurting you further."
"You should have seen her when you fell unconscious after Sakana's death. She carried you back to camp and she had an eagerness to nurse you back to health. I think you stopping our fight broke her heart," commented Tanaraq.
"I don't care if it broke her heart, I promised your father that I would escort you to the North Pole safe and healthy. I intend to keep my word," Rong Yan brought up, sticking to his word was more important than Aloi's feelings right now. They stopped in their tracks when they heard a psst sound that came from a nearby alleyway in between two homes.
"Huh?" Rong Yan uttered as he stopped in his tracks he held his hand up to signal Tanaraq to halt. He examined his environment there in the alley leaned a man with a piece of wheat in his mouth. He wore a long-sleeved white tunic and a sleeveless brown vest over the tunic, brown slacks, and brown double-stitched shoes. His skin was white, his hair and eyes were brown, and he carried a stubble on his face.
"Who are you?" inquired Rong Yan to the stranger.
"I heard rumors you were looking into the investigation about the missing girl and dealing with the tax collectors," answered the stranger.
"What of it?" asked Tanaraq.
"I can help you get rid of the tax collectors, I have a connection with the governor's guards. A good childhood friend of mine is the captain of the guards in Lintao," stated the stranger.
"Why should we believe you?" Tanaraq questioned the stranger.
"Because those bastards took my father and if I don't pay them the ransom, they're going to kill him. I want to see Emperor Qin bring them justice," answered the stranger.
"Emperor Qin? The first Earth Emperor?" remembered Rong Yan he was confused as to why the man mentioned the first Earth Emperor.
"Yes, Emperor Qin ascended into godhood as the god of justice, order, and law, those thugs will pay for what they did!" urged the stranger.
"I'm no earthbender but for my father, I can sure throw some good punches!" commented the stranger.
He extended his hand out to Rong Yan and Tanaraq, "My name is Beiyin and its a pleasure to meet you."
"We now have the location of the cave," mentioned Rong Yan.
"Aye I know where the damned cave is, I've scouted it a few times before, there's only one of me and there's always been five of them. The cave interior isn't that big, but the cave is near the trail that leads to the peak it is hidden behind a waterfall," described Beiyin.
"Splendid my friends ruptured the eardrums of the tax collector and two other soldiers that he leads, chances are they're suffering from tinnitus as we speak. The soldier who gave me the answers I needed was partially deaf at the time," recalled Rong Yan.
Beiyin, son of Yinying.
"How were they able to do that?" wondered Beiyin.
"Well my airbender friend and I are soundbenders, we can bend the airwaves around the sound and muffle or amplify the sound itself," addressed Rong Yan.
"Wow that's a pretty interesting sub-technique of airbending," he complimented Rong Yan.
"Well if he's partially deaf this shouldn't be a difficult battle, but we should be careful Oma Kingdom soldiers are highly-skilled in weapons. He might not have shown your friend his full potential. I advise that we don't kill him or his underlings, a life of prison is what they rightfully deserve!" added Beiyin.
"I'm not sure if we can bind them though, if we free my father first he's an earthbender he can bind their wrists," commented Beiyin.
Rong Yan and Tanaraq exchanged looks, "Well we're both waterbenders so we can bind their hands frozen."
"By Tiandi, you're the Avatar!" exclaimed Beiyin he knelt before Rong Yan.
"If we plan to attack their hideout I suggest we go now. They're expecting me until tomorrow and its best we do not allow them to recuperate," suggested Beiyin.
Rong Yan nodded, "Alright let me go alert my other two friends so that we're evenly matched against the soldiers."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Tanaraq chimed in.
"If we don't we're outnumbered its the only way," Rong Yan urged, he took in a deep breath and bolted down the street and back toward the northwestern outskirts of the town where Aloi and Unaraq surely would still be at. Several minutes later, he finally arrived near the widow's home Aloi and Unaraq had been walking back to Nuo Ju.
He panted, "We know where the tax collector and his lackeys are hiding, we met someone who knows the area and he's willing to help us save the captives but we have to go now." Unaraq nodded, "Where do we meet?"
"The northern gates of Nuo Ju your sister is waiting there with Beiyin the guy we met," Rong Yan responded, Unaraq gave him a slight nod and headed in that direction. He left Rong Yan and Aloi alone Rong Yan took in a deep breath, "We need to talk."
Aloi ignored him, Rong Yan sighed, "Please."
She continued to give him the silent treatment she then nipped briskly, he sighed again "Fine be that way." Rong Yan lumbered behind Aloi tired after that speed run he wanted to conserve energy for the invasion of the cave. After about an hour and a half, they reached the northern gates of Nuo Ju where Tanaraq and Beiyin waited patiently.
"Are you ready?" Beiyin asked Rong Yan, Rong Yan nodded and Beiyin led the way another hour passed and they finally reached an area obscured by tall bushes. A few yards from where they crouched hidden had been the rushing sounds of the waterfall. Beiyin waded around toward the group and he gestured them to huddle.
"Tanaraq two men are patrolling the outside of the cave, I'm going to need you to use the water from the waterfall and freeze them to the walls can you do that?" Beiyin wondered. Tanaraq nodded, "I can do that."
"Rong Yan you mentioned the airbender injured the three that might be inside. We should run in there and knock them out easy, we rescue my father and any other captives and we turn the men in. Soldiers are required to carry identification tags. I'm going to need those for the letter I'll be sending to my friend in Lintao," brought up Beiyin.
Rong Yan nodded, "We can do that we should get going."
"If there is a key I will try to use it while the men are distracted and I'll free the prisoners, I don't know what we can do if I can't find it though," added Beiyin.
"I can freeze the bracelets or chains past the breaking point and we can shatter them," Tanaraq mentioned.
"You benders are lucky," commented Beiyin he paused then asked, "Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads and followed Beiyin's lead.
Beiyin signaled Tanaraq to move first the path in front of them ended just a few yards in front of them. Then there's a pond where the water fell into behind the waterfall is raised platform of earth which led into the cave.
Both men stood tall and kept a watchful eye on their surroundings suddenly a wave of water lashed out and slammed one of the soldiers to the wall underneath the ledge and froze him in place. The other took a step back startled he saw Tanaraq emerged from the tall bushes he changed into a Lau Kiu stance. His feet were shoulder-width apart, he had one fist positioned under his right ribs while the other was extended out in front of him. He quickly stomped and rose sizable chunks of rocks and released a number of them with each punch and kick he performed.
She dodged a few before she had been knicked by one of the rocks another almost hit her in the face. She rose an iceberg that froze around the rock and caught it, she unfroze the iceberg and used that same amount of water and had frozen the other patrol. Both men were unable to move but they shouted she couldn't have allowed them to give away their position she froze water around their mouths and gagged both men.
Unaraq jumped out of the bushes and jogged over to both men while Tanaraq concentrated and lifted the water of the waterfall. He rushed over to the natural risen platform and searched the pockets of the soldiers and grabbed their identification tags. He waited inside the cave where he stashed the tags into his pocket, Aloi, Rong Yan, and Beiyin came out of the bushes and ran inside the cave the men struggled to break free but to no avail they couldn't.
The cave itself was more of a rock shelter as it contained a path and a singular chamber at the end of the path. The group prowled within the cave and pussyfooted everywhere, they made sure they watched the ground below them for branches or anything that would have caused a sound. They hid behind a group of rocks and peeked in front of them to see three men that discussed a plan. There was a table in between the three men, the man behind the table was the leader they confronted earlier. He paced back and forth while the others devised a plan for when they met Beiyin.
To the left of the chamber was a young girl with tan skin, brown hair and eyes chained up, and next to her was an older man in his mid-sixties. He too was tan, and his hair was gray he was dirty and his tunic had a tear in it. One of the men sharpened his blade while the other had put ointment on his skin for a rash he received earlier that week.
"Tomorrow we meet with that kid after he pays his taxes we're going to kill his old man. The middle-aged woman will have to pay extra or else I'm going to have my way with her daughter," said the tax collector.
The man who had applied ointment on his torso glanced back at the girl and gave her a creepy smile. The old man took a glimpse at the girl and tried to soothe her, the tax collector paced over to Beiyin's father and backhanded him to shut him up. Beiyin attempted to step up and wanted to reveal himself but Unaraq held him back.
"What about the widow's home?" the man who sharpened his blade asked.
"In the afternoon after we kill the old and his son if he tries anything," the leader replied.
The old man observes the shadows to his right which were behind rocks Rong Yan exchanged looks with the geezer. The old man began to rattle his chains and screamed for help which gave away the group's position Beiyin sighed and stood up from behind the rock. The man who sharpened his blade noticed first and stood up with his weapon in hand. Unaraq stood up and the tax collector recognized him, "You-you're the Water Tribe warrior from this morning!"
"Kill him I want his head on a pike outside the cave!" barked the tax collector.
Aloi, Tanaraq and Rong Yan stood up as well. The tax collector kicked the table down and used a column to launch the table at the gang. Rong Yan split the table in half with air slice he front flipped in the air and released a stream of fire at the tax collector. The swordsman clashed and parried with Unaraq's machete he tried to overpower Unaraq although his chances were slim now that Beiyin assisted Unaraq. He punched the swordsman in the ribs twice which staggered him.
Unaraq remembered what Beiyin said about not having them men killed but instead Beiyin's goal was having the men arrested. Beiyin went in quickly and dropped a few jabs at the man and gave Unaraq ample time to bop the swordsman in the head with the pommel of his machete. He gave him a good bop that knocked him out unconscious Unaraq searched his pockets while Rong Yan conjured another stream of fire in front of the other soldier's face. He blocked his face after he felt the sudden heat Tanaraq then water whipped the distracted man while Aloi dodged and evaded every swing of the leader's weapon.
She then kicked his weapon out of his hands and disarmed him, she cartwheeled and allowed Rong Yan to toss a few air kicks at him while Unaraq handled the other soldier that his sister battled. Tanaraq ran over to the prisoners she pulled water out of her waterskin.
She wrapped it around the shackles that chained the old man and froze them. She increased the temperature of the frozen chains to the point that she grabbed a rock and shattered the chains herself. The old man sent a tremor of the earth as soon as he was free to the leader that ended with a cone. The leader was held by the cone of earth and scuffled to break free but failed. He gave up and surrendered himself Tanaraq knelt near the girl and froze the locks that held her to the ground.
Tanaraq broke the chains and the girl hugged her as a form of thanks, Tanaraq hugged her back and smiled. She then realized that she changed in the past two months she normally wouldn't have hugged this girl. She sat there for a second and then processed the fact that while she traveled with Rong Yan and Aloi she had changed some of her ways.
Unaraq searched the leader's pockets along with the other man's pockets and grabbed their identification cards. He took out the other three cards and handed them to Beiyin, Beiyin's father coned the other two men inside the cave along with the leader. Aloi volunteered to fly off to the town and where she had gathered the guards. In an attempt to have the men arrested for their crimes.
After Aloi left to town the gang sat around while Beiyin searched the table's contents on the ground for parchment, a quill, and ink. The ink was found somewhere else and Rong Yan and Unaraq put the table back in the spot where it was found before it was kicked. He wrote a letter to his friend in Lintao and mentioned all the names of the men involved in this scam.
The letter he wrote said: "Dear Shen, I know you're busy with life and tending to the orders given to you by our governor but you should know there are some soldiers stationed here in Nuo Ju that need to be taken care of. These men have been illegally taxing the citizens of the town more often than our King does. I've had the privilege to work with the Avatar in capturing these thugs I also have gathered their identification cards and I'm sending them to you along with this letter. Their names are
* Zhang
* Ren
* Kwang
* Shu
* Ping
Some of their crimes along with illegal taxation involve kidnapping, assaulting citizens, stealing other items and at times even arson. I hope you're doing well and I apologize for having to ask you to send men to collect these thugs. Regards,
Beiyin"
He rolled up the parchment and tied it shut with a string he had in his pocket, he stashed the cards in his pocket as well and placed the scroll in his sash. Beiyin's father helped cuff the others frozen to the wall. She released them from their icy prisons and allowed Beiyin's father to use earth bracers to hold their wrists close behind their backs.
About an hour later, Aloi arrived with a group of seven guards the men rush in and throw earth bracers on the soldiers and arrested them for their crimes. The captain of the guard spoke with Beiyin's father and the girl who was held captive too.
"You are?" the captain stared at the old man.
"I'm Yinying," answered the old man.
"How long have you been held captive?" the captain questioned Yinying.
"I'd say about four days," replied Yinying, the captain turned to face the girl she was shy but he asked her questions anyway.
"What is your name, girl?" he inquired.
.png){kind=link}
Huanle, the girl who went missing in Nuo Ju.
"Huanle," she responded.
"You're the girl who went missing! We'll be escorting you to your mother soon don't worry. How long have you been here?" the guard captain asked her.
"I've been here for four days now," Huanle answered, the captain of the guard nodded he led the new prisoners and Huanle out of the cave. Beiyin and Yinying thanked Team Avatar before they headed out themselves. They followed the guards as well and offered to take Huanle to her mother Chouqi.
Chouqi had swept her porch when she took a glimpse from her chores, to see her daughter with tears in her eyes when she saw her mother stressed out. "Huanle?" the woman wondered, the girl wiped her tears, and uttered, "Mother I'm back!"
Chouqi shed a tear and she minced over to her daughter and embraced her, she squeezed her daughter tight. They both cried their eyes out, "I was so worried that I lost you," sobbed Chouqi. Aloi smiled and flew off to the northwestern part of the Nuo Ju mountains so she could have brought Qizi the good news.
A courier on an ostrich horse halted in front of Beiyin and his father Yinying the courier smiled at Beiyin, "You know I didn't think you'd come on time, Kuaidi," said Beiyin.
"I'm at your service, Beiyin. Where am I taking this scroll?" he inquired to Beiyin.
"Lintao, to Captain Shen, he'll send some guards or soldiers down here to clean this mess," Beiyin replied.
At the same time, Aloi knocked on Qizi's door when Qizi opened it she smiled at the sight of Aloi she asked, "Aloi, what can I help you with?"
"I just came over to tell you the men who threatened you and your home will no longer be an issue, you are free to breathe again. I hope you find peace," Aloi said.
"Thank you so much, I don't know how I can repay you," Qizi responded as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"Don't. It was my pleasure to help you," smiled Aloi, Qizi hugged Aloi and sniffled Aloi hugged her back.
Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, an old opened his door to a courier who brought him a scroll with a dark green ribbon tied around it. The bald and wrinkled old man with a ruddy complexion and light green eyes opened the scroll.
"Dear Laobing,
This letter brings you the grim news I'm about to announce to you, your grandson Wei and I managed to capture General Senlin in the Oma Kingdom. But alas, that did not last long I regret to inform you that Wei was killed in battle against Senlin. He allowed me to live I feel like his decision to let me live another day is to bring you this letter and bait you out of Ba Sing Se. We were going to break Senlin's limbs but two Water Tribesmen saved his life, we fought tooth and nail and your grandson died a hero.
I am willing to join you if you'll have me, for Wei. But we're going to need more than five men a good squad of soldiers could take that monster down.
Regards,
Shang Jin"
Laobing forced himself to hold back tears his grandson was killed by the Great Betrayer, he wished he could have been there to do something. To protect his grandson but in the end, he still died a hero something snapped Laobing. He went inside his home he crumbled up the scroll and tossed it. He sighed and then in a fit of rage he released his tears and flipped a table at home which broke the vase that sat on it.
He stomped on the floor and dug his fists into the wall which sank a wall and revealed a small room. ?Where a cabinet and two large mallets on a rack sat inside. Laobing opened the cabinet and inside he found his Qiangda Kingdom military uniform on the right side of the uniform was an embroidered patch of a lieutenant in the King's armies. He equipped the armor onto his body and grabbed both mallets and sheathed them onto his waist. He grinned and wiped a tear from his eye and headed out the door and toward the Royal Palace.
"Laobing reporting for duty!" he told himself, flashbacks of war entered his head, several minutes later, he reached the corridor where he was escorted to the throne room where Qiang Zhen sat. When Laobing arrived he knelt before Qiang Zhen the grandson of Ta Po.
"What brings you to me, lieutenant?" inquired the young king.
"General Senlin has killed my grandson, I received word through a friend of his. I seek permission to be assigned in retrieving Senlin and bringing him to justice," responded the old man.
"Wait Senlin lives?!" exclaimed Qiang Zhen.
"How is that possible? He was blown off the Southern Air Temple by the Avatar there's no way he survived," declined Qiang Zhen in disbelief.
"I was in service of your grandfather's army veterans like Senlin, Ku Tei and I have many tricks up our sleeves," Laobing tried to convince Qiang Zhen.
"Laobing you have served many years of your life into our military and I am grateful for your service but you no longer have to fight for us. You've earned your stripes, you should allow the younger generations to take over," reasoned Qiang Zhen.
"With all due respect, my king. The Great Betrayer slew my grandson it is fair if you allow me to bring him to you. So you may kill him yourself. It is the only goal I have now," volunteered Laobing.
Qiang Zhen sat there while he stared at Laobing he was in thought at that moment he rose to his feet, "Very well then I will grant you this as a mission, how many men do you need?"
The Terra Team as requested by "Lucky" Laobing.
"Give me command over your Terra Team and I'll bring you Senlin in less than a year," smiled Laobing.
"Deal, my grandfather told me stories of Lucky Laobing, I know luck will be your side. Make your Kingdom proud," agreed to Lucky's request.
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.