That night was actually quiet. With how Meihua had been looking at me after the Mahjong game I had half-expected some kind of attempt at sabotage in the middle of the night. An attempt to keep me awake all night, or diuretic in my morning tea, something humiliating like that. Not having to deal with some kind of mischief in the middle of the night was a pleasant surprise, honestly. My good mood lasted into the morning as I bathed and dressed with no incidents of ruined clothing or the shampoo being replaced with hair removal creme or anything like that. Koni looked at me oddly as I kept expecting something to happen through my entire morning routine. I had to explain to him about the Mahjong game and what Meihua was usually like, at least in my limited sample size of interactions with her.
"Are you sure you aren't just being paranoid based on one bad interaction?" Asked my Water Tribe associate.
"You don't know what Meihua is like, Koni. I tell you, that woman can be as troublesome as a fox spirit when she feels like it." I replied.
Koni just gave me a doubtful look and said, "If you say so."
As we headed downstairs for breakfast we could hear the morning calls of the mountain crane-eagle echo throughout the town. The birds often hunted woodland rodents and fish in mountain streams at this time of day. The long, trilling calls of the avian hunters helped add to the ambiance as Koni and I had a breakfast of rice, baozi, and da hong pao tea. I half expected to bite into something foul as Meihua's revenge, but I didn't.
Once Koni and I had finished breakfast, we headed off to the rear of the hotel, where Akla was being kept in the stables. Koni had insisted we take her with us around town. He didn't want her cooped up in the stables all day. We found her munching on a fish that had been left out for her by the stablehands. The other animals in the stable, 2 ostrich horses and a shirshu, were giving her a wide berth. I guess she still smelled like a predator to them.
"Akla, come on girl, we're going out!" Called Koni.
Akla looked at Koni, then back to the half-eaten fish, then back at Koni, before giving him sad puppy eyes.
Koni just rolled his eyes and said, "Sure, finish breakfast."
Akla immediately scarfed down the last half of fish in a few chomping bites before moving over to Koni and licking his face with her fish-smelling tongue. I suppressed a wince at the sight, but Koni seemed to be used to it, as he just laughed it off and patted Akla on the side of the neck. Together, the 3 of us left the stables and headed out into Yunming Town.
"So, where to first?" Asked Koni.
"First we find a blacksmith to get you a proper weapon. Your water tribe stuff is fine, but it's all wood, bone, and stone. The fire nation armors its troops in steel, and if you want to do consistent damage to a properly armored opponent, you'll need a steel weapon." I replied.
"I don't know. Back in the south pole, everyone uses these kinds of weapons to hunt." Hedged Koni.
"That's cause the fleet you all sent out took most of the steel weapons with them, and what didn't go with them got taken in fire nation raids." I replied.
"How do you know that?" Asked Koni.
"I've worked with Water Tribals before. Met a mercenary waterbender named Nutak a year or so ago. We fought a couple of skirmishes with fire nation cavalry. He mentioned the situation down south a couple of times. Besides, war isn't like hunting. What works on a hunt won't necessarily translate to fighting a sapient opponent that uses weapons and bending." I said.
Koni gave a reluctant nod at that and we set off down Jade Street in search of a blacksmith who'd have some good gear. I briefly entertained the idea of getting Koni some thicker armor while we were there. His leather armor would be good for turning aside a glancing blow from a sword or for stopping an arrow, but anything heavier would be a problem. The Naginata the fire nation cavalry liked to use would go through that Water Tribe gear like paper. I thought better of that plan after the impracticality of it made itself clear. Armor wasn't like weapons where you could pick one up off a rack and be good. It needed precise measurements and to be forged for the wearer if it was to be good to use for extended duty. At least any good armor did. The Earth Kingdom Army had been pumping out a lot of one size fits all brigandines lately to keep up with the meat grinder of the war but those weren't good for anything but conscripts that were expected to die in their first few engagements. That meant at least a week of fittings and another week of waiting till the armor was finished. No, that could wait for another time.
As we turned off Jade Street and onto Silver Way, we were drawn towards the ringing of hammers. Sandwiched between a dressmaker's shop and a Jeweler's shop was a sign with an anvil painted on it and the words 'Iron Alley' written underneath. The opening to the alley was narrower than the street and framed by the taller buildings to left and right. The alley was shaded compared to the brightly painted shops on either side. However, the metallic smell of iron and the ringing of hammers pounding metal enticed me to the mouth of the alley.
"You can't possibly be thinking of going down there." Frowned Koni.
"Come on, aren't you the least bit curious?" I asked.
"What if we get attacked? Dark alleys are traditionally where muggers hang out, right?" Asked Koni.
"Don't tell me you can't handle a few back-alley thieves?" I grinned.
"Ok, point taken, but Akla can't fit." Protested Koni.
"So, she's trained, yeah? She should be fine to wait here." I retorted.
Koni grumbled and bit out, "Fine, but if this turns out poorly, I'm picking the next place we go!"
"Sure. We can do that." I shrugged. My instincts were screaming at me to go down the alley. Somehow I knew that this was where we wanted to go.
"Akla, stay here, girl. We'll be right back." Said Koni to his large furry companion.
Akla just slumped down by the mouth of the alley and began snoozing in the morning light. Thus situated, Koni and I proceeded down the alleyway. As we entered the alleyway, the sounds of the city grew more muffled, drowned out by the clanging of hammers. The glow of dawn was replaced by the cherry-red glow of iron being worked on a forge. A humming noise resounded off the now cavern-like walls of the alleyway. My senses were twigged that something spiritual was up. I got the same sense whenever a bender was practicing their art, or from my chi while manipulating it, except instead of being localized to one person, or inside of me, it was all around me. A prickling of the skin, a flash of sensation on a phantom 6th sense. Then Koni and I walked past the foreboding alley and out into an open forge. There we found an older man, seated next to a forge still glowing with red hot coals. The man had his torso bare and wore only a pair of shanku pants and shoes. He had wispy hair and a beard down to his navel and was humming a nameless tune while fanning himself with a fan made of feathers.
"Ah, Chen Zhen, I was expecting you, though not perhaps so soon." Grinned the old man.
"I don't like this. We went from outside to inside without ever actually going inside." Said Koni.
"I know, it's like we entered the Spirit World, but I thought that just walking from one realm into another was supposed to be impossible in this day and age." I replied.
"Oh, it's not as impossible as some might wish it to be. Not if certain conditions are arranged." Grinned the old man.
"Which would make this?" I asked.
"A temporary pocket of the Spirit World linked with the Human World. As I said, I've been expecting you." Replied the Old Man.
"Forgive me, it seems I have misplaced my manners. I am Chen Zhen, and this is my associate Koni of the Southern Water Tribe." I replied, suddenly being very polite as not to anger what was clearly an ancestor spirit of some kind.
"Hmm. You are and you are not Chen Zhen. I see that now that I look at you." Replied the Spirit.
"Apologies, honored Spirit, but I do not follow?" I hedged. Of course, I was me, who else would I be?
"I suppose it matters little at this stage. I have something for you. It has been waiting a very long time for you. 368 years to be exact." Replied the Spirit.
"Something for me?" I asked.
"Indeed. You will need it for what lies ahead." Replied the Spirit.
The spirit stood and proceeded to walk towards a corner of the forge where weapons had been placed on racks and on shelves. He passed by racks of dao, jian, qiang, all looked made of gleaming steel and sharp enough to cut or pierce through even the armor of Elite troops. He walked past crates holding arrows of dark wood, fletched in crane and eagle feathers, with all manner of heads from iron spikes, to broad blades, and even odder tips, like bladed crescents and holed, whistling heads. He walked past a shelf full of knives of all descriptions, each with an edge so fine it seemed like it would be able to slice a single hair in half lengthwise. He walked all the way to the back of the racks.
"Ah, here it is." Said the Spirit, picking up a parcel.
When he returned to the light of the forge, he was carrying a long parcel, wrapped in dusty cloth and twine. When he unwrapped it, I beheld a Guandao with a blade made of blackened steel, the metal patterned in ripples that seemed to drink in the light. Where the blade was affixed to the haft, the metal guard was worked into the shape of an open Lion Turtle's head done in bronze. The haft itself was made of lacquered red wood wrapped in leather cord, ending in a blackened steel butt cap at the other end. It was a weapon that seemed almost sinister, intimidating in its appearance, though it was clearly crafted by a master.
"What is this?" I asked.
"It was known, many years ago, as the Lion Turtle Crescent Blade, though it has since faded from the collective memory of Mankind. Only a few old masters and scholars of history might recognize it for what it is in this day and age. It was said to have been crafted by Alchemy in the days before the Four Nations as we know them and was said to grant its wielder unusual facility over chi to enhance the power of their bending twice over. The last known wielder of this blade was a rather infamous ancestor of yours. I will refrain from saying precisely who in the presence of your new companion. Something tells me you have not told anyone your family history in quite some time." Replied the Spirit with a grin.
He was right about that. The last time I had told anyone about my family. . .bad things had happened shortly after. Best to push on past that line of questioning fast.
"I am no bender." I pointed out, deftly changing the subject.
"No. No, you are not. I am quite interested in seeing how the capabilities of the Lion Turtle Crescent Blade adapt to that situation. Perhaps you will find your flashes of intuition grant you true foresight or your extraordinary luck enhanced to more absurd levels. Perhaps it will simply do nothing for you beyond being a master-crafted weapon. Alchemy is a subtle and mysterious thing, mercurial even. It is a lost art in the Human World these days. I will be watching how you cope with future challenges with great interest." Grinned the Spirit, taking my change of subject and running with it.
"You have my thanks, honored spirit." I replied with a respectful bow.
"Yeah, great. We should probably go now, I still need the weapons you wanted me to have after all, and it's probably best not to push our luck with spirits." Whispered Koni to me.
"Indeed, your time here grows quite short indeed. I believe you know the way out." Intoned the Spirit.
With one last bow, Koni and I turned about and headed back the way we came. The tingling sensation I felt when entering through the boundary realm to arrive at the Spirit Forge was multiplied twice over as we left. Almost as if the very realm itself was telling us to leave immediately. Soon enough, we arrived back outside on the streets of Yunming Town, the sensation passing like a fading dream. When we turned around, Iron Alley, its sign, and the foreboding entrance had vanished. A mirage in the Si Wong Desert, replaced by a normal alleyway between two stores. Akla looked up at my bewildered face from where she was huddled down on the sidewalk, tilting her head in question. I could almost believe the whole thing had been a daydream, except that I still carried the Dragon Turtle Crescent Blade with me, solid as anything and real as a heart attack.
After that whole experience, finding a normal blacksmith for Koni was a bit anticlimactic. There were a number of them dotted along Silver Way and the adjacent Golden Boulevard. We picked up a full quiver of 30 arrows with normal, steel, heads for his bow, a knife in the local style to replace his jawblade, and an iron rod to replace his warclub. All that set us back 7 gold Liang to get quality goods leaving us with 12 gold Liang and 4 silver Ban in our war chest. I was tempted to try and find an Ostrich Horse trader and pick up a mount for myself so I didn't have to ride concubine on Akla to our next job but decided against it since it wasn't likely I'd find a quality Ostrich Horse this far up in the mountains.
By the time we were finished with shopping around for prices on weapons, it was around an hour past noon, and Koni and I made our way back towards Fire Ferret Street we would stop for some food and then head on down Fire Ferret Street to the Review Board Office to pick up a job. Lunch was spicy beef noodles and oolong tea with another fish for Akla. Thankfully the prices here were not as extortionate as in Full Moon Bay and we only had to pay 4 silver Ban for the whole fish and around 8 copper Tóng for noodles and tea for 2. By the time we were ready to head to the Review Board Office, it was a little past 2 after noon.
When we arrived we found that most of the decent job postings had been taken by a sudden influx of mercenaries being lead by a Kyoshi Warrior. Meihua had finally wreaked her vengeance on our job prospects while we were otherwise occupied. The only job openings were piddling shit like patrols of the mountains, jobs for more than 2 people, or dangerous jobs likely to take us into harm's way.
"Damn Meihua." I muttered.
"What do you want to do?" Asked Koni.
"The smart thing would be to take a patrol job and try again later. It doesn't pay super well, only 2 Ban a person for a daily patrol, but it should be safer. At worst we're likely to run into hostile wildlife and given our capabilities, I'd put good odds on us being able to kill whatever we come across, or at least outrun it and continue the patrol." I said.
"That's not very exciting." Frowned Koni.
"It's not about being exciting, it's about the fact that those jobs won't get you the experience you need fighting an actual thinking opponent, which was the whole point of taking a job closer to the front." I said.
"Well that leaves the dangerous ones, doesn't it? I think we can handle one of those. What do we have?" Asked Koni.
"An attack on a Fire Nation supply convoy heading from the coast to the garrison of the occupied town of Hubei just west of the Si Wong Desert, a recon mission to the Great Divide to find out why the outpost there went dark, and a dispatch run to General Fong's Fortress." I replied.
"Dispatch Runs don't sound too dangerous." Argued Koni.
"General Fong's Fortress is the last Earth Kingdom outpost in the Hu Xin Provinces that hasn't been conquered by the Fire Nation. It's been cut off from command since almost before I was born, only surviving due to its ridiculous fortifications, self-sufficiency, and the fact that General Fong is a beast of an earthbender who could stop most determined attacks cold. A Dispatch run there is as good as a suicide mission for the two of us. We're not taking that one." I replied, shutting that course of action down immediately.
"Alright, well what about the other 2?" Asked Koni.
"An attack on a supply caravan sounds more doable than recon to the great divide. If the great divide has gone dark, that means that we'd have to do recon in that terrain without a guide. It's an unnecessary risk that we don't want to take." I said.
"So let's do that then." Said Koni.
"Agreed." I replied, bellying up to the mission desk.
The secretary manning the mission desk was one of those rear-echelon types. Not the kind that had seen combat and maybe lost a limb or been crippled and had to retire from active service, but someone you just knew only joined the Review Board Staff because it paid better than low-level administrative work for the Earth Kingdom. He was rail-thin, with a hook nose and a pair of wireframe spectacles, his yellow robes tried to cover for the fact that he barely had any visible muscle mass, but just wound up looking a size too big on him. When he handed us the mission dossier and we signed the roster for taking the mission out, he gave us this look. Like he was doubtful that we'd be able to get the job done with just 2 non-benders. That was only confirmed when he spoke.
"You do know that there is likely to be at least 2 firebenders with this supply convoy, yes?" He asked with a reedy voice.
"Of course. Heading to a territory so close to the front, I'd be surprised if there weren't." I said.
"And niether you nor your partner are benders?" He asked.
"No." I replied.
"Your funeral. You do know the review board won't be held liable for deaths on the job, yes?" He asked.
"How long have you been working here?" I asked.
"Only a few weeks since I transferred from the Town Council. Why?" He replied.
"You're a greenhorn, that explains it." I snorted.
"I beg your pardon?" Asked the Secretary.
"We'll come back having completed the job and not died. While we're gone, I'd pull up my review board file if I were you. You might find it informative." I grinned.
"I doubt that." He said, before turning back to his paperwork.
I just snorted and headed back to Koni with the mission dossier.
"What was that about?" Asked Koni.
"Just normal pro-bending bias. The guy's a greenhorn, he's only been here a few weeks. That clearly wasn't enough time to lose that bias. When we come back victorious, I'll bet you 2 Ban he won't believe it." I shrugged.
Koni just looked back at the guy for a few seconds before turning back to me and shaking his head. "No bet." He replied.
From there, we headed back to the Lucky Jackalope to go over the mission dossier and do some planning.
Tomorrow, we would head out on our first mission as partners. . .