Book 2: Earth

Chapter 14- Intervention

Gaoling was one of the few places left in the Earth Kingdom that had been lucky enough to avoid being torched at the end of the hundred-year war, as it had been occupied by the armies of Ruon-Jian and Azula shortly after the fall of Ba Sing Se. As the only major settlement left standing in the area besides the rebellious city of Omashu, it became a natural hub for weary war refugees, as well as incoming Fire Nation colonists and garrison troops in the Southern realm of Azula's domains. Because of the influx of new citizens, Gaoling flourished over time, sometimes being compared to the other major Fire Nation colonies on the continent, such as Yu Dao or New Ozai.

The city too, had evolved in the after-war years thanks to the reconstruction efforts of the occupying forces; Older stone Earth Kingdom-style buildings were supplemented by the red pagoda-style roofs of the Fire Nation, representing a unique blending of the two cultures. The New Gaoling marketplace was a prime example of this, as it was very stylish, modern and well-kept.

It was also on fire.

At first, the bystanders and garrison troops had no idea what was going on. One minute, the scene was peaceful and mundane, like every day in the marketplace, and then suddenly, an explosion of flame ignited a cart, then another, and then another. It didn't take long before the rest of the market began collapsing into a frenzied panic, with citizens scrambling for the safety of their homes while the guards helplessly tried to stem the crowd, but to no avail.

All of it seemed to originate from a very well-frequented cabbage cart, which was now raining burning cabbage heads as a very hot heated Southern Raider began chasing after two would-be customers.

Korra hurled another fire blast that abruptly destroyed another cart, throwing pieces of flaming cabbages into the sky.

"NOOO...MY CABBAGES!" The horrified cart owner screamed, only to be knocked aside as Korra ran past him.

"Get back here!" Korra snarled, running past the prostrate merchant as he stared blankly at his ruined cart.

"Yeah, cause you're making it so appealing." Noatak snapped back, expertly blocking one of Korra's attacks by bending the tea from a nearby kettle into a makeshift shield.

Tarrlok backed up his brother, bumping into a blacksmith who was drenching his newly forged sword in a tub of water.

"Sorry, but I'll need to borrow this." Tarrlok ignored the protests of the blacksmith as he unceremoniously lifted the water from the tub into the air, and throwing it down onto the ground, converting it into a slick sheet of ice in front of their would-be pursuer.

"Why you-" Korra started, but she didn't finish as it was too late to change her stride. One step onto the ice sent her barreling towards a platoon of Fire Nation guards, all of them falling together in a mangled clump of bodies and armor.

Admiring his quick thinking, Tarrlok quickly felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Don't just stand there! Come on Tarrlok!" Noatak snapped, quickly pointing to more guards that were approaching the brothers.

Korra meanwhile, emerged from the groaning bodies of the town guards and quickly resumed her pursuit. Her eyes red with fury.

"Kori so gonna kill us..." Tarrlok mumbled as he picked himself up and started to run with his brother, whilst dodging more fireballs along the way.

___________________________________________

"I'm so going to kill those two...what the heck were they thinking?" Kori grumbled as she watched the sudden outburst of flame from the Market square.

It was one simple task, pick up some food from that cart. What the heck went wrong there? Still, there was no time to dwell on that. What mattered now was how to extract the two brothers from this situation, without blowing her cover. Already, more guards were converging towards the chaos, and one of them, a sergeant she recognized from her trips around here, bowed to her and quickly tugged her by the arm.