The last man, seeing how easily his friends had been struck down, hesitated. He sent a last arrow Talon’s way, which made him duck, and then the Mongol turned and began to run back to the cover of the buildings. At sixty paces he fell with an arrow in his back. None of the Mongols moved as Talon took up his former place behind the dead sentries, a good sixty paces from the inn, and no one else appeared, so he waited.
He knew the Mongols could escape out the back, but there was nothing to be done about that. Their horses were safely hidden, so they couldn’t ride off anywhere. If they tried to come for him on foot he could keep his distance and pick them off, as he had just demonstrated. No one seemed to want to test his accuracy any more. He glanced back at the trail to the monastery. Where was Hsü?
Then he noticed a movement at the head of the trail. Men with shaved heads in dark, voluminous tunics were running in a group, brandishing an assortment of spears, halberds and other long devices with a wide range of ugly looking hooks and points. He could see Hsü at the head of the group and waved, while at the same time keeping an eye on the inn.
The monks raced the last few hundred paces to gather around Talon, and Hsü greeted him. “You appear to have been busy,” he said in his usual understated manner, glancing around at the corpses dotted around the field.
Talon was glad to see him. “I didn’t like the idea of them leaving before you had a chance to meet them, my friend.” Talon grinned, recognizing the abbot and a couple of the other monks.
“We came for a fight!” The abbot told him in slow Cantonese, and waved his spear.
Talon looked doubtful. Hsü grinned. “If we can get those Mongols to come out and fight, you will see something interesting,” he said.
At a command from the abbot, the monks spread out in a line and faced the inn. Talon remained mounted and watched. It was not long before the door opened again, but this time it was only Muunokhoi and one other man who walked cautiously onto the wooden walkway; the man who accompanied Muunokhoi called out something in Chinese.
“They want to parley,” Hsü said to Talon, who shrugged. “About what?” he asked.
Hsü grinned at him. “I’ll try to find out,” he said.
He began a shouted exchange of words with the two men, which finished with him shaking his head and calling out one last time. Clearly he was annoyed.
“What was that all about?” Talon asked.
“He told us that he has experienced warriors with him and that they will cut us to pieces if we do not give them back their horses and allow them to leave in peace. They do not want to hurt some innocent monks,” Hsü reported with a sardonic smile.
“What did you tell him?” Talon asked, as he watched more Mongols come out and spread out in front of the building. He counted thirteen men. His own group numbered ten, himself included.
“Perhaps we should let them go?” he said doubtfully.
“You know as well as I that once they are mounted they will break their word and kill us all,” Hsü snorted in disgust.
“Yes, yes I do, but I don’t like the idea of monks getting involved with these barbarians, Hsü. It isn’t their fight,” Talon said.
Hsü said something to the monks nearby. They began to laugh and some cheerfully brandished their odd looking spears at the Mongols. The abbot indicated Talon and spoke rapidly to Hsü, who turned back to Talon. “The Abbot respectfully declines your invitation to leave, but begs that you remain on your horse with your bow to make sure the Mongols cannot use theirs. We will deal with the rest.”
Talon shrugged and said, “So be it. God protect you, my friend, because here they come!”
Muunokhoi had drawn his sword and now shouted at his men. They began to run towards the monks in a clumsy rush. For the second time he realized that these people, born to the saddle, were not well suited to fighting on foot.
Well, he would see now if the monks were justified in their confidence. He drew and shot an arrow at one Mongol who had remained behind and was preparing to use his bow. The arrow struck the man in the shoulder and he fell spinning, dropping his weapon. The other Mongols screamed savage battle cries as they rushed towards the monks, who at a shouted command from the abbot adopted stances that looked suspiciously like those Talon had learned in the Dojo. He shook his head. Hsü had known exactly of what he spoke.
Then the Mongol line arrived and it became a free for all. Talon took down two more men who were contemplating using their bows, and then watched. The monks were adept with their weapons and incredibly fast. They would scream almost in the face of their opponents as they struck, and within seconds Mongol warriors were thrown, tripped or disabled and ruthlessly finished off by the monks.
Two Mongols charged up to the abbot, who calmly waited until they were almost upon him. Before Talon’s astonished gaze there was a blur of movement and one warrior fell back clutching his leg, having dropped his sword, while the other found himself staggering back under the onslaught of the abbot’s attack. The Mongol whirled his sword and shouted angrily at the abbot but could not penetrate his defenses. Talon noticed that the other opponent had regained his sword and was creeping up behind the preoccupied abbot. Talon sent an arrow his way which took him down, and seconds later the other fell to a well struck blow to the chest from the abbot. All around Talon the monks were dealing with the Mongols as though they were simply practicing. It was a no contest from the start.
Talon stared in utter astonishment at the bodies lying on the ground, some groaning, while others were still. He then noticed Hsü facing off against Muunokhoi. Hsü was using his skills developed at the dojo, so Talon merely had to wait and watch with interest. When Muunokhoi rushed in, hoping to finish Hsü, he found his blade struck aside, and then his head was separated from his body in one savage swipe from Hsü’s sword. The body stood upright for a long moment, and then toppled over to join the other Mongols on the bloody ground. Talon was impressed.
The monks began to cheer, waving their bloody weapons in the air and dancing about in unrestrained joy. Talon just shook his head and laughed at Hsü. He dismounted and they embraced. “You are a warrior merchant, it seems to me, Hsü,” Talon said with a laugh.
“As are you; and now do you believe me about these kind and gentle people?” Hsü asked.
“I am in awe of these people,” Talon stated firmly. “I would never have believed it had I not seen it with my own two eyes!”
“Perhaps they have the spirit of the dragon within them?” Hsü grinned back at him.
“Of that I am in no doubt whatsoever,” Talon laughed.
“You too, Talon; there is a dragon within you now; its spirit is with you, along with that of the lion you slew when you were a boy.” Talon had told him of that fight while at sea.
*****
It took most of the morning to dispose of the dead and attend to their own wounded, of which there were few. The people in the inn had been slaughtered to a man, the women with them. There was anger among the monks. The abbot ordered his men to dispatch any of the wounded Mongols, saying that there was no purpose in sending any of them back to their own land and he wouldn’t keep prisoners. He and his men seemed very impressed at the manner in which Talon had disposed of the sentries, as well as setting the trap and hiding the horses.
“He calls you a Renzhe, Talon,” Hsü said with a smile. When Talon looked puzzled he explained, “I told you about Nippon Ninja once, remember?” Talon nodded.
“That is what the abbot means.”
By now Hsü was concerned about the delay to his journey and explained this to the abbot, who understood. “He told me to depart immediately. They will deal with all of this before the General arrives, if indeed he even hears of the Mongol incursion. I will not tell him of the incident today, as it would complicate things,” Hsü told Talon. “That man Muunokhoi is going to disappear completely, and his chief Badzar is never going to know what happened. It will be as though he was devoured by China!”
Talon lik
ed the sound of that. “Hmm, by a Chinese dragon?”
Hsü clearly thought that was very amusing and told the abbot, who roared with laughter and passed it along to the other monks, who fell about laughing.
“We must get to the horses, take some provisions and leave right away. I, too, am concerned,” Talon told Hsü when the laughter had subsided.
They left with the monks waving to them, and with the blessings of the abbot.
The Game of Go.
A stone or solidly connected group of stones of one color is captured
And removed from the board when all the intersections
Directly adjacent to it are occupied by the enemy.
(Capture of the enemy takes precedence over self capture)
Chapter Thirty
A Game of Go
Talon and Hsü returned Guangzhou three weeks after the ambush to find everything back to some semblance of normal, with one notable exception: the man who greeted them at the gate was not Fang. Instead it was Qian, who, after he had bowed deeply, said, “Greetings, Lord Meng. I wish to report with deep sorrow the death of Master Fang. I am assisting with his former duties at the request of Lord Meng Fuling and my Sensei.”
The activity at the gate alerted Fuling, who had been expecting them. He hurried over and bowed respectfully, then said, “Welcome home, Father. We were hoping you could be here before now, but no matter. I shall explain everything, if you will come with me?”
Hsü said, “I shall be glad to come with you, Fuling, but first I must speak with Talon.”
He took Talon by the arm and said quietly, “I suspect that shall be very busy the next few days, Talon. You should go and be with your friends and work with Jiaya; I shall send him over as soon as he is free. There is much you have to do to prepare to leave. We will meet up soon, I promise. Give me a couple of days to sort things out.” Talon nodded and they clasped hands.
“I would not have missed the trip for anything, Hsü. Thank you,” he said. They both smiled and parted.
Talon handed off his horse to a servant and then made his way towards the guest house. He had barely made it across the courtyard when there was an excited cry and Rav’an came flying out of the entrance to throw herself into his arms.
“You are back! How wonderful!” she exclaimed, giving him a heartfelt kiss. “I am so glad to see you, my Talon!” He held her very tight and almost carried her as they walked back to the guest house. He grinned happily down at her upturned face and kissed her again.
“Oh, we have kept busy,” she laughed. “Reza is down at the docks with the men. Jiaya is with him helping to prepare the ship. The monsoon is changing, you know.”
He glanced up at the sky, which was today clear and almost cloud free. “I suppose it is,” he said; there was reluctance in his tone. She squeezed his arm in understanding.
The next person to rush out and greet him was Rostam, who charged out of the house screaming with glee and threw himself into Talon’s arms. He tossed his son up into the air and spun around, holding the happy boy at arm’s length, hugely enjoying the moment. “You have grown at least two hands since I left,” Talon laughed.
Rav’an stood by and smiled at their antics. She was very happy to see father and son in this manner and wanted it to last. Eventually Talon put the boy down and asked him what he had been doing since he left. Whereupon the boy began to chatter excitedly about his adventures with Lun, the kite, the ball games, and so forth. The three of them entered the guest living room holding hands. He looked around the main room with pleasure. It was good to be back in this sparse but very elegantly furnished building with his family again.
He looked at Rav’an, once again admiring the perfect oval of her face, and the huge gray eyes that returned his gaze with an expression of great love and a smile that made his heart melt. He reached for her and impulsively kissed her again, right in front of Rostam, who squeaked with surprise and became very embarrassed.
Then it was greetings from Salem, who wept when she saw him and whom he embraced, to her acute embarrassment. Jannat came running and embraced him with enthusiasm. Talon laughed and raised his eyebrows at Rav’an over Jannat’s shoulder. She cocked her head at him and pretended to glower. “My, what a welcome I am receiving!” he exclaimed with a laugh, as he pushed Jannat to arm’s length to take a look at her. “You look well, Jannat,” he said.
“We are all so happy you have returned. There is so much to tell you, Talon,” she said excitedly. “Rav’an is such a warrior! I have seen it!”
Talon blinked and stared at Rav’an. “What’s been going on?” he asked.
Rav’an frowned and waved her hand dismissively. “Jannat is right; we do have a lot to tell, but it can wait until Reza and the boys are back. Now Talon, you look tired and dusty. You should have a good bath, and then we can all sit down and tell each other what we have been doing,” Rav’an replied, signaling Jannat with her eyes not to say more at this time. Jannat understood and came to stand next to her.
Talon liked that idea of a bath very much. He handed his bow and his sword to Rostam, who had been hanging around, and told him to take them up to the room. The delighted boy carried the two weapons proudly up the stairs.
The last part of their journey had been hard. Hsü had set the pace, and he had been determined to get back to Guangzhou as quickly as possible to counter whatever mischief his enemies might have concocted. He had discussed the situation with Talon, who understood from the brief outline that Hsü had a fight on his hands and very few friends in high places to help him.
However, he had cheerfully told Talon, he had a few tricks up his sleeve that might still confound them. There had been no news on the road of the Governor, whether he had recovered or not, or if he was even still alive. If he was, it was crucial for Hsü to present the evidence as soon as he could to forestall Wu’s attempt at seizing power.
After a refreshing bath, Talon and Rav’an retired to their private room, where he almost tore her clothes off and they made passionate love, ending with a long, low, drawn out wail from Rav’an as she peaked with him. They lay quietly in each other’s arms after their lovemaking was over. “I hope no one comes in to find out if you are all right,” Talon said with a grin.
“It’s your fault, my Talon. It has been much too long, in any case.” She grinned back at him with mischief is those expressive eyes of hers. Then she raised her head and supported her chin on her elbow. “We are all very keen to know if you saw your dragon.”
“Er, yes, I did. Yes, I did see a dragon,” he said. He sounded too vague to Rav’an’s ears.
“Well, did you or did you not see a dragon? I want to hear all about it, the dragon I mean, before we go down and you tell everyone about your journey,” she said.
“Well... it’s like this. It’s white all over...” Talon tried to describe the dragon he had seen at the temple, implying without quite saying it was a living dragon he had seen, but he couldn’t keep up the pretense for long. Rav’an had been looking at him with a dawning suspicion in her eyes as he spoke. Finally she interrupted him. “I know you, Talon. Better than anyone else in the world, and I know you are hiding something. You’d better tell me, and now!” She thumped him on the chest with her fist.
“All right, all right, I’ll tell you! Stop beating me to death!” he protested.
“It wasn’t a real dragon.” His eyes couldn’t meet hers.
“Not real?” she gasped, her mouth opened in an O of astonishment, and her eyes went wide with amusement. “We all thought that for sure Hsü would at least show you a live dragon.”
“It’s all Hsü’s fault. He said he would show me a dragon when we got to China. But he didn’t actually say he would show me a live dragon. There are no dragons in China, at least no one has ever seen one. Sooo, he showed me a huge stone one at the entrance to a monastery. It was a beautiful image. They might have looked like that once upon a time. I nearly killed him, I was so annoyed; but, well, it seemed rather fun
ny after I had calmed down. He apologized and I made him keep it secret,” Talon concluded on a sheepish note.
“Hah! Well your secret is also safe with me.” Rav’an didn’t sound sincere enough to Talon.
“Do you promise?”
“I do, but that Hsü is a bad man. He manipulated us to bring him here.”
“I’ve noticed Hsü is quite skilled at that. He once told me that diplomacy is the ability to allow others to do it your way. He seems to have succeeded in this case! Have you any regrets, my Love?”
“None whatsoever! In fact, I could almost stay here forever, and so could Jannat. It is so, so full of life and beauty,” she said, biting his neck gently. “You aren’t too tired are you?” she murmured.
He leaned down and nuzzled her belly button and then kissed his way down to her mound. “I have missed doing this to you,” he murmured as he began to explore her. She could not help shuddering, and then she groaned and arched her back, snatching at the cushions. “Ah, but so have I, my Lover!” she gasped.
*****
There was a joyful reunion that evening when Reza and his ‘boys’, Yosef and Dar’an, returned from the harbor. They ate the evening meal in the guest house that night. Rav’an, having talked to Lihua, had said that the family of Lord Meng would be better off left to themselves that evening, as Hsü had a lot of catching up to do.
Talon wanted to know from the beginning what had happened and how Fang had died. First one and then the other gave their version of the story, and slowly he built up a picture of that desperate evening. He beamed with pride at the others’ unstinting praise for Rav’an as the bow woman of the moment. Jannat gazed at Rav’an with adoring eyes. She was just a little tipsy from the wine when she said, “I want to be like my sister Rav’an someday, a mother and a warrior too.”
“If you stay with Reza much longer that shouldn’t be a problem,” Rav’an laughed to hide her embarrassment.
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