"Fine," the village elder sighed heavily, clearly displeased. "On behalf of the village, I offer you my apologies for the actions of our young warriors. Youth is prone to rashness…"
"You're not seriously hoping to get away with a formal apology for attempted assault and murder, are you? I'm 'young and hot-blooded' too, after all."
No, trying to pass it all off as a childish prank wasn't a bad move. In certain circumstances, something like "a pioneer spitting in a German officer's soup" might even fly, if you framed it the right way. After all, you don't start a war over a childish prank.
But there were a couple of small "buts" that completely ruined any chance of sweeping this under the rug. First, I was barely older than those girls—and might even be younger than some of them. Second, things like this depended entirely on whether the "wronged party" was willing to let it slide. Personally, letting it slide wasn't in my interests. Besides, from a formal standpoint, it had been an attack by Kyoshi Warriors on a Fire Nation officer. The elder's excuse might've worked on some naive, green fool… which, admittedly, I looked very much like.
Heh. There were certain advantages to looking young, beyond mere attractiveness—people never expect much cunning or flexibility from you, and every time, they end up thoroughly surprised.
"What compensation would you require… for this regrettable incident not to be taken any further?"
Hmm. Judging by the way his eyes darted about and the tension in his face, the kindly old man had realized he wouldn't be able to smooth this over for free.
"Not much. Nothing that would require any serious expense on your part. But I doubt discussing it in the middle of the street is the best idea, wouldn't you agree?"
Smile. It irritates people.
"Ahem… then please, be my guest," the elder said reluctantly. He clearly wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he understood perfectly well that, formal or not, they had given me a reason to "behave badly." And considering the sort of image Fire Nation warriors had in this village, they had no desire to deal with such a madman—especially not one with a captain's rank.
The negotiations—read: bargaining—went relatively smoothly and fairly quickly. Suki was present as something of a "bodyguard" for the village head, and she seemed somewhat irritated by the speeches her "leader" had delivered earlier in the square.
Hmm. As far as I could tell, she had a bit of a complex when it came to being taken seriously as a warrior. Being called a "girl" or, worse, a "child," clearly got under her skin—and that was exactly the angle the respected Panao, as the old man had finally deigned to introduce himself, had tried to use to excuse their actions.
In the end, the terms were as follows: my crew would be allowed to land on the island and rest for a couple of days, lodging in the dojo where the girls trained (which only seemed to irritate Suki further). Resupplying was also permitted—for fifteen gold pieces, they would provide provisions for two weeks for ninety men.
The price was more than generous. Off the top of my head, buying the same supplies in one of the colonial cities would have cost around twenty gold, and on the archipelago, closer to twenty-five or even thirty.
But that was to be expected. The islands could boast rich deposits of iron and coal, but arable land and livestock farming were far less abundant. Fishing only went so far in solving the problem, and trade with neighbors was, to put it mildly, complicated at the moment.
In fact, that was one of the primary reasons the war had begun in the first place. The population kept growing, but the amount of food didn't. And hunger, as they say, is no gentle aunt—it's more like a brutal uncle with a club.
Sozin may have been many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Rather than waiting for his subjects to start starving and rioting, he seized the opportunity the comet presented and set out to expand his borders—while getting rid of a certain pacifist Avatar along the way.
But I'm getting sidetracked.
All in all, the deal with the elder turned out rather well. I could've pressed further, of course—pounded my fist on the table, thrown around ultimatums—but that would only have made sense if I'd truly intended to end Kyoshi's neutrality and occupy the island. And that, in turn, would only have reinforced the image of the Fire Nation that traveling Earth Kingdom merchants had so carefully cultivated in the villagers' minds.
And what would I even do with an island like that? Cut off from any supply bases, with a hostile population? No… this required a subtler approach. Through the younger generation. And stationing my men in their dojo worked very much in my favor.
After parting ways with a far-from-happy, though noticeably more "friendly," Panao, I stepped outside. Before long, the warrior girl joined me as well.
"Hmm… I suppose I should take a look at where my men will be staying. Will you show me?"
"Alright," she nodded. "This way."
She turned onto an inconspicuous path, and within ten minutes, we arrived at the complex.
TThe "dojo" was, in essence, a small military compound… no, more like a training base. It included several halls for drills and sparring, storage buildings, and something resembling barracks. The buildings themselves were arranged in a U-shape, forming an inner courtyard that could, if necessary, be used to pitch tents or temporary shelters.
(End of Chapter)
🙌Bonus chapter for 200 power stones!
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