Snippet #2581518

Sotaro took advantage of the close range of the ambush to favor his greater skill at hand-to-hand combat. The regular soldiers in green uniforms fell easily enough, while the guerrilla attackers required greater use of his sword. He made it a point to not allow them close enough to strike more than once. He briefly wondered if his armor was enough to protect against whatever they did to block bending and paralyze otherwise fit men. Doubtful. No time to wonder, though - using the momentum of a previous swing, Sotaro slashed one of the Shadow Palms across his torso, brought him to the ground with a forward kick, and finished him with a thrust through the throat with his blade.

Having no bending skills of their own to depend on, the regular Fire Nation infantry was able to shrink down the guerrilla force relying solely on standard martial skills. The Shadow Palms were unable to use their unique abilities to their advantage, and had to face the full force of soldiers whose training focused entirely on non-bending fighting styles.

When the band that remained retreated, Sotaro allowed himself to use his bending. Using the small campfire as a fire source, Sotaro had more energy to dedicate to making the flames larger. This gave his archers enough light to aim by and enough fuel to fire flaming arrows at Qin’s group.

When they got too far for the unnaturally large campfire’s light to reach, Sotaro shot fireballs. Then the the remaining men, perhaps half a dozen strong, disappeared over the side of the cliff. They had actually jumped.

Allowing the fire beside him to return to its original state, Sotaro breathed the cool night air deeply. The intense heat and roar of fire subsided. A sheen of sweat covered the his face, as well as all those of his archers.

“Good,” Sotaro breathed. “The rocks will finish them off. Let’s go.”

That Earth Kingdom map had proven more useful than intended. Although they didn't cover the entire riverbed, the jagged stones around this area of the river were sharp and numerous enough to be deadly. The chances of anyone avoiding them were small.

Time was running short, and Sotaro’s next challenge was getting to Omashu on time with no further incident. And before infection took some of the injured. They could still serve well if he found a healer.