Business was starting to pick up in Shizue and Azomes' tea shop, and Azome was still caught in traffic coming back from the stadium after a successful pro-bending match.  An old man finished sipping his tea just before the evening crowd started to line up, as he often did.  He had been a regular customer at the sisters' shop for about a month now, and came in almost every day at around the same time.  One would assume that this was how he kept some semblance of a schedule now that he was, ostensibly, retired.  He stood up and approached the counter even though he had already paid and slid Shizue a white envelope.  "Just a little something extra for you." he said.  Before Shizue could object, he was already through the door.  He was surprisingly sprightly for a retiree.  

Masika had just gotten home from her job and was sitting in front of her window, the decent view being one of the nicer features of this apartment.  She heard her mail slot open and abruptly slam shut.  A plain envelope sat in front of her door. 

The bounty hunter known to most only as Stalker was sitting in a local bar which was frequented by his type.  A rough looking black-haired woman with prominent facial scars took an adjoining bar stool and addressed him without turning her head in his direction.  "If you want money, take this and do what it says."  She spoke firmly but quickly.  She got up and walked out of the bar, leaving an envelope next to the bounty hunter.  

In the basement of the same bar, which the bartender would insist was only used to store supplies, a lone thief leaned against a wall after having been tipped that someone who had work for him wanted to meet him here.  The same man who had been in Shizue's tea shop wordlessly entered the bar and handed the bartender an envelope, hidden between several large bills.  The bartender casually said "Say no more, I'll be right back."  He walked into the cellar where the thief was staying and handed him the envelope and some of the money, then grabbed a bottle which used to be filled with very expensive alcohol.  "Clearly you're a man of discerning taste, this is the best stuff we've got."  The old man took the bottle and left.

[url=http://diversi.nu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/journey-game-screenshot-13-b.jpg]An odd, hooded individual with no clear features[/url] entered the humble building that was Alysia's air nomad center and approached her desk.  Without saying anything, they placed an envelope on it and walked out.

Inside each of these envelopes was a letter which was individually addressed to the recipients.  Each letter read:

"We are contacting you in regards to a matter of the utmost urgency.  We have witnessed your unique talents and are reaching out to you specifically in the hopes that you will respond to us in our most dire hour of need.  Should you choose to aid us, we will pay you any price you ask to the greatest extent of our abilities, be it your weight in gold, a specific favor, or the knowledge that our organization is forever in your debt.  If you have chosen to accept our request for help, come to the address listed below by midnight tonight.  A representative from our organization will be in the basement of the building."
Each of these letters bore the symbol of the Order of the White Lotus.

The address was of an abandoned temple in a slum on the outskirts of the city.