Legends of the Four Masters
#11—Into the Desert
With the folder and map Ranma had acquired, the group was headed to the Misty Palms Oasis, located on the edge of the Si Wong desert in the southeastern part of the Earth Kingdom. Aang was rather enthusiastic about this place, mostly for personal reasons.
"I went there once a hundred years ago. It was a very beautiful place and one of Nature's wonders." He would say.
When they got there though, it was anything but beautiful or an oasis. Whatever oasis had been there in the past was now gone, reduced to just a couple of sun-baked mud huts surrounded by a sun-baked brick wall on the edge of the desert. The dominant feature of the area, the ice fountain that existed despite the desert heat, was indeed icy but didn't look that impressive in person. In fact it looked like it was having a hard time holding itself together, which was only natural given it existed on the edge of a desert to begin with.
"Looks like there's been a change in management somewhere in the past hundred years." Aang noted, voicing the disappointment of them all.
A sign fell off the decorative gate to the town after they walked past, not making the place look any better.
"This is officially the crappiest place I've ever been to. And I was once in a place where you were cleaner if you stayed out of the baths." Ranma muttered.
"How could Zhao find anything here? Let alone big secrets like the moon spirit?" Sokka asked.
"I don't think it was here itself, but maybe somewhere near here." Katara said. "According to the map, most of the places he's been to have been in this area, all next to this desert. Maybe the secret's in the desert itself."
"We're supposed to go searching the desert now? Looking for what exactly?" Ranma asked.
"Let's ask the locals what's in it." Katara suggested.
She was the first to enter one of the buildings in the area, though the people standing outside spat at the group when they followed. The interior was akin to a tavern. Everyone inside was wrapped up in desert clothes, some masking their faces with cloth bandages. At the counter was a man using swords to slice apart fruit and put them into bowls made of carved ice. He seemed to have just one customer, a man who was paying more attention to some scrolls than his order.
"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan out where to go from here." Sokka claimed, then went to the bar. "Excuse me." He said trying to get the bartender's attention.
The current customer got up to walk away, but Sokka's companions joined up with the Water Tribe boy and the man accidentally bumped into Aang, spilling his own beverage on the young Air Nomad's tunic.
"No worries, I clean up easy." He stated, using a little airbending to dry-clean his clothes on the spot.
The customer gasped. "You're a living relic."
"Thanks, I try." Aang replied, not really getting what this guy meant but sure it was a compliment.
"An Air Nomad, right in front of me. I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." He greeted with a light bow, which Aang returned.
"So this world has colleges too?" Ranma asked while Sokka was giving them all drinks the bartender had quickly prepared.
Kasumi shrugged. "Apparently they do." She had a sip of her drink. "Mmm... like a mango smoothie."
Zei grabbed the bald monk's arm, but not in a threatening way. He just wanted a better look at the arrow tattoos the boy possessed and the clothes he wore. "Tell me, which of the Air Temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple."
"Oh splendid." Zei then tried to measure the boy's head.
"Okay this guy's getting creepy." Ranma whispered.
"What was the primary agricultural product of your people?" Zei asked.
Aang looked like he wasn't sure if he wanted this interrogation to continue, but wasn't rude enough to tell the professor to leave him alone. "Uhh... do fruit pies count as an agricultural product?"
"Oh, truly fascinating. That's one for the journal."
'Suddenly Hinako-sensei doesn't seem like the weirdest teacher in the world to me anymore.' Ranma thought. 'Please, don't let anyone mention I'm a-'
"If you want here's another airbender for you Professor." Sokka said, pointing his thumb at Ranma.
"I'm going to kill you for this Sokka." Ranma rued through clenched teeth.
"You're an Air Nomad?" Zei asked, invading Ranma's personal space by inspecting his hair and clothes. "You look so different from the other. Are you from the Northern Temple then?"
"Sure, why not?" The pigtailed boy answered apathetically, sidestepping away.
"So Professor, you seem to be well traveled. Do you happen to have a map of the Fire Nation?" Kasumi asked.
Zei lost his smile for a moment. "Sadly no, I've been all over this planet, but that is the one place I could never get to. And information on the Fire Nation is greatly limited here in the Earth Kingdom. It's one of the things I'm trying to find for my classes."
"So why are you here then?" Shampoo asked.
"Ah, that is an excellent question miss. You see, I've made many trips into the Si Wong desert, and while I've seen some marvelous things, all my effort has ultimately been in vain." Zei replied, starting with a smile but ended on a look of regret.
"What are you looking for in there?" Katara asked.
Zei pulled out his map of the Si Wong desert, showing dotted lines indicating the main routes he had taken in his travels within it. "I've managed to find lost ancient civilizations all over the Earth Kingdom and even one or two of the abandoned Water Tribe settlements at the poles, but I haven't yet discovered the crown jewel of the ancient world. Wan Shi Tang's library."
"You spent years walking through the desert, just to find some guy's library?" Toph asked, not seeing why anyone would do such a thing.
"Oh this is no ordinary library young lady. This library is more valuable than it's weight in gold." Zei insisted calmly. "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless."
Toph didn't look convinced. "Yeah, sounds like good times." 'For those that can read.' She finished to herself, sipping on her fruit drink.
"Oh it is." Zei continued, missing her disinterest. "Legend has it that it was built by the knowledge spirit Wan Shi Tang with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers."
"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants huh?" Sokka asked with a grin.
"I think he means they look like actual foxes Sokka." Katara corrected, not pleased with her brother's assumption.
"You gotta admit what Sokka said does come to mind when you hear the word foxy." Ranma pointed out.
"And why is that?" The Water Tribe girl asked, hands on her hips.
Ranma shrugged. "When else is the word foxy used?"
"The girl's right, the knowledge seekers are supposed to look like foxes." Zei interjected, taking out another rolled up piece of parchment. "Wan Shi Tang and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world and set them on display for mankind to read, so we might better ourselves." He unrolled the parchment, showing a rather fancy building that clearly was supposed to be the library. Either that or this world's version of the Taj Mahal.
"If this place actually exists, then that would have been the perfect place for Zhao to learn about the moon spirit." Sokka noted.
"And that means we could learn about the Fire Nation too." Kasumi pointed out.
"And if we're really lucky, maybe something about how to go home." Shampoo added, earning her looks from Ranma and Kasumi. "Hey if the ticket could bring us here, who's to say something else couldn't take us back?"
"It's a long shot, but while we're there we might as well look into it." Kasumi agreed.
"Then we're definitely going there. Right now." Sokka said, pumping his fist into his palm.
"Uh hey, can I point out a little problem?" Toph started, raising one of her hands. "We don't know where this big important library is. And unlike the bookworm we don't have years to waste trying to find it."
"It's true. Plus I've almost died many times out in that desert. I'm afraid you children have little chance at finding it within a few days if that's what you're hoping." Zei agreed.
Sokka grinned. "Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?"
"A sky bison?" Zei repeated. "You actually have one?" Without waiting for an answer he rushed outside to see the thought-to-be-extinct animal.
Back outside, Appa was growling some warnings at the desert folk who were getting too close for his comfort. And being covered in shaggy fur that was decided to insulate him from the cold air of high altitude, he was already uncomfortable being here.
"Sandbenders, shoo! Away from that magnificent animal!" Zei shouted.
The bandaged men decided this wasn't worth a fight and left, going into the desert on a sandbending-powered sand boat.
"A real live sky bison." Zei said in awe, looking at the large herbivore. He turned to see an approaching Aang and the group. "Can he actually fly? How does he do it despite the lack of wings and excess weight?"
"Airbending." Aang answered.
"Such a marvel." Zei said, looking back to Appa and trying to inspect his feet.
Ranma leaned to the bald monk. "Hey Aang, why can Appa fly with airbending but you can only glide?"
"It's much easier to glide." Aang said, using a little airbending to jump atop his animal partner's head and grab the reins. "Everyone get on. We're going to the desert."
Appa grunted, but didn't refuse. Everyone got on board, including Zei, and the bison took off.
Flying through the air, everyone tried to find ways to deal with the desert heat. Sokka took off his shirt and wrapped it around his head then looked out into the sea of sand with a telescope. Ranma decided to do the same, and Shampoo certainly was appreciating the view.
"Kind of makes me miss home." Katara noting, pulling the collar of her top away from her throat to release of her body heat. Water Tribe clothes were designed to be insulating, and even though she wasn't wearing her outer coat, her normal outfit was still a little too warm for the desert.
Zei positioned himself atop Appa's head, rubbing the fur like it was an exotic carpet to him. "Tell me sky bison, are you the last of your breed?"
"I don't think he can talk back Professor." Aang tried to tell him, but Zei didn't seem to hear over Appa grunting.
"Oh delightful, I only wish I spoke his tongue. The stories this beast could tell."
Momo chose then to come up to the professor, making some small barks.
Zei was less than pleased. "Shush chatty monkey."
Aang raised an eyebrow. 'He finds Appa amazing but Momo not worth paying attention to? Aren't flying lemurs just as rare as sky bisons?'
Hours went by but all they had seen was sand, sand, and more sand. Maybe some rocks with a side of sand too.
"Agh! Does this place even exist?" Toph asked rhetorically, getting fed up being on a search for some long lost place and there was literally nothing she could do at the moment. She sure couldn't locate the library with her ears.
"Some say it doesn't." Zei stated casually, as if it were a mere fact not worth pointing out unless asked to.
Toph's eyes widened for a moment, then looked like she wanted to strangle the man. "And you didn't mention this before we took off?"
"Because I believe it does exist." Zei said with complete certainty, fist on his chest.
Ranma looked at the professor, looking as annoyed as Toph. "And why is that? Do you have something to prove it? Talk to someone who has been there?"
"Nope, I just really want it to exist." Zei admitted shamelessly.
Ranma's eye twitched for a moment. "You've spent years looking for one building that people claim may not exist anymore or did to begin with, with no proof that says otherwise, all because you just want it to be real?"
"Calm down Ranma." Kasumi said. "It's not that different than a few times you went looking for... a solution to your past problems." She avoided specifically mentioning his old curse.
"That's what bothers me. Remember how many times those solutions were real?" Ranma replied, leaning against the rim of the saddle.
'Oh yeah, good point.' Kasumi thought, seeing why the pigtailed young man wouldn't be satisfied looking for something with nothing but hope and optimism being the reason for it. That had failed him enough times already.
"There it is!" Toph said eagerly, pointing in front of her.
Everyone quickly looked over the saddle trying to see the building, but all they saw was sand and sky. This made them all give Toph dirty looks.
"That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." She stated, then waved her hand over her blind eyes to silently tell them it was their own fault for falling for her joke.
"It can't take that long. It shouldn't be that hard to spot a giant ornate building from this high in the air." Katara said, trying to keep everyone's spirits up.
"Hold on, I think I see something." Sokka said, looking through his telescope.
"If this is a joke..." Ranma almost threatened.
"No seriously, it looks like a pillar of some kind."
"Good enough for me." Aang said, turning Appa towards where Sokka had been looking.
They landed by a large stone tower and everyone eagerly jumped out. Looking at it, they could see the tower was indeed old, but there was nothing else to it.
"Forget it. It's obviously not what we're looking for. The building in this drawing is enormous." Katara said, referencing the picture of the library.
A jingling sound drew their attention to one of the dunes, and they could see a fox come up and over it, carrying something in its mouth.
"What kind of animal is that?" Sokka asked, hand shading his eyes.
"What, have you never seen a fox before?" Ranma asked.
The fox in question went up to the tower and started to run right up the wall like some kind of squirrel, disappearing into one of the open windows at the top.
"I think that's one of the knowledge seekers of Wan Shi Tang." Zei said, sounding happy. "We must be close to the library."
Sokka looked at the drawing again, noticing something they hadn't before. "No, I think this is the library."
"He's right, the drawing shows spires that look just like this tower here." Kasumi noted.
"So the reason no one could ever find the library before was because it's been buried under the sand." Ranma noted.
"Bu... buried?" Zang asked in shock, having never considered the idea. "My life's ambition is filled with sand?"
"Well when you think about it it's actually pretty obvious that this would happen over a couple of centuries." Katara claimed. "Kind of like that old Fire Nation ship back home at the South Pole. Every year it gets covered more and more by snow and ice until eventually it will be completely buried by it."
"Then we haven't a moment to lose." Zei said, taking out a small trowel. "We have to dig it up." He started to try and unearth the library.
"I've got a better idea." Sokka stated, putting his hand on the man's shoulders. "The fox went in, so we can too. Maybe the interior is still sand-free."
Toph put her hand on the tower. "He's right, from what I'm sensing the inside is still intact, and huge."
"But how do we get up there?" Shampoo asked. It was one thing to jump from rooftop to rooftop or ride a bike atop a fence. This required a direct defiance of gravity, which she and Ranma were not trained to do.
"You could earthbend us some stairs to get up." Katara suggested.
"It's not as easy as you think." Toph countered. "This isn't normal earth, it's sand. To me it feels like we're standing in pudding rather than something solid I can work with. I'm having a hard enough time figuring out where everything is right now and how far away you are from me."
"How about this?" Aang offered up a rope.
"That might work." Sokka said.
"You guys go on without me." Toph said, removing her hand.
"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked.
Toph crossed her arms. "I've held books before. They don't exactly... do it for me."
"Oh, right. Sorry." The Water Tribe girl replied, seeing the problem.
"Guys it's not that hard to remember she's blind." Kasumi chided.
"Let me know if they have something you can listen to." The blind girl added.
"Wait, so you have ways to record sound here too?" Kasumi asked. "Someday I've got to see just what kind of technology this place has."
Aang used his glider to get up to the window, taking the rope with him. He secured it from the top, tying one end to the top of the spire. "Okay, come on up."
Sokka went up first, followed by Katara and then Zei.
"You go ahead Kasumi." Ranma said, being polite while Shampoo went on ahead of him.
Kasumi looked at the rope then back to the pigtailed boy. "No thanks, I think I'll stay out here with Toph."
"You sure? It's not that hard to climb a rope." Ranma told her.
"Trust me Ranma, I couldn't climb a rope even if my life depended on it." Kasumi insisted. "I'll be find out here."
"Alright then. We won't be too long." He said, not sure leaving her was a good idea but he couldn't very well grab her and carry her up if she didn't want to go. He went to the rope and climbed up, leaving Kasumi, Toph, and Appa outside to wait.
At least the sky bison gave the girls some shade.
With everyone inside the tower, they pulled up the rope and dropped the free end on the inside, down to a part of the building they couldn't see from their current position.
"Oh it's breathtaking." Zei said when they got down into what looked like one of the main rooms of the library. Thanks to not being exposed to the elements for eons, the inside of the library was clearly in better condition than the outside. Dusty, but in better condition nonetheless.
They jumped from the rope and landed on some kind of bridged pathway, connecting one part of the library's upper floor to another side.
"My word!" Zei said in surprise, looking at a decorative piece of art depicting an owl. "The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol is-"
"We get it, nice owl." Ranma cut in, making Shampoo chuckle.
A shuffling sound was heard, making them dart off to hide behind a pillar. None dared to look, so they didn't see a giant white-faced owl walk down the bridge towards the rope, looking at it. Everyone tried to be as silent as possible.
"I know you're back there." The owl said, turning it's head in a very owlish manner towards the group of humans.
Zei decided to be brave or foolish and came forward. "Hello, I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."
"You should leave and go back where you came." The owl warned, then looked to its left. "Unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology."
On one of the pillars were several taxodermized heads of various animals. Zei gulped and rubbed his neck, imagining his head in such a state.
The others came out, seeing the owl wasn't a 'attack first ask questions later' kind of spirit. "Are you the spirit that brought this library to this world?" Sokka asked.
"Indeed. I am Wan Shi Tang, he who knows ten thousand things. And you are obviously humans, which by the way are no longer permitted in my study." The owl replied.
"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked.
Wan Shi Tang snorted, which was hard to imagine him doing with a beak. "Humans only bother learning things to get the edge on other humans. Like that firebender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy."
'So Zhao really did come here.' Sokka thought.
"So..." Wan Shi Tang then leaned right into the Water Tribe boy's face. "Who are you trying to destroy?"
"What? Oh no, no, no destroying. We're not into that." He denied, waving his hands.
"Then why come here?" Wan Shi Tang asked, skeptical.
"Ummm... knowledge for knowledge's sake?" Sokka offered.
The owl was silent for a moment. "If you're going to lie to an all-knowing spirit, you should at least put some effort into it."
"Hey, bird guy." Ranma said, coming forward. "You said you came here from another world. Some spirit world right?"
"Yes, why does that matter to you?" Wan Shi Tang asked.
"Have you ever heard of there being another human world different from this one?" Ranma asked.
The big owl blinked. "A second human world? That is the work of fiction. This library is strictly for reference, with fiction only held for historical significance."
'Here I am in a sunken library in a world based on a cartoon series, being told by a giant talking owl that the idea of me being from another dimension is fictional.' Ranma thought. 'I don't know whether to laugh or roll my eyes.'
"Well we've got the Avatar with us." Sokka stated, pulling Aang forward and putting the young boy between him and the bird bird. "He'll vouch for us."
"Umm... yeah. I swear we will not misuse any information we may find in your library." Aang said, trying to hide his nervousness.
Wan Shi Tang looked at the Air Nomad for a time. "Hmmm... very well. I'll let you peruse my vast collection. On one condition. To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."
Zei stepped forward, holding out a large book with both hands, and knelt while offering it. "Please accept this tome, as a donation to your library."
"First edition, very nice." Wan Shi Tang said with satisfaction, waving his right wing over the book and making it disappear. Even though it didn't appear like he was holding it.
Zei left and Katara came forward, holding out the waterbending scroll she had taken from the pirates earlier in her travels. "I have an authentic waterbending scroll."
"Ooh, these illustrations are quite stylish." Wan Shi Tang remarked, taking the scroll too with a wave of his wing. Katara bowed respectfully and left.
Aang came up, a bit uncertain what to offer, then got an idea. "Oh, I know!" He pulled out one of the Fire Nation posters that listed him as a wanted man. "For your section on the Avatar."
"I suppose that counts." The owl said, less impressed compared to the last two.
"Oh great spirit," Sokka started when he came forward, holding some string. "Check this out." He swiftly proceeded to tie it into a knot that resembled a dragonfly. "Tada!"
Wan Shi Tang looked at him with no clear expression, but everyone suspected the owl was tempted to do its own version of a facepalm.
"It's a special knot. Knowing how to tie one counts as knowledge."
'More like trivia.' Katara thought.
"You're not very bright are you?" Wan Shi Tang commented, but nonetheless he accepted the offering. "I take this because it seems you need to get smarter."
Ranma came up next while an annoyed Sokka walked away. "I'm not sure if this is as good as a special knot, but you might find it worth a glance." He pulled out the file he had swiped. "This contains documents from the Fire Nation, and it mentions the guy that I think was the one you're angry at. Apparently the Fire Nation wasn't too happy with him either."
"Hmm... this might be as you said, worth a glance." Wan Shi Tang remarked, taking the file.
Shampoo was the last to come up the big bird. "Great spirit, I have no item to give you. However, like you I have knowledge to share. I can tell you folktales from my hometown I am certain you have never heard before, and you can record them for your collection."
Wan Shi Tang tilted his head for a moment. "Tempting, but to make sure you do not waste my time, give me a sample now so I know you do indeed have folktales I have not collected."
"Do you have your entire collection memorized?" Sokka asked.
"I have enough to know when I'm offered a donation that I already have." He replied, eyes on the Chinese girl telling her he was waiting.
Shampoo cleared her throat. "Long ago before the kingdoms were as they are now, there was a king named Zighao who was famous for a love of dragons. He adorned his palace and the surrounding grounds with all forms of dragon. Painting, sculptures, drawings, carvings, even his own clothes. He was called the dragon emperor because of his love for the creatures."
"One day, news of his fondness reached actual dragons who were delighted to hear of a king so infatuated with them. The leader of the dragons went to the king so that they might become good friends. But once Zighao saw the dragon, he panicked and screamed like a child seeing a poisonous snake and hid within his room, The dragon did not understand, and tried to reassure Zighao that he was not there to cause any trouble. But the man would not listen. He demanded the dragon leave and never return, and he ordered his guards to attack the dragon until it left or was killed."
"When the dragon was about to be attacked, he left, saying that a friendship with Zighao would never be possible, as the man only loved what looked like a dragon and despised the real thing."
Wan Shi Tang blinked. "Excellent story, with a moral I can relate to. I will accept this offering, and if you have others to share I will be happy to hear."
"Thank you wise one." Shampoo said with a bow.
"Enjoy the library everyone, and remember, don't go looking for ways to hurt others."
The big owl then walked down the bridge and Shampoo following behind. Shampoo looked back to Ranma and gave him a wink, telling him not to worry..
"Good, she's buying us time by keeping him distracted." Sokka whispered to everyone. "We have to work fast before he decides to check up on us."