A very action oriented chapter. We will see that raiding a Communication Tower might not be as easy as they think. Enjoy.

Chapter 14

The First Tower

The island was in sight. L. E. used a spell to conceal the ship so we could approach undeterred. The sun was shining brightly. It was about four hours after noon. We were all silent as the island neared. I eyed the run down docks on the other side of the small island. Lazy guards were patrolling them but none were stationed on our side of the island. L. E. ended her concealment charm and we climbed ashore.

"I'll stay here and guard the ship," she whispered to us.

Moji nodded, "Let's go."

A cool tropical breeze swept over the island, stirring up leaves and sand. I silently thanked Zaria for the new clothing because it was very hot. The island seemed to be a large chunk of sandstone covered in loose shifting sand. I wondered if that would make Shan have difficulty earthbending. From the ocean, the island looked small but it was the size of a large village. The iron tower dominated over the lesser palm trees and brush. I saw squirrel-monkeys as well as colorful birds and even and monkey-parrot. There was a twenty foot wall around the tower.

"Why would they need the walls so high?" Koluk wondered aloud.

"To protect them from high waves," Moji replied.

The metal was rusted in many spots near the ground. We saw no guards on the wall. I air jumped up and checked the nearby watchtowers; no one close by. I went back to my friends. I created a funnel of air under Dhanu, I shot him up and he landed next to me. I repeated the process until we were all on the wall.

We ran atop it crouched and silent. I saw a guard up ahead with his back to us. I sped up and air punched him in the back; he slumped to the ground but started to get back up. Koluk quickly kicked him in the head knocking him out. I found a staircase and climbed down it. We were in a kind of courtyard, the main gate to our right and the tower entrance to the left. We made our way to the tower.

"Guards!" Lina said in a hushed tone.

We followed her gaze; two guards were stationed above the entrance to the courtyard. They hadn't seen us yet but it was only a matter of time.

"Got it," Dhanu drew two arrows. He notched them, aimed, and fired. The arrows sailed into their helmets, knocking them out.

"Shan, stay here and keep guard," Moji instructed; he nodded.

We crept inside the tower. We were met with a hallway lined with doors. As well as a staircase to our right that wound upward. We sped up the stairs. At the top, a door barred our way. I put my ear to it. Nothing. I was about to open the door when I heard the softest sound of metal scraping metal. I motioned for the others to step back. I took a quick breath and whipped the door back. Several soldiers were waiting for us. Just as they charged, I hit them with a wall of wind. We surged in. A guy charged me with a sword. I sidestepped it and grabbed his arm. I twisted around and flipped him into the wall. I saw a man grab Lina from behind. She grabbed his hands and flipped him forward. He hit a desk and slid into Koluk.

"Hey, watch it!" Koluk yelled.

"Sorry!" Lina yelled back then kicked a guy in the face.

The room was far too small for our fight. We kept bumping into the wall of other people. Twice, Koluk nearly decapitated me. I swung my arm back but accidentally slammed my elbow into the wall. A painful tingly jolt shot up my arm. I grimaced in discomfort. I shot a blast of air with my left arm. One soldier escaped the chaotic skirmish and scrambled up more stairs.

"He's going to the messenger hawks! We can't let him send a message!" Moji cried.

Dhanu ran down the stairs we had come up while Lina went after the man. Moji, Koluk and I dealt with the remaining men.

"Okay, the files should be upstairs," Moji said. We went up the stairs to the next floor. Lina and the soldier were not there, though there were signs of a fight that went up another flight of stairs.

"Let's start looking," Moji told us.

We dug through drawer after drawer, reading paper after paper. Everything from shipping logs to troops transfer.

"Over here, this section is prisoner transport," Koluk announced. He put a large stack of papers on a desk.

"Remember to put everything back where it was, or they will know what we came here for," Moji reminded.

We scanned through the stack. As we read, a rock smashed through the window. Moji ran over.

"You two keep looking, I'm going to help them out," she looked at the stairs then the window. She went to the other side of the room and took a running stance.

"What are you about to do?" I asked.

"Something dangerously stupid, but really cool…I hope," she answered.

She ran for the window, blasted away the remaining bits of glass with fire then jumped out the window. I heard her scream profanities that would sour the monks' faces.

"Okay then," Koluk muttered.

We went back to searching the papers. After several minutes, Koluk exclaimed, "I found him!" I ran over as he read the paper. "Oh spirits." he cursed.

"What?" I questioned.

Just then, Lina came barreling down the stairs. She was holding her left arm which was covered in blood. Her braid had started to come undone. Behind her, a tall man with fierce eyes limped down the stairs. He was holding a bloody sword.

"Koluk, take care of Lina," I said darkly.

He led her away. The man strode forward. I readied myself for the fight.

"Let's dance, little girl," he said and swung his sword.

I dodged it and spun around whipping up the wind and shot it at him.

###

I stood guard while the others rushed into the tower. I looked around the courtyard. The only metal inside was the main pathway from the gate to the tower. Several palm trees grew in between the tower and its walls. I could hear the distant waves crashing against the shore. A soft wind swept through the trees. I heard voices on the wind and the walls gate began to creak open. I looked around then jumped behind a large chunk of sandstone. I laid flat on my stomach and crawled forward. I peaked out from behind the rock, staying hidden by a nearby shrub. I pressed my hand against the rock. The sandstone wasn't very strong, but it would work. I created a fissure in the rock and slowly widened it. I looked through the bush again. A group of men were walking along the path to the tower, they neared. I jumped up and kicked the slab of sandstone at the men. A fiery explosion sent bits of rock and dust everywhere. I threw more rock slabs at the men. Four of them were nonbenders, the fifth was a firebender. One by one, I took down the nonbenders until only two soldiers remained; a swordsman and the firebender. The two exchanged a look. The swordsman threw his sword at me, turned his back, and ran. I dived to the side, the sword slicing my left thigh. Before I hit the ground, a barrage of fireballs came at me. I rolled to avoid them. I kicked and punched rocks while I tried to get up but he kept me occupied with a constant stream of fire.

Just then, Dhanu came out of the tower and loosed an arrow at the firebender. He had to jump out of the way which gave me time to get to my feet.

"Nice timing," I commented.

"They are going to try and send a messenger hawk," Dhanu replied.

"Uh, like that?" I said and pointed to a bird that flew from the tower.

"Shit!" Dhanu cursed.

He ran forward and notched an arrow. Just as he started to raise it, I saw out of the corner of my eye, a fireball. I lifted up a wall of sandstone that crumbled from the flames. We were knocked to the ground and Dhanu's arrow went off to the side somewhere.

"Cover me!" he cried as he drew another arrow.

I kicked up a wave of sand at the firebender. My bleeding thigh slowed me down. I faced the firebender and threw as many rocks as I could manage. He threw just as many fireballs. The air around us filled with dust and smoke. Dhanu fired another arrow but missed.

"Come on Dhanu, it's getting away!" I shouted still fighting.

"Oh really, I wasn't aware of that! Shut up and get me atop one of these trees, your fight is clouding my vision!" he yelled back.

I lifted up a pillar of rock under him and launched him into the air. He flipped and managed to land atop a tree and stay on. The firebender and I continued our fight as Dhanu fired another arrow. I watched it soar through the sky and it take the bird into the depths of the ocean. He fired another arrow at my combatant. Together we began to push him back. I noticed fireballs coming at us from the top of the tower as well as from the walls. The trees around us moved to block the attacks. A palm tree next to me bent as if in a fierce gale to shield me from a fire blast. I looked around, even though I couldn't see her, I knew L. E. was watching over us.

More soldiers stormed into the courtyard. Dhanu fired arrows from his elevated position. Three fire blasts came at me. I lifted up a wall of rock. The wall threatened to collapse, I held it together. Pressure build up in the rock. Without warning, the fiery wall blew up, knocking me back. Chunks of rock flew everywhere. As I got back to my feet, I heard a crash; I looked up. Moji had blown through a window and jumped out of it. As she neared the ground, I heard swearing that even made me blush. She punched fire downward to slow her descent. I also softened the ground where she landed. I ran over.

"You alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," she stood. "Dhanu?" I pointed up. "Oh, okay."

We turned to face more soldiers. At once we attacked. I launched Moji forward on an earth wave and she threw two fireballs at the men. They scattered to avoid the fire. I jumped into action. Dhanu loosed arrows into the running men from the tree. I sent an earth shockwave that tripped them. Several pike men charged forward. Two of them lowered their pikes and charged at me. I had to turn and run to avoid the blades. A third went after Moji. I saw one of them throw a spear at Dhanu. He leaned to the left to dodge it but he leaned too far and slipped off his perch. His foot got caught on a vine and he hung there upside down. His arrows fell from his quiver, but he caught most of them while the others fell to the ground. Dhanu began firing arrows at the soldiers. Even though he was upside down, his aim was still true. He was able to keep the soldiers at bay. I glanced behind me; my two guys were still chasing me. I lifted up a rock in front of me. I rounded a tree and jumped into the air. I kicked off my rock, flipped over the men, and landed behind them. I launched one into a tree. I looked at the other. I lifted up a rock and launched it at him. He stuck out his pike and caught the rock on the blade. The rock stayed intact. The man then swung the pike at me. I was so surprised that I just watched it come at me; luckily the rock was stuck on the blade so I was just smacked by the rock in the stomach. I coughed as the air left my lungs. The pike came at me again. That time it clocked me in the head. I fell back into a tree. The pike came at me a third time, but I was ready for it then. I grabbed hold of the rock on the blade and ripped the pike out of his hands with earthbending. I then launched a rock that knocked him out. I sat there, heaving as the world around me spun. I saw Moji fighting the other pike man. He swung the pike horizontally. She ran forward then slid down to her knees and slid under the pike. She drew her knife and threw it. I was confused for a second until I saw where she threw it. It cut the vine that had Dhanu hanging. He fell and hit the ground hard. Moji turned to face the soldier, but she was too late. He had already begun another attack. The blade zoomed at Moji's chest; she dived. The blade still caught her right leg. She cried out in pain. The pike got her again on her arm. I tried to stand to go to her rescue. I felt pain in my chest. By habit, I felt it with my hand only to be surprised to feel wetness. I looked down to see my fingers and chest covered in crimson liquid. I realized that when the pike had smacked me, part of the blade must have cut me. I could feel the pain then. A line of fire from my right shoulder to the middle of my chest. I fell down to my knees. I remembered my sliced thigh; it too was drenched in blood. The world still seemed to spin. I watched as Moji was cornered by the soldier. He raised his pike and swung downward. All I could do was watch it happen. Just before the blade pierced Moji's chest, a piece of wood blocked it. Dhanu looked at the soldier fiercely as his bow kept Moji safe. Dhanu whipped up his bow, smacked the man in the face, and then kicked him in the chest. He helped Moji up. I stumbled over to them. I saw one soldier still standing.

Dhanu rounded on him, "Give up."

He looked around fearfully. He unleashed an arc of fire at us. Moji shielded herself, Dhanu dove to the ground, but I sent a rock into the man, knocking him unconscious. However since I didn't shield myself from the fire, my right hand and forearm were burned. I let out a cry of pain and fell to my knees.

"Shan!" Moji came over.

All of a sudden a man was thrown through a window in the tower. He screamed as he descended. He hit the ground with a crunching noise. I didn't need to look at him to know he was dead. In the window stood Lamara, looking down at us. She, Lina, and Koluk came down to us. A great fire burned on the island from our fight.

Lamara looked around, her eyes settled on the dead man for a second then moved on, "We got what we came for, let's go."

They helped Moji, Lina, and I back to the ship where L. E. was waiting for us.

Well that got kind of dark, huh? So even though they are all good fighters, it seems that without Hyriu's leadership, their fights become chaotic and unorganized. Things get interesting in the next chapter.

Chapter 15: The Future on Oribu Island goes up next.