The Liar's Gambit [Private]

It was always a nice day in Omashu.

An unassuming man with a long brown ponytail, clad in an olive-green traveling cloak paced through the stone gate of the uneven stone city, eyes scanning the many vendors who lined the streets. Cabbages, rugs, toys, food, and other such things lined the streets. Even now, as the day was breaking, these merchants worked hard peddling their trade. They seemed happy, though the stress lines of oft-furrowed brows gave away the brave façade that these street vendors put on. He liked that about Omashu- People smiled here.

The sliding carts of Omashu were a truly wondrous innovation. They were a double-edged sword, however—Their offloading points dictated hot spots of commerce. Larger businesses that could afford to operate close to the tracks prospered. Though, in their shadow, these vendors lined the street hoping to catch the passing impulse of someone who was in the area to buy something else. These big businesses, of course, were often operated or heavily bolstered by the resource-hoarding noble families he so despised.

Still, he was not here to be angry about Omashu’s economics- At least, not this time.

One of his informants in the Southern Water Tribe who worked in the service of a noble known as Tevrok had given him a lead on two people of interest that had left the South Pole some time ago, after having experienced a deep trauma at the hands of Tevrok himself. Capable siblings, one of whom was known to have the ability to blood-bend independently of the full moon. This was old information, of course, but a secondary lead had recently surfaced that a person matching the description of this capable blood-bender was spotted in Omashu. There were plenty of places in Omashu to find work of all kinds, particularly after dark.

He made his way to one of the less wealthy parts of town, quickly booking a single room in a small inn under the name “Siyu”. As he spoke to the clerk, he noted one of the waitresses turn her head as he said his name. He had found his informant. After setting down his belongings in his room, he headed out into the street and ducked into the alleyway behind the Inn. Minutes later, the waitress came out, looking hurried. She drew close to him, speaking in a hushed-but-not-quite-silent tone. “The one you’re looking for is named Zakina, no last name. She has a sibling, but their details are currently unknown. We don’t know if she is travelling with them or not. She’s of ordinary height, maybe 5”7, with long dark hair. She’s difficult to spot in a crowd.”, she said. “It’s a half-moon tonight. If I can catch someone blood-bending tonight, I’ll have found her. Thank you.”, he replied, slipping her a generous tip before slinking back out of the alleyway.

Next, he made his way to a tavern. He didn’t have particulars in mind for the location, save that it be populated. He approached the bartender, greasing the man’s palms with a few gold coins and asking him a simple favor. “A noble of the Southern Water Tribe known as Tevrok is going to be passing through here tonight. He’s touring the world to celebrate the birth of a child, and he wants the restaurant he’s eating at to be as full as he can get it- The Smoking Dragon, it’s called. If someone looks like they’ve got money, point them there, would you?”

He repeated this step at many other locations, capitalizing on every minute he had before dark. As dusk approached, he gathered a few of his Militia-rank members as bodyguards, briefed them on the plan, and returned to his room for his belongings. Out of his bag, he took out the linchpin of his entire plan: a Southern Water Tribe noble’s coat. It was of simple make, but clearly looked like the product of someone very rich trying to look poor.

He returned to the entrance to the city and went out a ways before changing into his disguise. Soon, he came strutting right bac in with his bodyguards, bright blue coat standing out from the browns and greens of standard earth kingdom wear. He hoped that the false rumors he had spread would attract his mark sooner than later, but whether she made her move on his way to the restaurant, during the time he was there, or afterward would not matter.

The one redeeming feature of Omashu, compared to all of the other Earth Kingdom cities that Zakina had visited, was the fact that it only had a single entrance.

She had been in the city for almost two weeks now, living in a room in one of the seedier inns on the outskirts of Omashu, closest to the perimeter wall. She and Ziku stayed there together, although her younger brother rarely left their room - he was physically weak, and even to this day required medication just to maintain what little life he had. Zakina had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that they could find somebody capable of healing him in the wider world - but those hopes had as yet come to nought.

But this night was different. A rumour had started to spread around the taverns and inns around town, and had come to Zakina’s ears as she stood in the shadows of one such establishment. A noble from the Southern Water Tribe was apparently making a special visit to the city, and he was eager to gather as many rich and powerful people to the restaurant he was visiting as he could. It seemed innocent enough - nobles from the other nations frequently made journeys across the world, and visitors from the Southern Water Tribe were no stranger to Omashu at the Southern edge of the Earth Kingdom.

Innocent, that was, until she heard his name.

Tevrok was coming to town.

She hadn’t wasted a second. There was no time to go back to her room, no time to confide in Ziku as to what was happening, no time to think up a more elaborate plan. Instead, she stood, completely hidden in shadow, next to the great doorway into Omashu.

Like she said, only one entrance.

The sun set slowly - or, perhaps, it was her impatience making the celestial body sink slower into the horizon. Just as she was about to move her search inside, convinced she had missed her chance to find Tevrok before he breached the city walls, a party approached.

A party headed by a water tribe noble.

Zakina crouched down as she saw the figure approach with a small retinue of guards. Her fingers moved deftly to the dagger at her waist, fingertips dancing lightly over the bone handle. Just as she tensed, however, she saw the man’s face.

This was not Tevrok.

She relaxed, releasing the pent up energy that she had barely been aware she had been holding. Sagging backwards into the shadows, she locked eyes on this stranger as he passed through the gates, letting out a soft growl of annoyance before her mind cleared. If somebody was here impersonating Tevrok, then what was their purpose? He didn’t have any interests in the city as far as she was aware, which meant that there was only one other option.

Whoever he is, he’s trying to draw us out.

Zakina scoffed, eyes moving to the horizon once more. The sun was mere inches from setting, and she stepped backwards into the shadows. When she would have hit the wall, however, she seemed to fall straight through it.

Shadow Stepping was a rare gift, her Grandmother had told her - and it had to be used even more rarely. Never used at night, or the spirits themselves would take you - and never let anybody see you doing it, lest they claim you were some sort of demon.

As it was, there was a sliver of day left - and, as the sun finally set on the day, she emerged from the shadows down a side street of Omashu. This was the most direct path to the Smoking Dragon, and this was the way that the imposter Tevrok would come - and she would be waiting for him.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she brought her arms up before gently pushing them downwards, palms to the floor. The power within her grew, the power that she had inherited from her grandmother seeping into the power of her mother. Overhead the clear sky began to blacken as rain clouds formed from nowhere, the faintest crackle of thunder filling the sky before the heavens themselves seemed to open.

The rain was heavy, but it wouldn’t be washing anybody away anytime soon. Zakina had learned to control this particular aspect of her power through the fires of failure - and the washed-up remains of a small village on the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom was proof of that. But the rain was more than a cover for her - without a source of water on her person, she almost relied on the rain in order to use her waterbending to its fullest extent… Not that she was helpless without it, of course.

Just as expected the blue-clad impostor stepped into the alleyway, bodyguards falling into step behind him. Zakina exhaled with satisfaction before stepping out into the street, a hood pulled low over her eyes.

”You chose a dangerous name tonight,” she said, standing side on to the small group. She felt the glare of the moon above her, carefully assessing the power from it to be only half-full, and waning at that. Although her bloodbending wasn’t reliant on the full power of the Moon Spirit, she had learned that using it without the help of the moon drew more questions than was strictly necessary. But, if was always a backup. ”Now, I’m going to give you an opportunity - it would be foolish to pass it up. Tell me why you have come, and why you have chosen Tevrok as a glamour.”

As she waited for an answer, she focussed on the rain around her. The drops that hit the top of her hood echoed in her ears, and the stray pellets that found their way inside were welcomed against her soft facial skin. At her feet, the rain had already started to puddle - without any motion of her arms she willed the rain in the alleyway towards her, causing it to move almost imperceptibly to create a shallow puddle around her and stretching the width of the alleyway.

If they were foolish enough to attack, she would be ready - and, if his answers were unsatisfactory, they would find themselves on the receiving end of an attack themselves. Confidence and strength seemed to flow through her arms as the rain soaked through her clothes, the cold feeling of the liquid gripping her flesh beneath the leather wraps.

It was time for answers - the only question left to ask was would they come willingly, or forcibly.

As he walked through the gate, the man called Siyu kept his eyes peeled. He had not brought his personal bodyguards but had instead enlisted some of Vantage’s local militia. He did not know how experienced they were in spotting someone, but they had been given explicit instruction not to respond if they saw anyone.
He was experienced with shadows- Growing up as the king of all dark benders had taught him a thing or two. Out of the corner his eye, he detected the barest flicker of movement. He did not turn his head, deciding it best not to acknowledge this movement. For all he knew, it could have been some thief or beggar slinking off to the alleyways.

Chao- “Siyu” -kept watch as they made their way down the streets, taking the most direct path to the Smoking Dragon. For a good 10 minutes, there was nothing. His men were clearly tense but maintained their confidence. He cracked the barest hint of a smile. ‘They’ve figured out that we’re trying to walk into an ambush’, he thought to himself.

Overhead, a cloud front approached unnaturally quickly, covering the previously clear night sky. Given that there was no wind to speak of, there was only one explanation that fit the bill: An exceptionally strong water bender was in the area. Water was not exactly flowing through the square here, and while some water benders were capable of extracting water from the air, this alleged bender would be much more of a threat with an existing supply. On top of that, the dark of night combined with the encroaching precipitation limited visibility even further. Ideal for a would-be assassin.

Sure enough, within a few minutes of the onset of the heavy rain, a hooded figure stepped out to block his path. “You chose a dangerous name tonight,” she said, standing at his party’s flank. His men tensed up, ready to spring forward. Before they could act, he quickly held up an open palm to indicate that they should not attack. Accompanied with this gesture was a command, “Hold!”, spoken sharply and enunciated as if giving instruction to a well-trained dog.

He knew he’d be sending these men to their deaths if he allowed them to approach. If she were half as dangerous as she was supposed to be, it would take much more than a small militia to take her down. Besides, despite the target he had painted on himself, he wanted to avoid bloodshed on either side. Still, he would have expected a killer to have made a direct attempt on his life by now if she wanted him dead, but instead she chose to reveal herself to him. Even though it was clear that he was not Tevrok, she could have simply left and been done with it, but instead that curiosity led her to approach him directly. He respected her initiative- it was exactly what he was looking for.

”Now, I’m going to give you an opportunity - it would be foolish to pass it up. Tell me why you have come, and why you have chosen Tevrok as a glamour.”

Chao chose his words carefully. He was careful to keep his body language open, and to show he was unarmed. “I came here for two reasons. The first, an offer for someone that my namesake has wronged deeply. Someone with,” he glanced upward, “acute control over water…and blood. My name is Siyu, formerly of another name. I represent a company whose interests are countercurrent to the continued existence of nobility. Tevrok has… resisted attempts to remove him from office, and so more…. extreme measures must be taken. I understand that you, assuming you are indeed the one by the name of Zakina, are high on the list of people who would benefit from his removal. That, and I doubt you are short on information relevant to him. If you know of any soft spots or weaknesses, I will pay handsomely for such information. That, and for the direct assistance of you and your sibling, if they happen to be around somewhere.

The second, even if you decide you are uninterested, I stand to benefit from tarnishing Tevrok’s reputation in the public eye. Long story short, I’m here to set fire to a name, and I would like your help. One way or another, I need to get to the Smoking Dragon tonight. I intend to make a fool of myself in Tevrok’s name, and make him some powerful enemies.”

As he finished talking, he looked forward with composed features. He did sincerely hope she would accept his offer- His heart bled for her, and he deeply desired to help her, even if only with monetary support. Either way, he did need to be getting on to the Smoking Dragon. “Fashionably late” only went so far.

The man’s speech was calm and collected, betraying no hint that he was surprised by Zakina’s appearance. At the mention of blood, she found her eyes moving from the man to those behind him - were they here to try and take her by force? If so, they were about to be unpleasantly surprised.

But no, that wasn’t their intention - at least, not outwardly. This man knew a lot about her, her past, and even her brother - he had evidently done his research, or at least his company had. Darkness still covered the woman, but, unseen to the party in front of her, her face slowly morphed into one of interest and intrigue. A company against the nobility, and one that wanted to be rid of Tevrok to boot? It was almost too good to be true.

She crossed her arms as Siyu stopped speaking, slowly weighing up her options. ”If you know who I am,” she said slowly, each word carefully measured. ”You will know how foolish it would be to try and lie to me. After all, you never know who might have their blade at your throat next…”

Her movement was almost imperceptible, a mere flick of the wrist, but her power lanced forwards right towards the man next to Siyu. In the blink of an eye he had pulled his sword from its scabbard and placed it at the nape of his leader’s neck, cold rain dripping down the silver steel. The rest of the retinue acted immediately, but even they were too slow for Zakina. Her other hand shot upwards with fingers splayed as she drew deeper on the power within her, the power only fuelled by the heavy rain that forced her clothes to cling to her skin. The men stopped immediately, their muscles seized up as Zakina fought for control of them.

The exertion was great, but Zakina could hold them for several minutes - after that, things would become more complicated. ”I am not in the business of selling secrets to men that I do not know,” she said through gritted teeth. Several of the men she held moved a few inches, and she clawed her fingers as the muscles in her own arm tightened. ”As for assistance, I am not some cheap mercenary that you can hire and dispose of as you wish. My brother and I work for nobody.”

His last point, however, caused a consideration to pass through her mind. If he were to make a scene here in the name of Tevrok, perhaps that would be enough to draw the elusive noble out into the open - out to where she could finish him.

She clenched her fist, and her grip on the men disappeared. Several dropped to the floor as their newly loosened muscles failed to hold their weight, and the one holding the sword to Siyu’s neck dropped it to the floor with a clang.

”How do I know you will do as you say? Who do you work for?”