| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
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Overview[]
Palartok assists Lord Cupun with stamping out the moles, while Aloi decides whether to sneak the love potion into Unaraq's food or drink.
Qiang Zhen finally learns about the aftermath of Yumen while mourning the loss of Tsuyo-sa he needs to choose his replacement. Senlin receives a call to arms, will he take it? Or let Shouchun fall to the Qiangda Kingdom?
Chapter 13: Marked for Death[]
Book 3: Earth
Chapter 13: Marked for Death
The next morning came, the sun rose into the sky above the city of Bei Fu with much brightness and heat. This side of the world had heated in the past few weeks as the western hemisphere prepared itself to transition into the summer season. The guards changed their rounds while the men from the graveyard shift rested their weary bones. The military was up before the sun came into view and had undergone training exercises like they did every morning. The naval marines were anchored out in the bay while the Northern Coast Guard patrolled the waters near the city, Bei Fu, for enemy vessels. One of the marines on deck peered into the skies with his spyglass.
A small red serpent came into view then he heard the echoed roar of Shen from a high altitude. He reported to his superior what he eyed in the sky, "What is it?" the superior officer questioned the private.
"Just the Avatar's dragon, sir," answered the private, Aloi and Jushi descended near the courtyard in front of the mansion.
A squad of eight royal guards headed out of the mansion's doors as soon as Aloi and Jushi landed on the ground. The stablemaster approached the large red dragon and held on his reins, Aloi slid off Shen's neck once more and then she was greeted by the stablehand.
The young man smiled at her and greeted her, "Good morning, Master Aloi, I hope you and Master Jushi had a great trip."
"Thank you, Ynook, we're a bit exhausted after our journey to Yunan province. Good morning to you too," returned Aloi.
She leaned in and whispered, "What's with the royal guards? They look very serious."
"I'm not quite sure but Lord Cupun seemed a bit perturbed yesterday evening," shrugged the stablehand.
"Hmm," she uttered she returned another smile to the stablehand and slightly gave a farewell wave.
Jushi stretched out his body as his head followed in the direction of the squad of royal guards that headed toward the dungeons below the mansion. He turned to face Aloi with a concerned look on his face and pointed back at the men with his thumb. She gave him a shrug before she held tightly to the vial and headed up the steps, Jushi followed suit behind her.
Unaraq leaned on the windowsill as he stared at the window of his quarters the view outside was the once great garden owned by the previous magistrate that lived here before the siege. The garden was kept in order not by the workers but by the natural dew that settled in every night from the beach.
Although there had been a bit of an overgrowth in some spots of the big yard that it began to look a bit unkempt. Aloi was outside the door she waved her hand and the two royal guards that patrolled their quarters nodded their heads and moved off to the sides of the door.
She clutched the vial and took a deep breath and entered the chambers it was bright and silent inside. Her boyfriend didn't even face her when she entered through the door she hid the vial a bit so that he couldn't see it. Unaraq rolled on lips against each other and lowered his head as he continued to face the window.
"Where were you?" asked Unaraq.
"I went with Jushi to Yunan province, we visited a town called Yaoping," answered Aloi, she could've hesitated to tell him the truth and just lied to her boyfriend but she refused and instead answered him with honesty. She crouched down and hid the potion behind a set of furniture out from his center-of-gaze or near-peripheral vision unless he went and searched for it.
This was the moment where she could've explained to him about the potion but she hesitated and wanted to wait for the right moment. Now she was a bit anxious and didn't want to tell him the truth anymore. She stood up without having made any sound, "Why?" he inquired.
"I have a friend who needed assistance out there and I needed Jushi's skillset to do it. As an Air Nomad who travels the world you make a lot of friends," she lied.
"...I..uh...I wanted to apologize about the other night. I know I've made too many apologies but I'm going to do my best to quit my habit of making snide comments. It won't happen instantly but I'll do my best to control the urge," Unaraq apologized once again for his quirks.
Aloi looked down because of this exactly what Yue Lao had told her about but she was glad Unaraq was willing to change. She was still sad from the time before even before Unaraq was captured, it sort of built up but she didn't want to release the emotions just yet. She wanted to wait until she was alone somewhere because she needed to do it alone.
She instead hugged Unaraq and he gently swung his girlfriend side to side they both shared a slight smile. She was happy that he was happy for once because now he understood the consequences of his actions but she didn't intentionally feel negative about them to control him. She felt that a prince who's raised since birth to uphold a standard of etiquette shouldn't have to act like this.
At the same time, the royal guards opened the wooden door that led toward the dungeons beneath the mansion. The group of highly-trained guardsmen quickly went down the stairs and toward the iron-barred cell of the prisoner. One of them bent water out of his waterskin and smacked a sleeping Palartok across the face.
"AHHH!" screamed Palartok as he woke both scared and in pain.
He grabbed at his left cheek and winced in pain, they could've awakened him any other way but they chose to do it this way. The dungeons were surprisingly cold while the outside had gotten hotter by the hour.
"Up," said one of the eight royal guards, a red welch on Palartok's face he stood up groggy from an improper awakening. He held his head as he felt lightheadedness from the rush of blood that went into his head. The iron-barred gate was unlocked by a tentacle of water clapped around both of his wrists and the men led him out from underneath the mansion and onto the courtyard.
From the open courtyard, he saw the world again of which he never thought he would, and then he was escorted with a small fraction of guards toward the war room. Where Lord Cupun, Chieftain Unirak, Generals Anuun, and Issumatar waited for Palartok's arrival.
Palartok scanned the entire war room with his eyes it was Kingsmen in architecture and decorations as if its former occupants still resided within the city. The table in the middle however had a wooden table instead of earth one, the map that was straightened out to all four corners of the great table was held by knives in place.
Palartok was still held in cuffs while the royal guards stood there ground against a wall and watched him like hungry mammoth bustards in the morning. Admirals Atattuk and Oomailiq entered soon after Palartok's presence filled the room. Lord Cupun faced Palartok and away from the map, "Tell everything you know about what you said yesterday."
"The Avatar must be here for this as well, this is going to require his work too," Palartok requested.
Cupun sighed, "Very well," he looked at one of the eight royal guards, "Escort the Avatar here his presence is needed," he ordered the guard. The man nodded and ran off.
"There are you happy now? Tell about the plot and the marks while we wait for the Avatar," commanded Cupun.
"Fine, as I mentioned last night Senlin planned on sending several rebellion agents into Bei Fu. These men can range from simple farmers, fishermen to guards maybe even servants. You won't know because the supervising caretaker must not care about who she hires," recalled Palartok he gave speculation about the supervising caretaker about hirees not being completely researched.
"How do you know they're men?" Issumatar inquired.
"Because my girlfriend is the only woman in the entire Northern Rebellion," answered Palartok.
"How many soldiers did you have?" Anuun asked him.
"There is a total number of a hundred thousand rebels, deserters from the Qiangda Kingdom were about twenty-five, now Senlin only had about eleven earthbenders when I left," responded Palartok.
"That's an impressive number I would've never thought the rebellion could have possible high numbers," Unirak was surprised he expected the rebellion to be under fifty thousand heads.
All the men turned their heads to face the door the guard returned with Rong Yan behind him. The Avatar yawned and rubbed his eyes he had been asleep when they found him.
"So what kind of numbers are going head-on toward Ba Sing Se?" Cupun questioned Palartok.
"Besides the rebellion, as far as the Oma Kingdom goes I'm sure how many men Senlin will need for the siege. And to mention he also has the Fifth Nation watching his back if Kimaru succeeded. I'm not sure how many men they have," replied Palartok.
"Now if no aid came to him then it's a two hundred thousand heads, but if the others came to aid we're expecting a possible army group. That's six hundred thousand men," reckoned Anuun.
Cupun faced Atattuk and then guessed the number of warships, "What do you think is the number of battleships the Fifth Nation has?"
"From the evidence we've gathered throughout the years, we've suspected the Fifth Nation has approximately four hundred and thirty warships. That's not a massive number especially since our navy has a total of four fleets. The Fifth Nation can easily be wiped out," Atattuk described.
"But what are the chances the Oma Kingdom navy isn't far behind?" Unirak asked Palartok.
"I don't know the plans never mentioned the Oma Kingdom's navy, we'd need a spy inside the rebellion. I can think of a few of my loyalists that could help us unless Senlin killed them, he was never one for loose ends," Palartok shook his head.
"Why do we care if Ba Sing Se is sieged? We're in a war with them!" Oomailiq inquired.
"Admiral, if they succeed in taking Ba Sing Se who says they won't come for our brothers in the South and then us in the North?" hypothesized Issumatar.
"You're right, please excuse my insolence, Lord Cupun," apologized Oomailiq.
"You are forgiven, Admiral," nodded Cupun.
"There are two options we should take," Palartok mentioned.
"The first is have the Avatar travel to Ba Sing Se and warn the Earth King, the second with your world leader powers send a message to one of the air temples to host a peace council between you two, and the Earth Kings of the Oma and Qiangda Kingdoms," Palartok added.
"What good will that do?" questioned Atattuk.
"If it works out in our favor a ceasefire between the Tribesmen and the Qiangdian Kingsmen will happen. This will allow the Avatar to focus on taking down Senlin, if you so choose to take a step further the North and South can assist Ba Sing Se in defending the city. But that's really up to you," Palartok explained.
"You left out the Oma Kingdom, their men are apart of this too," Anuun brought up.
"You're right if the Oma King agrees to the ceasefire he will order his men to stand down," added Palartok.
"What about me? Where do I come in?" Rong Yan wondered.
"You're the Avatar your mission is to take down Senlin this has been your mission since he escaped. You must end his life only then will his blood pay for the deaths of all those he's killed," Palartok answered.
"I urge you to leave to Ba Sing Se as soon as possible, Avatar," suggested Palartok.
"I'll work with all these men here in making sure they live to fight another day and to make sure the war stops even for a brief moment," Palartok said.
"Enough about the General's plans, you mentioned there were moles here," Cupun repeated as he brought it up again.
"Who are Commander Inuksuk and Kimaru?" Cupun remembered the names of the men Palartok mentioned last night.
"Inuksuk served the navy for ten years before he deserted from his station near the Chaopin province. He left because of corruption within leadership in his station and lived amongst barbarians in northern Qiangdian Kingdom. Kimaru was a wanted serial killer from the Fire Nation, he was initially arrested in a village before he was being shipped off to the Boiling Rock. He escaped and fled to the Oma Kingdom. Now one of Senlin's most trusted assassins, he's running the plot here. I may be able to identify the men but I'm going to need you to let me go so I can trick them into thinking I'm still on their side," Palartok described the men that Cupun brought up then requested to be let go.
"No," Cupun answered he shook his head and waved his hand in a slice to the right.
"Do you not want them to show themselves? Are you this desperate to die?!" argued Palartok.
"Every time you deny me this request, every inch they have of locating you," maintained the prisoner of war.
He paused then pointed at Unirak and Rong Yan, "....locating them!" he continued, "Locating his son, the prince, he's another prized target. I will not allow the southern chieftain to suffer the loss of a son, I've lost mine that doesn't mean he needs to lose his because you refuse to let me go!"
"Fine! Release the prisoner!" shouted Cupun, the ice around Palartok's wrists melted off and fell the ground below and formed a small puddle.
Palartok neared the table and thought about what to say next but before he could speak Cupun threatened him, "I'm giving you twenty-four hours, if you're here with their heads by then I'll reduce your punishment. If you're not here by tomorrow morning I'm going to find you and I'm killing you myself."
"Open an investigation in the mansion, have your trusted allies who are not targets to interrogate everyone. Cooks, caretakers, housekeeping, royal guards, prison guards, everyone," hinted Palartok.
"I'm going to need the armor of a royal guard if I'm disguised as a royal guard it will convince them that I was sent by Senlin to assist them," requested Palartok.
"Kungo take him to barracks for measurements we should have armor his size," commanded Cupun.
"Before you leave, what's next?" Cupun questioned him.
"Next you interrogate everyone else, I'll be close by hearing what the people have to say, I'll let you know which ones are the moles by tonight," promised Palartok. Palartok turned to face the door and left with the escort guard that was told to take him to the barracks.
"We can't trust him, I want assassins watching him. If he makes one move, I authorize you to take him out," ordered Unirak.
"Wow I never would've thought you would take my prisoner seriously," chuckled Cupun.
"We're family now, I can't let someone take advantage of you," smiled Unirak.
"Avatar, the former admiral is correct you, my son, Aloi and Jushi need to head off to Ba Sing Se. As I told you last night the Avatar must meet all the world leaders. You must get yourself well acquainted with the Qiangda Dynasty," said Unirak.
"What about you guys? You're all at risk of being targeted by undercover assassins, I'm not leaving until you're all in good health," Rong Yan worried for Unaraq's dad and the former chieftain of the North.
"If I die then I will go in peace but I do not sense Anguta at my doorstep, however, it is safer for Unaraq to go with you," said Unirak.
"But he and Jushi are heading into Qiangdian territory openly, wouldn't they be killed?" Rong Yan wondered since Unaraq was the prince of the South and Yumen already attempted to kill him and failed and Jushi is from the Oma Kingdom.
"By international law, the companions of the Avatar receive diplomatic immunity and cannot be touched. Your friend Jushi as mentioned to me by my son is half Qiangdian and was born in the Qiangda Kingdom. He's a citizen," stated Unirak.
"But do be careful and make sure my son is safe, I've lost him once and I cannot bear losing him again," finished Unirak. He gave a slight nod to the Avatar as a form of farewell Rong Yan returned it, this was a formal way to say and farewell and for a younger man to show respect to an older man.
Upper Ring, Ba Sing Se, Qiangda Kingdom
Qiang Zhen sat on his throne comfortably as he and Lord Guwen sipped their warm teas. The tea relaxed an ill Qiang Zhen. The illness was minor and this was his third day unwell the servers handed him a tea to help improve his health and rid him of his illness. He coughed into his elbow, "You know the one thing I hate about being Earth King?" he told Guwen.
Guwen turned to face his king and then shook his head, "No, what is it, Your Majesty?"
"Earth Kings don't get sick days, Guwen," frowned Qiang Zhen.
The latches on the doors that led into the long corridor out of the throne room were unlocked with earthbending by the royal guards. Guwen lifted his head while he helped the young king. A soldier ran in with a scroll in his hand, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" he yelled to get the attention of the Earth King.
Qiang Zhen was afflicted with the cold and seemed uninterested about what was going on around him. The soldier knelt before the Earth King while Guwen stepped forward to receive the scroll from the disturbed soldier. Guwen tapped the soldier's shoulder, he lifted his head and handed the Grand Secretariat the scroll. Guwen removed the ribbon and opened the scroll as he nipped back toward the Badgermole Throne.
As he read he gasped, "Oh my!" he covered his mouth and then ran up the steps of the throne and handed the scroll to Qiang Zhen.
He seemed as disturbed as the soldier now, "What's gotten into you, Guwen?" Qiang Zhen was now worried as he saw the look on his face. He opened the scroll again after he whispered the contents of the report he was so infuriated he threw the scroll to the ground.
"HOW COULD YUMEN BE DESTROYED?!" he roared in anger, the royal guards all darted their heads toward the Earth King. They were concerned because they heard the capital of the Yu province was destroyed.
"It had to be those damned snow savages!" cursed Qiang Zhen.
Qiang Zhen infuriated pointed at the soldier, "You! What did you see?"
The soldier fell back when the Earth King while infuriated pointed at him and demanded that he remember everything he witnessed in person. The man remained on his knees and recalled everything, "When I flew over the city of Yumen I witnessed the aftermath of a city torn asunder by natural forces. Some of the men that arrived from Fort Zhezhong saw the city in ruins as well, part of the city was engulfed by the ocean, ruins everywhere, crumbled buildings and former homes, dismantled and collapsed siege weapons, burnt farmlands, there were volcanoes with dried up mysterious black earth nearby. A gale force of wind blew through, it looked as if a massive earthquake struck Yumen and those volcanoes erupted."
"Mysterious black earth? Volcanoes?" Guwen questioned the soldier's recollection of what he witnessed first-hand when he visited the ruins. He took a deep breath and composed himself many thoughts ran in his head much like Qiang Zhen.
"Volcanoes? There are no volcanoes in the area," countered Qiang Zhen.
"Yes, how are there volcanoes near Yumen? My son was visiting two months ago," mentioned one of the royal guards. A veteran who's served Qiang Zhen and Ta Po for a total of thirty years.
"He never mentioned volcanoes, Yumen is near the coast it's mostly cool for most of the year, during the summer it's pretty humid," added the veteran royal guard.
"He mentioned black earth if there are volcanoes now present it's more certain the volcanoes erupted and the black earth is dried lava," Qiang Zhen commented.
"But that doesn't explain how a massive earthquake would have caused the volcanoes to form out of the ground and erupted," Qiang Zhen brought up.
"How could the Tribesmen be involved, Your Majesty? The Tribesmen can't cause an earthquake let alone volcanic eruptions. This man mentioned, however, that the ocean engulfed a section of the city," wondered Guwen, he claimed there was no possible way for the Tribesmen to cause any other problem but the waters that engulfed part of the capital city.
"From the evidence provided there an only explanation, the Tribesmen weren't involved, Your Majesty," disagreed the veteran.
"Bring forth Great Sage Tudishen, he might be able to shed some light on this," ordered Qiang Zhen.
After fifteen minutes the great Earth Sage finally arrived in the throne room, the veteran guard that spoke up earlier escorted him to the palace. Great Sage Tudishen kowtowed before Qiang Zhen who normally would've stood up but because he was sick remained in his throne. He waved his hand and Guwen said, "You may rise, Tudishen."
The old sage rose to his feet and stepped forward, "What do you require of me, Your Majesty?"
"When we spoke about the earthquakes that hit Ba Sing Se, you mentioned that they came from the southeast. This young man over here visited Yumen and found it in ruins, according to him a tsunami hit the city, a massive earthquake destroyed it entirely, and volcanoes rose out of the ground and erupted. Would this be work of Shanshen?" Qiang Zhen asked the old sage his voice quavered with emotion and anger in his tone.
The old sage sat there in silence while he processed everything that was thrown at him, "I'm s-sorry did you say Yumen was destroyed?!" repeated Tudishen with a question.
Guwen nodded, "Yes, apparently we've lost contact of Governor Shangye and General Tsuyo-sa, we've sent a courier to have the general report and he found the city in ruins."
"There's no way this would've happened, there's no way this was the work of Shanshen. Something's amiss and we should get to the bottom of it. Especially, if Yumen city doesn't have any volcanoes nearby or even in the state itself. Naturally, volcanic eruptions and big earthquakes can cause tsunamis to form. What doesn't seem natural to me is the way these volcanoes formed," explained Tudishen.
"Evidence has shown that volcanoes form over time, if there weren't volcanoes in Yumen last month but there is now, it's either work of Shanshen, an earth spirit, or even...the Avatar," stated Tudishen.
Qiang Zhen wasn't able to hold in the tears his eyes were red as he sniffled. He used his thumb and index to rub both eyes he mumbled, "Two million lives...gone."
He buried his face into his hands and sobbed, "I failed..."
"How could you have failed against natural occurrences?" Guwen asked Qiang Zhen.
"That's the only possible explanation," Guwen added.
"Well, actually I mentioned two other options a spirit or the Avatar. Are there any spirits around Yumen?" wondered the Great Sage.
"Not that I am aware of," Guwen declined as he patted Qiang Zhen's back as he aimed to calm the Earth King down.
"What about the Avatar where are they?" brought up Tudishen.
"Why is the Avatar important?" the veteran guard questioned the Great Sage.
"No one else is possible of doing this alone besides Shanshen or spirit," The Great Sage informed the guardsman.
"Good point," he nodded.
"The Earth King wouldn't know, he's never met the Avatar. Last I remember I visited the Fire Lord's palace twenty-one years ago to meet the new Avatar with Ta Po. This was around the time the Fire Sages had finished testing children in the Fire Nation. It's obvious the child is now an adult but I do not keep up with the Avatar's progress," disagreed Guwen as he answered Tudishen's question.
"I remember my son telling me rumors of the Avatar traveling with the children of one of the chieftains of the Water Tribes. Likely he may be in one of the poles, or perhaps the Oma Kingdom," fretted the guardsman.
"How long ago was that?" Qiang Zhen questioned him.
"That was about three years ago, Your Majesty. He could be anywhere at this point maybe he's back in the Fire Nation," responded the guard then he guessed perhaps the Avatar likely returned home to the Fire Nation.
"The Avatar sided with the Oma Kingdom if he's mastered earthbending that is," assumed Qiang Zhen.
"Unlikely, the Avatar cannot side with one nation, my liege. The Avatar serves all four," declined the guardsman.
The soldier remained on his knees Qiang Zhen's eyes gazed upon him once more, "You mentioned those men were from Fort Zhezhong did they give you a report to bring to me?" he asked the soldier.
The soldier rapidly nodded his head, "Y-yes, they said when they arrived in Fort Zhezhong they found it in smoldering ruins. They believe the Water Tribesmen in the area laid siege to the fort, they told me to tell you that they're traveling to Ku near the borders of Yu and Yunan. They're awaiting their orders still, sire."
"Fort Zhezhong is gone too?" repeated Qiang Zhen he sighed, "Gods...we've lost Yu province."
"Not all is lost, Your Majesty, Ku still stands as does Fort Xiong," the soldier said, he hoped it'd give the Earth King hope.
"That's not enough men they'd be slaughtered by everyone in Bei Fu," Qiang Zhen shook his head.
"Send a deployment from Yunan and Gongzhu into Yu, enough men to decimate an entire city of intruders," suggested the soldier.
"No we need to scout them out first I must know how many men there truly is inside the city," Qiang Zhen declined.
"You're dismissed, soldier," the young soldier kowtowed once more before exited the throne room.
He turned to face the veteran guardsman, "What's your name?"
"I am Laozhang, my liege," he introduced himself.
"Laozhang, can you do me a personal favor? Seek out Laobing, he lives in the Middle Ring, he's an old veteran, bring him here. No questions asked," ordered Qiang Zhen.
"Yes, Your Majesty," he nodded then bowed before Qiang Zhen before he left.
"You over there," he called out to the man that was opposite of Laozhang, "Please take this news to Tsuyo-sa's next of kin, we will be shortly commencing a ceremony for all those lost in Yumen. While you're at it inform the watchtowers they must know a general has died. By this afternoon all citizens may be able to attend the ceremony from the courtyard," the guard left as soon as he heard his orders.
Guwen looked over to Qiang Zhen and inquired, "Laobing the very same who requested assistance from the Terra Team and failed to find General Senlin?"
"The very same, he's served our country long enough and has put an effort into finding Senlin even if he failed," smiled Qiang Zhen.
Shouchun, Chu, Oma Kingdom
Eighty thousand Qiangdian troops crossed the Shouhu-gui Pass after they fix the once dismantled pass that split the two lakes. Their bannermen rode through safely, freshly dead Oma Kingdom soldiers laid in their pool of blood. The cliffs above the city of Shouchun showed the entire horizon of the capital city of the Chu province. One of the men looked to his lieutenant-general, "We're but a mile from the city how do you want this done?"
"We charge head-on, the Terra Team knows their mission they're going to look for Governor Zhuan Gongyi. Once they find him they're going to convince him to swing to the Qiangda Kingdom, if not they'll just kill him and we'll put you as the interim-governor. Understood?" the lieutenant general summarized.
The man nodded he understood his mission and he needed to stay alive to see this mission through. The bannermen tapped the end of their banner poles on the ground which made a clink, two taps every four seconds. This was to boost the morale of the men around them one of them started a chant that while it went unheard of by the unsuspected citizens in the city below. It echoed regardless the sound of thousands of men roared across the cliffs all of them rose their weapons.
"For the Earth King! For the Qiangda Kingdom!" roared the leader of the chant, the others soon followed as they repeated the battlecry in unison. The earthbenders created a ramp from the top of the cliffs safely to the bottom of which soldiers, artillerymen, engineers, and archers alike charged down from.
At the same time, the checkpoint guards fooled around two of them played earth ball, they used their earthbending to navigate a stitched ball full of clay around with pillars that rose out of the ground and even platforms that guided it to a makeshift goal.
Another read a series of parchments that must've been daily news while another placed new wanted posters up all the wall for bounty hunters that entered the area. The earth shook lightly, the ball moved the wrong way caused by the eighty thousand feet that ran toward the checkpoint.
"Damn there's an earthquake hitting soon!" announced one of the men.
"How do you know?" asked the man inside.
"I can feel it, can't you?" the soldier who currently placed one of the posters on the wanted wall. A massive boulder flew toward the two men that were outside with the ball. Still distracted they were flattened by the grand projectile.
"Cho! Ling!" yelled one of the men.
"Jian-Pu! Light the flare!" he warned the man inside, a boulder flew at the man he smashed the boulder with his two hands. In Jik Kiu, he directed a tremor that formed into a line of pillars when he focused his eyes on the ocean of men that headed in his direction.
"Yama take me," he whispered he knew this was his end and so he accepted it the line of pillars struck two men before a non-bender lunged his dao sword straight into the chest of the checkpoint guard.
The other man Jian-Pu struggled and wrestled against one of the soldiers. He reached for the flare that he dropped. The non-bender punched him square in the face once, he ignored the pain and grabbed the flare. The non-bender grabbed a rock and struck the soldier with the flare in the head, he continued until blood splattered on his face and the soldier stopped moving.
The field army ran through the checkpoint a huge moat had been constructed and a bridge made of the earth was built over the moat. The moat must've had some kind of dangerous marine animal living under the water which would make sense why the Omas built the moat in the first place besides another structure of defense. The side of which they'd enter was the market side of the city far from where the governor resided. Governor Gongyi was to be found somewhere near the southern tip of the city, that is where his estate was built on. The land bridge was expanded with earthbending to support the weight of all those invaders. There were soldiers on the walls that noticed the horde of men who continued to advance into the city. Those that ran for the bells to alarm the others were struck dead with arrows, earthbenders used pillars and launched themselves on top of the ramparts.
Off in another corner of the bulwark, one of the watchtower guards could see commotion but he wasn't sure. Until he heard the screams of citizens as they ran from the advancing field army that entered the city.
The people who ran were avoided but those who stood up to fight the Qiangdian men were killed easily by the trained soldiers. He lit a torch and dropped it in a brazier the fire was sort of difficult to see from the other watchtowers until the guard banged on the drum inside his tower.
They listened on the signal and a sequence of the same beat began this warned the entire city they were under attack by Qiangda Kingdom forces. A short old man sat in his lavish home with his wife, son, and his wife and their young daughter. They enjoyed a nice lunch as a family together, until the governor himself heard the faint sound of the gong in the distance.
The old man stood up and felt uneased his middle-aged son felt the chill in the air himself he faced his father and questioned him, "Father?"
The old man put his finger to his lips, "Shh...do you hear that?"
The door busted open ten estate guards marched through toward the dining hall where the Gongyi family ate. The captain had his hand on the pommel of his blade he warned the governor, "Lord Gongyi, Shouchun is under attack by the Qiangda Kingdom! Come on everyone into the bunker!"
Governor Gongyi's son's wife picked up her young daughter and along with her husband they hurried to the bunker. The governor and his wife hot on their heels toward the unknown area, they had run behind the estate itself near the garden where a manhole that led to the sewers below the city was.
The short old man's small feet carried him as fast they could. Ten estate guards followed behind the family, through the muck and gunk that was found outside they had to crawl through to get to the bunker in the cave below.
The provincial guard marched out of the war quarter of the city, a flare from the ramparts shot into the sky. This alerted the navy near the harbor to defend, the marines on the warships manned their stations the helmsmen sailed closer to the coast. The engineers ran to the trebuchets, oil was dumped on some boulders and they were lit with spark rocks. The lever operator and slammed his meteorite hammer onto the lever and saw the boulder engulfed with flames fly toward the harbor.
Several earthbenders caught the boulder in the sky then tossed it further into the city at the invaders. As they marched on one of them felt the heat and darted his up and screamed, "Projectiles!" While he warned the others he and seven others were killed.
The provincial guard were the ones who defended the province from foreign invaders. Their armor was different than the city guard and a different color scheme than a regular soldier. However, they carried the crest of the Gongyi family. Governor Gongyi's crest was a sea serpent, it was rumored that a sea serpent lived in the waters near Shouhu-gui's Pass but no evidence has proven this to be true.
The men wore cloth headdresses on their heads they were a forest green color, under their forest green tunics with the sea serpent crest was lamellar chest armor and greaves, their gloves were made of thick leather, their booths were also hard leather.
The non-bender wielded swords, spears, bows, and axes with shields while the earthbenders wore bracers that indicated they were benders. The benders had a pin of the serpent pinned on their tunic this one another way to differ the benders from the non-benders.
The major general who ran the division within the city of Shouchun ran to the scribes, the men worked quickly there. Two doves were sent off for a call to arms one was to reach a division of soldiers in Fort Gohun to the west of the city which was only twenty miles away and Liangshi, a town south of Shouchun about seven miles away.
He'd hope Liangshi would send reinforcements to fight back, the dove that headed for Fort Gohun noticed the familiar uniforms from the sky above and perched itself on the shoulders of one of the men.
"Ahh! It's a dove!" he screamed the man was afraid of birds.
"Get it off!" he shouted, Senlin grabbed the white bird and removed the scroll from its harness, while another extended his arm and allowed the creature to run up his arm. Senlin opened the waxed stamped scroll and read, "Colonel Jiequ,
Shouchun is under attack by Qiangdian troops they've been here for about an hour and we don't have enough men to fight them off. I know reinforcements from Fort Gohun and Liangshi should be enough to fight them back! We need your men and FAST!
Major General Shang"
Senlin paced a few steps forward and then announced, "We're only about a few more miles from Shouchun and guess what? They're under attack by Qiangdian soldiers, we have enough to slaughter them all, in the name of our ancestors let us bathe in the blood of our enemies! For the Oma Kingdom! For the Zu Dynasty!"
The men roared they were ready they headed toward the city a jogged pace so they'd be able to conserve their energy from here until then. The siege towers moved forward first along with other siege weapons. The Qiangdians will finally get a taste of the Oma Kingdom's newest siege weapon. Senlin turned his attention to one of the men, "Send a reply back to Major General Shang, let him know reinforcements are on the way!" he ordered the man.
He saluted Senlin and slowly paced as he gathered his things and came to a full halt so that he could send the reply. He was fine with falling behind he could catch up with the field army in a few minutes the men began to sing as they marched toward the city. Senlin chuckled and shook his head he hasn't heard that ballad since his father sang it before being deployed into war again.
"Come on men! Let's get down to our mission to DEFEAT the Qiangdians!" one of the men began.
"Time is racing toward us! Follow every order of the Commander and we might survive!" sang the men in unison.
"We must swift as King Peng! With all the force of Avatar Bhudev! With all the strength of Avatar Duryaja!" some of the men sang off the rhythm.
"Merciless as Lord Qin! Mysterious and intelligent like Queen Oma!" intoned Senlin his favorite part of the song was the chorus.
He remembered this song from his childhood the face of his father popped into his head. He recalled that his father looked exactly like him before he fell to illness.
Bei Fu, Yu, Qiangda Kingdom
Later that evening, several of Cupun's trusted allies interviewed every colonial that came from the poles and those that fled their homes within the Qiangda Kingdom. The refugees they took in feared for their lives as Kingsmen soldiers raided their homes for not complying with orders of eviction.
That same evening Palartok had done patrols with some other royal guards while still under the extra uniform available. They marched around the estate where the Southern Chieftain and the former Northern Chieftain resided.
There had been several other royal guards that ran around but mostly on this route they've only encountered one out of place. Palartok felt suspicious about it but when they returned to the area where they found him initially he was gone.
"Search around for that guard make sure he comes along," Palartok ordered.
All the royal guards went in different directions to find that guard. Palartok backed near the back wall where vines and other plants grew. They were dense enough that if someone hid behind them they couldn't be seen. He expected someone nearby so he made sure that the guard had vanished before the person would come out.
He continued to pace backward an icicle was held against his neck and the man whispered, "You saw me yet you refused to give up my position. Why?"
"It's me Admiral Palartok, Senlin, sent me to infiltrate Bei Fu along with whoever Kimaru sent to assassinate the chieftains of the Tribes," revealed Palartok.
The assassin removed the icicle that was pressed to the guard's neck and grabbed him by the shoulder and saw the familiar face. He smirked, "Never thought I'd find you here."
"Where are the others? I was planning on hitting the mansion tonight, they're all in there. The southern chieftain, former northern chieftain, the crowned prince of the South, and the Avatar," disclosed Palartok.
"Truly?" the assassin was in disbelief when he questioned the admiral he turned to face Palartok.
Who recognized him, "Glad to see you're still with us Sangok."
"Likewise, Admiral," he smiled to his superior.
"We're planning on meeting near the harbor tonight to report our findings as we always have," said Sangok.
"What time?" he asked the assassin.
"Midnight," answered the assassin.
"I'll bring you a scroll of the layout of the mansion with all possible hideouts and tunnels, we'll plan midnight our moves, understood?" stated Palartok then he offered to bring the group of assassins a map of the mansion's layout. This would make it easier to find their targets, Palartok noticed the faint glow of a lantern and shoved the assassin.
This was a clear sign that he needed to depart the royal guards returned, "Did you find anything?" he inquired.
They all shook their heads, "You?" one of them asked him.
"Nothing, let's keep moving," lied Palartok.
After they continued patrols around the estate they reached the front where Palartok and the men entered the mansion and another set of patrols exited. He rushed through the halls to find Cupun he ran to find the Avatar as he padded down the hall.
"Where's Lord Cupun?" he asked the young Avatar.
"I'm not sure, why?" he returned an echo question to Palartok.
"It's about the moles," said Palartok, Rong Yan turned around and they both headed toward Cupun's quarters.
They were halted by the royal guards from the north, "Halt, state your business."
"We have news to bring to Lord Cupun," answered Rong Yan, they opened the door to Cupun's quarters. He sat behind a desk while worked on some new bills to sign into law while in the colony. He lifted his head when he saw Rong Yan and Palartok entered his chambers.
"Yes?" he questioned both of them.
"The assassins they're meeting tonight, the one I met had been skulking the mansion for the past few days. I reckon they've been here for about a week, his name is Sangok. I'm meeting with him tonight," claimed Palartok.
"Is that so? What are the names of the others? What time?" he inquired further on the matter.
"I don't know who else came with him but he mentioned he was just going to assemble with them tonight by the harbor at midnight. I promised them a layout of the mansion and I told them we were striking tonight," replied Palartok.
"You what? You put us in danger by telling them tonight! No, you're getting a layout," Cupun denied Palartok his request.
"Fine, if you want to die then just let it happen! I won't help you out but I made a promise to the Southern chieftain and I intend on keeping it," argued Palartok.
"Lord Cupun, please! You should listen to him he knows them, he can meet them. Send in scouts with a mist and have them surrounded. We have strength in numbers, they're just parasites that are trying to tear this colony down," reasoned Rong Yan.
Cupun sighed, "Here take this to the former admiral he better right. I'll send men to the barracks," he handed Rong Yan a map that he held onto possibly owned by the previous magistrate of the city. Rong Yan folded it before he stashed it into his pocket and left.
Unaraq laid down on the soft Kingsmen bed he removed his shirt because of the heat from the evening. He smiled at his girlfriend then asked, "Do you mind getting us some tea?"
"Sure, what kind?" she smiled back at him, he rested his head on the soft pillows while he stared at the canopy of the bed.
She grabbed the vial of the love potion she bought the day before in Yaoping. He responded, "Hmm...I'm thinking mountain tea."
"I'll return in ten minutes, my love," she waved farewell to her lovely prince before she left toward the kitchens. When she arrived at the kitchen she filled the kettle with water from the wooden barrels that are used to collect rainwater.
Some benders remove the water from the impurities that are carried by the rain clouds. She poured any excess back into the barrel before she used a bit of air to dry the kettle and rest it over a fire.
Aloi minced over to look for a tray, teacups, and saucers for her evening with her boyfriend before they went to bed. She grabbed a handful of sugar cubes as well and tea bags labeled 'mountain tea'. All she had to do now was wait for the tea to heat up so she could pour the tea in the cups and head back.
Palartok wandered off toward the harbor where he was told that all the assassins would meet up. He headed toward the docks but saw two suspicious men had walked off to the right of the docks and behind some wall.
He skulked behind them the scouts deployed by Cupun watched from the ramparts and remained unseen to the men below. The spearmen waited somewhere nearby as well all the waited was the signal of the scouts. They were ready to make arrests or shed blood one of the whispered to himself a prayer for protection.
Sangok stepped forward there was only he, three others, and Palartok, "Are you sure you weren't followed?"
Palartok nodded, "I'm sure, is everyone here?"
"No, my brother Manik still hasn't shown himself I saw him yesterday and he said he'd show up tonight but he's not here yet," another man shook his head and responded.
They waited about ten minutes one of the scouts grew impatient because Palartok and the men stood there and waited longer for the man's brother Manik. Another scout held him and shook his head the young impatient scout sighed and rolled his eyes. Sangok leaned off the wall and then began the meeting, "He'll come by later we can't stay here and bide our time on him, Admiral, the map?" he asked Palartok.
"Oh...you just reminded me," Palartok chuckled he reached into his back pocket and handed Sangok the folded map. Palartok had studied the map before he came to the meeting with the men while Sangok read it himself Palartok explained.
"The northern wing of the mansion houses the chieftains and the prince who lives with an Air Nomad nun. The Avatar will be found in the western wing of the mansion and his earthbending master sleeps next door to him. While unimportant I've also noticed the generals and admirals of the respective armies also call the mansion home. I marked their chamber locations but those targets are completely optional if you wish to strike the last," described Palartok.
"Then we should head to the northern wing and kill the chiefs and prince first," mentioned one of the assassins.
"No, that's a bad idea, let's head to the western wing first, dispatch the Avatar and then go to the northern wing," Palartok countered.
"Why the Avatar first?" Sangok wondered.
"Because if you kill the chiefs first, you face the wrath of the Avatar. We have a likely higher chance of survival if the Avatar dies first," Palartok maintained.
"Fair enough," approved Sangok.
A light mist rolled in around and behind the wall, the thickness and height of the fog increased in a short amount of time. The spearmen prowled in the fog along with the scouts. Silently they surrounded the assassins, one of the assassins backed into a sharp object that drew blood from his lower back, "Ouch! What is that?" he questioned startled.
The fog dissipated Palartok and the assassins were found circled and trapped by twenty spearmen and several scouts perched on the walls. Archers stood vigilantly with their arrows notched and aimed at the heads of the assassins.
"You're all under arrest for conspiring to assassinate the chieftains, the Avatar, and the southern crowned prince," one of the spearmen shouted.
"Surrender or die!" yelled an archer.
Palartok sighed and was the first to initiate his surrender he rose his hands knelt the others were shocked that the admiral did this. They had no idea what was going on Cupun squeezed in between his royal guards after all the conspirators were clapped with ice cuffs. He crossed his arms and shook his head at all the moles, "You thought I wouldn't notice you, you've betrayed our Tribe. That's pathetic, kill them all," he commanded his royal guards.
He grabbed Palartok by the collar and lifted him to his feet, "Remove his cuffs."
The ice around Palartok's wrists melted Cupun gazed into his eyes, "I'll let you return to your cell willingly. Don't mistake my trust for weakness, I'll see you in the morning."
Sangok gasped when he saw Palartok being unarrested by the chieftain he was sent to murder, "You traitor!" he screamed at the former admiral.
Palartok grabbed onto one of the spearmen's polearm, the man gladly handed him the spear, "This is me closing the doors to my past."
Palartok thrust the spear forward he heard it pierced through the flesh of the man who heaved for air. He twisted the spear and then ripped it out of the man's body, Sangok fell over to the side dead, then he handed the spear back to the guard, "I already told your chieftain I've changed."
At the same time, Aloi dropped the tea bags inside each cup of hot water she placed one sugar cube in each cup and watched as each cube melted inside the teacup. She held the vial in her hands again, she quickly rotated around to face the person who entered.
Unaraq wondered why his girlfriend took too long so he searched for Aloi and found her inside the kitchen. She stammered her words, "U-u-unaraq what are y-you doing here?!"
"You took too long so I got curious and wanted to check up on you," he responded.
She clutched onto the neck of the vial while she held it behind her. Unaraq noticed that Aloi seemed a bit nervous her eyebrow twitched a bit. He quickly caught on and questioned her, "What's that behind your back?"
She shook her head and lowered it she was ashamed of what she held behind her back. She wanted to hide the contents of the vial inside his tea to change him forever. A red-skinned figure popped into existence unseen by everyone in the halls and by Unaraq and Aloi himself. The figure stroked its beard as it watched intently and eavesdropped on the situation at hand between the couple.
"It's nothing..." she mumbled.
"It's something let me see it," he attempted to convince her to reveal whatever it was. Aloi shook her head again Unaraq neared her and turned her around to see that she held a vial in her hand. He grabbed the vial from her possession and examined it.
"What is this? Poison?" he wondered.
"No! Its-" she declined but she was cut off by him, "Are you trying to poison me?" he guessed incorrectly. He took a step back, he bored his eyes into her then turned away disappointed and worried for himself. He was going to call the royal guards but she sighed and felt ashamed about everything.
Aloi confessed, "I lied to you this morning, yesterday Jushi and I-" then she was interrupted again by Unaraq who accused her of cheating on him, "I knew it! You're cheating on m-"
Yue Lao rolled his eyes and sighed then he removed the red string that hugged his wrist. He used his powers to expand the string and he threw it around the couple.
"Let me speak!" she retorted.
"Jushi and I went to Yaoping not to visit a friend, we went to this mountain where we visited a spirit. His name is the Heartseeker, we didn't expect him to help us but he told me to get a love potion. That vial is supposed to change our lives for the better, he gave me a choice to love you as you are or change you," explained Aloi.
"Change me?" he repeated his tone sounded like he asked himself a question, he examined the vial and the contents inside further. The light green liquid was clumpy as he shook the vial he removed the cork, "I'm willing to do what's right for us."
Unaraq leaned his head back but Aloi held back his hand she shook her head she didn't want him to drink the vial. She chose him for the way he was even if their relationship was toxic if they worked on it together it'll blossom beautifully. At the same time, Yue Lao smiled he felt warm inside after he brought the young couple together.
He shrieked when Rong Yan stood next to him unannounced as he mindlessly stared at his friends, "Who are you?!" he shouted.
Yue Lao was startled at the strange young man he hid behind his beard and peeked from it to look at the Fire Nationalist. Rong Yan smiled, "I'm Avatar Rong Yan!"
Yue Lao felt a sigh of relief he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Oh...the Avatar...I thought for a second you were something else. What can I do for you?"
"Who are you? And why are you creepily eavesdropping on them?" he questioned the red-skinned immortal.
"Yue Lao, God of-" he stopped himself and coughed then corrected himself, "..er-Immortal of Love at your service, kid," the spirit introduced himself.
"Just doing business is all," he commented.
"Immortal of love eh?" Rong Yan wondered, "How goes the love lottery for me?" he inquired.
"You win big, kid. Just focus on yourself but you'll meet them soon. You'll know when it's them," winked Yue Lao.
Aloi and Unaraq remained locked in each other's embrace, Unaraq caressed his thumbs on his girlfriend's cheeks. Then he lifted her chin with a curled index and lightly kissed her, that's when Rong Yan padded in then he stopped and pretended as if he wasn't stalking them for a few minutes.
"Oops, I'll come back later..." he tittered nervously.
"...I uh should mention there was a red-skinned fellow he was ogling at you guys, he's not there anymore though," mentioned Rong Yan before he headed out.
Unaraq let go of Aloi and then stuck his head out of the kitchen and looked to his left and right as Rong Yan continued down the hall. Aloi grabbed his hand, "I think that was Yue Lao the Heartseeker."
"He has a name?" Unaraq questioned her, "He does, he's very strange but I'm glad he brought us together," she smiled, she rested his hand on her left cheek.
Rong Yan returned and peeped his head from the hallway, "I just remembered what I was going to tell you guys, start packing we head to Ba Sing Se before sundown."
Several guards carried the corpses of the conspirators and tossed them onto a big bonfire where they watched the bodies as they cremated in the fire. They didn't deserve a cairn or a proper burial the leader Sangok was tossed in the waste fill outside the city where the carrion birds found their pickings. This was a way to show the enemy that even death they aren't gifted safe burial.
An hour later, Shen laid near the courtyard Jushi and Rong Yan stood out in front of the steps that led down to the courtyard. They stared at the sunset for a brief moment and enjoyed the view, Aloi came out and then Unaraq existed. A royal guard uncorked his waterskin, from the corner of Jushi's eye he saw what was going on.
The royal guard quickly whipped out some water and froze it into an icicle Jushi shifted into a Qiangli stance he extended his arms forward and trapped the royal guard disguised assassin in a cone of earth. The icicle dropped to the ground and melted Unaraq who didn't pay attention finally turned around and exchanged looks with Rong Yan and Jushi, "Which one of you coned him?"
"I did, he was going to kill you," Jushi answered.
"Oh well..." he paused then he pointed at the trapped assassin and he yelled, "ARREST HIM!" A few guards ran toward the conspirator after Jushi dropped the cone he was tackled to the ground. Cupun and Unirak exited the mansion as well they saw as the man was being hauled away.
"What's going on?" Cupun inquired.
"He tried to kill me!" responded the angry prince.
"Bring the prisoner forward," commanded Cupun, the prisoner was dragged toward Cupun, "Jushi do you mind coning him again?" he asked the earthbender. Jushi nodded and coned the prisoner, Cupun grabbed his machete and swung hard and beheaded the prisoner.
"Clean up this mess and toss his body in the landfill outside the city," he ordered the guards.
"I hope you will all have a safe trip to the Qiangdian capital," Unirak told the group.
"Thank you, Chieftain Unirak," bowed Rong Yan.
"You have to do what is necessary and convince the Earth King to agree to meet in the Baiyan Air Temple. I'm sure you can do it," Cupun reminded Rong Yan.
Unaraq hugged his father goodbye before he departed Aloi hugged Unirak as well and they smiled as they waved goodbye. Jushi bowed respectfully to the chieftains then he headed down the steps toward the courtyard.
Rong Yan said, "I'll do what I can, I promise."
Shen flies off into the air as they leave the city of Bei Fu, Unaraq peeked over Shen's saddle as he saw Bei Fu get tinier by the second. At the same time, the massive group of two hundred thousand soldiers found themselves not far from the city's walls. Buildings emitted smoke trails while others burned, the army group charged toward the city's main gates.
The watchtowers near the ramparts noticed the reinforcements and banged their drums this alerted the provincial guard help had arrived. A roar from tons of men echoed throughout the city as they charged Senlin lost in the body of soldiers. Cannons fired their shots from elevated positions, Qiangdian troops became cannon fodder. The man who led them saw the tall machinations from the Oma Kingdom.
"What...is that THING?!" he worried he feared the massive moving towers with four cannons and a trebuchet.
"Run!" another shouted.
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