"Shame we couldn't catch a raft or something."

"Probably wouldn't have been strong enough for Naga anyways," Korra answered Bolin as they were packing up their camp in a forest near the river. The snow of the Vaegir's tundra home had long since wet out their campfire, but their winter clothes were enough as the night had been quite warm.

In Korra's case, she was wearing her parka under her armor, while the others had put on coats over theirs. It had helped that Water Tribe Armor was designed with that in mind, unlike everyone else's. Still, Korra had recommended that they buy a few blankets when they made it to their destination since the nights would not be warm forever, and that was before considering rain or snowfall.

"Few more hours, then we're in Curaw," Mako said as he looked into the distance. They could make out the smoke of the iron mines near the city.

"So, once we're there what do we want to do?" Asami asked. "I mean, if we're here to see the sunset, we'll have to wait a while."

"Maybe pick up an odd job or two after getting the blankets?" Bolin offered.

"Depending on the job, that might work," Korra said as Naga growled. "What is it?" The polar bear dog pointed her nose towards the trees and as she glanced up, she dropped into a waterbending stance. "Come out whoever's hiding behind the trees!"

"Get 'em!"

From the trees, men sprang out and charged them. All were wearing winter clothing, but heavily worn. Weapons ranged from clubs to rusty knives and chipped hatchets, and one with a slingshot.

Korra broke the snow around her down into liquid water and drew more from the river, creating a barrier between them and their attackers. "Bad choice, boys!" Korra called as Mako, Asami, and Bolin rose to face the attack, the benders bringing up some of their element while Asami slid on and charged her gauntlet.

The looters looked at each other briefly as Korra lowered the barrier and released the water into a barrage of streams. The bolt like jets of water smacked into them and knocked most of them onto their backs or into trees. With their attackers cowering from the attack, they rushed forward and knocked their way through the looters. By the end of the scuffle, almost twenty men had been knocked down, out, or otherwise subdued.

"Ugh," one groaned as Korra stood over him. She knelt down and grabbed him by his roughly cut fur vest.

"Who sent you?" she demanded as the others were making sure their attackers were down and policing the weapons.

"No one, honest!" he shouted, putting his hands in front of him. "We're just mere desperate men looking to survive!"

"So why attack us?"

"Hey, you looked like easy targets! You realize how hard it is to scrape a living when someone actually guards stuff? We're not bandits, we're scavengers!"

Korra shook her head and threw him back to the ground before standing up. "Scavengers attacking innocent travelers. You couldn't find a different job, huh?"

"Well, we could always go become serfs, but…" he trailed off as he looked towards Mako kicking one of their attackers who had taken a swing at him. "Eh… what're you going to do with us?"

Korra paused as she looked at the others. "Not sure," she said as she raised her voice. "Asami, Mako, Bolin, let's get them together!"

"What're you going to do?" Asami asked as she walked over.

"Bind them, then we can discuss what we'll do to these guys."

Once they had dragged the looters together and next to the river, Korra and Bolin locked them in place with a mix of ice frozen into handcuffs and locking their feet into the ground with earthbending. Once they were secure, Naga and Pabu stayed close while the others stood a few meters away.

"We can't take them far," Mako immediately said. "It's the four of us to almost twenty of these guys, and we don't even have rope."

"And I don't think we can ask the Vaegirs, considering we're probably on their hit list after breaking out," Bolin added.

"Not necessarily," Korra said as she rubbed her chin. "I mean, we've got some spare clothes, so we could probably just throw a disguise together if we had to. And that's assuming there's a bounty. I mean, we passed by that castle without any problems and we haven't seen any posters."

"Still risky," Mako said as he glanced towards them. "I mean, do we really want to draw attention to ourselves? That Isolla woman did mention that people are talking about us."

"What's our alternative?" Asami asked. "I mean, these are outlaws, right?"

Korra paused, looking at them. "Yes, but… they're also desperate. They do have another option; becoming something called a serf. Anyone familiar with the term?"

"Never heard of it," Asami said. "Mako, Bolin, it some street thing?"

"Nope," Bolin answered. "Probably some Calradian thing for street guys who couldn't find a job."

"I'm inclined to let them go," Korra said as she looked at them. "The other option we really have is to kill them, and well, I don't think we need too. They don't know how to fight. I think if we threaten them, we can scare them into going legit."

"What's the plan to threaten them? A little bending?" Mako asked, "You might need something stronger."

Korra smiled as she nodded towards Naga. "If I can get a judge to spill the beans on Unalaq's plans, these guys shouldn't be a problem."

"Let's do it," Asami said.

The two brothers nodded and all four walked over, Korra adopting the harshest glare she could. "So," she said as she looked them over and gestured for Naga to move closer, "what should we do with you?"

"Er, let us go?" one asked as Naga started growling at them.

"Now why would we do that; you just tried to kill us," Asami chimed in. "What's stopping you from doing it to someone else?"

"What do you want us to do?" another looter asked.

Korra folded her arms. "I dunno, what can we do with them?"

"Well," Bolin said as he walked forward, coughing into his hand. "Perhaps we can leave them, bodies buried beneath this frozen earth, festering for the worms to feast upon, but leave their heads to the air. Let the icy wind beat against them so that all might see the price of banditry."

Everyone turned, staring at Bolin as Korra had to fight to keep her expression hardened rather than gaping at Bolin's flowery threat.

"You don't have the balls to do that!" one of them shouted. Korra turned towards the man who said that, then looked to Naga.

"You're right. On the other hand…" she walked over and lowered the restraints on the looter who had spoken up, grabbing him and dragging him towards Naga. The giant polar bear dog opened her jaws and kept growling as Korra shoved his head inside. "Now, if you don't want to be Naga's breakfast…"

"Okay, okay! We'll go find honest work!" another looter screamed. The others joined in, begging to be let go. Pleading for them to spare their lives.

Korra smirked and pulled the looter out from Naga's jaws and threw him into the group. "Bolin, let's drop the restraints."

The two quickly released them from the earthbending that had held them in place and Korra melted the ice made into quick handcuffs. The looters glanced around before immediately pushing themselves up and tripping over each other as they ran, leaving their makeshift weaponry behind.

And as they left earshot, Mako stared at Bolin. "Where did that come from? Acting?"

"Yeah, I have no idea," Bolin admitted as he ran his hand through his hair. "It just sorta, hit me y'know?"

"I think that's the last we'll see of them, though," Korra said as she turned back towards Naga and checked saddle.

"Hopefully," Asami remarked as she looked down at the left behind weapons. "So, what about this stuff, we want to take it with us or leave it?"

"Could probably sell the knives and such as scrap metal," Mako suggested as he picked up a hatchet. "Actually; Korra, you broke the hatchet back at Jayek, right?"

"I did, but with our bending I think we'll be fine," she answered as she tightened one of the saddlebags that had not been fully secured.

XXXXXX

"You mind if I sit here?"

"Huh?" Bolin asked as he looked up at a man with long black hair and the thin mustache to go with it. His clothes stood out more to the young earthbender, though. He recognized the style and color scheme: Earth Kingdom. "Oh, hello. Sorry, wasn't paying attention, making sure Pabu's fur is all clean."

The fire ferret squeaked indignantly.

"Hey, don't give me that, you're the one who kept playing in the snow while we were coming here!"

None of his friends were in the tavern with him. Korra was busy seeing to Naga while Asami and Mako were selling the scrap they had recovered from the looters and looking for decent blankets, leaving Bolin in the main floor of Curaw's small tavern. The tavern was quiet as it was only the afternoon, but the tavern keeper was busy washing mugs.

Bolin looked back up at the man. "Sorry, sometimes he gets a little antsy, don't you Pabu?"

The man chuckled. "It's alright; pets can be a pain sometimes. Should have seen the cat-owl I had as a kid; great bird, but could be real picky sometimes about the treats I fed her."

"Never had that problem with Pabu; then again he was on the streets."

The man nodded. "Say, aren't you that pro-bender turned actor? I heard some things about this 'mover' and that the Fire Ferrets' former earthbender was the main actor."

"Didn't get to hear the press, huh?" Bolin said as he nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"Wish I had a chance to see it; moving pictures? When I first heard about it, I thought the guards were just doing crazy talk."

"Guards? Worked at a prison?"

"You could say that," he said as he put a hand on his chest - a hand that Bolin now noticed was tattooed. "Boring place, mind. Middle of the sea, so not a lot of things to do."

"No kidding, huh? No magazines or anything?"

"Not really. I must have renamed the constellations a thousand times…"

"Yeah. Not a lot of fun on the streets either; I mean, we could move around, but still, as far as entertainment went there wasn't a lot. Just trying to get from one day to the next." Bolin wiggled Pabu's paws. "But we had fun times, right Pabu?"

The fire ferret squeaked.

"Yes, I know we had to do a lot of moving and it was cold, but we had fun!"

"You can understand him?" the man asked in surprise.

"Yeah… oh hey, you can sit down if you want."

"Thank you," he said as he sat. "So, you can understand him?"

"More or less. Hey, it's not weird; Korra can understand Naga just fine."

"The Avatar?" he asked, perking up and leaning forward. "So, you travel with her?"

"Yeah, me, my brother, and Asami. Been sticking together here since well, we're a solid team. Saved a village a few days ago too."

"I've heard rumors about that, though more people talk about a certain castle."

"Can we not talk about it?" Bolin hastily added and the man laughed.

"Hah, don't worry. I met a mercenary a while back who said that as long as you don't really peeve off one of those nobles, they don't chase after freelancers too hard." He glanced over at the tavern keeper. "Miss, I don't suppose you have any wine?"

"That'd be four denars!" she called back.

The man pulled out a few silver coins from beneath his robe and held them in the air before turning back to Bolin. "You want any?"

"I'm good," he said as he tapped the waterskin he had bought to replace the canteen the Vaegirs had confiscated. "So uh, they're not going to be after us?"

"If all you did was a break out? Probably. Bit weird if you ask me, but my guess is they want to keep doors open to freelancers they find useful."

"Sorta like their own Kyoshi Island Convention. Own rules of warfare, along with ransoming, letting lords burn villages down…" Bolin's grip tightened before he realized he was squeezing Pabu and let go. The fire ferret crawled up onto his shoulders and started nuzzling his cheek. "Yeah, I know."

"That's what happens with these kinds of governments," the man continued as the tavern keeper brought the wooden goblet of wine over. "Thank you," he said, pausing from what he was saying to pay her. She took the money, checked it, then nodded and went back behind the counter.

"As I was saying," he continued after taking a sip and nodding. "It's a problem of government, especially ones based around bloodline with nobles. You get a class that's all used to having the power, and the little guys just have to go with it."

"They can't push too hard, can they? I mean, what happens when their own men get annoyed? Don't tell me that revolts don't happen when they push too hard."

The man chuckled. "You've never seen well trained fighters against untrained peasants, have you?"

"Actually I did; some of the townspeople in Jayek who weren't part of the militia grabbed stuff and actually pushed the Sea Raiders out of the houses while we were dealing with their captain and his buddies." Bolin rubbed his stomach, remembering the pain from the metal boss of the shield he had been bashed with. "Well, at least until the raiders stood and fought…"

"Exactly. All a power hungry tyrant needs is men who'll hold their ground against an uprising, and they'll cut poor people to pieces for daring to stand up for their rights."

Bolin shifted in his seat. "Yeah, but… I mean, where's the protection going to come from? At least here, bandits seem to be a serious problem."

"Men can rise together to protect what's truly important, their homes, their families, their friends. Something that the ideals of nations can't quite match. You can give a man a spear and pay him to climb a wall, but you can't pay him to fight the way you fight to protect your brother."

"True, but an ideal can also really push people. I mean, Amon had a lot of chi blockers to throw around, and they were fighting for a bender free world."

"And that's probably why in the end Amon failed; he wasn't fighting for all the people, just part of them. I wasn't able to follow his actions much, but from what I picked up he seemed to be another tyrant rather than the liberator he styled himself as. He oppressed benders for their own abilities."

Bolin nodded as the other man took a drink. "Yeah, he did. So, what're you doing around Calradia?"

"Looking for any of my friends who may have been pulled over, the same way you apparently found the Avatar," he explained as he put the now mostly empty goblet down. "Otherwise, lending a hand if I can."

"Fair enough; we've mostly just been exploring. Well, I should probably go see if Mako and Asami are done." He paused, frowning. "Actually, I never got your name."

"I'm sorry," the man said as he put a hand over his chest, "that was rude of me. My name is Ghazan."

XXXXXX

"Lots o' strange folk abroad lately!"

Mako frowned from where he was leaning against the wall, looking at the guard who had spoken up to his friend. Asami had started talking to one of the local merchant guild members across the street and Korra was bringing Naga in through the city gates. The fact that they had broken out of a fort guarded by men just as equipped did not help with his unease.

"Really?" one of the guards standing in front of the open gate the tavern was next to asked his partner, a massive curved axe held by a strap around his shoulder. "What makes you say that?"

"My sister's still in Bhulaban - fricken pony boys thinking Curaw is theirs - and she said there's some serious stuff goin' down," the other guard with a large cleaver on his belt elaborated. "A witch in one of the villages 'round Narra or somesuch."

Mako raised an eyebrow, looking at the two.

"Hah! Witch? Ah, never stop those dumb tribals, do they?"

"That's not the weird part," the first one continued as Korra and Naga walked up and the two paused to stare at the polar bear dog before continued. "Eh… right, the weird part is that there's not just strange folk like that witch or this wench with the huge dog… thing, they say there's monsters too. Floating ones that float around in windless air."

"Hah! And I bet they hide under the bed as well!"

"I thought it was nonsense too, but you remember those old ghost stories. I mean, there's got to be a reason they're told, right? Ah shit here comes the sergeant!" The two guards shut up as a man wearing lamellar armor walked out of the keep and the two guards loosely snapped to attention.

Mako and Korra looked at each other. "You don't think?..." Mako started as he remembered the dark spirits Unalaq had.

"Bolin still inside?" Korra asked as the sergeant stopped to stare at them before moving on.

"Yeah."

"Alright, why don't we ask around a bit more first, then meet up. If this is what I think it is…" Korra paused, curling her lip. "Well, this just got a lot more complicated."

XXXXX

"So, there might be spirits running around?" Asami asked as they filled them in. She had talked to the Curaw guild master and had learned quite a bit about local trade - particularly Curaw's glut of iron - as well as confirming a few of the other things they had heard such as the brewing conflicts.

"Supposedly," Korra answered. They had moved outside the city to eat dinner so they could see the sunset.

"Well, there goes our vacation, huh?" Bolin said as Pabu and Naga were playing behind them.

"We can always just deal with it on our way to Shariz," Mako noted as he looked at the map. "But yeah, looks like we need to get serious again. If it is spirits, Korra, what's the plan?"

"If it's dark spirits, stun them so I can use that pacification technique of Unalaq's," Korra answered.

"And if it isn't?" Asami asked as she thought back to her history classes. "I mean, from what I've read spirits can be… temperamental." The ordeal of Senlin Village immediately crept into mind.

"If they aren't, then we adjust. But Iroh never mentioned spirits being dragged over, so I don't think it's real."

"I'm a little more interested in that witch," Bolin said. "Mako, you said that the rumor is she's controlling them?"

"Or at least isn't attacked by them," Mako corrected as he folded up the map and pulled out the piece of parchment he had for notes. "From what people told me when I asked around, it seems like there's this 'witch' who walks among them. Of course, the descriptions varied," he unfolded the notes and started to read off of it. "One described her an old crone, another said she was a deceptively innocent girl, and one said she turned him into a newt. I wouldn't trust it, though; I mean, you don't just get better from being turned into something, and he was drunk anyways."

"Unless it's another spirit," Asami suggested, "since don't some of them change form? And at least some of them are human-like."

"Probably," Korra said as she rubbed her chin. "I'm a bit more worried about the rumor that it's displacing villagers. I mean, we all saw what those corrupted spirits did to my dad and the other rebels." She grimaced. "If it's true and not just blind panic at an unknown, well, it's the Avatar's duty to stop it and it's not like there's a local one we can leave it to."

"So, we're heading into the steppes?" Bolin asked as Naga tilted her head so the snow she had managed to get onto it fell on Pabu. The fire ferret stuck his head out of the new pile.

"Seems so," Asami said as she leaned forward. "Hopefully we won't run into any local raiders; they'll all be horsemen from what I heard."

"We can handle riders," Korra said as she nodded to Bolin. "So, head out in the morning?"

XXXXX

"Ah, greetings traveler. Would you join me for a drink?"

"I'm sorry?" Korra asked as she looked at the man sitting on one of the cushions surrounding a table in Narra's tavern as they arrived in town in the evening. Naga was sitting comfortably outside and Mako was making sure the horse was settling into the stable as well. Asami and Bolin were checking the room, leaving Korra to ask around for more information.

"Would you like to join me for a drink? You look to be a woman on a mission."

"You could say that," she said as she nodded and sat down, taking a closer look at him. He was bald save for a topknot and a beard, both brown in color. He wore a light coat of fur, but no gloves. And he smelled of horse - as if he had been riding hard and always did. "So, who do I have the pleasure of drinking with?"

"My name is Baheshtur, son of Azabei, grandson of Badzan. " he explained as he raised one of the wood goblets in some sort of toast. "Were you not a barbarian, you would likely know from my lineage that I am a Roan Horse Khergit of the highlands, of the tribe of Shamir, of the clan of Dulam, of the family of Ubayn, from the Pantash valley."

Korra smirked at the Khergit as she folded her arms, obscuring the moon pattern on her armor. Two can play the barbarian game, she thought. "My name's Korra, daughter of Tonraq and Senna. A woman of the Southern Water Tribe, but with heritage from the North as well. Of course, if you weren't a barbarian you probably would have recognized that from my clothes, name, and family."

Baheshtur's face paused as he lowered the goblet, staring at her with wide eyes. Korra felt her heart rate picking up. I insulted him, didn't I? she thought as she immediately began trying to think of how to apologize without looking immature as his eyes narrowed. And, to her relief, a grin slowly cracked across his face, and he finally laughed.

"Hah! Well played, Korra. Well played. I imagine that you have to deal with others looking down on you as unwashed for your heritage, wherever you hail from?"

The poster for the Nuktuk movers that Bolin had in his pack immediately popped into her head. "I've ran into a few, but most people where I'm from are smart enough. I take it people look down on the Khergits?"

He nodded. "We are looked down upon as unwashed savages who smell of horse urine, raiders who care for nothing but pillage, rape, and slaughter. But if the fools would take a moment, they would learn that we are a rightly proud people who have learned to live off lands others deem barren. We live freely under the clear blue sky… or we once did." he gestured around and grimaced.

Korra decided not to push the issue as it seemed to be a very sensitive issue for him. "So, what brings you to Narra? I'm guessing you're far from home."

"I am. The Shamir have long rivaled with the Humyan, and this feud has claimed many men on both sides. Two of my brothers included."

"I'm sorry," Korra said immediately. "I'm an only child, but…"

He waved his hand. "They died honorably in battle, but their blood still calls for vengeance and I know my rights. I waylaid the Humyan responsible and killed him, and that night I fled without even the time to say goodbye to my father. I will wander here, amongst the Khergits who have settled Calradia and who still move through its steppes as our ancestors had. One day, I will be able to return. The Humyan won't forget, of course, but that is the price of honor. So, what brought you to Calradia?"

"It's a long story, and unfortunately I have something that I need to be working on." She paused a moment to consider how to explain what being the Avatar was in context without sounding unbelievable. "I'm following the rumors of strange creatures around here; back where I'm from, I had a duty that involved such as an Avatar."

"I can guide you to Kedelke, the village where this is happening," he said. "In fact, I know the man who owns the land of the village, Nasugei, a Noyan of Sanjar Khan's army. He is a bad tempered man, but you would be hard pressed to find a better skilled raider. As to Kedelke; the villagers there are expected to deliver food for this upcoming campaign."

That ups the timetable, she thought. "Thank you, a guide would help a lot. Though, what are you charging?"

"No charge for this adventure, I am interested to see what an Avatar is. A rulership position in this 'Water Tribe'?"

"No, it's not based on rulership and it operates across nations where I'm from," she explained, "and thanks. How far is it?"

"If you are not worn out by a day's travel, we could be there in an hour, possibly two depending on how fast you move."

"Alright then," Korra said as she stood. "I'll ask my friends if they want to go now or if we should wait."

XXXXX

An hour and a half later as the waning moon was rising, they arrived at the settlement in the hills and Korra could immediately make out the problem.

"Spirits," Korra said, and not as an invocation, but a statement of what it was. "So, those creatures they spoke of were spirits."

"I have not seen such things before," Baheshtur said, now with a bow and quiver attached to his belt and riding a stocky horse smaller than the one the brothers had stolen from the Vaegirs. "I have heard stories, but I never believed I would see them…"

"Be careful," Korra warned, "some of them can be picky. Let's start by finding the local villagers."

Baheshtur nodded and dismounted his horse, kneeling next to some tracks before nodding. "Follow me," Baheshtur said as he climbed back on, leading them around to a pass between the larger hills north of the settlement.

He had been quite surprised to see Naga, and even more surprised when he realized that she was ridden, but he had not asked much about it save for her name and needing to keep his horse from trying to stray too far from the polar bear dog (something about the smell). Instead, he had focused on guiding them towards Kedelke.

Ten minutes later, they made it to a camp pitched between ridges. Several men grabbed bows, spears, and sabers as they approached, but quickly stood down once they realized they were not under attack. After a moment, an older man walked out from the crowd, carrying a spear and using it as a walking stick. A an old white horse followed him.

"Who are you?" the bald old man asked, looking up at them.

"My name is Korra," she said as she climbed down from Naga. The others followed suit. "I might be able to help with what's happening in your village."

That sent a shock through the camp, people whispering to each other around the fire.

"My name is Boal, the elder here. What do you ask in return? Naseugi Noyan is already demanding most of our harvest for his expected campaign."

"We're not demanding anything," Asami said as she took a step forward.

The village elder paused, then nodded. "Very well then. Welcome to our camp. I apologize for the hostility, but we have been on edge with being driven from our homes."

"I understand," Korra said as she nodded to the others to follow. The elder led them to the center of the camp where a larger campfire was.

He turned to them. "I'm afraid we don't have much to share; most of our food is still in the village."

"Thank you, but we already ate," Korra explained as they sat down. They had eaten on the move; especially since Bolin was hungry. "So, what happened?"

"It all started about two weeks ago, with a sighting of a strange creature floating in the night sky," Boal said as he pointed to the stars. "We worried it was the stories of our ancestors come true, of spirits, hostile or benign we did not know."

"Then the stories were right," Mako said as he leaned forward, "those things around your village are spirits."

The elder nodded slowly. "For a while, it was okay. Sometimes they dipped into the ground, likely to the water below ground that lets us raise our crops, but we never had problems. If anything, the water tasted sweeter than usual. A few smaller ones arrived, but they were friendly and seemed to be content to sit around the center of the town and stayed out of the way as we worked. We felt we could get used to them and it seemed as if life was coming to our village again. Then the beaked serpent came a few days ago."

"Serpent?" Bolin asked as Pabu squealed in terror and crawled under Naga.

"Yes, a great one with black scale and what seemed to be some sort of red beard. It came and started to talk about how humans cause wars and that we should no longer 'pollute' something. A few of those that accompanied him grew hostile and drove people from the village center. One of our warriors tried to stop him and, well…"

Boal gestured towards the ridge where Korra could make out a covered tarp. "They overwhelmed him and broke his body. At that point, we all ran for the hills and sent word for help. But Nasugei is preparing his army, and has told us to deal with it ourselves."

"That actually might be a good thing;" Asami chimed in. "Korra, you said that spirits are immune to most weapons?"

"At the very least it doesn't hurt them much," she confirmed with a nod. "Bending is the one only reliable way to hurt them, though I bet your gauntlet could work. Either way, bringing an army might cause them to panic and unless it's an all-bender army..."

"I am an airbender if needed," Baheshtur said, creating a draft that blew the fire to the side for a moment. "Though I am not confident in its use as an attack, I mostly read the wind with it for my archery like most with the ability."

"My airbending isn't strong right now, but I can show you a few things I know," Korra said. The Khergit airbender nodded.

"If it comes to a fight though, it'll probably be the three of us," Mako gestured to himself, Bolin, and Korra, "who'll be able to really do damage since we don't know if Asami's gauntlet works. If it does, though, maybe some sort of fire arrows?"

"And hopefully not burn down half the village," Asami remarked as she looked towards the center of the fire.

"So, what do the spirits desire, Korra?" Boal asked, looking at her.

"I don't know," Korra admitted as she rubbed her chin. "What about this witch? That was part of what drew me here."

"We do not see her often, but she appears in the village sometimes, sitting within unmolested. Meditating. I couldn't describe her, though, save that she is small and wears a bright color. Orange, perhaps."

"Well, we could look for her the next time she shows up," Mako suggested. "We might be able to get answers from her."

"Talking to the spirits seems like the first step; why do they want this village so bad?" Bolin asked as he leaned forward. "I mean, spirits don't just take random places, right? They're usually in a location for a reason."

"We might need to consider fighting them," Asami said as she held up her taser gauntlet. "I mean, they didn't look like those dark spirits, but anything's possible."

"Let's head over in the morning, that way if something goes wrong these people have a better chance of running," Korra decided after a moment. "Diplomacy first, though. I think we're missing some details."

XXXXXX

The next morning, Korra approached the village itself with Asami, Mako, Bolin, and Baheshtur behind her. They had left their armor, horses, and Naga behind as Korra suspected they might assume them to be soldiers if they came mounted and armored. Asami still had her gauntlet and Baheshtur his quiver and bow, but the rest of them had come unarmed. Baheshtur had wrapped his arrows with rags that Mako offered to light if needed, but Korra did not expect them to need to fight. She was the Avatar, the bridge between worlds. They would recognize her as friendly.

Hopefully.

The village was built on a hilltop, a straight road up the slope defining most of the village. The area around had some flat fields, but they had not been able to take a close look at them. Towards the end of the road, the spirits gathered, a wide and varied bunch from those resembling animals, some indistinct ones that she was not too sure of, one that looked like a monkey-ape without a head and eerily familiar to one of the dark spirits that had attacked them in the South Pole.

"Er, is that spirit shaped like a giant carrot?" Bolin asked before Mako gave him a quick nudge to shut him up. It did, however, confirm for Korra that they were also likely displaced by Harmonic Convergence.

"Spirits," Korra said as she walked towards the center. "I'm the Avatar. Why have you come here and displaced people from their homes?"

The spirits gathered around them, forming a semicircle with an opening along the road they had walked up. The spirits were talking amongst themselves, looking between each other in surprise.

"Is that the Avatar?" one asked.

"Looks like her."

"But I don't sense anything."

"Where's the Avatar Spirit? If this is the Avatar…"

"It's her, just… different."

"Avatar Spirit?" Baheshtur asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Long story," Korra said. "Suffice it to say, the Avatar is supposed to be a bridge between humans and spirits." She turned to the spirits. "And yes, I am the Avatar. I just lost my connection to Raava when Harmonic Convergence happened."

"And whose fault was that?"

Everyone paused as the new voice cut in, one that was soft and had a faint echo. A new, serpentine spirit came out from behind the houses ahead, black scaled with a beak for a mouth. The spirit's blood red eyes unnerved Korra, though the more subdued red that feathered along his back and formed a sort of beard and the two yellow antennas from his head, also feathered, were stranger. Baheshtur took a step back as the spirit continued.

"You were the one meant to stop Vaatu at Harmonic Convergence, especially as it was your uncle."

"And spirits weren't helping him?" Asami shot back.

"Unalaq was misusing Vaatu's power to force spirits to fight for him."

"And we're not here to ask you to fight for anyone," Korra retorted as she took a step forward, glaring at the serpent. "And do you think I wanted Raava to be ripped out? I felt every blow she suffered; I'm not even sure how I survived that! Fine, it was my fault for letting him manipulate me, but don't you dare suggest that I went along with it!"

"Of course not," the serpent said as if discussing the weather. "You fought it, but you failed. And your failure has wrenched us from the Spirit World into this material plane, separate even from where you came from.

"Uh, Baheshtur, you okay?" Bolin asked as the Khergit was starting to lean, as if he was dizzy.

"I… this is a bit much to take in."

"I'll explain later. Anyways," Korra turned back to the serpent spirit. "Why settle here then? Why drive out the inhabitants of this village?"

"You are a poor Avatar, can you not sense what is below the ground here?" the serpent explained as it begun to circle around them. "The water in the earth's grasp is no mere pond. You have felt it before, have you not? The special healing properties it has within humans, bolstering the flow of chi the same way your healers do?"

"Spirit water," Korra said slowly as it dawned on her. "The water beneath Kedelke is similar to the water of the Spirit World…"

"Exactly," the spirit said with a nod. "Therefore, this is a spiritual location and we gather here as we did when we wandered your world. When you humans lived on the backs of lion turtles."

"I don't think they did that here and besides, that was ten thousand years ago," Korra retorted as she considered the different fauna she had seen. "But I remember Wan's time all too well. Okay, so this place actually has significance for spirits. Why drive away the people living here, though? Why did it have to escalate like that?"

"They abuse this water to grow food for their wars, grow fat on our strength," the serpent responded as if it was the most obvious thing. "I would imagine the Avatar would understand that we do not like our homes to be used as machines to feed such slaughter."

"But this isn't your home," Mako said as he stepped forward. "You're new to Calradia, just like the rest of us. You're the invader taking away people's homes, you've destroyed their livelihoods!"

"Perhaps, but they will have new ones eventually, possibly sooner with their constant wars. After all, cycles continue regardless." The serpent paused in his movement and faced her directly. "Still, you are right. We are new here. If the humans wish to reclaim their belongings, they may so long as they do not threaten us. In fact, breaking down their hollow shelters would be preferable; perhaps life will grow without the roots stunted by hewn stone."

Korra grit her teeth and looked at the other spirits. "Are all of you in agreement with him? Are you all fine with being the ones pushing people around?"

"We're without a home," one of them resembling an orange hedgehog said in a nasally voice. "We simply want to find somewhere we can live, cut off from the Spirit World."

"They're refugees," Asami said as her face softened. "Korra… this is a lot more complicated than we thought."

"Yeah, it is," she answered with a nod. "Alright. We can work something out. You're right, you need a home, but the people who live here are also right in that you drove them away."

"And for that we will let them grab their material possessions," the serpent said again. "It is a fair deal, they may keep their life's material, but we will gain a home. It should not be hard for them to move; they only have so many years anyways."

Arrogant jackass, aren't you? Korra thought as she stared at him. "I think you underestimate how difficult it is to just pack up and move."

"And I would have thought that being cut off from your homes would make you sympathetic. Or is the Avatar taking sides?"

"I am not taking sides!" Korra shouted back as she clenched her fists. "But the Avatar doesn't just help the spirits! The Avatar brings balance between the two!"

"Humans run wild across this land, riding the horses they broke into service. Is one small village worth of space for spirits too much to ask?"

Korra inhaled, running through her options quickly. She did not want to force this to a fight yet - they were right, they needed a home and it was her responsibility to help them find a new place to live.

But they were the invaders. They had displaced families of innocent people in the process without even asking. The spirits were going to have to budge on something for this to be solved in the right way.

"Alright, I'll talk to their village elder," Korra said. "I'll tell them your side of the story, but that does not mean that they'll agree."

"Then we are at an impasse. But I trust the Avatar will settle this appropriately. After all, did Wan not learn to do such?"

Wan was mostly defending himself from hunters going too far, she thought as she recalled the memories of the first Avatar.

XXXX

"I understand they are without a home, but we need the harvest and our fields here," Boal said as Korra finished explaining what had happened. Asami and Mako had taken Baheshtur to the side to explain the details, leaving Korra and Bolin to talk to the village elder in his tent in giving him a more concise version.

"I know," Korra said as she raised her hands, "but I'd like to find a peaceful solution if it can be done. So, you can't move at all?"

"We could, but our obligations to Nasugei would be unfulfilled. And he is of poor temper - one group of herdsmen had failed to bring enough cattle to fulfill their obligations and he slaughtered them and took the whole herd for himself."

"What is he asking for anyways?" Bolin asked. "Maybe we can supply an alternative."

"We grow rice in paddies surrounding the area, as well as cabbages, wheat, and other things closer to the village itself. He expects that for his army as he will be heading into Vaegir territory. War will begin any day now. And we need our own food as well…"

Korra inhaled. "Couldn't you rebuild around it? I saw some of the fields; they looked to be far enough you might be able to cede the hill itself. Maybe I could talk them into letting you stay until this harvest is done, then you could move when you have the time? When do you need it done?"

"We need to gather the harvest and he's likely to come any day now. I'm not sure…" Boal stopped as the tent opened and one of the villagers came in, looking stricken.

"Elder… it's Nasugei. He came personally!"

"Oh boy," Bolin muttered as he looked around.

Boal stood, pulling himself to his feet with his spear. "Then let's meet him and hope that he understands."

He led them outside. Baheshtur and the other Khergits were gathering in the center of the camp while Mako and Asami moved towards where Naga was waiting.

"Grab your armor," Korra said to Bolin and the two hurried over, and when Nasugei's men arrived they had their gear on.

The group of horsemen rode in, eleven men strong. Five of the men rode horses with lamellar armor and grey armor plates, each man wearing similar armor and carrying lances. The other six men had bows and horses that were not as armored. More horses followed them, one or two for each horse archer.

"Nasugei Noyan," Boal said, bowing his head to the leader as he dismounted. The other Khergits followed suit.

"Boal, where is my harvest?" he demanded. "I told you to deal with this!"

"My lord, we can't fight these things!" Boal protested. "We tried and were driven here as a result!"

Nasugei growled and Korra saw the wrinkles in the older man's face. He was probably around the same age as her father, but he was far more weathered and a few scars to go with it. A black beard ran along his chin, with a thin mustache to complement it. He had a shaved head save for the front end, which had an almost circlet like hairstyle with two locks along the sides of his face.

"Sir," Korra said as she stepped forward. "I arrived last night and I may be able to help them, but it's a very delicate situation. The spirits that…"

"Spirits! HAH!" Nasugei laughed. "Oh that's rich. And I suppose the sky is falling too?"

"Please, go see for yourself," Boal begged, "we would have had the harvest ready for you, but they drove us from our homes. This young lady," he gestured to Korra, "is able to negotiate with them. With some time…"

Naseugi turned his head. "Oh, another foreigner. And a woman who carries herself as a warrior? Fine, I'll humor you. You have three days to get me my harvest. If I don't have it, you'll all pay the consequences." He turned back to his horse and mounted up. "And you, young lady. You may wear that crest on your armor proudly, but know that if you dare to try and overturn the natural order, your head will adorn a pike."

Why don't I fix the natural order so you stop speaking out of your ass? Korra thought irritably as she glared at him but bit her tongue to keep the retort down. Insulting him would only make things worse. "I'll keep that in mind," she said instead.

"See that you do." He mounted up, turning, then paused as he looked through the crowd. "You have Baheshtur in your company?"

"He guided me here," she explained.

Nasugei paused, then nodded. "Good. A reliable man that actually makes me confident this will be resolved in time. Three days, then I return."

"It will be ready, Noyan," Boal said, quaking as Nasugei's men rode out.

"Three days?" Bolin asked incredulously as soon as the horsemen had left. "I don't think this is going to be solved in three days!"

"It isn't," Korra answered as she turned to Boal. "Alright, we need to set to work. What do you need from the village itself?"

"Mostly tools, baskets, and the like, as well as the harvest from the closer fields and gardens we already gathered. We normally use a granary there, but it seems we'll have to just hope rats don't get into it out here. We have some baskets now we can use, but to really do it quickly we need what we have in the village."

"Alright. I'll tell the spirits you're coming to get those; they should let you grab them. Then set to work on the fields surrounding the area, get as much of the harvest as you can. We'll have to gather it here and hope we can scrounge up enough."

"I can take some of the men to hunt," Baheshtur said. "It'll let them replace some of the crops in their diet so more is available for the Noyan."

She nodded. "Alright, looks like we've got a plan. Let's get to work."

XXXXX

"Will they be back?" the beaked serpent spirit asked as Korra returned later that day and told the spirits of the situation.

"Yes, because they are grabbing what they need to fulfill their obligations," Korra responded as she looked at the spirit, who went by the name 'Xiang' as she had discovered while explaining. "But this isn't them agreeing to your demands either. They simply have to handle this."

"I see," Xiang said as he slithered through the air, looking at the villagers working in the distant fields. "I suppose we can let them gather this harvest it if means they will leave."

"We'll see," Korra said, "but you promised to let them gather what they needed from here. Don't renege on that, or they won't be inclined to move. You need to show some good faith if they're going to give anything you say weight and see you as more than a monster that stole their homes."

The spirit simply grumbled and soared away in response.

Korra exhaled sharply, silently wondering why she bothered as she walked away from the village center. Bolin and Asami were working to assemble a makeshift granary to store the harvest at the camp while Mako and a few Khergit warriors were riding between the fields, keeping an eye out for bandits and helping as needed. This left Korra to focus on making sure the spirits let the villagers gather their belongings. She had already been forced to stop a few fights when one spirit felt a villager was getting too close for comfort trying to work the fields.

On the upside, some fights she did not even need to step in on as some of the other spirits, when Xiang was not speaking for them, talked down their fellows. So why do they back down the moment he shows up? she wondered as she climbed onto Naga's back. As she did, one of the other spirits floated up to her, a small yellow one with two leaf like ears.

"We don't want trouble," the spirit said, almost reminding her of a little boy with its voice. "But… we don't have a home."

"So why force others from their home?" she asked as she looked at him. "I mean, what makes you more important than these people?"

"Some of us would be okay with living alongside the humans here. They never bothered the spirits that came as long as we were not interfering with their work. It really only changed when Xiang and his fellows appeared."

"What makes that snake so special anyways?" she asked as she looked around for him but was relieved to see that he had left them alone. "I mean, you all seem to just be quiet and let him talk when he's around."

"You don't remember? Wasn't the Avatar nursed to health by a spirit like him?"

"I lost my ability to speak to my past lives when Vaatu ripped out Raava," she explained as she thought to what she had seen of previous Avatar's lives before that had happened.

"These fire throwers aren't like you, Stinky!"

Korra froze as she realized that the spirit who had had also been quite vocal and the others let it speak for them, let it make decisions they disagreed with. "Wait, you mean like that Aye-Aye spirit that helped Wan?"

The little spirit nodded vigorously. "Guardians like him, they speak for the spirits sheltered in their care. They protect spiritually strong places like the waters below so all spirits can rest in them."

"Are all caretakers so hostile?" she asked.

"No, though Xiang has a reason to hate humans. The oasis he guarded was destroyed in the first wars that followed spirits leaving the world."

Korra nodded slowly as she looked towards where the villagers were camped. "Well, from what I can tell the villagers here aren't interested in destroying the waters below. I mean, it's how they're surviving, and I think they appreciate the importance of the waters now that they know. There's no reason why only one side or the other can use it."

"Maybe, but… the only other spirits strong enough to be guardians have Xiang's side of the matter."

"Then he's going to have to budge," Korra said as she gave Naga a gentle tug with the reins. "No one is going to get everything they want in this."

"What happened to you, Avatar?" the spirit asked, blindsiding Korra for a moment with the sudden change of topic. "You have her appearance, mostly, but we can't sense Raava."

"I know," she answered as she closed her eyes and tried to drive away the unnerving implications of that fact. "All I know is that Raava is okay, the connection was just dampened when Harmonic Convergence happened. I guess it's just weak enough you can't sense it."

"I wish I could help, but…" the spirit looked down.

"It's okay," Korra said as she managed to force a half smile, "it'll probably come back with time; my uncle and Vaatu did a lot of damage." The spirit looked up at her as Naga turned. "Sorry to be abrupt, but I have to head back; the Khergits are going to need to decide how far they're willing to take this since Xiang's not budging."

"I know you'll find a solution," the spirit said as Korra noticed that Xiang was coming back.

"Here's hoping," Korra answered as she gave Naga a nudge and the two headed off back to the camp. She glanced back and noticed Xiang was talking to the spirit she had talked to, the serpent circling around his smaller charge in a way that reminded Korra far too much of tiger sharks.

XXXXXX

"How're we doing?" Korra asked as she arrived back at the camp to find Asami and Bolin checking the supports on the makeshift granary.

"So far so good," Asami said as a horse laden with bags of rice was being unloaded by one of the villagers. "Though you realize this is temporary, right? There's a reason why earthbending is only used to more easily carve out foundations and put stones in place, not to actually build stuff."

"I know," she answered as she slid off of Naga's back. "But it's the best we can do. What's Nasugei playing at? Doesn't he understand that these people had their lives ripped from them?"

"Tell me about it," the ex-CEO said as she turned. "Bolin, the back left end's looking a bit shaky, put in another pillar underneath, okay?"

"Got it!" the earthbender answered as he hurried over.

"So, how did our Khergit friend take the explanation?" Korra asked as she folded her arms.

"Surprisingly well," Asami admitted as Boal began to make his way out of his tent. "I think he's still working on believing, but seeing it unfold probably convinced him we're sincere. Of course, you know people are going to talk about this."

"I know," Korra answered as she shook her head. She glanced up as Mako was riding in and coming to a stop.

"Had a pair of rustlers try to make off with a horse with rice on it," Mako explained. "Scared both of them off, but I'm going to need some help, Korra."

"Alright, I'll join you as soon as I talk to Boal." Korra said as the elder had walked up to them.

"So, they will let us travel to our homes?"

"For now," Korra said, "but only to grab what you need. After that, I'm not sure if all of them will remain peaceful. Some would live peacefully, but the more violent ones seem to have the lead here. And those spirits really dislike humans."

"Except for that 'witch'," Bolin chimed in as he joined the group. "Hey uh, Mako, you hear any more on that?"

"Nothing," he said. "No sign of her either."

"Perhaps she will show up in time," Boal said. "For now, however… thank you. I know this is not what you had in mind, but I appreciate all the help you're giving us. We feared to tend the fields with the spirits lingering, but knowing they would let us gather our harvest…"

"Don't thank me yet," Korra said. "We still haven't figured this out."

"Perhaps, but if what you say is true, this land is important. The local water does not go too far; we tried to grow crops a few miles away, and they withered if they grew at all. I don't think Nasugei is going to take kindly to such a solution. And he has an army behind him."

"I know," she said as she climbed up onto Naga. "And if he attacks with that army, he better have a lot of fighting benders or he's going to regret it. Spirits can do some really messed up things to people when enraged and he has no idea what he's up against."

"We'll be sure to warn him," Boal said before frowning. "For all the good it does. For now though, we should just hope we can meet his deadline. That would give us the time to figure out a solution."

Korra nodded as she gently nudged Naga and the two headed off with Mako to check for more rustlers and thieves.

XXXXXX

"You okay, Korra?" Asami asked as everyone was making their way to sleep save for those on watch that night.

"I'm fine," she said, sitting against Naga as the polar bear dog slept. "Just tired."

"It's more than that," Asami said as she leaned forward. Korra tried to brush things off far too much. "Ever since that first meeting something's been troubling you. And you looked worse after talking them into letting the villagers get their tools."

"It's about what those spirits said, about not being able to sense Raava or whatever. They almost didn't recognize me as the Avatar, Asami, and spirits almost always identified me as that the moment they saw me."

Now Asami understood what was bothering Korra - a question of who she really was. "Okay, so they can't sense something. But Raava's fine; didn't you say that Iroh told you that?"

"He did, but… what if he just didn't know everything?" Korra asked, burying her face in her knees. "I don't know, but I just can't help but shake a feeling that something is horribly wrong."

"Well, you can still bend all four elements, even if fire and air is little more than puffs. If it was just you, you'd probably only be waterbending. I wouldn't worry about it; maybe it's just dampened by Harmonic Convergence. Plus, you didn't even know about Raava until what, two weeks ago?"

"True…" Korra admitted as one of the lookouts was running down. "But it looks like something's coming."

"It's Baheshtur, the lookout said as he approached them. "And I think he captured someone; the witch I think."

Asami and Korra both leapt to their feet and hurried to meet him at the camp perimeter. Baheshtur and the other hunters returned, though with no meat from their hunt. Instead they had a different 'prize'.

Tied up and held on Baheshtur's horse was a young and unconscious girl who was not even in her teens, wearing an orange shawl over a loose yellow shirt and pants. An orange sash ran along her waist.

"She was carrying this," Baheshtur said, tossing a familiar staff onto the ground and tapping a rucksack. "We found the witch."

Korra shook her head as Asami stared in shock at who it was.

"That's no witch," Korra said, "that's Jinora!"

XXXXXXX

End Chapter

- Originally, I planned on spending a little more time in Vaegir lands, but I decided to just move forward and get into Khergit territory to pick up the pace.

- So yes, spirits have been pulled into Calradia too. Just to make things, fun, right? Calradians better learn how to bend quickly… or hope they run into the nicer ones.

- The serpent is indeed meant to be the one who more or less invoked Godwin's Law on Korra when discussing spirits helping against Kuvira. Tried to make him (it, whatever) a little less one dimensional while still keeping the gist of him, though. I gave him a name just so he isn't "the serpent spirit" or whatever; drawn from Chinese (thank you Behind the Name).

- The moment I planned on having Jinora, I wanted Korra to drop that end line. It just really hit me as a great way to end a chapter.