Chapter 28: The Road to Ruin
Lord Iroh had rarely seen his ship in such an uproar.
Most of the crew, after hearing what had happened at port, had all rushed back at once to begin the search.
But it was no use. Neither Kira, nor Jade were anywhere to be found upon the deck or indeed, anywhere close by the dock. That meant only one thing.
They had to search the shore
Iroh sighed sadly as he followed his nephew, the Prince, as he frantically dashed up onto the gangplank and onto the ship's deck.
Ever since the encounter with Lieutenant Ji, Zuko had been positively panicked. Lord Iroh could not recall a time he'd ever seen his nephew so worried about something.
in fact, the young Prince was so frazzled that he actually ignored the couple of whispers around the docks of the sighting of the Avatar at a festival taking place in one of the Fire Nation Colonies just a little further in mainland.
One can just hope that all our worries are not in vain…
The older lord sighed sadly as his nephew's face turned crestfallen upon hearing another vague and bleakly toned report from one of the ships engineers. But just as soon as the expression appeared then it was gone as he straightened up and glared determinately at his crew.
"I don't care if the rest of you think it's pointless, I want everyone to search every single tiny corner of this town from top to bottom. Nobody is to eat or sleep till at least something is found that can help us get Jade back. If you find anything out of the ordinary report it at once to either me or my uncle. Lieutenant Lee, Lieutenant Chung you and your men will search both north and north east. Captain Huan, Helmsman Quan both of you take your sailors and search the docks-"
In spite of his own worry Lord Iroh could not help but feel a twinge of pride as he beheld his nephew's visage before him. For one moment, one shining moment, the older lord thought he had seen, not a young brash teenage boy, but a regal and powerful prince, with a proud honourable bearing and a commanding presence that could rally his men behind him even in the face of doom.
And yes this was a time of doom.
But not for them.
A loud squawking jolted Iroh out of his gloomy thoughts and he turned just in time to see a rather bedraggled messenger hawk land on the railing on the side of the deck.
"Oh no…" he breathed as he strode towards it and untied the small scroll container from its foot.
"Prince Zuko"
"What is it uncle?" Zuko snapped just as something cool and smooth was thrust into his hands.
"Uncle what-"
But as he looked down, he froze.
There in his palm, tied to a thick black cord, was a green jade stone.
But all Zuko could see was the red as it all but clouded his vision. With it the simmering embers in his gut now sparked a blazing flame in his gut as he made to read the scrawl of the note that had been wrapped around the pendant.
She now walks the paths of the dead. So much for being born Lucky.
"Prince Zuko? What-Where are you going?"
When Jade opened her eyes, it was just as dark as when they were shut.
What…what happened-ow!
She cringed, her head throbbing with the turning of her head.
Cursing herself softly under her breath, she made to reach up to touch the most tender and painful spot on the back of her skull, only to find her arms were stuck in one place in front of her body
No…not stuck…they were bound.
Her gut sank and horror began to seep through her veins like ice as she tried to shift her hands around, only to feel the cold and harsh hairs of a thick rope dig into her flesh.
Oh spirits…oh spirits what's happening? Why am I tied up? What's going on? Where am I?
But even as she struggled terrible realisation began to sink in slowly but surely, and soon she was aware of not just rope around her hands, but rope around her chest and elbows, binding her arms by her sides. Not only that but there was a something like cloth, no, a blindfold tied tight over her eyes, whilst another rough strip of cloth was forced between her teeth like a gag
She tried to spit it out but instead she choked on the damn thing, barely resisting the urge to gag as she tasted blood on the cloth.
Wait a moment…blood?
And then it hit her.
She sat there, for seated she was, astride what felt like a big Komodo Rhino saddle that bumped up and down as an arm around her waist held her steady, for what seemed an age as images flashed over her mind's eye.
Of course…how could she have forgotten.
The painful hits to her body as she struggled against a strong unyielding hold, the piercing shrieks as she screamed for help…the smell of burnt flesh and blood as a shadow aimed something hot and fierce towards…
Ji…oh no Ji…I'm so sorry…please spirits let him be alright…
Beneath the blindfold two damp spots appeared as Jade's lip trembled as she remembered the horrible sight of the man keeling over onto the ground, his gut bleeding from a hole in his armour.
How long had it been since he'd been struck down? Heck, was he even still alive?
She hoped so. Lieutenant Ji was a good man, one who had always looked out for her during her life upon the ship. And not just him. There were many other honourable officers and sailors aboard the ship who had looked out for her over the past two years.
She wondered, if any of them would even notice her absence when they returned back to the ship.
Probably not…
She mused glumly. After all it was shore leave. Most of the crew would probably be going to a tavern and drinking till they were as wobbly as a spotted pentapus'. The thought was almost amusing enough to bring a smile to her face.
Almost.
"Speed up." A gruff voice growled. Jade gasped as the Rhino grunted viciously, its upper half bucking up and down as it's rider tried to force it onwards
"When I say speed up you go faster you dumb creature. Now go!" there was a sharp cracking sound and a grunt of pain as the whip struck the rhino, which roared loudly before its legs began to thunder forwards. Even with the blindfold covering her eyes, the rush of wind and the constant up and down motion of the steed made her feel faintly sick, a feeling only intensified by the arm around her waist tightening painfully.
"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you" Kira growled in her ear. "and don't bother struggling."
Wouldn't dream of it!
She rolled her eyes though her heart sank.
How on earth was she going to get out of-
She paused her heart stilling as what seemed to be a fire sparked in the depths of her mind.
Earth…that's it…
A small smirk spreading from behind her mouth gag, Jade hunched over slightly and began tapping her bound hands lightly onto the front of the Rhino's saddle.
The image that she sensed was shaky at best, for the vibrations made by the beast's thunderous footfalls overlapped the small taps she made.
But they were enough to let her know that wherever she was she was surrounded by tons of rock and stone.
With a tremendous grunt, she swung her legs up then down, her bare heels hitting with a painful thud into the Rhino's shoulders.
"What the-whoa!" Kira yelled as his steed suddenly reared up angrily, tossing its great mass this way and that.
But it was no use. Komodo Rhinos, Jade knew, were very sensitive around the neck and shoulder blades and often lashed out if someone if they dared to touch them without their approval.
So it came as no surprise to her that when Kira forced the whip onto the beast's tender neck, it positively roared and thrashed with fury.
Amidst all this mayhem, Jade saw her chance and swiftly lifted both her legs into a tucked position on top of the saddle and forced her whole body weight sideways with a sharp tug, pulling herself right out of her captor's grip.
With a heavy thud she hit the ground, her body rolling over just in time to avoid the stamping and raging feet of the distressed Rhino which was now writhing and bellowing in a frenzy as its rider tried to crack his whip on it.
Now to get free of these damn ropes.
"Mph!" Jade grunted as she reached forwards blindly on the ground with her bound hands. After a couple of seconds of searching her hands found what they sought. A large stone big enough to fill her entire grip.
Screwing up her eyes with all the concentration she could muster, she forced the chi to flow through her fingers, softening the earth in them as they manipulated its shape.
Once she found the right form she quickly held it tight between her hands and began scratching it along the ropes around her wrists. Within a few seconds she felt the first loop snap apart.
Hurry up, hurry up!
She squeaked as she felt the loud footsteps of a man running towards her through the ground.
Another loop snapped, then another, then finally the last one.
With a groan of relief Jade yanked the last hair of the rope apart with her own strength before reaching up and ripping the blindfold and gag from her face, not a moment too soon.
"Now I got you little brat-gah!" Kira yelled in shock as a large chunk of earth burst from the earth and hurtled headlong into his stomach, sending him flying backwards into a wall of rock behind him.
But Jade did not see nor care. Tugging off the last of her bonds she ran helter skelter amidst the sea of rock and rubble that was suddenly visible to her dazed eyes, not even heeding which direction she went in just as long as she could get away from the snarling monster that now pursued her hotly.
"Running won't help you, brat" Kira sneered as he watched the frantic girl trip some way away. "It only slows down your death."
Jade whimpered as she stumbled to her feet, her hand clutching at her cheek which was bleeding profusely from a slender but deep cut.
NO keep running! KEEP RUNNING! Holy-spirits-holy spirits! RUN JADE RUN!
She all but shrieked in her head as she forced herself to start running again, only to trip once more. But this time, instead of falling flat on her face, she forced herself into a forward roll that she (unfortunately) could not get out of.
With many a hard hit and a cry of pain, she hurtled down the steep slope of the harsh terrain, her body accelerating swiftly with each new tumble and twist until finally the ground levelled out beneath her.
With all the strength she could muster she heaved herself onto her knees and hit the ground hard with her hand. She all but sighed in relief as the vibrations in the earth showed her pursuer was still meandering his way far above her in the ruinous stone slope above, which turned out to be the base of a mountain.
Dazed and bruised all over, she stumbled to her feet, her terror the only thing keeping her moving as she stumbled onwards towards a line buildings that curved around the bottom of the terraced mountain and wound back up it, like the steps of a giant's castle.
There. There was her best bet, undercover and out of sight.
She shuddered as she wiped her hand along her still bleeding cheek, which stung under her touch.
It's a miracle the fall didn't kill me.
But it won't be a miracle if you keep standing there and let that crazy guy murder you, will it Lucky?
A voice that sounded eerily like her brother's hissed urgently in her head, just as something loud rumbled overhead.
Jade looked up quickly, only to quickly sigh heavily in dismay as she caught sight of the dark grey clouds swirling above her head and a flash of lightning hitting the top of the mountain that loomed above her.
Running from a murderer in a thunderstorm…Could my day get any worse?
Wincing she turned round and began to walk, or rather limp, her way into the building, the first droplets of rain washing away her footprints in the mud as she vanished into the shadows of the ruins.
"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHICH DIRECTION HE WENT?!"
"Ruishi calm down-please you're causing a scene-" Lord Iroh tried hold back his old friend as he almost lunged for one of the private's that had come to give him his very unsatisfactory report.
"S-sorry, Ruishi" the poor man shuddered sheepishly and Iroh was willing to bet that he was very close to pissing himself in fear as he stuttered "b-but we've s-s-searched everywhere and n-no trace of the prince could be found"
"You mean to tell me…" Ruishi rumbled as he strained against the hands that held him back. "You mean to tell me that the one person who might have the clue to where my daughter is has suddenly gone MISSING?!"
"w-well…not gone missing" the private gulped "j-just…we d-don't know quite where he is…b-but we'll find out s-soon I'm s-s-sure"
Ruishi looked as if he was about to explode into flames when-
"Father!"
"Shen! Please me you have some news" Lord Iroh sighed with relief as they all turned to see the younger man rush towards them from the other end of the alleyway.
When he saw the scene in front of him he paused, but at an earnest glance from Iroh he sighed.
"I think I might know where Prince Zuko's gone. Kira had written 'path of the dead' and there's only one road that leads there."
"What is it? And what do you mean by there? Where is there?" Ruishi snapped.
Shen sucked in a deep breath and pointed up to the tall mountain that loomed in the distance
"Oh dear…" Lord Iroh breathed as both he and Ruishi gaped at the mountain in horror.
"It gets worse" Shen groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just got word from one of the sailors at the docks. Apparently one of our battleships is pulling into port."
"But isn't that good?" the private pinned by the wall frowned, fear lost in his confusion. "I mean, if Miss Jade was taken by an assassin we could use the help"
The glare Shen gave the man was just as withering as his father's as he clipped.
"Not when the man in charge of that ship is probably the one who sent the assassin in the first place."
"Zhao…" Ruishi growled his fists clenching. "That-that-how dare he-"
He tried to storm forwards but his son blocked his path and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Get out of my way boy." He hissed but Shen just held him firmly in place.
"No father"
"Shen listen you don't-"
"No you listen father!" Shen barked over the top of his father's angry tones "I know you're angry. I'm angry too. Actually I'm bloody furious. But you know what? Being angry and you possibly going out and taking your anger on Zhao or anyone else isn't going to get us any closer to finding Jade. So before you go stir-crazy, calm down and walk it off!"
The silence that followed was thick and heavy as Ruishi stared blankly at his son…his brown eyes misting over.
"I-I can't do it Shen…" He whispered softly his head dropping to the ground "I can't…I'm not…I'm just not strong enough…not strong enough to lose her again…not like your mother"
"But Jade's not mom, father" Shen murmured softly shook his father's shoulders gently. "Yes she looks like her...yes she fights like her, bends earth like her. But she's not mom. She's also not a scared helpless little girl anymore."
"I know-"
"Then trust her. Believe in her. That's all she wants, and till we find her that's all we can do for her"
"Your son is right Ruishi" Lord Iroh put a gentle consoling hand on his friend's shoulder. "No matter what the outcome is in the future. You must not lose faith in the present. Now come. If your daughter and my nephew really are heading to that accursed mountain they'll need all the help they can get"
Zuko's face was set as he urged his rhino onward down the long winding and now muddy dirt road through the rain.
He'd just left the outskirts of the portside town on his own, and was now charging his way towards the great mountain that shadowed it in the distance, the mountain the townspeople had called Shinda Yama, the dead mountain.
Zuko had heard of the mountain before in his old history lessons back at the Fire Nation Royal Palace. Once a great mountain stronghold, Shinda Yama was nicknamed the great Lighthouse as its high peak provided a good vantage point for the Earth Kingdom Armies to watch over potential attackers coming in from the western sea.
However, all that changed when the Fire Nation, led by his great grandfather Fire Lord Sozin, lay siege on the great stronghold, in order to gain passage into the Earth Kingdom and by extension, the Northern Air Temple.
Now all that remained were relics and ghosts.
Needless to say, that even though he was determined to find Jade, Zuko was anxious to approach the great mountain as its dark silhouette grew taller and darker in the stormy skies.
Indeed, even as he caught sight of a giant broken badger-mole statue by the side of his road, he shivered and not because he was cold and wet.
Get a grip on yourself!
He growled as she shook out his head.
No. Now wasn't the time to be getting scared of childish ghost stories. He had to keep moving onward…or else…
He could remember how cold his blood had gone when he had heard Lieutenant Ji's frightened words.
"He's going to kill her!"
His hands gripped tighter on the reins and also on the small round jade pendant he had tied securely about his wrist.
In spite of the note he'd received, he just couldn't believe she was dead, he just couldn't.
I'll find you…
He glared hard through the rain.
No matter how long it takes me I will find you…and I will bring you back. I promise.
"Aang are you sure you wanna camp here? I mean it's' not like I don't like hiding out in ruins but I do occasionally miss sleeping in a bed and!"
"Oh Sokka would you stop complaining and start that fire"
In spite of his tired and soaked self, Aang, smiled fondly as Sokka cringed away from his sister's stern tones with many a grumble and jumped off Appa's back.
They'd been flying all day without stopping, not wanting to give the Fire Nation a chance to catch up with them…not since Zhao had cornered them at the river.
Aang shut his eyes and sighed wearily at the ceiling of their new shelter. He had known since the start of his journey that travelling to the North Pole would be difficult, but having two strong Fire benders tracking him down was turning out to be pretty exhausting.
He could only hope that neither Zuko or Zhao would catch up any time soon.
That being said, Aang was still confused about the Prince's more recent activities.
For someone intent upon capturing him, he was sure relaxed about letting him go after snatching him from his rival Zhao's grasp. And then at the abbey with the Shirshu, Zuko had been very distracted in his fight.
It didn't take a genius to work out why.
Aang frowned to himself as he leaned on his staff.
It had been clear as day to see that the prince and Jade were close, even though for the life of him he couldn't see how on earth they would ever match. Zuko was fierce, determined and always brash and angry. Jade had always been (to Aang at least) kind and brave, if a bit timid and withdrawn.
But the young Avatar couldn't blame her for being distant, especially when she had a horrible man like Zhao for an uncle. He wondered faintly if her whole family was like that, or were they warm and caring like her?
After all, not everyone in the fire nation could be bad now right?
"Aang?" Katara's voice piped timidly beside him.
"Hmm?" Aang blinked only to feel his mouth water as Katara wafted some warm tofu in front of his nose.
"Thanks Katara" he smiled as he took the food from her and took a bite.
"You okay? You've been quiet all afternoon" she frowned as she sat beside him.
"I'm fine" Aang shrugged "Just thinking about what Sokka said earlier. He's right. It would be nice if we could travel without getting chased around all the time"
There was a loud groan and a small squeak as both Appa and Momo both nodded their agreement to the statement. Sokka would've nodded too only he was too busy stuffing his face full of his own cooked fish.
Katara sighed heavily, torn between her brother's antics and true exhaustion.
"Yeah I know. But until we get to the North Pole and get you a master, we're just gonna have to lie low and keep out of sight till we make it there" she added throwing Sokka a dirty look as he belched.
"What! I'm enjoying my food and I'm not complaining now" he grumbled as he wiped his mouth on his arm "And speaking of lying low do you think we've shaken that Prince Zuko off. We haven't seen anything of him since we ran into that giant mole"
"That's because we're travelling too far inland for him. The only reason he was able to find us was because that giant mole could catch our scent. If he really wants to get us he'll continue to track us down he'll probably stick to the coast with his ship" Katara nodded wisely but her brother just waved her off.
"Yeah, yeah we get it. Stay away from oceans and we stay away from Zuko and his earth-bending girlfriend. You know I'm still not sure I get that girl. I mean how can she like that guy? He's so 'I must hunt down the avatar, if I don't I won't be able to stop scowling like this'" Sokka scowled dramatically, his voice dropping to a raspy baritone as he put a hand over the left side of his face.
Both Aang and Katara giggled. Even Appa made snorts of amusement. Only Momo didn't respond, but that was because he had stiffened up straight, his ears pricking around as he listened and sniffed the air.
"What is it Momo? Looking for the viper bats?" Aang smiled cheerily, but his mouth fell quickly into a frown as the little flying lemur suddenly leapt into the shadows of the dark room.
"Momo wait!" Aang jumped to his feet and bound after his pet ignoring both Katara and Sokka's cries as they fell behind in his wake
It was lucky this ruined building had a lot of windows that were high because otherwise there wasn't much to light Aang's path as he ran after Momo, who trilled as he flew swiftly through room after room until finally he glided to stop on the ground.
"Momo! Momo what's …wrong…" Aang's voice fell to silence.
There laying on the floor battered bruised and soaked to the floor, was a girl with long brown hair and wearing red robes.
And i dangle you all over another Cliffy again! And on that note i'm so glad i'm back to writing, though i hope i got the Gaang right (i always feel a little rusty writing for them after such a long break).
Anyways hope you enjoyed and keep reading and reviewing for more.