Chapter 26

Bartering and Backtracking

"Long time no see, old friend. Did ya miss me?"

Torrin had Bazil, the sleezy salesman, cornered against the walls of the station the moment the train car was pushed to a stop. Usually, he had a slow-burning temper, but after the week he'd just had, he was in no mood to play games.

"Torrin my boy!" Bazil exclaimed weakly, "What a pleasant surprise! I was actually hoping to run into you sometime, you see—"

"Oh shove it, Baz. You told me to bring the contraband to your base in the Fire Nation, risking my life multiple times over in the process, and you would be there to give me the information I've been looking for. Instead, I find an empty warehouse and a pathetic-" he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, "little-" he shoved it in Bazil's face, "note."

Bazil chuckled nervously. "What can I say, a traveling salesman like myself can't be grounded in one place for too long. We need to travel, it's in the name!"

"You need to deliver on your promises. I held up my end of the deal, now talk."

Bazil's eyes shifted left and right rapidly, searching for a way out. Unfortunately for him, Auden was standing behind him, arms folded, face dark and brooding. Torrin was angry, sure, but Auden was by far more intimidating.

"Okay, okay. Look, the truth is that I couldn't come up with as much information as you wanted—wait! Wait!" he cried as Torrin seized the front of his shirt in fury. "The army records say that Rai and his son were captured in the first siege of Ba Sing Se and were taken to a war prison somewhere in the Fire Nation. But after the prison was shut down after the war and the prisoners were liberated, I can't find any record of your father at all."

A sick feeling began to settle in the pit of Torrin's stomach. "What about his son? Did you find anything about my brother?"

Bazil looked defeated and a little desperate. "Only a handful of rumors saying he left the prison and went back to the Earth Kingdom. I lost track after that. One of his old war buddies said he talked about going back for some girl and settling down in the colonies."

Some girl? My brother had a girlfriend?

"So you're saying he's in the old Fire Nation colonies?" Torrin demanded.

Bazil held up his hands defensively and shook his head. "Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I said he might be in there, but I don't have a lot of hard info to back that up so if he's not there…" he shrugged. "Don't shoot the messenger."

Frustrated, Torrin pushed away from him, "accidentally" shoving Bazil into the wall a little. The moment the man was freed from his grasp, he took off and vanished into the crowd, clutching his sack of shady goods.

Auden came up to Torrin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry there wasn't more he could tell you."

Torrin sighed. "I always knew it was a long shot. At least now I know that my brother is probably still out there somewhere."

"What about your father, Tor?" came a quiet voice from behind. Lyn was leaning on Maya to take the weight off of her injured ankle. Her big, brown eyes were wide and full of sorrow.

He shook his head. "I don't think he made it out of whatever prison they sent him to." A lump was forming in his throat. He always knew that the possibility that his family was still alive was slim, but hearing it confirmed was harder than he'd thought it would be.

Lyn reached out a hand to him. "I'm so sorry. I know this must be difficult for you."

Torrin took her hand with a tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks, Lyn." He took a deep breath and straightened up, back to business. "Let's go find a place to stay for the night before we decide what to do."

Maya brightened at the words. "Oh, we don't have to worry about that! We can stay at my mother's place above her tea shop!"

. . .

The four of them wandered up to a large building with what looked like a big round disk with a design of a white flower on it hanging above the entryway. Instead of a door, a floral green curtain was hanging off to the side to allow them to enter.

Maya walked in first, running up to the counter to throw her arms around a pretty woman with dark hair that stuck straight up in the back who was pouring a cup of tea. Startled, the woman set down the kettle and embraced Maya with a giddy laugh that sounded just like her daughter's.

"What are you doing here, Maya?!"

Maya pulled away, smiling. "We're doing some travelling, mother. We just made it to the city an hour ago, so we'll be needing a place to stay until we figure out where we're going next."

Her mother's face fell a little. "Of course you can all stay here but…How long will you be staying?"

Maya shrugged. "Just a day or two, I think."

Again, her mother looked dejected. "You're sure you can't stay longer? There's plenty of room here! And… you know how much your father and I miss you…"

Maya's expression softened. "I miss you too, mom." A tender silence fell between them, interrupted by Auden.

"Thank you for your hospitality, ma'am," he said, stepping forward and bowing his head.

Maya snapped back to life. "Oh, right. Mom, this is Auden, and that's Torrin, and that's Lyn. Her ankle was burned pretty badly in a fire, so I'll ask Dad to whip up a poultice if he's not too busy," she said and bustled back through another curtain behind the counter.

Left alone with her mother, the other three shuffled uncomfortably. Her mother smiled warmly at them. "You are all welcome here for as long as you like! My name is Jin and I run The Pai Sho Tea Shop!"

Lyn looked around happily at the cozy ambiance of the place. "This place is so cute! I love it!"

Jin chuckled. "We like to make this place feel as warm and welcoming as we can. Not a lot of people know this, but," she leaned over the counter to whisper dramatically, "The Pai Sho was started by General Iro when he retired from the Fire Lord's council and came back to Ba Sing Se! I met him and his nephew briefly during the war, so when he came back he hired me to be a shop girl and then passed off the whole thing to me and my husband when he passed on." A soft look entered into her eyes. "He was a great man."

Torrin's stomach churned. Just the reminder of the royal family made him feel a strange uneasiness, like he was torn between guilt and betrayal. It didn't help that the girl who'd betrayed him stole the old man's name to do it.

"Come on back to meet my dad, guys!" came Maya's voice from afar. "And Lyn, we have something for your ankle!"

Auden helped Lyn limp through the curtain with Torrin on his heels. But as he passed through the shop, he caught a glimpse of a portrait of an old man with a cup of steaming tea in his hands hanging above the doorway. His eyes were kind, his face serene, but there was something familiar about him that reminded him of the friend he'd left behind.

He ducked his head and went through the curtain, trying and failing to keep Ira, or Kairo, out of his mind.