Small forest outside Seedy Merchants Pier, sunset.
"Well, this is starting to grow annoying."
Leaning on a tree, Ren caught himself and wiped the beads of sweat on his face. His knees were shaking slightly, making it hard to keep balance.
Forcibly suppressing the growing sickness in his chest and repeatedly attempting to ignore the throbbing pain in his head, Ren sat down and leaned on the tree, arms hanging limp beside him.
"Really hope this flying thing gets easier with practice."
He learned from last time and didn't go for a mad dash. He made sure to go at a consistent pace. It did allow him to travel for longer distances without instantly sending his brain into a prickling migraine session—he even thought he could make it to Makapu Village in a single day.
Unfortunately, he might've overestimated himself. After crossing a second mountain range beyond Kolau Mountain Range—even getting a glimpse of the Great Divide while doing so—he reached his limit. It felt like his head is being squeezed with a piston. Without any choice, he ended up landing in the nearest settlement he could find.
"Good thing it's a familiar place, though."
Seedy Merchants Pier. A well-known trading spot throughout the Western Earth Kingdom, it's a gathering site for merchants from both Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation alike. He used to stay here for some time months ago during his mercenary work. As a bonus, he recalls there being an episode centered around the area. Though it might be too early for that, however—Aang should still be somewhere at a Mining Village west of Omashu.
"Right, that should be enough rest."
Slapping his knees, Ren stood up and stretched his back. There's still a soft, dull pain in his head, but infinitely more manageable than earlier. Besides, as a mercenary, he should be used to such level of pain.
"For now, I should get some dinner and find a place to stay for the night."
Words hanging in the air, Ren made his way through the forest and towards the bustling pier.
***
Seedy Merchants Pier, central area, night.
"Winter Koi Inn?"
Standing in front of a bustling inn, Ren muttered to himself as he read the placard hanging on top of the door of the three-story building. Inside, the bustling sound of drunk sailors and greedy merchants worked together to form a wonderful symphony for the people walking outside.
It looked to be the largest inn at the area, and also pretty well-known, given the amount of people heading in and out of the establishment. Scratching his head, Ren walked inside.
The interior is spacious. Aside from a counter stall at the rightmost-side of the room and the staircase beside it, the entire floor is covered in tables where a variety of characters took their spot.
A bunch of sailors got drunk and complained about their catch and their wives. Some greedy merchants are scamming some rich-looking customers. There's even some Earth Kingdom soldiers having a blast in one corner of the room.
"It's more of a pub if anything," Ren muttered to himself as he made his way to the counter.
Reaching the counter, a finely-dressed young man greeted him with a bright smile.
"How can I help you?" the young man began, hands clamped together in a professional manner.
"Are there any rooms available?" similarly giving a small smile, Ren answered back.
"Lucky guest! We still have one remaining. 50 silver pieces for a night, complete with dinner and breakfast."
"Right, I'll take it."
"Just a moment..."
After giving the money, Ren promptly grabbed the key with a label on it saying his room number. The young man asked him if he would like to have dinner now, to which Ren said yes. Thanking the yong lad for his work, Ren made his way up the stairs, away from the chaos that is socializing below.
He quickly found his room at the end of the hallway of the second floor. Unlocking it, Ren took in his place for the night.
"Would you look at that, quite nice." Hands on his waist, Ren clicked his tongue. The room was relatively spacious, complete with a bed, a table, and two chairs around it. Some drawers and closets here and there provided enough storage, though he won't be using it as he only have his leather pouch. The design was minimalist and clean. The light-coloured walls provided a clean atmosphere. A lamp, together with a number of lanterns strategically placed here and there illuminated the entire room.
Overall, it was worth its price of 50 silver. Ren had paid more for worse in the past.
"I'm absolutely knackered." Tossing his leather pouch on the table, Ren plopped down the bed and took a big breath. Nothing beats laying down after a hard day at work. Or in his case, flying.
Eyes closed and waiting for his dinner to be delivered to his room, Ren's sensitive ears caught the noise from downstairs. It was annoying, but he can't do anything about it. He would probably just get used to it and tune it out anyway after a while.
Among the cacophony of curses and scamming, something bizarre caught his attention.
"Are you sure this will be enough?"
"It will be. I put a lot more around the place."
"Mhmm. Just make sure the payment is as you said."
"Don't worry, the Feng Family won't go back on their words."
Eyes now open, Ren processed what he heard. He stood up and walked near the window on the side of the room. Using the curtain to hide his figure, he peered from above to see the scenario below.
Two rugged men were talking while several masked individuals took crates from somewhere and stacked it on the side of the inn. The alleyway was dark and quiet, save for the single lamp held by one of the rugged men watchin the masked ones work.
The lamp illuminated the man's face, which Ren took advantage of. It was a middle-aged man with a buzzcut. Brown beard framed his face, with a scar going accross his left cheek. He wore a black robe with the hood unworn.
Frowning, Ren tried to look at the other person. Unfortunately, this one had his hood down and hid his face properly. He could only take note of the man's rugged voice as if he smoked since birth.
Just then, the unhooded man turned towards the window.
"What is it?" the other man asked, hand going towards a concealed item on his waist.
The unhooded man stared for a moment, before shaking his head and turning back to the job at hand.
"Nothing. Probably just overthinking it."
Back in his room, Ren scrunched his eyebrows deeper in thought. That was extremely suspicious, and definitely illegal too. Should he do something about it, however?
After thinking for a while, Ren shrugged it off and just went back to his bed and waited for his dinner to arrive. The guy mentioned something about some Feng family. If his experience of reading a plethora of Chinese novels in his past life didn't betray him, messing with them would be troublesome.
Besides, he's just staying in the inn for a single night.
What's the worst that can happen?
***
The inn exploded.
Standing in front of a burning pile of debris, Ren sported a lost expression.
The people around him scrambled in chaos. Some threw buckets of water at the burning remains of the establisment, while some screamed for the sake of screaming. A number of experienced member of society pulled out some bodies from the extinguished areas. The bodies, however, were mangled and burned so gruesomely it's hard to distinguish from charcoal. Unfortunately, none seemed to have survived the explosion.
Well, except for one.
"Sir, were you staying at the inn before the accident?"
A spear-wielding guard walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.
Turning his head mechanically, Ren looked at the soldier before him with an expression akin to that of an abandoned wife.
The soldier struggled to make eye contact.
"Yes. I was."
"The—then please. The young lady would like to have a word." The guard gestured. "Follow me."
The soldier began walking towards one corner of the street where several other guards gathered around a person. The soldier kept looking back at him, as if scared he would just disappear into thin air.
With a plethora of emotions desperately trying to claw out of his chest, Ren followed him quietly.
"Young lady, this person claims to be in the inn when the explosion happened." The soldier bowed towards the person in the middle of the guards.
"Present him." A cold voice followed.
The soldier stepped aside and revealed the person they're guarding. It was cold-looking lass, whose pair of blue eyes seemed to be burning a hole through Ren. The person in question simply looked at her for a second, before turning his gaze back to the groun.
"Is he still in shock?" The lass asked the guard who brought him.
"He might still be processing the event, young lady. After all, the explosion was quite large."
"Unfortunate. We might have to keep him for the time being until he recovers." The lass declared, before turning around and seemingly planning on heading towards a lavish carriage parked nearby.
"No need for that." Ren spoke out loud, massaging the side of his head and letting out a big sigh. "Just tell me what you need to know."
He inwardly made a vow to have this Feng family or whatever pay for that. He was just sleeping in peace, and then a fucking explosion happened. If it wasn't for his quick reaction and some bit of luck, he might've gotten injured from that. And possibly even dead, if he was unlucky.
What a dick.
"Well then," the lass turned back and stared at his indignant eyes for a moment, "did you witness any suspicious activities prior to the accide—"
"Some thugs planted several crates of supposed explosives around the inn. Two men were ordering them around, and one of them mentioned being paid by the Feng family." Without waiting for her to finish, Ren answered.
The lass was quiet for a second, unknown whether it's from processing the information or trying to calm herself from getting mad at being interrupted.
"Did you perhaps see what the man looked li—"
"Middle-aged, large physique. Brown hair, buzzcut, with a beard. A scar on his left cheek. Wearing a black hood."
The lass went quiet once again. Her right hand twitched for a moment.
"Do you think you can help us identify this pers—"
"I ca—"
"Shut your mouth."
With gritted teeth, the lass interrupted with venom lacing every syllable.
Ren simply remained quiet.
"Apologies for the undignified display." She coughed.
"Can you help us identify this person? We have detained a number of individuals we deemed suspiscious around the inn directly after the explosion."
"...yes." Like an admonished child, Ren answered.
"Lovely." She turned around and walked towards the expensive carriage at the side of the street.
"Let's not have the matter exposed to the public more than this. Send him to the mansion, together with the detainees we have." With practiced movements befitting that of a rich heiress, she sat down inside the carriage and spoke to the old butler waiting besides it.
"Understood, young lady." The butler lowered his head.
"I'll be waiting in the main hall."
The door closed, and the coachman had the well-groomed ostrich horses set off to their destination.
The butler went towards the guards. And Ren, who was just standing there.
"Should we go, then?" The butler nodded at the guards.
"But, sir," a guard called him.
"Is anything the matter?"
"How do we go to the mansion? We don't have a carriage."
"Oh." The butler went quiet for a moment.
"We might need to rent one, then." He sighed after thinking for a few seconds.
"But, sir," another guard called him.
"Is there anything else?"
"We don't have any money. How do we rent a carriage?"
"Oh." The butler went quiet for another moment.
The guards and the butler stared at each other in silence, but the pain within their chest roared in unison.
"I'll pay." With a pained smile, Ren broke the silence.
The guards and the butler simply stared at him, but the emotions in their eyes are worth more than anything their words could give.
Sighing, Ren looked at the moon in the sky.
'This is gonna be a long night.'