The second item on the agenda was locating the prodigal prince.
I wasn't sure what had prompted it. Perhaps my favorable assessment of Zuko. Perhaps the Fire Lord's desire to keep the disgraced prince closer at hand. Whatever the reason, the instructions had been crystal clear: Find him and bring him back.
And if he resisted?
Drag him home kicking and screaming.
Finally, there was a side objective that fell squarely into the category of it would be nice if it worked, but no great loss if it doesn't—hunting the Avatar.
Ozai had clearly been impressed, and not particularly pleased, by the reports regarding the flying boy's combat prowess. On the one hand, he fully understood just how much trouble the Avatar could become, which was why he'd assigned his best people to the task. On the other, he had no intention of gambling with those very same people.
Later, during a private meeting when he personally provided me with my own instructions, the Fire Lord made his priorities unmistakably clear. The life and well-being of Princess Azula were the highest priority. If necessary, everything else could be sacrificed—mission objectives, companions, even myself—but Azula was not to suffer any serious injury.
And, of course, no one had relieved me of my role as inspector.
Two birds with one stone, so to speak.
In addition to all that, I'd found a few tasks for myself.
This whole affair involving the northerners and the conflict with the Avatar had reminded me of a couple of very interesting events—and several equally interesting individuals.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to go looking for them personally.
Fortunately, I didn't need to.
All I had to do was issue orders to a few specialists from a certain department, and they would handle everything for me without asking unnecessary questions or showing the slightest curiosity about why I wanted the information.
After all, I'd spent quite a bit of time building my reputation.
Now it was time for my reputation to start working for me.
Who exactly was I looking for, and what events was I referring to?
First and foremost, I needed a certain mercenary with a burning gaze. For one thing, his method of using fire was highly unusual. I had a few suspicions about what exactly was going on there, but they still needed confirmation.
For another, if memory served, he caused the Avatar a tremendous amount of trouble, and if not for Zuko's stupidity, the young nomad's adventures might have ended rather prematurely.
And third, considering my reputation and the rumors surrounding me, a grim armored man would fit the image of the terrifying Herald far better than some pleasant, modest young fellow. That could prove extremely useful in a number of situations.
Besides a potentially useful mercenary, I also remembered a potentially dangerous old hag lurking somewhere on our islands who amused herself with kidnapping people. As certain Templars from a certain not-particularly-pleasant world were fond of saying: "Blood Magic is bad." Especially when the blood mage in question really, really dislikes you. The combative retiree needed to be dealt with. Who knew what might pop into her head one day?
The problem was that I didn't know exactly where she lived. What I did know was that for years she'd been dragging off somebody roughly once a month. Not the best lead in the world, considering that "ripped apart by a platypus bear in the nearby forest" was a perfectly natural cause of death for a peasant, and nobody really kept track of peasants all that carefully.
Bureaucrats, however, loved their statistics. So let them dig through the records, compare missing-person reports against the lunar calendar, and allow for a margin of error of a week or so.
A hellish and mind-numbingly tedious task.
Good thing I wasn't the one doing it.
In any case, the briefing with the Fire Lord had been brief, and issuing instructions to the bureaucratic machinery had been even briefer. I spent considerably more time with my new charge...
"So our first stop will be Yu Dao? Why?" Azula was once again seated upon her "throne," her posture closed off and her expression conveying, I'm the queen, and you're shit. Though... the first half of that statement was true.
"I sent Prince Zuko and General Iroh there. It seems logical to begin the search in the one place we know they've definitely visited. Besides, the Kyoshi Warriors will also be operating in that area and can join your escort, Princess."
"I see." The girl frowned in displeasure.
Hm. What was that about? She'd had no objections to the warriors not long ago.
"But after that we'll go to Omashu. I need to capture someone there... Although..." She paused, thinking aloud. "At the moment they should be somewhere near Yu Dao, so we might as well visit her first."
After consulting with herself, she nodded.
"Very well."
"Preparing the ship will take roughly two weeks," I continued to the next item on the agenda.
"Two weeks? Why so long?" The braziers beside her chair shifted from orange to blue. Yeah... she wasn't in the best mood today.
"Because, as a princess of the Fire Nation, you're entitled to a battleship, along with an escort group to go with it. There are currently two vessels of that class in the harbor."
I'd already made a few inquiries, and after learning certain details, I'd only allow Azula aboard one of those ships under a direct written order from Fire Lord Ozai himself—preferably accompanied by a decree relieving me of my duties as her bodyguard.
"One is the flagship of the Western Fleet, freshly returned from the North Pole campaign. The other is an experimental prototype upgraded by the esteemed Mechanist. The flagship has only just returned from deployment and requires two weeks for inspection, minor repairs, replenishment of supplies, and so forth."
(End of Chapter)
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