Moriana steps out of the viscount's carriage with the silver keys. She runs and signals for Tyson to follow. Tyson scurries behind her but a Fire Nation camel-alpacha rider watches her from the distance with an aerial telescope from a hill. He conceals his tool and canters onwards.
The youngters run together, not expecting an immediate threat. Two riders storm after them. One has a dark grey iron broadsword and the other has a chain blade that he whips around his fingers as he prepares to lash. While jogging, Moriana tilts her head back just as the chain blade is whipped at her left shoulder.
Moriana pivots and latches onto the weapon before grinding her feet against the ground using her opponent's momentum against him to send him flying off his creature. Moriana kicks a brick of earth from the ground below square in the jaw of the other rider, cracking it and leveling the warrior.
Tyson enters his stance beside her, "That can't be all of them." The alpacha-camels are not as aggressive as the last beasts they faced. They simply run in different directions. Another rider arrow arrives with a spear and yet another is a bow-wielder.
Tyson lifts his left hand and raises two stones before flinging them into both riders, sending both spiraling into the dirt. The High Commander comes next with dual swords and two trumpeters beside him. Tyson laughs, "Hey Mori, they've got two guys with trumpets. What do you expect those douches to do?"
Moriana puts her hands on her hips but reenters her battle stance, "Just stay focused."
The High Commander winks, "Blare the trumpets." The men blow their horns. Tyson and Moriana's ears start ringing. Their ears immediately turn red, and their legs start shacking. Tyson struggles to stay composed before he faints as his brain overreacts to the overstimulation caused by the trumpets.
Moriana covers her ears and falls. She remains conscious but becomes dizzy and nauseous. High Commander: "Looks like we have our captives. The Overseer will be pleased." A voice intervenes from the distance.
Vindicated Avenger: "I wouldn't be so sure about that." Kett stands in his battle armor with the rest of the Honor Envoy (Sada, Kashen, Calveko). The High Commander turns his camel-alpacha around, "Oh, well isn't this fitting. And who are you supposed to be?"
Vindicated Avenger: "I am the Vindicated Avenger. Champion of liberty and justice."
High Commander: "Well, I am the High Commander of Jeyuln and your championing is at an end now. Trumpeters, show our guests some hospitality." The men blow their horns, but Sada immediately extends her hands and inserts two water arms into the musical instruments.
The musicians stop playing and one spits water out of his mouth. Sada follows up by shooting multiple ice arrows at the riders. The High Commander crosses his blades, while a flicker of sunlight shines against the metal weapons. The warrior extends and spreads his blades before launching two fire shockwaves into the icy arrows.
The commander's fire is unique. It has is bright red on the outside but mustard yellow within. The commander smiles as the trumpeters prepare to blow again and the archer takes aim at Calveko before Kashen hurls a spear in his gut. The rider moans before he falls off his creature which runs toward Calveko before he unexpectedly hops on it.
The High Commander sprints on his beast at Kett, buying time for the trumpets to blow again. The sound immediately disorients Kett because of his armor. He begins spinning in circles as the vibrations of sound clack against his armor and ears. Kett tries not to focus too much on the noise but suddenly gets an intense headache.
Vindicated Avenger: "Arrrraaagghghhhaa!!!" Kashen falls to his knees and Calveko covers his ears.
Calveko shouts, "Make it stop!!" Sada puts water in her ears and uses bending to hold it within. The water acts as some sort of barrier, which somewhat blows the sound. The prodigy ascends with a whirlwind of water before she blows the left trumpeter back with a huge tube of water.
The High Commander changes his focus to the Western waterbender as he orders his remaining conductor, "Keep playing, I'll deal with the other one." Kett falls from the continued playing of the music and feels increasingly lightheaded as he starts to lose consciousness.
Though Kett's blood pressure begins to drop, he conscious musters the strength to think, "I'm not going down that easily." Kett concentrates and uses internal convection bending to warm his body back up which maintains his blood pressure levels. Kett gets back on his feet and punches a fireball into the trumpeter's chest.
The man's body flips right off his animal before he falls face-first into the yellow grass. The rider swings his sword six times and swats fire cubes at Sada. The young lady generates a water shield which absorbs them. Sada pushes a water ray from her right hand at the officer's chest.
The commander crosses his swords and heats them which evaporates the water, emitting steam. The commander rides after her and the slashes at her twice. Sada pounces back from the first blow and ducks under the next. The animal sprints to trample her but Sada scurries right.
The commander lashes horizontally to finish Sada, but she flips over the strike before she swivels her left hand down causing a water stream to blast the commander off his creature. The alpacha cross breed runs off and the man spins his blades as he prepares to have a second go at her.
Kett looks at Kashen and Calveko as they begin to recompose themselves. Kashen: "You think Sada needs help?"
Kett looks over at her, "I'll step in when I feel she does, but I feel something is off. I need to meditate for a moment." Kett squats and concentrates. Kashen shrugs.
Sada taunts, "You're sloppy commander." Sada expeditiously launches four water bullets at the caped warrior. The warlord twirls right, avoiding two waterballs before slashing the other two. Sada pushes both her hands at her opponent before firing a stream of scolding water at him.
The High Commander opens his mouth and pukes a gust of red-yellow fire into the water. Both attacks cancel each other out and turn to steam. The man runs at her before launching himself at her with an aura of red and yellow flames. This causes the commander to fly at her at 50 miles an hour.
Scorched grass leaves a blackened surface below. Sada hurls her body over the commander with a burst of cold water. Before landing across him, Sada waves multiple blasts of snow to put out the fire behind the firebender. The commander douses some of the flames around him and absorbs the steam which he uses to refuel some of his energy.
The commander has grown furious from the prolonged fighting. In a moment of rage, he runs at Sada as he upswings a fireball at her followed by swatting two looping horizontal fireballs at the waterbender. Sada uses a gush of water to sweep her body left to right as she avoids to flames but intercepts a third fireball with a water dagger.
Sada raises her right hand and flickers a stretchy water hand at her. The commander tips his left blade and heats it which evaporates the water hand. The High Commander slaps his swords together and sends a spinning rod of flames in her direction.
The waterbender jumps high and right before roundhouse kicking an ice brick at her foe while in midair. The officer heats his blades, turning them steaming orange before he slashes the column into water. The blades return to a normal appearance as their temperature balances out.
The battle-hardened firebender advances and rotates his right blade horizontally as he hacks at Sada's face. The lady ducks and again he lunges at her belly. Sada spins right past the strike, the duelist repositions his blades and lashes at her with a double horizontal slash.
The Western waterbender hops behind him. The officer instinctively bobs at her, but Sada knocks him back with an ascending column of ice which flings him twenty feet back into a boulder. Sada turns, "You would have stepped in any time."
Kett rises from his meditation, "Something told me to let you handle it, for you own development."
Sada comments, "You've been acting so odd since you've taken on this new identity."
Kett: "Isn't that for the best? I was a very different person before then and we weren't exactly friends."
Sada recalls their past fights, "No, we weren't." Tyson and Moriana introduce themselves to the group.
Tyson dusts himself off, "Well, HEY! Thanks for helping us. Now we can deliver these keys to the Street Master but don't expect a cut of our earnings. We don't have that much."
Moriana looks at Tyson, "We aren't hurting for rent money like that Tyson, we can give them something."
Vindicated Avenger: "Forget about it."
Moriana: "About what?"
Vindicated Avenger: "A payment, we don't need it. We have enough to sustain ourselves. And forget about the Street Master."
Tyson: "Wha-what?? He could give us enough to really get ahead. Don't forget Mori, don't just want that payment for ourselves."
Vindicated Avenger: "Forget about looting a place for riches, it's morally wrong. It isn't the way to prove a point."
Tyson crosses his arms, "They are rich imperialistic nobles, what are you talking about man? Did that metal get to your head?"
Vindicated Avenger: "If you can break into his enclave where will you draw the line? That sounds like a gateway sin."
Tyson: "A what now?"
Sada: "My friend here is a spiritual representative. He has been in the spirit world more lately, so he can be difficult to understand sometimes."
Moriana: "Ugh, we honestly don't care. We just need to get our money and live."
Kashen: "Why do I get the feeling that isn't it?"
Tyson: "Ugh who are you? Who are you people? And who the heck do you think you are to tell me what I should be doing with my bounty?"
Vindicated Avenger: "This was a trap."
Tyson: "What do you mean?"
Vindicated Avenger: "The Street Master set you up. He's been in the Overseer's pocket for a couple of months now, since he found dirt on him. The Overseer operates on a high level and the Jeyuln thugs can't compete."
Moriana: "Wait what? Now that makes since why those riders knew to look for us."
Sada: "If you want housing, enough to survive, and a reason to fight back against the Fire Nation, we can give you all of that. You won't have to worry about rent, the United Way could take care of you."
Tyson raises an eyebrow, "United Way? Is that a cult?"
Vindicated Avenger: "Ugh, no. We are a group of freedom fighters who basically fight against the Fire Nation and for the freedom of all nations. We believe in the Earth Kingdom's sovereignty."
Tyson: "Dude, I'm a commoner, you're using a lot of big words. Get to the point."
Calveko squares up, "Alright, can I bash this guy up."
Kashen pats his arm, "Stop goofy."
Sada replies, "Ignore them, they're harmless."
Calveko quips, "Who's harmless? I took down mysterious monsters."
Tyson: "Haven't we all."
Calveko: "This guy's got a mouth on him. You think you can talk that talk just because you're a bender aye?"
Vindicated Avenger: "Let's not get on a tangent. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, multiple times."
Calveko: "Aww, let's not be overly dramatic sir."
Vindicated Avenger: "We will give you a purpose. Once you're in, we want you to stay in. So, I guess it's like a cult but likewise, you already are basically fugitives. You have nothing to lose. If we leave, you both will probably be imprisoned. If I recall, you were just about to be imprisoned before we rescued you two. So honestly, if I we you, I'd joined."
Tyson looks at his friend, "Well Mori, we don't seem to have much of a choice."
Calveko: "You do have a choice. You can go home, look for that guy and get captured, or do whatever else your heart desires. You might get killed but if you join us, at least you'll get arrested or killed for a reason."
Tyson: "I guess we might as well try to make a difference."
Moriana: "Or we could just book it out of here."
Sada puts her hands on her hips, "And flee to another city. You just want to start over again."
Moriana: "Yeah, that's exactly what I want."
Vindicated Avenger: "Here's an idea, you go home, back to normal life. Try it for one week and if you change your mind, come meet us at the Western outskirts near the historical pine tree. We'll be around at sunrise."
A week later, the Honor Envoy wait at sunrise, a few birds can be heard chirping. Vindicated Avenger: "Well, maybe we lost them."
Kashen pokes Calveko, "I told you; you were too hard on them."
Calveko: "I didn't say anything to the girl, just to that guy." Tyson and Moriana arrive.
Kashen: "Well, I stand corrected."
The Vindicated Avenger takes of his helmet and reveals his hazel eyes, "Welcome to the team."
Moriana backs up, "Wait, he's a firebender!"
Sada counters, "So what? He's working with us Water Tribe members. You saw I'm a waterbender and I just fought firebenders."
Tyson: "She has a point Mori; they can change just like us. But most of them don't so I'll keep my eye on you, big guy."
Vindicated Avenger: "Fair enough, my real name's Kett. I'll tell you my story and what we're doing here."