When Asami told me we'd be parting ways I was a bit disappointed but I knew eventually that this would happen. Besides I won't be alone, not with my faithful polarbear dog Naga that had tracked me down and made it back to my side a few hours after Asami left. Although a part of me was hoping she'd stay just in case she knew where Tenzin's sanctuary was because so far I've been up and down these mountains and I haven't seen anything, not even a spirit.

"Really wish Katara had given me more to work with besides he's in the reach and you'll know it when you find it Korra. A land mark or a guide would have been really helpful but no just have me wander about like a lunatic until I randomly run into it."

As I once again led Naga down the side of a mountain I noticed a bit of a commotion in a small settlement. From the looks of the buildings it was probably a mining settlement, but from what I could hear from a man complaining to an armed group I figured something was up. As I got closer I heard what the conversation was about.

"... For the last time old man you hired us to protect your miners from bandits and creatures, not the undead!"

"Yes well that is what you were originally hired for but you were paid a bonus to deal with any unexpected threats my men might encounter."

"Yeah and by that we thought benders or spirits not freaking undead corpses with swords and axes! If you want to find somebody stupid enough to go down and clear your mines out be my guest but my men won't risk our necks for a few hundred yuans." After that the group of men walked away and the other man finally noticed me.

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to deal with my problem? I promise a big payoff if you succeed."

Ah what the hell I could use the distraction.

"Alright I'll do it."

"Excellent but if you're going down there you'll need something... stay here for a minute." He then runs into a nearby house and returns a moment later carrying a rather large water skin container.

"There's no sources of water to bend down there so you'll need this. Think of this as an advanced bonus for doing your job." The mine in question wasn't that far but when I got close to the door with my spear in hand the leader of the mercenaries ran up and tried to stop me.

"Wait girl you really don't want to go down there."

"And why not? There's just dragur and I've killed those before."

"Not like these you haven't, when we first encountered them we cut them down but they just got right back up. I told that old man to let my men scout that new tunnel but instead he sends his miners in. In their stupidity they woke the dead."

"Look I appreciate the warning but I can take care of myself."

"Your funeral." he says giving me a scornful look before walking away as I descend into the mine.

At the entrance there were pickaxes scattered everywhere as if the miners dropped everything and ran but I suppose if I saw a bunch of armed undead for the first time I'd run scared to. As I moved forward I felt something weird about this place... I couldn't quite place it but it felt familiar, whatever it was the source was coming from deeper below. I heard the first of the dragur before I saw them, their shuffling and grunts gave away their location. About three of them were standing around what must have been the opening to the new tunnel.

Just three that's no challenge.

I grabbed my spear and emerged from my hiding spot and with a roar launched it into the closest one's chest before spinning and uncapping the water skin and sending a stream of water into the other two freezing them to the wall.

"Now onto the others." But as I started to move away the sound of angry grunts sounded from behind me. When I turned around I saw that the dragur I'd first impaled was getting back up.

"Huh usually a spear through the chest kills just about anything." But if that didn't kill it then there was one thing I could try. Uncapping the water skin again I coated my entire right hand in the water before freezing it creating an icy blade. When the dragur moved to attack I jumped to the side, rushed his blind side and sliced clean through his neck. The moment his head was clear from his body his eyes glowed with a faint yellow light before his body crumpled to dust.

The two I'd frozen to the wall reacted the same and turned into dust as well. Now I wasn't a master on magic but even I knew that when something turns to dust after it's died then somebody or something must have used magic to raise them in the first place. Which meant that their master was probably somewhere in the new tunnel system. As I moved deeper and deeper down the new tunnel I stated to notice that the walls were becoming less and less dirt and more carved stone which could only mean the new tunnel must connect to a tomb of some kind.

And where there's a tomb there's always something good worth taking.

With every step I took the familiar feeling grew stronger as did the dragur presence but at least this time I knew how to put them down for good. Unlike the dragur I faced with Asami these were accompanied by armed skeletons. Although as I tore my way through them I wondered how exactly they were a threat.

They have no muscles so their cuts aren't that powerful and bones break pretty easily. I guess it's just the shock of seeing a moving skeleton that makes people afraid.

After decapitating the last dragur that was blocking my way I found myself in a massive underground cave filled with flowing water and a small alter surrounded by a few dead miners.

"I guess not everybody made it out." As I looked around the cave I noticed a few things. One was that the feeling from earlier was strongest here and the second was that I wasn't alone. I assumed it was a skeleton or dragur that I'd missed, but that idea went out the window when a small hovering glowing rabbit came out from his hiding spot.

"Hey there little sprit why were you hiding?"

As I reached out to pet him another figure emerged and unlike the rabbit this creature was more suspicious. It stood a good foot taller than me and walked on two legs, it was covered in black fur with a few patterns but its most striking feature was its massive warning filled eyes.

"He was hiding because humans aren't welcome here now leave."

I'd run into talking spirits before but never one so rude.

"Look buddy I don't mean any harm, I was just hired to deal with the undead roaming the mines above."

"Yeah well if those humans hadn't started mining our home I wouldn't have had to raise those creatures to scare them off. Humans are always trying to claim what's not theirs."

Well good news was I'd cleared out the dragur from the mines but bad news was if I left now he'd just raise more so I decided to lay down the law as the avatar and help bridge the two worlds.

"Listen I'm the avatar and I'd like to help find some way for the humans and spirits in this region to get along peacefully." Predictably when I mentioned I was the avatar he stared at me but after his little friend gave him what I assumed was a nod he brought his hand up to his chin and after rubbing it for a moment spoke again.

"Listen avatar I'd like to help but this location is important to the spirits."

"How?"

"This alter is a kind of doorway that leads directly to the sanctuary. If humans found it they'd no doubt use it to invade so I volunteered to watch over this place and help spirits reach safety."

Well I finally found my way in, now I just have to find some way to help both parties.

"Well maybe if the two of you sat down you could come to some kind of agreement."

"Fine let's talk." he reached out and grabbed my hand and the world became nothing but light. One moment I was standing in the cave then the next thing I know the both of us are outside standing right beside the man from earlier.

"How did you?..."

"I'm a spirt remember I can do things you humans can't."

"Alright, well sir I cleaned out the mine but the main issue is that that new tunnel you started mining was actually a home to the spirits of this region."

"Oh well I didn't know, this entire mine is quite new and everyone assumed that the spirts had all but moved on from this area."

"Well we didn't and we'd like it if you'd stop destroying our homes!"

For a brief moment his entire form shifting into something... sinister. But when I placed my hand on his shoulder he calmed down and reverted to his original form.

"How about this you promise to keep out of the spirit's homes and in exchange this spirit can give you a new location where you can mine where you won't disturbed anything, alright?" The two of them looked at each other before extending their hands and sealing the deal with a firm handshake. The man handed over the rest of my payoff and then went to talk to his miners while I turned to the spirit.

"I'm glad that worked out now do you think you can show me the way to the sanctuary? I've been trying to get there for a while now."

"I'll do you one better and don't worry I sent some friends to bring your dog." Once again he teleported us without my consent. When I opened my eyes again I was surrounded by spirits and monks that were mediating or just relaxing. In the middle of the room suspended in midair was a serious looking monk with a blue arrow tattoo.

Serious expression, blue tattoo yep that must be Tenzin alright.

Now I just need him to train my air-bending and then I could move on to fire and earth and stopping this civil war before it gets any worse.