Chapter 48

200 power stones equal an additional chapter

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"And hello again, Appa, long time no see. Do you recognize me?" I asked the sniffing flying bison as I approached him closer.

Judging by the animal's reaction, he recognized me, and although he showed no aggression, his mood was clearly not the best...

As soon as I got within a certain distance, he exhaled, and a blast of air knocked me back, slamming me into the wall.

The hit was substantial, and landing on my feet, I felt that my mood was not as good as it was when I first entered here.

"Appa, you're not stupid, right? You understand that one more stunt like that, and things will go very badly for you. I don't want to harm you or make things worse and will even let you go. Personally, you're more likable to me than the rest, so I just don't want to do anything to you."

I don't know if Appa understood the meaning of my words, or if my tone conveyed something to him, but he calmed down, and I slowly approached him. Placing my hand on his fur, I began to pet him.

I truly intended to let him go. What do I need him for? Exactly, he's of no use to me! Letting him go, he can fly back to his Aang. With him, the Avatar and his, let's say, "group" have a much better chance of leaving, preferably far away from the city, so it doesn't occur to them that they need to take back the city from the Fire Nation. And if it does occur, it would take them much longer considering the distance they'd have to travel.

However, the scroll tied to the bison's horn caught my interest. Who would be so original as to use flying bisons as messengers?

"There, calm down, I won't harm you, and I'll let you go very soon."

After ceasing to pet the bison, I removed the scroll from his horn and, walking towards the exit, I told one of the Dai Li agents.

"Let him outside and let him fly his way. Do nothing to him, do not harm him."

Without waiting for a response, I unrolled the scroll and began to read it, meanwhile reminiscing about how I ended up in charge of these problematic agents. Somehow, they came to me and said, this and that, Comrade Garo, command us. And the funniest part was that I saw no preamble to it. Why me? I didn't inquire, simply stating that I would soon be departing, and then asked about their service targets. They had an extensive network of underground tunnels with rooms storing very much... various things.

And so, while inspecting this "various things," I stumbled upon Appa. And I noticed a scroll tied to his horn.

Now, as I read the scroll, I found interesting information about someone named Pathik inviting Aang to the Eastern Air Temple to teach him some doctrine and how to enter the Avatar State.

Closing the scroll, I stopped and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes to think over the simple and most crucial question in the soul of a Russian person. What to do?

Should I go there, or is it not worth it? What will I gain? After all, I'm not the Avatar, far from it, so the ability to enter the Avatar State is utterly useless to me. Why do I need an Absolutely useless burden? Unless I'm to teach the Avatar himself, but that's unlikely.

However, if someone possesses such knowledge that can help the Avatar with his unique problem, then surely that's not his only knowledge, and he could teach much more. So, it's worth a try. Maybe I can learn something important for myself from him? Something that will allow me to take another step forward...

Four hours later, I stood on the balcony of one of the mansions in the upper city, where our group was staying, watching a stream nearby, slightly playing with water currents in the stream. It helped to relax.

"Garo, are you going to be much longer? We're leaving soon!" Ty Lee yelled, entering my room.

"Yes... Ty Lee, where's Azula?" I asked.

"She's already downstairs."

"Good. I'll be right there, thank you, Ty Lee."

Leaving the stream behind, I headed to join the others. I had no belongings with me, the old and barely holding together clothes, which had been thoroughly soiled, I burned at the first opportunity to go and properly wash up, and then received new clothes. So, I was now in new, clean clothes, not the rags that had gone through the entire campaign to capture Ba Sing Se. Besides the clothes and some trinkets, for which even a bag wasn't necessary, I had nothing to take with me.

And I wouldn't need anything for some time.

Downstairs, by the doors, stood everyone else. Even Ty Lee, who had just come to me.

"Garo, why are you taking so long?" the aforementioned asked.

"Just... pondering."

"And what were you thinking about?" Azula asked, not taking her eyes off me.

"That I'll arrive in the Fire Nation a bit later than you all..."

"What?" Ty Lee asked.

"Why!?" Azula asked simultaneously with her, expressing her indignation.

"I want to head to the Eastern Air Temple," I replied with a smile. "I've come across information that a very... interesting person lives there. Perhaps, I can learn something intriguing from this person. So, I'll go there, might stay a bit, and then follow you directly. I hope you won't forget about me by then?" I said with a smile.

"Then we'll go there on our ship!" Azula declared, "After all, there are no other ships freely available anyway."

"The Dai Li have a stash of about a dozen ships in a cave, recovered from the Fire Nation at some point. According to their information, all are in working condition. Azula, calm down, no battles or fights are planned there. I'm just going to meet with someone, we'll talk, I might stay a bit, but then I'll definitely return!" With each word, I got closer to Azula and eventually leaned down to whisper in her ear. "And when I return, we'll put into practice all your and my ideas that we came up with last night."

Azula stood with her mouth slightly open, frozen by my words, then she slowly nodded, still staring ahead.

However, after a second, she shook herself, and turning to me with Mei and Ty Lee looking on, she pointed a finger at me and began to scold.

"May the spirits forbid, if you perish there, I'll burn you myself on a slow fire!" she articulated each word clearly, then added, "I still need my legs."

"Yes, of course, don't worry. And since we've settled this, I'm off. I still need to get to the ship. Good luck to you, and don't forget about me!" I said finally and headed to the nearest station, where I could take the city's unique train to quickly reach the eastern border of the city and then proceed to the port to board a ship.

Honestly, the Dai Li's compliance is starting to bother me more and more. Why such a desire to serve under my command? Why the eagerness to provide their resources? There are two possibilities. The first is about the cheese in a mousetrap, and the second - they need something from me, but what exactly, they're not yet ready to say.

Well, it doesn't matter much; I don't need much from them. Thanks for the ship, as I wouldn't have wanted to make the journey on an ice boat. Of course, it wouldn't pose much difficulty for me, but... still not ideal. And I definitely wouldn't sail there with Azula or anyone else from our group. Who knows what information might come up during conversations? What if Azula shouldn't know this information? Plus, what if I need to use other abilities, not just those of the Fire Nation? No, I don't want the extra hassle, and it's much easier for me to go alone. And there... who knows, maybe the information won't interest me at all?

Three hours later, I watched the receding shore and the distant, even from here visible, towering walls of Ba Sing Se...

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