| By BlueDagger | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from BlueDagger | Adventure | PG-13 | Positive | Here |
The fourth chapter of the first part of Dancing Shadows
Overview[]
Feng and Wei are contracted by Banam to assassinate a nobleman, and infiltrate his compound.
Content[]
One Special Order[]
The man at the small shop handed Feng a rolled up map. "Here you go, one special order," the man whispered.
"Here you are, sir, one special order."
"Thank you," Feng replied as he took his map. "How much?"
"5 silver pieces." Feng handed the man his money and turned back down the street from where he had come.
It had been one month since the job for the Dai Li. Despite the Dai Li already threatening to throw the both of them in jail, Feng and Wei had decided to continue assassination jobs. They figured that, if they were more careful about it, they could avoid getting caught.
The map was a complete map of Ba Sing Se, with the Outer Wall, Lower Ring, Middle Ring, Upper Ring and Palace all detailed. Wei had suggested that they buy it in preparation for their next mission. It had many secret areas shown plainly. Old Joe had told them where they could get such a map.
Earlier that day, Banam Saesing had contacted them yet again. He said there was a nobleman who was running a slaving ring. He wanted the nobleman dead. The problem for Feng and Wei was that the nobleman lived in the Upper Ring. The Upper Ring was completely off limits to denizens of the other two rings, without a special pass or invitation. Banam, knowing this, was prepared to pay a large sum of money. The second Wei saw the money, she had taken the job for them.
Now, Feng was still trying to figure out a way to get inside the Upper Ring in the first place. His head was aching. "Man," he muttered to himself. "This is gonna be harder than I thought." He knew roughly where the nobleman's property was. He also knew that it had so many guards it may as well have been an armed compound. The nobleman would be in the house, in the middle of it all. They needed a plan. And so, Feng decided to pay a visit to Old Joe.
More Advice From the Beggars[]
He walked into the alleyway were Old Joe lived at around noon. Joe was sitting at his bedroll, eating lunch. Feng walked up to him silently, and put a hand on Joe's shoulder, yelling, "BOO!" Joe leapt up, his bread flying out of his hand.
"What? Where? Who?" He saw Feng. "Ah, come on, Feng, do you have to do that?" Feng chuckled.
"Yeah. Okay, Joe, I want info."
Joe dusted himself off and said, "Yeah, sure. What kind?"
"I got the map you told me about. I checked it out. Now, I need to know how to get inside the Upper Ring."
Joe rubbed his neck as he spoke. "Well, Feng, that's some pretty big info you're asking for there. I think that's gonna cost you around fifteen copper."
Feng dug the money out of his pocket and threw it at Joe. "Here, you lazy piece of..."
"Well, thank you. Alright, I got some secret info here for ya. Sit down." Feng sat with Joe by his bedroll. "Alright, you know that string of traders who operate all through the Earth Kingdom?"
"The Merchant's Guild?"
"That's the one. They've been contracted to deliver a shipment to the palace, today. You sneak in with them, you got your ride. They'll be at the Inner Wall in about an hour."
"Nice, thanks a lot, Joe."
"Hey, no problem, kid."
Feng stood up and walked away. He looked back. "Hey, Joe, how did you learn about this?" Joe stood up.
"I told you, kid. We know everything."
"I told you, kid. We know everything." He then walked out through a side alleyway, hoping to get some more lunch.
Wei was throwing knives at a target in the house. She turned around as Feng walked in. "Get your weapons and come, Wei. We're leaving."
"What, already? Hey, did you get the map?"
"Yeah, but we don't have time. Come on. We gotta be at the Inner Wall in an hour."
"Wait, why?"
"I'll tell you one the way, come on!"
Feng explained as they walked to the Wall. "Alright, I talked to Old Joe. He told me how we can get into the Upper Ring."
"Nice! How?"
"A caravan is coming through the gate soon. We sneak through with it."
"A caravan? So, how do we blend in with them?"
"Man, I didn't actually think of that..." She punched his arm lightly. "Nice going, Feng. Whatever, we can work it out once the caravan comes." Feng rubbed his arm. "Fine."
The Caravan[]
They waited at the Inner Wall for around ten minutes. Suddenly, there was a great rumble. There was a team of Earthbenders standing at the base of the wall. Working in tandem, they brought the Wall apart, creating a large opening. A large convoy came through the gate. There were ostrich horses driving carriages loaded with goods. Men were walking alongside them. A crowd had gathered round.
"Quick, Feng," Wei whispered. "Follow me."
"Working in tandem, they brought the Wall apart, creating a large opening."
"What? Hey, what are you-?" She dragged Feng trough the crowd, down to the Wall itself. As the last carriage came through, she quickly dove in, motioning for Feng to do the same.
They quietly crouched under the tarp that covered the carriage for quite some time, as the great caravan traveled through the city. They heard the noises of the gate to the Middle Ring opening, and, eventually, the Upper Ring. Feng peeked out through the tarp. They were lumbering through the Upper Ring, now.
"Quick, Wei!" The both of them jumped out of the carriage, and darted into an alleyway before anyone could see. They crouched in the alleyway, out of sight.
"Alright, Wei," Feng said quietly. "Stay out of sight, we'll be arrested if they find us here without a passport. Here, let me see something." He pulled out the map. "Banam said the man's house was about..."
"Here!" Wei said, pointing to the map.
"Thanks, Wei. Alright, we get over there. Keep to the alleys. We'll approach from the back." Wei nodded.
They silently snuck through the alleyways, making sure to keep out of sight. No one was often in the alleyways of the Upper Ring, so it was fairly easy going. Feng glanced at his map again in an alley.
"Alright, Wei. See this wall right here?"
"Yeah." Feng stomped, and brought both his hands down. A hole appeared in the ground.
"The compound is on the other side of it. We'll sneak in this way."
"But... Oh, come on, a hole? Really?"
"Yeah, yeah, it's a hole. Now, get in."
"Screw you," she said as she jumped in the hole. Feng followed her, and closed the original hole.
They walked a bit forward, before Feng stopped and looked up. He raised himself up a bit, and slid the roof of the tunnel away. He lowered his head up and began to look around. He gave a start, and almost yelled out. There was a guard directly in front of him. He almost fell over, but he managed to regain his balance. Then, making sure no other guards were around, he reached up, dagger in hand, stabbed the guard in the neck, and pulled him in the hole. Wei gave a small yelp as the body landed right next to her, almost on top of her. "Feng!"
He looked down. "What? Oh. Sorry."
He climbed out of the hole, slowly and quietly. He extended his hand out to Wei, who took it and climbed out as well.
The Compound[]
They were standing in a large garden, with the wall near them. It was quite large, and littered with small buildings, bushes, and other plants. It was also littered with guards.
It was also littered with guards."
"Get down, you idiot!" Wei whispered as she brought Feng down into a nearby bush.
"Sorry. Alright, we need to sneak past all these guards, into the house, where there'll likely be more guards, get past them, kill this guy, then sneak back out. Simple, right?"
"Yeah, right. REAL simple." She sighed. "I hate guards. Alright, let's get moving." Feng nodded.
They went from the bushes to a small building. Feng looked in the window, and quickly pulled his head back. "Full of guards," he whispered. There was a guard by some bushes near it. Feng got his bow out and shot him through the heart. They went forward, hid the body in the bushes, and retrieved Feng's arrow. Trying their best to keep out of sight, they slowly sneaked over to some large hedges. As they got to them, a guard rounded a corner hedge. He saw them, and was about to yell for help, when Wei quickly darted forward and stabbed the man in the heart. She dumped his body in the bushes. "Close," she whispered.
The Waterbender[]
They continued on to some more hedges, which were on the next side of the house. They were continuing through them when they heard a noise. Feng poked his head around the corner and whispered back to Wei, "Get in the hedge, Wei. There's about eight guards coming this way." She nodded and quickly dived in. Feng followed. They snuck through the hedges carefully, making sure not to step on any loose branches.
Unfortunately, Feng did not detect one of them, until it was too late. A branch snapped under his weight. The guards stopped. One of them went up to the hedge, and peered in. Feng and Wei held their breath. Suddenly, the guard called out, "Intruders in the hedges!" He reached in to grab them. Feng took out his sword, and put it through the man's heart quickly.
He and Wei came out of the bushes, quickly. Wei threw a knife into one man's neck. There were five left. One man ran off, towards a large bell. Feng and Wei hit they guards, swords clashing.
"Wei!" Feng said, as he deflected one man's blow and ducked under another. "There's another one going for the alarm!"
"I know! I can't get at my knives without getting impaled here, though, so, work something out, will ya?" Feng vaguely saw the man run for the bell as he cut down one of the guards he was fighting. He glanced at it again. As he was distracted, the guard he was fighting managed to get a hit on Feng's shoulder.
"Damn," Feng swore, as he continued to fight.
The guard had just reached the bell. He was about to ring it, sounding the alarm. As he did, however, a whip of water came across his face. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
The man Feng was fighting had him beat. Feng had lost his sword, and the man was about to finish him off. However, as he approached him, he stopped, and fell to the ground. A spike of ice had punctured a lung. The man died. The two men fighting Wei turned around and, as soon as they did, a large stream of water hit them both, making them soar into the air.
"He took back the stream of water, seperated it into two, and turned each one into shards of ice."
A young, blond Waterbender jetted himself into the air with a pillar of ice. In the air, he took back the stream of water, separated it into two, and turned each one into shards of ice. He launched the ice at the men. When they fell to the ground, they were both dead.
The young boy converted the ice back into water, and put the water into a pouch at his side. He walked over to Feng, and extended his hand. "Hey. Nice to meet you. I'm Nekku."
Trivia[]
- This chapter was slated to release alongside the Comes Around, but, due to time constraints, it was not possible.
- Nekku is the new permanent character.
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.
| Introduction |
| Background |
| Part 1: Beginnings |
| First Blood - Bar Fights are Fun! - Civil Unrest - What Goes Around - Comes Around - The Shroud - Battle on the Wall - Starry Skies - Sister Dearest - One Last Sale - Horizon Part 1: Stormy Sky - Horizon Part 2: Farewell |
| Part 2: Journeys |
| That Long Road - Morning Never Comes |
| Special |
| Christmas Special |