Avatar; The Royal Firebender.

The North Under Siege (pt 3.)

Arnook listens with abject horror as to what Pakku is relaying to him, the information that the Dragon of the West has provided the most crucial piece of intelligence that they could have gotten for this siege. Though being out numbered nearly ten to one is going to make garrisoning men near the spirit oasis impossible. The firenation has attacked with 245 dragon class warships and five empire class battleships with 100,000 men. Zuko's advice about utilizing any and all waterbenders came far too soon, the healers and other women who have the capability to waterbend could never learn enough proficiency to fend off an invasion force of this magnitude. All men between 16 and 70 are on the front lines, and with barely an army of 10,000 of his own the chances of the watertribe surviving this day are looking even more bleak. Defeat means another bending discipline can be wiped out, the death of the moon spirit, his death, and maybe even the death of Princess Yue should the moon spirit Tui be killed by the mad admiral.

"How do you know we can trust General Iroh?" Arnook asks, holding his beard in deep thought as he scratches it. "He besieged Ba Sing Sei and broke through the outer walls. How can we trust a word that he says?"

"I cannot reveal all the details since you're not a member of the society that transcends the four nations, however what I can say is that Iroh is one of the eight grand lotuses of the white lotus society and I am one as well. The information he has given us does come with a catch however." Pakku explains as he produces a blue painted white lotus tile from within his robe.

"What would that be? And why should I buy into this crap about a secret society based around a strategy game?" Arnook snaps back, the stress of the situation beginning to show in the older chieftain.

"Have I, in your entire life, ever lied to you? I've known you since the day you were born Arnook, hell I was the one who helped your father carry your mother to the shaman so she could deliver you. You know damn well I'd never lie to you, you're like a son to me." Pakku responds, choosing his words carefully so as to not stress Arnook any more than he already is.

Arnook pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply, "You're right, I'm sorry for the outburst Pakku, we're in an impossible position right now. Hahn and his men haven't returned from the assassination mission I sent them on, and I fear that they were found out, captured or executed." He pauses for a moment, quickly knocking back a cup of Tulpi to calm his nerves. Feeling the alcohol warm his belly, he takes a deep breath before speaking again. "What does General Iroh ask in return for this information?"

"To be released so he can join Prince Zuko." Pakku answers, Arnook quickly refills the cup of the alcoholic beverage and downs it as well. "As well as mercy for any men we capture. They're only following orders."

"Lon'qu and the others won't like this." Arnook responds with an exasperated sigh. "The men will be taken care of, we're not monsters like the firenation so you can let him know that at least." He responds, taking another moment to contemplate this next decision carefully. "Release him, and escort the old general to where Avatar Zuko is. I hope I'm not making a grave mistake allowing this. You better go before I change my mind... I have a bad feeling about this."

Pakku doesn't answer but merely bows slightly before exiting, leaving the chieftain by himself. The weight of the war has dragged itself down on both men heavily, "Arnook looks as if he aged twenty years in a single night." Pakku thinks to himself as he exits the longhouse heading back towards the guards barracks. The conversation between the two men had taken up a great deal of the morning before Pakku could even get a word in about Zhao's plans. Now he has to put his faith in the boy prince as well as the old general, both of whom are from the nation that started the war in the first place. Though Zuko has proven himself that he is trustworthy by sinking 18 of the 250 invading firenation ships. According to Iroh, the invasion force is a hundred thousand men strong and each ship has 400 men aboard. What surprised Pakku the most is how willing Zuko was to go and sink the ships of his own nation. It's possible that he doomed over 7,000 men to drown in the icy depths through destroying the ships with his team. Iroh on the other hand, while a grand lotus within the order was still the man who took down the outer wall of Ba Sing Sei.