A/N: Please Enjoy and Review

Chapter 19 – Rekindling the Flames

Banging on the door in desperation, Silica shouted out, "Please open up! I didn't mean to offend you! But I need your help! A lot of people really need your help! There's a village all the way up on the fourth floor that's in really big trouble. If I can't bring back an expert blacksmith to repair the damaged cannons, then it's going to be overrun with monsters and everyone's going to die! Please!"

There was no response. Nothing. The door remained shut tight with no sign of opening to the young girl's heartfelt pleas. Looking at Roma, Silica felt like crying. The tears were already threatening to run down her face. It was taking a tremendous effort just to keep it together.

The one task that Zuko had finally entrusted her with and the very first sentence out of her mouth ruined everything. A single moment of not thinking even after all her preparation was all it took. Sitting down on the front step, she brought her legs up to her chest and buried her head in her knees. "Perfect, just perfect. Now what do I do?"

To her surprise, the sound of the metal bolt receding from its locked position echoed behind her. Jumping to her feet, Silica spun around to see Lisbeth opening the door once more and crossing her arms across her chest with reserved indignation. "You have one minute, go."

Taking a deep breath to start, everything just spilled out of Silica's mouth almost faster than the young girl could manage to speak. About the initial run-in with the sagahin in the swamp, about the critical condition they found Pina in, about the serious situation Pina's mother was in, about the encounter with Sgt Hooper, about the raid on the southeast wall, about her success with the barrel strategy, about the clinic filled to the brim with wounded NPC soldiers and civilians, about the fearful state of the villagers, about the expending attack expected to occur tonight, about the destroyed cannons. Everything.

Lisbeth seemed hard pressed to follow the inhuman speed that Silica was explaining with. In all honesty, she only really managed to catch bits and pieces of the overall story. Eventually she was forced to cover the younger girl's mouth with a gloved hand to get her to stop talking. "Hold up there. So, basically what you're saying is that there's a village that can only be saved if the cannons can be repaired?"

With the pink haired girl's hand still on her mouth, Silica could only nod in response.

Snorting in disbelief, Lisbeth removed her hand. "That's ridiculous. Just pack up and get everyone out of there. Go and tell that to Zuko. He's an expert at running away in situations like that anyway. Quite frankly I'm surprised he hasn't already turned tail and run."

"Zuko wouldn't run away!" protested the brown pigtail haired girl.

"That's precisely what he would do," countered the blacksmith. "He's got a history of choosing to save his own skin over helping others."

"No he wouldn't! He's not that kind of person!"

"He's exactly that kind of person!"

"I've never seen him run away! He's always tries to help people!"

"You're just blind! He left my brother to die!"

"You're a liar! He would never do something like that!"

"Liar?! I was there! I saw him turn and use my brother as a distraction to run away! And to make it worse, he kept me from helping my brother when he needed me the most!"

"That's not true! I don't believe you!"

Grabbing a picture roughly from its place on the wall, Lisbeth shoved the photograph in the young girl's face. "Look! That's my brother right there! And my grandparents in the back. Do you see how happy we are in the picture? That was taken when we first got into the game. Before the announcement, before the imprisonment."

The smith pulled the image away just as Silica reached out for it. Gingerly glancing at it again, she continued, "We met Zuko shortly afterwards. We traveled together for a while, my brother, him, and me. Things started well, but he showed his true colors quickly. We got caught in a trap and he ran."

Silica shook her head violently side to side. "There has to be more to it than that! He wouldn't just run for no reason!"

The sharp tone returned in Lisbeth's voice. "There isn't anymore! I saw what I saw and that's it!"

The brown pigtail haired girl stamped her foot heavily in protest. "He saved me and my friends after we got kidnapped even when he didn't have too! We had stolen from him earlier and he had already recovered his things, but he came for us anyways. He fought to protect all of us!"

The blacksmith crossed her arms with indifference. "He probably just wanted to make sure he had gotten all his stuff back."

"I'm not done!" disputed Silica. "Then, a second time, when we were in a group running a dungeon in the woods, he didn't give up on me when something possessed me and threatened to destroy the entire third floor. Whenever there's a problem, he may need a nudge in the right direction, but he's always stepped in and helped. He's strong and courageous and honest and brave and valiant. But there's a wall he seems to put up between himself and others. It's almost like there's a weight that never seems to leave him alone."

"Yeah, it's called guilt," supplied Lisbeth. "He knows what he did and I'm glad that his guilt still eats away at him. He should remember, because I sure do."

Shaking her head, Silica shouted out, "Let me finish! I don't know what exactly happened with you and Zuko and your brother. But I do know that there's more to it than you claim! There has to be!"

Lisbeth rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything." She placed the photograph in her hand on a nearby table. "Get out."

"But…" started Silica.

Spinning on her heels in fury, the blacksmith's face was full of rage. "I said get out! I didn't give you a minute to talk about a bad memory! You asked for my help? Well the answer is no!" Storming towards the younger girl, Lisbeth was about to throw her out when Roma jumped in-between the two.

Instead of growling in anger or bristling her fur threateningly, the crimson fox just looked at the blacksmith with a gaze filled with sadness. This seemed to give Lisbeth pause for a moment before she gripped her fists with ire once more.

"You were there Roma. Why can't you understand? My brother died. He died trying to protect me. And Zuko, he, the coward, just ran. He didn't let me do anything to help my own brother! He just left him there!"

The heat in Lisbeth's voice continued to build as she spoke. The recollection of the past was starting to become too much. "You two, both of you, I want you out of my shop, out of my business, out of my life!"

The blacksmith was about to take another step forward when the floorboards of the aged, wooden stairs further back in the forge began to creak with the weight of someone walking down them. "Enough, all of you," quieted a commanding, maternal voice. Looking past the older girl in front of her, Silica noticed a stern, elderly woman standing with a disapproving expression spread across her face.

"Grandma," started Lisbeth with impatience.

"Don't you grandma me," interrupted Anka. "I know your parents raised you better than to be so rude to a guest. Now invite this nice young girl in and offer her a cup of tea."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with me being disrespectful to those Army guild members earlier," protested the blacksmith in a huff.

"Those two were brutes. This girl has done nothing to deserve your malice," replied Anka.

"But grandma," started Lisbeth again until her grandmother gave her another look of disapproval.

Extending the door further, the blacksmith motioned for Silica and Roma to enter; closing the wooden frame once the pair had crossed into the dwelling. Then, she left to go and fix some tea as Anka motioned for Silica to take a seat in one of chairs near the hearth next to the one the elderly lady had already claimed. Roma walked ahead of the brown pigtail haired girl and continued straight over to Anka. Before Silica could stop the crimson fox, the young kit jumped into the grandmother's lap.

"Why hello there," greeted Anka as she petted the fox. "It has been a while, has it not little one? I do not see the scarred-faced boy, is he not here with you?"

Roma shook her head negatively as she stretched in the grandmother's lap.

Bowing in respect, the brown pigtail haired girl introduced herself. "My name is Silica, ma'am."

"So polite," commented Anka. "I am Anka dearie, Lisbeth's grandmother."

Returning soon after, the pink haired blacksmith set a tray containing a tea pot and several cups down on the small table in front of the group. Pouring the tea quickly and without any real care, she offered her grandmother the first cup before taking hers and sitting in a third chair. Silica had to reach over to pour and pick up her own cup.

The three remained in silence for a little while, sipping their tea, the crackle of the fire in the hearth the only sound in the shop. Lisbeth continuously glared daggers at the younger girl sitting across from her. Not to be deterred, Silica returned her own intense glares. Only Anka and Roma appeared unfazed by the tension in the room as the elder lady continued to pet the slowly dozing fox in her lap.

Eventually Lisbeth couldn't contain herself anymore. "Grandma, what are we doing here?"

"I thought it was quite obvious, we're enjoying a nice cup of tea." She took another sip. "Though, your preparation appears to be slipping. This is not one of your better brews," critiqued the grandmother.

Tempted to throw down her teacup in frustration, the blacksmith forced herself to be calm with her grandmother's coyness. "You know that's not what I meant grandma. Why did you have me invite this girl into the shop? You and grandpa both remember what I told you about Zuko's true colors right? She's one of his friends."

Anka keep petting Roma quietly as she turned her gaze away from her granddaughter. "Lisbeth," she started, but then stopped just as fast. Pausing for several moments, she opened her mouth to start again, but couldn't seem to find the right words.

The blacksmith raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Grandma? What's going on? You should be on my side with this? Don't you remember the pain of losing Mark?"

Setting her teacup on the table, Anka refused to meet her granddaughter's eyes.

Now definitely concerned, Lisbeth pushed again. "Grandma, what's wrong?"

The elderly lady seemed to finally decide something in her own mind. "Your grandfather and I knew this time would come. I had just hoped that I would have found the right words to say by then."

"What are you talking about?" pressed the pink haired blacksmith.

Waving her hand to bring up her white status menu, Anka shifted through several screens until she clicked on an option in her inventory and a small metal-like orb materialized onto the table in front of all of them. "Your grandfather had received this in his mail the morning after Mark passed. It took us a long time to find it because we didn't understand the notifications screen and even after that, we had a difficult time navigating through all these menu screens."

"What is it?" asked Lisbeth as she reached out to grab the bottle.

"It's a message from Mark," answered Anka. The blacksmith's hand stopped midway to the table in shock. "Your grandfather and I, we couldn't find the right time to share it with you, but I think it has been long enough."

Lisbeth stared intensely at the metal orb. The small object suddenly possessed a weight greater than she imagined possible.

"But how? I don't…" mumbled the pink haired blacksmith.

Anka reached forward and clicked a tiny button on the side of the sphere. Multiple gears and gizmos began to spin to life instantly as it revealed its audio-only recording. "Grandma and grandpa, it's your lovable grandson Mark." Lisbeth gasped at the sound of her brother's voice as she stood up suddenly, knocking her chair over behind her in her haste. Roma's ears perked up at the sound of the energetic adventurer's voice as well as she stared at the orb in interest.

Unfazed, the tiny sphere continued its message. "If you're receiving this recording, then that means I wasn't able to delete it from my outbox last night. Sorry I couldn't get the video recorder, but those aren't available yet. Hopefully audio will be enough. But, let me cut right to the heart of the matter; if you're hearing this recording, then that means I messed up. I messed up bad."

Lisbeth looked over at her grandmother in shock, her eyes wide with the realization of what this message was. Anka just turned away from her granddaughter's gaze, unable to meet her eyes. Silica shifted uneasily in her chair. The brown pigtail haired girl knew this orb was personal, very personal, but she couldn't find the willpower to excuse herself from the room.

Mark took a breath on the recording before he started up once more. "We are headed into the forest today for our very first quest together. Nothing too fancy, just a simple snatch and grab. I figure I should break Lisbeth and this new guy Zuko into the world of gaming easily." When Mark paused a second time, Lisbeth could almost picture her brother rubbing the back of his head in thought.

"Though, that game master's warning is still kind of fresh in my mind. The whole idea of dying is scary, don't get me wrong, but we're in a game world! This has been like every gamer's dream since they first starting playing games! It's hard not to be excited too."

Lisbeth shook her head at her brother's words. "That's just like him. Thinking like a little kid."

The recording continued. "There is one thing I know though. We are going to need brave people to journey forth in this world if any of us are going to have the slightest hope of escaping. I'd go with just myself and this Zuko fella we met if I could. He seems capable enough despite still being a greenhorn to gaming. But I know that Lisbeth won't be having any of that. She's too headstrong. She'll want to come too."

The pink haired blacksmith fought back the tears that were threatening to fall now. "But hey, that's alright though. I can't think of anyone else I'd trust more at my side during this whole ordeal than my own sister."

Silica looked over at Lisbeth, but the older girl was just sitting there with her head downcast and her expression hidden by her hanging pink hair. Anka wasn't much better. The elder lady had probably heard this message several times before, but it appeared to be taking a toll on her not to break down once more as well.

Undeterred, the recording of Mark soldiered onward. "Granddad, keep grandma safe in town. There will be more able-bodied adventurers that will face the dangers ahead. As long as you stay safe within the walls of the Town of Beginnings, eventually they will succeed and get everyone out of here. I have faith in the tenacity of my gaming brethren. We're a stubborn bunch. I love you both. Know that I fought and died living my dream."

Then Mark addressed his sister directly. "Liz, I bet our grandparents probably held this message from you after they received it. Don't blame them for that. I know how you like to hold grudges. You still haven't forgiven me for that one time that I tripped and pushed you into the fountain during the first day of elementary school. Or when I slipped and knocked you into the mud when we visited that farm. Or when I stumbled and bumped that series of paint cans onto you while we were helping to renovate the house. Or when… actually you know what? I think I'm starting to see a trend here essentially. What were we talking about again?"

A thin, pure laugh escaped from Lisbeth's lips as her eyes continued to water. She fought back her sniffles. Somethings would never change.

"I promised myself to keep you safe out there. I couldn't bear to meet mom and dad again when this is all over and tell them that I couldn't even manage to do that much. If that's the way I go out, then I don't mind one bit. Now don't start up about how you can handle yourself, because I know that's true. But just let me be a little selfish here. So, you're definitely probably not going to like the next part."

Silica looked up from the metal sphere towards the blacksmith. The older girl's face seemed to tense up at her brother's words; any more than that was completely unreadable.

"Zuko."

The brown pigtail haired girl felt herself involuntarily take in a sharp draw of breath. Lisbeth's whole body seemed to freeze in place. Anka simply closed her eyes silently, already knowing what her grandson was going to say next. Roma's head merely tilted sideways.

"I pulled him aside last night and made him promise me something."

"No," breathed Lisbeth lowly, already guessing her brother's arrangement with the scarred adventurer.

"I asked him to promise me that if anything too dangerous happened, that if something beyond our control to handle occurred, that if our options were running out, then he was to get you out of the forest."

Shaking her head in disagreement, or maybe disbelief, Lisbeth keep muttering to herself, "no, no, no…"

Mark chuckled loudly in the recording, surprising the two young girls and the crimson fox. "He refused you know? Said he didn't like that. Told me thinking like that was almost like I was tempting fate for something terrible to happen. He seemed pretty serious about it too. It took a little back and forth, but in the end, I got him to promise me. Like I said, I can be selfish at times."

Another chuckle. "So if this message is being heard, then I guess that guy gets to tell me that he told me so. But in all honesty, it wouldn't be his fault, or your fault, or my fault. No one's at fault, probably, no, definitely. Sometimes in the world of online gaming these things happen. But I guess I can't say that the consequences have ever been this high."

The tears were flowing freely down Lisbeth's face at this point as she continued to listen. Silica shifted uncomfortably in her chair once more. This recording was obvious very personal, but it validated what she had already suspected, Zuko didn't run for no reason. But she wasn't about to throw that in the blacksmith's face anytime soon.

"You're a strong sister Liz," boasted Mark proudly. "I know I've been selfish, but let me be just a little more selfish. You said that you wanted to learn the blacksmithing craft. Go and be a smith, be the best damn blacksmith in the game. But leave the frontlines to the others. I won't be there to keep an eye on you anymore. You can still help out, but please do so from the supporting role. As much as I love you sis, I don't want to see your face on this side anytime soon. Go out there and live life for the both of us."

The room was silence for several moments before the recording started to wrap up. "Ah geez," laughed Mark. "That was some pretty heavy stuff there wasn't it? Don't worry. I'll erase this one when we all get back safely. Got to remember to throw some more jokes into the next one. Now how do I turn this thing off again? Maybe it was this button…" The gears inside the metal sphere began to slow and soon the device fell silent.

No one in the room talked for quite some time. Roma looked around mostly to make sure that everyone was at least still breathing. Finally it was Lisbeth who broke the deathly stillness as she whispered lowly, "That idiot. That stupid idiot. That stupid, brainless, careless, inconsiderate idiot. I never asked him to do that. I never wanted him to do that. I…" Unable to finish her sentence, the pink haired blacksmith got up and stormed out of the shop quickly. Roma chased after her just before the front door closed.

Silica moved to follow, but Anka stopped her with a cough. "Give her some time to process everything dear. That was a lot to take in all at once."

Looking at the shut wooden entrance, Silica replied, "I understand, I really do. But Zuko and the people of Talm are still counting on me to bring a skilled blacksmith back with me. If Lisbeth can't help, then I need to find someone else." With that, she rushed outside as well.

Pouring another cup of tea, Anka sighed. "Hannes and I should have shared that sphere with our granddaughter a long time ago. There was just so much pain in her heart. I had thought that we had already forgiven that scarred boy even though we've never had the chance to tell him directly. He did bring us back our Lisbeth after all, just like he promised Mark. But by not telling Lisbeth for so long, letting her still think ill of the boy, maybe we still harbored a bit of malice that I did not wish to notice until that young girl forced me to face it."

She stared at the closed front door as she stirred the hot leaf water in her hands. "I only hope that I don't lose my granddaughter to this foolishness too."

Standing up in the ramparts watching the disappearing shadows of the tail end of the village caravan, Hooper grumbled, "They really left."

"Let them go," dismissed Zuko as he turned back inwards to the village of Talm. "It's no use dwelling on what you cannot change."

"I've known most of them for years. We've fought side by side to protect this village," recalled the Sgt. "I thought they were better men than this."

Putting a hand on sergeant's shoulder, the fire prince turned him to look inwards to the ground below the ramparts. With a wave of his free hand he stated, "These are better men." At the recognition of their commanders up on the wall, the assembled troop of forty remaining NPC soldiers saluted in thunderous unison.

Returning the formal courtesy, Sgt Hooper grimaced lowly, "There's not even enough here to form a small company."

Whispering back, Zuko assured, "We don't need to protect the whole village, just the high ground surrounding the grand hall at the far end. We can make this work."

Still not fully convinced, the NPC commander muttered, "This plan of yours better work." Then louder to address the remaining garrison, "Guardians of Talm! I thank you for your continued devotion to duty and commitment to honor! The enemy is at our doorstep! He howls at our very gates! He strikes at our every weakness! He hungers to devour our protector while she recovers!"

Seeing the emotion he was stirring up in his men, Hooper decided to vent his frustrations. "Our brethren have fled to stronger walls in Weyven out of fear! They have abandoned Fae in her darkest hour, thinking only of themselves! And yet, those brave souls who stand gallantly before me now, we will not flee! We will not surrender! The elder dragon protected this town against the sagahin for decades! Now is the time to return the favor! To prove to Fae that we were worth a damn!"

As the sergeant wrapped up his speech, the garrison roared with valor and determination. They would see both Talm and Fae safely through the night. They would make this town secure once more. And when all was said and done, then they could see to the future.

Letting the cheers of his men draw down, Sgt Hooper waited for his voice to be heard again. "You will all be assembled into teams of four. This will ensure flexibility and movability. I understand we are greatly outnumbered. But here in the confines of the narrow streets and alleys of this village, those numbers count for little. We will use the town as much as possible to stall for as long as possible. When you must fall back, do not hesitate to do so. I'm giving you all an order right now, don't get yourselves killed."

Hooper could see the confusion in his men's eyes. "The final rally point is Fae's sanctuary in the grand hall. That is where we will make our stand! There will be nowhere left to fall back to after we reach there. We win or die together."

Seeing the rumblings amongst the men, Hooper was quick to add, "Now don't think we aren't without an ace in the hole. Able craftsmen work on the cannons as we speak. We will have artillery support once we get there. That is all. Team leads, you will receive your deployment locations shortly. Dismissed."

With a final salute as the troops snapped to attention once more, the men fell out and went to finish their final preparations for the upcoming struggle. "Your blacksmith friend better arrive soon," muttered Hooper as he watched his garrison check their weapons and armor. "Lying to my men wasn't part of the plan."

"They'll be here," affirmed the fire prince as he scanned the horizon. Inwardly though, he thought, 'Truthfully getting Lisbeth to help is a longshot. I really don't know if Silica will be able to persuade her to come. And even if Lisbeth does arrive, there's no telling how she'll react. If she refuses…'

A hint of movement to the west of the village caught the fire prince's eye, putting a stop to his inner thoughts.

"Sagahin?" questioned Hooper as he noticed the movement as well.

Noting a familiar tuft of red spiky hair, Zuko grinned. "No, just the reinforcements I messaged last evening. Naturally that idiot would take his time and miss all the planning sessions."

A couple of minutes later, the front gate of Talm opened quickly to receive Guild Fuurinkazan and shut again as soon as they were all safely inside. "Zuko!" greeted Klein enthusiastically. "You're actually going to include us in the party this time?!"

Shaking his head at the spiky haired guild leader, the fire prince sighed, "Just don't make me regret it…"

Patting the hilt of his sword, Klein boasted, "Once you witness the strength of Guild Fuurinkazan in action, you'll be begging to join us. Play your cards right and I might even think about letting you."

Dale coughed loudly into his hand next to his leader. "You do remember pleading on your hands and knees for him to join our guild just a few days ago, right Captain? Or least begging to have him let us follow him around for a while to pay him back for trapping him inside a monster chamber?

"It was rather embarrassing" added Issin.

"And a little sad," commented Dynamm.

"I didn't think it was possible to sound more pathetic," remarked Kunimittz.

"Humiliating," finished Harry One.

The group started to laugh at their deflated leader's antics as he tried to deny their accusations.

Sgt Hooper shook his head. "These are your reinforcements? They have no respect for their commander."

"He'll bounce back," assured Dale confidently.

True to his guildmate's word, Klein managed to form a complete sentence. "Why do you even bother putting up with such a pitiful leader then?"

Dynamm wrapped his arm around his boss's head and ruffled Klein's spiky red hair. "Cuz, you'd be lost without us man. That and it's never boring." The rest of the guild nodded in agreement.

Regathering his bearings, Klein turned to Zuko. "So what are we up against?"

Zuko stared at the guild leader dubiously. "Please tell me you're joking. Didn't you read the message I sent? I explained everything in detail."

"Nope!" grinned Klein. "The subject line read 'Need Help' so all I did was skim through the words up until I found a location and boom! Here we are. I told you we owed you one, so we got here as soon as we could."

Finding himself shaking his head with bewilderment a second time, Zuko added a face palm for good measure. "Unbelievable." Sgt Hooper just stared at the overly confident looking red haired guild leader like the man was a complete crazy fool.

Turning to the rest of Guild Fuurinkazan, the fire prince asked, "And none of you thought to ask him why I requested help?"

Kunimittz shrugged. "We didn't really get the chance. Boss just took off like a shot and we could only do our best to chase after him. But like he said, we do owe you one."

Getting tired of shaking his head, Zuko simply stated, "Six to seven hundred sagahin according to last scouting report. Our current strength stands at forty one NPC soldiers and seven adventurers, to include you all. I have a little more aid coming. A blacksmith to repair the cannons, and a novice adventurer. And that's about it."

"That's it? Fifty or so against seven hundred? You're kidding me right?" shot back Kunimittz.

"Maybe only six hundred," offered Klein hopefully.

That probably wasn't a good idea as the guild leader drew the attention of all of his guild as their stared at him in disbelief. "Not helping boss," provided Dale.

"You sure don't mess around when you ask for favors do you?" sighed Issin.

"I had included all of this in the message. I also said that you all didn't have to accept if you thought it was too dangerous. And there is still time to leave now before the battle. I'm in no position to ask any of you to risk your lives for a fight that you have no stake in," Zuko expressed.

Smiling, Dale slammed a hefty arm against the firebender's back heartily. "Don't worry. We aren't the type to just leave people hanging. Just wish that we knew all the details next time before showing up. So message all of us with these requests alright? Our leader isn't actually the type for reading." The rest of Guild Fuurinkazan quickly joined in.

"Or explaining."

"Or planning."

"Or thinking ahead."

"And his singing could use some work as well," added Dynamm. At Hooper's and Zuko's confusion, he added, "Try adventuring with the guy." The rest of the guild simply nodded in agreement.

"You guys really don't like my singing?" singled out Klein with genuine shock. "Was it the song choice? I can do requests."

"Can we please get back to the matter at hand?!" stressed Sgt Hooper with exasperation.

"We'll talk about this later guys," shelfed the guild leader. Then to the sergeant, "Alright, we're listening."

"Our main goal is to hold the sanctuary at the top portion of the village," started Zuko. "The rest of the town doesn't matter. The citizens have already evacuated with an escort, so the place is empty except for us fighters."

"More like deserted," side-barred Hooper.

Letting the disgruntled sergeant be, the fire prince continued, "The village guardian, a high level feather dragon named Fae, is currently encased in ice up in the sanctuary. That's our objective; protecting that dragon."

"Question," interrupted Klein with his hand raised. "Shouldn't a high level guardian dragon be doing the protecting? Not the other way around?"

"Did you completely miss the encased in ice bit?" retorted the firebender. "The dragon is recovering from an earlier fight with the sagahin. That's why the defense falls to us. Now according to Sgt Hooper, we may not have to defeat the entire enemy army. If we manage to take down the Sagahin King, then that might be enough to discourage any further aggression. It seems the sagahin pick their leader based on strength. Take down the commander and break their spirit, or at least, that's the plan."

"That seems pretty flimsy," commented Issin. "They 'might' retreat if we take down their leader? They might also try to avenge him you know."

"True" replied Zuko. "But it's the best course of action we've got so far. If you got something better, then we're all ears. I'm not going to pretend fifty defenders have a realistic chance against seven hundred. We need a target."

Shaking his head in amazement of the firebender's bluntness, Kunimittz sighed, "At least you tell it like it is. I can respect that."

"We'll start at the front gate and hold it for as long as we can with half our force. The rest will be scattered along the wall's edge to watch for flanks from the enemy. If they try to enter from another location, the sentries will sound the alarm. We hear that and we fall back immediately. We'll use the buildings and narrow streets for cover and positioning as we withdraw up the hill towards the sanctuary. Most of the streets have been blocked with debris and pitch. We'll set it ablaze as we go to restrict the enemy movement. Once at the top we will make our stand there."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," smirked Klein with confidence. "Now where are the shops? We could use a few more potions and maybe a hot meal."

"All the civilians left," replied Zuko. "Most of their wares went with them."

"But not all," interjected a strong voice as a burly, bearded man approached the group.

"Muston? You stayed?" asked Hooper with shock. "I thought the village elders talked everyone into leaving?"

"Try not to sound so surprised Hooper. It's unbecoming of a military man," laughed Muston. "Some of us remember what Fae has done for us all these years." With that he waved a muscular arm to gesture to three more people at his side. "You recall Aimee, Daniel, and Jorge, right?" Each of the three nodded at their introduction.

"Of course," answered the sergeant with delight, his grumpiness visibly dissipating. "The item shop owner and the twins who own the forge."

"Right, we figured the brave souls fighting here could use some items and equipment," speculated Muston.

"That's great!" jumped in Klein. "Since the situation's so dire though, we're going to get the stuff for free right?"

Crossing his hefty arms with a striking intimidating defiance, the merchant responded, "We can manage a discount. We still need to make a living after all."

"We gotta pay?!" protested the red haired guild leader in surprise. "If we lose, then you die too buddy."

Before Muston could answer, Jorge and Daniel jumped in front of the burly man. "Just take it as our upmost confidence in your victory," diffused the eldest of the twins.

"Geez, thanks," grumbled a deflated Klein as he looked away from the three male merchants to spy the smiling female item shop owner. His sour mood disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Adjusting his weapon belt, he bowed to Aimee. "My name's Klein. I'm twenty two years old and single. You said that you managed an item shop? Do you think I could escort you back there?"

Smiling mischievously, Aimee let an enamored Klein walk her up towards the sanctuary.

"Uh oh," muttered Dale. "We've seen this happen before. Sorry Zuko, but we need to follow after our absentminded guild master and stop him from spending all our money." Guild Fuurinkazan quickly ran to catch up to their wayward leader.

As the remaining merchants turned to join the departing party, Muston paused and said, "Oh and by the way, that healer fella, he's still around too up at the sanctuary. Daniel and Jorge helped me to move most of his medical supplies up there. He should be setting up his temporary clinic right now."

"Kreis?" stuttered Hooper in surprise. "He's still here?"

"Yeah, he had said something about someone needing to stick around to patch up all the morons too foolhardy to know when run," added Muston. "Truthfully, I think he was just trying to make up a reason to stay. He's really loyal to Talm even if he doesn't like to admit it." With that, the burly merchant headed back up the hill.

"I swear, that quack is probably doing this so that he can say I owe him one," grumbled Hooper.

"Maybe, but having a healer who can deal with our casualties is going to be very valuable," supplied Zuko.

Storming off to a different part of the ramparts, Sgt Hooper muttered, "I'm going to check on the men deployed to the eastern section. You cover the west."

The fire prince watched the sergeant trudge across the wall in a huff. "He's thankful for all the help, even if he doesn't want to admit it either." As he watched the remaining garrison continue to prepare, Zuko thought to himself, 'It's great we have suppliers and a doctor now, but there is still one thing I can't figure out.'

He looked to where the side gate he fought at the other day was. 'Those sagahin I fought inside the town. How exactly did they manage to get within Talm in the first place? With all the security on the wall, they should have been spotted if they tried to scale it. Same with the sagahin that had attacked Pina originally. How did they get in?'

He had been dwelling on the problem since he first thought about it last night, but couldn't figure out any leads. And it wasn't like he had anytime to investigate the matter. 'I don't know. It could be nothing. Maybe they slipped over the wall during the change of a guard, or maybe they used the explosion that day as a distraction.'

Pushing his thoughts down, the firebender started to move to the western section of the town. He had to focus on the upcoming fight now if there was going to be any chance of success. The other stuff could wait. Still, his doubts poked at him from the recesses of his mind. And unfortunately, they had an annoying habit of rearing their head again at the wrong times.

Lisbeth kept running; around one corner, down a side street, under an archway, she just kept running. There wasn't a real destination in mind, but she couldn't stand to be at 'Hammer and Metal' right now. She didn't want to see her grandparents; to listen to their justifications for holding back this information. She didn't want to face the smug little face that likely graced the features of the brown pigtail haired girl in her shop. She didn't want to want to hear any of it.

Running was easier. Easier than admitting that she was mistaken. Mistaken about why her brother was so willing to remain behind. Mistaken about why Zuko picked her up after she had twisted her ankle and never looked back. Mistaken about everything.

Mark had no right. Zuko had no right. Neither of them did. Why did they get to choose for her? Who gave them the authority to make decisions that she should have had a voice in? How was that fair?

She knew her brother was very defensive of her. When she had been bullied back in school, the normally docile and fun-loving Mark had gotten suspended for a couple days after beating up the boys that had picked on her. He had just brushed it off as something a brother did to look after his sister. She had never truly realized the lengths he was willing to go to protect her.

And Zuko. They had only known him for a few days. Why did he agree to such a proposal? Why hadn't he told her? Why didn't he try to explain? Why just take her outbursts in stride?

The pink haired blacksmith's pace began to slow as she reached the center of a small stone bridge spanning a small stream of water. On the far side stood the starts of the residential district while one of the library buildings lay behind her. She had covered a good portion of the Town of Beginnings during her short run.

As angry as she was with her grandparents for holding back this information, some tiny reasonable part of her mind realized that she hadn't been ready for it earlier. Maybe she still wasn't ready now, but the information was out in the open.

As irritated as she was with her scatterbrained brother for choosing her safety over his own, some other part of her mind understood that if their roles had been reversed then she would have likely made a similar decision. No, something else still drew her attention.

With the rational parts of her mind already performing damage control, her more spirited parts were free to explore. And they gravitated towards a punching bag that they already felt comfortable with hitting.

"Zuko could have told me. He should have told me. Why didn't he tell me when we got back?" expressed Lisbeth out loud in anger. "This is still partly his fault."

The faint tapping of soft four-legged footprints crossing the dusky bridge behind her gave cause to the blacksmith to spin around. "Roma," she breathed. "He should have explained himself. He should have told me why he didn't look back. Promise or not, he had no right to hide the agreement he made to my brother."

The crimson fox hopped up onto the nearby guardrail as she slowly continued to pace towards the pink haired blacksmith. Reaching within an arm's length, the kit simply stopped and stared at the young girl.

"Don't give me that look," countered Lisbeth. "Why didn't he tell me?"

Roma remained stoic. Her dark red eyes calmly rested on the troubled blacksmith with a hint of stern judgement.

"My brother died! He died to protect me! Zuko knew! He knew what Mark planned to do! And he just accepted it! How could he just accept it? Why did he just accept it?"

Two shining foxy orbs continued to watch unfalteringly.

"Not once during our trip back from the forest to the Town of Beginnings did he try to explain anything. He just stayed silent! He just let me yell at him. Insults, curses, shouting; not once did he try to stop me!"

Roma's stare seemed to intensify against the pink haired blacksmith's tirade.

Lisbeth seemed to wilt slightly under the small fox's scrutiny. Something seemed to just click. "I never gave him a chance to, did I?"

A slight nod of the young kit's head was her humble response. However, the dark red eyes did not waver.

The pink haired blacksmith withered some more. Her more sensible side was putting it altogether as Roma forced her to look inward and reflect. "I just tossed all the blame on him, didn't I? Mark asked him to keep a promise. I twisted my ankle. We were all outmatched. But I piled all the blame on Zuko. It was his fault for running. It was his fault for Mark's death. It was his fault for everything that went wrong."

She sighed. "It was easier to do that. Blame the outsider. It couldn't have been my fault or Mark's fault. I didn't want to face that. I still don't want to face that."

The pink haired blacksmith whispered out the last part softly. Roma looked at her gently. Slowly, it appeared that Mark's final message was managing to get through to the girl and was starting to cause her to reevaluate what she thought she knew.

"All that guilt, I forced it all on Zuko," she stated. "Why didn't he refute any of it?"

A slight inquisitive head twist from the crimson fox was all it took to get the blacksmith to admit what she had already figured out.

"He decided to accept that burden. He let me have a lightning rod to vent all my anger and frustration out on. He shouldered that weight without argument. Did he promise that much to Mark as well? Or was that just how he dealt with loss?"

Lisbeth slumped down on the bridge so that her back rested against the stone guardrail. Roma hopped down next to her, never removing her calculating stare. "What am I supposed to do? I still have all this anger built up. It doesn't just go away Roma. I felt so helpless, so powerless. I couldn't even save my own brother."

A phantom pain in the blacksmith's ankle started to ache. Massaging it absentmindedly, Lisbeth breathed out in frustration.

The crimson fox finally broke her lingering gaze and turned back the way the two had come from. Looking back only once for a moment, Roma locked eyes with the blacksmith. Then she took off sprinting back towards the crafting district.

Lisbeth watched the young kit dash away. "You wanted me to stay away from the frontlines Mark? Well, I'm sorry, but you don't get to make that call this time. I'm stronger now than I was then."

Getting up slowly, she continued, "I'm going to hunt down Zuko and get an explanation out of him. He owes me that much. But first there's that village that's in trouble. Mark would have already been halfway there if he knew even if he had no idea how to fix a cannon."

As she starting to run back the way she had come, for some reason, it felt as though an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn't truly ready to forgive, not just yet. But she would help.

Reaching the forge a short while later, Lisbeth spied Anka and Roma waiting outside the shop. Her grandmother appeared to have a traveler's backpack and a cloth wrapped object resting at her feet.

With determination, the pink haired blacksmith stated, "Grandma, I'm going to help. It's what Mark would have done."

"I know sweetheart," replied Anka softly as she lifted the clothed object. "I knew this would be your choice. You and your brother are so much alike. Here, this is a gift."

Unwrapping the object, Lisbeth held up a grand looking battle mace. "Anneal Mace?" she said in admiration. It was an impressive weapon with strong offensive stats; easily comparable to the incredibly expensive weapons some of the skilled blacksmiths could produce. To be honest, while she had the level to craft a similar weapon, the materials required were hard to come by and she had not yet been able to attempt such a venture.

She looked from the weapon to her grandmother. "How did you and grandpa buy this? It easily cost a fortune!"

Anka shook her head. "It's not from us. Zuko left it when you two returned. He had said that it was the reward from the quest that you all completed. He had said that he figured Mark would have wanted you to have it."

Lisbeth stared at the Anneal Mace with both astonishment and a slight touch of grief. This was the blood weapon that resulted from their ill-fated quest that Mark had paid for with his life. It was almost like she could just envision her brother still watching out for her even after he was gone. But it had been Zuko who had the presence of mind to still collect it and leave it for her. Another thing she needed to talk to the scarred adventurer about.

Securing the backpack and embracing her grandmother, Lisbeth whispered, "I'm going to find the answers I'm looking for and help out those in need. But I will return."

"I know you will honey," commented Anka. "I will tell your grandfather when he gets back to the shop. Please stay safe out there."

Separating, Lisbeth turned down the street to head towards the teleportation gate with Roma beside her. As she passed by another blacksmith's forge, she called out to a brown pigtail haired girl who was pleading uselessly to a gruff looking adventurer. "Hey you! Sicily! Or whatever your name was, let's go! I need you to show me where these cannons that need fixing are!"

Surprised and confused for a moment, the brown pigtail haired girl in question realized she was being addressed and hurried over. "It's Silica! Not Sicily!"

"Same difference," answered Lisbeth nonchalantly. "Now are we going to get going or what?"

Fuming silently, Silica countered, "What made you change your mind? I thought you hated Zuko?"

"I'm still mad at him, but that jerk owes me some answers and I intent to collect," supplied the pink haired blacksmith as she starting to jog towards the teleportation gate. "Now I thought we were in a hurry?"

Growling slightly, Silica moved to follow.

Roma watched the two continue to bicker back and forth as they raced throughout the town. This little group dynamic had just gotten a tad more explosive.

As the trio rushed by the entrance of the cathedral leading to the Monument of Life memorial, none of the three noticed the whisker-marked hooded girl standing in front of the door frame with her white menu status screen up. However, the nondescript character spied the crimson streak of fur as it raced across her field of vision.

The sight of the familiar young fox took a second to click in the information broker's mind. "Roma?" muttered Argo in confusion as she dismissed her menu screen and quickly scanned the road. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" The trio in question disappeared around a street corner. "And where is that mysterious master of yours?" Without another word, she moved to chase down the unexpected lead.

Unseen by any of the girls, the Blue Spirit watched from the top of the cathedral. Softly, the sound of a sword being drawn its sheath echoed throughout the empty street.