5 Enter Zurum the Torturer

Cheng comes to a sudden stop as the path turns sharply towards the river. Lee and Kodok follow his lead, crouching in front of a cluster of bushes. They peek over the top of the shrubbery to see two men in black and dark crimson armor with red accents blocking the path. A matching helmet with a white mask hides their head and faces.

"Fire nation soldiers," Lee hisses, clenching a fist.

"Are these the guys you were worried about?" Kodok asks, uncorking his flask.

"Unfortunately, yes," Cheng admits.

"How can you tell?"

"Their symbol." Cheng points to a crest on the breast plate of the armor the soldiers are wearing: a fist holding a flaming axe.

"We can probably take these two from here," Lee notes.

The earth bender's hand clenches into a fist as he focuses his eyes on the two guards. Both Kodok and lee glance towards Cheng.

"What are you waiting for?" the swordsman asks.

Immediately, they launch a volley of rocks and ice at the two armored men. Caught off guard, both fire nation troops fall to the ground before they can make a sound. A resounding thud confirms that they are unconscious.

"I thought you would try to stop us," Lee answers Cheng.

"Or have a different plan," Kodok adds.

"There isn't really a plan," Cheng sighs. "We are going to have to smash every fire nation soldier we see and-" Cheng pauses and stares at the two crumpled bodies on the path. "Never mind, there is a plan now. Hold off on throwing water and rocks at anyone else."

"See," Lee says, poking Kodok's ribs with his elbow. "I knew he would have a plan."

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

"Not at all! I'm the earth, Kodok is the water, and you are the plan. Together, we make the Gaoling Trio!"

"Are you sure that you want to be called-"

"This isn't the time to argue about it. What's the plan?"

"I'm going to tie you up and deliver you to the fire nation."

"What? Hey, I get you don't like the name, but isn't that a bit harsh?"

"I think it's a bit out of line," Kodok agrees.

"Kodok," Cheng says with a sly grin. "You are going to help me."

Minutes later, Cheng and Kodok are dressed in the fire nation army uniforms. They drag Lee into the enemy camp with ropes wrapped around his wrists but not tied. A few soldiers look up at them as the trio lumbers past, but none of them pay close attention to what's happening.

"They sure seem relaxed," Lee whispers.

"It's not often that random benders take out your lookouts and walk into camp wearing their uniforms," Cheng hisses in response. "However, whispering to your prisoners is suspicious."

Lee pouts, but shuts his mouth. All three of them are silent as Cheng leads them to a large red tent. He pushes back both flaps that contain the fire nation emblem, a large black three-pronged flame in a circle, on one and the fist holding a flaming axe on the other and steps inside.

"General Zurum," Cheng shouts, standing at attention. Kodok struggles to follow his lead. "This man was approaching us on the trail."

A large man with balding black hair and a thick beard turns to look at them. He looks lee up and down twice before responding, "Is he a bender?"

"He tried to flee but never made an attempt to earthbend, sir."

"Better not take any chances, we have the others hanging by their wrists in the forest just north of here. Pick an empty tree and string him up with the others."

"Right away, sir."

Cheng shoves Lee back through the flaps and pulls Kodok along. They begin the trek along the shoreline of the river in silence. Peeking over at Kodok, Cheng sees his face contort with anger.

"Easy," Chang cautions. "We can drop the act once we break the tree line."

It only takes a minute to clear the nearest tree, and lee rips his hands away from the swordsman as soon as they are out of sight.

"What was that?" Lee hisses.

"That was Zurum," Cheng responds. "He always hangs his prisoners up some how. Earth benders can't bend a rock they can't touch."

"How did you say you knew this guy?" Kodok questions with narrowing eyes.

"We met once just before I was stationed in Omashu."

"You seemed to keep it together well. How exactly did you meet him?"

"It was talk with him to find out where the prisoners are or join them in the trees. If you really have to know, I saw him conducting an interrogation."

"He was interrogating you?" Lee asks. His eyes widen.

"Thankfully, I wasn't the one he needed information from. It was terrifying to see."

"What did he do to you after?"

"Me made me tea. Now, can we focus on saving the villagers hanging by their wrists in this forest?"

"Tea?" Kodok echos.

"Yes, he makes terrible tea and kills people that let his prisoners free. Let's get everyone out of here!"

An agitated Cheng leads the trio in between the trees. Their pace quickens as they start to hear people moaning ahead of them. Eventually, they stumble across a orchard of men, woman, and children in ragged brown tunics.

Their cloths look baggy on them, and any skin showing is tight against the bones. None of them look far from deaths door. A few cry softly, but most of them simply hang their head in defeat.

Enraged, the tree refugees begin cutting them down. Cheng cuts the ropes suspending a mother an child. The former begs him to spare her sons life, which is when Cheng sheds his borrowed uniform. Kodok swirls water around himself to cut the red cloths from his body before sending it out to free more villagers. Lee growls as he lifts rocky platforms for the people to stand on before shredding the ropes with sharp pebbles.

"You are an earth bender?" a middle aged man with graying brown hair gasps.

"Yeah, we are getting you out of here," Lee grunts.

"Did the resistance send you?"

"Resistance?"

"Never mind!"

The man scurries to join a woman and young boy nearby. They huddle together and stare at Cheng, who swirls his broadsword to free the last villager.

"You need to get out of here," Cheng says.

Excitement, hope, and joy flash in the eyes of each villager. However, it only lasts a moment. Fear returns as the people look beyond their saviors at a group of five fire benders approaching. Zurum leads them with a menacing grin on his face.

"Well, what's happening here?" the fire nation general sneers. "You have some nerve to try to steal from me."

"Steal? Since when do these people belong to you," Lee spits. His voice and hands tremble with rage.

"Ahh, another stubborn earth bender. When will you people learn that your defeat is inevitable? The sooner you give up the faster this war will be over."

"That's never going to happen."

"Is that a challenge?" Zurum grins. His eyes glance over at Kodok and then Cheng.

The generals eyes widen as he glares at the swordsman. As he opens his mouth to speak, Lee unleashes a volley of stones at the fire benders. Flames illuminate the cloud of dust kicked up by Lee's bending, and the fighting begins.

Kodok blocks a counter attack with a wall of water. Fortunately, the river runs nearby so that he can draw enough water to douse all of the enemy's flames. They are undeterred and surge forward. Cheng intercepts them and keeps them at bay with a stroke of his broad sword.

"Lee, get these people out of here!" Cheng orders, rolling sideways to avoid a flaming fist.

Without hesitation, Lee lifts the ground around the villagers and pushes it through the jungle. Trees topple as he plows a plateau of earth away from the battle. Villagers scream as a fire nation soldier jumps onto the platform, but Kodok wraps a water whip around their pursuers leg to throw him into the river and submerge him.

Trees erupt into flames as the fighting continues. Fire bending destroys everything in the area without discrimination. Kodok and Cheng fight back to back to keep their attackers at bay on the shoreline. Water from the river rises to block fiery projectiles, and anyone who tries to get close finds the point of a sword at their throat.

Suddenly, the attacks stop. As the smoke clears all four of the five fire benders are standing across a charred clearing. Zurum holds out a hand to signal his men to stop attacking.

"You know this is pointless," Zurum shouts. "That water bender can't stop us forever, and we have more men coming here from our camp."

"Then why stop attacking?" Cheng calls in response. "Letting us rest seems counterintuitive for you."

"I can't kill someone before they've given me information. That's something you should be familiar with after my stay in Omashu, General."

"What is he talking about?" Kodok hisses.

"True, what are you hoping to find out? Perhaps we can make a deal." Cheng responds to the large man.

"I don't make deals," Zurum responds with devilish grin. "My methods are more one-sided."

"Kodok," Cheng whispers as the fire nation general continues to talk. "Take us down stream."

"What?" Kodok grunts.

Suddenly, Cheng turns and tackles the water bender into the river. They plunge into the frigid water, and Kodok instinctively bends the water around them upwards so that they are riding on a wave. Understanding what the swordsman was trying to say, he pushes the wave downstream faster.