>>3119583
>“I will go abroad”

>>3119583
>I will go abroad

>>3119583
>“I will go abroad”

>>3119583
>“I will go abroad”

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You take a deep breath. “I’m going to travel,” you say, with all the confidence you can muster. But in the silence that follows, that confidence bleeds away, and you find yourself babbling. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of wisdom here. Some of the wisest guys I know are from the Southern Water Tribes!” You snap your fingers and point at Elder Pukka, who gives you a sly smile in return. “I mean, all the wisest guys I know are from here, because…because I only know people from here. But, well,” you clear your throat. “You know what I’m saying. Anyway, as much as I love the tribes, there’s a whole world out there. We get new reports of war every day. We’ve been at peace, but we’ve been lucky, and we can’t be lucky forever. I want to be Chief. I want to follow in my dad’s footsteps. But I can’t do that if I’m blind to the dangers out there. I have to go. I have to see for myself.”

You stop abruptly, awkwardly, but the elders don’t scowl at you. Normally when you babble you make a fool of yourself, but you seem to have made something of a coherent point this time, because many of the elders are actually nodding. Elder Pukka gives you a thumbs up.

“We understand your reasons, Sokka,” Elder Kara says, bringing your attention back to her. “They were…well put. The people of this tribe will surely miss you, but we will wait eagerly for your return.”

You release a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding.

“Wherever you go, it will be quite a trip,” Elder Kara says. “Do you know your destination?”

After months of thinking, you had managed to narrow it down to three places. You had already checked with your father, who had confirmed that any destination could work, but as of last night you still hadn’t managed to pick one.

You could go to the Fire Nation, the heart of the war that consumes much of the world. The Royal Family has extended their hand to the southern tribes before, hoping for an alliance that would allow them greater access to the seas nearest to the South Pole. You could learn much there – but you can’t shake the feeling you’d be walking into a pit of mink-snakes.

You could go to Ba-Sing-Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom. The largest city in the world, the impregnable fortress, home to a thousand different cultures, Ba-Sing-Se is a nexus point of trade for all the Earth Kingdom. You would certainly never be bored, but you hear stories of that place that makes your skin crawl…

You could go the North Pole, home of the Northern Water Tribe. Once your people and theirs were brothers, but they hold much knowledge that the southern tribes either lost or abandoned during the great migration south. The North Pole is a holy place to all the Water Tribes – the home of the great spirits who birthed your people. You wouldn’t mind going some place not entirely unfamiliar, but would the North Pole be foreign enough?

>The Fire Nation
>Ba-Sing-Se
>The North Pole

>>3119630
>Ba-Sing-Se

>>3119630
>Ba-Sing-Se

>>3119630
>The Fire Nation

>>3119630
>>The Fire Nation

>>3119630
>Ba-Sing-Se

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The answer comes to you in a sudden flash of insight. “I’ll go to Ba-Sing-Se.”

*

Katara meets you at the docks, the spitting image of your mom. “So that’s it?” She asks. “You’re just leaving?”

“As soon as I can,” you say. “It’s going to take a long time just to get there, and I want to be finish up and come home as soon as I can.”

Katara frowns. “You’re going all the way across the world and you’re leaving me behind?”

“I’m leaving you at home, with dad. He’s going to need you, Katara. The whole tribe is going to need you if something happens to me.”

Your words only make her frown deeper. “You shouldn’t talk like that.”

“I know, but it’s true. The world’s a dangerous place.” You can see her thoughts behind her eyes, immediately flashing to mom, and your face softens. “Oh, come on. It’s me! I’m gonna kick some Earth Kingdom butt and make sure they know to respect the water tribe.” You do a cool little double salute fade away that makes Katara laugh despite herself. “I’ll see you soon, little sis.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

>cont.

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The trip to Ba-Sing-Se is even longer and more arduous than you expected. A lengthy sea voyage takes you to a massive bay in the northeast portion of the Earth Kingdom, but then you’re forced to sail upriver until you’re close enough to the city to disembark. But long before you’re ready you see the walls – massive structures of stone and earth that rise as high as mountains. No wonder Ba-Sing-Se could never be taken – those walls look like they could withstand the end of the world itself.

You’re escorted past the outer wall and through the agrarian zone, verdant farmland stretching out for miles and miles. At the edge of the agrarian zone is the inner wall, and there you’re put on a monorail and carried past a sprawling collection of slums and inside yet another wall. It is there you meet your guide.

“Hello!” The woman says, dressed in varying shades of green. “You must be Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe. I am Joo Dee! I will be your guide through the great city of Ba-Sing-Se!” A too-large smile stretches across her face.

You glance back, hoping to see a friendly face, but you left your escort behind at the boat. So instead you smile back. “Hey Joo Dee,” you say, bowing. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Wonderful, wonderful,” Joo Dee says, turning on her heel and marching off. You scramble to keep up with her. “Welcome to Ba-Sing-Se,” she explains as she walks. “As you can see, the citizens of our great city experience a peaceful and idyllic life.”

“This is great,” you admit, craning your neck this way and that. “How come it’s so much nicer than the other section of the city?”

“The agrarian zone is mostly farmland, and-”

“No, I know the agrarian zone,” you interrupt. “I’m talking about the sums I passed on the way in.”

“You must be mistaken!” Joo Dee says, turning to face you so quickly that you jump a good foot in the air. “There are no ‘slums’ in Ba-Sing-Se. Perhaps you had something in your eye, or you were confused by the size of the city.”

Well, you’ve never actually seen a city before. Maybe Joo Dee is right. But still, it bothers you. “Can we go back and look at it then?” You ask.

“There is absolutely no time for that!” Joo Dee says, her voice as calm and as pleasant as any you’ve ever heard. “You are only with us for such a short time. We wish to ensure that every moment you spend here is as productive as possible.”

You narrow your eyes. “Sounds like you’ve got my whole trip planned out.”

“Oh yes,” Joo Dee says. “We have made sure that you do not waste a moment, and see everything Ba-Sing-Se has to offer!”

Well, okay. You’re not an idiot. It’s clear that Joo Dee and whoever she’s working for has no intention of letting you do your own investigation – they’re clearly not to keen on letting a foreigner of our status do as he pleases.

>Ditch Joo Dee
>Stay with Joo Dee for now

>>3119740
>Stay with Joo Dee for now

>>3119740
Masturbate furiously and cum on her back while making dragon noises to assert dominance.

>>3119740
>Stay with Joo Dee for now

We can play the hot-headed bumpkin later if we have to; for now, lets match wits with the mysteries of the city discreetly. If the rumors are true, becoming more worldly will be good both for us AND the tribe.

>>3119740
>>Stay with Joo Dee for now
We don't really have much of a choice. The Dai Lee are probably already watching us and we're no match for their surprise earth bending.

>>3119806
>The Dai Lee are probably already watching us

Maybe, or maybe just a preliminary threat assessment. It might be nice if OP can give us a sense of what sort of rumors and stories we've actually heard so that we don't drag in OOC knowledge.

>>3119813
>It might be nice if OP can give us a sense of what sort of rumors and stories we've actually heard so that we don't drag in OOC knowledge.
Nothing super specific, since you're on the other end of the world, but you hear stories about how it's creepy, how foreigners don't like talking about it, how sometimes people just disappear without a trace.

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>>3119740
>Masturbate furiously and cum on her back while making dragon noises to assert dominance.

Dammit little Sokka, this is not the time for that particular fantasy.

You decide to stick with Joo Dee for now. A Chief needs to be able to play the political game – you can’t let your only move be flipping the table over and beating everyone’s heads in with a war club.

Instead, you mirror Joo Dee’s creepy smile. “That sounds great! Where are we starting?”

Joo Dee takes you to an apartment building that borders yet another wall. “Beyond this is the upper ring of the city,” Joo Dee explains. “Only Ba-Sing-Se’s most valuable citizens are permitted inside.”

“Like the royal family?” You ask. The apartment Joo Dee shows you is spacious and comfortable, decorated in standard Earth kingdom fashion. You roll out a white and blue rug that you brought from home to give the place a splash of ‘Sokka.’ “I was actually hoping I could talk to the Earth King while I’m here. You know, about cooperation between the Earth Kingdom and the Southern Water Tribes.

Joo Dee’s smile doesn’t waver an inch. “The Earth King is very busy,” she says, “for his Kingdom is quite large! I’m sure one of his generals, or perhaps his Grand Secretariat, would be able to speak with you however.”

They don’t want you seeing the slums, and they don’t want you to speak to the Earth King.

“That sounds great,” you say, not hesitating to flash Joo Dee another smile. “You’ve really been so helpful.”

“That is my purpose!” Joo Dee says. “Now, we in Ba-Sing-Se have heard many tales of the martial prowess of the Southern Water Tribes. If you’re not too tired, would you mind accompanying me to a nearby dojo, so we might see if the tales are true?”

This time, your smile is genuine. This is exactly why you’d come after all – not just to sightsee and match wits, but to see how foreigners fought. “That,” you say, without a hint of irony, “would be lovely.”

>cont.

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>>3119866
Not long after, you find yourself standing in the sparring ground of Master Yun-Ti’s dojo. Yun-Ti looks like every Earthbender in ever story your dad ever told you – big and broad and rippling with muscle, despite his age. His students, dressed in light green gis, stand assembled before him. Atop the dojo’s walls, a small crowd has gathered, including a few men in dark robes and broad hats.

“Welcome, Sokka of the Souther Water Tribe,” Yun-Ti says. “My students have been looking forward to a good challenge. Take your pick from them.”

You stretch your arms out over your head, thinking about it. “Well, I want to see the best the Earth Kingdom has to offer,” you say after a moment. “And my dad says that you can’t only judge a warrior by what’s on the outside. So, as their master, which of them is best?”

Yun-Ti casts an eye across his students, but before he can select one a high laugh rings out from across the yard. You look up at the wall and see a girl about your age, with short auburn hair and steely blue eyes. “You won’t find the best the Earth Kingdom has to offer in this yard,” she calls out. “I can promise you that.”

You glance towards Yun-Ti, who grinds his teeth but doesn’t argue back. “Shouldn’t you be defending your students?” You ask. “You know, your honor as a teacher and all that?”

“I would,” Yun-Ti said stiffly, “had that girl not made fools of them all just days ago.” At his words, his students hang their heads.

You quirk an eyebrow. Your dad had talked a big game about the whole not judging warriors thing, but there are some big guys in that lineup, and the girl is…a girl. And a small girl at that. “Well, I don’t generally like hitting girls,” you call up to her, “but if you’re the best fight I’m going to get…”

The girl laughs again, then slides down the wall in one smooth motion. She lands with a flip, then runs her hands through some lightning quick motions. “I’ve fought southern raiders before,” she says. “Tell me Sokka, son of Hadoka, Chief of the Bear-Dog tribe, are you a waterbender?”

>“Yes”
>“No, I prefer my fists.”
>“No, I prefer my sword.”
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”

(No votes will be aggregated, with the highest single weapon winning out. You have training with other weapons, but this will be your best and default.)

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”

>>3119870
>>“No, I prefer my fists.”
You don't see much punching in the setting without magic attatched. Could be interesting.

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my sword.”

test

>>3119870
>>“Yes”
>>“No, I prefer my sword.”

Waterbender is great, and so is sword, meh on Fists, but very uninterested in Boomerangs.

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my sword.”
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”

OG Sokka favored a club and boomerang, the latter essentially serving as a complementary sidearm, so pairing these would be the closest to that feel. Good to hear we'd retain some competence with others though.

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my sword.”
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”
Sokka's the best when actively manipulating the environment. A boomerang means always having a bit of environment he's familiar with.

>>3119907
>>3119975
Well if we can take both, I'll support.

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>>3119907
>>3119975
>>3119992

If we CAN'T take both, I say prioritize the boomerang, since Sokka clearly knows how to use it in close quarters as well.

>>3120012
boomerang is more important, yeah.

The sidearm is primarily there to stall and zone, so it could even be a shield, a different take on the water-style of redirecting attacks.

>>3119870
Boomerang

>>3120012
The boomerang is shit tier. It's good for one or two pot shots, and it's comedy value was great in the show, but it's a horrible weapon to main.

>>3120095
We will show the art of the Boomerang to the world!

>>3120095
Of course it was only for comedy in the show.

A wedge of metal lodged in the back of your head or in your eye socket is not kid-friendly.

>>3120095
We can use literally any other weapon to beat the crap out of folks if it comes down to it, but the boomerang has Utility on top of being serviceable up close.

>>3120106
>A wedge of metal

To be fair, ours is probably bone.

>>3120126
Hopefully not the same bone we're going to give this girl.

>>3120126
Its a side arm at best. It's going to be a joke against anyone actually worth a damn. The vote outright says whatever wins will be our Best and Default Weapon and boomerang isn't nearly good enough for that.

>>3120131
To be honest, I've never really liked her that much. She had such a serious personality when we first meet her at the show and then has a near 180 when she comes back.

>>3120140
>It's going to be a joke against anyone actually worth a damn.

If it's good enough to go up against Combustion Man, it's good enough to main. Besides, I doubt Bangarang is gonna cripple us over our choice, and we'll probably have a chance to improve our proficiency with other weapons if the quests goes on long enough.

>>3120141
Well, by the time she returned in the series she'd already gotten to know and trust the main cast, so her more relaxed demeanor made sense to me.

>>3120151
She didn't have any interaction with them after Kyoshi island though, also preferred her more serious personality than the one later on the show.

>>3120162
Yeah, but her interactions with Sokka during Kyoshi did let her relax a bit. Besides, even then she wasn't above being playful and teasing.

>>3120140
Non-benders vs. Benders is always a joke up until the non-benders win.

Just seeing this quest gave me a burst of nostalgia pretty hard.
Thanks OP.

>>3119870
>"Yes."

In this timeline... SOKKA is the waterbender.

>>3120184
>In this timeline... SOKKA is the waterbender.

I don't HATE the idea, but if Sokka knows about what happened to the previous southern water tribe waterbenders (if it did indeed happen) then he might be too paranoid to share that information needlessly.

>>3120184
Interesting concept.

>>3120184
>>3120193
i like the idea that he can waterbend but keeps it a secret

>>3119870
>“No, I prefer my boomerang.”

Sokka doesn't need waterbending. He's awesome as he is.

>>3120214
His whole schtick is thinking outside the box, and not having bending powers helps with that. By giving him waterbending you're kind of shoving him into a box.

>>3120202
just to be clear im not switching my vote is still for bommerrang

>>3120225
>just to be clear im not switching my vote is still for bommerrang

Same. I just wouldn't be upset or anything if waterbending overtakes boomerang.

>>3119870
>“Yes”
Sokka as a waterbender is too good to pass up.

It doesn't look like the Fire nation went on their KILL ALL WATERBENDERS spree...yet at least.

>>3120202
I like this too

>>3119870
>Yes

>>3120323
>>3120202
You guys better vote Yes on the main post to get the majority vote, otherwise the weapons are gonna beat us.

But secret waterbender sounds great. Maybe he kept it under wraps because no way the tribe would let their firstborn waterbender heir jaunt around the world like this?

>>3119878
switching to
>“Yes”

>>3120340
>>3120333
>>3120323
>>3120300
>>3120184

>Play as one one of the only 2 non-benders in the show
>make him a bender

The fucks wrong with you people?

>>3120344
*Shrug* It does sound neat, the secret waterbending son of the southern water tribe, fighting against the firebending prince/ess of the fire nation? The symbolism is the pretty great.

>>3120344
Non-bender Sokka was already done in the show man, quests are where we can go truly off the rails.

Also I wanna see Sokka get up to crazy hijinks that'll make the esteemed waterbending masters of the tribe roll in their graves.

>>3120350
That's Katara. That's literally fucking Katara you idiot.
>>3120352
This sounds like a premise that many cancerous Naruto fanfics have gone.

>>3120352
or we can go off the rails and make boomerangs king.

Dual meteorite boomerangs, grappling and chi-blocking the enemy while they're busy shooting boomerangs that cut through rock. Shield fighter, parrying everyone and everything, including Lightning.

We don't need to be a bender to go off the rails.

>>3120364
*Shrug* No reason we can't both be waterbenders. Heck maybe we could be like Zuko and work our Waterbending into our swordsmanship or something.

>>3120372
Zuko was kinda terrible at doing bender and nonbender at the same time. He does it what, once?

>>3120344
I'm here for waterbender Sokka interacting with the royal fire siblings.

>>3120350
Doesn't look like QM is accepting/counting double votes, might wanna specify what your main choice is in>>3119895

>>3120352
As for doing non-canon stuff, we've already left home without our sister and Aang and are already in Ba-Sing-Se.

>>3120381
Fair.
>>3119895
OP I'm voting pure waterbending.

>>3120340
switching back to boomerrang

The vote count for this is going to be a fucking nightmare for QM.

>>3119870
>“Yes”

>>3120393
>2 hours 40 minutes
>Did a rookie QM mistake of putting up a weapon vote
I dunno, good odds he already gave up.

I'm still here. Learning about the dangers of doing your write up without closing the vote.

I'm going to officially lock voting while I try to figure this vote out, then I might have to rewrite the next scene.

>>3120401
I'm happy to stand corrected, then.

Don't forget to type out long posts in something with autosave.

>>3120364
>Getting this butthurt
kek

Also the entire tribe knew Katara was a waterbender, they kept it a secret from the outside world.

>>3120333 is saying here that Sokka kept his bending abilities a secret from the TRIBE too, because otherwise they're gonna coddle him, being firstborn heir AND water bender, and so he'll never even have a chance to see the wider world in the first place.

>>3120401
Yeah, ALWAYS announce a close of vote before you start writing, or stuff like this happens.

>>3120406
Just giving a fair warning based on my past mistakes in fanfics. You guys want this? Go ahead.

Maybe we can do the hidden waterbending thing and develop it later while sticking to weapons for now?

Upon careful recount, Boomerang wins. I'll have the next post up in just a minute.

Re: Secret waterbenders - in this timeline the Fire Nation isn't at war with the whole world, just the Earth Kingdom, and so there's no purge going on in the South Pole.

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>>3119870
You roll your shoulders out, only slightly disquieted by the girl’s familiarity with your tribe. “Waterbending was always more my sister’s thing,” you say, pulling two blunted boomerangs from your belt. “I had different interests.”

The onlookers on the top of the wall murmur amongst themselves, confused by your choice of weapon. Even the girl looks taken slightly off guard. “Boomerangs?” She asks. “We’re not hunting otter-penguins, this is combat.”

You just smile and settle into a fighting stance, raising your boomerangs.

The girl narrows her eyes and charges, and you’re taken off guard immediately by her speed. She closes the distance in the blink of an eye, snapping her fist forward, and you’re forced to bend over backwards to avoid it. You pop back up and bring one boomerang hard into the girl’s side, and she stumbles back, pain and surprise flashing across her face. She brings her hands up to guard her face, turning your next blow aside and kicking at your knee.

You go up into the air, feet over your head, hurling one boomerang with all your strength. It hits the girl’s shoulder with a bone-jarring thud, and you catch it deftly out of the air as you complete your flip. The girl whirls on you, and her next blow catches your jaw, but your grit your teeth through the pain and wallop her with one boomerang, then the other.

“The bend on them is tricky,” you explain, dancing back, chucking one boomerang through the air. The girl dodges it, charging forward, but you retreat further. “It changes the timing of the blows. If you’re used to fighting against clubs or staffs or swords, you might mistime your counters.”

The girl plants her foot in your chest and sends you flying, but before she can follow up your boomerang catches her in the back of the head.

“Also, it makes them come back!” You shout, and now it’s you who’s closing the distance. Your first strike misses, and you pay for it by taking another blow to the chest, but you’re in your rhythm now. One hit, then two, then three. The girl winds her arm around yours and lands solid punches of her own, but you see your boomerang lying at her feet and knock it into the air with your foot, catching it with your free hand and landing a devastating blow to the side of her head.

>cont.

>>3120435
>in this timeline the Fire Nation isn't at war with the whole world, just the Earth Kingdom

Ooohhh, that changes a lot! Does that mean that airbenders are still around?

>>3120443
You realize your mistake a moment after you make it. The girl goes cross-eyed and falls to the ground like a ton of bricks. “Oh man,” you mutter, checking her breathing. “I really didn’t mean to hit her right there.” You've seen full grown men die from shots to the head - whatever people might say about boomerangs, they're still a weapon to be respected, not so different from a club - and you would never have hit this girl across the head with your club, not in a friendly spar.

Joo Dee and Yun-Ti are at your side before you know it, each barking orders. “You two!” Yun-Ti shouts, “fetch a stretcher!”

“The Kyoshi envoy is still breathing,” Joo Dee assures the onlookers. “She will be fine after some brief medical care. Please, go about your days!” You glance up at the wall and see the same robed, wide-hatted figures dispersing the crowd.

“Are you taking her to a-” You groan suddenly, your fading adrenaline making you just how aware how beat up you are, “to a hospital?”

“We have a healer on staff,” Yun-Ti explains. “She is well versed in concussions, and other sparring related industries.”

“Perhaps it would be best if we left,” Joo Dee says. “Before people start to talk!”

>Leave
>Stay with the girl

>>3120450
>>Stay with the girl
Only seems right

>>3120443
Welp, that just kinda ruins my interest in this quest, have fun QM.

>>3120450
>Leave

>>3120450
>Stay with the girl

Sorry Joo Dee, but I don't think we could stomach leaving without at least apologizing. A guy has to take responsibility for his actions, especially an aspiring chief!

>>3120450
>Stay with the girl

>>3120463
True but Joo Dee looks like she's starting to panic, the Dai Li are most likely watching, and we're experiencing an adrenaline crash. If there's a fight we're going to get our ass kicked.

On an unrelated note, how good do you guys think Sokka is at resisting brain washing?

>>3120450
>Leave

>>3120450
Stay with the girl

>>3120478
>On an unrelated note, how good do you guys think Sokka is at resisting brain washing?

He's clever and passionate, and I like to think he's got a strong character, but I don't know if any of that necessarily translates to strong mental defenses, especially when you take into consideration that he's also a lovable goofball.

But I think the Dai Lee are just suppressing any disturbance of the peace, not gunning for us. I mean really, accidentally concussing someone while sparring at the local dojo? Hardly a political crime against the throne beyond disrupting the utopian peace and quiet of the city.

>>3120450
>>Stay with the girl

>>3120450
>Stay with the girl
Apologies profusely when she wakes up covered in white sticky cream

>>3120499
Unfortunately that someone we concussed was the Kyoshi envoy though.

Whelp, first nation traveled and we already probably maybe need to escape/run from. Who knows, it might be fun.

>>3120570
>Unfortunately that someone we concussed was the Kyoshi envoy though.

What's done is done; do we puss out or do damage control? I feel like ghosting on the matter would only add fuel to the fire by being rude and unseemly.

>>3120606
When you're right, you're right anon.
>>3120450
Switching
>>3120458
To >Stay with the girl

Because in the end Sokka is not a dick, at least on purpose.

>>3120450
>Stay with the girl

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>>3120450
“I’m not leaving.”

Joo Dee pales. “But we-”

“I hurt her. I’m not leaving until I’ve had a chance to apologize. You grab one end of the stretcher two of Yun-Ti’s students loaded the girl onto. “I’m sorry Joo Dee, this is non-negotiable.”

You leave her in the yard, staring helplessly towards you, a smile still plastered across her face.

*

Hours pass.

The healer had looked the girl – Suki, her name was Suki – over and declared there was nothing they could do until she awoke, so you had settled in and meditated.

Well, you had tried to meditate. Truth be told, that had never really been one of your talents. Your mind spun too quickly, on too many tangents. So after a few terrible attempts at clearing your mind you filled it instead, with relevant thoughts – like why you had a sinking feeling in your gut about this trip in general, and Joo Dee in particular?

You don’t like Joo Dee. You don’t like the way she smiles, the way she talks, the way she’s so quick to assume control of your schedule and movements. You don’t like how nobody else seems to find her weird. Maybe it’s just cultural differences, but…Joo Dee is strange. Other people should be put off by her, at least a little. But nobody seems to notice. She even seems to wield some kind of authority.

Low voices from outside distract you from your thoughts. You focus your hearing, a talent honed during countless hours tracking white-furred game across an endless white plain, and listen. Even still, you can barely make the whispered words out.

“I tr-tried to get him to leave!” Joo Dee. You frown at the way her voice hitches.

“You should never have allowed him to fight her in the first place.” A man’s voice, one you don’t recognize.

“I – I didn’t know. I was told he was supposed spar. To distract him. He was supposed to spar. I let him spar. He was supposed to spar!”

“He was meant to spar one of Yun-Ti’s students. That was the schedule.”

“I wasn’t told! It didn’t seem didn’t seem wrong!” Joo Dee seems to be on the verge of tears now, no longer able to keep the emotion out of her voice.

The man sighs, and then his voice drops very low. Joo Dee’s hysterics fade, into silence.

“I’ll get another?” Another male voice asks.

“No,” the first man says. “Give her some time to get her bearings again. This need not be an incident. We can contain this. But it will take both of us, unless you want the Grand Secretariat breathing down our necks.”

“I don’t. We just leave him with her then? She’s…unwell. She needs an invitation.”

“She’ll get one. Later. She was right, she never broke script, not really. This was unexpected. We might want to move him to the upper ring, we’ll have more control…” Their voices are drowned out by footsteps, and then they vanish.

You exhale, slowly, and turn back to the cot. Suki is awake, staring at you.

>cont.

We're going to HAVE to at least retain some of Sokka's character, even though this is an AU quest. It just wouldn't be the same if he wasn't a lovable doofus with moments of brilliance.

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>>3120735
You strangle a stream, still very aware of the two mysterious men within hearing distance. You tip backwards in your chair and very nearly fall over, but catch yourself at the last second – Suki smiles at your expense.

You wait for a few minutes before addressing her. “I’m sorry I knocked you unconscious.”

“Is that what happened?” She asks, sitting up. She touches the side of her head, winces. “That’s going to bruise.”

“I’m sorry about that too.”

“What are you apologizing for? I’m a warrior, not some child you have to coddle. We fought, you won.” She scowls. “I’m sorry I doubted your boomerangs.”

You nod sagely. “They all say that…eventually.” There’s a moment of awkward silence, and then you stand, ducking into a short bow. “I’m Sokka, of the Southern…well, you know.”

Suki does her own bow, though she doesn’t stand. “Suki, of Kyoshi Island,” she says.

“You’re a long way from home.” Kyoshi Island is relatively close to Southern Water Tribe lands.

“I’m here seeking audience with the Earth King,” Suki says. “To beg his royal protection.”

You frown. Fire Nation ships were known to patrol the Earth Kingdom coast, but.... “The Fire Navy couldn’t be that far East. We would know about.”

“We don’t need protection from the Fire Navy,” Suki says, shaking her head. “We need protection from raiders. From the Southern Water Tribe.”

“What?”

Suki looks up at you, her face flat. “Three years ago, raiders from the Squid-shark tribe began coming to my island. They attacked settlements, stole food…carried off women. We fought them at first, but we’re a peaceful people. There’s only so many warriors.”

“The Squid-shark tribe?” You know them – fierce sailors from the rocky north of the pole, the second largest tribe under the Southern Water banner. They make up the bulk of your people’s navy.” Then the second realization hits you. “That’s why they’re so concerned!”

“They?” Suki asks. Now its her turn to be confused.

“You came seeking protection from my people, and the first thing I do on my first day is beat you up!” You smack your forehead. “Oh man, it’s not even lunch yet and I’ve already caused an international incident.”

At that, Suki breaks her composure, laughing. “You didn’t,” she says after she calms down. “You didn’t even know who I was, or why I was here.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that.”

“Again, who is they?”

You glance towards the door. Should you tell Suki? She’s an outsider, like you – if there really is a conspiracy going on, she might be one of the few people in the city you can trust not to be in on it. But she’s also technically your enemy.

>“There’s something weird going on with Joo Dee…”
>“Never mind”

>>3120749
>“Never mind”
We'll tell her, just not when WE ARE RIGHT NEXT TO JOO DEE IN THE NEXT ROOM!

>>3120749
>>“There’s something weird going on with Joo Dee…”

>>3120749
>"Im maybe overreacting but there’s something weird going on with Joo Dee…”

>>3120749
>“Never mind”

>>3120749
>“There’s something weird going on with Joo Dee…”

Whisper to her, should solve the 'Joo-Dee is in the next room' problem. (And if not, more fun.)

>>3120782
switching to>>3120795

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>>3120749
>“There’s something weird going on with Joo Dee…”

It's best to tell her now before they separate us.

>>3120749
Just have sokka flub smoothtalking into a more private room. Its idiotic AND subtle enough to not give away the conspiracy things.

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>>3120749
You glance towards the door, then motion Suki closer and drop your voice to only the barest whisper. “So there’s something weird about my guide…”

By the time you finish updating Suki, she mostly looks skeptical. “You think the Earth Kingdom is manipulating you?” She whispers. “Are you sure I’m the one that hit on the head?”

“I’ll have you know that I was dropped on my head repeatedly as a child, but the impacts only made me smarter!” You reply. “I know when I’m being handled, and this place gives me the creeps.”

Suki frowns thoughtfully. “I guess I’ve seen some strange things myself…”

At that moment the door slides open to reveal Joo Dee’s smiling face. “You’re awake!” She says with all her usual cheer, as if her earlier conversation in the hall had never happened. “We were all very worried for your health. I have alerted the healer and he is on his way!”

Suki blinks once, twice. Then she looks at you with a newfound seriousness. “My-”

“We really should be leaving!” Joo Dee says, hurrying to your side. “There is still so much to do, and we are so far behind schedule!” She grabs your arm and pulls you through the door, surprisingly strong.

“34 Yi Ming Street!” Suki calls out as you’re pulled away. “The Lower Ring!”

Joo Dee leads you outside, where the sun as climbed high into the sky. You try to pull your arm free, but she’s strong enough that you can’t without a risk of hurting her. “Hey, I wasn’t done in there.”

“Oh but we have so little time,” Joo Dee says, her smile never wavering. “There will be other opportunities to see your friend! You can return to 24 Si Ying Street whenever you wish!”

“That…that wasn’t the right address.”

“24 Si Ying Street? Are you certain you did not mishear? I am very confident that it was 24 Si Ying Street.”

You clamp your mouth shut. Not your typical move, but you don’t want to give her an excuse to keep undermining your memory. Joo Dee shoves you into a waiting carriage and takes a seat opposite from you.

Only a few minutes later do you dare speak again. “So where are we going next then?” You ask.

“That is up to you!”

You arch an eyebrow.

“Would you like to visit the university? Or would you prefer to get something to eat?”

You’re suddenly reminded of your mother asking you if you wanted your vegetables in the red bowl, or the blue one. Give someone a choice, no matter how meaningless, and they’re less likely to rebel. Still, you are hungry…and the university might be a good place to learn more about the raiding of Kyoshi island.

>Go eat
>Go to the University

(Going to bed for the night, will pick this up in the morning.)

>>3120963
Thanks for running, dude.
Hope you stick around and keep running for a long time.

>>3120963
>Go to the University

>>3120444
>Are airbenders still around?
Yeah, although they're more isolationist than they were 100 years ago.

>>3120967
Thanks man, I'm having fun. Glad you're enjoying the quest so far.

>>3120963
>Go to the University

>>3120963
>Go eat
Ask for a teahouse, then change your mind and pick a place on the way because you smelled something good.

>>3120963
>Go eat

>>3120963
>Go eat

It will be much easier to ditch Joo Dee in a marketplace/crowded street setting than in the middle of a university, as much fun as that would be to see it.

>>3120979
Cool to see another Avatar quest, thanks for running Bangaranga!

>>3120963
>>Go to the University

>>3120989
switching to>>3121000

Aw, dammit, I missed a few posts. Also, holy shit, I was NOT expecting that. I blame the fucking Squid-Sharks. Still, at least we have an ally and potential destination to sneak off to now that we have Suki's address.

>>3120979
>Are airbenders still around?
>Yeah, although they're more isolationist than they were 100 years ago.

That awkward moment when the air "nomads" are all locked up in their temple monasteries and Raava fucking help anyone that thinks they're getting inside.

>>3121000
>ditch Joo Dee

I'm a little wary of confirming that we need a shorter leash so soon. Sneaking out of the Upper Ring under close surveillance will probably be way harder than where ever we're currently staying. That said, it may already be too late to do anything about it...

>>3120963
>>Go eat

>Sokka Quest
>QM goes by Bangarang
>fuckers didn't vote Fire so we could bro down with Zuko
It's like you fuckers don't want to fix the Fire Nation's dickery through the power of Sokka's goofy charm.

>>3121411
We're probably going to go there next since we have a 99% chance we are going to fight the Dai Li and skedaddle.

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>>3120963
Ba Sing Se University is an open, sprawling campus, filled with students. You lead the way, but Joo Dee remains just a step behind you at all times.

“Every day our brave soldiers and Earthbenders drive the Fire Nation’s armies further back,” you hear a teacher say. “Soon they will be driven into the sea, and the Earth Kingdom will be reclaimed!”

You know for a fact that the situation is far grimmer than that – while the Earth Kingdom has stopped the Fire Nation from making too much progress into the mainland, they have yet to successfully reclaim a significant portion of land from the invaders. At least you’re not the only one being handled.

Still, you slip inside the room. Maybe the professor will be more honest about situations that don’t directly concern the Earth Kingdom – like Kyoshi Island.

The lecture continues for the better part of an hour, and though you can’t be sure it’s all propaganda, you feel like it’s a pretty safe bet. Once the students are filing out of the room, you hurry up to the professor and bow politely.

“Ah, a visitor!” The professor says. “Are you an exchange-” He looks over your shoulder. “I mean, an honored guest!”

You glance back at Joo Dee, but she still wears her smile. “Hey professor. You seem to know what’s going on outside of Ba Sing Se.”

“I…like to think so, yes.”

“Do you know anything about the situation on Kyoshi, then?"

The professor looks over your shoulder again, but then he visibly relaxes. “Kyoshi island is not a part of the Earth Kingdom,” he says, “though I hear perhaps they are considering joining. They would certainly be far safer with the royal fleet's protection.”

“So they are being raided.”

“The Southern Water Tribe carries out frequent raids on its neighbors, yes.”

You grit your teeth. The Squid-Shark tribe is not the Southern Water Tribe – well they are, but they aren’t the whole picture. Your dad is the greatest of the Chiefs, it’s true, but even he is only one Chief amongst five. The other tribes are allowed to mostly do what they wish, unless there’s a war going on.

Still, it was good to confirm Suki’s story. You bow and leave the room, Joo Dee still trailing behind. “Are you enjoying your visit?” She asks.

“I’d be a lot more satisfied if you’d stop following me around everywhere.”

“Oh heavens no! That simply wouldn’t do!”

You notice something odd - the half dozen students in the hallway are staring at you. They’re trying to look busy, but you see them throwing nervous glances your way.

You reach the staircase, slightly on edge, and look up. At the top of the staircase, a student uses Earthbending to hang from the wall. When he sees you, he extends a hand and gestures for you to join him.

You look back at Joo Dee, yet to enter the staircase. Then you look back.

“Don’t worry,” the student mouths.
“We’ll handle her.”

>Join the student
>Turn and leave

>>3121477
QM if we join him, will this give us a chance to meet Suki at the meeting spot?

>>3121477
>>Join the student

>>3121484
I don't want to give you guys too much OOC knowledge, especially when this arc revolves so much about not knowing who to trust.

>>3121477
>Join the student
Intrigue!

>>3121484
>>3121492
If we know exactly what's going to happen with every choice why bother playing?

>>3121477
>Turn and leave
"Now is not a good time."

We're already on thin ice for that whole incident earlier. Now is a terrible time to keep pushing our boundaries.

>>3121477
>Turn and leave
>>3121495
>>3121492
In that case I vote that we don't get into hotter shit. We also represent our tribe too and I'm not sure how long our diplomatic immunity is going to last here, or if we even have it at all.

>>3121477
>Join the student
Just your normal son of water tribe chieftain wants to fool around

change my vote to leave them be as well.
"I can't right now."

>>3121477
>Turn and leave

>>3121477
>Join the student

Sorry Joo Dee, got a little caught up chatting with the students!

Time to hear what the "rebels" have to say.

Vote is fairly close so I'm going to lock it. Turn and leave wins.

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>>3121477
You quickly turn around and head back the way you came. The suspicious students scatter at your abrupt turn face, vanishing into nearby classrooms. “On second thought, let’s go in here!”

Joo Dee seems surprised, but not displeased, by your new direction. “Ah,” she says, “are you interested in desert cultures?”

“Well they’re not the…most boring things in the world.”

After an hour or two of small talk with an eccentric but good-natured anthropology professor, you let Joo Dee lead you back to your apartment, where food has been delivered. You’re ravenous, and scarf down everything in sight.

For the next few days, you allow yourself to be shepherded back and forth at Joo Dee’s whim. You attend plays, sample restaurants, and speak with minor government officials about how efficient and successful every aspect of city governance is. Joo Dee keeps you far from the slums you passed coming in to the city, and you see neither hide nor hair of Suki. But you remember the address she gave you.

It’s quite the controlled and boring trip, with nothing much of interest happening – until the first day of your second week in the city, when you are enjoying the comfort of a local tea house.

There’s a commotion outside in the street. You can hear shouts and sounds of stone ripping apart, and you rush outside with some of the bolder patrons.

The street is in chaos. Robed, hatted figures that you now know to be the Dai Li are engaged in an intense earthbending fight with a group of what looks like bandits, wearing dark colors and bright green masks over their face.

“My daughter!” A woman shrieks, collapsing to the ground. “You have to rescue my daughter!”

Spurred by her cry, one of the Dai Li slides along the side of a nearby building, towards a fleeing figure – but he’s torn from his perch by a bolder, his leg snapping with the sickening crack of bone.

You dive to the ground, barely avoiding what looks like a hand of rock hurtling through the air. This is insanity! This is mayhem! This is…the perfect time to slip away from your escort.

But the fight continues, and the woman continues to wail about her daughter. Can you abandon these people to the mercy of the bandits? Can you abandon the bandits to the mercy of the Dai Li?

>Help the Dai Li
>Help the bandits escape (discreetly)
>Chase after the kidnapped girl
>Give Joo Dee the slip

>>3121604
>Chase after the kidnapped girl
The only really right thing to do, as much as I'd like to slip away.

>>3121604
>>Chase after the kidnapped girl
this is a good quest and i enjoy it

Okay, chase scene it is. Give me 3 d100 rolls.

The highest of 3 rolls is taken
90-100 is a crit success
1-10 is a crit fail, and has priority over any rolls that aren't crit successes.

DC is 40

These are just preliminary rules, I will likely adjust them as we go to make sure we get the right balance of successes and failures.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>3121667

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>3121667
Sokka gonna sock you out!

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>3121667

>>3121677
Whelp, I'm never rolling again.

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>>3121604
Your chivalry gets to you before your frustration with Joo Dee does. You push yourself to your feet and take off after the fleeing figure, feet slapping against the cobblestone. A masked bandit sees you running and fires off a boulder, but you manage to duck away just in time.

The kidnapper has a big head start on you, but you’re Sokka, master of the boomerang. You pull one from its sheath and hurl it high into the air, above the heads of anyone who might get in its way. As you continue your chase it curves sharply downwards, catching the kidnapper’s foot just as it’s about to make contact with the ground.

The kidnapper stumbles, and a large sack with a very human-like shape inside flies from his grip. He hits the ground hard, skidding down the street, and you vault a overturned cart to catch up with him. “Hey, buddy, pick on someone your own size!”

The kidnapper gets to his feet, a mountain on two legs. “Oh,” you mutter, drawing a sharp metal boomerang from its sheath, “Wow, yeah, go find someone your size and pick on them instead.”

The kidnapper slams his foot into the ground, ripping a chunk of cobblestone from the street below. He punches forward and the cobblestones fly at you, forcing you to duck and roll to avoid them. You hurl your boomerang at him, but sinks uselessly into an earth wall.

You charge forward and leap, using the still quivering boomerang as a foothold to launch you up and over the kidnapper’s head. Another boomerang is in your hand, and you throw it hard – but the kidnapper shifts his feet, and your weapon only manages to take a chunk out of his shoulder.

You land and summon up all your strength. “Sokka’s gonna sock ya!” You roar, placing a picture perfect punch right in the middle of his stomach.

The kidnapper seems unfazed. Your hand throbs.

“Man, what do they feed you guys here?” You ask, a moment before the kidnapper backhands you into a nearby wall.

More rocks follow the blow, forcing you to recover quickly. You jump over one, plant your hands on another and flip, diving for the first boomerang you threw, which still lays in the street. You pop to one knee and throw it at an angle, far enough away that the kidnapper can’t block it again – unfortunately he’s smart enough to know he’s not in the clear yet, and charges you. You throw yourself out of the way, jaw still clicking from his earlier blow.

>cont.

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>>3121715
One more boomerang. You draw it but don’t throw, waiting for the kidnapper to close the gap. You duck low and go for his knee, and are rewarded by a spray of blood. You roll, staying low, using the man’s massive size against him, and lop off a toe. The kidnapper screams, but the force of your blow has left your boomerang stuck in the ground beneath you, and you’re forced to abandon it as you get clear.

The kidnapper pounds his fists into the ground and razor sharp rock flies towards you at an upward angle. One catches you in the side, and you stumble and clamp down on a scream of pain. You’re both bloody, but your boomerangs are scattered throughout the street and he can make weapons out of the ground.

What would your dad do? Earthbenders were like komodo rhinos, he used to say, big and strong but they like choosing one direction and sticking to it. This guy wants to keep distance and throw rocks at you until you’re smeared across the pavement.

You take off at an angle, moving towards the earth wall the kidnapper had raised earlier. More rocks, but you duck behind the wall just in time and retrieve your boomerang. You lift it just over the wall, and the motion draws more fire – but then you duck around the way you came, charging straight at the man. He can’t ready more rocks fast enough, and you fake a throw, forcing him to shield his face with his arms. That gives you enough time to slide in and cut one leg out from under him.

He collapses to the ground, injured legs no loger able to support his weight. You bring the blunt end of the boomerang down hard over his head, and just like Suki, he drops like a ton of bricks.

You suck air in greedily, poking at your injured side. The cut is long, but shallow. You’ve had worse.

You jog over towards the sack and cut it open with your boomerang to find…

Nothing.

You gape, lifting the sack up. There’s a second hole in the other side, rough like it was cut by a half sharp rock. You look this way, and that, but there’s no little girl to be seen.

“Hey!” You shout to a bystander. “Did another masked guy come up here? Did you see him carry a little girl away?”

The bystander holds up his hands. “I didn’t see another masked man, but…a little girl ran that way just a minute ago.” He points towards the edge of the city – the opposite direction you just came from.

The girl got out then? But what kidnapped girl doesn’t immediately run back to her mother? She must be confused, or scared out of her wits, but you don’t know the city that well. Maybe this is best left to the authorities.

>Return to Joo Dee
>Chase after the girl
>Head to Suki’s address

>>3121716
>>Return to Joo Dee

>>3121716
>Return to Joo Dee

>>3121716
>chase after the girl.
Kidnapped girl becoming a runaway? That’s too weird, even for this place, not to ask questions!

>>3121716
>Head to Suki’s address

>>3121716
>>Chase after the girl
She could get in all sorts of trouble and dammit it's clearly toph

>>3121716
>Chase after the girl

>>3121716
>>Chase after the girl
GIT HER

>>3121716
>Chase after the girl
>in 4 toph faked her abduction to get away

>>3121716
>Chase after the girl

Potential freedom from the city! FREEDOM!

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>>3121716
You grip your injured side as you run down the back streets of Ba Sing Se, tracking a kidnap victim turned runaway.

“Gee Sokka,” you mutter, “you get in the most interesting situations. I wonder why that is? Oh other Sokka, it’s pretty simple. I’m pathologically incapable of abandoning a girl in danger. Also I’ve been in this stupid city for a week and I’m already going crazy.” You pitch your voice higher, and it takes on a mocking edge. “I’m going to go to Ba Sing Se to seek new wisdom. The city sounds so great, it’ll be a wonderful place to grow!” You have never wanted to punch past you in the face harder.

You turn a corner and find another drop of blood. Normally you would never have been able to track this girl through the city, but it seems she hurt herself during her escape, and is leaving a small but noticeable trail of blood. At least, you hope she’s the one leaving the blood. Could be you’re tracking a stray deer dog, but you don’t want to think about that.

You hop a fence and stumble upon a mess of discarded clothing on the ground – fine silks lined with pearls, cut for a small child. They sit beneath a clothesline, full except for a large gap in the middle.

The girl ditched her clothes and stole new ones? So she’s clearly not panicked, or running blindly. She has some sort of plan, some destination. Curiouser and curiouser.

You follow the girl’s trail until you’re very nearly at the wall that separates this portion of the city from the slums you saw on the way in. A burly man stands in front of a nondescript door, looking like every guard you’ve ever seen – intimidating and supremely bored.

You walk up to him, unsure of what your play is here. Should you ask if he’s seen the girl? He doesn’t look like the talkative type.

Before you can speak though, he looks you up and down. “You one of the new heels?” He asks. “Borrowing on Ji’s shtick, huh? I guess people really love to hate Fire Nation Man.”

>“What is this place?”
>“Have you seen a little girl around here?”
> “Uh…yes, I am…Water Tribe Man. You should…let me inside?” (Speech Check)

>>3121812
> “Uh…yes, I am…Water Tribe Man. You should…let me inside?” (Speech Check)

If believes us, ask before heading in.
>“Have you seen a little girl around here?”

>>3121827
support

>>3121827
+1

>>3121812
this >>3121827

>>3121812
> “Uh…yes, I am…Water Tribe Man. You should…let me inside?” (Speech Check)

>>3121827
Inbf we get in ask about the little girl. And the bouncer laughs say something like you’re funny! Keep that sense of humor with the character and you’ll do great!

Speech check wins, can you guys roll 3d100?
DC is 30

Sorry for the delays, I'm updating between errands and such. I do like how qst lets you slow things down a little.

Rolled 51, 43, 67 = 161 (3d100)

>>3121903

Rolled 7, 3, 1 = 11 (3d10)

>>3121903
3d100?
Or 3d10?

Rolled 80, 24, 96 = 200 (3d100)

>>3121903
Here goes...

Rolled 100, 66, 53 = 219 (3d100)

>>3121903

>>3121917
Nice 100.

>>3121917
>>3121919
That's looks like the best of the bunch.

>>3121917
sokka master of words

>>3121855
Say something like, Hey man you seen my girl? she hurt herself on the way here.

>>3121906
DC of 30 with only 3d10 would be next to impossible. I have never seen a 3d10 roll perfect 10s on qst. I have seen 3 perfect 1s which was ..... painful.

>>3121931
Was it Shinigami Savant Quest?

>>3121931
I suppose so, but three 3d100's on such a low roll seemed off.

>>3121937
no....

>>3121940
Which quest was it?

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>>3121812
You’re not going to let an opening like that go to waste. “Yeah, that’s me. Water Tribe Man.” You do your double salute fadeaway.

He guard does not seem dazzled by your display of raw coolness. “Water Tribe Man?” He snorts. “Nice try.”

Your heart sinks in your chest.

“Get in there, Water Tribe Boy,” the guard says, grinning. He pounds a fist against the wall, earthbending, and a large section of it swings open – apparently the door is just a feint. “You’re just in time.”

“Thanks, buddy,” you say, sliding through the makeshift door. “Say, you haven’t seen a little girl around here recently, have you?”

The guard gives you a knowing look. “So you heard she’d be here, huh? Yeah, she arrived a couple minutes ago. But don’t worry, you probably won’t even draw her. Try to have fun down there. Remember, it’s only broken bones.”

With that, he pounds his fist against the wall and earthbends the door shut again.

Well, you’re committed now. You follow a dark, winding staircase deep underground, and out – so far that you must have crossed under the inner wall by now. The slums Joo Dee is so desperate to pretend don’t exist must be right on top of you, but your thoughts of them are wiped away when you step into the arena. Glowing crystals growing out of the walls and ceilings illuminate a massive circular stage, which is surrounded by rows upon rows of seats, packed to the brim with dirty, scruffy looking people - the exact kind of people you haven’t seen since entering the city.

>cont.

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“Hey! You!” You’re pulled aside by a tall man with round glasses, frantically consulting a scroll. “You’re a heel, right?”

That's what the guard had called you too. You roll with it. “Yeah! Water Tribe Boy…I mean Man! Water Tribe Man!”

“Water Tribe Boy,” the man inscribes over your protests. “Taking Ji’s shtick? It’s got mileage. I’m slotting you in to the rumble. You’re number 64.” He pats you on the shoulder and walks off before you can get a word in edgewise.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” A voice booms. You look up to the stage to see a man standing on it, waving to the crowd, which falls silent as it notices him. “WELCOME ONE, WELCOME ALL…TO THE BA SING SE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!”

He waits a minute for the crowd to go wild, hollering, cheering, whistling. “FROM ALL AROUND THE EARTH KINGDOM, THE BEST AND MOST SKILLED EARTHBENDERS HAVE GATHERED TO PROVE WHICH OF THEM IS TRULY THE STRONGEST! FORGET ROCK AND ROLL! FORGET BOULDERCON! FORGET EARTH RUMBLE! TONIGHT! WE! FIGHT! FOR!”

“THE BELT!!!!!” The crowd thunders, right on cue. The announcer holds up a massive green and gold belt, glittering in the dim light.

“64 CONTESTANTS! ONLY ONE SURVIVOR!” The announcer roars. “OUR CHAMPIONS HAVE BEEN AUTOMATICALLY PUT THROUGH TO THE SECOND ROUND, BUT THE OTHERS MUST FIGHT TO PROVE THEIR WORTH! WE MUST CULL THE WEAK FROM THE HERD!”

“CULL THE WEAK!” The crowd echoes. “CULL THE WEAK!”

“What are you waiting for?” Someone behind you asks. You turn to see the same man that gave you your number. “That’s your cue!” He shoves you up some steps carved into the side of the arena – you hurry up them, still in a state of shock. You’re surrounded by what must be over fifty of the biggest, baddest looking guys you’ve ever seen – and they’re all eyeing you with noticeable distaste.

The announcer is listing off names now – Mr. Mole, The Boulder, Rabble Rumbler, Kid Seismic. Each is met with applause, though some more than others, until he reaches you.

“WATER TRIBE BOY!”

Boos. At least you’re pretty sure you know what “heel” means now. This would be so awesome if you weren’t about to get so murdered. When the announcer finally finishes reading off the names, he raises one hand into the air. “THREE!” He bellows. “TWO! ONE! RUUUUUUUU-”

>Nope right out of here
>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)

>>3121984
>>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)

>>3121984
>DC 90
my sides

>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)
Time to DIE

>>3121984
>>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>3121984

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>3121984

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>3121984
>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)
OHFUCKYEAH

MAXIMUM HAM

MAXIMUM GLORY

>>3122008
>>3122018
>>3122019
You're supposed to wait until he calls the vote my guys.

>>3121984
>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)
“Ok Sokka! You can do this! Be the Heel! They expect you to be a coward! Hit and run tactics! You don’t have to brute force this! Just have fun! But still fight!”

>>3122020
Oh, well then,

MAXIMUM HAM AWAITS!

>>3121984
>Nope right out of here
We do have more important things to do. Like rescue girls.

>>3121984
>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

>>3121984
>UUUUUUUUUUMBLE! (Combat check DC 90)
MORTAL KOMBAAAT!!!

>>3122037
It's Toph man, it's Toph. And she does not need rescuing. At least from here that is.

>>3122020
it was 4 to nil, now 7 to 1
I just rolled

>>3122059
Yes, but Sokka doesn't know that.

>>3122060
Still wait for the call.

>>3122061
But that guard did mention a girl being here and this is where our trail led. If she's anywhere she's here.

>>3122062
He gave a DC

>>3122061
There's some metagaming going on. It's to be expected, it's a well known world.

>>3122066
Anon... there will likely be choices in the future where multiple choices have differing DCs.

>>3121951
I honestly don't remember, it was one of the many that died and I didn't keep the links in my qst notepad.

>>3122020
>>3122060
>>3122062
I'd prefer if we could wait until after the vote is called to roll, since the outcome of the rolls could potentially impact the vote.

That being said, uuuuumble is clearly going to win. I won't count the rolls since they were pre-call, which is fine since you guys just missed the DC anyway.

Can I get 3 1d100 rolls?

The highest of 3 rolls is taken
90-100 is a crit success
1-10 is a crit fail, and has priority over any rolls that aren't crit successes.

DC is 90

Rolled 30, 63, 20 = 113 (3d100)

>>3122071
Check my digits

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>3122071
nat 1 incoming

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>3122071
I got this anons don't worry

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>3122071
“Water-Rang toss!” Go!

>>3122073
Woops, wrong dice. They were all shit anyways.

>>3122074
Saved, we aren't beaten into a hospital bed.

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>3122071

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>3122071

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>3122071
What wut? 1d100?

>>3122061
I didn't realize you were voting in character. My bad anon.

>>3122071
Sokka should occasionally shout “waterbending” when throwing boomerangs!

>>3122073
I'll take the first roll when something like this happens
>>3122074
>>3122075
These two are the next rolls. 88 - very close. Will get next update up ASAP.

>>3122080
Noooooooooooo

>>3122094
Sorry guys, I'm heading out. Next update will most likely be up tonight, but not for a while.

>>3122142
Fug

I actually prefer Sokka loses like this, it's good learning without being weirdly competent.

>>3122358
Ditto

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>>3121984
“UUUUUUUUUMBLE!”

Immediately the arena begins to tip back and forth. You pinwheel your arms for balance and just barely avoid falling – and then just barely avoid being dragged down by one of your less lucky neighbors. On the other side of the ring, a huge, sumo type is jumping up and down, each landing moving the arena like a see-saw.

Benders. Moon-damned, all of them.

You scramble in towards the center of the ring, as the tipping begins to settle down. You dodge a thrown rock, sidestep a charging competitor, and generally just dance your way through the chaos.

Fights are breaking out everywhere, half a dozen rocks whiz by your head every second, there’s too much going on. You need a buddy. You need –

“Foreign alliance!” You shout, sprinting off towards a competitor in a dark red cloak, sporting a topknot and waving a fire nation flag. It’s a little stereotypical, but you probably don’t look much better. “Foreign alliance! Death to the Earth Kingdom!”

Fire Nation Man’s eyes widen, but he seems to get your meaning because he puts his back to yours, letting each of you cover 180 degrees. You pull a boomerang out and throw it. “Waterbending!” You shout. “Waterbending punch!”

The dull end of your waterbending punch conks some poor guy in the back of the head and sends him tumbling off the stage. The crowd boos. “That’s not waterbending!” Somebody shouts.

You respond by sticking your tongue out at them.

“Look, ‘Water Tribe Boy,’” Fire Nation Man says, planting the butt of his flag in someone’s gut. “I’m willing to work with the theme here, but we’ve got to have a talk about brand infringement.” Before he can get another word in however, he’s launched high into the sky by a pillar that appears directly under his feet.

“Fire Nation Maaaaaaan!” You cry, watching him land hard in the upper levels of the crowd. “You will be avenged, brother!”

But there’s no time for more theatrics. An old man the announcer had introduced as “The Artillery” is firing off boulders at you, and you’re forced jump back and forth to dodge his incoming missiles. You move left, then right, the leap off the back of another competitor, turn a flip midair, and knock him off the edge with a picture perfect double flip.

Some of the crowd actually applauds. You do a little bow before realizing they’re applauding for the Boulder.

Mr. Mole bursts from the ground beneath you, but your reflexes let you duck out of the way. With nothing stopping his momentum, he flies off the platform and lands amongst the crowd.

>cont.

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>>3122906
The ground begins to rumble beneath you. You turn to face Kid Seismic, who is actually probably older than you. He raises his clenched fists towards the ceiling. “Interloper!” He screams. “Tremble before the fury of Kid Seismic! My control over the very ground beneath your feet is so complete that-”
You chuck a boomerang at him. “Waterbending waterang!” Kid Seismic takes your waterang to the chin and boasts no more.

You hear cheers and immediately look up, only to see a mountain of physical perfection headed towards you.

“THE BOULDER!” The crowd screams. “THE BOULDER!”

The Boulder flexes in response. You do not know if you’ve ever felt love before, but if you have you have felt it for the Boulder.

“The Boulder is displeased with your presence in the ring!” The Boulder shouts. The fact that he refers to himself I the third person should annoy you, but somehow it only makes you love him more. “He will remove you by force of…AAAAAAAARMS!” His biceps, each several larger than your head, bulge.

“You are so cool,” you say as he wraps one massive hand around your throat and lifts you into the air. “Can you sign something for me?”

The Boulder, unamused by your adoration, walks over to the edge of the ring. When you realize what is happening – when you realize he’s about to toss you someplace you’ll never get that signature – you wrap your legs around his arm.

“Mr. The Boulder!” You shout, straining against his prodigious strength. “Sir! Just one autograph!”

“The Boulder does not give autographs!” The Boulder shouts. He shakes his arm up and down, but you refuse to be dislodged. “Let…The Boulder…throw you!”

He heaves, but as his forward foot comes down you strain mightily and hold on with all your strength. The shift in weight throws The Boulder off balance, and the next thing you know you’re in a heap on the ground outside the pit. Somewhere high above you, a bell rings.

“THAT’S IT FOLKS!” The announcer bellows. “WITH WATER TRIBE BOY AND THE BOULDER ELIMINATED, WE HAVE OUR WINNERS! ONLY THEY WILL PROCEED TO THE ELIMINATION ROUND!”

*

The Boulder’s elimination shocks you to your core, but it doesn’t break you.

To your surprise, you actually have a few spectators come up and congratulate you after the match. Sure, most of them just want to make sure that you understand the difference between waterbending and throwing a boomerang, but a few of them really seemed to enjoy your performance. It’s only after the last of your fans leave that you even remember why you’re here – to find the kidnapped little girl, the runaway. You cast your gaze up and down the stands, but its only when your eyes drift to the ring that you find her.

“IN THIS BOUT,” the Announcer says, “RABBLE RUMBLER VS. THE BLIND BANDIT!”

>cont.

>>3122912
>In which I should be more careful about how I break up posts

The Blind Bandit is a little girl.

Your mouth drops open. Logically, you know that since The Blind Bandit wasn’t in the Rumble, she must be a “champion” – but the thought doesn’t really connect in your had. What is she doing up there? The Rabble Rumbler is three or four times her size. Did you rescue her from kidnapping only to witness a suicide?

>Confront the girl after her bout
>Confront the girl at the end of the tournament

>>3122920
>After the bout
She gone earthbend away if she can

>>3122920
>Confront the girl at the end of the tournament

>>3122920
>Confront the girl after her bout

>>3122960
True
>>3122920
Please change >>3122966
To
>Confront the girl after her bout

>>3122920
>>Confront the girl after her bout
Don't let her escape!
Also that bumbling, lucking his way through all those fights felt very true to the show and the character. Was entertaining as fuck.

>>3122920
>Confront the girl after her bout

>>3122920
>>Confront the girl at the end of the tournament

>>3122920
>Confront the girl after her bout
>>3122976
Absolutely I enjoyed it alot.

Not sure if we decided on this but can we water bend? We're a secret water bender right?
We are just really bad at water bending so we don't admit to being one.

Just caught up, this has been a fun ride so far

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>>3122920
The match ends with someone being carried off in a stretcher – but it’s not the Blind Bandit.

You swear you’ve never seen anyone move like that little girl. Your dad talked a lot about predicting your opponent’s movements, but the Blind Bandit seemed to take that advice to a whole different level, sometimes dodging attacks before they were even thrown. From the way she’s cheered as she leaves the ring, you gather she’s one of the crowd favorites. Still, when she sits, the crowd and other competitors give her a wide berth.

Reason would dictate that there’s a basis for that berth, but you didn’t get this far by being rational about things. You take the steps two at a time and seat yourself next to the Blind Bandit.

The girl doesn’t react.

“So,” you say. “The Blind Bandit.”

“And you’re…” the girl thinks for a moment. “Boy Boomerang.”

“No, but that might be better,” you admit. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on here?”

The girl shrugs. “I’m kickin’ butt, I’m takin’ names. Pretty self-explanatory.”

“Oh yeah, very easy to follow,” you say, nodding. “Except for the part where you’re a little girl! Who got kidnapped in the street! And then ran away after I rescued you!”

The girl slams her foot into the ground, and a pillar of rock strikes you solidly in the forehead. “Keep it down!” She hisses, her eyes not leaving the ring. “You want everyone in the whole arena to know my business?”

“Well that’s not an answer.”

The girl glowers at you. “I oughta pound you.” She holds up one finger. “So I’m a little girl. So what? I’m a champion, and you didn’t even make it past the rumble.” A second finger. “And you didn’t rescue me. I had the whole situation under control!”

“Under control?” You ask, your voice still loud. At the girl’s glare, you drop into a whisper. “You were tied up in a bag!”

“I was biding my time. Waiting and listening for the perfect moment to strike.” She sniffs contemptuously. “Do they not teach you that down in iceboonies?”

“My village is a triumph of civilization in the most inhospitable lands known to man!”

The girl makes a face at you, pulling one eyelid down and sticking out her tongue. It gives you the first real good look at her – her eyes are glassy and unfocused.

She really is blind.

>cont.

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>>3123537
The Blind Bandit really is blind (not to mention a girl). How does that even work?

“Do you know how hard it was to even get here?” She asks. “First I had to convince my parents that I even wanted to come back to this stupid city. Then I had to make sure they got tickets to the opera. But then the opera singer eats a bad clam, and suddenly my mom wants us to go to the salon.” She groans. “But then the kidnapping happened! And I knew all I had to do was wait until he took my somewhere deserted, beat him up and head here! My luck really turned around.”

“And you’re not the least bit concerned that somebody wants to kidnap you.”

The girl laughs, and it’s the most feminine noise she’s made since you’ve met her. “I’m Toph Beifong, and I’m blind. I’ve had people wanting to kidnap me since before I could walk.”

Beifong. The name rings a bell for reasons you can’t quite place. Then it hits you. “Like the Beifong Library at the University?”

Toph makes the face again. “Duuuuuh.”

“Just great,” you mutter, throwing up your hands. “So I did all that for nothing?”

“Oh, not for nothing. I’m sure somebody enjoyed your boomerang show, Boy Boomerang.” Toph laughs again, but then her expression turns deadly serious. She touches hand to the seat for a moment of quiet intensity. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“Did they follow you?” Toph asks, jumping to her feet. “Did they follow you here?”

Your blood runs cold. There’s only one thing people mean when they say ‘they’ like that.

The Dai Li.

As if on cue, a dozen Dai Li agents drop from the ceiling and land in the ring. You can see more landing in the crowd, raising large barriers to serve as makeshift prisons.

Toph takes off at a run, towards the edge of the arena. She, at least, seems to have a plan. Given how strong she is, you have little doubt she could get the both of you out–

But before you follow her you notice a commotion in the stands not far from you. A girl with auburn hair and steely blue eyes is taking on two Dai Li agents hand to hand and giving them a run for their money, shouting at the people near her to get clear.

Suki.

>Follow Toph
>Help Suki

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>>3123543
>>Follow Toph

>>3123543
>Follow Toph

>>3123543
>>Follow Toph
SORRY, NOT SORRY SUKI.

>>3123543
>>Help Suki
I think she's had her ass kicked enough for one day

>>3123543
>Follow Toph
Sticking around will only incriminate everyone, and Suki/Sokka is not really going to get much done if they have to run away from ba sing se.

>>3123543
>>Help Suki
We either help or next time we see her will be post four lights treatment.

>>3123543
>>Follow Toph

>>3123543
>Help Suki

>>3123543
>Help Suki
It'd be a bitch move leaving her on her own

>>3123543
>Help Suki
>Yell for Toph to come help you.

Think I'm taking off for the night guys. Feel free to keep voting, I'll call it and update in the morning.

>>3121000
>>3123236
>>3122976
>>3123236
I appreciate the support, thanks for letting me know you're enjoying.
>>3121655
>Secret waterbender
The idea was floated around. I'm not 100% against it but I'm leaning towards no since the Waterbender vote didn't win. Willing to revisit the issue in the future if there's a strong desire to do so however.

>>3123722
inb4 firebender from an ancestor

>>3123543
>Follow Toph
Sorry Suki but this time Toph is more important

>>3123543
>Follow Toph

>>3123722
Thanks for running dude.

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>>3123543
You glance towards Suki, torn by indecision, but then you realize that even if you did charge in to save her, boomerangs flashing, all you’d accomplish is getting you both captured. Instead you tear off after Toph. She’s fast, but you have much longer legs and catch up with her just as she earthbends herself an escape tunnel.

She begins to close the tunnel, but you manage to dive in just before the entrance slams shut. The two of you are left in complete and utter darkness.

“Toph?” You ask, groping blindly in the darkness. Your fingers find her head, and pat it twice.

She knocks your hand away. “What do you think you’re doing?” She asks. “I didn't ask for any tagalongs.”

You hear her earthbend again, extending the tunnel, and follow the noise. “Look, that was a madhouse back there. It’s better if we stick together. There’s strength in a pack.”

“I’m more of a lone wolfbat, thanks.” You stumble over a rock and faceplant into the ground, and she sighs. “Come on,” she says, grabbing your wrist in her hand. “Your bumbling is pissing me off.”

The two of you make relatively time, Toph letting go of your wrist only to extend the tunnel. The darkness doesn’t seem to bother her, which makes sense, but you’re still not sure how she does what she does.

“I see through earthbending,” Toph explains when you voice the question. “I sense vibrations in the ground, and it lets me know where everything is. I don’t have to see with my eyes, because I can see with my feet.”

“That’s…amazing.”

“I know,” Toph says, smug satisfaction practically dripping from her tone. Then she gets serious. “But it’s also a secret, okay? Up there I’m not the Blind Bandit, I’m just…Toph Beifong, helpless little blind girl.”

“That’s got to be hard. Why would you do that to yourself?”

Toph doesn’t answer – instead she yanks her hand away, and doesn’t grab your wrist again. You’re forced to feel out the ground ahead of you with your feet before taking a step, reducing your progress to a near crawl.

Luckily, there’s not much further to go before you reach the surface. Toph is waiting for you, tapping her foot. “I’ve put us right outside my family’s house in the city,” she says once you reach her. “I’ll need you to guide me when we get topside. Just tell my parents you found me in an alley or something. They’ll be so happy they’ll probably give you anything you want.” She deposits the two of you up into some kind of garden, then points you in the right direction, winding one arm through yours.

You lead her up to the house she pointed out. It’s a magnificent thing, big enough to fit a whole village, and the gates bear the symbol of a winged boar. In a flash of insight, you recognize the insignia – you saw ships with it printed on their sails near your home. The Beifongs must do trading down by the southern end of the Earth Kingdom.

>cont.

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>>3124306
You’re stopped by a pair of guards, but upon seeing Toph they let you in without a word. By the time you reach the main house, you can hear a heated argument, and when you push open the door you see a richly dressed man and woman arguing with a handful of Dai Li agents.

“-Cannot be found?” The man shouts. “She is a little girl, lost and helpless and alone, and you are supposed to be the King’s most capable men! If you-” He stops short upon seeing you and Toph, then rushes to embrace the girl. He’s followed quickly by the woman – his wife, Toph’s mother.

The Dai Li agents look at you with surprise, and then their expressions harden. “Lord Beifong,” one of them says, stepping forward. “This boy-”

“I know who he is,” Lord Beifong says, drawing up to his full height. “Sokka, son of Hadoka, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.”

It’s close enough that you don’t bother to correct him. Foreigners rarely understand the intricacies of your culture. “I found Toph in an alley,” you say, quick to fill the silence. “She told me she lived here, so I was more than happy to show her the way.”

“Be that as it may,” the Dai Li says, “Sokka abandoned his escort, and is wanted by the Grand Secretariat for-”

“Wanted?” Lord Beifong growls. “The boy has rescued my daughter. A task that you and the Grand Secretariat failed spectacularly in. I will not reward him by allowing him to be dragged from my home in cuffs.” He waves a hand. “Leave us. You are no longer welcome here.”

You have never seen anyone speak to the Dai Li with anything less than reverent terror – but amazingly, the Dai Li turn to go. “This is not the end of this,” one of them warns.

“Obviously not,” Lord Beifong says. “I will be mentioning your incompetence to the King himself.” He gestures, and a guard slams a door in the Dai Li’s faces. He then turns to you. “Sokka,” he says, inclining his head – Earth Kingdom Nobles bow only to the King – “You have done my family a great service by returning Toph to us. Considering this…misunderstanding with the cultural authority, perhaps it would be best if you stayed here for the night.”

You rub the back of your neck. “I would be honored, sir. My Lord. Lord Beifong…sir.”

Lord Beifong nods, although you still have no idea which honorific is appropriate. “And of course, I would be deeply remiss if I did not offer you a reward for your aid. My daughter is priceless to me. Name a thing, and if it is within my power, I will grant it to you.”

Thoughts flicker through your head, lightning quick. The Beifongs trade on the southern end of the continent. The Beifongs are rich enough to have their name on a library. The Beifongs chastise the Dai Li and have audiences with the King.

>Ask for money
>Ask for favorable trade contracts with your tribe
>Ask for Suki to be freed
>Other?

>>3124310
>Ask for Suki to be freed

I'll go with this unless anyone has a way to break Toph out of her bird-cage?

>>3124310
>Ask for Suki to be freed
We doooooon't want Dai Li attention on water tribe trade, what with the tension with Kiyoshi Island.

>>3124361
>Ask to talk more with Toph and visit her whenever.
We don't need to free her, she can bust herself out physically. What she needs is someone to talk to, someone who can tell her about the world outside and what she would actually do if she went. Things that aren't playing around, anyway.

>>3124366
I should have been more specific, I meant a way without cutting off her ties with her family, though the chance of that is probably nill.

>>3124373
Still: someone to talk to, someone who has powerful parents and has to wrestle with expectations.

Toph doesn't need to be saved, she just needs to mature enough to save herself, in all definitions of the word.

>>3124310
>>Ask for Suki to be freed

>>3124310
>Ask for favorable trade contracts with your tribe

>>3124310
>Ask to stay for a while, to observe and learn the ways of trade from a master like Lord Beifong

>>3124310
>Ask for favorable trade contracts with your tribe

>>3124310
>Other?
Ask for nothing. We acted not for a reward, but because it was the right thing to do.

>>3124310
>>Ask for Suki to be freed

>>3124310
>Ask for Suki to be freed

>>3124310
>Other?
Maybe have toph be part of the trading with our tribes so she can have some freedom?

We put on a "water-bending" show back at the arena....

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>>3124310
“Well sir, as it happens, I have a friend here in the city. I think she’s been captured by the Dai Li, and you’re the only person I’ve ever seen that’s willing to stand up to them. If you could arrange for her to be freed, it would mean a great deal to me.”

Lord Beifong strokes is moustache. “I am currently quite cross with the Grand Secretariat,” he admits. “I had planned other concessions…but the Dai Li are loathe to give up their prisoners. It will be a suitable punishment. What is your…friend’s…name?”

“Suki, sir. Suki of Kyoshi Island.”

Lord Beifong nods. “You will accompany me to the palace first thing tomorrow.”

You bow. “Also, sir, I don’t mean to impose on your generosity, but I would appreciate the chance to visit Toph again. We got to know each other a little on the walk back.” Toph stiffens, but doesn’t object.

“Well…” Lord Beifong frowns. “Toph is delicate. But if it wouldn’t strain her too much, you may visit her again. We will not remain in the city for long, but if you find the time, it can be done.”

*

You leave for the palace at dawn, with Lord Beifong and a dozen of his guards.

“I do not expect trouble,” Lord Beifong explains as you make your way through the street, “but it is said that if you wish to step into a pit mink vipers, you should wear heavy boots.”

“Very wise, sir.”

“The Dai Li forget themselves, Sokka. They are guardians of the city’s culture, and yet they ignore the greatest aspect of our culture, the respect for one’s betters. The royal bureaucracy is a necessity, for a Kingdom of such size, but I dislike the inflated sense of self worth it gives to its cogs…this Grand Secretariat chief amongst them. The seventh son of some merchant, practically a peasant, and yet he seeks to give commands to me? To my family?” Lord Beifong shakes his head. “I will not have it. There is a natural order to things and, he spits in the face of it."

You nod, unsure as to how much you actually agree. The Southern Water tribe favors competence over bloodlines – but this is exactly why you came to Ba Sing Se, to learn other systems and perspectives.

You have been to the Upper Ring before, but only briefly, visiting minor officials. The buildings here are not houses so much as compounds, and men and women walk freely, without fear of crime. You can still see Dai Li though – they lurk in shadows and in gates, keeping a careful eye out for those who might oppose the will of the Earth King. Or is the Grand Secretariat?

The Royal palace is a massive structure with its own walls, guarded no only by Dai Li, but by heavily armored Royal Guards. They bow as Lord Beifong passes, giving him no trouble.

>cont.

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>>3124620
Within the Royal palace, where nearly every inch of the walls are decorated in gold or silver or jade, you are greeted by a balding man in a gold and black robe, flanked by over a dozen Dai Li.

“Lord Beifong,” he says, though he does not bow. “You honor us with your presence.”

“I would prefer to honor someone who is worthy of it, Long Feng,” Lord Beifong says. “I seek an audience with the King.”

“The King is quite busy at the moment, ensuring that the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se remains-”

“Do not tell me the King is busy when I know he’s only playing with that bear of his,” Lord Beifong says (though he clearly means an armadillo bear, or a platypus bear, or a skunk bear). “It is my birthright to receive my King’s audience. If he is busy he may tell me so himself, but I will not be cowed by a paper pusher.”

The insults don’t seem to rattle Long Feng much. “Of course,” he says instead. He raises a hand and several of the Dai Li march off. “It will only be a moment.”

Lord Beifong sniffs. “Good. I must have words with you as well. You have in your custody a…” he looks at you.

“Suki of Kyoshi island.”

“Yes, of course. Her island is near my lands, and I am sponsoring her petition to join our Kingdom. You will release her to me.”

Long Feng smiles. “The envoy from Kyoshi? I fear you are mistaken, Lord Beifong. She is not in our custody.”

“She is. You will release her,” Lord Beifong repeats.

“My Lord!” One of the Dai Li says, appearing from nowhere. “The King is ready to see you.”

Lord Beifong nods. “We are not finished with this conversation,” he tells Long Feng. “Sokka, remain here.” He marches off with all but two of his guards.

Long Feng remains behind as well. “Sokka, is it?” He asks. “It is so good to finally meet you.” He closes the distance and bows, so that he may whisper quietly enough only you can hear. “If you truly wish to see your friend freed, meet me in my study, alone. I will not negotiate in front of Lao’s lackeys.” Then he stands and departs through a door to the right.

Lao? You look to the guards Lord Beifong left behind. It seems Long Feng is not so courteous when there’s nobody to hold him accountable. Still, his offer rings in your ears…

>Go meet Long Feng
>Stay and wait for Lord Beifong