"Oi, you the guy that merchant sent?"

"You're looking at her," Korra retorted at the shirtless man standing in front of her. He and his five looter buddies were in poor shape. Most of them were in rags, if that, and the closest thing to a proper weapon they had was one of them carrying a hatchet that was rusted and chipped.

"Yeesh, he could have taken it seriously," he muttered. "Sendin' a girl? Well, least he sent a merc riding some foreign critter. I guess that's something."

Korra rolled her eyes. "So, where's the brother?"

"Where's the ransom?"

"How much is it?"

"Didn't he tell you? Eight hundred! Now give it!"

Korra smirked. "What do you think, Naga?" The polar bear dog growled. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

The looters took a few steps back as Naga barred her teeth and Korra slid off of her back, landing on her feet. "Now, why don't you just tell me where the brother is and I won't have to bury you."

The looters looked at each other. "Hah! We're not afraid of you!" one of them shouted. "Get her!"

"Bad choice," Korra said as she made sure the shield was tight around her left arm. The first looter charged her, swinging his club, but she blocked it at an angle with the shield before knocking his arm to the side and slugging him directly in the face. He landed several feet away.

Two of them swarmed at Naga, but they quickly learned why no one in the Southern Water Tribe dared try to tame a giant polar bear dog. The first looter swung the hatchet at Naga, only to find his head inside her mouth and being used as a chew toy. Naga wasn't chewing on him directly, but she held him tight in her teeth and used his body to smack away the other looter and then released the guy, sending him flying into the ground, bleeding the whole way.

The three remaining looters were going for Korra, swinging away with their sticks. Korra leapt around them, disarming them quickly and knocking all but one of them out.

These guys were no where near comparable to chi blockers in skill - not by a long shot. One of them got a good hit on her, but the shoulder guard of her armor absorbed most of the blow and made countering a straightforward matter. That poor man found himself knocked towards Naga as the giant polar bear dog was swatting another looter down.

The last of the outlaws tried to run, but was pounced on by Naga before he could get far.

"Okay, okay!" he shouted, "Just… tell me what the hell you want and I'll give it to you!"

"It's not about what I want," Korra said with a smirk as Naga showed her jawline to the looter. "It's about what Naga wants. And I think she wants to know where the merchant's brother is."

"Okay, okay! He's being held in a valley to the northwest! Lots of trees, really dense. Big red tree marks the front end of it – can't miss it, I swear! Just south of Azgad!"

"Good. Let him go, Naga." She backed off and Korra put a hand on the saddle. "Thank you, you've been a great help."

The looter fainted.

"Works every time," Korra said with a smirk before she looked at the looters and noticed that a few coins had spilled from their pockets. She briefly wondered if she should take it before deciding that it was probably going to be impossible to track down the rightful owners. So she poked through the lot, finding a few denars in the mix and grabbing the hatchet – she needed something to cut branches to make camp, after all, even if it was rusty.

As Korra erased the mark of the looter's location and found where he was talking about, she heard hooves and glanced up to see a group of men with large clubs. Riding the horses Iroh had mentioned when describing common animals in Calradia when taking her to meet Naga.

"You there!" one of them shouted, "You seen any outlaws, bandits, or looters?"

"Yeah, I knocked out about six of them," Korra answered, gesturing towards where they were.

The leader nodded. "Thank you. Okay then you lot, let's move! One of Ramun's friends is in town today, so we get those guys and it's payday!" The group rode off quickly and Korra smirked. Helping some local police dealing with criminals was always a satisfying thing to do.

XXXXX

"Sorry Naga," Korra said as she looked at the path beyond the red tree the looter had mentioned. "It's too dense for you. Stay here, and make sure no one gets out."

The polar bear dog nodded and sat down, waiting at the entrance as Korra grabbed the bow and quiver, strung the bow, and slung both of them onto her back before making sure the shield was strapped onto her arm and the hatchet on her belt. She didn't expect to use it, but she had no idea how many bandits were in there waiting for her.

I really miss bending, she thought with a sigh. It formed so much of her defensive repertoire that she felt defenseless without it. The only reassuring part, she figured as she snuck through the brush to the camp, was that she had enough hand-to-hand training to deal with untrained thugs. Both the older styles from her upbringing and Asami teaching her more modern hand-to-hand combat in the months between Amon's defeat and Unalaq's schemes.

As she crept closer to the camp, she saw a hut where four bandits were sitting, all wearing ragged fur clothes.

"I'm getting' bored waiting on those idiots," one of them complained loudly. "Can't we just go loot something? I hear that Delinard's sending a caravan from Uxkhal to Praven tomorrow. We could go hit that."

"Pick a fight with the Marshall's guys? Seriously?" another one answered. "Are you stupid or something?"

"Hey, I didn't say do it alone! Hook up with Robin's gang near Ruluns first, hit it together!"

"You wanna work with that asshole?" the third bandit said in surprise. "Yeah, let's stick to kidnapping idiot merchantmen and foreign women. Much easier."

"Shut it, Tinsworth," the first one retorted. "Besides, it's not like they'll escape. I bet the ransoms'll come through soon. Based on her clothes, I bet her father's a lord of some kind. He's probably filthy rich. And probably a jerk too."

Korra smirked. If they were talking about who she thought they were, they had two out of three. Still, she could see more bandits ahead past the four talking. Too many to take on directly without her bending.

Luckily, she had just the tool to thin the odds a bit. Switching the shield for her bow, she notched an arrow, drew the string back and aimed just over the third bandit's head. After all, she had to compensate for the arc at the range she was at. She released the bow and the string slapped against the armguard of her new armor and she quickly grabbed another arrow to notch.

A scream told her she had hit her mark as the other three bandits were shouting in horror and she aimed for the first one, who had grabbed a large woodcutter's axe, and released the arrow. It sailed directly into his shoulder and the bandit collapsed, whining in pain as he started to bleed on the ground.

"Over there, archer!" the second bandit warned and Korra's eyes went wide as he shot an arrow towards her that narrowly went by her shoulder. She took cover behind the tree she was next to as he fired another arrow, daring to glance out briefly. He and his friend both had bows now and were aiming for her, arrows notched and waiting for her to show herself.

Glancing to a rock formation to her left, she smirked, leaning out to the right to get their attention before switching as quickly as she could and sprinting towards the rocks. The trick worked, the bandits releasing their arrows to the right before realizing she hadn't stayed there and once behind the rocks, she notched another arrow and released it at the bandits. She missed, but it forced them to consider being shot at as well and she used that opportunity to move closer behind another tree.

"Forget it, close in on her!" one of the two shouted as he heard stirrings deeper inside. She had to end this now. The two bandits were moving forward with large, cracked wooden shields raised to protect their heads and torsos.

Korra slipped the bow back around her back and drew the shield again. She was not confident in her ability to accurately hit them in the legs. The two bandits had large knives for weapons in hand. So, she had to get around those.

Nodding to herself, she took a run towards them and leapt up as they closed in, hoping that using what airbending she had left might give her a bit more hang time. Whether it did or not, the jump took her over both of them and before they could turn around she dropped onto her left hand and used it as a pivot to sweep both of their legs, knocking them onto their backs. A pair of quick strikes to the head later, they were both unconscious and she could turn to the other bandits in the camp.

Luckily, there were only three, none of whom had shields or bows. Korra smirked and quickly drew the bow again, aiming for the first one and loosed the arrow. She missed - in great part due to the shield obstructing her aim - but the bandits seemed to be spooked by the prospect and spread out, trying to hide behind trees. Korra notched another arrow and aimed, waiting for one to make a move. One finally did and she quickly turned to fire at him, but missed again.

But they were now spread out enough that it didn't matter. Running forward, she leapt up at the nearest bandit as he tried to bring a large axe up and kicked him in the face, riding him to the ground and knocking him out. The other two reacted, one with another hatchet (that wasn't rusted) and the other a pair of knives. She went for the one with the hatchet first.

Strapping the bow to her back as she went, she slid low as he tried to swing it horizontally to hit her left side and knocked him over before bashing him in the face with the shield. The other bandit rushed her, both knives pointed towards her but she blocked with the shield, which the old knives broke against before Korra grabbed the bandit by the throat and hurled him into a nearby tree. The bandit hit the tree and slid down, unconscious.

Smirking to herself as the fact she had pulled this off dawned on her, she checked the bandits and made sure they were down for the count. While doing so she found a few silver coins that she pocketed, switched the rusty hatchet for the non-rusty one, and started recovering the arrows. The ones that had missed she was able to put right back into the quiver, but as she found the two bandits she had shot to open the attack, she had to pull the arrows out of them. Wincing briefly at the sight and smell, she ripped off a part of their fur shirts to wipe the arrows off before putting them away.

And on that first bandit's corpse with a hole in the head, she found what she had really needed. A set of keys.

Heading into the main hut that the bandits were using, she saw two people inside. One of them was a disheveled man with extremely light hair and wearing pants and a simple tunic. The other person, however, was the one who really caught Korra's attention.

Wearing a dark red padded outfit not unlike the one Korra wore when she did pro-bending or practice bouts for bending, it had a half-cog logo on the shoulders. The woman who wore it had fairly light skin, green eyes, and black hair.

"Asami," Korra said as she unlocked the cuffs holding the woman's hands together and keeping her tied to the wall, "I never thought I'd see you here! I thought you were taking the wounded back to Katara."

"I was," Asami answered as she rubbed her wrists

So Mako was right after all – it is a habit, she thought as she recalled what he had said about perps getting their cuffs taken off. "What happened? You weren't anywhere near the portals."

Asami shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. One moment I was carrying in gauze, the next moment I'm in the middle of the forest. I think you can see what happened to me. I also had a small crate of gear, even my taser gauntlet was in there. Not sure how that ended up here."

"What's a taser gauntlet?" the other man, who Korra presumed to be the merchant's brother, asked.

"Basically, I grab you while wearing it, you get shocked," Asami answered.

"One of those Future Industries things you foreigners make?" he asked.

"That's one way to put it," Korra said. "Any idea on anyone else being here?"

Asami shook her head. "All I know is there are 'others'. You wouldn't believe who explained it to me…"

"I think I would," she retorted before Asami named him. "Though, we should get this guy back to the local city - his brother's going to be looking for him."

"Okay. I'll grab the gear - should be in the cave next door."

Korra nodded as she turned to the merchant's brother. "You going to be alright if you sit here for a minute?"

"I will," he said with a nod. "I take it you want to escort me back directly?"

"Probably a good idea."

The man nodded and Korra followed Asami to the nearby cave.

"So, since when did you own battle armor?" Asami asked once they were in the cave.

"Since last night," Korra answered. "It's going to be a long story, but… well, the guy I ran into had it for me, along with the weapons." She paused. "Well, not the hatchet. That I looted off a bandit."

Asami snickered. "What, bending not good enough for y-" Asami paused and her eyes went wide. "I'm sorry," she hastily apologized.

"Don't be," Korra answered with a shrug. "I still have it, it's just whatever sent us here weakened it, a lot. It should come back, though. It's like a bad run-in with chi blockers."

Asami nodded as she propped open the crate and pulled out a large metallic glove and slid it on. "I'm surprised about the other gear. There were some bolas and a crossbow in here too," she explained as she pulled it out. "Surprised the bandits didn't use it."

"Me too," Korra admitted as Asami pulled out the rest - a few changes of clothes and some more food supplies, some miscellaneous items, and a backpack for it all. "Though, how much was explained to you?"

"A lot. Odd part is, the one who explained it to me said he was taking the guise of one of the bandits…"

Korra glanced out of the cave and winced. "Which probably means I killed him or he's knocked out."

Asami shrugged as she started to fit a set of harnesses from the crate onto her outfit. "Given the era we're in, no surprise. Medical treatment wasn't brilliant in the Hundred Years War, and if these guys are any indication this place isn't even that advanced."

"It's going to take some getting used to, I think," Korra said. "Least you were able to keep the padded suit, though. It's decently armored."

The (former?) CEO of Future Industries nodded. It was the same kind of outfit worn by pro-benders, so it was rated to deal with significant impacts. After all, even with the rules on the sport, accidents happened. And when accidents involved fireballs or earthen discs, it had to be strong. Korra was fairly sure that it was one of those new polymers that had hit the market when she was ten years old, but she never studied much of that.

Add that to the list, she thought as Asami finished gathering her kit and other items for a rucksack. Make sure that the next guys training the Avatar include an actual common education… One more item for a list that included 'don't lock her up in a military compound' and 'make sure she has some basic life experiences'.

"So, you run into anyone else?" Asami asked as she strapped the crossbow and bolts to the harness and slid the backpack on.

"Naga's waiting at the end of the valley, but otherwise I haven't ran into anybody. I don't suppose you got a hint?"

"Just that I'd be getting help from 'a friend'," Asami answered as they left the cave. "I wonder who else is out there."

"Ten yuans says it's Mako and Bolin."

"Sucker's bet and you know it."

XXXXXXX

An hour or so later, they managed to make it back to Praven and went to the main tavern in town. Naga waited outside.

"Thank you," the merchant's brother said as he closed the door behind them. "I think I can see my brother over there."

Korra nodded and let the two brothers talk while she and Asami sat down at a table in the corner. There were no menus, though Korra grabbed her waterskin and took a quick drink while Asami opened a canteen that had been in her kit.

"So, what's your plan?" Asami asked.

"I don't know," Korra admitted as she put the waterskin down. "I was told that bandits are really big around here, but the last time I thought that being the Avatar meant going around busting heads, I got arrested."

"I remember hearing about that on the news, you really tore that street apart."

Korra rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Yeah, I did. Probably should've used a little more restraint…"

"Probably," Asami noted before pausing, giving Korra a quick tap on the arm and the two looked up as a burly man in light chainmail was walking towards them with his right hand closed into a fist.

"Can we help you?" Korra asked as she slid her hand down.

"You already did," he said, opening his hand to reveal some silver coins. "Some of the pay we got for the looters you knocked out. Figured you should get some of it for actually taking them out."

"Uh, thanks." Korra said as he put it down on the table and walked away, giving her a faint nod.

"What was that about?" Asami asked.

"I ran into them after I got your location, I figured they were local cops."

"Look more like bounty hunters to me," the businesswoman looked towards them uncertainly as they were talking to a man in a rather dressy blue shirt at the other end of the tavern. "That guy doesn't look like an official to me."

Korra shrugged. "Well, it's bandits in jail, right?"

"True," Asami said as two people walked over. Korra recognized one, the merchant's brother, but the other she concluded immediately was the merchant himself.

"Thank you," the merchant said, handing her a small bag. "The rest of the pay, two hundred denars. I have to say, I was uncertain about you going off alone, but it seems I was wrong about your skills."

"Glad to help," Korra said as she had to fight down how awkward it was. She didn't know what he thought they had discussed, but she had a hunch the money she had been given was supposed to be a down payment. "So, what happens now?"

"Now, I see about finding him a safer place to be. Maybe a university in Geroia…"

"Ah c'mon Tim, I'll be fine!"

The merchant sighed. "We'll discuss this later. Right now though, I may have another job for you."

Korra glanced to Asami, and the other woman simply shrugged. "I'm listening," Korra said.

"I mentioned that brigands were taking to the streets of Praven. Well, I found out how they were getting in. An insider, just like I thought. The Captain of the Guard, even."

"I thought most cops kept some crooks on payroll, for informers," Asami remarked with a frown. "Or at least usually do; if Beifong did she was darn quiet about it."

"Who?" the merchant's brother asked.

"Local chief of police back where we came from," Korra hastily answered.

"Fancy name for a town watch. Anyways," Tim continued, "As it happens, the local guard captain tried his hand at trade since he had a rather sizable gift from King Harlaus after his skillful defense against the Nords when King Ragnar attempted to take the city last year. Well, like a lot of amateurs he sunk all his fortune into the most expensive goods he could. Bandits stole everything before they even made it halfway to Suno."

"And he turned to crime because of that?"

"Exactly. He lets in muggers and other knifemen, they give him a cut of their loot."

"So why not just tell this King Harlaus?" Asami asked with a frown. "Sounds to me like you don't need a pair of foreigners for that."

"In theory, you're right. I could accuse the Captain of the Guard of his crimes and that would be that. But of course, there'd be an investigation, a trial, time enough to burn evidence, buy witnesses, or put me face down in an alley with a slit throat if the whole thing gets forgotten in a Vaegir attack."

He shook his head. "No, I'm not going to let that happen. I want to take a more direct approach. I've managed to gather a small group - local guards who dislike having to look the other way, townsmen who've lost folk to these bandits, and a few others who want payback. The plan is we hit him while he's asleep and drag him to King Harlaus in chains, with every piece of evidence we can find in his home. However, as I said I'm not a fighter..."

"So you want someone to lead this little revolt of yours," Korra finished as she realized exactly where this was going. "How do we know we can trust you?"

"Fair question," Tim admitted, "I mean, I suppose I could have found a few dozen people willing to die to give you a false impression of life in ol' Praven, and could have some motive for tricking a foreigner I barely know into participating in an affair that I will be neck deep in when it comes to light. Though if it changes things, I've got two hundred more denars to sweeten the deal, a hundred for each of you."

"Right, well… I need to think on it," Korra finally answered. "How long until you want an answer?"

"I plan on this happening tonight, after sundown. If you want to take the job, I'll be at my house."

"Alright. We'll have an answer by then." Korra looked at Asami and nodded to the door. The two picked up their containers and left the tavern.

XXXX

"You usually aren't that hesitant," Asami noted as she watched Korra trying to waterbend again. "What happened to the Avatar that picked a fight with three Triad goons on her first day?"

Korra paused as she was in the middle of pushing back one of the waves, which had built up some decent height. "Manipulated by too many politicians to trust a guy I barely know to be straight with me over something like this."

"Fair enough," she admitted as she opened the book and started flipping through it. It was a manual that had been in her backpack alongside several other knickknacks like an old family photo and a stamp with Future Industries' logo. The manual itself was a Future Industries handbook covering a variety of topics, including an index of materials and other important data for engineers. Definitely keeping this safe, Asami noted. This was the knowledge that could help start an industrial revolution like what had lead Fire Lord Sozin to initiating the Hundred Years War. It had gaps, but it was such a head start that filling in the gaps would be a matter of guided trial and error.

She glanced up as Korra groaned in frustration. "Having trouble?"

"I just don't get it," Korra answered as she threw her arms down and the small stream of water she had pulled out fell. "I mean, it's not like my chi is blocked, it's still flowing and I can feel it, but… it's just not strong enough. I don't know how to describe it, but…"

"It's like someone put a floodgate in and mostly closed it, so it's just a trickle?" Asami offered.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Believe it or not, Korra, non-benders learn the basics too." Asami smirked. "We can't use it, obviously, but it's one of the things we learn about in school, alongside things like math and basic biology."

"Speaking of that, I don't suppose your rucksack had any 'supplies', did it?"

She shook her head.

"Well, rags it is then. Remind me to make sure to buy some."

"Or we could pull them off the next set of bandits we take out, I've got at least another week before it's a problem," Asami suggested as she put the book back, leaning against Naga. The giant polar bear dog was sleeping, and Asami drifted off as well under the bright sun. It almost felt like a trip to the beach, just in heavier clothes than usual.

"So," Korra asked sometime later and Asami jolted awake, looking around as if expecting an attack before realizing she had just dozed off. "What should we do?"

"About the merchant?" Asami asked. "I think he's telling the truth. I mean, this whole thing is going to be dubiously legal, but then again so was us going Equalist hunting. And well, you're the Avatar; you've got a degree of prerogative there as far as dealing with this stuff."

"So I was told," Korra sorely noted as she folded her arms. "All anyone ever seemed to do was try to use me."

"Raiko never did. Sure, he was obstructing us, but I understand where he came from."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Let's be honest, we never gave him much to work on. All he had was an invasion of the Southern Water Tribe which, technically speaking, was an internal affair because of legal matters. Even if the two were separate practically, Unalaq was still in charge officially."

"Again, invasion."

"And we tried to start a barraty to drag the United Republics into it. I'm just glad he didn't forbid selling weapons - otherwise I'd probably be in jail for trying to sell Mecha Tanks to your dad."

"Not sure how you were going to get the pay, though," Korra noted as she glanced around. "I mean, the South wasn't exactly high on military mechanization."

Asami nodded, that was something she had realized on the trip to the South Pole. "Yeah. I think we let Varrick smooth talk us just a bit too much."

"Well, at least he'll be rotting in prison for the rest of his life. Though, what'll happen to Future Industries now?"

She paused as the numerous nightmare scenarios flashed by before she shook her head, including a far too smug Cabbage Corp owner who couldn't make handrails to keep workers safe if his life depended on it.

"We can't worry about that now. Unless you've got some sort of Avatar send-us-home trick, we're stuck here. And I don't think it'll be as simple as getting a ship and sailing." Asami paused, looking around. "I mean, we should probably keep our eyes open for a way home, but from what we were told that probably isn't going to be possible. It took Harmonic Convergence to send us here; what could send us home? Might as well at least try to have a good living here until we find a chance."

Korra nodded slowly. "Well, I'm thinking of taking up the offer. If you don't want to, I'll give you the money and have Naga stick with you. That way if something happens, you'll be able to get out of here."

"Hey, we're in this together, and really I think we should take him up on it. I mean, all else fails we beat up some guards and make tracks for one of the other nations here. Won't even be as hard as dodging your uncle - he had a whole fleet of battleships. So, did a few hours help at all?"

"It did," Korra answered with a grin as she drew the water out from her waterskin and whipped it forward before bringing it back. "It's mostly basics, but I've got my waterbending back enough for what we're doing. I guess I just need to work out."

"Sort of like rehab from poisoning. You work the muscles to deal with the atrophy and build them back up. Or in this case, work the chi flow until it recognizes the familiar patterns?" Asami paused as she looked at the setting sun. "What about your other bending?"

"I haven't tried anything else yet, and it's getting late."

Asami stood up and nodded, pulling the taser gauntlet out of the rucksack and sliding it on. "Let's tell him, then."

XXXXX

"Could they be any more obvious?" Korra muttered as she and Asami were walking to the rendezvous. It was night, a full moon lighting the way. She knew she would have her waterbending for the fight that night. And if the moonlight in Calradia didn't boost her bending, it still reassured her. Helped her feel that it would go well even though she left her shield and weapons behind. Asami had her gauntlet, but otherwise they had gone for full mobility.

"I know, if they don't realize we're coming then they shouldn't even be working minimum wage."

"Well, either way looks like we're about to start," Korra said as she saw the merchant give the signal. Suddenly, the townspeople milling around and nervously talking to each other drew various weapons. Knives, forks, rolling pins, pitchforks, a very large spoon, and more. Three of the guards also drew their weapons - an axe and short stabbing spears - and they all nodded to her.

"Okay, follow me," Korra said and lead them right up the alley to the guard captain's house. They only just turned into the alley when a gang of street toughs came out of the various corners, all armed to the teeth with clubs, butchering knives, and a few cobbled together weapons.

"Get 'em!" one of the thugs shouted and ran forward. Korra didn't give him the chance, whipping a stream of water into his face and the sheer velocity knocked him away.

"Take 'em out!" Korra ordered as the two groups merged into a fight. Asami was right behind her and her taser gauntlet was active, electrocuting one of the thugs that was trying to spear her. Asami simply sidestepped the tip, pulled the shaft up, and electrocuted the user.

An arrow whizzed past Korra's shoulder and hit the ground and she looked up. An archer was on the balcony. Bringing the water around, she shot the stream up and hit him in the face, staggering him before she pulled the stream back and broke the bow, snapping off the top end.

"Korra, watch out!" Asami shouted and Korra ducked just in time as a pair of stones flew past where her head was. One of the stones hit a townsman behind her. Korra grit her teeth and rushed forward, leaping over two muggers being brought down by one of the guards on their side and drawing the full contents of her waterskin, smashing a singular, large stream against the thugs and drenching the lot of them.

Several slipped and the two thugs throwing stones found themselves falling. Korra rushed forward, kicking one in the chest and into the other, and both slammed into a nearby barrel with a crash.

"They're running!" one of the guards shouted as the thugs began to flee.

"Chase them out of town, I'm going for the captain! Asami, with me!" Korra called as she drew the water up from the ground and back into the waterskin. The two made their way towards the door where a main was standing there with full metal armor and a large sword.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded angrily. "You dare disturb the peace on my watch?!"

"Some peace," Korra retorted, "considering that you let these thugs in."

"How did you… it was that merchant, wasn't - er, wait, what did you say?"

"Nice try," Korra said, rolling her eyes at his obvious cover up. "Now, you want to come quietly, or not?"

"Hah! I'm Alexander, Guard Captain of Praven, loyal soldier of Swadia! I don't surrender to foreign wenches!"

"Right then," Korra said as she splashed him with the contents of her waterskin. "Asami, you want to do the honors?"

Asami grinned darkly as she upped the charge on her gauntlet and moved forward. The guard captain swung his blade, but Asami leapt over and grabbed his arm, electrocuting him through his metal armor. And just as Republic CIty's metalbender police corps learned the hard way, metal armor was a very good conductor into the human body, especially when drenched in water that slid into the gaps.

After a scream, the captain collapsed with his hair on end and fell face first into the mud.

XXXXXX

"That went far better than I had any right to expect."

It was an hour later. The thugs had been chased out and any that weren't caught had long since fled town. The three guards on their side had grabbed their former captain and were holding him hostage in the room next door while Korra and Asami met with the merchant.

"How many were injured?" Asami asked as the merchant walked in, looking worried.

"About six of them, and two were killed in the fight. I'm not sure if the others will make it."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," Korra said and Asami found her curling her lip. Korra had tried to see if she had her healing abilities back, and managed to slow the bleeding on some of the injured. But it was a far cry from what healers were capable of, and they went right for bandaging after Korra finished.

"You did what you could. Though, I have to say, a lot of them were uneasy about seeing your abilities."

"I thought bending was a known thing around here," Asami commented with a frown. "Just not nearly as common where we're from."

"In theory, but some people distrust it. It reeks of witchcraft. And healing? Well, no one's seen that before..."

Brilliant, Asami thought as she rolled her eyes. We'll have to beat back superstitious farmers all day, won't we?

"What happens now?" Korra asked. "I mean, we did just start a riot."

"I'm going to drag the captain and the other thugs we captured to King Harlaus' court. He's holding a feast now, so he's available and one of the door guards was in on this and agreed to let us in. Hopefully it'll make enough of an impression to get this settled once and for all."

"That seems extremely risky," Asami noted, "I mean, you're going to make him lose face in front of a public crowd?"

"I'm aware, but Dhirim is being besieged as we speak by the Vaegirs. If he's going to lose face, he'll lose plenty when that city falls. Besides, Harlaus respects martial prowess. He's no Nord, but we did cut to the chase here. Hopefully he'll appreciate that."

Asami still felt like this was going to end badly, but she knew there was no talking him out of it. He had set himself on a plan.

"Do you want us along? You know, make sure no one escapes?" Korra offered.

"No, you're not natives here and you might as well not highlight your involvement." He pulled out another sack. "Here, the two hundred denars I promised the two of you. Split it however you wish. And if all goes well, maybe we'll meet up at the tavern in the morning. I spoke with the barkeeper and she's willing to let you stay the night as a thank you for clearing out the bandits."

"Thanks," Asami said as she took the bag and checked one of the coins. She would need a proper trade scale - and the local standards of minting - to be sure, but it seemed to be in order. "Good luck."

"Thank you," the merchant said.

XXXXX

Korra yawned as she woke up, glancing around the unfamiliar woodwork and put a hand on her head. Second night and I still expect to wake up back home, she thought with a sigh. She glanced to the other cot in the room where Asami was still sleeping. Naga had managed to squeeze into the room - the innkeeper was somewhat uneasy about the idea, but eventually decided that a giant dog being on the premise would at least be enough to give any lingering thugs pause.

Korra got off of the cot and started sliding her clothes on. Her armor was lying at the side of the cot, as was Asami's padded armor. Neither of them intended to wear armor to sleep unless they were in the open. She glanced towards the waterskin and drew a small amount of water from it.

Petty, she mused and knew that more than one of the White Lotus instructors would have chewed her out over such a 'misuse' of bending, but Asami was right: it was like a muscle. She had to work it, and using it to fill the small wooden cup on the bedside was as good a way to get a little more exercise as any.

"Morning," she commented as Asami woke up a few minutes later. "Feeling better?"

"Well, it is nice to have a bed rather than being slumped against a shack wall," Asami admitted as she looked around. "How long you been up?"

"Just a few minutes."

Asami nodded, sliding out of bed and brushing her hair before putting the padded suit on. "So," she asked, "you put any thought on what you want to do next?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Korra admitted. She had been wrestling with that one before they had fallen asleep and she still had no clue. "I mean, we're in the wide open here. You have any ideas?"

"Not really; never been a freelance adventurer before. Maybe we could ask the innkeeper? She's bound to know a few people who have work for us."

"Worth a shot," Korra admitted as she stood and walked out the door, heading down the flight of stairs to the inn's main room.

"Mornin'," the innkeeper said as she walked by the counter. "Hope the accommodations were adequate."

"They were," she said with a nod as she glanced around. "So, uh, I don't suppose you know if there's anyone who'd be looking to hire me and my friend?"

"Mmmm," the innkeeper rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, the Guildmaster here's looking for some more escorts for a caravan to Suno. After all, with all that's happened he can't be too careful. But that'll probably be a one-time gig and the pay's only likely going to be four denars a guard."

Korra found herself wishing she had brought the map. "How far a trip is it?"

"Only a half day's travel, tops. Unless they run into trouble. Well, you're talents are pretty powerful in a fight, right?"

"They're usually a lot stronger," Korra noted.

The innkeeper nodded. "Well, King Harlaus is always looking for more mercenaries to fight the wars. Maybe once you get them back to full strength you might try that?"

Yeah, no, Korra decided. She did not intend to be a hired hand for political wars. "Anything else?"

"You could always check for bounties. There's usually a couple standing ones, and sometimes lords need a hand in catching a fugitive, especially when there's a war on. Or maybe ask around the villages - they usually need help too. Though they're more likely to reward you with a wedge of cheese and good will rather than silver."

Asami came down and nodded. "I grabbed the map," she said.

"Thanks," Korra said as the main door opened and the merchant walked in. "Tim?"

"Oh, good, you're alive," he said with a weak smile as he walked over and sat down on a nearby stool. "It… didn't go as planned."

"Harlaus wasn't happy about you embarrassing him?" Asami asked.

"That's one way to put it," he admitted. "Oh, he was glad that we dealt with the issue - a captain who opens the gates to bandits may open it to the enemy in a war at the sight of enough silver - but we did raise a ruckus. So, he's exiling me from the city."

"What?" Korra asked, staring at him in shock. "As you said yourself, we plugged a big hole in his security, so he's rewarding you by kicking you out?"

"Well he had to save face and having me around is a reminder about how he failed. He's being quite reasonable about it, really. He's giving me time to make arrangements and sell my goods, and said he'd make sure that it was known that I should get a good, fair price for them. But I'll be catching the first ship to Geroia once that's settled."

"That doesn't make it right," Asami noted.

"Right? Young lady, this is Calradia. Weak kings have to put forth a face of authority first, justice second. And every king is weak here. To them, 'Right' is just an excuse for the strong to exercise their choices." Tim paused, as if realizing he had gone on a tangent. "But at least he didn't decide we all needed to be hanged. Actually, he was rather curious about you two. Don't go about reminding him of your involvement, of course, but he's probably wondering if you might be useful as a fighter for the wars. So if you need a job you could probably sell your swords to him. Or one of his rivals, if you prefer."

"Good luck wherever you end up, Tim," Korra said as she offered a hand. He took it with a nod and shook.

"Thank you. And good luck with whatever you end up doing." With that, he rose, nodded to them, and left.

"So," Asami asked as the tavern door shut. "Did you figure out a job for us?"

"How do you feel about escorting a caravan to a nearby city?" Korra asked. "Pay's not great, but it's only a half day trip."

"That it?"

"Unless you want to join an army, yeah. Or do bounty hunting."

"Caravan it is."

XXXXXX

End Chapter

Author's Notes:

- While I weakened Korra's bending initially as a matter of not overpowering Calradia, at the same time bending is something important to Korra. I wanted to play around with her having to fight like a non-bender for a little bit since I honestly feel that was a massively missed opportunity after the first season (though one I understand why they didn't do given their time constraints and not wanting another near-miss like what almost happened with Aang at Ba Sing Se). But at the same time, I wanted Korra to get some bending back early. So, waterbending was the easy choice as her native element while having sufficient limitations for the early stage, normally not being so powerful to wreck large numbers of guys while still giving Korra sufficient personal strength for her abilities.

- For those used to Mount & Blade, I wanted to not have Korra leap right into building a fighting force. It just didn't feel right, in my opinion, for Korra's first reaction to be 'welp, time to build an army' like it is for the players. That said, this is Calradia. I just want it to make sense, plus a phase before there's an army to factor in is good for exploring Calradia and doing some world building.

- Asami was an easy choice for Korra's first squadmate to find. Non-bender who can handle herself, gives Korra needed knowledge for politics, an engineer, and well, at long last the threat level is nicely balanced for her. Also, Asami's a great character and I always wanted to use her for this story.

- Since I know someone is going to ask: In regards to Korra and Asami… if you're looking for smut, just type in "Korrasami" at DeviantART, turn off your mature filter, and you'll probably have what you want in the first few hits (we all know that even with the filter on you'll find some stuff). If you're looking for a romance between the two within the story's rating, well, this is post Book 2 Korra and Asami, not Book 4, so there's about a three year gap to build. Admittedly, one that could probably be compressed as long as there's no mercury poisoning. If you just don't like Korra and Asami together… even if I do have them get together as they did in canon, I have no intent of making this a shipping fic and as of now I probably wouldn't do it within the scope of what this fic will cover. However, as a friend of Korra's, Asami will have a major role in the story. I'm not writing this for the shipping wars, but given the shitstorm over the ending, a disclaimer seemed warranted.