A quagmire of crowds, and the cacophony of sounds, smells - and taste, when Sokka had tripped over a loose fire ferret and experienced a mouthful of market sand - felt like a wet blanket had been thrown over their faces. Although the city of Tamuzen was barely worthy of the term, its population almost doubled with the entry of the seasonal trade caravan, and the many inhabitants of surrounding villages that came over to make use of their temporary market stalls.
Iroh was enchanted. He paused to investigate every third stand, and while the party had initially made good use of the delay to scrutinise the surroundings for the enigmatic glyph - being barely aided by Zuko's spiritless advice where he had last seen it a week ago - his stops were growing burdensome on their progress, to the point where even Aang cleared his throat when Iroh examined the fifth tea shop of the day.
"We better split up," he proposed distractedly. Toph immediately offered to accompany the elder, stating the obvious fact that she would not be much use in their quest for a written symbol, and they made a half-vocalised arrangement for when they would regroup near the cave in which Aang had carefully hidden Appa. The bison did not appreciate the underground, certainly not after their experience with the secret tunnel, but where careful persuasion hadn't helped them any further, Toph had, by moving the ground on which he stood deeper inside the riverside hillock.
Iroh also took the reins of Zuko's ostrich horse, which they needed to sell regardless. He promised to bargain a good price for the famished animal, and just like that, Team Avatar was making monetary agreements with the brother of the Fire Lord, and allowing him to leave them alone with the prince.
"Did we really think this through?" Katara whispered in Aang's ear, and he could not offer much assurance but a hesitant nod. They had escaped the cramped marketplace into more a deserted yet luxurious housing district, and just as he was about to propose turning back to check on Iroh's progress, Sokka annoyingly discovered their mystery glyph inscribed in a granite gateway.
"Master Bing's residence", he read from the remaining, legible characters on the sign. "I take it he's a patrician of sorts, going by the quality of the stone?"
"Or by his house being three times the size of his neighbours'," Zuko mumbled. He had gotten more comfortable opening his mouth during their cooperative search, while remaining quite conscious of his position among the others.
"He's rich, but you're the Avatar," Katara assured him. "We're going to get Momo back in no time, and then…" She glanced at Sokka, Team Avatar's unofficial schedulekeeper.
"...train Aang in earthbending?" he suggested tentatively. "Though we just left behind his tutor, so…" He scratched his head. "You know, someday we're gonna have to figure out a long-term plan..." Again he halted, glancing at their newest teammate, who would be extremely interested in their destination, Aang surmised. He knocked on the gate, and it dropped into the ground before his fist had hit it a second time.
"Nifty," Zuko said with honest appreciation for the mechanism, and the four progressed into an opulent garden. There was no guide but the single path offered a clear route to the main residence, even if it was excessively windy and curved around an extraordinarily variegated array of fauna, originating from all over the Earth Kingdom.
Master Bing was clearly incredibly wealthy, but they could not discern a real taste in all the plants they came across. They each individually looked marvellous, but the patch of panda lilies besides an arrangement of scarlet bindweed, their colours clashing horribly, betrayed that Bing seemed to care more about owning these exotic specimens than he did about adorning a garden with them. Aang, the most aesthetically minded of them, groaned at some of the combinations and had to physically press a more agreeable expression on his face when they neared the actual entrance, knowing that some level of courtesy would be necessary in order to get his lemur back.
Right before they could knock a second time, the ornate wooden door opened to reveal a man, dressed in a trimmed suit of black, gold and olive that many a king would find too pompous - yet the deepness of his bow left no doubt about his occupation in the household. "Good afternoon," he spoke in refined tones, like he had chewed and lubricated each syllable before carefully expelling it from between perfectly porcelain teeth. His hair was thoroughly oiled until it was blacker than tar, and Aang wondered what Master Bing would look like, if his butler was this groomed. "Might I humbly inquire, good sirs and madam, as to the nature of the Avatar's visit to our modest establishment?"
Sokka snorted. "Well if this is modest, then I don't know what ramshackle slums the surrounding mansions are!"
Aang frowned at him, and made a courtesy bow, which the others quickly repeated. "Thank you for your hospitality, sir, though you have us at a disadvantage."
The servant smiled a smile that had been measured out with a ruler. "I beg your forgiveness, young master Avatar. My name is Guge. We have eyes at the front gate at all hours, as Master Bing values his privacy, but a person carrying your tattoos is one welcome at any time." He nodded at them with an anticipating expression.
Katara reached inside Sokka's bag as she addressed his unspoken question. "We have come here to return something of Bing's, and would like the favour returned, for he unwittingly took something of ours." She exposed the trap, and Guge was stricken with recognition - and even that face seemed rehearsed.
"Of course; if you would be so kind to follow me," he spoke without a moment's hesitation, and he proceeded into an alleyway stuffed with artwork from every corner on the globe. Just about everything that could conceivably be put on a wall was present, and this was just the entrance hall.
"Master Bing is an avid collector," Guge said, as if that fact wasn't entirely obvious, "but he has great tolerance for the local peasants, whose pets are often careless enough to step into his traps. We have a protocol in place for the reimbursement." That last word worried Aang, but Guge ignored his tentative protests and began explaining Bing's lineage, which apparently dated back to the original architect of the walls of Ba Sing Se.
The house was nothing short of a palace, but whereas Bumi's halls were grand and designed with some consistency in the architecture, Bing's "modest establishment" featured a different interior for each of the many narrow rooms they progressed through. No vertical surface was left barren, and after a minute they noticed that even the ceilings were similarly adorned with various artworks and artefacts. Katara recognised a ritual mask from the Southern Water Tribe, and Guge paused to explain where Bing's great-great-grandfather had acquired the relic. He was appreciative of her recognition, but Aang grew less contented with Bing's collection. He began seeing stuffed animal heads on alabaster plaques, each detailing where they had been slain and by which member of the Bing dynasty.
"We are looking for a flying lemur," he said, interrupting Guge telling about the birth house of Bing's maternal grandmother. "Captured early this morning in the woods near Tu Zin. He's from the Southern Air Temple, and probably rare, but we would much appreciate having him back… and in one piece, if it's not too much trouble."
"You will be reimbursed for your animal," Guge explained with the patience of a school teacher. "I think Yeo-hu went there today to check on our traps, which are just a few of the many hundreds we have been setting up here ever since Master Bing took up residence in Tamuzen. The creatures unworthy of his collection are of course released back into the wild." He glanced at Aang coldly. "We are going to the aviary. If you can find your lemur and prove that it is yours, then you will be granted a fair market price for the animal."
"What he is missing," Sokka said, "is the option to have Momo returned to him. Alive." Aang and Katara nodded, and Zuko tried his best to do an intimidating face. His scar did a lot of the threatening for him.
Guge began shaking his head, but his eyes widened and voice deepened, as serious as if he was conspiring an act of regicide. "Fortunately for you, Master Bing is home today. If you wish to arrange for a breach of protocol…" Guge visibly shuddered at the thought, "then you would have to escalate the matter to him personally. He might even allow an audience out of his schedule for the Avatar."
"Even Bumi was more hospitable," Sokka mumbled, but Aang bit his lip. He did not doubt their odds of liberating Momo by force, if that turned out necessary, but after spending fifteen minutes walking through his madhouse, he was transfixed by the remarkable lord and more than curious to meet the man, to see if he could be reasoned with.
"Yes, we would appreciate that. So where are we headed?"
"Still to the aviary," Guge dryly noted. "His excellency is scheduled to be there till the fifth hour past noon, experimenting with artificial flight."