"Great! Aang, can you get us here?" Sokka jabbed a finger at a spot on the coast.
"Of course!" the airbender replied. "Appa, yip yip!"
And he snapped the reins against his bison.
Several hours later, they arrived at their destination. The town was small, but its location on a river not far from the coast made it a lively and crowded place. Merchants and caravans from across the Earth Kingdom might not always stop there, but they certainly passed nearby often enough.
A perfect place to replenish supplies without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves.
After hiding the bison, the young travelers headed for the market. Filling their bags with jerky, grain, and bread didn't take long, but… this was a large town, full of interesting things! And the kids saw no reason to deny themselves a little curiosity.
So, wandering through the streets, taking in the sights, and buying little souvenirs or snacks, they eventually found themselves aboard one of the merchant ships selling goods right from the harbor.
"What's this? Where did you get it?" Katara stared at a scroll depicting a man in various stances.
"Oh!" the merchant exclaimed. "A waterbending scroll! I got lucky and managed to buy it when we were up north. It cost us quite a bit, too, wh..."
The merchant's explanation was abruptly interrupted by a middle-aged man who practically burst into the cabin, while Sokka continued eyeing the trader rather suspiciously for some reason.
"Captain! Word's spreading among the crew that the Butcher's ship has been spotted nearby!"
"What?!" The sailor went pale. "Donghei, prepare the ship and crew — we're leaving immediately!"
"Understood!" the man called Donghei shouted back before racing upstairs.
"All right, I don't have time to deal with you lot anymore. Shop's closed, get out of here!" the ship's owner barked at them.
"What? Why? What's happening?"
"What, didn't you hear? The damned Butcher's been spotted in the region! And since I'd very much like to stay alive, my ship won't be coming within a hundred miles of this place!" The captain sounded on the verge of hysteria.
"Um… and who exactly is this Butcher? Is he really that scary?" Aang asked in confusion.
"What hole did you crawl out of?"
"The Butcher is the Fire Herald who's been terrorizing the seas for months now. Running into him means certain death. People say he's an Evil Spirit that revels in the blood of his victims. I don't know and don't want to know what Abyss the Fire Lord dragged him out of, but I have no intention of crossing paths with that monster and his crew! Well? Why are you still here? I said get out!"
And they were practically kicked off the ship.
The disappearance of the scroll describing waterbending techniques went entirely unnoticed amidst all the commotion.
"Did either of you understand any of that?" Sokka asked his companions.
They shook their heads in unison.
"Yeah, me neither. But if this Butcher-Herald scared those 'merchants' — who looked suspiciously like pirates — that badly, then I think we should get moving too… just in case. If even people like that are afraid of the Fire Lord's lapdog, then we need to stay on guard."
"Or maybe we should learn more about him first?" Katara suggested cautiously. "How are we supposed to know he's dangerous if we run into him when we don't even know what he looks like?"
"I'd prefer not to run into him at all! One Zuko is already more than enough for me!" her brother argued, gesticulating dramatically.
"Funny, because Zuko doesn't seem to care much about your preferences," the girl shot back smugly. "Why do you assume this Herald will?"
"Because we're getting out of here right now!" Sokka stomped his foot.
Aang personally wasn't against listening to the rumors and glanced at Katara, only to catch the exact same look in return.
Apparently, they had both arrived at the same conclusion.
"You can take the supplies back to Appa for now," the waterbender smiled, handing the boy a bag.
"Yeah, Sokka, we'll catch up with you later," the Avatar joined in the smiling relay, exchanging another glance with the girl.
"Ohhh, come on, guyyyys!" the "betrayed" teenager howled miserably as the two of them turned around and walked off together in the opposite direction.
"Don't worry," the girl called back over her shoulder. "It's not like we're going to run into the Herald here."
"Exactly! The rumors about him only just started spreading. I doubt he's going to leap out at us from the nearest alley."
"Why do none of you ever listen to me?!" the Water Tribe representative continued suffering dramatically.
"We do listen…" the girl assured him soothingly. "Sometimes."
"Yeah, when you say smart things," Aang backed her up.
Right after that, Momo swooped down onto the upset boy's head and chattered something while peering into his eyes.
"For the record, that was offensive…" Sokka remarked darkly to the lemur…
Their stroll through the market yielded some deeply troubling news. The rumors surrounding this Fire Herald were horrifying.
People said he was a bloodthirsty maniac who delighted in dismembering his victims and hacking them into bloody pulp. A terrifying warrior who had already single-handedly destroyed entire armies made up of hundreds of hardened soldiers and benders. A cruel monster who spared not even his own countrymen, sending honest servicemen to labor camps over nothing more than a sideways glance.
And one storyteller, lowering his voice while staring intently at Katara, whispered that the Herald was also infamous for his appetite for young, pretty girls. Supposedly, he dragged around an entire harem of beauties for his nightly amusements, and half of them were said to be captured girls from the Earth Kingdom.
(End of Chapter)
Even the smallest flame needs fuel to endure.
If you wish to see this story burn brighter, consider leaving a review, a comment, or offering your Power Stones.
🔥 Bonus chapter at 100 power stones.