"Hey Korra," Asami said as she looked up from the room they had rented for the night. "Just doing a check now that we've got the bounty."

"How much do we have?" Korra asked. "As in, total."

Asami glanced at the chest again and then down at the piece of parchment she had kept her record on. "Well, with that hundred ten bonus that Narek scrounged up, we've got about two thousand and two fifty. Rounded," she added as Korra's eyebrow raised.

"Guess we've been making enough to cover our living expenses." Korra frowned as Asami was glancing at the Future Industries manual. "Asami?"

"What? Oh, sorry. Just thinking back," she explained. "My father made a point about teaching financial literacy to me. You know, I need to know how to handle large sums of money and all since running a company isn't like normal living expenses. You'd be surprised how many people fritter away large amounts of cash. I mean, if you didn't give Tahno his bending back he'd be in the streets right now."

"To be fair I probably wouldn't have done any better. I mean, I never had to worry about it. I didn't even bother to bring any money with me when I hitched a ride to Republic City!"

"Wait, you parents didn't think to give you any?" Asami asked in surprise. That seemed… No, there's probably a rational explanation for it, she told herself before clearing her throat. "I'm just going to assume that they had a reason to think you had prepared yourself."

"Yeah, in hindsight I probably should have asked them for advice on what to do." Korra shrugged. "Still, that's kinda why I'm trying to leave the money things to you. I mean, you actually have a sense of it."

"I dunno, you've picked up a decent enough sense yourself with what you got from Pro-Bending and that consolation prize for getting to the final."

"Most of it went to cover the damages from the first time I ran into the Triads, but that's not the same as handling this amount of money regularly."

"Well, it's something you should probably learn," Asami said as she nodded to herself. "I mean, who knows where we'll go from here? Probably should do the same with Bolin given his spending spree from Varrick…"

"Thanks," Korra said with a faint smile. "So uh, you're thinking about rebuilding Future Industries here?"

"Maybe," she admitted with a shrug. "I'm not sure yet, but it would be a good way to help a lot of people in a way you just can't by smashing people like Amon or Unalaq into the ground."

"How much would you need?" Korra asked as both of their eyes fell on the chest.

"A lot; startups aren't cheap. I don't think this would be enough anyways." Asami shook her head. "Besides, I need a lot more than just money. I would need some people I know would be interested in the enterprise, I'd need something to actually build on, and of course I'd need to actually hire people and buy raw materials."

Korra bit her lip as she glanced side to side. "Okay, yeah, I'm at a loss here."

"Don't worry about it, it's my little dream. Probably won't be able to do anything with it in the foreseeable future, but…" she paused for a moment before shrugging. "If the chance came up, I would like to do it. If nothing else, it'll give me something to do and maybe I can drag Calradia forward to the late Hundred Years War before I'm old. They've already spent two hundred years at it."

"And there's no easy target like Ozai to take out to stop the wars."

"I know that look," Asami said as she noticed Korra looking around. "You're thinking of something."

"Sorry. Just wondered if maybe trying to help people like Lethwin would be a way to bring some peace. Put someone on the throne who actually might stop the wars, kind of like how Zuko ended the Hundred Years War."

"Considering that Republic City was a result of problems that persisted after the war, I don't think fixing Calradia's problems will be as simple as picking off that Harlaus guy and letting Isolla take over. Zuko on the throne ended the active warfare, but fixing everything still took years."

"True. Even if it was that easy though, I want to hear what Harlaus and Ragnar have to say first. I doubt they were outright lying, but maybe there's something they didn't know." Korra shrugged. "Anyways, I overheard that there's a caravan heading to Dhirim and it's looking for some more escorts. Mako and Bolin are up for it, Jinora is neutral about the whole thing, but I was figuring we might as well."

"When are they leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. So, if we want in we need to approach the merchant leading it tonight. The main thing people are worrying about is some Rhodoks trying to pillage the caravan using the war as an excuse."

Asami nodded, Marnid's explanation about how the various lords used the wars as an excuse to loot caravans lingering in the back of her mind. "Well, I'd be up for it. Plus, I think Naga might like the gentler climate in Swadia."

XXXXX

"Hang on, do you hear that?" Korra asked as the sounds of battle finally reached them. They were approaching the end of the woods that buffeted the mountain valley that, according to the map, served as a four way obstacle between the Swadians, Khergits, Rhodoks, and Sarranids. The caravan had been making good progress through the day, though had sidetracked a bit to avoid a Rhodok raiding party that had gone towards the village of Ayn Assaudi.

"I hear it too," Asami added before looking towards the caravan master.

"Eh, better check it out," the leader of the caravan said, nodding to them. "Why don't you take yourself, those brothers, that little girl and spirit thing of yours and investigate? If it's a battle we'll need to take the long way around."

Korra nodded as she gripped Naga's reins. "Let's go."

It did not take them too long to find what the problem was: another caravan ahead was under attack.

Spearmen and crossbowmen wearing green were trying to keep back a group of bandits who were attacking. The bandits were shoddily armed, but they tended towards maces, axes, and even a few swords. Several of the caravan guards were already lying on the ground, bleeding where they fell and she saw a crossbowman catch a thrown spear to the stomach and collapse.

"Oh boy," Korra muttered.

"We getting involved?" Mako asked.

"We are," Korra said as she gave Naga a pat on the side of her head. The polar bear dog barked in response; she was ready.

They rushed in, attacking the bandits immediately. Korra and Asami both leapt off of Naga as the polar bear dog crashed into a group that were going for a wagon. Unprepared, the bandits were easily knocked aside. Korra hit the ground with a small aftershock as she landed, a bandit collapsing from it as he had turned to charge her.

"Oh man am I glad to see help!" a spearman shouted as he ran up next to them. "These guys came out of nowhere!"

"Don't worry, we'll help," Korra said as she and Asami led the spearman into the thick of the fight.

Before they could actually attack, however, one of the bandits turned, saw them, and shouted something that caused both women to stop.

"Shit, it's those freelancers from Ismirala!" the bandit cried.

"No way…" Korra said as she stared at him for a moment as she processed what had happened. But before she could do anything about it, a crossbow bolt going into the bandit's forehead. Recovering, she saw Jinora dropping in from the air with her glider staff, blowing away three bandits that were going for a few of the unarmed merchants. Meanwhile Bolin had dismounted and Mako was busy launching fireballs from the horse at the bandits.

The sudden attacks from the benders were throwing the bandits into confusion as they were screaming at each other. Hoping to press the advantage, Korra drew from her water skin and knocked a bandit onto the ground. As he fell into the grass, Asami then electrocuted him with her gauntlet.

As soon as the electric shock finished, one of the bandits screamed. "Shit, retreat!" The call rang through the fight, repeated by others, and the bandits began to flee. A disorganized rush to safety leaving them exposed and undefended.

"Get them!" one of the caravan guards shouted as the former defenders sensed the advantage, and they charged. They did not have a chance to chase too far though, as the bandits either leapt onto horses that their comrades had brought, were caught by crossbow bolts and Mako's fireballs, or ran down and speared through the back.

Once it was clear that the bandits were disabled or routed, Korra made her way through the injured bandits, mostly consisting of the ones who had tried to flee. She found one still alive with a snapped off spearhead sticking into his chest, right next to the heart. Despite that, the bandit was trying to crawl away, leaving a trail of red grass behind him.

"Oh no you don't," she muttered as she felt something stirring inside her. She knew it: something had gone horribly wrong and now she wanted answers. She grabbed the wounded bandit and spun him around. Once he was facing her, she put a boot on his leg to keep him pinned and pulled him closer by the scruff of his jacket.

And she had recognized him. She had held him this close before when she shoved his head inside Naga's open jaws. She remembered his horrified scream, the memory playing through her mind.

"Oh you're kidding me," he muttered as he realized who he was looking at, especially as Naga was walking nearby.

"Do you recognize me?" Korra demanded as she heard Naga roaring and another of the injured bandits screaming in terror.

"Yeah," he said. "And your monster too!"

"I thought I told you lot to go get legitimate work!" A glance to the side showed her that these bandits had much better weapons than what had been used last time. Based on the scabbard at his hip, she guessed that the bandit she was pinning had a sword. "And where'd you get these weapons?" she asked.

"You joking? We were found by some other outlaws who took us in and we were led down here! Didn't know you were in town, I thought you were up north!"

"Obviously not," Korra answered as she shook him. "Why didn't you just go find legitimate work, why be a bandit?"

"And become a serf?!" he snorted before it turned into a cough. Korra glanced at the speartip in his stomach, which had come loose when Korra grabbed him. He glared at her before coughing violently, blood splattering onto her face before she dropped him. He was dead, or too far gone to bother saving.

As she processed what had happened, she glanced to the side and noticed Asami walking up.

"Korra, were these…"

"They were," she answered as she wiped the blood off of her face and looked at Asami. "Someone found them and armed them up again."

Asami nodded slowly as the implication hung in the air. Korra did not want to admit it, but as she looked at the dead and dying, she could not help but wonder. Was this her fault?

No, you dealt with them, they chose to go back to murdering, she told herself, but it seemed to be a hollow point as she started tending to the injured.

XXXXXX

"So, Mako, you think we should have done something different?"

Mako raised an eyebrow as he looked towards Bolin, surprised at the sudden question. The caravan they were travelling with had stopped to camp for the night. They were both lying on the ground, blankets thrown over as they were trying to get some sleep. Korra meanwhile was already asleep, leaning up against Naga while Asami had curled up nearby.

"What do you mean?" Mako asked to figure out what Bolin was talking about.

"With those guys we let go last week. Y'know, the ones that attacked the Rhodok caravan earlier."

Of course, Mako realized before he shrugged. "In hindsight, sure, but with what we knew at the time? I can't see what would justify doing something different." Mako curled his lip. "I mean, every cop back in Republic City has that one thing they wish they had done differently, but most of the time there really was no way for them to know better."

"Maybe, but… I mean, we could have stopped them. Might have saved a few lives too." Pabu rubbed his head against Bolin's chin and the earthbender started scratching the fire ferret absentmindedly.

"Or we would have hurt a lot of families without need. We can't control what other people do." Mako paused as he considered what they would do next time. "Actually, I think the real question to ask is how do we go from here."

"What, you mean start straight up executing people?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but it's something we need to remember going forward." Mako pushed himself up to face his brother. "We need to ask; how do we want to handle this in the future? Should we assume this is going to be typical, or maybe this was just a one-off and that most other times we let wannabe outlaws go they'll actually be scared straight? Or maybe we should just make sure they're dragged to the local authorities, that way it's on them, not us."

"We shouldn't take it into our own hands," Jinora cut in. Mako glanced towards where she had been sitting behind him, meditating the last he had seen to try and get a sense of Calradia's spiritual balance. "If we become accuser, judge, and executioner, are we really any better than those men?"

"I wouldn't say accuser given that we actually were attacked," Bolin muttered. "But I dunno, I'm just having a hard time putting out what happened to some of those guys because we spared them."

"Fair enough, bro. I'm not really sure if this is anything I can help you with, though. It's something you need to figure out yourself."

"Right, self discovery, can't lean on my older brother all the time…" Bolin sighed as he curled up and Pabu settled in between Bolin's arms. "Man, I miss Republic City."

"Same here," Mako answered as he thought back.

"Yeah I mean, the night skyline, the people, Air Temple Island, good food, the bay, indoor plumbing…"

Mako noticed Jinora smirking and smiled himself. Bolin always had a way of finding humor.

"Calradia's got some nice views," Bolin continued, "but nothing compares to home."

"Well, you've got all night to enjoy the memories," Mako suggested as he pulled the blanket closer. "Try to get some sleep while you can; who knows what we'll get involved with next?"

"Gran-Gran always said that trouble had a way of finding Aang," Jinora remarked. "Guess Korra inherited that from him too."

Yeah, trouble does have a way of finding us, Mako thought as he tried to put his unease to the side and get some sleep.

XXXXX

"Oi, that's Brego! That's my horse!"

The shout had echoed through Dhirim's streets, but there was no mistaking the source: a burly man was marching towards them, a curved axe holstered on his back. And Korra recognized the style of armor: they had seen it before in Vaegir lands.

"What's a Vaegir soldier doing here?" Asami asked, eyes wide as the man closed in. They were unpacking at the front of an inn in Dhirim that was located in an alley, expecting to spend a night there while they asked around for odd jobs or rumors.

"And why's he angry?" Jinora asked as the man walked closer. Korra reached for her water skin, making sure it was ready. Korra saw Furry-Foot poking his face out from the saddlebag on Naga that the spirit was hiding in, but otherwise the dragonfly bunny spirit stayed down.

"Can we help you?" Korra asked as she glared at him.

"Yes, you can give me my damn horse you horse thieving chits!"

"Whoa man, calm down," Bolin said as he held his hands up. "He's fine."

"Yes, and I want my horse back, I've known him since he was a foal!" The Vaegir reached for his curved axe, and Korra put a hand up.

"Don't do anything rash, we can talk this out," Korra warned. "But first I need to know: what's a Vaegir soldier doing there?"

"What's going on here?" another voice cut in as a pair of men with red tunics over their mail walked towards them, hands on their weapons.

"Guards, these wenches and their friends are horse thieves!" the Vaegir snarled, "they stole my horse!"

"I thought they were all locked up in the castle stable," the Swadian guard that had spoken up said as he frowned. "Ivan, you aren't hitting the ale, are you?"

"Not the one I rode here, Francis, one that I had at Dramug Castle! He was stolen when there was a prison break a few weeks ago when we were still at war."

"Uh, Ivan," the other guard said, "not to be rude but uh, you know that the nobles tend to let this stuff slide, right? That war's over."

Ivan glared at the other guard. "That doesn't mean it's right."

"Hey," Korra cut in sharply, "we didn't know it was possible to return the horse. I mean, we kinda broke into and out of a castle."

"Besides, it was nothing personal," Asami added, "we were on a job for Count Delinard."

"Ignorance is no excuse from the law, and I hope that wherever you came from they hanged horse thieves as we do here." Ivan began to draw his curved axe. "But I'll settle for cutting you…"

"Ivan, enough!" the first guard cut in again. "Don't start a brawl in the street; you're here as a diplomatic escort, remember?"

"I know, but I'm not letting some foreigner walk away with my friend!"

"You won't have to," Korra said as she looked between them. "I wouldn't want someone to keep Naga," she explained as she patted the polar bear dog's head, "and we're not thieves. Give us a few minutes to unpack the saddlebags and we'll give him back, though I would like someone to vouch that you are working for whoever controlled the castle. Druli, if I remember right?"

"Boyar Druli, but yes, that's him."

"I can vouch for Ivan," Francis said as he let go of the grip on his sword. "He's been through here a few times for some negotiations the nobles are doing. He's a Hussar in the Boyar's retinue."

"What's a Vaegir noble doing here?" Bolin asked as he started to undo the saddlebags on the horse.

"Yesterday's enemies are today's allies," the second guard said with a shrug. "Who knows what the nobles do? All I know is that the Swadians and Vaegirs are at peace, while both are fighting Nords."

"Rather quick shift from enemy to ally," Mako remarked.

It only took a few minutes to unpack the contents of the horse's saddlebags. As the last bag was removed, Bolin held the horse's face.

"You've been a good boy, now it's time to go home."

The horse neighed briefly and Bolin let go, and Ivan quickly took the reins, smiling as he went off. The two Swadian guards nodded to each other as it ended and then they walked out of the alley too. At the end of it, they saw some more Vaegir horsemen, who Ivan joined with, and the whole group moved on towards the gate.

"So," Asami said as she looked around. "Looks like we'll need to get another one for you two."

"At least it didn't become a fight," Jinora added as a young boy walked up towards them. Korra noticed that his red tunic was well woven, not like the more worn clothes usually worn by the townsfolk or even the guards.

"Uh, hey, er… I'm looking for a woman named Korra," the boy said as he looked at Naga and gulped. "I uh… I was told to look for a giant white bear thing. Er, rather, the woman with it... so uh, am I right?"

"You are," Mako remarked as he looked at the boy.

"Oh, good. So uh, I have a message from Count Klargus."

"Who?" Asami asked with a frown.

"Count Klargus, the honorable Lord of Suno. He heard you had entered the town and had an offer for you. He's waiting within the keep."

"Did he say what the offer was?" Korra asked as Mako folded his arms.

"He did not say. Er, anyways, will you meet with him, or?..."

"Relax, we'll talk to him," Korra said. "Does he want all of us, or just me?"

"I think he just wants to speak to you."

"Go ahead," Asami said as she put a hand on Korra's shoulder. "We'll take care of getting everything sorted out here. Go make a good impression."

"Alright," she said as she looked at the young boy. "Lead on."

The boy nodded and led her to the keep, leading her through the stone building's halls into an antechamber. As a bored looking man in relatively nice looking (if puffy) clothes walked out of the door at the end of it, he gave her a strange look and Korra saw a throne room on the other side. The young boy gave her a quick tug, pointing towards a door to the side of the antechamber and led her through it into a side room.

Within the side room there was a long wooden table with three men, one at the end and two on the sides next to him. On the left was an old man whose hair was nearly white and his face looked as if he had used rocks to shave was sitting, wearing an orange and red outfit. The one at the end she did not recognize, only able to see that he had light brown hair with a full beard and mustache, wearing red.

The nobleman on the right side, however, was a Swadian noble she knew.

"Count Delinard," Korra said as she lowered her head. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"And I had hoped to see you, Lady Korra," Delinard answered with a nod before glancing to the younger noble. "Shall I introduce you?"

"Hold on, 'lady'?" Korra asked, surprised at the address.

"I heard of your noble heritage," Delinard explained. "If you prefer, I can avoid addressing you by such."

"Er," Korra said, "Well, I uh… well…"

"Don't bother, Marshall," the noble with the full beard said. "I doubt that whatever nobility was recognized where she hails from would even amount to the manor you group up in. Her heavy garb makes the Rhodok hill tribes look civilized."

"Enough, Count," the old man said. "She may not bear a banner, but there was no reason to believe she was lying when she was talking to her friends."

What do you mean 'talking to my friends'? Korra wondered as she narrowed her eyes at him. Drop it, she told herself. She could get an answer later. "To be fair, we didn't use banners," she said. "But that's not why you asked for me. Can I ask which one of you is Count Klargus?"

"That would be me," the older man said, looking towards the young boy that had led her there. "Good job, Frank. You can go spar with the others."

"Yes, Count," the young boy said, bowing before leaving with all too much excitement.

"Your grandson?" Korra asked.

"A page, actually," Klargus explained with a wave of his hand. "A young learner of the ways of Chivalry. One day he might make a fine knight. For now, however, to business."

"Go ahead," the noble in the middle said as he pushed himself up. "I should attend to matters of state now that Boyar Druli has left."

"Of course, Count," Delinard said with a nod. He left quickly, brushing past Korra without a word.

"My apologizes," Klargus said as he shook his head. "Count Clais is dislikes mercenaries and is very hard to impress - especially if one is a foreigner."

"It's fine," Korra answered. "So, what did you want to ask me about, Count?"

"It was my recommendation," Delinard said. "I saw you entering Dhirim and mentioned your skills."

"Another captured noble?" Korra asked as she remembered the last job.

"Rapist, actually," Klargus explained as he gestured towards a chair at her end of the table. "He was one of my soldiers and deserted when his crime was discovered."

Korra sat down, frowning as she did so. "What happened?"

"We were on the offensive, attempting to strike the Nord's supply lines to Kelderan Castle in hopes of easing the siege there. As we destroyed a wagon train moving through Ambean, some of my men disobeyed orders and went off to plunder the village during the battle. I could care less about after the battle, but during it is unacceptable."

"Robbing innocents at all is unacceptable," she muttered. "But why do you need me?"

Klargus ignored the comment about pillaging and moved on. "The soldier in question, Lars Thornton and also called 'Ironfoot' by his friends, deserted the army and is believed to have gone to Gisim to hide with relatives. Normally, I would ask my son Count Beranz to handle this matter as Gisim is his rightful fief, but he is trapped in Kelderan Castle, defending it against the Nord siege. I believe that such a mission of justice would appeal to you?"

"Do you have proof of this man's guilt?" Korra asked as she narrowed her eyes at the nobleman. "I'm not saying you're lying, Count, but I'm not an assassin."

"If you would prefer to bring him to me in Suno alive, I would appreciate it. But if he is killed resisting arrest, then justice is still served." Klargus shrugged. "Really, he shall die either way for what he has done. I cannot have my men running amok during a battle being fought. The only question will be if he dies at the hand of whoever finds him, or dancing at the end of a rope for all to see."

Korra paused, weighing the implications before nodding. "Alright, I'll at least track him down. Has he been given a trial yet, or are you just presuming guilt?"

"I have testimony from his immediate superior and two of my knights, but yes, if you bring him to me I will be holding trial."

"Not that it changes much," Delinard added, leaning forward. "After all, his crime is known either way. It may be forgotten after a few weeks, lost in the tides of war, but that does not mean that the long arm of justice should not reach for him."

"Okay, give me a description of him, and I'll talk to my friends. I don't know how soon we can start looking for him, but we can at least try."

Klargus smiled. "Thank you, Lady Korra. I will send Lars' former sergeant to meet with you, he will provide you with the description."

"Thank you, Count, but before I go I have one more question… are you two spying on me?"

Both of the counts were surprised and looked at each other, but it was Delinard who spoke up. "Spies are distasteful, but to accurately answer your question… it would be safer to say we have merely kept an ear out for your activities and a faithful ally of Swadia mentioned it in a report."

Now if only I could remember when I talked about it… Korra thought as she shrugged and let it slide. "Fair enough. I'll be at the inn when your soldier's ready to give me a description."

XXXXX

"How do we keep finding these jobs?" Bolin asked as they were sitting at a table in the inn's main room, though it was quiet so far with only a travelling bard busy stringing his lyre between drinks as company, and he was focused on his own matters.

"Reputation," Asami said with a shrug. "Although I'm wondering if there's something else in this too. I mean, we helped Delinard before, but the way you described that meeting… something's up, Korra."

"Tell me about it, word can't travel that fast," Korra said as she shook her head. "The merchants was one thing; the guild masters probably pass word to each other regularly. But the nobles?" she glanced towards Asami. "I'm wondering if they're fishing for me. You know, see if they can't get me on their side with some jobs like this."

"You're not going to let them, are you?" Jinora asked.

"Not unless I've got a really good reason."

Jinora nodded. "Well, even if this is for a good cause, I'm a bit uneasy about the idea of hunting someone down. I'll stay with the Naga and the new horse when you actually head into town. I mean, the only way Naga would be any more obvious is if you put an arrow on her head."

They laughed, Korra in particular as she could actually imagine Naga's confused face as Meelo was painting a sky bison's fur pattern on Naga.

"Hah, good one Jinora…" she inhaled to steady herself. "But yeah, probably a good idea. Speaking of that," Korra said as she looked towards the two brothers, "did you guys get a new horse while I was talking to the count?"

"Yeah, one named 'Minty' by the horse merchant," Mako explained. "Apparently as a sumpter horse he's hardy enough and fairly strong, but slow. Fairly popular horse for the average person, apparently."

"Well, that is kind of what you need for farmwork and trade, and if it's also common that's even better," Asami commented as she leaned forward. "But yes, we're set for transportation."

"Good, Naga can't carry everyone and I'd feel really uncomfortable making you guys walk." Korra said as Jinora half smirked. The airbender had preferred to fly, or when she was tired rode on Naga's back as she was light enough not to be any more of a burden on the polar bear dog than the weapons that they had.

"So," Korra asked after a quiet moment passed, "did you guys hear anything about what that Vaegir lord was here for?"

"Apparently, there was talk about an alliance against the Nords," Asami explained. "Though from what we heard, it was just a first pass."

"They were killing each other a few weeks ago, and now they're talking about an alliance?" Korra shook her head. "I'm never going to understand politics, am I?"

Everyone either shook their heads or shrugged as the table fell silent, leaving Korra to wonder if she even wanted to involve herself. At least with Republic City, it was internal affairs, not regular wars.

"So, when're we going to head out?" Mako asked after a minute.

"Let's find out where this Gisim is first," Korra said. "Any of you have the map?"

"It's in the room," Asami said as she stood. "I'll go grab it."

"Thanks."

XXXXX

Far to the south of Dhirim, back in Shariz as night settled on Calradia, Viper looked out the window of the city dungeon.

"It's all clear," he whispered as he dropped off of Ping's shoulders with a quiet landing. "Badger, you're up."

"This had better work," Ping muttered. "I ain't sticking around for whatever barbaric killing machine they use here. Ain't like Beifong at all; all nooses and breaking wheels…"

"Pfeh, you came from a soft place," one of the night bandits they had run with muttered.

"Eh, people had bad memories from a big war and got all uppity about prisoner treatment," Viper said with a shrug. "Anyways, make it quick because the moment we break something the guards are going to come running in."

"I know," Badger said as he ran his hands along the wall and nodded to himself. He had checked it for weak points before, but they had waited to gain an idea of the guard patterns before plotting their breakout.

Before Badger could start breaking down the wall, there was a scuffle outside the door.

"Halt, I can't let anyone… h-" The guard's cry was cut off and Viper held a hand up. Badger paused and they all turned around, silent as a few seconds passed before the door rattled as someone was unlocking it.

In stepped a woman with short, unkempt, and bright red hair wearing a threadbare blue dress with a bag around her waist. Her hands and face had been splattered with blood, and based on the red fluid dripping down the steps Viper concluded that the guard had been murdered.

"Nice job, miss," Viper said as he nodded to her. "Cold and heartless. I like ladies like that."

"You're welcome," the woman answered. "So, who're the benders?"

"That'll be us," Ping cut in as he gestured to the three Triads. "Why you asking?"

"I'll talk more later, for now we need to move before the guards mobilize. They've got extra guards outside the courtyard, so you need to break down that wall."

Viper tilted his head towards the earthbending Triad. "Uncuff Badger first then, and we'll hand the keys around as we go. These Sarranid hounds aren't stupid."

"Not to be ungrateful, but why you doing this?" Ping asked as the woman unlocked the earthbender's cuffs and Badger immediately turned to run a hand across the wall.

"I was hired for the job," she explained as she did Viper's cuffs and he rubbed his wrists once they fell off. It was a useless thing to do and did nothing to alleviate the pain, but it did reassure him that they were off. "Someone's interested in some real fighting benders and paid good silver for your escape."

"Smart man," Viper said as Badger started to hit the wall, cracking the stonework. After the fourth hit, an alarm bell started to ring. By then it was too late, though, and the earthbender kicked the weakened wall down.

"Let's go!" Badger shouted.

They dropped down to the street, a short drop but one that was long enough that they had to roll with it. The three benders and their rescuer were clear as the guards stormed into the jail cell and Viper could hear swords being used and men screaming, but he ignored it as they ran.

"Prison break!" a guard shouted as he reached the broken down wall.

"How're we running?" Badger asked as a guard charged them with an axe. The woman reacted first, throwing a knife into his open face and catching him in the eye. The guard collapsed as they ran past the still writhing and screaming guard.

"Clear the gate! I'll unlock it, then your earthbender should be able to force it open." She started to pull rope from a bag that was tied down around her waist.

They moved forward, two more guards standing in their way at the gate. Viper glanced to the side at a barrel sitting on a wagon that had just been brought into town and smiled. He ran up to it and yanked it off of the cart, flinging it to the ground.

It didn't break entirely, but it was open enough that he could waterbend the beer inside to force open the holes. And once it was free, he used the alcohol to knock back the two gate guards charging towards them, followed with freezing them into the wall so they could not grab their weapons.

He glanced up and saw the woman who had released them leap up far more than a person had any right to. She rapidly climbed up the rope that she had looped around one of the wooden beams sticking out of the wall, then made another jump to get onto the wall.

"Did you see that?" Ping asked in shock. "Don't tell me I imagined her jumping like an airbender…"

"You didn't imagine it…" Viper said as he saw an archer on a distant wall and grabbed Ping, dragging him to the ground as an arrow shot well over them. "Ping, archer at our six!"

Ping rolled around and fired three fireballs in quick succession while Viper went for another barrel and used the contents to form a shielding ice barrier as the gate began to slide open and Badger hit it with his earthbending, a brick like piece of earth slamming it open.

"Let's go!" their rescuer shouted as she dropped to the ground outside, wind blowing around her landing as she slowed before she hit the ground. "There'll be more archers any minute!"

Leaving the barrier behind them to be hacked at by the guards' iron axes, they ran from the city and kept running until they had escaped into the shrubland and forests to the west of Shariz. There, the foliage and rock outcroppings hid them from passing view. Once they could no longer see the city, they stopped by a stream.

Sitting down around it, they all caught their breath as Viper put a hand on his head. I miss my hat, he thought as he knew that it had been kept by the guards when the Avatar handed them over.

"Well, that worked…" Ping said as he was wheezing. "So, what now?"

"First, I think we oughta exchange names," Viper said as he tipped his head towards their rescuer. "They call me Viper, miss. The firebender's Two-Toed Ping, and the earthbender's Badger."

The woman nodded, wearing a mouth-to-mouth grin in spite of the blood on her face and dripping onto her dress. "Klethi," she supplied.

"Thanks for the escape route," Badger said as looked around towards the city.

"It's always fun giving the guards the slip. Anyways, my employer said that you should head north; he intends to meet you on the way. He didn't say how he was going to find you, but he's got some weird sixth sense about this sorta thing."

"What do you mean?" Viper asked with a frown. "I've known some dodgy folks who can sense a mark or con, but never someone who could track a person in the woods without stuffing lychee nuts in someone's pants and sending hog monkeys after them."

"I don't know what a 'hog monkey' is," Klethi said as her smile faded, "but he managed to find me right when I needed a quick exit from Halmar after a job." The woman fingered an amulet that she had hidden beneath the neck of her dress. "Let's just say my former employer had a nice bauble like this."

Viper nodded. "One of those stuck up blue bloods?"

"Exactly. A Khergit leader who wanted me to assassinate a Vaegir captain. After all, who better to infiltrate a Vaegir camp than a Vaegir?"

"So, who is he anyways?" Badger asked. "Your employer."

"Some really old earthbender who dresses in a lot of red, and somehow managed to get plenty of money. Apparently he already hired someone from your 'Republic City'; a chi blocker. Not sure what those are, but he's been training some bandits in messing up bending."

"So, he wants us to teach bending to go with it?" Ping asked as he smirked. "Well, he chose the right guys for the job!"

"Douse the flames, Ping," Viper cut in. "Let's not commit before we've met this 'employer'. You going to guide us to him?"

"No," Klethi answered as she shook her head. "I have a second job."

"What's that?"

Klethi's smile went across both ends of her face again. "To kill whichever messenger tries to carry the local guild master's warning to some woman named Korra."

XXXXX

"You sure about this?"

Mako glanced to Korra as they were camped in the open plains. "I'm sure," he said as he looked towards the sky. Rainclouds had gathered, so Bolin and Korra had used their earthbending to put up shelter, leaving Mako to try and focus. He needed to be extremely careful with what he was about to do.

"Still," he continued as that fact weighed on him, "you might want to stand back."

Korra nodded and waited ten feet away along with the others as Mako took another deep breath to steady himself. Lightning - the cold blooded fire - it was a skill that had originally been exclusive to royalty. It was only after the Hundred Years War did it proliferate, particularly after it was discovered to be storable with batteries rather than relying purely on materials like coal.

But even if it was much more common, it was still dangerous. Mako began to move his arms in a circular pattern, focusing and splitting the chi as it flowed. The energy separated, and he felt the spark. He could not direct it: once generated, he could only guide it. It was this fact that had allowed him to be the first person to genuinely get an edge on Amon: all Mako had to do was create the lightning and give it a path towards the bloodbending manic.

This time, however, he had full movement and could give it a path into the air. And with one final surge he felt the energy shooting through his body, guided along his stomach and away from his heart, and out his right hand as he extended two fingers into the air. A blue flash filled the sky and thunder echoed across the plain.

But as he felt the energy leaving his body completely, Mako dropped to a knee, breathing rapidly.

"Mako, you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said as he glanced up and saw Bolin running over. "Just took a lot out of me. But yeah, I can still shoot lightning. I think I'm just going to take it easy, though."

Bolin nodded as he helped him over towards where the camp itself was; Korra was setting up a campfire while Jinora was meditating, Furry-Foot resting on her shoulder as she did.

"That looked like it hurt," Asami said as Mako sat down on the ground.

"Nah, just tiring," he explained as he reached for one of the waterskins. "Not a big deal, just need to be careful about when I do it."

"Least I'm not the only one who's bending isn't fully working," Korra muttered as she pulled out some of the jerky they had bought in Wercheg before passing the rucksack to Asami.

Mako was not sure how to answer, so he hid the fact by taking repeated drinks from the waterskin. He needed it anyways.

"So, Korra, why aren't you trying to do that meditation stuff like Jinora is?" Bolin asked.

That's a little personal, Mako thought as he glared at his younger brother.

"I've always been more of a get out there and deal with things kind of Avatar," Korra admitted with a shrug. "Tenzin usually had to push me to get me to actually spend time doing it."

"Fair enough. Not sure what it does for Jinora, though…"

"You know I can hear you, right?" Jinora cut in suddenly.

"Oh, right… uh…" Bolin fumbled as Mako smirked. There was a flash in the distance, followed by a rumble. Both Pabu and Naga were immediately on their feet - in Pabu's case diving into their shelter, and Korra looked up immediately.

"Bolin, we might want to expand the shelter a bit. I think we'll need to get everything inside. Asami, Mako, you want to see if you can find any holes that we need to plug with the blankets?"

"You sure?" Bolin asked. "I mean, as long as it doesn't pool up inside we might as well use the blankets."

"I'd rather not have to get the water out of our stuff," Korra answered as she stood. "Come on, let's get this done so we can actually go to sleep without worrying about everything getting soaked."

XXXXX

"Alright, the town's not too far," Korra said the next afternoon as they came to a halt a little under a mile south of Gisim, along the road by a marker stone. The mountains it was built into dominated the horizon to the north, and to the south they could barely make out the coast. "Jinora, you're going to stay here?"

"I'll stay on the hill nearby," Jinora said as she pointed to a few trees at the top.

"Hold on," Asami said as they dismounted, turning and grabbing her crossbow that had been on Naga's saddlebag. "Just so I don't stand out as a non-bender without a weapon. If this Lars guy sees the gauntlet only he might panic."

"I'd figure that if he sees any of us he'd panic," Mako remarked. "I mean, we aren't exactly some unknown if we're getting these jobs."

"Maybe, but it's not like they have newspapers and photos," Korra said as she considered whether to bring the bow or not. Huh, we haven't used the weapons for a while, she thought as she held it in her hands before leaving it on Naga's saddle. She did not need it.

Maybe if I need to go hunting, she decided as she reached for her helmet and slid it on.

"Alright, anything else we should bring?" she asked as she grabbed her shield and slid it on, keeping it on her back with a strap that ran along her chest. "I'm bringing the shield, but I don't think there's any point bringing the bow since I've got my bending back."

"I think we're good," Bolin answered. "The club since it doesn't really go with my outfit."

"Just remember to act normal," Mako said as he adjusted the straps on his helmet. "There's no reason to get the suspect suspicious before we're too close."

Walking to the village, they quickly found that the road vanished. There was a clear trail, but Korra found it impossible to believe that it was an actual road. It was not even a dirt path, and the road dipped and rose far too easily. And too steep for Naga, let alone a horse, Korra decided as they walked along the gentler looking route when the path forked.

"Man, this is one far out place," Bolin muttered as he made some stairs with earthbending as they reached a steeper climb. "How do they get stuff in or out?"

"Might be a pieced out village," Mako suggested as Korra helped Bolin. "Or maybe there's some other path we missed."

"Probably," Asami said as the last of the stairs for that patch were made. "Still, they're not getting any carts through this."

A loud crash and shouting cut off any further discussion of the odd road. Korra reached for her shield, making sure the straps were secure on her arm as Asami loaded the crossbow and the two brothers checked their helmets. More screams told them that something was going on, and they hurried forward.

The village center, if it was the center, had a few houses built along the cliffside and a cobblestone road in the center between the houses. One house to the far right was elevated, but most of it was on a small flat plateau that went into the mountainside. A path lead further into the mountains, but she could make out nothing but more smoke rising further beyond.

The buildings she could see, however, had small fires of their own on the thatched roofs. And running around the village chasing the villagers were armed men, wearing light colored fur coats, leather armor, and mail. Most of them had round shields, many had axes, a few with bows and maces, and one man in the middle had a massive two handed axe cutting a fleeing farmer in half vertically. His armor was also missing several pieces, as if it had been ripped off, and his stained red hair flopped around freely without a helmet.

Korra did not stop to think and kicked. As she followed through, a boulder shot into the crowd and hit the man with the large axe, causing him to stagger briefly. The others ran in - they were outnumbered a little over two to one, but they had to do something. Asami discharged her crossbow, missing her target as she hurried forward after the shot but the Nords were distracted from the villagers.

"Freelancers!" one of them shouted as he turned, a blood stained sword in hand. "Get them!"

They clashed, Korra running towards the big one and earthbending a jagged piece of rock into him from below. He took it, slowing briefly before his mass broke through and he swung his axe down with an incoherent yell. Korra threw herself to the side as the axe crashed into the ground like a hammer blow, but she had a look at the man's eyes. Bloodshot, crazed, drooling from his mouth… he had clearly gone flat out berserk.

"You're crazy," Korra muttered as he pulled the axe from the ground with a crack as Mako was burning one of the Nord soldiers. "Fought crazier," she added as he charged her again.

She dropped to the side with his swing, the axe narrowly missing her head as she went for his legs and kicked him in the knee as hard as she could, hoping to break it. It bent slightly, but he took the blow and kicked her back, surprising her with how much force he used.

Bouncing on the ground, Korra rolled back to her feet and hit him again, earthbending several rocks that were lying at the bottom of a shear cliff. The rocks hit the berserk Nord, but he did not care even as another chunk of his armor tore off from the blows. Instead, he charged straight for her, axe overhead.

A little closer, she thought before jumping forward, rolling under him and tripping him. The berserker tripped and went headfirst into the cliff wall, and Korra immediately followed it up with water from her waterskin, frozen into a sharp icicle, and launched it directly into his unprotected head. He had to either be physically immobilized with his limbs hacked off, or she had to actually kill him.

And as she heard another Nord screaming after an electric shock, she knew time was against her and pushed the icicle further into his head. Blood splattered around the Nord, but he pushed himself back up, turning in spite of the shard of ice sticking through his head.

"Oh come on!" Korra groaned as something hit her in the back of the head. She hit the ground with a roll and quickly raised her shield as another Nord with a mace swung again. The shield caught the blow directly and she grunted as pain shot up her arm. Hope it's not broken, she thought as the pain persisted while she pushed back against the mace. Before he could pull it back to swing again, she shot a cobblestone directly into her opponent's face.

The rock hit right under the metal rim of his leather helmet and the Nord collapsed with a bloodied face. Clear again, Korra turned her attention back towards her main problem: the berserker.

He had charged again while she had been dealing with the other Nord, and Korra had to roll out of the way as he swung horizontally. As she came to her feet, she saw a pair of archers honing in on Mako as he took cover behind a barrel, which had an arrow sticking out of it already.

"Mako!" she shouted as she undid the shield's straps around her arm. It would help him more than her. "Get high and fire!"

He looked up and ran towards her as she tossed the shield towards him. Mako caught it, putting it between him and the archers, and started moving up to the house that was above them.

Korra leapt up again as the berserker attacked her, landing on her feet and bracing herself with her arm. He was still coming for her, but he was also slowing down.

"You might not feel pain," she said as he screamed at her and threw his axe at her. Korra paused mid-quip and rolled to the side, kicking up another rock.

"But your brain does!" she finished as she sent the rock into the berserker's face, driving the ice sticking through him all the way out. The berserker staggered, slumping forward as the ice tore on its way through his head, before finally collapsing face first into the ground as the icicle landed behind him.

"And stay down," Korra muttered as she kicked him in the head to be sure before looking up. Bolin and Asami were taking care of their group, about a dozen Nords on the ground at their feet.

Although this group had been beat, more people from the road deeper were running towards and past them. Among this group were several men wearing light armor of a white color, some with quivers. But those with the quivers lacked any form of bow and none of them seemed to have weapons.

"Grab a Nord's weapon, we need to buy more time!" Korra shouted as she grabbed one of the fleeing Swadian soldiers or militia. She wasn't sure which he was, but she was certain he was some form of fighter with his armor.

"Fuck that!" the man she had grabbed shouted as he broke her grip and kept running. "It's Olaf and his Huscarls, you're on your own lady!"

Thanks, Korra thought as she shook her head as the new wave of Nords noticed there was opposition as fireballs from above shot in. Mako was in position and raining fire down, forcing the Nords to drop into their shield wall as she and Bolin started to launch rocks towards the hastily assembled formation.

"Hold firm!" one of the Nords in the center shouted as a boulder cracked against his shield, larger than most of the others and blocked at a slight angle. As the rock Bolin had shot at it fell, the shield was perfectly fine, as were the other large ones in the center that Korra guessed belonged to he Huscarls. Some of the men on the side with smaller shields staggered back from the volley, but the wall held.

"Oh come on!" Bolin groaned.

"We can take them," Asami said as she grabbed a bola from her belt. Korra didn't see where her crossbow had gone, but there were a few tears on her armor.

"CHARGE!" the Nord leader shouted as he lowered his shield, giving Korra a look at his thick blond beard, and one that was stained with blood.

Korra grit her teeth and drew the full contents of her water skin, condensing it into a large icy spear and launching it into the two dozen men rushing them. It caught one of the Huscarls in the neck and he collapsed with a cut off cry. The large Nord who seemed to be in charge had a look of horror as he glanced back at his comrade, then the horror faded as he rushed right for her before she could pull the frozen water back out.

She leapt to the side as he swung a large patterned mace at her, but another Nord hit her with his shield, the metal boss in the center winding her as she staggered. And another one was coming for her front.

Dropping to the ground to roll with her stagger, Korra tripped up another Nord warrior that had come up on her side and he hit the ground with a grunt. Korra launched him into the leading Nord with earthbending, knocking both down. Another Nord jabbed his spear towards her, narrowly missing Korra's head as she leapt forward. Bolin screamed.

"Bolin!" Asami shouted and Korra caught a quick glance of the ex-CEO electrocuting a fur wearing warrior with a club.

"Get him out of here!" Korra shouted when something hit her in the back of the head. Falling to the ground, she rolled onto her back and saw one of the Huscarls with a large mace, albeit a smooth one without spikes. Before she could react to him or any of the other Nords that had surrounded her, another Nord kicked her in the side and one more jumped onto her.

The last thing Korra saw before blacking out was a mailed right hook coming straight for her face, and the last thing she felt was her head hitting the ground.

XXXXX

Jarl Olaf, the blond haired lord of Hrus Castle and the village of Haen, inhaled as he looked down at the freelance woman in blue as her eyes rolled back. She was unconscious, knocked out by the punch he had delivered. His right arm was hurting from it as he had slugged her right into the hard jawline. Next time keep a grip on my mace when earthbenders throw men at me, he decided as he noticed her twitch.

Not wanting to take chances with a bender, he grabbed her by the throat and flung the woman into a nearby overturned cart. As the bender hit it, the wooden cart collapsed on top of her. Satisfied, he turned towards the other woman in the group, lightning sparking around her hand as she got it into the helmet of one of his Huscarls.

"Take her down!" he ordered, pointing towards her. With the bender in blue down, the now freed up soldiers rushed the red wearing woman, dogpiling and dragging her to the ground by sheer weight of numbers.

"Aeric, Logar, Gul, with me!" Olaf called as he picked up his mace again, three of his Huscarls joining him. With them and their shields up, they rushed towards where the firebender was still trying to pelt them from above.

"I've never seen bending like this," Aeric muttered, the older Huscarl in disbelief. "I thought Zendar was burnt to the ground!"

"It was," Olaf muttered as he put his shield in front of him to absorb a larger blow. Holstering his mace and drawing a dart from a belt pouch,he lowered the shield and flung the dart. The iron tipped projectile caught the firebender in the shoulder as he was switching targets. The firebender dropped to the ground with a grunt, grabbing a shield far too much like the clothing of the first woman he knocked out and raised it.

"Finish him!" he ordered, but before they could close in something small dropped from the sky and he could feel the wind blowing. A little girl had landed in front of him, carrying some sort of kite staff which collapsed down into a normal staff. The girl wore a glare on her face, then swung the staff around.

He could not see it in time to bring up his shields, but he felt it: a gale force wind crashed into Olaf and the Huscarls. They were knocked back, tumbling down the path. Olaf lost his grip on his mace but reached for a rock as he bounced. He grabbed it, stopping his momentum and pulling himself back up. As he reached his feet again he saw the girl grab the firebender, twirl her staff back into its kite form, and launch into the sky.

"Archers!" he screamed, "Shoot the little fairy flying away to the south!"

His archers ran forward with their bows ready, but all the arrows fell short when they were released. The one arrow that hit the mark was blocked with the shield, and the two benders flew away.

Exhaling as he processed what happened, Olaf marched back down. His men were searching the houses, dragging any peasant that had hidden and binding them with rope or gathering plunder. Some men were dealing with their new bending prisoners, all of whom were unconscious, or tending to the wounded.

"Johann," Olaf muttered as he knelt next to the wounded Huscarl who still had the javelin shaped ice lodged in his throat. Olaf pulled his helmet off and grabbed the man's hands.

"Olaf…" Johann gasped, wheezy and his voice faint, barely leaving his mouth.

"Drag the blue garbed bender here," Olaf snarled, reaching for his belt and drawing a dagger. Aeric and Logar grabbed her, dragging her over until she was right next to him. The limp woman's head fell forward. Olaf put the dagger in Johann's hands and reached for the woman, lifting her head to expose her throat.

"Johann… she killed you without honor, using bending as a coward."

"No…" Johann managed to choke out, dropping the dagger. "... the family."

Olaf paused a moment, adrenaline still going through his body. This woman had killed him like a coward, using bending rather than her own natural skill of arms. Olaf wanted to do nothing more than butcher her for the insult, for taking a friend from him as he knew no surgeon could heal the wound that Johann had suffered.

But as the adrenaline began to ebb and the rush of battle subsided, he realized Johann was right. He had to remember their goals: his family needed all the money they could gather for their ambitions, and warriors fetched a greater price in ransoms or slave trade than the peasant yokels his men had captured. Enemy corpses were worth less than nothing.

Sighing, Olaf nodded. "I understand, Johann… thank you." He reached for the man's sword, and made sure it was in his grip and put Johann's arm over his chest. "They'll sing of your valor, friend. And when there's a Nordic Calradia, you will be remembered."

A moment later, Johann went limp and Olaf closed his eyes for a moment, then stood to look around. The village was theirs, and they had crushed the opposition. But his losses surprised him - multiple Nord warriors lay dead or badly injured, potentially two dozen of his men were on the ground or being tended to. Who were these people to have such bending prowess?

"Bind the freelancers," he ordered. "We'll take them as slaves. Toss the captives onto the wagon and grab everything you can, we're moving out!"

XXXXX

End Chapter

Author's Notes:

- Gisim, if you explore the area, actually doesn't have a logical path up the mountains. The road just ends and there's a bunch of really steep slopes. I generally figured that most of the villages consist primarily of the central buildings with outlying farms, hamlets, and manors connected to it, but I had to hang a lampshade here as they were heading there.

- As for the Krew's weapons… admittedly, the main reason they haven't been used is that they haven't been in situations where they need them intensively yet. I did not forget about them, the situations just did not make sense to use them, particularly for the benders. I mean, in most cases Korra does not need the shield. That tune will change right quick once she has to storm a castle, but until then…

- The berserker came from me reading about Norse who were so crazed that they would actually gnaw on their own shields and were eager for battle, or the one at Stamford Bridge who held it for quite a while. I felt such was a much more fitting thing to throw in, and the Nords are based on the Vikings - or rather the more settled Danes.

- Jinora getting to Gisim to rescue will be explained next chapter. It didn't seem right to throw in another scene when I had a very good cut off. As for the strength; well, Aang carried both Toph and Sokka, both of whom were wearing armor at the time. Mako's not nearly as heavy as both of them.