The trip to Suno had been quiet, fortunately. The caravan had left mid morning and by the afternoon they were in a new city just to the east of Praven. Little happened on the trip save discussing recent events, which Korra and Asami paid close attention to, hoping to get abreast on current topics. They were paid right outside of the city and the caravan went inside, though they remained outside to eat lunch as there was a stream that Naga could drink out of.

Though when they entered the after finishing, a large platoon of foot soldiers and nearly two dozen cavalrymen wearing heavy armor and carrying massive weapons began to march out.

"What's going on?" Korra asked as they were at one of the roadside markets, specifically one selling weapons.

"Count Klargus must be movin' out his levies," the weaponsmith remarked. "Dhirim's been hit hard by the Vaegirs and Marshall Delinard's trying to get everyone not at that feast in Praven to march. The Count showed up 'round midnight; must've ridden hard from Praven to get here so fast."

"A city's being besieged and your king's holding a party?" she asked, staring at him. "I mean, I can understand a victory celebration, but I heard the war was in stalemate."

The weaponsmith shrugged. "Who knows why the nobles do what they do? Anyways, you want to buy a weapon? I've got a nice, tempered arming sword for a good price!"

Korra glanced at the stock. A number of good weapons - and many bad ones - but nothing she needed. "No thanks, I think I'm good."

"Your loss - best weapons in Swadia."

Asami tapped Korra's shoulder. "Hey, I just overheard that the guy in charge of a city called Uxkhal is looking for someone to rescue a family member."

"That'd be Marshall Delinard," the weaponsmith chimed in.

"You mind?" Korra asked, glaring at him before turning back to Asami. "What happened?"

"Prisoner of war."

"Do we really want to get involved in the wars?"

"I know, but it might help to have some connections up high."

Korra paused, then nodded. This was something Asami knew more than her about. "Alright, sounds good. When do you want to head out?"

"Whenever you're ready. See anything you like?"

"Nah. Though, rescue attempt?"

"Yeah."

"We should probably get some rope."

XXXXXX

"Count, two mercenaries are here offering to help with your son."

Korra looked up across the hall. It had taken a half a night's ride to get to the town, and once they arrived they had bunked at a local inn until the morning. Putting on their armor again, they had headed for the keep that formed the center of Uxkhal.

And as she looked at the count - a man who was probably in his forties with brown hair and a full beard, a large sword hanging at his side - her reservations about politicians came back to mind.

"Thank you, Sergeant," the count said as he rose, making the heraldry on his tabard more visible. White with two black, twin headed birds emblemized on it.

Asami bowed her head, and Korra followed suit. Play along, she thought.

"So, you two believe you can rescue my son?" the count asked as he rose from his throne and walked forward, looking them over. "It's rare to see women in arms, but I will take a worthy blade regardless of the hand that wields it. Welcome to Uxkhal, ladies. Might I know your names?"

"Thank you, Count," Asami answered before giving Korra a quickly glance. "My name is Asami Sato."

"Korra," she supplied. "And we think we can. We've dealt with worse."

"Infiltrating Dramug Castle will be no mean feat. Boyar Druli is a skilled commander of arms - for a Vaegir, anyways. And it will be well guarded. But, if you are willing to do this, I would be happy to compensate you for your efforts when my son is returned safely."

"What do you know about this castle?" Korra asked.

"It's an old fort, but has been well maintained over the years. Built into the hills, it is a sturdy wooden palisade. Normally breachable with siege engines, but the Vaegirs have had us on the ropes."

Sounds like firebending's the key, Korra thought before writing it off as unlikely. Wood burned, but there were ways to make it harder to burn in order to give them more than enough time to put out any fires.

"The garrison has likely been reduced for the siege on Dhirim, but it will still be potent as it is a frontline castle. This will mean that Boyar Druli is unlikely to be present, so you will not have to contend with his hordes of unwashed serfs. Still, getting inside will be difficult."

"What about infiltration?" Asami asked.

"I actually discussed this with my men; you could enter in disguise or openly, knock out the gaoler, take the keys from him, and release my son. But then you'll be up against dozens of angry guards with no support. Though if you have any connections in Vaegir lands, that might help."

Korra shook her head. "No, we're new around here."

"Mmm. Well, the other option is to just take the place. That is, if you two have troops to command?"

"Just the two of us," Asami supplied. "Though, I think we'll be able to get inside. Do you have any maps of the castle?"

"Only the outer fortifications, any buildings inside will likely have been rebuilt after the storms last season," Delinard explained. "But, are you willing to take the job?"

Korra glanced at Asami and gave a slight nod. Asami returned it.

"We will," Korra said. "How long do we have?"

"As soon as possible, before he is transferred deeper into Vaegir lands in the custody of Boyar Druli's friends. Ideally within a week, but if I do not hear of you for a month I will assume the worst."

At least he's honest about how dangerous it is, Korra noted with some appreciation. The extended timeframe seemed somewhat extreme, though. A whole month before writing them off as dead? She chalked it down to news traveling slowly.

"However, if you decide that you are unable to rescue him, I will not hold it against you so long as you tell me. This is a difficult task to perform with an army supporting you. But, if you are successful, two thousand denars will be yours, and if you successfully ransom my son, I will cover that cost as well."

"Anything else we should know?"

"I will show you a portrait of Rafard, so you will be able to recognize him. Otherwise, good fortune in your endeavours, ladies."

XXXX

"So what did that count mean by 'ransom'? If his son's a prisoner of war, why would they release him for money? Prisoner exchange I could understand, but money?"

"Old school warfare," Asami remarked as the two were on the road, heading to the northeast and hoping to cut around the frontlines. "Why kill a rich commander when you can capture him and get enough money to pay your army for a few weeks by releasing him?"

"Oh come on," Korra retorted as she tugged on Naga's reins before she chased a small animal scurrying nearby. "That's silly - one, you assume that your opponents would be willing to pay and trust you that much, and two, why give them a skilled commander back just for money?"

"The rules were different then," Asami answered as she wondered how thorough the White Lotus had been about Korra's history education. "Before the Hundred Years War, in any Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation conflicts - mostly the internal ones - it was common for important leaders to be ransomed rather than imprisoned or killed. The idea of total war came out of the Hundred Years War and ended that."

"Right, along with throwing the full nation's industry into it. Though didn't that die out about twenty years into the war?"

"The Fire Nation had to ease off when it stopped to consolidate, yeah. The Earth Kingdom was never able to adopt it fully either. I've always wondered how it would have ended if both sides went in completely."

"War weariness probably would have destroyed them," Korra said with a shrug. "I mean, how many times did it devolve into two armies staring at each other? The middle half of it was mostly skirmishes - major battles start it off, tempo died down, then it got started in full again when Iroh - the first one, not the United Forces general - began his campaigning and pushed straight to Ba Sing Se." Korra paused, lip curling.

"Something wrong?" Asami asked, wondering what was gnawing at Korra.

"It's just kind of weird. I mean, knowing what he became. It's hard to imagine him a conquering general."

"We never know what we end up. I never would have imagined being friends with the Avatar; well, besides childish fantasy as a little girl." Or pretending she was the Avatar.

Korra smirked. "Well, that's one that you managed to live up to."

"Though, you ever wonder how you'd handle the war if you were the Avatar then?"

"Join the frontlines, start wrecking armies?" Korra offered as she glanced back with a smile. "Assuming I arrived full strength and I displaced Aang."

"I guess you would have been the Avatar for the era. At least until it was time to put together the peace."

"Yeah…" Korra shifted awkwardly. "Diplomacy isn't my strong point. I'm actually trying to figure out why the White Lotus never tried teaching me that besides 'you must be wise' and all that."

"It's not something you can really teach," Asami pointed out as she put a hand on Korra's shoulder. "I mean, there's rhetoric and the structure of an argument, but that's all ivory tower stuff to refine it. You gotta learn it by experience."

"So, socializing."

"Wait, the White Lotus didn't let you socialize?" Asami asked, surprised.

"I was in the middle of nowhere in a military compound - not a lot of human interaction that wasn't authority figures, my parents, or Tenzin's family visiting." Korra's grip on the reins tightened. "Yeah, if I get a chance to leave instructions, I'm making it clear that if they find the next Avatar at my age, try and make sure he or she gets socialized."

"Probably not as easy as you make it sound."

"Yeah, I was lucky enough to find Mako, Bolin, you…"

"And you got a chance to play as an equal in Pro Bending."

"That too… hey, we're going the right way, right?"

Asami reached for the rucksack on the saddle and pulled out the map, cross referencing it with a compass she had picked up in Suno for a bargain. "We are," she said as she looked up. "Though we should probably find a place to camp soon, it'll be dark soon."

"Any village close enough?"

Glancing around and trying to do a quick estimate on how far they had gone in relation to the map, she shrugged. "We could try Chide, but we'd need to double back."

"Scratch it, let's just find a nice quiet spot and camp."

Two hours later and as dusk settled, they had found a small alcove in the cliffside. Naga settled down at the campsite while the two women set up a campfire with brush and sticks, though Asami mostly just gathered the material and gave Naga her food. Korra set up the campfire itself, making a small fire pit with earthbending and then lighting it with firebending once Asami put in the wood.

"That's about as much as I can do," Korra noted as they settled down against some of the larger rocks and started on dinner.

"I'm surprised," Asami admitted. "The way you set it up, I could've sworn you've gone camping before. Weren't you locked up in a fortress?"

"I was," Korra noted, "but Avatar or not, my parents still wanted me to learn important survival skills that any Water Tribe member learns - making camp, hunting, makeshift shelter in the snow, and so on. It took some persuading with the White Lotus; you should've heard the argument over me ice dodging, that almost came to blows."

"Wait, that wasn't just something Varrick made up for the movers?" Asami asked, staring at her in surprise. She had written off taking a boat through icy straits as more tribal stereotypes from Varrick, not as something seriously done as a rite of passage into adulthood.

"Some don't do it anymore, but with how strong boats are now it's more of a family outing than anything," Korra noted with a shrug. "How bad was that Nuktuk thing anyways? It wasn't looking like quality theaterwork."

Asami shifted awkwardly before answering, not sure how to broach the subject given that it was, in the end, a racist production. "Well, it's a lot of stereotypes. You saw Bolin in costume, right?"

Korra simply nodded as she tore off part of the meat she was eating. "Well, Varrick was crazier than a sewer pipe elephant rat. If he made racist propaganda about his own culture, that's him being a maniac. No skin off my back."

"It was technologically impressive, though. Not the thing I'd point to about what the tech could do, but…"

Korra simply nodded as she swallowed. "Hopefully it ends up in good hands. I'd love it if they'd record Pro Bending matches - I mean, not only is it a great way to get some replay out of a match, but you can show it to those who missed the actual match, teams can watch them to see what went wrong…"

"Undeniable proof of certain cheaters cheating?" Asami smirked as she recalled that fateful night. "You know, I think they got lucky with Amon."

Korra's face immediately hardened.

"Sorry," Asami quickly said, mentally backpedalling. "I meant that after what happened to them, they were sorry victims, not the targets of an angry lynch mob."

"I know what you meant," Korra explained as she glanced towards Naga and tossed an extra bit of meat towards her. The polar bear dog ate it up quickly. "It's just… I wouldn't use the word 'lucky' with losing bending in any circumstance. It's… horrible. You ever hear of ghost limbs?"

Asami raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I have."

"Basically, you lose your arm - accident, battle, what have you. Sometimes, you feel like its there. Now imagine that throughout your whole body…"

"... as if you were missing your chi paths," Asami finished, though wrapping her head around it was something she didn't feel like she could do. She never had to deal with it. "Like you're missing part of your body. Your whole body."

"Exactly. You just feel… empty. You never saw Tahno after what happened to him, did you?"

"Only when you gave him and the other Wolfbats their bending back, so no."

"It's not something I can put into words, and even if you wanted to understand what I'm talking about I wouldn't even try to do it. But it's horrible."

The campsite remained silent for the rest of the night, save for the two taking turns finding a nearby bush to relieve themselves (along with the added difficulties of getting their armor off to do so), and Korra volunteering for first watch.

XXXXXX

"That map undersold how hilly the back end of the fort was," Korra noted as they were just a mile west of Dramug Castle, hidden in the wooded hills. It had taken most of the day to get there, but not because of distance.

Rather, they took the long way around to avoid being mixed up in numerous Vaegir troops, mostly small raiding parties that seemed to be out looking for something to fight, taking a long way around the north and cutting briefly into Nord territory before dipping back south into Vaegir lands. Ironically, once they reached Vaegir territory the patrols seemed to cease and they had made their way into the woods. It was midday now, giving them plenty of time to prepare.

"It did," Asami agreed as Korra passed her the telescope and Asami looked at the tower. "So, what were you thinking about getting in?"

"Wait 'till nightfall, climb up the back wall, drop in quick and quiet. Then get out the same way."

Asami glanced back towards where Naga was sitting. "What about a fast getaway? I mean, once we get the count out they're bound to notice something's wrong…"

"That's why I want to do it late at night," Korra explained with a slight smile. "The best time to give the White Lotus the slip was night, especially if there was something to get their attention like a Pro Bending game on the radio. Guard shifts usually get smaller at night because people need to sleep."

"True, but it's the difference between guarding a military fort and just being on standby in case something happens. I mean, let's be honest if someone tried to kidnap you on Air Temple Island it wouldn't take too much to realize someone's wrong."

"Yeah, but the White Lotus guards were probably a lot more disciplined than these guys." Korra paused as Asami handed the telescope back, looking at the two guards in the main tower. "Though, I will say, these guys don't look as unwashed as they were described. Just an unhealthy love of big weapons." The huge straightened scythe one had strapped to his back stood out to her.

"I'm still not sure about our exit," Asami said as she pulled out the map. "I mean, slipping in the back is one thing, but getting out? It might be a good idea to get your earthbending back first. That way we can disable the gate lock, knock it open, and then make a run for it to Naga or even steal some horses."

"I don't think we have enough time for me to get it back to that level," she noted as she considered how long it took to get her waterbending back to combat shape. "I mean, I'll spend a couple hours on it before we hit the place, but I think it'll be mostly waterbending again."

"We've got plenty of time, we can wait a day or two if it gets everything ready."

"I'm not sure we want to break out the front door anyways, I mean, won't they just run us down? There's nowhere to hide to the east and if we steal horses, they're not going to be able to get in here. We'll have to walk all the way around the fort, exposed the whole time."

Asami nodded slowly, putting a hand on her chin as she looked between the map and the castle. "Well, there's a few blind spots in the back. If we hug the wall, we could probably climb up without being seen as long as we time it right. And if we're quick, we might even be able to drop down to the courtyard before the guards can see us. The only problem I'm seeing is if the garrison wakes up."

Korra nodded slowly. Asami was right: if the garrison woke up, the sheer numbers would wear them down. But if discovered, it would not be that everyone would be on them instantly. They would have some wiggle room between the alarm being raised and having the whole garrison trying to chop them to pieces.

"It's going to be risky, but I don't see any other way to do it," she finally said before sighing. They had enough rope, at least, but everything else was pushing it. "Alright, let's head deeper into the woods so the noise doesn't get their attention."

"Sounds good," Asami said as she packed up the map and they delved deeper into the woods.

XXXXX

Hours later, after night had fallen and a long time after dinner, Korra and Asami were quietly creeping towards the fort, staying behind rocks and the hillside to avoid the main tower's sentries. On the upside, the standing guard had been reduced compared to what it was during the day, far fewer soldiers milling about. However, the now-waning moon still provided light even through the thick clouds.

Korra gestured forward as she saw the guard walking along the wall enter the tower to their left and the two hurried forward. They had taken a minimal amount of kit - their armor, the rope, Asami's gauntlet and Korra's waterskin, and nothing else. Their weapons - from the crossbow to the shield - were left behind to minimize the amount of noise.

Once at the wall, they pushed their bodies against it to provide as small a profile as possible to any observers and waited. The guard came back, walking along the wall and to the main tower. As soon as Korra heard him climbing the steps away from the wall and into the main tower, Korra slid the rope off from around her body and handed it to Asami.

Asami pulled the end out and Korra drew a small amount of water from her waterskin, gripping the tied end of the rope and gave Asami a nod. Asami swung the rope into the air and Korra used the water to push it towards one of the larger wooden timbers, bringing the opening of the rope around the sharpened tip at the top and dropping is snuggly around. Asami gave it an experimental pull and nodded as Korra brought the water back into the skin.

So far so good, Korra thought as the two climbed as quietly as possible. Korra's heart was pounding as they climbed. They were at pure luck here - any Vaegir so much as glanced in their direction, and the whole plan was busted. Or worse, if the guard decided not to raise the alarm and instead just shot them before they realized they were compromised.

Focus, don't worry about that, Korra reminded herself as they reached the top and Korra grabbed the rope, pulling it back up and nodding to Asami as they saw the prison building. A short drop away, but far enough that the landing would risk alerting the guards.

Asami gestured down as Korra brought the last of the rope back up, and she nodded. The two jumped down, landing on the wooden roof covered in thatching and sliding down it. The thatch rubbed against Korra's arms as she slid down, but no one seemed to notice as they dropped to the ground and quickly ran around to the door of the building.

"What the...?" the guard started before his face was covered in water and frozen solid, leaving him unable to breath. The guard's eyes were wide as Korra moved closer to him, arms outstretched as she stepped into the torchlight.

Asami moved forward quickly, running past Korra and getting behind the guard. Korra melted the ice keeping him from breathing and the guard collapsed, gasping for air before Asami covered his mouth and held him in a sleeper hold. Korra stepped forward and pulled the keys from the guard, unlocking the door and prying it open.

No one was inside waiting for them, and Korra gestured in. Asami nodded to the guard's feet. The two dragged him inside, and once he was in Korra locked the door and Asami dropped the guard on the ground. He was barely conscious, wheezing as the sleeper hold was released.

"Getting out isn't going to be as easy," Asami noted as she gave the guard a kick to the back of the head to knock him out.

"That's why I grabbed the rope," Korra retorted as she passed the keys to Asami.

"Still would have felt better if you were able to earthbend before we did this."

"Me too," Korra admitted, unable to stop her annoyance from creeping into her voice. Unlike restoring her waterbending where all it took was some practice, her earthbending stubbornly refused to do anything more than light terrain deformation and moving pebbles.

Not that it mattered now; they had a job to do. "But the sooner we get this done, the better. Any deeper and we'd have to avoid a lot more than just the frontline." Korra gestured further inside.

The prison building was darkly lit. Korra held her palm open and created a small flame - the most she could do with her firebending at the time. It did not light up the whole room, but it was enough for them to see. A few tables, a large chest that had some gear lying on it, and a ladder stored in a corner.

"Better than nothing," Asami commented. "I'd still take a flashlight, though."

"Definitely," Korra agreed as they walked into the corner and found a trapdoor next to the ladder. "I think this is it."

Asami nodded and unlocked it, opening the trap door and seeing a spot for the ladder to go. Right next where the ladder would land was a man wearing chainmail and a dirty, torn tabard with the twin headed bird emblem on it.

"Looks like Rafard to me," Asami said.

"Huh?" the man said. "Who're you two? And how do a pair of foreign mercenaries know what I look like?"

"Your father sent us to rescue you," Asami explained as Korra slid the ladder in.

"My father sent wenches to save me? You've got to be kidding me…"

"Classy," Korra said as she rolled her eyes. "So, any of your troops held here?"

"No, none of them. Just two criminal scum. Dirty brothers."

"Criminal scum?!" A familiar, boyish voice retorted. "Hey what does that make you mister prisoner-of-war! You were pillaging that village!"

"Bolin!" another man's voice cut in.

"What? I'm just saying, we were just in town, but this guy was burning people's homes! Besides, we didn't even steal anything, I was just looking at that cat! It was so cute…"

Korra and Asami glanced at each other, eyes wide. Delinard had neglected to mention that fact about his son's capture. Asami shook her head and Korra nodded. We can argue over this later, she thought.

The two slid down the ladder. Inside was not just the young nobleman, but two more young men. One was thinly built and wore a red scarf, while the younger of the two still had his baby fat.

"Mako, Bolin, what did you two do this time?"

"Korra! Asami!" Bolin squealed, running over and hugging them, handcuffs rattling the whole way. "What're you doing here?!"

"Same reason as you two," she answered. "Except I didn't get tossed in jail."

"Probably for the best," Mako commented uncertainly, glancing away from them. "Though, our bending's not at full strength. It's still good, but I don't think I can pull off lightning."

"Bolin's earthbending enough to knock the gate open?" Korra asked. "We're breaking out this guy for a job, but we'll get you out as well."

"Yeah, I could probably force a gate open if its unlocked," Bolin commented. "Just don't ask me to bring down a wall to get us out of here."

"That might be a bit tough," Asami remarked as she unlocked Rafard's cuffs. "Naga won't be able to carry all of us, especially with the armor we're wearing. We'll need to steal some horses from the garrison."

"Forget the peasants, do your job and get me out of here!" Rafard demanded. "My personage is far more important than these street rats!"

"Hey, these 'street rats' are our friends," Korra snarled as she whirled around to face the Swadian nobleman as Asami moved on. "Besides, they'll be more than helpful in an escape. So shut your trap, get up that ladder, and grab your gear. Mako, Bolin, did you two get anything when you showed up?"

"Some armor, cash, and food, but I think the cash and food got tossed to the garrison," Mako explained.

"We've got more than enough," Asami pointed out as she finished unlocking his cuffs. "Let's get moving, we can talk once we're clear of these guys. And where's Pabu?"

"He scurried clear and followed us, but wasn't able to snatch the keys. He smelled something familiar an hour or so ago, though," Bolin explained.

"Probably Naga," Korra guessed. "Come on!"

Once everyone was above, they opened the large chest of gear. Rafard grabbed his weapons, though there was also two sets of armor. Korra recognized them immediately - one was a police uniform meant for high agility non-metalbenders, the other was a slightly modified Pro Bender uniform with a green belt. And two helmets to go with them, a police motorcycle helmet for Mako and a pro bender one for Bolin, modified slightly to cover his hair. The two also grabbed small backpacks and slid them on.

"Surprised they took the armor off of us but left it on him," Bolin remarked as Rafard was strapping on a belt with a scabbard and drew his sword.

"I am a noble, peasant," Rafard snorted. "There are certain things you don't do to nobles. Your stuff was probably going to be sold to some peddler to cover the expenses of sparing you."

"Seriously, how'd you end up having to rescue this guy?" Bolin asked as Mako hooked a riot baton to his belt. "He's a jerk."

"Bolin, enough," Asami ordered as they heard shouting outside. "We need to move, now!"

"Right," he answered as he grabbed a club of traditional Water Tribe design, "Let's kick some guard butt!"

"We'll need to get the gate open," Korra noted as she quickly thought about how to split them. "Mako, Bolin, keep Rafard safe and grab a ride, Asami and I will unlock the gate, then Bolin knocks it open with earthbending. We'll meet at the village to the east of here once we're all clear!"

"How're you two getting out?" Mako asked before glancing at the rope around Korra's torso as they ran outside. "Right, got it!"

"Stop right there!" a guard shouted from a nearby tower. He didn't get to last long as Mako immediately shot a fireball at him and knocked him out of the tower.

"Prison break!" another guard shouted. "Everyone up, we've got a prison break!"

"And that was why we didn't break ourselves out, Bolin," Mako muttered as everyone sprang towards their task. They only had a short amount of time before the whole garrison came down on them.

Korra and Asami sprinted up the stairs next to the gate as a guard came charging down, large battle axe in hand. He swung low and Korra caught the attack with her waterbending, freezing the axehead solid with the water from her waterskin before decking him across the face and tossing him off the stairs.

"Burn you wenches!" another Vaegir shouted as he punched towards them from over ten feet away and a large fireball shot towards them. Korra smirked and turned to face the attacker.

Instinct took over and as the fireball reached her she dispersed it, finessing the energy of the fireball away as she had been trained to do. Some of the heat still reached her, but she had prevented the worst of it.

The guard had just a moment to realize what had happened before Korra shot a stream of water at him and knocked him into a post holding up the roof of the tower he had charged out of, his holstered mace clattering as he slid down.

"How's the gate coming?" Korra asked as she glanced back and saw Asami at the lever.

"Just unlocked it. Bolin, now!"

"No problem!" he shouted before there was a loud crack and Korra heard the gates crashing open, quickly followed by lots of noise from the horses.

"That's our cue to leave," Korra remarked as an arrow whizzed past her and she saw an archer at the top of the main tower and more guards were heading their way from the main tower. The garrison was waking up. "Asami?"

"Yeah, original exit?"

"Original exit!"

The two sprinted towards the back end of the fort, where the ground sloped into uneven hills, and Korra slid the rope off from around her torso as Asami grabbed a spearman's spear, shoved it aside, and electrocuted him with her gauntlet before tossing him over her shoulder. Korra handed the rope to Asami and struck at the archer above them with a water stream, freezing his bow and the hand he held it with.

"Okay, let's hope it holds," Asami remarked as she gave the rope a tug as Korra noticed that a building in the courtyard was on fire.

Korra ignored that and nodded to her. Asami leapt over the wall and grabbed the rope as she slid over, quickly scaling down the wall. Korra knocked away another guard with an axe before jumping after her, following her down to the ground and landing roughly as she was not as quick about slowing her movement. Korra quickly found herself thankful for the gloves she had on - she knew she would have had rope burns from how fast she was dropping.

"We going to try to recover it?" Asami asked as they both reach the ground. Their answer came in the form of several arrows as other archers made it on station. Suddenly, something sharp shot into her shoulder and Korra dropped to a knee and looked at it. An arrow was sticking out of her shoulder.

"Nope!" she shouted as she gripped her shoulder and gestured away with her head. The two sprinted away, hurrying behind the cover of the hill as more arrows - some of them on fire - followed them. An alarm bell was ringing, and there was lots of shouting in the garrison.

"That was close," Korra admitted, wincing painfully as they made it into where the woods thickened and the Vaegirs stopped firing arrows after them. Her shoulder was in pain, but the armor had slowed it down enough that she did not think it was too deep. The adrenaline still raging through her body and keeping the pain from shutting her down.

"Too close," Asami agreed as Naga walked over to them… with a small orange fire ferret sitting on her head.

"Bolin was right, Pabu did smell Naga," Asami remarked with a smirk before looking at the arrow. "Hey, your shoulder okay?"

"Yeah," Korra answered as she held the arrow tight and snapped it two inches above where it entered her armor, dropping the wooden shaft onto the ground. "Armor caught the worst of it it - we can get the arrowhead out once we've got some distance and time."

Asami nodded and helped her up. "You want me to take the reins?"

"I should be able to," Korra said as she grabbed the reins as Pabu perched on Asami's shoulder.

Asami nodded as Naga stood and began to run as Korra tightened her grip on the reins. "So, how do you think Mako and Bolin are doing? I mean, have they ridden anything like a horse before?"

Korra paused, and could actually imagine Bolin's panicked scream as he tried to keep it in control.

XXXXXXX

A half mile to the east, however, Mako and Bolin were on one horse while Rafard was on another. Mako was at the reins.

"So uh, Mako, where did you learn to ride one of these things?" Bolin asked.

"Hey, I was the one who rode old school to the South Pole, rather than taking a snowmobile."

"Good point," Bolin admitted. "So uh, what're we gonna do about this guy? I mean, we both saw what he did."

"You stupid peasants, I am a Count of Swadia, and ruler of the village Nomar. Dealing with these drunk Vaegirs is my duty."

"Then destroy their army, leave civilians out of it," Mako shot back angrily.

"Hmph. Insolent peasants."

Mako sighed as he looked around to see if anyone else was coming. A moment later, Bolin spoke up.

"So uh, Mako, why didn't we break ourselves out? I mean, we got out just fine."

"Yeah, because Korra and Asami had a plan," he retorted. "If we tried, we'd first need to get out of those cuffs, then get up that trap door, open it from the inside, get through that locked door, and then escape before the guards figure out something was up. And well, you're not a metalbender, so…"

"Right, too much for us to take on. So, when would we have made our move?"

Mako paused, considering. "Well, the best time would have been when they moved us somewhere. Just have to wait and see, sometimes."

The horses suddenly stopped, snorting loudly. "Hold on," Rafard said as he drew his longsword. "They smell something…"

Bolin glanced back. "Heyhey! Mako, take a look, it's Naga!"

"Who?" Rafard asked as he turned his head. "What in the heavens is that?!"

"That is a giant polar bear dog," Mako explained with a grin.

Rafard's face went a little pale as Korra and Asami caught up with them.

"Anyone chasing us?" Korra asked. "We didn't see anyone."

"Nope," Mako answered, noticing a the end of an arrow embedded in Korra's shoulder. "Rafard cut the restraints on their horses and once we were leaving I set the stable roof on fire, the horses scattered out of the fort after us. Though, that arrow...?"

"Armor stopped the worst of it," Korra explained, gritting her teeth briefly as her hand moved towards her shoulder. "I'll get it out properly once we're sure we've gotten some distance from the Vaegirs."

"We could probably stop here and do it if the Vaegirs' rides are gone," Asami said as she glanced at Rafard. "So, what was this about burning a village?"

"Simple tactical considerations. You burn the enemy's holdings so they lose the ability to recruit more troops as their populace is scattered," Rafard answered. "We don't do it in peacetime, if that's what you're suggesting. It's simply a measure of war. One some of us find distasteful, yes, but perfectly valid."

Korra visibly tensed and Mako knew why immediately. "Well, it's your call Korra," he said. "We taking him back to his dad?"

"We are," she said grimly. "We promised his father we'd have him back. But don't think that this means we approve of what you did. And you better hope we never catch you in the act."

"You lot really don't know who your superiors are, do you? If you hadn't rescued me I would cut you down here and now."

"Hey buddy, you're talking to the freaking Avatar," Bolin pointed out. "If you tried you'd be a smear on the ground."

"The what?"

"It's a position where we're from," Korra explained quickly. "It's complicated, but it's why I can bend all four elements. It's not a position of rulership like what you and your father have, but it is well respected in important matters between nations. And one of the more satisfying parts of the job would be taking down people like you when they try to hurt innocents."

Rafard sighed. "What was my father reduced to, to have my rescuers be this…"

XXXXXXX

"You sure we're far enough?" Korra asked a half hour later as they stopped at the base of a gentle hill where there were some large rocks.

"We need to get that arrow out," Asami remarked.

Korra nodded and carefully dismounted. "Alright, hunting knife should be in the rucksack."

"You stay, I am going home," Rafard said as he spurred his horse on and continued to ride. Korra grit her teeth, shaking her head.

"Let him go," she said as she sat down and leaned against a flat rock and looked at her shoulder guard more closely. The arrow had thoroughly lodged itself inside; she was going to need to remove the main piece of armor before removing it. That's the problem with making the main body all one piece, she thought irritably.

"Alright, we need to get the chest piece off first," Asami said as Bolin was tying the horse's reins to a nearby rock and Mako hurried over.

"Yeah," Korra answered as she reached under it. "Mako, can you hold the arrow steady?"

"Got it," he said as he carefully held the shaft in place as Korra undid the restraints under the armor before nodding and leaning forward so they could pull it off. She inhaled sharply as pain shot from her arm as part of the arrow shaved off the edge and was pulled out with it, leaving only the tip of the arrow in her shoulder.

"Korra!" Asami shouted, "you okay?"

"I'm… fine…" she muttered as the pain was starting to overwhelm her. "Fuck, that hurt!"

"We still need to get the arrowhead out," Mako said. "Asami, can you hand me the knife?"

"You've done this before?" she asked as she handed it to him.

He looked at it, sighed, then nodded. "Yeah; Bolin got part of a broken metal can stuck in him when we were on the streets. I haven't done it with a knife this big or a piece that small, but if I'm careful I should be able to open the wound enough that we can get it out without causing further damage. You ready?"

"Do it," Korra said as Asami grabbed one of the unused rags from the rucksack and wadded it up.

"Here," Asami said as she held it out, "you might want to bite down."

Korra blinked, then opened her mouth. Asami put the rag in and Korra bit down on it as soon as Asami had removed her hand.

"Asami, can you hold Korra's arm down?" Mako asked. "Just in case. Bolin, you and Pabu keep an eye out for trouble!"

"Got it!" the earthbender answered as Korra felt Asami holding her arm down. Resigning herself to pain as they had no anesthetic available, Korra closed her eyes.

Mako began to cut, carefully working on her shoulder around the arrowhead with the tip of the knife, creating an opening and widening the wound so that it could be removed without further and uncontrolled tearing. Pain shot through her body with every tiny insertion Mako made, and Korra found herself biting through the cloth as she fought down the desire to scream. Naga edged closer to her, laying her head on Korra's other hand and whimpering quietly.

After what seemed to be hours, she felt something sharp being pulled from her shoulder, with all the pain that entailed. "Got it!" Mako shouted. Korra opened her eyes and saw him holding the bloody arrowhead between his fingers, which were also covered in blood. Her blood.

Korra sagged back in relief despite the pain and felt Asami's grip slacking. The cloth fell out of her mouth as she leaned back, daring to look at the wound in her shoulder. The armor had as she expected stopped the worst of it - the layer of metal beneath the hide had slowed its momentum down - but the barbed shaft had still gotten through. Asami was looking slightly sick as she looked away from the wound, while Mako wrapped the arrowhead in a piece of cloth he ripped off from what Korra had bit down on. As he put it down, a small fire ignited at the tip of his pointer finger.

"You want me to cauterize it?" he asked, looking at her.

She shook her head as she prodded for Naga to back off. As the polar bear dog stood up, she used her right hand to draw some water from the waterskin and held it over the wound, focusing.

"We'll still need to bandage it," Asami noted as Korra finished. The wound was not fully healed, but it was on its way and if it had been infected the infection was almost certainly gone. Korra nodded as Asami quickly tied the wound up in a rag. "You still going to be able to heal through that?"

"I can move it along," she said. "Though, you might want to take Naga's reins while I do that. Let's get moving."

XXXXXXX

"Thank you, for rescuing my son, and I apologize for his behavior towards you. That was most rude of him."

"You're welcome," Korra as they met with Delinard again a day later.

They were not in Uxkhal like they had expected, but a large camp south of Dhirim where a Swadian army had assembled to retake the now fallen city before the Vaegirs could further fortify it. Though from what they had overheard from soldiers milling about while entering the camp, it was only a fraction of their whole host as most of the lords were in Praven for the feast and would only just now be coming back to the field. It would take them a day to arrive.

The tent was large, but utilitarian, with the only furniture being a large table with a map and a cot. Delinard's helmet and the heavier plates of his armor was mounted on a stand nearby. Though, the four adventurers, while still wearing their armor, had left their helmets with Naga - they all wanted to get out of them for a while and it was polite for the meeting.

"However," Bolin started uncertainly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Not to be rude mister, ah, sir…"

"Count," Asami chimed in.

"Right, Count... your son was burning an innocent village."

Delinard sighed. "I received the report about it. It's not a practice that I approve of, but it is a valid tactic. Destroy the revenue of the enemy. Still, it's something that should be done sparingly. After all, when we drive the Vaegirs into their own territory, their people will remember that even when their vassalage changes hands."

"He won't get punished for it?" Bolin asked, dismayed and Korra felt her gut tightening. She knew she did not trust politicians for a reason.

"Had he done so in peacetime, I would personally punish him. But this is war." Delinard gestured to an attendant standing nearby. "Still, here is the pay I promised. Two thousand denars, and my gratitude."

The attendant was holding a small chest and Korra half wanted to tell him to keep the money, but they needed it and on top of that, Rafard's rescue being done for free did not sit well with her. Maybe he'll make Rafard pay him back, she hoped. So she nodded to Asami, who took it.

"Thank you," Asami said, looking at the count.

"Now, I must apologize for the abruptness, but I have a war to win. Good fortune in your endeavours." Delinard gestured towards the exit of the tent. They bowed out quickly, Delinard calling for a 'Captain Firentis' as soon as they were out of the tent, and a man in full armor walked into the tent. They made their way to where Naga and the horse Mako and Bolin had stolen from the Vaegir fort were being kept, passing by several crowds of soldiers who gave them odd looks before turning back to whatever they were doing.

"Seriously, he attacked those people, not even soldiers, and he isn't punished?" Bolin asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "Doesn't he realize how bad it is? I'm pretty sure that's a war crime!"

"They don't share moral standards with us," Asami noted as she tucked the chest underneath her arm, "and the idea of outlawing intentionally targeting civilians was one of the things that sprang out of the end of the Hundred Years War. We both know the Kyoshi Island Convention was only ratified because no one wanted a repeat of that devastation."

"Yeah, but… shouldn't we do something?"

"What is there to do?" Mako bitterly noted. "The world's ugly, Bolin. And from what we've seen, this place is even more so."

"And I'm not strong enough to start flinging these guys around," Korra noted as she clenched her hand into a fist. "With the Avatar State, I could probably destroy an army. But with just waterbending..." she sighed. Why did she have to be weak - this was a world that needed her at full strength and there she was, acting as a freelance mercenary rather than the authority that was supposed to be the Avatar. She was supposed to be the balancer between nations!

"Hey, how's the shoulder doing?" Asami asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Better," she answered, glad for the topic to take her mind off having to ignore that. Her shoulder had healed fairly quickly thanks to how powerful even weakened waterbending healing was. And the more she healed it, the stronger the healing seemed to become. Korra wrote it down as the chi paths recovering from any lingering damage.

Though as they approached where Naga and the horse the brothers had stolen were being kept, another question came to her mind. "So, you two going to keep that horse?" Korra asked.

"Probably a good idea, we can't really return it," Bolin said with a shrug. "Plus, Naga carrying all four of us is one of those 'everything is bad' moments."

"Though… how much is two thousand worth?" Mako asked thoughtfully. "I mean, it sounds like a lot but…"

"It's a good amount, at least for living expenses," Asami answered as she secured it onto Naga's saddle. "So, we're probably set for a while as long as it doesn't get stolen and we're smart about our purchases, but it'll probably go fast if we don't keep some money coming in or need to get expensive stuff."

"Of course, there's some things we need to talk about first," Korra said as she looked at Mako sternly.

He paused, shifting uncomfortably before nodding. "Somewhere quiet?"

"Definitely," she said.

"We'll wait here," Asami said uneasily as she glanced between the two. Bolin frowned in confusion, but before he could say something Asami elbowed him. He took the hint quick enough.

Korra lead Mako outside of the camp, a good walk away from all the flying banners, bad tempered soldiers, and if the camp was anything like what she had read about ancient warfare, probably disease ridden too. She finally stopped at a small knoll to the south of the camp, maybe five minutes away.

"So…" Mako started uncertainly. "I'm guessing Asami told you?"

"No," Korra answered. "Being in the Tree of Time fixed the bits of memory that I hadn't recovered… why didn't you tell me?"

Mako shifted his stance, glancing side to side as he mulled over an answer. "I… I guess I just didn't want to hurt you all over again, and things were serious enough I didn't want you to have to deal with that and save the world." He paused, glancing down before adding, "And I guess I just wanted to forget it ever happened."

"I'm sorry I blew up at you like that," Korra said as she looked down, her angry rant about backstabbing echoing in her mind. "But… it's over, isn't it? For real, this time. Us… it just doesn't work, does it?"

"No, I guess it doesn't. Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she said as she felt something welling up inside of her. "We can't be together if we're going to do this to each other. It isn't right."

"No, it isn't," Mako admitted softly. "But… I'll always love you."

"And I'll always love you," she said as she turned away, unable to hold back the tears anymore.

XXXXX

"Mako… are you okay?" Bolin asked. He had come back alone and it was at least a half hour later.

"I'm fine," he said evasively.

"Where's Korra?" Asami asked, frowning.

"She needed some time alone… we broke up. For real."

Bolin paused, glancing down as he realized what had happened. "I'm sorry, man. Do you need a hug?"

Mako simply stared at him and Bolin went ahead anyways.

"So," Asami asked after Bolin let go. "What're you going to do now?"

"Depends on what you guys think," he said. "I mean, do you want me to stick around?"

"Of course we do! We do, right?" Bolin asked, looking at Asami, who seemed to pause and her lip curled.

"What does Korra think?" Asami finally asked.

"I'm not going to speak for her," Mako said.

"Hey, if you're heading off, I'm coming with you," Bolin said as he put a hand on Mako's shoulder. "We're brothers, man."

"Thanks," Mako smiled slightly.

Asami turned towards where Naga and Pabu were playing, then back to the others. "Did she say where she was heading?"

"She was walking towards a small river, south of the camp, little over five minutes of walking."

"Alright. You two should probably find some space to work on your bending; get a workout on it. I'll find Korra, make sure she's okay."

Mako nodded slowly. "Yeah, we'll need it at full strength the next time some jerk decides to start torching people. C'mon, Bolin, time to do a little practice, and not just warms ups."

Bolin smiled; that was something they hadn't done in months. Doing their own thing to warm their bending back up after arriving in Calradia, sure. But actually practicing together? "Just like the old days, huh?"

XXXXXX

It wasn't too hard to find Korra. All she had to do was listen for the sound of water crashing unevenly.

Korra was running through a wide variety of stances, techniques, and skills with waterbending, manipulating streams of water taken from the river into rough but relatively intricate patterns, whiplashing them around with increasing force, and repeating it constantly.

"Korra?" Asami asked as Korra froze a stream, broke it into a flurry of icicles, and launched them back into the river.

The Avatar paused, turning to see her and gave a weak smile. "It's weird, my earthbending isn't working at all, but my waterbending is pretty much back to normal. And it can't be the full moon; it's been waning since before we hit the fort. If anything, the moon isn't having any affect on my bending."

Asami tilted her head. "Well, it is your native element. So, you doing alright?"

"Yeah," she hastily answered as she continued to go through the motions, the whiplashes getting stronger every time. "Shoulder still hurts, but I'd say I'm ready to fight. Probably going to need to get that hole in my armor patched up, though."

"Probably. Though, uh… Mako just told us about what you did."

Korra paused, and the water fell back into the river or splashed onto the ground. "Yeah. Did… did he tell you guys what happened at the police station?"

"We all knew," Asami admitted as she glanced down. "Sorry."

Korra's face turned red as she winced, turning away. "Well, that's pretty embarrassing."

I can imagine, Asami thought as she realized there was something that Korra needed to know. "Actually, about that… while you were gone, I uh," she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I kinda kissed him. Sorry."

Korra paused, raising an eyebrow briefly before laughing. "No wonder he was so nervous when we showed up."

"Wait, you're not mad?" Asami asked in surprise as Korra was walking towards her. She remembered how mad she was when Bolin had blurted it out months ago, though she had figured out that the problem was Mako dithering on his feelings when Naga had brought her back from the mountains outside Republic City, not Korra trying to steal him away.

"Hah, no! I mean, I kissed Mako while he was going out with you, so…"

This was just too perfect an opportunity to miss, and Asami adopted the most lethal glare that the daughter of an insane inventor-turned-terrorist and a CEO could.

"You what?" she demanded.

Korra's face paled, which was rather impressive given Korra's darker complexion, and her mouth dropped in utter horror, eyes wide and practically dilating as the Avatar took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew!" she said quickly, raising her hands in front of her as if she was expecting a charged taser gauntlet.

Asami held the glare for another moment before smirking and folding her arms. "I'm just kidding, I knew a long time ago."

Korra laughed weakly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh, okay. Well, at least whatever troubles we had with him, it hasn't come between us. You're… kinda the first girlfriend I've had. Besides Naga."

Asami nodded. "I'm glad we met, even if it wasn't under the best circumstances."

"Same," Korra glanced back towards the camp. "Hey, how long do you think Mako will be cringing awkwardly when we're around?"

"No idea, he's not the best with figuring out his feelings. I'd give him a few weeks. We keeping him around?"

Korra chuckled. "Yeah, we need a firebender that's working," she paused and glanced around before dropping the grin. "Okay, seriously speaking whatever problems we have, it's not enough to send him off on his own here."

"Bolin would've gone with him, you know."

"Still, we need to stick together. We're alone out here, and we don't have any help. No Tenzin, no Beifong, no White Lotus, not even any precedent of our work. We have to figure out what we're going to do with ourselves."

Asami tilted her head. "And what do you want to do with yourself?"

"I don't know," Korra said with a sigh as she turned back to the river. "I guess I've never had to think about what I wanted to do. I was always the Avatar, charged with the duty of maintaining balance in the world. I guess I was lucky like that, no dreams of my own that get dashed when I turn sixteen. I mean, the idea of beating up the local bandits… works, but I just don't know where to start. Do I act as a one woman army? Do I start to build a fighting force? How do I get started?"

She groaned, putting a hand on her forehead. "Twelve years of preparation and when I'm finally on my own, I've got no idea what to do!"

Asami paused and put a hand on Korra's shoulder. "Maybe we should just find a place to relax for a while. See some of the local sights, maybe," she suggested as Korra glanced back. "Do some odd jobs to keep the money coming in, but otherwise just relax. Like a vacation, the four of us hanging out after dealing with anti-bending extremists and the apocalypse. No airbending training, no police work, no acting, no company to run… just the four of us, friends. It'd be a good chance to clear our heads for a bit."

Korra nodded, and Asami stepped back as she resumed her practice. "Sounds good. And it might give us the time to figure out what we really want to do here."

XXXXXX

End Chapter

Author's Notes:

- I do not intend to dodge some of the differing moral standards going on. After all, nothing stops lords with "Upstanding" or "Good Natured" personalities from raiding villages and burning them to the ground (even if they used to own them!). Though, I'll note that Delinard himself is generally "Martial" in my playthroughs (I suspect that's what's given to most default Marshalls), but that personality tends to be pretty friendly I've found. Though, given there's a whole hundred and twenty lords, you can imagine that I'm going to have to select a small number to actually develop at all with depth.

- Technically, in game Rafard and Delinard have different heraldries, but I thought "You know, they're the same house, they probably should share heraldry", at least until Rafard distinguishes himself further that he'd warrant such. I also went with the original M&B heraldry rather than the Warband heraldry for him since that was on the wiki when I was writing this. The warband heraldry is two bars - one dark cyan, one white - with lions of opposite color on each one.

- Originally, I didn't have the arrow penetrate Korra's armor (Armor has to be useful to be worth it, after all). Then I realized… "hey, wait a second, the Vaegirs kinda just got humiliated here"; I mean, no more so than what happens to garrisons in-game when you do this (in fact if anything this is nicer to them - they weren't defeated, just kept at bay long enough for an escape), but the Vaegirs are master archers. And arrows can hit hard. Them not getting a hit just didn't feel right, but an arrow to the shoulder (or anything, really) is no mere flesh wound because you do more damage pulling it out than getting it in. So, I ended up adding a whole scene of them getting the tip out since getting arrowheads out is quite a procedure. I did consider just making a note that they had stopped to remove it, but I thought… "Nah, that implies that arrow wounds are easy to get rid of." They're not, though waterbending healing does speed it up immensely once the arrow is out. Plus, Mako at least knowing the basic idea seemed to fit since he and Bolin lived on the streets for how long?

- Also; worth noting, yes, Water Tribe armor had metal underneath the chest piece. Surprised me when I checked the wiki, but according to the A:TLA art book, it does.

- Additionally, Count Delinard rules Uxkhal by default. Nomar is a village, so it gets randomly assigned. It's close enough to Uxkhal that I figured that it makes sense for Rafard to be in charge; close to daddy so he can get reined in if needed, far enough for him to get experience in ruling fiefs. Dramug Castle's owner is randomized at the start, so I chose the one I checked when I fired up M&B to see. Though, I won't be copying the games 1:1 as far as who gets what, particularly outside of towns.

- Showing Korra and Mako's breakup again… honestly, I only included it because it was something that would have to be addressed at some point. The point of divergence was before they talked about it but after Korra had her memories restored - even then, though, it'd come up anyways because well, it was something leftover. As I noted, this is not meant to be a shipping fic. So, I basically just lifted the scene from canon (including the "I'll always love you" lines, yes, those were in canon!), gave it a new context, and some minor changes befitting the new circumstances and having a bit more time to reflect. Otherwise, let's move on to Book 3 era team interactions thank you very much!

- A quick note for those interested in swords: The term "Bastard Sword" is technically incorrect - what Mount & Blade refer to as Bastard Swords would be more appropriately called Longswords, which is basically an arming sword bulked up for use as a two hander while still being small enough to be one-handed. Those who've played Neverwinter Nights may remember Longswords and Bastard Swords as well - the Longsword in NWN would be the Arming Sword in M&B.