The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 65 [~|~] Wan Shi Tong

The group shared incredulous looks before turning back to the tower. "The library is buried?! My life's ambition is now full of sand." Zei held his head in his hands, collapsing to his knees, before picking his head up and smiling widely. "Well, time to start excavating." He pulled out a small shovel from his pack, causing Azara to share a look with Katara.

"Actually, that won't be necessary," Toph stated, placing her hand on the tower. "The inside is completely intact. And it's huge!"

"That fox thingy went in through a window. I say we climb up there and give it a look," Sokka decided, staring up at the tower.

"I say you guys go ahead without me," Toph replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I've held books before. And I've got to tell you, they don't exactly do it for me," Toph shrugged, causing Katara to wince.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Katara spoke sheepishly as they prepared to head into the library.

"Let me know if they have something you can listen to," Toph smiled, turning around.

Sokka tied the end of a spool of rope to his boomerang before throwing it up the side of the tower. After it wrapped around a column, Sokka tugged on the rope to ensure that it would hold, before leading the way up the tower. Azara followed up after him, Katara, Aang, and Zei trailing behind them.

Sokka reached the window and pulled himself up to sit in the windowsill before turning around. Holding out a hand for Azara, Sokka pulled her up next to him, his hands hovering over her waist for a moment, before they turned to help Katara and Zei up, Aang hopping up with his airbending. With everyone on the windowsill, Sokka pulled the rope up and threw it inside the library.

Professor Zei led the way down the rope, followed by Aang, and then Azara, Sokka, and Katara. As they descended down into the library, Azara's eyes widened at the sheer size of the building. "Toph wasn't kidding," she mumbled as Zei grew more excited by the passing minute.

"Oh, it's breathtaking!" Zei gasped out, nearly dropping from the rope. "The spirit spared no expense in designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses!" Azara rolled her eyes as Aang and Sokka snickered at Zei's statement. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. We just like architecture," Aang replied, an innocent smile on his face.

"As do I." They reached the bottom of the rope and stared out at the expansive library, unsure of which direction to proceed in. "My word! The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol," Professor Zei stated, leading the group over to a mosaic of an owl, Wan Shi Tong. The rest of the group looked at him curiously as Zei smiled sheepishly. "Eh, nice owl."

The sound of rustling caused the group to scatter. Sokka, Azara, and Katara hid behind one pillar as Aang pulled Zei behind another. The sound of a loud thud caused Azara to hold in a breath. "I know you're back there," a raspy voice called out, causing Azara to share concerned looks with Katara and Sokka.

"Hello, I'm Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se University," Zei introduced, walking out from behind the pillar and towards Wan Shi Tong.

"You should leave the way you came. Unless you want to become a stuffed head of anthropology," Wan Shi Tong threatened, causing Professor Zei to gulp and hold his neck. Deciding to intervene, Sokka led the way out from behind the pillars and towards the large owl spirit.

"Are you the spirit who brought this library to the physical world?" Sokka asked as they approached the spirit, who looked perturbed to say the least.