Chapter 4 – The Cold North

The air was cold and the wind was bitter as the small, sail powered craft made its way into the northern waters. Icebergs and snow covered islands had become common the further they travelled and it signalled that their long journey was coming to end.

Atka was stood at the back of the boat, on the tiller; ready to change the course of the ship should a piece of ice float by. He was now wearing his thick fur lined coat, something he hadn't done since he left his home almost 2 months ago.

At the other end of the boat Akeme was sat down wrapped in a cloak, she wasn't as used to the cold as Atka, and she used a small lantern to give her some warmth.

Atka called over to her, "Akeme! I think we'll be there soon so keep an eye out for any boats or signs of life"

Groaning slightly, Akeme stood up and adjusted the cloak around her to ensure no skin was open the elements. He leant on the side of the boat and observed the horizon; all she could see was floating ice and the cold ocean. She had never experienced a place so desolate and devoid of life as is and she wondered to herself how anyone could live in such a place. Yet Atka seemed so at home here, he barely flinched when they had to navigate through the icebergs the afternoon before and he hadn't complained about the temperature once. Akeme sighed, she wasn't used to being so far away from home, especially in a place like this.

Just as she was beginning to get frustrated about not finding the tribe she heard Atka exclaiming excitedly, "There it is!" he said enthusiastically.

Akeme looked out and as they went around a peninsula she could see a huge white wall in front of them. It was a magnificent sight, a sheer white wall that stood at least 30 foot into the air upon which stood a number of watchtowers. Behind the wall was a large city surrounded by huge cliffs that kept the Water Tribe stronghold safe on all sides.

As the boat approached the wall a group of waterbenders on the top of the wall sunk a section into the water and allowed the boat to pass into a lock section of the Water Tribe defences.

Akeme turned to Atka with a grin on her face, "This is amazing Atka!" she said enthusiastically, "I've always heard stories about how beautiful the city is but I never expected this" she looked out in wonderment

The expression on Atka's face seemed to disagree with his more enthusiastic girlfriend. He had concerns about the situation they were in, "Why are they letting us in?" he asked himself.

Akeme caught wind of this and stood at his side, "What's the matter?" she asked.

Atka looked up at the waterbenders stood along the walls of the lock, "The Northern Water Tribe have avoided contact with any outsiders for almost 50 years. Why are they letting us in now?"

The water slowly rose as Atka pondered these thoughts.

/

After they moved out of the lock, Atka and Akeme's boat was led along the central canal of the city and into a small dock. As they disembarked a short, grey haired man who wore neat, fur-lined robes greeted them. Two hooded men who wielded a spear each and had a fierce look in their eyes accompanied him.

The man spoke with a cheery voice, "It is an honour to welcome the Avatar to the Northern Water Tribe! I am Hotuk, advisor to Chief Amaguq" he bowed to the two new arrivals.

Atka returned a brief bow but he had other concerns, "Thank you for the welcome but I have one question"

Hotuk smiled, "Fire away Avatar" he said in his cheerful voice.

Atka stared sternly at the elderly man in front of him, "Why did you let us into the city? And how did you even know that we were coming?" he asked.

Hotuk smiled, "Oh believe me Avatar, we have our ways of knowing when people are coming. And why wouldn't we let a fellow Water Tribe member into our fine city? Especially an Avatar." He turned around and indicated for the other two to follow him. Atka stared at Hotuk through narrowed and suspicious eyes as they followed him.

/

"March on men! Keep in single file along here as we go into the valley!" Boncho's loud voice rang around the thirty warriors.

They had been travelling for three days now and they had grown weary of carrying heavy packs and marching in unforgiving terrain. Amongst the experienced soldiers was Masaru, dirty and tired, he was unused to being away from home and he felt out of place with the earthbenders who had largely ignored him.

Taking careful steps along the narrow mountain path, Masaru followed the other men down into a wooded valley. They had left the Colonies borders only the night before and were taking careful precautions now that they were in the Earth Kingdom, and much more vulnerable.

After they reached the bottom and selected a suitable campsite the men set about putting their tents up, two men to one tent, only Masaru was left to himself and he slowly unpacked his tent and rolled it out.

It wasn't long before the other soldiers had put their tents up and started to gather up firewood and get food ready. Masaru was still struggling with the tent poles and the canvas was still in a heap on the ground.

"Need some help with that?" a voice asked from over Masaru's shoulder. He turned around to see a young looking soldier standing behind him. He had a kind face and short black hair that was held in a topknot, he wore the robes of Boncho's battalion.

Masaru smiled slightly at the soldier, "I could do with some help, thanks" he handed a pole to the soldier and they soon had the tent pitched and secure.

"Thanks" he offered a hand to the soldier, "I'm Masaru"

The soldier smiled and shook the hand, "Thom, and it was my pleasure" he took a step back, "Do you want some food?" he asked

"Sure, but I haven't really been eating with the soldiers…" Masaru replied

Thom waved away those words, "Don't worry about that, just sit next to me". He walked towards the campfire where the other men were beginning to sit down and fill their bowls with soup from the cauldron.

Sitting down, Thom handed Masaru a bowl of soup and a spoon. He filled up his own bowl and proceeded to eat it. The other men were engaging in conversation amongst them but occasionally glanced at Masaru with surprise.

Eventually one of the senior officers addressed his presence, "I'm glad you could join us your highness" he said in a mocking tone. In response the other soldiers laughed quietly.

Masaru looked down, this was what he had been expecting. This was why he had avoided talking to the soldiers and why he had been eating alone since they began travelling. He wasn't a soldier and had no desire to be one, he had been forced to join up with Boncho on his mission, and he didn't even know what that mission was. The whole operation had been a closely guarded secret as Boncho was wary of enemy espionage.

"Leave him alone Huai" Thom said, "We could at least try to make him feel welcome here…" he continued to eat his soup.

Huai laughed, "He's not a soldier, he has no place here"

Thom put his bowl down, "No, he's not a soldier, and that's the exact reason why we should be more hospitable towards him" he said sternly.

Huai stood up, "We are going on a potentially dangerous mission, we can't be carrying baggage and this kid is exactly that!" he marched around the campfire, "He's nothing more than a pampered prince who's been taken far away from home. He'll be crying for his mother soon enough".

He had touched a nerve in Masaru, "Hey! I'm not just some spoilt little boy you know!" with that cry he stood up and faced the soldier, "I can fight"

With a smirk Huai turned around, "Any fool can fight, it takes skill to win one" he sat back down.

Masaru looked down but his anger rose, "I'm the grandson of Fire Lord Zuko and a descendant of Avatar Roku" he stood an angry stare at Huai, "I could take any of you if I wanted to!"

Huai smirked again and chuckled, "So volatile, this is why you can't be trusted on a mission like this" he got back to his own bowl of soup.

Masaru stayed standing and stared intently at Huai, "Can't be trusted? You don't even know what the mission is!" he said loudly

"On the contrary" Huai said with a hint of triumph, "You're the only person here who doesn't know…"

Masaru stood in shock; he glanced at Thom who looked away from him…

/

Soon Atka and Akeme reached the palace, a tall ornate building that was constructed out of ice and snow. Hotuk stopped on the courtyard at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the palace and swung his arm in around, "This is the great palace, home to the noble chief of our tribe" he walked on without another word and led Atka and Akeme up the stairs to the palace entrance.

The interior of the palace was ornate with pillars of ice holding up the roof. At the end of the room stood a platform, not dissimilar to the one in the South Pole, where the chief sat with two more people, a male and a female, who he was in deep discussion with.

Hotuk bowed respectfully to the chief, "My liege, I have brought the Avatar here as you requested" he stepped to one side and allowed Atka to go closer to the chief.

The chief was tall and had a thin face; he had an air of authority about him. He had a frown on his face and narrow eyes that were scanning Atka from top to bottom. He eventually stepped forward and gave a slight bow, "Welcome Avatar Atka, I am Chief Amaguq"

Atka carefully returned the bow, "Thank you for the welcome"

Amaguq stepped back from Atka, "May I ask why you have come here to our tribe?" he asked

Choosing his words carefully, Atka replied, "May I ask why you have let us in? You didn't even let the chief of my tribe into your city"

Amaguq chuckled slightly, "If you answer my question, I'll answer yours," he said in a monotonous voice.

The chief stood still and closely observed Atka, he wanted to decipher him and see deeper into him.

"I have come to speak with Avatar Aang…" Atka finally said after much thought.

Amaguq sat back down with the two others, "Avatar Aang has been dead for 16 years, you are proof of that. How do you plan on speaking to him Avatar?"

Atka stepped towards the platform Amaguq was sat on with fierceness in his eyes, "I made contact with him and he told me to journey here" he walked right up to the platform and locked eyes with the chief, "Where can I do this?" he asked

The chief was unmoved by Atka's stare and his deadpan expression gave nothing away, "I suggest you speak with the shaman's in the temple, I have no time for trivial matters such as this" he looked over Atka's shoulder, "Hotuk, take the Avatar and his friend to their accommodation"

Atka continued to glare at Amaguq for a few seconds before turning around and following Hotuk out of the palace. They made their way back down into the city and were led to a medium sized house just outside of the palace grounds.

They were led inside by Hotuk, "This house is reserved for revered guests, you will find food prepared" he turned to leave but stopped before exiting, "Ah yes! While you are here you are free to explore the city at your leisure, but the palace is accessible by appointment only!" he left without another word.

The house was much smaller on the inside than it looked and it only had an eating room on the ground floor with a small kitchen area. The upstairs housed two bedrooms and nothing else.

After a quick look around the two reconvened around the table on the ground floor with a dejected look in their eyes. It was Akeme who spoke first, "Why didn't you ask him?" she asked Atka.

"What?" Atka responded

Akeme leant towards him over the table, "About the Alliance? That's the reason we came up here, not just for you to talk to Aang".

Atka looked away, "I don't think that he'd fit in with us…" he replied sullenly

With a groan Akeme rested her hand on top of Atka's, "You should at least try to get him to join us, he could be important"

Atka pulled his hand away, "No, I don't want him anywhere near the Colonies, I don't trust him" he said

"How can you not trust him?" Akeme asked with exasperation, "You hardly know him!"

Atka raised his arms, "Just listen to him! He doesn't care about us at all!" he stood up and walked up the stairs to his room.

Akeme didn't follow him and sat staring at her hands trying to think of what to do.

/

Masaru had hardly slept all night and he had simply been counting down the hours until morning broke and the birds started to sing. He pulled himself from under the rug and stepped outside of the tent into the fresh air of the bright morning. Only a couple of other soldiers were up and they paid no attention to him as they went about their early morning tasks.

Of the 15 or so tents that surrounded the campfire one stood out, Boncho's. It was wider and taller than the others and acted as a meeting room for his highest-ranking officers. Masaru stood in front of the tent and took a deep breath, he expected Boncho to be awake. He walked into the tent to be presented with a group of three soldiers sat around a detailed map of the Earth Kingdom with various locations marked on it with red dots.

The soldiers looked up at Kann with annoyed expressions on their faces, Boncho looked particularly angry.

"Any reason why you have disturbed us?" Boncho asked

Masaru stepped forward into the tent wearing a steely expression, "I wanted to talk with you, sir" he replied with some courtesy.

The three soldiers looked at each other before pointing to a cushion at the end opposite Boncho. With little hesitation Masaru sat down and stared squarely at the captain in front of him.

Boncho stared back and spoke with irritation, "Well? What is it?" he asked

With a sigh, Masaru replied, "I have some questions, and I want answers…" he said.

Glancing to his two deputies, Boncho dismissed them with a wave and they left the tent. "Go on then, what do you want to tell me?"

Masaru took a deep breath, "Why have you been keeping me in the dark?" he asked.

"You're going to have to elaborate a bit more…" Boncho replied

Straightening up, Masaru raised his voice slightly, "You haven't told me anything. Where are we going? Who are we trying to take out?"

Boncho sighed, "I have my reasons for not telling you and I intend to stick to that" he said with force.

"What do you mean?" Masaru asked loudly, "You have to tell me! Everyone else around here seems to know!"

Boncho stood up, "You'll find out in due time, now if you don't mind I have other things to do" he said calmly as he held the door of the tent open.

Reluctantly, Masaru stood up and exited the tent. He knew it was a useless cause trying to change the mind of the earthbender. The camp was much more active now as the soldiers packed down their tents together.

None of them paid any notice towards Masaru as he walked amongst them and into his own, still standing, tent. He slowly packed things into his bag and rolled up his sleeping bag before tying it to the top of the large bag. Soon the tent flapped open, startling Masaru, it was Thom.

"I just heard about your meeting with Boncho, I'm guessing he didn't tell you anything?" he asked in a sympathetic tone.

With a glance backwards, Masaru replied, "How did you possibly guess?" he spoke with sarcasm in his voice.

Thom sighed before continuing, "I wish I could tell you but I'm under strict orders to not let you know anything about this mission".

Masaru stayed silent and made sure his bag was done up fully as he tossed it out of the tent past Thom. He stood up and barged past Thom as he exited the tent. With a huff Thom followed him and placed a hand on the young prince's shoulder.

"Leave me alone…" Masaru said as his shrugged the hand off and began to undo the pegs that held his tent up.

"Need any help with that?" Thom asked cautiously

Masaru scowled at him, "Just go away, I'm fine by myself"

With a small inclination of his head Thom walked away from Masaru and towards his own supplies. He took a look back at him and walked on into Boncho's tent.

/

The sun always rises earlier in the snowy landscape of the North Pole and Akeme wasn't used to this fact as she forced herself out of bed and downstairs into the small living area, Atka was already up and tucking into a bowl of soup. As he noticed her come into the room he got up and poured out another bowl for her to eat.

"Morning" he said quietly as she sat down.

Akeme yawned, "Morning" she took a sip of the steaming soup, carefully blowing on it to ensure she didn't burn her mouth, "So what's the plan today? You going to talk to the chief again?"

Atka looked down slightly, "I don't think so, I have to talk to Aang before I do anything else"

"You have to talk to the chief though! It's important!" Akeme leant over the table to make her point.

Atka groaned, "I know, just give me a chance ok. That Hotuk guy said we have to make an appointment with the chief anyway, he clearly doesn't want to talk to us…" Atka finished his soup and stood up, he was fully dressed.

"Are you going somewhere?" Akeme asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just for a walk, I've never been to the Northern Tribe before and I may not get another chance to see the sights" Atka replied before he slipped on his thick blue coat and walked out of the house. He called back in, "I'll be down at the harbour in about half an hour if you want to meet me!"

The road their house was situated on was long and wide with the palace courtyard above it. Atka followed the road along as it led to the much larger central road that ran the length of the city, from the harbour to the palace.

Atka walked down the long sloping road and observed the locations of the city from it, mostly nondescript residential areas for the richer members of the tribe. The architecture was consistent throughout the city and Atka didn't feel compelled by it like he did in his own tribe and in the Fire Nation. He briskly walked on towards the harbour.

The numbers of ships in dock surprised Atka; many of them were traditional twin hulled ships that were common in the North. They were powered by sail and were amongst the fastest vessels in the world. But there was more in the docks than sail powered craft, to Atka's left was a large metal-clad ship. It looked half built but a clear shape was taking place, with twin hulls being a major feature. It was smaller in size than the Fire Navy ships and lacked a tall conning tower at the back, instead it boasted a more central and shorter command tower. Atka also noted the place it was positioned, the dry dock it was sat in was right up against the sheer icy cliff face in such a way that it would be impossible to see if you were entering the city from the ocean.

Intrigued, Atka spotted a nearby docker who was tidying up some rope. He was tall with a chiselled jawline and ruddy face.

"Excuse me!" Atka called as he walked towards him.

The docker turned around, "Yeah?" he replied in a gruff voice.

"I don't suppose you could tell me what that ship is could you?" Atka pointed across towards it.

Scratching his chin the docker explained, "That's the Princess Yue, first in a brand new line of Cruisers for the Northern Tribe". He put down the rope he was rolling up and continued, "State of the art apparently, not even the Fire Nation have something this advanced!"

Atka narrowed his eyes slightly, "What's it for though? Is it a warship?" he asked

The docker shook his head, "Purely for pleasure apparently, I'm hearing that the chief's grown tired of sail powered craft and wants something with a bit more speed to kill" he scratched his chin again.

With a quick nod and farewell Atka left the docker to get on with his work and instead made his way to the commercial port on the opposite side of the harbour. This port housed the traders, fishing ships and pleasure craft of the North Pole's population; it was also where Atka and Akeme's ship was docked.

The sun was now at its highest point in the sky and Atka decided to wait by their ship until Akeme made her way down to meet him. The Southern style design of the ship made it stand out amongst the others so it was easily located. But further along the dock something caught Atka's eye, one more Southern ship, slightly larger than his own. Doing a double take, he cautiously walked down the dock towards them; he hadn't noticed it the night before so it must have arrived later on in the evening or maybe even earlier this very morning.

As he walked closer Atka noticed something on a blue flag that flew atop the central mast, a symbol that Atka immediately recognised. Breaking into a wide smile he sped towards the two ships to investigate further and confirm his suspicions. There were muffled voices coming from inside one of the ships but it wasn't clear enough for Atka to recognise any of them. Just as he was about to climb aboard the ship he heard the sound of a hatch opening and footsteps climbing up out of it.

They were turned away from Atka but he recognised the voice immediately, "Just pass me the baskets and I'll go down to the market", they said. It was a female voice and Atka's grinned widened.

He spoke, "Hello Ri-Ri…"

The girl twitched, "Ishak! I told you not to…." she turned around and her jaw dropped, "No…Atka? What are you doing here!" her voice stuttered and she put her hand over her mouth.

Atka jumped aboard the ship and gave his friend a hug, "Its so good to see you again!" he exclaimed.

There was some disturbance below deck as more people moved up the stairs to see what the fuss was all about.

"Is everything ok…" one person started, another girl. "Atka!?" she continued in shock.

Glancing over Rilu's shoulder, Atka saw that it was Hanna who had just spoken. She rushed over to hug him and Atka made sure to return it. A third person had followed her up the stairs, a blond haired male who Atka did recognise.

"Atka?" he said, "It's been a while!" he walked up to give him a quick pat on the shoulder.

With a curt nod Atka responded, "Arluk, it's good to see you". He was curious as to what he was doing there.

Turning to his two friends he smiled with a sense of delight and surprise. It felt like forever since he had seen either of them and he was desperate to catch up with them.

"It's amazing to see you both again!" Atka said, "Is Ishak with you?"

Hanna smiled, "Well he has family up here so he went to see them a bit earlier on this morning"

Rilu continued, "He's been as unbearable as ever!" she said with a smile and a laugh.

Knowingly, Atka returned the laugh, "That doesn't surprise me! Any idea when he'll be coming back?" he asked

Rilu shrugged her shoulders, "Hopefully soon, he's been out a while…"

"He'll be so happy to see you!" Hanna interjected

Atka glanced up to see Arluk disappear below deck, the hatch slamming closed as he did so.

"So what are you doing here?" Atka asked

It was Rilu who replied, "Well Chief Sokka sent us up here to try and convince the North to join up with this 'alliance' that's being formed. I'm guessing you got sent up here for the same reason?"

Atka nodded, "Roku asked me to talk to the chief, as well as some other things…"

"What other things?" Rilu asked

"I have to talk to Avatar Aang" he said in a low voice.

Hanna looked at him, slightly confused, "What do you mean? Aang's dead isn't he?"

"Of course he is, but when I was in the Fire Nation he talked to me and told me to come here" Atka said back.

It was Rilu's turn to be confused, "Couldn't he have told you then what he wants to say now?" she asked.

Atka shrugged, "All I know is that I have to find a way of contacting him and, somehow, that meant coming to the North Pole"

"Do you know why here?" Hanna asked

After spending a moment thinking, Atka replied, "There must be somewhere with a lot of spiritual energy here, I cant think of any other reason"

Then, with a yelp of realisation, Hanna spoke, "The Spirit Oasis!" she said loudly, "It must be the Spirit Oasis!"

Both Rilu and Atka looked at her with a hint of confusion, they were unaware of the Spirit Oasis.

Hanna tutted, "Didn't you listen in our history classes at school?"

"I hated history!" Atka replied.

Sighing, Hanna continued, "The Spirit Oasis is a sacred place in the Northern Water Tribe, it's one of the most spiritual places in the world! It's the perfect place for entering the Spirit World and talking to Avatar Aang!"

A grin slowly made its way onto Atka's face, as everything appeared to fall into place. He finally dawned on him that the journey wouldn't be entirely wasted.

"What are you doing here?" a voice said from behind Atka, on the dock. He turned around to see a familiar face gawping up at him.

Beaming, Atka exclaimed, "Ishak!" he jumped on onto the dock to give his friend a hug, "Long time no see!"

Ishak still stood with a shocked expression on his face as he struggled to find words. "I'll ask again, what are you doing here?" he said blankly.

Atka laughed, "The same reason as you, up to a point"

Still slightly stunned, Ishak took a step back and breathed in, "Ok…" he was silent for the next few moments until, "You don't know how happy I am to see you!" he shouted, "So come on then mighty Avatar! I want to see some glowy-four-elements action!" he punched the air to simulate the various bending styles.

The two girls on the boat laughed and quietly spoke to each other before Rilu addressed Atka directly, "As you can see, he hasn't changed while you've been away!"

Atka glanced back in acknowledgement before turning to Ishak again, "I'm not quite at four elements yet, only three!"

Undeterred, Ishak persisted, "Three's good enough! Come on just a quick piece fire throwing will be fine!"

"Maybe later!" Atka said before giving Ishak another quick hug. After releasing Ishak, Atka stepped back and addressed the rest of the group, "So do you guys have a plan for your time up here?" he asked.

The three Moon Guardians looked searchingly at each other and it was Rilu who spoke for them, "Well to be honest we weren't even expecting to be let in, four other boats have been sent up here before us and all were turned away".

Hanna continued, "We're going to talk to the chief tomorrow and see what he says"

"I've already spoken to the chief" Atka responded, with a hint of distaste.

Rilu perked up, "And? What did he say?" she asked

Atka looked at her squarely, "He doesn't care, he doesn't want anything to do with us…"

The three Moon Guardians looked at each other and silently thought to themselves for a few moments.

It was Ishak who spoke first, "Lets just try, we've been let into the North Pole so lets at least try and make it worthwhile"

Hanna and Rilu nodded in agreement. From within the ship, Arluk opened the hatch and joined them on the dock.

"Do we have a plan for today then?" he asked

Rilu answered, "Yes, we're going to talk with the chief, just as we planned before"

Arluk nodded, "I'm going down to the market, I'll meet you guys back here later then". With that, he left.

Atka starred after him for a while before addressing the others, "So, what exactly is Arluk doing here?" he asked.

The three Moon Guardians looked worryingly at each other before speaking.

"Well…" Rilu started, "He's sort of your replacement…"

Ishak forced out a smile, "Not that we could ever replace you of course!"

Atka laughed, "Don't worry about it! I know how these things work. You needed a four man crew and he was available, no hard feelings!"

The three sighed with relief, "That's good!" Hanna said. "Anyway, are you going to come to the palace with us?" she asked.

"I don't know… I have to go to the Spirit Oasis I guess, that's important at the moment" Atka replied. "I'll have to asked Akeme what she wants to do…"

Rilu raised an eyebrow, "Who's Akeme?" she asked inquisitively.

Ishak scratched his chin, "I think I recognise that name…"

It was Hanna who clicked first, "You don't mean Princess Akeme do you?" she asked, slightly shocked. "From the Fire Nation?"

Atka smiled, "Yep, she came out here to try and sway the chief into joining us"

"Why did you bring her though?" Rilu asked

"She wanted to come" Atka replied, "Anything wrong with that?" he asked.

Rilu shrugged, "Not at all, I'm just curious that's all…" She then looked away from Atka and went back aboard the ship.

"Is she ok?" Atka asked

Hanna replied, "Why wouldn't she be?" she then followed Rilu onto the ship.

Ishak looked at Atka, "I have stuff to do, it's been great to see you again!" he gave Atka a playful punch on the arm, "We'll find you on the way to the palace so you can come in with us" he quickly jumped back onto the ship, leaving Atka alone on the dock.

Ruefully smiling he turned back and walked towards the central avenue and back towards the house.

/

The weather had taken a turn for the worse as Boncho's squad marched on, their destination still unknown to Masaru. The atmosphere had been frosty within the group following his outburst the previous day, even Thom wasn't talking to him and Masaru was left at the back of the marching party.

Wind and rain battered the group but the pace was as quick as ever, the soldier's discipline was something to be admired indeed. But it wasn't long before Boncho stopped the group, ordering them to gather around him.

"Men, we are closing in on the target and should be there within three hours. This area is full of Earth Kingdom soldiers so we must be wary, our uniforms will only go so far in terms of cover so we're going to get off this path and continue through the woods here. I want you all to get rid of your large packs and only carry essential items, rations, your first aid kits, stuff like that. Bury the packs, if we come back this way then you can pick then up again. You are dismissed, get to it". Boncho spoke with authority and the soldiers immediately responded to what he had to say.

Masaru took his pack off and started to take things off it, starting with his sleeping bag. Boncho walked up to him, Masaru quickly stood up.

"Masaru" he started, "May I speak with you?" he took him to a spot away from the group.

"What is it sir?" Masaru asked.

Boncho looked squarely at him, "I'd just like to apologise for everything that's happened out here, but I'd just like you to understand why I haven't told you anything"

Masaru looked away slightly, "It's fine, I realise I'm not exactly made up for this sort of thing…"

"On the contrary, I actually think you've done very well" Boncho responded.

With surprise, Masaru looked back at him, "What do you mean sir?" he asked.

Boncho smiled slightly, "You could have left us at any point and gone straight back home. You're made of stronger stuff than you give yourself credit for and I applaud you for that"

Masaru smiled with pride and looked down, "Thank you…" he said.

"Now I have something to ask you" Boncho spoke sincerely.

"What is it sir?" Masaru asked.

Boncho inhaled, "Our mission involves breaking into the Earth Kingdom's highest security prison, Jianyu. There is a high value individual inside there that we want to get out. We have a plan to break in but it's risky and is based on rather sketchy evidence" he said.

Masaru asked, "How does this involve me?"

"Well, we need a distraction" Boncho said bluntly.

Masaru was shocked, "I'm the distraction! Is that why you haven't told me anything?" he raised his voice.

Boncho waved his hands, "No, no, no. You're not the distraction, not personally anyway", He took a small ball out of his pocket at the top of which was a piece of string, it was a bomb. "You're going to cause the distraction". He grinned. "The reason I didn't tell you is because I wasn't sure you could handle it, and you've proved to me that you can"

"I see…" Masaru said, taking the bomb from Boncho. "So you're going to set these up along the wall, I light them, the guards come to investigate and you rush in unnoticed" He grinned too, "Brilliant!"

"I'm glad you agree!" Boncho said, "Empty your pack but don't bury it, I'm going to give you the explosives, Thom will go with you to the wall to help set them up".

Masaru nodded but still had one more question, "Who is it we're breaking out?" he asked.

Boncho looked at him, "I guess you should know…its General Bumi"