Avatar the Last Airbender: A Second Chance - Chapter 1: The Silent Week

[Lan Huo]

Lan looked at the newcomer, and nodded. "Please continue."

[Lien Huo]

Lien nodded slightly, her interested expression mirroring her twin's.

"Yes, suggestions are most certainly welcomed."

[William Rose]

Brin's eyes narrowed at the fire nation woman's declaration of him as an earthbender. He chided himself for his obvious stance as well and hoped that this would be the only slip up. When Rikka mentioned the bounty hunters it was all Brin could do to not slap himself on the head in frustration. The others talked, chatted about spirits and such things that were no matter for Brin and so he remained silent. The chairs in the small shop were hardly sized to fit and he had no intention of confirming the girl's, Lien was it?, suspicions of him. So he stood by the table, his back to the wall, silent. One may have mistaken him for a statue were it not for his eyes that darted between speakers and then the movement of his turned head as yet another stranger approached the table. "Speak your mind if you will. There certainly seems to be no secrets among us," Brin said, his voice a low basso that was unlike anything most of the assembled had ever heard. He gave Rikka a pointed glance as he did, hoping she would try to be a little less casual about things like bounty hunters.

[Jeremy]

Jer smiled and shook his head slightly. His advice was not the kind they would like to hear. "It's more along the lines of, 'forget about it.' Now why would I say that? I was a kid when the disasters happened about two decades ago. I was wondering about what was going on ever since."

"Once I came into my... line of work, I've been able to travel a great deal. In the process, I did a favor for a noted old scholar of history at the University, Zheng Jiao. He repaid part of it by satisfying my curiosity a bit and telling me about his research into the world at the time of the silence and disasters, in reasonable simple terms. According to him, the Avatar was the only one who had an inkling of what was happening. But she left precisely to determine what was what, and now she's gone. Jiao thought if the Avatar didn't know, no one else would. Besides IF this is anything like the previous one, the silence is not the big deal. What would come after is."

The following disasters, of course. Not a pleasant thought, but needed to be made.

[z-Tora Zheng]

There was a moment of silence. "So your advice is to behave like an ostrich-horse and bury our head in the sand. Interesting," Tora mused. "And the words of a fool. Danger doesn't leave or stop because you ignore it. If the silence is a herald, then this is the time to find out how to stop it, not waiting until the disasters are upon us."

Rikka finally got to see Tora looking like a noble as her contemptous gaze dismissed the nosy stranger utterly and turned to the rest of the table. "I have confessed ignorance once; I ask that you do not make me beg for information. I know nothing of spirits. Would someone please explain what they are, what the silence could portent and how we could go about preventing the coming problems?"

This was not part of her plan. But neither was having her search derailed by calamities. Hang on, she thought, feeling a knot of fear in her gut. I'm coming... I promise.

[z003]

Yana pursed her lips and glanced at the intruder, she shrugged and nodded to Tora, agreeing with the woman's assessment. "And even if there isn't anything we can do about the silence, we could see if anyone has any idea where Avatar Xue is or if a new Avatar has been born. Regardless, ignoring a problem just because you don't fully understand it is both foolish and cowardly. Ignoring the cause of the disasters that might follow also means not knowing how to stop this from happening again." Her tone was not harsh, simply matter-of-fact; she shrugged, "But since you wish not deal with that part of the problem, don't. I'm sure that if the natural disasters follow as they did before then there will be no shortage of rulers and leaders looking for assistance."

"As for spirits....they're everything. Sometimes they're a manifestation of an emotion or the other half of an element or place. Sometimes they're ghosts, like Ianis. Sometimes you don't know why or what they are, they're just spirits, living a bit sideways to us but still connected. The thing is, other than the last time and now, they're always there, just a glance or a feel away." The girl rubbed her arms, uncomfortable. "I feel like I've got a bad cold or a towel wrapped around my head and half the world is missing."

[Kaitlin Vandussen]

Rikka finally pulled her eyes away from staring at Lan enraptured, to give Brin a sheepish grin, hunching her shoulders around her mug of water. What people had been saying finally percolated and Rikka turned to look at Yana in wonder, lime green eyes bright with excitement. "You can see spirits? Talk to them?"

Yana gave the younger girl a smile, which turned a bit melahcholy. "Mmm-hmm. Well, I could, until the Silence fell."

Rikka glanced up at the ceiling, the tip of her tongue poking from the side of her mouth, as she thought fiercely with a growing eagerness. She looked around the table again, gathering everyone's eyes and leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, her spirited voice easily heard by everyone.

"I might know where we can go to find out about the Spirits and Silence and stuff." She caught the disbelieving roll of the eyes Brin gave her and stuck her tongue out at him. "No, really! When I first left home, I wandered around the Desert, looking for treasure. I was sure there had to be something buried beneath the sands, so I listened to every story I could. The one I'm thinking of is about Wan Shi Tong's Library."

Seeing that they were at least giving her a chance to explain, Rikka eagerly continued, looking at everyone... and Lan twice as much. "Wan Shi Tong was a Knowledge Spirit from the Spirit World who built a totally huge library, filled with a collection of ancient books and other things...treasure maybe. Anyway, later he transported it to the real world from the Spirit World to collect and preserve all of the world's knowledge with the assistance of his Knowledge Seekers - I'm not sure what the Knowledge Seekers were, but that is what the story says."

Barely pausing for a breath, the blond girl continued. "People were allowed to go there to read and whatever, but Wan Shi Tong was angry one day - he probably couldn't find something he lost and blamed the people - and he closed the Library and the location was lost. This was a long time ago."

"Later - but still a long time ago, like, hundreds and hundreds of years ago - Avatar Eng and her companions came through the Si Wong Desert and found-"

"I believe you mean Avatar Aang," someone tried to correct her.

"This is my story, it's Avatar Eng." Rikka gave a sharp sniff before continuing. "As I was saying, Avatar Eng and her companions found the Library. We know this cuz some Sandbenders - a different tribe, not mine, I swear, for true! - followed them there and... uh... maybe, thought she wasn't coming back for her Sky Bison." Rikka gave Yana an apologetic shrug. "Sorry - that's where I heard about Sky Bisons from and I would never try to - nevermind. Avatar Eng found Wan Shi Tong's Library and was there for a while, but she - or her companions - made the Knowledge Spirit even madder and this time, Wan Shi Tong hid the library - using his spirit powers I guess - burying it under the sands."

Rikka quivered on the end of her seat with incipient anticipation. "See! With the spirits gone - or at least silent - maybe whatever Wan Shi Tong did to hide the Library isn't hiding it anymore. We can find it! I'm sure - pretty sure - I know where the Library is supposed to be, he was just cheating so I couldn't find it. The stories say Wan Shi Tong's Library had books on everything Maybe it has one telling about the Silence."

And anything that has collection of old things must have more than just books too...

Almost bouncing on her seat, Rikka gave everyone a wide grin, waiting to hear what they thought of her totally awesome idea. It was better than doing nothing or just walking around, hoping to bump into someone who knew something. And as intriguing as Ba Sing Se was, she probably shouldn't stay there long... just in case Dong Zhuo made another mistake.

[Jeremy]

Jer raised an eyebrow, and to the others, looked surprisingly interested in what the blond girl had said. "I never said something shouldn't be done about stopping any potential disasters, but it was my understanding that the answers were not going to be found... Though, it what you say is true, that changes things a great deal. And it's not like I won't have opportunities to make money on the way, that is, presuming you're looking for people to accompany you."

[Lien Huo]

Lien gazed thoughtfully at the blond girl, looking intrigued by her suggestion. It was the best lead they had found so far.. then again, it might prove to be a wild goose-chase. Lien studied the girl for a moment, sparing a brief glance towards the man seated next to them, then leaned forward onto the table, her attention focused on the sand nomad.

"Rikka, right? Rikka, as I mentioned before, the spiritual silence is the reason my brother and I are here in Ba Sing Se. Now, that sounds like the best possibility we've heard so far - I've found thus far that people claiming to know what's going on are most likely just deluding themselves, and everyone else is just confused. So the idea intrigues me. However, it's late, and my brother and I have a couple things to follow up on before we can leave the city. If you think you can find this place - truly - then my brother and I would like to accompany you, if the rest of our leads prove fruitless."

Lien leaned back, a focused look on her face, as if she were thinking of something else that hadn't been mentioned quiet yet.

"Of course, if this silence is anything like the last one, it will be coming to an end soon. The natural disasters may start to occur any time now.. after all, it's been a week. Of course we have no idea if that's the case this time.. but we probably shouldn't dally, regardless. Perhaps we could plan to depart tomorrow morning? It will give anyone who plans to rest time to do so, to recover from any previous journeys."

She glanced in the stranger's direction, giving him a long, thorough look - one that wasn't necessarily complimentary, but yet not completely dismissive.

"I don't know that we'd have much time for 'money-making ventures' along the way. However.. it may be possible that, were my brother and I to be convinced of your worth as a traveling companion to deal with potential problems that arise during the journey.. we might be willing to compensate you for your sword arm. That goes for any of you.. if concern about the welfare of the four nations and their inhabitants is not enough of a motivator for you on it's own."

Her words made it an offer to all, but her tone didn't leave much to be questioned - this Fire Nation woman, whoever she was - would obviously think far less of anyone who felt the need to be paid to do a good deed for humanity. But Lien was no fool, either - searching a great, mystical library for answers about the spiritual silence wouldn't just take good motivation - it would take people. Eyes and hands to search through the knowledge of such a library, were they even to find it at all. The more people that chose to go with them.. the better.

[z003]

"Mmm....I'd like to go, but I need to check on Ianis at the Eastern Air Temple first. If you would be willing to come with me, or wait until I get back, I can also offer Kiara up for travelling faster. She can carry quite a few people and she's the fastest air bison I know of."

She shrugged, "As for money, I've never had to hard of time getting what I need when I need it, money or barter, so I'm fine." She looked curiously around at the others to see what their responses would be.

[Jeremy]

Jer's voice was suddenly steely, the reason why apparent shortly. "There's the disasters, and there's the bandits. They roam in packs and fall viciously on any one who's considered a potential target. I've crossed weapons with them, believe me. So I'd like to join you, seeing as I'd rather not you get in trouble with those bastards. Besides, I've traveled across much of the Earth Kingdom for the last decade. I can certainly guide you for the first part at least, hell, for free. If you don't mind that is? Besides, I'm a bounty hunter, so money-making occurs if a known bandit comes to attack. And I have money kept in reserve always, plus I brought in a quarry this morning. I can assure you I can more than pull my weight in a fight."

[Lan Huo]

Lan nodded. "That's a good idea Rikka, definitely worth checking out."

He nodded to the newcomer, understanding the mercenary, but wisshing his sister wasn't quite so condescending.

He turned his head to Yana and smiled. "thank you Yana, depending on how long our buisness here takes, I'd be interested on taking you up on that offer. It would make things much easier."

[Kaitlin Vandussen]

"Do you really this so?" Rikka not-quite-squealed, huge eyes gleaming at she looked up at Lan, a hand not quite touching his. "I mean, of course it is, that's why I said it." She pulled her gaze from the gorgeous young man with a sigh then turned to Lien, giving her a cocky grin and pointing a thumb at herself. "And I can totally find Wan Shi Tong's Library, I know exactly where it is... mostly... within a few square miles... I would've found it before, for true, but he was cheating, hiding it using Spirit Magic or something. That's not fair, like throwing something away and then demanding someone pay for it when they pick it up."

She turned her wide smile on Yana, the exuberant blond clearly ready to go, go, go! "If Lien and Lan still have stuff they need to do here, I can go with you to the Eastern Air Temple to check on your friend. I'd like that! And I could ride on Kiara! I can see your home, then you can see mine - I like the Desert, but I guess it's pretty boring compared to a Temple - is it big? I bet it's big-"

Rikka nibbled on a lip, and slumped in her chair, giving Brin and Tora a subdued look. "I mean, if that's okay. I said I'd help you Tora - and I will. I don't want you or Brin to think I'm abandoning you."

[Lan Huo]

Rikka's exuberance was amusing, and brought a genuine smile to his face. Hoe abut it Lien, we go handle our affairs, then we go and see about this Library?"

They had a real lead, or at least something that sounded better than aimlessly wandering around town for the same generalities. It could of course turn out to be nothing, but there was achance it would provide the answers they sought.

[William Rose]

Brin paled slightly when the newcomer mentioned that he was a bounty hunter. He quickly recovered but he was certain that both of the Fire Nation girls had noticed. Tora, of course, knew why his reaction would be as such. At Rikka's question Brin merely rolled a shoulder and looked to Tora. "I don't know anything about spirits or any of that nonsense. I told Tora I'd help her find her lost, thingit, and I keep my promises though." He turned to Tora, "What do you think?"

[z-Tora Zheng]

Tora listened quietly, her eyes growing distant, as if that alone could remove her from the situation. She didn't like it, at all. What had begun as a dinner and curiosity was rapidly turning into an obligation. Tora couldn't deny its importance, however. Adding to her annoyance, this bounty hunter had intruded, pushing into their party before being invited. Now that Lien had offered to pay him, there would be no getting rid of him.

But then Rikka mentioned the Library and those golden eyes narrowed a fraction at the blond sand-bender. Tora said nothing, but she noted that Rikka hadn't offered this information before, to help her find her lost treasure. More than that, though, she was hurt that Rikka hadn't bothered to suggest it to her. But let a pretty boy show up, and she was very forthcoming.

Tora had never had friends her own age. The few peasants on Zheng Island had been instructed not to 'bother' the nobility and the other two children on the island had rebuffed her offers of friendship. There had been Kiyoshi and Kazuna, whom had been peers and alright to have relationships with, but they had both betrayed her. They were why Tora had not taken Brin and Rikka into her confidence - that and Rikka's almost mystical ability to find anything not locked away and 'acquire' it. Despite her belief that she was holding them safely at a distance, Tora didn't realize how much she'd come to like Rikka and Brin in their months together until this moment, when she felt the sting of Rikka's exclusion. She realized that she thought of them as friends, and they were. These commoners from another nation had been better friends to her than her peers.

Brin's voice interrupted her thoughts, and Tora turned to him reflexively, before she had her emotions under control. He saw the surprise and hurt in her eyes though it was quickly hidden in golden depths. "If... if the library has answers," she said, her voice faltering for a moment, "then we should go there. Even the chance that it could have what we seek is worth pursuing. Perhaps I will find answers to what I seek, as well."

The hesitation was unlike the young woman but she didn't pause to let others consider the moment. She glanced back at Rikka, her gaze and voice a touch cool. "Go with Yana if you wish. I will remain here to make inquiries. As Lan and Lien have to do the same, it will give us time to do so. You can learn what you will at the Temple."

[Lien Huo]

Lien nodded at Jer, looking both pleased and relieved, though she still had her reservations about the bounty hunter. His initial response had been more focused on the money than the cause.. and Lien took first impressions very seriously. Then she focused back on Yana, her expression one her brother recognized as their father's 'managing an Empire' face.

"Yana of the Winds - how long would it take us to travel to the Eastern Air Temple if we were to go with you?"

"Probably the most part of a day."

Lien knew that even on mounts, it would take the group quite a bit longer than that to travel through the desert in search of this hidden library. Not to mention the ease it might bring to the search if they had access to a flying bison. However, to ask this girl to take them there before she went to check on Ianis - whoever that was, they were obviously important to the air nomad - seemed not only rude, but unnecessary. Not only that, but the normal, regular eighteen year old girl whispered that she'd probably never get another opportunity to see one of the air nomad temples, and that this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for both her and Lan. Perhaps he could gain a little genuine respect for other styles of bending too - something that seemed to come a little harder to him, probably as a result of his natural talent in firebending.

"Very well. Would it be too much of us to ask you to accompany you on your journey? Even with the side trip, it would make the journey infinitely faster for us than traveling by land, and the desert is halfway between the temple and Ba Sing Se."

"That would be fine."

"Then if you don't mind, my brother and I must make haste to deal with our other obligations. Please excuse us for bowing out of our previous acceptance to dine with you, for we no longer have the time now that plans have been set in place. I hope you all enjoy your meal. Tomorrow morning we should meet outside this building in order to begin our journey to the Eastern Air Temple. Those of you who are willing to accompany us, my brother and I are most grateful, and we look forward to seeing you there. To any others, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance."

She bowed again with the traditional Fire Nation salute, and then turned towards the door, leaving Lan to say a brief farewell so she could hail some sort of transportation that would deliver them to the upper rings of Ba Sing Se.

[Lan Huo]

He bowed in the traditional farewell of the Fire Nation and smiled. "It was nice meeting all of you, Until we meet again." He quickly followed Lien, and chuckled. "So, how exactly are we going to do this? Announce ourselves and see if they believe us?"

He smiled. "I think that went well, despite us not getting our meal."

[William Rose]

Originally Posted By: Tora Zheng

Brin's voice interrupted her thoughts, and Tora turned to him reflexively, before she had her emotions under control. He saw the surprise and hurt in her eyes though it was quickly hidden in golden depths. "If... if the library has answers," she said, her voice faltering for a moment, "then we should go there. Even the chance that it could have what we seek is worth pursuing. Perhaps I will find answers to what I seek, as well."

Brin nodded slowly, "OK, then," he rumbled his assent. He studied her features, confused. The look of shocked hurt in her eyes had been unmistakable but Brin didn't understand what he'd done. He looked away, pensive as he tried to figure it out. Was she mad that he'd put the choice in her hands? Or maybe she mistook his statement that he kept his promises as an indication that that was the only reason why he had been assisting her. "Girls are so hard to understand," he mumbled to himself.

[z-Tora Zheng]

With the change of plans, Tora saw little alternative other than going with them. Lien and the handsome Lan had already left the building, leaving her with her companions, the adorable Yana and the surly bounty hunter. "Well, if that is the plan, perhaps I should attempt to conclude my business tonight," Tora said softly, rising to her feet. Her stomach rumbled slightly, but she ignored it. Food could wait; her time was limited.

She turned toward the door, only to pause. "Yana, would you be able to carry a mongoose dragon on your air bison?" There was a touch of worry in her eyes as she spoke and her hands clenched at her sides. She was afraid that she'd have to be left behind if they couldn't take Ryka. She wouldn't leave her pet behind and she knew Rikka would go with the Airbender. Brin would go with her. And Tora would continue her quest alone.

[Lien Huo]

"They'll believe us, brother."

She spoke with the authority of someone who had a plan, and after a moment she managed to hail a passing rikshaw. The two young royals climbed into it, and as they rode, Lien laid her bag on her lap and began to dig through it. First she unfastened the loose, traveling ponytail that she'd worn her hair in during their journey through most of the Eart Kingdom. Then she pulled out a small brush, and began to brush the tangles of travel out of her hair. Finally, she pulled some of it up into a small topknot, fastening it again with precision using the leather strap she had held the full thickness of her hair up with before.

Her brother watched curiously, having never really observed his sister's dressing habits because of their somewhat gender-segregated upbringing. He hadn't realized she could do her own hair - he'd assumed that, like their mother (which he remembered from his early youth, when he was still allowed or had any interest in spending time in the Fire Lady's private chambers), she had maids to do it for her, and had indeed often heard her complain about having to deal with them. It seemed, however, that she was more than capable on her own, something that he was fairly certain she had decided to learn just on principle, knowing Lien.

Finally, as they made their way into the upper circles of Ba Sing Se, her plan became clear to him. She placed the brush back into her satchel, and then pulled out something else.. it was a headpiece, but not just any headpiece. It was the headpiece of the Heir to the Fire Throne, a well-known symbol throughout much of the four nations, and certainly throughout the nobility of the Earth Kingdom. As the rikshaw driver jostled them through the streets of upper-class Ba Sing Se, unaware of who he carried, his sister threaded her topknot through the headpiece, and then ran the small stick through the two holes of the headpiece and through the topknot itself, holding it steadily in place. It was a clear marker of her identity to anyone who recognized it, that much was certain. He hadn't seen her wear it since they'd left the palace, and hadn't even realized she'd brought it with her until now.

"I'd suggest we change into proper attire, but we have little time to take such preparations. They will just have to see us as we are, in the clothes of travelers. If for some reason we are brought before the King, no doubt they will give us time to clothe ourselves adequately if necessary. Or they won't, in which case his time is likely too pressed to be concerned with the formalities of appearances, anyway. If for some reason they do not trust us, or suspect us of some sort of foul play.. well, we can always give an example of our bending in order to prove it to them if we must, now can't we?"

Click to reveal..

The headpiece, for anyone who hasn't seen the show:

[Kaitlin Vandussen]

Rikka watched Lan leave with longing eyes, her cutely pointed chin cradled in a hand as she idly made a trio of coloured marbles dance on the table with a twiddling finger. But, at Tora's cool tone, some of Rikka's high spirits faded as she sunk into her chair, shoulders drooping, swinging her feet back and forth between the chair legs. She immediately brightened however, when Tora agreed with to go with them to the Eastern Air Temple. The sand-bending blonde bounced to her feet and joined Tora in heading towards the door.

"No worries, Tora!" Rikka said, putting an enthused arm around her shoulders. "I promised I'd help, and I will! You won't have to look alone tonight." Rikka looked over her shoulder, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes and grinning at Brin. "C'mon Brin! You're gonna help too, you promised you would."

Rikka glanced back at Tora, green eyes merrily sparkling. "Don't be so glum. Either you'll find something or not. At least you'll get to ride an Air Bison. An Air Bison!"

[z003]

Yana thought carefully for a moment, then nodded and grinned, "As long as it'll sit still! We'll have to go a little slower, but not much slower. I don't think we could fit more than one, especially with all the people."

She glanced around the rapidly diminishing group. "I suppose I should go find somewhere to curl up for the night. Why don't we all meet back here tomorrow morning? Kiara's pretty hard to miss."

She pulled coin enough to cover the food they'd ordered and a tip for the innkeep, although it did seem to be most of the coin she was carrying, and made her way to the door herself.

[z-Tora Zheng]

"I rather would find something than not," Tora said easily, taking Rikka's arm between her thumb and forefinger and lifting it off her shoulders. "Though that would mean I would be obligated to follow that lead rather than go with the rest of you." She seemed to have no interest in riding the air bison.

She gave Rikka a smile, despite removing her arm. "I do appreciate the help," she added. "I would be quite lost in Ba Sing Se without you both." And even if Rikka wasn't really as close as she thought she was, Tora was still deeply grateful they were with her, helping her.

[Lan Huo]

"I'd hoped you brought that along." He knew she wasn't particularly forgetful, especially regarding her station, still she hadn't worn it, and he knew a part of her was likely relieved to have been free of it for a little while.

"I have no problem with traveler's clothing, it's so much easier to manage than the clothing we have to wear at court."

He smiled.

"Something to change later I'd think."

"So if it comes to bending, would you want to do it, or prefer that I do so?" He knew her bending did embarrass her, and while the hairpiece was enough for her, he had no such ornament. His bending was his tell, so to say.

[Lien Huo]

"I suppose it will depend on the situation. But I would assume that most likely a demonstration of your bending, if necessary, will be more than sufficient."

She glanced at him, and he saw the faint glimmer of gratitude reflected in her gaze. Despite having told her multiple times that her bending was beautiful, and no less powerful than his own, his perfectionistic sister was still unconvinced. She preferred to use her bending only during training (which she did intense amounts of), and in situations of necessity. Unlike most other fire benders, she rarely showed it off. Even as a child, she'd barely participated in the games of the other fire-bending noble children that they had trained with when their gifts first emerged. The uncensored jests of those children, too young to fully understand the gap between their own positions and the one of the young, pink-flamed firebender, had affected his sister deeply. Lan had never had to speak a word to defend his own - everyone knew what blue fire meant, and the respect it commanded had been automatically granted to him. But his sister's own vibrant, rose-colored flames were an anomaly.. strange, and different. What people didn't understand, they feared. And what they feared, they ridiculed.

They pulled up to the gates of the palace, and two palace guards stepped in front of the doors, wielding long spears and stern expressions. Lan stepped out of the rikshaw first into the shadowy darkness of late evening, holding out a hand for his sister, who descended afterwards. The palace guards stepped closer, dropping their spears in the shape of an "X", and barring entrance to the palace gates - not that they would have been able to open them anyway, the other side was staffed with about a dozen earthbenders whose sole responsibility was to make sure the gates opened and closed upon demandt.

"No entrance to the palace without prior approval."

At that, Lien stepped closer to the two guards, and into the light of the flames that flickered brightly from the metal wall-sconces on either side of the gate. Her noble bearing and demeanor were back as if she'd never shed them, and the firelight gleamed steadily off of her golden headpiece, and reflected back to him from her dark eyes.

"Yes, of course. If you could please inform someone that Princess Lien Huo, Heir to the Throne of the Fire Lord, and her brother Lan Huo, Prince of the Fire Nation, have arrived as emissaries on behalf of their father the Fire Lord, and wish to speak with the King of the Earth Kingdom and his advisors in regards to the spiritual silence, please."

[Jeremy]

Jer noticed the young Airbender running low on coinage and followed the group up to Yana. "An excellent suggestion, especially since I'm already staying here. Also..." He dug out a fair handful of coinage and proffered it to Yana.

"Take this. Being low on money never helped anyone here."

[William Rose]

Brin followed along behind Rikka and Tora. Silent aside from his heavy footfalls he appeared deep in thought. "Why are we wasting time going to the Air Temple?" he asked abruptly. "Does it not make more sense to start the search for this library as soon as possible if that is what is to be done? Otherwise would it not be more beneficial to your quest for us to remain here and continue your own search Tora? The desert is near and we could rejoin the others if need be when they return."

[z-Tora Zheng]

Tora merely nodded. "Brin, even if I were to stay here for a hundred years, I would never find Kiyoshi or Kazuna, if they are hiding here." Her golden eyes were downcast, but for the first time, he heard defeat in her voice. "This place is too large. I hope that the Air Temple might have heard something, or perhaps the library will have something that can help.

"If the path leads me back to Ba Sing Se, then so be it." She glanced up at him, her expression still tired but very earnest. "But I would like to look elsewhere." She glanced at the walls that were barely visible to them at this distance. "Here, I don't even know where to start looking."

[z003]

She blinked, surprised at the offer of kindness from the man, but then she'd always been taught to take life as it comes. "Um, thanks!" She grinned up at him as he dropped the coins into her bag.

"I'll give this back once we stay somewhere long enough for me to perform. I don't usually worry all that much about money, but it's nice of you to care." The sometimes-impulsive airbender leaned up and kissed the man on the cheek. "See you tomorrow!"

With that the girl bounced out of the inn, looking as if she had not a care in the world. And with an air bison like hers, maybe she didn't.

[Kultra_DM]

Once the Fire nation royals were gone, a bespectacled man approached the diverse group that had gathered that night to talk and have dinner.

Noticing immediately the young girl leaving the door, he approached the rest. "I´m sorry, I was unable to stop myself from listening to your conversation. I´m Xiao Yan, I work on the Ba Sing Se university, and I couldn´t help but hear you are trying to look for the lost library of Wa Shi Tong?" the man approached the table cautiously, like a goatlamb approaching a pack of sabertooth mooselions "If it´s any reassurance to your quest, I can assure you it exists. We have records on the university about it since one of our archeologists found it several centuries ago, but the last thing he recorded about it was that it sunk into the sand like a stranded ship would sink into the ocean."

[z-Tora Zheng]

"Well, that should at least make the search interesting," Tora said, turning to fully face the man. Her golden eyes locked onto his, intense and focused. She didn't look at Rikka as she said, "We will deal with that if we must. Tell me Xiao Yan - what can you tell us about its final location? We are determined to seek it out, I assure you."

[Kultra_DM]

"There is a very old map with more or less coordinates, not that those are easy to track in the middle of the desert mind you. But the map is very very old, you see the credit of the discovery of the temple was given to Avatar Aang almost five hundred years ago." Xiao Yan stroked his almost non existent beard.

"It would have to be seen in a few, days because I have to get special permissions. But it would be no problem, as long as the rain will stop around us that is. But pardon me, I did not ask for your names. How may I address you?"

[William Rose]

"Brin." The giant young man offered a quarter bow from the waist before pointing to Tora and then Rikka. "This is Tora. And Rikka." He considered for a moment, mulling over the right words. "What would we owe you for your help? Or perhaps you favor to join us?"

[Kaitlin Vandussen]

"Hi!" Rikka greeted the scholar, then gave him a superior sniff. "I'm sure I know where the Library is, I just couldn't see it 'cause the Spirit was hiding it under the sands. With the spirits gone, the Library won't be hidden anymore." The cute blonde sounded decisively confident, but after a moment, she tilted her head pensively, nibbling on a lip and worrying at a loose braid of hair. "But... It has been a long time since I looked for the Library. A map could help... maybe. Most maps of the Desert aren't very good."

Rikka turned, looking up at Brin and trying to catch Tora's eye too, but the golden-eyed girl was avoiding her gaze. "Do we have time to wait? We're supposed to leave tomorrow."

[Jeremy]

"I'm sure information like this is worth a little waiting. We'll just make sure the others know." Jer assured the others. To the scholar he added, "You can drop them off here, since I'm staying in the inn. Tell the innkeeper it's for Jer."

[Kultra_DM]

"I will, do just that, but of course I would not want to interrupt you, since it will take several days for them to be released, why don´t I tell you exactly how much it will be tomorrow and you can come back for them? Like I said, I couldn´t help but listen in and I ended up learning of your plan." the man smiled like a grandparent would to grand children.

"As for repayment, I do not think that would be truly needed except proof of the library would be great, I could attach my name to it and earn myself a little more weight inside the university, and if you find nothing, well nobody lost anything right?" the man continued to smile grandly.

[z-Tora Zheng]

"And if we decide not to wait for the maps, we'll leave word here as well," Tora said firmly. When the others looked at her, she said, "We don't know that we have time to wait for maps. The spiritual silence heralded a time of catastrophe, but no one has said how long we have until things begin to happen. Our mission may be such that we cannot spend the time waiting for the maps. We will have to consult with our companions before we can make a final statement on the matter."

Tora's remark was said in a very matter-of-fact way. "Regardless of our decision, word will be left for you."

[Kultra_DM]

"I appreciate the token Lady Zheng." The man bowed to the fire nation royal before moving backwards. "I will be back with news then." the man started departing. "This reminds me, the others introduced themselves, but to whom might I leave a message introduced to you?"

Click to reveal..

You guys want me to close the scene or do you have something in mind?

[Guest Anonymous]

Silently a lone patron listened to the conversation about maps, deserts and quests. He tipped his conical straw hat lower, folding his arms and relaxing to rest a bit, keeping his ears open.