CH 8 - ATLA 7 - Abbey

(Word Count: 2,996)

I woke up the next morning, packed up my camp, and set off back to the abbey.

Arriving again at the big double doors of the abbey, I found that this time, the doors were already open. Inside I could see several nuns going about their business, hauling linens and jugs around. Somewhat awkwardly, I stood at the entrance. Was it alright to just walk in? 

Hesitantly, I enter. I looked around. Where is Bato? Shouldn't he be somewhere around here?

One of the nuns saw me and, as she seemed to be the only one not doing something at the moment, approached. "Hello, sir. May we help you?" She asked.

"Yes, I was interested in buying some of your perfume. I was wondering if you had any scented soaps and how much would it cost?" I had a decent amount of money, and I really missed smelling fresh after a bath. The run of the mill soaps never smelled like anything. At least there was toothpaste in this world.

"Yes, we have scented soaps as well. Each bar is one silver each, while each bottle of perfume is 5 silver."

That… was a lot more than I was thinking. One silver can get me two nights at an inn. But as a modern man, I was used to good soaps, and the weeks without them made me feel grimy. "I'll take two bars of soap. What scents do you have?"

She started listing different scents. "Sage, lavender, vanilla, wildberry, honey, roses, cherryblossoms, plum" and on and on. I was actually surprised by the large variety.

"I'll take sage and vanilla." And I dug into my pouch and got two silver coins. Now I had only one silver and a handful of copper left.

As the nun went off to fetch my soap, I was left standing in the courtyard. I looked around and sighed. I really should have paid more attention to mom when she talked about making soaps. She was always really into all the DIY projects and handicrafts. Especially anything related to gardening and herbs. She would always make homemade teas from homegrown peppermint, wildflowers, and other healthy herbs. She had begun looking into making scented soaps when Hadrian and I were off at college and I only listened half heartedly to her.

Now here I am, in another world, without proper soaps and paying a fortune for them when I could have made my own. Mom would be ashamed.

"Excuse me, are you from the earth kingdom's army?" A man's voice asked from behind me. I turned around and it was Bato.

The man had long black hair with a top bun tied up in the back. Even with that, there was still shaggy hair that fell past his shoulders. He was dressed in the classic blues of the water tribe, but one side of his shirt was pulled down, revealing his left side that was completely wrapped in bandages. I was also a head taller than him.

"I'm sorry, friend. I'm from the earth kingdom, but I'm not a soldier."

He was surprised. "Truly? But you're so large, and armed to the teeth. Are you a mercenary then?"

I chuckled a little. "I guess you could say that. But other than turning in bandits, I'm mostly a wandering blacksmith and cook."

He looked somewhat disappointed.

"What about you? You look like you're from the water tribe, how'd you end up down here? Judging from the burns, I can't imagine it's a pleasant story."

"Well, I'm actually from the Southern Water Tribe, not the northern. I came up here to fight in the war with the other men from my tribe. But then a firebender got a lucky hit in. Now I'm stuck here to heal."

"Southern Water Tribe? You know, I met a couple of kids just yesterday from there as well. Maybe you know them. Their names were Sokka and Katara."

Bato was shocked, and grabbed me by the shoulders. "What! Really? They're chief Hakoda's kids. Where were they?"

He was in a panic, imagining Sokka and Katara traveling by themselves. "Relax, they are with the Avatar just a day's ride from here. They said they're traveling to the Northern Water Tribe to find Avatar Aang a waterbending master, so it's very likely that they'll pass through here. You'll catch them."

After that, I had no idea what to say. Luckily, the nun came back with my two soap bars. They were each wrapped in a nice piece of linen which made it feel even more fancy.

"Here you go, sir."

"Thank you." I accepted the packaged soap and put them into Book's saddle bag. I turned to look back at Bato. "Well, I don't really have a set destination so I may be camping somewhere nearby. If you need me for something. I'm probably going to be near the beach close by here. Just follow the loud earthbending sounds and you'll find me."

"Oh? You're an earthbender?" Bato seemed surprised. I would have done the stone summoning trick, but they kept the courtyard nice and clean.

"Yep. It was nice meeting you, Bato. I'll be on my way now."

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you. Good Luck out there." And I left.

I made my way down the road and just an hour later I came upon the beach that featured in the episode. Beached onto the sand was Bato's ship. Not wanting to make my camp too obvious to anyone, I led Book a good 10 minutes down the beach and then made camp in the tree line. Unfortunately for me, there wasn't a conveniently sized clearing for me to use, but I made due by clearing some foliage.

Camp set up, I ponder about what I should practice. I pulled up my status screen.

STATUS SCREEN

NAME: Callan Stone

TIER: 1

GLOBAL LEVEL: 6 2,790/3,012 Exp

CLASS: Street Rat 6/10 2,790/3012 Exp

STATS:

Str: 20

End: 21

Dex: 22

Int: 10

Wis: 16

Cha: 11

SKILLS:

Skill Points: 12

[Deception LVL 100/100]

[Forestry LVL 100/100]

[Axe Handling LVL 100/100]

[Wood Chopping LVL 100/100]

[Persuasion LVL 100/100]

[Hammer Handling LVL 100/100]

[Blacksmithing LVL 100/100]

[Sword Handling LVL 35/100]

[Knife Handling LVL 35/100]

[Sewing LVL 36/100]

[Cooking LVL 100/100]

[Leatherworking LVL 23/100]

[Running LVL 100/100]

[Sprinting LVL 100/100]

[Jumping LVL 100/100]

[Leap LVL 40/100]

[Acrobatics LVL 80 => 90/100]

[Sneak LVL 100/100]

[Muted Steps LVL 100/100]

[Hide LVL 58/100]

[Meditation LVL 100/100]

[Archery LVL 45/100]

[Carpentry LVL 100/100]

[Sailing LVL 68/100]

[Baguazhang LVL 70 => 85/100]

[Chi Manipulation LVL 65 => 70/100]

[Chi Sensing LVL 50/100]

[Low Cosmic Connection LVL 2/100]

[Horse Riding LVL 50/100]

[Fishing LVL 100/100]

[Wood Carving LVL 100/100]

[Swimming LVL 60/100]

[Drawing LVL 40/100]

[Haggling LVL 25/100]

[Chi Enhancement LVL 26/100]

[Parry LVL 10/100]

[Dodge LVL 14/100]

[Counter LVL 1/100]

[First Aid LVL 5/100]

[Intimidation LVL 1/100]

[Earthbending LVL 14 => 45/100]

[Seismic Sense LVL 1 => 21/100]

[Earth Softened Steps LVL 1 => 10/100]

WP: 1350

I couldn't help but sigh. I've been here for weeks now, and I was still only level 6. I guess I have been focusing purely on skills, but still it would have been nice to get some more levels. Looking back at my skills, I needed to work more on my Fighting Skills, Sword and Knife Handling were really slow to level up, and I needed some sparring partners for Parry, Dodge, and Counter. Then there were my Chi skills, Chi Manipulation, Chi Sensing, Chi Enhancement, Earthbending, Seismic Sense, and Earth Softened Steps. Another few days of grinding. I sighed again. I really wanted to just watch a movie or an anime or something. I miss the internet.

I gave myself some slaps to get my mind out of the funk. There was no point in moping like this. I went over to Book and started setting up camp. Once that was done, I then started going through the basic forms of Baguazhang. Just to center myself. Then, I go through them again, trying to integrate my sword. Then I go through the forms again, this time mixing in my earthbending instead. Then again, with both my sword and earthbending, trying to bend using my sword movements. I didn't want to have to be empty handed to bend after all. 

I really loved the flowing nature of Baguazhang, so I was dead set on using it as a base for my other combat related skills. I also hoped to learn Tai Chi which would complement Baguazhang really well. They looked a bit similar after all. I think Tai Chi was the basis for the waterbending forms. Maybe one day I should go there to learn.

After going through the forms several more times, going faster and faster, I decided that was enough for now. Then I wanted to work on my Acrobatics skill, it being the only skill that I have that benefits from my Street Rat class. So I started cartwheeling and rolling.

When I was done jumping and somersaulting around, it was time for lunch.

After Lunch, I focused more on Chi skills and earthbending. I practiced moving Chi inside my body, using it to strengthen the body, then tried focusing it in one spot, kinda like the leaf concentration practice in Naruto. Then I tried to discover new Chi skills, like getting the Chi to enhance my senses, instead of the body as a whole. I was actually successful! I got the Skill Chi Enhanced Senses. Then I tried to focus my Chi into my sword, but again, unless it was earthbending, I couldn't figure out how to move the Chi outside my body.

Then I would practice my earthbending, moving massive amounts of rock, compressing, changing the temperatures, controlling many tiny rocks, practicing bending with minimal movement, Seismic Sense, and Earth Softened Steps. I even practiced making earth sculptures as detailed as I could, and earth armor. Though neither gave me a new skill. I couldn't think of anything else I could do for a new skill, so I kept up with those until dinner, then meditation and Chi Sense to "scry" on the cast members to check where everyone is.

Rinse and repeat for the next few days. Unfortunately, I severely underestimated how many days it would take the Gaang to get to the abbey. I thought it would be like 2 days, but it was on the 6th day that I finally sensed them coming. And, unfortunately, I was alone that entire time. Bato never showed up, and I felt it would be too awkward to just show up again at the abbey. I felt like I was going a bit crazy, with nothing but training to do. I was even running out of my rations, so it was good that they showed up when they did. 

STATUS SCREEN

NAME: Callan Stone

TIER: 1

GLOBAL LEVEL: 7 3,320/4,642 Exp

CLASS: Street Rat 7/10 3,320/4,642 Exp

STATS:

Str: 20

End: 21 => 22

Dex: 22 => 23

Int: 10

Wis: 16

Cha: 11 => 12

Free Stats: 5

SKILLS:

Skill Points: 0

[Deception LVL 100/100]

[Forestry LVL 100/100]

[Axe Handling LVL 100/100]

[Wood Chopping LVL 100/100]

[Persuasion LVL 100/100]

[Hammer Handling LVL 100/100]

[Blacksmithing LVL 100/100]

[Sword Handling LVL 40/100]

[Small Blade Handling LVL 70/100]

[Sewing LVL 36/100]

[Cooking LVL 100/100]

[Leatherworking LVL 17/100]

[Running LVL 100/100]

[Sprinting LVL 100/100]

[Jumping LVL 100/100]

[Leap LVL 40 => 52/100]

[Acrobatics LVL 80 => 100/100]

[Sneak LVL 100/100]

[Muted Steps LVL 100/100]

[Hide LVL 58/100]

[Meditation LVL 100/100]

[Archery LVL 45 => 50/100]

[Carpentry LVL 100/100]

[Sailing LVL 68/100]

[Baguazhang LVL 70 => 100/100]

[Chi Manipulation LVL 65 => 81/100]

[Chi Sensing LVL 15 => 62/100]

[Low Cosmic Connection LVL 2 => 16/100]

[Horse Riding LVL 45 => 52/100]

[Fishing LVL 67 => 100/100]

[Wood Carving LVL 100/100]

[Swimming LVL 60 => 70/100]

[Drawing LVL 33 => 63/100]

[Haggling LVL 10 => 25/100]

[Chi Enhancement LVL 31 => 40/100]

[Parry LVL 3 => 10/100]

[Dodge LVL 4 => 14/100]

[Counter LVL 1/100]

[First Aid LVL 5/100]

[Intimidation LVL 1/100]

[Earthbending LVL 45 => 70/100]

[Seismic Sense LVL 21 => 50/100]

[Earth Softened Steps LVL 10 => 40/100]

[Chi Enhanced Senses LVL 31/100]

WP: 1350

[Chi Enhanced Senses LVL 31/100]

Uses Chi to enhance the five senses by 5%/LVL.

Overall, through the intense training, I gained around 340 skill levels spread across all my skills. I even managed to cap my Acrobatics and Baguazhang skills! My Sword Handling skill was thankfully gaining levels, instead of being stuck like it was before, but it was slow. Makes me more certain that I need to train under a master.

Another point that I've noticed is that my Low Cosmic Connection, even after a week of intense training, hasn't gained a level. So I decided to spend all of my skill points on it, including the new points from the recent level up. Afterall, each level in the skill gave a 10% bonus to all Chi skills, which was insane. Plus, I was pretty sure I could evolve the skill once I got the skill trees module for my system. With those skill points, I then got a 140% added bonus immediately.

With the new stat points I gained from leveling up, I placed everything into Wisdom. Chi was the way to go, especially when I was already twice as strong physically than olympic athletes.

STATS:

Str: 20

End: 22

Dex: 23

Int: 10

Wis: 16 => 21

Cha: 12

The Gaang finally made it to the beach, and coincidentally Bato was coming down to meet them. That had to be the work of fate, because he never came down before.

Not really sure what to do or say, I decided to just wait until Aang was out on the beach by himself. I didn't want to interfere with the mini family reunion afterall.

Once I felt Aang was alone using Chi Sense, I then jogged up along the beach. 

Soon, I came up to the beached ship, where Aang was moping on the bow. I pretended to be surprised to see him.

"Huh? Avatar Aang? Is that you?" He jumped at the sound of my voice.

"Wha- ah! Stone guy! What are you doing here?" 

"I'm camped just down the beach that way. I saw this spot and figured it was a good spot to train." I pointed down where I came from. Then I looked around. "What are you doing out here by yourself? Where's your friends?"

Aang looked back down, depressed. "They're going to leave me."

My eyebrows shot up. He was a lot more pessimistic than I thought he would be. "I find that hard to believe, Aang. From what little I know of them, they will not abandon you so easily, if at all."

"But you don't understand! They're going to go find their dad! How can I be more important than that?"

"You're their friend, who needs their help. They can always meet up with their father later, but you need them now. Besides, Katara needs to learn waterbending just as much as you do. They'll stay with you."

He sniffed. "You really think so?" He couldn't help but sound hopeful.

I smile at him. "I know so."

Just then, my seismic sense picked something up down the beach. Through the soles of my boots and the loose sand, I had no idea what it was. However, through the show, I knew it had to be the earth kingdom's messenger. I looked that way, but it was too dark to tell from that far out. "Someone's coming, Aang."

He was immediately on guard. "The fire nation?"

"No, I think it's an ostrich bird from the sound of it. It must be a messenger."

Sure enough, the earth kingdom messenger came into view.

The man pulled to a stop beside us. With a tired, breathless voice, he asked "Do either of you know a man named Bato?"

"I know him!" Aang answered.

The messenger handed him a scroll, with clear water tribe insignia. "Make sure that gets to him." and he left.

'Wow, what great security.' I thought. We could have been enemies for all he knew, and that map would lead the fire nation straight to Hakoda.

Aang, the curious kid he was, immediately opened the scroll. It was the map. He sucked in a sharp breath. I spoke up, not giving him a chance to crumple it. "Remember, they will not leave you. You must trust in them." He looked like he still wanted to hide the map, but Aang still nodded, and rolled it back up.

"Okay, I'll go give Bato the map now." and, with a heavy heart, Aang left.

I hightailed it back to my camp and used Chi Sensing to watch as Aang arrived back at Bato's room in the Abbey. The Abbey was close to an hour away from me. Aang was one speedy boy. Almost makes me jealous of his airbending. I watched as Aang pulled out the scroll and handed it to Bato, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Bato, Katara, and Sokka were shocked and excited, hugging each other, then hugging Aang.

Unfortunately I could hear anything, but it looked like they were proud of him. Then Sokka said something, and Aang got really happy. They must have told him they would stay.

Seeing this, I turned in for the night, excited for the drama that will unfold tomorrow.