Chapter 21:
Aang sat on a dirty plain where only a few toughs of grass grew and there were many holes in the ground. Freya was peering down at one of them smiling as Sokka, Katara and Toph stood beside her and behind Aang.
"What's out here?" Sokka asked. Toph leaned down to put her hand on the ground.
"A lot actually. There's hundreds of little—" Aang cut her off.
"Shhh! I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch." Aang had a flute in his hands and he rose it to his lips before blowing a note. Beside him a prairie-dog popped out of one of the holes and sang the same note back. He played a higher note and another prairie dog answered it.
"Heheheha, yeah!" Aang laughed at the hole as the prairie dog ducked back into the ground again. "I'm putting an orchestra together." Aang cheered, his hands in the air.
"Orchestra, huh? Well la dee da." Sokka said in a bored tone.
Three more prairie dogs rose up and played one note after the other in harmony. Freya chuckled.
"They're so cute!" she cooed. Momo launched at one of the prairie dogs as they ducked back into the ground and lemur disappeared after them. He popped his head out of the next hole. Aang continued to play his notes and prairie dogs all over the place answered him, causing Momo to run from hole to hole trying to catch the small tunnelling animals.
Sokka suddenly ran forwards and he stuck his finger into the end of the flute, causing Aang's cheeks to blow out from the air he had blown into it as it now had no escape.
"This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans." he believed as he removed his finger and stood up seriously.
"We did make plans. We're all picking mini-vacations." Toph responded.
"There's no time for vacations." Sokka thought.
"Says who?" Freya asked. "Even if we did make a plan what on earth would it be of?" she asked
"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can. I practice hard everyday with Toph and Katara. I've been training my arrow off." Aang admitted
"And even when he does that, Aang's still got fire left to go, he can't fight the Fire Lord without at least learning to disperse flames properly. And finding him a teacher wont be easy." Freya said
"Well, it wont be that hard, will it Freya?" Aang said pointedly.
"Say that as much as you want Aang, facts still stand." Freya snapped back and the avatar jumped. "Look, we haven't had much time to just take it easy in a while Sokka. Katara and Toph are teaching Aang who's learning and I—"
"Oh now you're going to tell us where you've been mysteriously disappearing off to?" Sokka interrupted
"No. But I have been working hard. I've got a lot to catch up on too if you don't remember." Freya responded. "We need to relax once and a while."
"Yeah. What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?" Katara agreed with the girl as she stepped towards her brother.
"Even if you do master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. Should we just head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house? Knock, knock! Hello, Fire Lord? Anybody home?" Sokka mimicked knocking on a door. "I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war." Aang responded by blowing his flute and a prairie dog answered from between Sokka's legs. Katara and Freya chuckled.
"Alright, we'll finish our vacations, and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence." Katara decided, earning laughs from everyone as Aang airbended himself to his feet. The boy grabbed a map and opened it in front of Katara.
"Your turn, Katara. Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?" he asked and Katara leaned down to the map.
"How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing." she though, pointing to it on the map. It was on the edge of a desert.
"Oh yeah, I've been there. It's a pristine natural ice spring, and I usually don't use the word pristine. It's one of nature's wonders."
Freya peered into the captains cabin, the occupant had his head in his hands as he sighed, quite a few papers before him.
Aang and Freya shared a look before he nodded his head for her.
"Wow, are you alright dad?" Freya asked as she opened the door more so. He turned to her and smiled.
"Oh yeah, don't worry Freya." he said as she walked to stand beside him. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pat it. "Just a little over worked I guess."
"Then you need a break." Aang grinned and Freya nodded in agreement.
"Unfortunately that's not how it works." the man chuckled
"Come on, just a few hours. The Lieutenant can run things in the short time." Freya nodded confidently
"And do what?"
"We'll go somewhere for you to relax." Aang shrugged
"Aang does have a flying bison." Freya said simply, smiling.
The general looked between them both before he chuckled.
"Hang on, we went there with my dad, didn't we?" Freya asked remembering before she approached Aang.
"Yeah, he was over worked so you suggested we take him to relax. I'm glad you're still remembering things." Aang smiled
"Well, most blanks are filled in now." she shrugged. "Shall we go then?" and Freya was first to climb on top of Appa.
They flew the bison before coming to the edge of the dessert where there was a little town surrounding what should have been the ice spring. The town was small and filled with shady looking people. The ice spring itself was barely noticeable as the ice was rather small and everything looked like it was falling apart.
"This isn't what I remembered?" Freya mumbled as she pictured trees, buildings a large ice spring and children running around.
"Must have changed ownership since we were here." Aang laughed awkwardly before he stepped into the town first, as they did the sign above the entrance to the small town fell and smashed in half on the ground.
They walked past the spring where a dog was licking it as the ice steamed. They moved towards a tavern and on either side of the entrance were several people covered in tan coloured clothing, their heads, faces, legs, feet and hands were all bandaged up and they watched the group with narrowed eyes.
Aang entered the place first and Sokka brought up the rear, being stopped as one of the men spat at his feet. Sokka looked annoyed, looking at the man and his several missing teeth as he wiped his mouth and smirked. Katara grabbed her brother and pulled him inside.
Inside one guy was snoring on a table, two were sharing a drink, a man with a travelling pack stood by the bar and a second slept not far from him.
"I guess they don't get many visitors." Freya mumbled. The man at the bar with the travelling pack was addressing the bartender.
"One mango, please." he asked. The group watched as the bartender pulled two swords from his back. He used them to pick up an ice bowl and then cut down some fruits that hung from the celling above him. He sliced them up into small pieces before picking it and the juices up with the blades and pouring it into the ice cup. He added some water, put the swords away and added an umbrella and straw before the man took his drink and gave a gold piece in return.
"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy." Sokka said and he pushed past his friends towards the bar excitedly.
"Excuse me!" Sokka called as the other four followed. The man had turned from the bar, taking a sip of his drink as Aang walked up behind him and the older man crashed into the airbender, suddenly spilling his drink on Aang.
Aang looked down at his clothes with a gasp before he smiled.
"No worries, I clean up easy." he assured. The boy blew air around him and sent the cup on the floor flying with a smash as his shirt was cleaned off. The man who'd bumped into him gasped.
"You're a living relic!" he exclaimed
"Thanks. I try." Aang shrugged
"Not that you have to." Freya mumbled and Aang chuckled.
"An Air Nomad, right in front of me." the man thought, grabbing his chin with his hand as Sokka gave Katara one of the drinks. "Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University." the man introduced himself as he and Aang bowed to one another. He suddenly grabbed Aang's hand and began to examine it. "Tell me, which of the Air temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple." Aang replied as Professor Zei suddenly pulled a pair of callipers from his back and began to measure Aang's balled head with it.
"Oh, splendid! Now tell me, what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"
Freya and Aang shared a confused look.
"Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?" the airbender asked nervously.
"Oh, truly fascinating. That is one for the journal." the professor said, a hand on Aang's shoulder. He pulled it out of his bag on his back as Toph, Sokka and Katara each had a drink, Katara handing Freya one.
"So professor, you're obviously a well traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated." Sokka addressed.
"Certainly." the man gave it to the boy as Toph took a seat sipping her drink. Sokka laid it out and looked it over but there was no Fire Nation present on the parchment.
"What, no Fire Nation?" Sokka demanded as he straightened up "Doesn't anybody have a good map of that place?" Katara however noticed all the lines on the map over the sandy desert.
"You've made a lot of trips into the desert."
"All in vain, I'm afraid." the professor confessed "I've found lost civilisations all over the Earth Kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel… Wan Shi Tong's Library."
"Wan Shi Tong? As in the spirit?" Freya asked surprised and the four looked at her, surprised she knew the name.
"You know him?" the professor asked excitedly
"He's the spirit who knows ten thousand things. Knowledge is his thing, they say he built a library to collect knowledge into from all over the world and gifted it to the humans, but it went missing or something and hasn't been seen for years." Freya admitted "And if you do find it, it's unlikely you will the second time because it's lost in the middle of the desert." she said
"How do you know that?" Sokka asked her
"I have a little bit of knowledge about the spirits." Freya said hesitantly. "Legends like that you can read in books. And seeing as spirits have been around since the beginning some legends are old enough for me to have heard them." she shrugged
"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked surprised
"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady." the professor believed "It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge… is priceless."
"Mm, sounds like good times." Toph said sarcastically
"Oh, it is. According to legend, it was built by the great knowledge spirit, Wan Shi Tong, with the help of his foxy knowledge seekers." the professor explained
"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?" Sokka asked slyly.
"I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka." Katara said
"You're both right. Handsome little creatures." the professor pulled a paper from his bag and opened it for them to look. "As your friend stated, Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world, and put them on display for mankind to read, so that we might better ourselves." the drawing was of a magnificent and leather large library.
"If this place has books from all over the world, do you think they've got info on the Fire Nation? A map maybe?" Sokka questioned
"I wouldn't know, but if such a thing exists, it's in Wan Shi Tong's Library." the professor believed. Sokka thought for a second before he smiled.
"Then it's settled. Aang, I do believe it's my turn. I'd like to spend my vacation," he turned and pointed his finger in the air dramatically. "AT THE LIBRARY!"
"Uh, hey? What about me? When do I get to pick?" Toph questioned
"You gotta work here a little longer before you qualify for vacation time." Sokka believed and Toph huffed and she slammed her bowl down and crossed her arms.
"I believe it's my turn next then. Let's get this over with so I can find a large lake, I feel like a swim, especially if we're going into the desert." Freya smiled
"I thought you'd like the desert, you know, all that dry heat and sunlight." Aang said slyly.
"You're not gonna stop are you." Freya grumbled and the boy grinned.
"Of course there's the matter of finding it. I've made several trips into the Si Wong Desert, and almost died each time." the Professor sighed in a depressed voice. "I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross."
Sokka and Aang shared a smirk before they turned back to the professor
"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" Sokka asked and the man perked up immediately with excitement.
"A sky bison? You actually have one?" he asked.
The group proceeded outside of the small town to where Appa was waiting for them. They found him growling and backing away from some of the bandaged and heavily covered up men who'd been outside the tavern. The professor ran straight at them waving his arms around.
"Sandbenders! Shoo! Away from the bison!" he demanded and they all turned and walked away. Nearby were some boat like structures made from wood. Each was built like a giant sled with a mast and a sail. The sand benders created a small whirlwind of san in the mast and the sleds went shooting forwards.
Freya glared at the men as they disappeared into the desert and Aang watched them carefully.
"Are you okay Appa?" Freya asked patting his nose. The bison growled in response.
The group climbed onto the bison and the professor looked around excitedly as they rose up and headed into the air and over the desert.
The sun beat down on them and Sokka removed his top to tie it around his forehead. He then picked up his spyglass to look out over the never ending sand. Professor Zei was sitting beside Aang who was looking at the picture of the library as they sat on the bison's neck. Freya was standing on the saddle looking around as Toph and Katara faced opposite directions from one another.
"Tell me, sky bison. Are you the last of your breed?" the professor questioned as he leaned down the animal's head. Appa roared in response and the professor laughed.
"Oh, delightful! I only wish I spoke his tongue. Oh, the stories this beast could tell." the professor sighed as he ribbed the bison's fur. Momo jumped down beside the man and began to chatter away at the man who just held his finger up to the lemur. "Shush, chatty monkey."
"Wow, shouldn't be too hard to find a place like this out here." Aang believed
"You say that but deserts are known for their sand storms. Depending on how well Wan Shi Tong looked after the outside of it, depends on if it's been buried or not. If people can't find it I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case." Freya said
"You mean we could be flying right over the top of it and not know it?" Sokka asked annoyed
"It's possible yes." Freya nodded and the boy looked irritated "But if knowledge is being collected and brought to the library than there'll have to be an opening for these assistance to enter in through. And I doubt it'd be close to the edge of the desert, it'd probably further out into the middle." she pointed at the ever expanding horizon. "We wont know unless we look though." she shrugged.
They flew on and the professor moved to the saddle as the water tribe members and Aang kept their eyes out for the giant structure or a piece of it. The sun pelted down onto them and Freya seemed the only one not to mind it for the moment.
Toph was the first to complain.
"Aw, does this place even exist?" she demanded
"Some say it doesn't." Professor Zei grinned and Toph looked surprised
"Shouldn't you have mentioned that before?" she asked irritated. She released the saddle to collapse sideways onto it.
They continued, not talking very much as they all looked for the building, Toph, who obviously couldn't help them, was getting bored and irritated. The professor was jotting down facts and adding to his map as they moved.
"There it is!" Toph suddenly shouted. Everyone moved to look where she'd pointed while Freya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Hang on…" she seemed to be the only one who realised Toph was blind as the others looked over the sand and saw nothing. They looked at her annoyed, the professor and Freya being the only two who didn't move.
"That's what it will sound like when one of you spots it." Toph said and she waved her hand in front of her face to remind them she couldn't see.
Aang placed Momo on his head to protect it from burning as the sun beat down and Sokka spied through his spyglass to try and find the building as Katara blocked the sun out and looked around herself.
"It shouldn't be this hard to spot a giant ornate building from the air." Katara believed
"Would be if it's buried. Don't you guys know anything about deserts?" Freya asked
Sokka turned back to peeking through the spy glass before he moved past something and doubled back to see it. It looked like a tower.
"Down there. What's that?" he asked. Aang perked up suddenly and Momo jumped to look as well. They noticed the tower and Appa flew towards it. The bison landed and the six dismounted and walked towards it. The tower was on a slight angle and had several windows along the top.
"Forget it. It's obviously not what we're looking for. The building in this drawing is enormous." Katara said sighing as she looked at the tower and than at the drawing in her hand.
All of them turned to the left as something suddenly shinned in the sun. They all watched as an animal moved towards them, it stopped and looked at them to reveal a wolf coloured, rather large like fox. In it's mouth was a scroll.
"What kind of animal is that?" Sokka questioned as Momo jumped onto his shoulder. They watched as the fox ran to the tower and then ran up the side of it to disappear in through one of the windows at the top.
"I think that was one of the knowledge seekers." Professor Zei admitted as they watched it disappear. "Oh, we must be close to the library!" she said excitedly.
Freya looked confused and rose an eyebrow.
"If we're close, why's it going in… Wait!" she stopped and gasped and she, Aang, Sokka and Katara looked at the drawing.
"No, this is the library. Look!" The tower before them was the same as the tallest peak on the drawing of the library. "It's completely buried."
"Point for Freya." the girl grinned earning a chuckle from Aang.