While Team Avatar was staying in a forest near Hama's village, Toph heard what she thought were people screaming for help under the mountain, but the theory was dismissed by the rest of Team Avatar as unlikely. Later on, when Katara left with Hama to learn more about waterbending, the others set out to talk to Ding to try to figure out what happened to him. When he said that he was guided to a cavern up the mountain, Toph realized that the missing villagers must have been the source of the screaming she had heard before. Toph located the cave using her seismic sense, and inside, they found the missing villagers held in the prison. They told them that Hama was responsible for their imprisonment. The group realized Katara could be in potential danger, so Aang and Sokka left to save Katara wh