Act I

The healing house was always brightly lit. Open windows permitted both the sun and the warm spring air to enter freely, and there were no walls inside the building. Curtains could provide privacy at need, but they were still thin enough to allow plenty of light. While it was important for healers to be able to see their charges clearly, the atmosphere itself was also an important part of recuperation. Qi flows could be influenced by even the most incidental details.

The man who came in this day wore a black robe, and moved like a shadow hiding from the sun.

Gochida was busy giving old woman Apahada her weekly treatment, and Gwanriin was in the middle of mixing a big batch of medicated clay, so the only other healer around took the initiative and led the stranger to an empty table. "My name is Song," she said. "How can I help you today?"

The stranger just stared at her for a moment, his gaze cold and analyzing. Despite the threadbare nature of his robe, the man himself had a polished look. His mustache and chin-beard were precisely groomed, while his hair was pulled tightly behind his head and tied in a long queue. When he spoke, his voice was low and threatening in tone.

Song liked him already.

"My left leg is giving me trouble," he said smoothly. "I have been doing quite a bit of traveling lately, and I began developing pain in the calf and ankle several days ago. It hurts when I press on it, and has been getting noticeably stiffer. I think it has also begun to swell. I do not place undue attention on a little pain, but I have a long journey, yet."

Song nodded, a little surprised at the level of detail. Most travelers weren't so analytical. "I recognize the symptoms, but I'd better take a look, just to be sure."

The man didn't move.

Song gave him an encouraging smile. "You'll have to lift your robe."

The man pointedly swept his gaze over the single-room hospital. "I am not disrobing."

"Here," she said smoothly, "I'll hang a curtain. I need to see the leg for the treatment, anyway. Acupuncture will relieve the pain and get you on the path to healing." Song kept her back turned, redundantly adjusting the curtain while the man settled his robes. When she turned, he was displaying the offending leg. "Ah, yes." She gently probed the skin and muscle, nodding. "The muscle is damaged, maybe the bone as well, probably an old injury of some kind, and putting too much strain on it exacerbates the condition. How did you injure it in the first place?"

The man's face turned red. "I was… well, there was an accident with a large animal. It bit me. Blunt teeth, fortunately."

"And you never got it treated?"

"My lifestyle after that was not very active. It hurt sometimes, but I never put this degree of stress on it, before."

Song nodded. This region became quite chaotic in the last days of the war, and many people who otherwise led peaceful lives found themselves embroiled in events beyond their ability to handle. "What is your name?" she asked as she retrieved her acupuncture needles.

"I… hm, I suppose I must start sooner or later. I am Long Feng."

The name rang no bells for Song.

He got a dinner invitation, of course. Even the loss of their ostrich horse to thieves that time didn't discourage the practice. Ever since Father was taken, Song had developed an irregular practice of bringing needy patients home for dinner. Mother always made enough for a few guests, and it helped both the givers and receivers in ways that went beyond just enjoying a meal together. As a Healer, Song had quickly learned that sharing her few gifts helped make her feel better about everything she had lost. When those two thieves, so tragic, had taken the family's ostrich horse in the night, Song had reacted by redoubling her personal outreach practices.

Long Feng accepted, graciously, but with no real thanks in his eyes. Song began to wonder if he would be another one of her mistakes.

Some of her guests ate voraciously; some ate sparingly as though wary of a trap. Long Feng ate precisely. He sat straight throughout the whole meal, eating with delicate motions that made the use of chopsticks into a kind of show. He did not speak until after he was finished, bowl placed back directly in front of him, chopsticks resting next to it in a perfectly parallel pairing. "Thank you for the meal. I wonder if it would be appropriate for me to make a business proposition to you?"

Song and Mother both gave him their polite attention.

Long Feng produced a silver piece from his sleeve, and placed it in the center of the table. Song gasped. It wasn't a common coin, it was real silver, the pure stuff that didn't need to be shaped into the standardized currency. It shined like nothing she had ever seen before, even in the pale light of the household lanterns.

Long Feng grinned, but not in a friendly way. It was the first rough demeanor he had worn since Song met him. "I am traveling to Ba Sing Se, and you could say that I'm on something of a schedule. I need to reach the city before the Great Abdication, and I need to arrive in a healthy state, as I expect my business there to be quite physically and mentally strenuous. It occurs to me that a privately contracted nurse would be able to guarantee my conditions."

Song and Mother exchanged glances, and then Mother said, "Well, sir, you're obviously very sophisticated. I'm sure you know the kind of worries I have about the idea."

Long Feng nodded. "Of course. I could give you my word assuring your daughter's safety, of course, but I could also be a liar. That's why I'm giving you this, tonight." He took a pouch out of his sleeve, and dropped it on the table beside the single silver piece. More ingots, just as polished and pure, spilled out. "This is enough silver to hire a top-tier bounty hunter to find and kill me. You have my name. You see that I'm a distinctive man. If your daughter is not returned by season's end, you can use that to have me found and killed. It will be small comfort, of course, if your daughter is lost to you, but I give it so that you understand my sincerity. I certainly don't intend to bring a hired avenger down on my plans. Of course, once your daughter has returned safely, you can keep the silver as an outrageous and happily paid fee."

Mother looked back at Song. Once again, they shared an understanding. "I will go," Song said to their guest, "if you agree to follow my advice. You need to get to Ba Sing Se, quickly, and I will help you do that. You have to trust me, and my knowledge of healing. If you do not listen to me, you will have to suffer the consequences. I won't tolerate abuse, either."

Long Feng gave a small bow. "I will be a perfect gentleman, at least by Ba Sing Se's standards."

At Song's insistence, Long Feng spent the next day resting his leg while she procured supplies for their journey. She brought up the idea of getting a pair of ostrich horses, if he had silver to spare and wanted a quick trip, but he admitted that he didn't know how to ride. Song considered that quite odd, as she thought all Gentlemen learned that skill, never mind how many people were taught by the army. Was Ba Sing Se so different, or just Long Feng?

They left the next day on foot. Song had traded her hanbok for more practical leggings and tunics, but she elected to still dress in her village's colors. Most of the Earth Kingdom stayed with greens, but in this area, whites and brighter colors also knew some popularity. It probably came from the village's proximity to the Captured Territories. Oh, they were called the Colonies, now, even in the Earth Kingdom.

Long Feng had already planned out their route. They would travel on the southern edge of the Bandao Peninsula, where the land was flat and mostly given over to farmland. There were plenty of roads in that area, as it was a popular route for travelers who wished to avoid the Great Divide, but Long Feng had specifically chosen courses that would miss certain popular waypoints. "Why is that?" she asked as they walked, early in the journey.

"I keep track of my old associates, as much as is possible, but that doesn't mean I desire their company," was all he said.

They kept up a good pace for several days before they had to stop for another treatment. Long Feng sat under a tall, solitary tree while Song inserted the needles. "What kind of work did you do in Ba Sing Se?"

He grimaced, perhaps because of the needles, although they never bothered him before. "I was an administrator, a government functionary. I consider it a fact that I was among the best the city had ever known. Ba Sing Se would not exist today if it weren't for my efforts."

"Oh, so you were high-ranking? Did you know the King?"

He just scowled for a long time. When the treatment was finished, and they were making camp for the night, Long Feng said just one more thing. "My memories are unimportant, but I will make sure that History speaks the truth."

TO BE CONTINUED