Fire and Wind: Guan Ju
Guan Ju was around five days' walk from Kanu if one factored in sleep and regular breaks. Seng was capable of covering much more distance than most thanks to her bending, but even she needed to rest. It would take her around two and a half full days to reach the city if she didn’t push herself too hard. Being more than used to wandering around the Earth Kingdom thanks to the last several years, a journey like that was practically nothing.
As she walked the well-tread dirt path to her destination, Seng took a bite out of her jerky, chewing it with some difficulty. She would have much preferred to use the meat that she had gotten from the butcher to cook an actual meal, but given her circumstances she simply hadn’t had the time to do more than smoke it over a fire while she slept. She had overdone it quite a bit, but it was better than the meat going bad in her pack.
She tore off another chunk, chewing the tough meat with a placid expression on her face as the bland flavor filled her mouth. Once she got to Guan Ju and found a captain, she’d treat herself to an actual meal for once. It had been forever since she had something that wasn’t fruit or salted meat.
This particular path to Guan Ju wasn’t a main road but it appeared on most maps if one looked hard enough. Being the predominant port town in this area, Guan Ju was a well-known destination for caravans looking to buy salted fish or people who were simply searching for a new profession and wished to try their luck on the rough waters of the nearby ocean. Most towns nearby at least knew of it, and unfortunately, that meant so did the less reputable people who happened to inhabit this part of the country.
Seng stopped in the middle of the road as her ears perked up at the sound of rustling brush. She looked around her, slowly scanning the treeline with critical eyes as her ears strained to pick up any more movement around her.
Though it wasn't exactly common, it was a known fact that travelling alone in his part of the country made you a prime target for all sorts of unsavory individuals, especially if you were a young and more importantly attractive female
Fire Nation soldiers looking to break up the monotony of patrolling, ‘freedom fighters’ who were arguably worse if you happened to be coming from or going towards a Fire Nation colony, and worst of all…
Seng felt her expression tighten as several people stepped out of the treeline, apparently having decided that hiding was a moot point with how in edge she now was. They were wearing armor, if one could even call it that. Ragged leather and rusting iron covered their bodies, in just as much disrepair as the weapons they were currently brandishing in her direction, as if they had scavenged them from a battlefield long after the battle itself was over.
Bandits. Pathetic cowards who wandered the roads outside of towns as they searched for easy targets who weren’t likely to fight back. Given her nomadic nature, Seng had dealt with her fair share and these ones looked like any others. Cocky and particularly unimpressive. They clearly saw her as an easy target.
She eyed them as she put her meal away, taking in their numbers and the weapons spread between them. There were four of them in total, three men and one woman. Said woman was staying in the treeline and away from her compatriots, pointing a primed bow directly at Seng while the rest of them stalked towards her. She probably thought she was hidden given her darker attire and the mud covering her face, but Seng had been hunting since she was a child. Few could hide from her this close up.
Making sure not to look directly at the woman so that she thought she was still hidden, Seng moved her eyes to the one in front. He was clearly the leader, and that conclusion wasn’t just based on the fact that he was the largest and most dangerous looking of the bunch, with a pair of gleaming axes in each hand. The two men behind him were clearly deferring to his judgment, stepping back to let him approach her completely alone as they leered at her disgustingly.
He almost immediately proved her right by speaking in a loud and boisterous tone, as if he thought that yelling was a good way to intimidate her, “Well what do we have here? A young lady out on her own in these dangerous woods? Haven’t you heard, young lady? This isn’t the nice neighborhood that it used to be, haha!”
His fake laugh was echoed by his compatriots as he came to a stop a few feet in front of her. He looked her up and down, paying special attention to the spear peeking over her shoulder, “Oh, but you’ve got a weapon don’t you? You think you’re a big girl who can handle all the big bad threats out here, don’t you?”
“It doesn’t matter to me what’s out here.” Seng said simply, causing the bandit and his men to pause, “Animals, soldiers,” She gave them a pointed look, “Bandits. I can handle them all. I have been for years now.”
“Is that so?” The man looked a bit more serious now, perhaps finally noticing that she wasn’t the least bit afraid of them, “Well little lady, I don’t think you want to try your luck this time. See, we’ve been in this business a long, long time and have seen just about all there is to see out here. Some little girl with a hand-made spear isn’t going to do much against us, so why don’t you just spar us all the trouble and give us your coin? If you do, you can go on your way. Don’t, and well…” He pointedly looked down at the axes in his hands, “Things might get a bit messy.”
Instead of answering the threat, Seng simply shrugged her pack off of her shoulders, tossing it off to the side to land in a bush, safe from harm. She then removed her spear from her back, twirling it around her body expertly as she limbered up, before pointing at the surprised bandits in silent challenge, “I’m afraid that’s not an option.”
While the two behind him looked surprised at her willingness to fight, the lead bandit just sighed, “Alright, well you can’t say I didn’t try.” He nodded to his compatriots, “Get her boys, but don’t rough her up too much. We can probably ransom her back to wherever she came from.”
The two men wasted no time in following their leader's words, and Seng's finger tightened on the shaft of her weapon as they approached her with eager grins. Judging by the way they moved, these men relied on intimidation and size to overwhelm their opponents. If she had to guess, they barely even knew how to use the weapons they were holding.
This would be even easier than escaping Chang.
The start of the battle was marked by the whistle of an arrow flying towards her as the woman in the bushes let it fly. Seng immediately whirled her spear around, slapping it out of the air in one smooth motion. The arrow careened into the forest, flying past the two bandits as they began charging towards her.
One of them seemed to have at least half a brain as he slowed down the moment she did so, realizing that their prey wasn't as easy as it looked, while the other continued forward, as undaunted as he was stupid.
As he reached her, he wasted no time in swinging out with a dull machete, aiming for her shoulder so he could render her unable to defend herself. Seng ducked underneath it and swept that man's legs out from underneath him, sending him to the ground with a surprised yell.
Shrugging off his shock, the man immediately moved to get up, showing that he had some semblance of survival instincts, but Seng was still moving, twirling her staff around her in one smooth motion, before slamming the end of her weapon into the side of his head with an sick CRACK.
He immediately went limp, his eyes closing and his head lolling to the side as he lost consciousness almost immediately. His machete fell from his limp grasp and a groan escaped his lips as he was sent into the land of dreams in a painful fashion.
As he slumped lifelessly, Seng turned her attention to the next bandit, twirling her spear around into a ready position. He looked to his fallen friend, and then to her, wariness apparent in his eyes.
Seng gave him a smirk, cocking her head in silent invitation and practically daring him to try his luck.
He took the bait, his face twisting in anger as he began to approach her once more. Having seen what had just happened to his friend however, he was much more cautious about it, moving much more slowly so he wouldn't be caught by surprise like the other bandit had.
Unfortunately for him, Seng could see over her shoulder and noticed that his friend in the bushes had prepared another arrow. She nocked it back once more, assuming that Seng was too distracted by the man in front of her as she aimed over her comrade's shoulder and prepared to let loose.
Seeing this, Seng suddenly lunged towards the man, taking a more proactive approach against him than she had his friend. He was surprised by this and wasn't able to defend himself properly as she thrust her spear forward, sliding the blade through the cracks in his armor to score a hit on his unprotected flesh.
He howled loudly, swiping at her with his club but she avoided it easily, stepping to the side and ripping her spear out of his body in one smooth motion. She then went on to slap the side of her weapon into his unprotected side, sending him stumbling directly into the path of his friend's arrow as she let loose.
There was a gasp from the woman in the bushes as her arrow scored home in her comrade's unprotected back, causing him to gasp in pain. The armor that he was wearing was notorious for being the most protective in the front, with the back being comprised of thick leather instead of metal.
With how poorly his armor was maintained, there was no doubt in Seng's mind that the arrow had gone extremely deep into his flesh.
Still, she wasn't willing to bet her life on it and so continued her assault. The bandit tried to bring his club up in a hasty and panicked defense but she easily smacked it out of his hand, sending it to the ground. She then leapt upwards, using her spear and a bit of discreet airbending to launch herself up and kick the man directly in the face hard enough to dislodge several teeth.
He went down like a sack of potatoes, falling onto his back and no doubt snapping the arrow lodged inside of it in half if the sound of splintering wood was any indication. He would likely need a surgeon to fix that.
The whistling of wood slicing through the air caught Seng's attention. Following her instincts, she tilted her head to one side, letting the arrow fly by her face harmlessly as the fletching grazed her cheek. She slowly looked over, locking eyes with the woman still crouching in the brush, who immediately began nocking another arrow,
In a single deft motion, she dug her foot underneath the nearby fallen machete, kicking it upwards into the air in front of her. As it rose, she twisted on her heel, turning around and slamming her foot into the handle of the weapon as hard as she could while at the same time, releasing a discreet burst of wind from her sole. Just as she had intended, the machete went spinning towards the ‘hidden’ archer as if she had thrown it herself.
It slammed into the bark of the tree beside the woman’s face, startling her badly enough to release the hold on her arrow which in turn was sent screaming into the foliage off to Seng’s right, missing her completely. The woman turned to look at the machete, now lodged deep into the wood mere inches from her terrified face, before she let out a shrill scream and scrambled to her feet, bolting into the forest and away from the fight.
The remaining bandit watched her go with a disappointed but unsurprised expression on his face, “Dammit Hua. I told her to hide better. When we get back to camp, I'm going to have a long talk with that woman about proper camouflage.”
“That talk will have to wait, I’m afraid.” Seng commented as she stepped away from the fallen men and towards their leader, “You aren’t about to be in a position to speak to anyone.”
“Haha! You are confident, aren’t you?” The man said, twirling his axes as he stepped towards her. They began circling one another, each of them just waiting for the other to make a move, “Hate to tell you, sweetheart, but I’m not nearly as incompetent as my men here. You’re in for an actual fight this time.”
“I’m sure it won’t make a difference.” Seng replied simply. The bandit’s face twisted angrily at her words, before a smile appeared on his face.
“Actually, you know what, you should join me!” He said suddenly, “Those two may not have been the brightest of the bunch, but I’ve never seen anyone take them both out that quickly. You’ve got some real skills there girl. You should put it to good use.”
“No thank you.” Seng said as she eyed the man, “I have better things to do with my life.”
“Like what? Wandering around from one side of the Earth Kingdom to the other, avoiding every Fire Nation patrol that comes your way?” The man laughed and Seng almost froze at his words. He saw this and his smile widened, “What? You think I couldn’t tell? Those weapons? Your skin and hair? You’re a runaway Fire Nation noble aren’t you? I haven’t seen one of you with grey eyes before, but nobody else is that pale.”
Seng immediately relaxed as he said that. She had thought for a moment that she hadn’t been as discreet with her bending as she had intended and that he had somehow sussed out what she was. Luckily, it seemed that while he had reached a conclusion about her, it was the furthest thing from the truth.
He didn’t know that however, and continued to speak, “With us, you wouldn’t have to worry about any of that, you know? We’ll protect you from whoever your parents send after you, I promise. All you have to do is join up and lend us that spear of yours and maybe teach my boys some of those tricks of yours.”
He began espousing about how great being a bandit was, about the freedom it gave him and how he could do damn near anything he wanted and as she listened, she couldn’t help but wonder if he realized that what he was saying described most nomads who wandered the kingdom, herself included. Either way, this had gone on long enough. She had places to be.
Letting the man speak uninterrupted, Seng slowly moved forward, digging her foot underneath the second bandit’s fallen club. Repeating her move with the archer, Seng kicked the weapon up with one foot before snatching it out of the air. She then chucked it straight at the bandit as he continued his recruitment speech.
He barely had a chance to widen his eyes before it slammed into his face hard enough to knock him on his ass. A loud crack rang out from the point of impact and his axes fell out of his hands, clattering to the floor as they instead came up to clutch at his now-broken nose.
“My nose! You broke my fucking nose!” He groaned through his fingers, writhing on the ground. Seng quickly made her way towards him before he could get back up, watching as he groveled and screamed about his broken nose, “Screw the offer, I’m just going to kill you-!”
As he pulled his hands from his face to glare at her, he froze as he was instead met with her spear directly at his throat. He froze, his eyes going wide as she glared down at him with a sharp gaze, “You were saying?”
The man's throat bobbed, his eyes glued to the sharp edge of her spear pressing against the delicate skin of his neck, “I-I uh… I don't-”
“That's what I thought.” She cut him off before he could start babbling. He shut up immediately and she eyed him, taking in his trembling body and fearful expression, a far cry from what it had been only a few seconds ago, “Now then, why don’t you go ahead and hand over all of your coin?”
She grinned crookedly at him, making her expression as scary as she could as she pressed the cool edge of her weapon deeper into his skin, “Unless you'd like another hole to breathe out of, which can certainly be arranged.”
~~~
A few hours later, Seng had a dissatisfied expression on her face as she took her first steps into the town of Guan Ju, her coin purse only a few silver pieces heavier than it had been just a few days before.
As it turned out, the bandits that had accosted her had already spent their ‘hard earned’ coin and she had actually been their first target of the day. That meant that when she had them spill their pockets in exchange for remaining intact, they barely had anything to give her. She had been quite incensed to find out that all of that trouble amounted to three measly silver pieces; the fact that they had nothing of value that she could feasibly sell only increased her anger with the situation.
Oh well, after what she had done to them, it wasn’t like they would be accosting anyone else any time soon, and she had to admit, tying them all to the tree that high up had been rather fun so that had done wonders for her mood.
And even better, she was finally at her destination. After three long months of travel she had finally arrived in Guan Ju. The largest port city for several hundreds miles.
And what a city it was. As if to display the disparity in wealth, Guan Ju was much, much nicer than Kana had been, and not just when it came to the size of the city itself. The streets were actually paved with what looked like limestone and the buildings were almost completely bereft of cracks or holes in their painted surfaces, looking better maintained than any Seng had seen in weeks
Most stuck out most of all though, was that the people here just seemed to be happier in general. Smiles were as abundant as the smell of salt in the air, a grin on nearly every face she passed as the citizens of the city passed her by on the way to their own destinations. They chatted freely with one another, the bone-weary tiredness of most of the people she had seen in Kana nowhere to be found as they talked about how their day had been or the most recent news they had heard from friends or family.
Something about it felt slightly off to Seng however, and closer inspection with a subtle but critical gaze revealed why that was. A layer of tension seemed to pervade through the entire town, sitting uneasily on the shoulders of those around her. Their smiles were slightly strained, as if they were worried about something or had heard some disturbing news and were simply trying to smile through it all in hopes that it would go away.
It seemed that things in Guan Ju weren’t quite as great as appearances would make one believe. Whatever was going on didn’t concern Seng herself though, so she just ignored it as she made her way through the town towards the port to begin her search for the captain and ship that would take her away from here.
As she walked, she absently pulled her pack from her shoulders and opened it up to check her provisions, wanting to make sure she had enough for the journey ahead, only to immediately wince at what she was met with. She was running extremely low on food it would seem. Pretty much all of her jerky was gone and she was down to a few nuts and berries that looked suspiciously off-colored and squishy.
“Guess it’s the market first, then the harbor.” She muttered to herself as she closed her pack back up, stowing it on her shoulders once more, “Towns like this usually have the two pretty close together. Let’s see...”
She looked around for any signs that might reveal the location of her destination, and was pleasantly surprised when she almost immediately met a rather large sign on the corner of the street that she was on, advertising a store selling both provisions and fishing gear. How lucky.
She made her way towards the store, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Though it was inhabited by mostly Earth Kingdom citizens, Guam Ju was technically still a colony of the Fire Nation so soldiers weren’t out of the question. Luckily, it looked like there weren’t any around at the moment, so she was free to make her way inside of the store unmolested.
Just like the streets outside, the store itself was much nicer than most of the ones that she had visited so far. Fishing gear lined the walls from end to end, from barrels full of fishing poles to a shelf comprised entirely of dozens of different types of bait. Clearly the people here didn’t want for variety.
Giving a nod to the shopkeeper manning the counter, she made her way around the store, grabbing the things that she would need for the journey ahead. A waterproof pack, some provisions like dried fruit and nuts to replace what little she had, and some salted fish, enough to last her at least a month or two.
Setting her items down on the counter, Seng addressed the shopkeeper before he had a chance to greet her, “Do you know if there’s a ship making its way north? One that wouldn't mind a… stowaway?”
He raised an eyebrow at her, looking her up and down as he took in her odd garb and the weapons on her back, “You’re not from around here, are you? Most people know better than to just ask that.”
“Most people don’t know how the world works.” Seng replied, reaching into her tunic to grab her coin pouch. She held it up for him to view, jiggling it to allow the sound of coins sliding against one another be heard, before reaching in to pull out one silver piece. She placed it on the counter deliberately, “I’m willing to pay. Both for the ride, and the information that will get me to it.”
The shopkeeper held her eyes for another moment, before slowly reaching out and grabbing the coin from the counter. He held it up in front of his face as if to judge the authenticity, before nodding slowly and stowing it away somewhere under the counter.
“Best bet would be Shu. He’s a fishmonger from down south. He’s pretty well known around here for going places most people wouldn’t bother just for a good catch.”
“Do you think he’d be willing to bring me up north? As far as the northern islands at least?” She asked hopefully.
The man shrugged, “Maybe. Shu’s always been a bit looser in his business than most. He might take you, he might not. It all really depends on whether or not he wants to risk it with that Fire Nation Noble in town.”
Seng’s eyes almost widened but she managed to put her emotions back under control just in time. A noble? That was more than a little surprising to hear. They normally didn’t leave the capital if they could help it, especially not with the ongoing war. Why in the world would they come to Guan Ju.
Seeking answers, she kept her face placid as she put another coin on the counter, “Why would a noble be here of all places? Guan Ju is popular but it’s not exactly a tourist destination.”
The shopkeeper shrugged even as he grabbed the coin, “No clue. Though Guan Ju is one of the more profitable port colonies so maybe they’re just here to collect taxes or something. Doesn’t really affect me. I always pay up on time and business has been pretty damn good here recently.”
Seng nodded absently, thinking about what he had said. That explained all of the tension that she had noticed earlier. If a noble actually was here, then it was likely a governor or some high-class business politician from the capital here to check on their investment. Getting the attention of either would spell bad news.
Which meant that it would be best for Seng to leave as soon as physically possible. She needed to find that captain, get that boat, and get the hell out of Guan Ju and the Earth Kingdom as a whole.
With that in mind, she placed another coin on the counter, staring into the shopkeeper's eyes, “I’ll need some warmer clothes. A coat if you have one.” Seng said, “And if you don’t mind, could you point me in the direction that Shu normally sets up his stall?
Her journey was almost at its end. Soon, she would be able to actually live her life free of constant fear.
~~~
Or so she had thought.
“What do you mean this isn’t enough?” Seng demanded of the nonchalant man in front of her, “You could buy a carriage to Ba Sing Se with this much coin.”
Shu crossed his arms over one another, giving her an unimpressed look, “Well you ain’t trying to go to Ba Sing Se, are you? You’re trying to go over six hundred miles north in one trip. That’s not exactly an easy ask.”
Seng scowled, “Don’t give me that. I know for a fact that you make that trip regularly. Those are northern sea bass in your display. They don’t migrate down this far until spring for breeding.” She argued, pointing at the rather large display of various fish that Shu was trying to sell. Shu glanced down at the fish and his face soured slightly as he was caught in a lie.
“Alright, you got me,” He confessed, “but I still can’t take you for that little. A few dozen silver is all well and good, but it just ain’t worth the trouble.”
Seng’s scowl deepened at his words. Shu noticed this and hastily explained, “Look, it’s nothing against you, I promise. I’m willing to take ya, but I’d be taking a pretty big risk if I did. The Navy’s been real heavy in these waters for the past few days and check damn-near every ship that leaves port. Probably looking for stowaways or rebels or something.” Shu scratched his scruffy beard in thought, “It’s probably a bad idea to bring you along with all that going on. You don’t look Fire Nation and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you weren’t Earth Kingdom either. You’re too pale.”
“I travel at night so I don’t get a lot of sun.” Seng said as she took in what the man had told her, turning to look at the ornate ship docked further down the pier. It was impossible not to spot, even if someone didn’t know what they were looking for. It just exuded a presence of nobility. And danger. It was made of the same dark metal that the rest of them were, but ornate red heraldry covered its surface and massive spikes of black iron trimmed with gold covered the head, making for the most ornate ram that Seng had ever seen.
Figures could be seen moving all over the deck, some peering out into the town itself. No doubt the ship’s crew keeping an eye out for any unsavory individuals who might have a bone to pick with whoever was aboard. Seng tore her eyes away from the ship before one of them noticed her staring.
“So you say they’re to blame for the increased Navy presence?” She asked, “Who are they?”
“No clue.” Shu shrugged, “Could be military, could be a politician, hell, it could even be the crown princess herself. All I know is that unless I see some more coins in that pouch, you aren’t going anywhere.”
Seng’s mouth flattened into a thin line but she didn’t say anything. It was clear that Shu was firmly set on his price, and there were few things on the planet more stubborn than an Earth Kingdom fishmonger. She grabbed her sack of coin, stowing it back into her tunic as she turned to leave. As she did so, Shu called out to her, “Hey, don’t you wanna buy something? I’ve got all sorts of fresh fish here for a good price!”
She turned to look at him, grey eyes piercing, “I’ll be buying that trip north. Don’t leave port until I come back and you’ll have your money.”
Shu crossed his arms, “And how long do you expect me to wait? I’ve got a living to make, ya know?”
“You say that as if you expect to sell out of your stock in only a few days. I’m sure that even if I wasn’t here, you’d be in this town for another week at least.” Shu didn’t comment and Seng took his silence for agreement, “I’ll be back with your money soon.”
“And just how are you gonna do that?” Shu called after her in confusion, but she ignored him as she walked away, not giving away the fact that she was wondering the exact same thing.
Where was she going to get more money? What she had right now had taken her three months to gather and she wasn’t willing to wait another week to get off of this spirit-forsaken continent. She needed to find more money and she needed it now.
Seng slowly turned to look at the gilded battleship bobbing gently on the water, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to think of a solution to her current predicament. The ornate golden frame of the bow stared back at her, practically taunting her with what she didn’t have and as she eyed it, an idea slowly formed in her mind. A way to get the money she needed and maybe a little extra on top of that if she was careful enough.
…But could she risk it? She'd never robbed the Fire Nation before apart from the odd unguarded storage shed and even then it was only in the most dire of circumstances. She could run from a random Earth Kingdom merchant, but Fire Nation soldiers and their Eel hounds? She’d have better luck trying to fist-fight a platypus-bear.
She needed more money though. She couldn’t get out of the Earth Kingdom without it, and by the way that Shu had been talking, she needed quite a bit more than she could afford to steal from one town. At least a few gold pieces worth. If that much went missing all at once, somebody was sure to notice.
But a ship like that? They probably had chests upon chests full of coin just sitting around in case whatever pampered noble was aboard happened to want to buy a new boat or something. There was no way they’d miss a couple gold pieces going missing and if they did, it would probably be long after she was already at the north pole where they couldn’t find her, much less touch her.
She had to at least try. She stared at the ship, the beginnings of a plan forming in her mind. She'd do it at night, sneak in through one of the windows higher up on the bridge that were likely completely unguarded. If she did it quickly and quietly enough, she’d be able to do the whole thing without anyone ever knowing that she was there.
“This is such a bad idea…” She said to herself as she eyed her next target, “But it’s the last one. One more big risk and then I’m out of here. I won’t have to worry about the war or bandits or the Fire Nation ever again. Just one more.”
One more score and then she was free. In and out. Swift as the wind.