Clash of Alliances

by Pierre Dimaculangan

  ​“And you said you’ve worked with them before? I bet that was rather engaging,” Buff Baby said to Sun Xin.

  ​“It was only a temporary alliance with their previous leader, Bao. I was never one of them. Like I said, it’s a long story.”

  ​“You’ve got some serious stones to play with that kind of fire, mate,” said Buff Baby.

  ​ Xin simply shrugged. “In any case, I am not surprised that the Shan Gui is fully on-board with the Terukk agenda. Their numbers have bloomed in recent years, and the Pale Foreigners are providing ideal conditions that the White Lotus Society and all the other orders have long awaited. If we are unsuccessful in our mission, the Ming Dynasty is doomed.” The team fell silent and looked to each other. “If you do not want to follow me, I understand,” said Xin. “You have my permission to depart and I will not think less of you. If not, then pack up. We must leave immediately and complete the mission to warn the capital of the Foreigners’ arrival.”

  ​“What about their arrival?” Wen Ping asked.

  ​Sun Xin paused for a moment before answering. “They’re coming after autumn has taken its course. That isn’t a lot of time. The necromancer is still at large and we will have to deal with him too.” The rest of the team looked to each other without saying another word. Not wanting to encounter the necromancer or his puppets again, they moved, picked up their belongings, and stood ready to proceed with the operation.

  ​“Very well then… let’s depart, shall we?” said Xin in his steely tone.

  5 Tables Turned

  Fa Lien weaved through the underground garrison of their stronghold. Deep beneath the belly of the mountain, the air was thick and heavy as if the tremendous weight of the mountain bore down upon her shoulders. Still, it was a wondrous sight to see the stronghold come to life with lights, fire, and many brave soldiers of the Shan Gui coming together in preparation for the great revolution. It had been a very long time since a congregation such as this had assembled. There were only so many times in its history that the garrison had been this alive and congested.

  ​Everywhere she tread, soldiers stopped to bow and give her a salute. Smiths would stop mid strike, their steel smoldering red-hot over the anvil. Torches and paper lanterns riddled the streets and brought a warm glow that radiated over the stronghold. Fa Lien loved it.

  ​She proceeded into higher ground and scurried up the structures that hugged the terrain. She shimmied up the tower, digging her hands and boots into the crevices and protrusions on the structure’s face. She perched on the highest ledge that overlooked the massive cavern and took in the view. She breathed in the stale air, and from the rear, felt the slightest disturbance in the draft.

  ​“Do you bear good tidings, Lotus?” Jade Lotus approached behind Fa Lien from the other side of the tower. Her cloak swayed gently with the underground breeze as she retracted the cowl that obscured her masked face.

  ​“I have discovered something, something you should see, but it may cause you to become alarmed,” she said with caution. Lotus pulled out a leather-bound book from her satchel and handed it to Fa Lien. “It’s Liu’s journal. Records of his thoughts and events from recent weeks have been outlined here. Turn to Week 3, Day 5.”

  ​Fa Lien turned the pages as she glanced to notice Jade Lotus’s worried body language. She was hunched over with her fists clenched around her sides with thumbs curved outward.

  ​“You’re worrying me, sister. Are you sure you were not detected and followed?” asked Fa Lien.

  ​“Yes, I’m quite certain. I went in and swept the area clean and left without a trace. Naught but shadows fluttered past my route. I fear that nothing here is what it seems,” answered Jade Lotus. Fa Lien opened the Week 3 entry and read it under candlelight:

  Week 3, Day 5

  There are many layers to the grand scheme of the snow-skinned lords. All that transpires under their orchestration is but one step closer to the creation of the utopia, the world that men alone can never bring by themselves. I have been greatly honored to have been chosen to take part in its making. The Bringers of Illumination are rallying the outcast armies of the Underworld that will set the fires of this great change, but only for a time will they be employed. The proper balance of this new world can only be restored after they have done their part in this divinely noble cause. When all has come to fruition, they shall be brought forth as a sacrifice and I, with great esteem and honor, will ascend toward illumination and life everlasting so I and the others who have come with me may lead the outcast armies to defend and protect the new world. Holy elixirs will cleanse and restore their minds, preparing them for righteous leadership under the lord eunuchs, through the blessing of the Lords. Those who would be sacrificed must not be troubled, no, for this gift is the greatest honor one can receive in this plane. They must rejoice, be of good cheer, for their names will be remembered for ten thousand years. The White Wasp is prepared as sacrifice after the grand assault on the capital has completed.

  ​“It’s true isn’t it, Commander?” said Jade Lotus. “The eunuchs have deceived us. They are only using us to only seize command of our forces after we’ve worn out our use. We’re the top of the command chain and shall be replaced according to plan. They only want to use our warriors as cannon fodder to further their grander agenda.”

  ​ Fa Lien ripped off the page from the journal and crumpled it in her hand. She trembled with furiousness; her blood rushed to her head and her breath shivered with the discovery.

  ​“Of course… the eunuchs plan to eliminate the sect leaders so they can lead our warriors themselves. I should have seen this coming. It should have been predictable.”

  ​“But… why us? Do we not all walk the same path to reach the same prize?”

  ​“It is what they would have us believe. It will only last until we have completed our task in helping them overthrow the Ming dynasty and destroy the old world in order to make a new one. Once that is done they won’t need us anymore. It makes sense now. The sect leaders and masters are a liability and have the potential to threaten the eunuchs’ plans or question their motives. They don’t want to take any risks dealing with us. An army cannot serve two masters. They have no intention of fighting for power with the masters of the Underworld and who gets to command our armies. I knew we couldn’t trust the bastards,” growled Fa Lien. “Make preparations, and gather the sisters stationed in the surface. In three days, we are going to pay the eunuchs a visit.”

  ​Several of them, clad in black, weaved silently through the trusses and rafters that supported the chamber’s high- domed ceiling. It was dark, and the lights at the base of the chamber could not reach them. Below stood Liu Jin, who personally inspected a battalion of special operations warriors of the Shan Gui. He paced back and forth while over a thousand of them stood completely still and silent as they awaited the eunuch’s instruction. His shrill voice cut through the stale air as he indoctrinated them.

  ​“You are all instruments of a higher calling now. No longer is your allegiance to the Shan Gui alone, but to me and to the White Lords, of course. Look at what we have gifted you in exchange for your unwavering loyalty and service. You are superior creatures of speed, strength, and skill. Behold the coming of a new age and the burning of the old world. Rejoice! Rejoice!” the eunuch yelled. The warriors roared, howled, and whooped to Liu’s proclamation.

  ​High above their heads, Jade Lotus, and a squad of their Elite Guard sisterhood waited to strike. Fa Lien signaled for them to ready their blades. They each uncovered their weapons without a single sound. They awaited the perfect time to strike and save their order from the schemes of eunuchs. Fa Lien poised her body for an assassination maneuver as soon as eunuch Liu passed right beneath her. The other seven eunuchs moved in unison around him— one for each of the assassins crouched on the rafters; the opportunity was perfect and everything seemed to move in slow motion. Fa Lien raised a closed fist, but before she could signal for them to strike, Liu spun ar
ound and looked up directly at her.

  ​“I SEE YOU,” he hissed— his snake-like eyes widened and stared directly deep into her own. A dozen of the warriors that stood in the battalion leaped out of their formation and flung iron chains topped with barbed blades at Fa Lien’s position. They penetrated deep into the heavy wooden trusses and rafters that supported the chamber’s ceiling. Together, they pulled down on the chains with their enhanced strength and collapsed the wooden structures causing Fa Lien, Jade Lotus, and her squad to fall onto the stony ground. Support beams the size of tree trunks, along with large stones, were shaken loose and fell down upon them. Liu and the eunuchs leaped out the way of the falling debris. Fa Lien and her companions jumped to their feet and attempted to dive for cover but, alas, could not move swiftly enough to avoid them all. A large wooden beam pinned her to the ground, and stones covered her completely. Underneath the rubble, she heard the screams and shouts of struggle from the sisters of her elite guard. The clash of blades and the sounds of combat seeped through the cracks and she even heard Jade Lotus cursing and shouting. Fa Lien struggled to stay awake and free herself from the tremendous weight above her. It was not long until all the shouting ceased and all became silent. Fa Lien could struggle no longer. She coughed violently before passing out.

  ​She roused with a start, struggling to gasp for air when none seemed to be filling her lungs. Fa Lien growled with the great and terrible pain that surged through her back and abdomen. Her hands and feet were bound tightly, and she strained to worm her wrists and ankles from the bindings. She was careful to move carefully, being sure that no bones were broken. No sign of pain in her limbs was a good thing. She turned onto her back in the cold stone floor and felt no pain when her robes brushed against her body. She had no open wounds. It was completely dark and quiet, but she quickly realized that all of her effects were gone. Not even a lock pick remained in the folds of her robes and boots. Her breathing rate increased and the pain continued to inflict her entire body as she struggled to loosen her restraints. The sounds of her struggle were not left unheard and it was not long before company arrived.

  ​Liu and a pair of guards entered her cell located in the lowest chambers of the Shan Gui’s underground stronghold. He appeared chilling in the orange light of their torches. He looked down upon her with his hands placed on his hips. “I deeply and sincerely regret that it has come to this pitiful state, my friend,” Liu said. “Why did you make an attempt on my life? You are the leader of this proud and powerful organization and yet you have betrayed me.”

  ​“You would know all about betrayal, you filth. You are twice as treacherous for planning to kill me and the other masters from the start!” Fa Lien spat.

  ​Liu bent down to her level and gazed into her eyes. His pupils had become sharp like that of a snake and they widened in the dim lighting. “Ah yes, of course” he whispered. “I should not have left my journal lying around so carelessly. Despite what you thought you may have read in it, you are far from understanding my intentions. Were we not one in accord with this grand mission? Were we not of like-mind in the creation and establishment of a new world? If your death was my aim, I would have attempted it long ago. The eunuchs and I have been given a great responsibility to help lead your forces.”

  ​“Like hell I’ll be turning my warriors over to you. They’d rather die than take orders from a stoneless government dog. How could you possibly kill me? You’re not even a man. I ought to string you up by your own entrails,” she said.

  ​She turned her attention to the two guards who stood at her cell’s entrance. “Remember who you are! Recognize that I am your commander White Wasp. You have been deceived. This man is our enemy! Untie me at once and seize him!” The guards remained still with not even give the faintest reaction to her voice. Their eyes stared blankly into nothing and their faces remained unbothered by their leader who had been bound and injured.

  ​Liu shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you see, White Wasp? They have finally learned to recognize what is good and true for the Shan Gui. You always were a defiant one, fortunately, I am merciful and reasonable. Come into the light, Fa Lien, and see the undeniable truth. Accept my offer of illumination. I will untie your chains if you give up resisting us, and join me with your whole heart. Put an end to your struggle now.”

  ​Fa Lien lowered her head into the ground. She slumped against the wall in silence as if in deep pondering. Her face turned sour and her eyes began to water. Tears ran down her cheeks as she slid to the floor to lie on her side. She might as well give it up. There was no use in fighting what had already been ordained. “You’re right. You’re so right,” she whimpered. “I… I… I became lost in my own vain ambitions. I deceived myself. Forgive me. I truly just want nothing more than what was promised by the White Lords and take every opportunity to see it through. I realize my folly.” Fa Lien burst into tears and she cried into her hands. Liu patted her back and smiled. He removed a large knife from his waist strap and cut her restraints. He held her shoulders and helped her to her feet.

  ​“I am greatly overjoyed at your change of heart, child,” he said.

  ​Her watery eyes locked straight into his. “You know the one thing that just won’t change?”

  ​“What would that be, child?”

  ​“I still want to kill you.” In a burst of speed, she disarmed the eunuch, grabbed his knife, and forced the full length of the blade deep into his chest. The guards reacted instantly, but with great reflexive action, she outmaneuvered their approach. The first was dispatched with an open-handed strike to back of the neck, and the second swung his saber at her face. She ducked beneath the blow and landed an uppercut right into his groin. The impact burst the organs, and the guard roared in extreme agony. When he fell to his knees into a fetal position, she lifted her boot and stomped it onto the back of his head to silence his screams of pain. She grabbed a ring of keys hanging from the guard’s belt and proceeded to make her exit from the cell.

  ​Eunuch Liu groaned at the intense pain of his stab wound. It had pierced his heart all the way through but yet it was not enough to be fatal. He shouted in pain as he slowly pulled the blade from his chest. Blood burst from the wound but ceased in the next moment. He reached for a cylindrical container from his belt pouch, pulled the cork, and ingested the entire quantity. It was not long before the pain subsided and he stood to his feet feeling completely revived. The Terukk elixirs were a miracle. He stormed out of the cell infuriated.

  ​Fa Lien clutched her abdomen trying to fight the pain of her injury. The tunnels were empty save for some guards that patrolled the dungeons in loose circuits. She had completely lost control of her own order. The warriors of the Shan Gui had fallen to the eunuchs and she was powerless to do anything about it. She had to search for Jade Lotus, her second-in-command and whatever remained of her personal guard… if they were even still alive. She moved into the lower chambers of the stronghold and stayed hidden in the shadows until the guards had passed. They wore patches with the image of a spider, signifying their new allegiance to the eight eunuchs. It was as if the guards were under some spell or some unseen influence that had taken a hold of their minds. It must have been the elixirs the scheming eunuchs have recently administered to increase the ease of indoctrination. The entrance to the supply room was left ajar but her personal belongings had been stashed there. After putting a guard to sleep with a chokehold, she crept into the room and resupplied herself. A belt of many compartments, a small bag with a sling, and her twin sabers finally found their way back within her reach. She strapped hardened leather vambraces and spaulders, and donned a lamellar cuirass with attached tassets.

  ​She proceeded deeper into the dungeons into the unlit chambers where Jade Lotus was being held behind a heavy iron access. Fa Lien crept to the opening at eye level.

  ​“Do you live, Jade Lotus?” she whispered.

  ​“Aye, Commander. But I may as well be dead. All has been lost,” she moan
ed from the darkness.

  ​“Don’t fret. I will get you out!” Fa Lien insisted.

  ​“The Shan Gui has fully given itself over to the eight eunuchs and we have no more power to command them. They are no longer themselves. They have even taken our sisters in the elite guard and attempted to indoctrinate them through the elixir. They resisted and many were beheaded… and they made me watch,” she said, her voice trailing away.

  ​“Good grief. For how long was I away?? A week?” said Fa Lien

  ​“It’s been a mere three days, Commander.”

  ​“Well at least you’re still here, eh? That must count for something.” Fa Lien fiddled with the set of keys she snatched from the guard. None of them could even fit through the key hole. The lock had been replaced and modified making it impossible to pick and break.

  ​“I am already dead. Don’t waste your time, White Wasp. Only the eunuchs have the power to decide who comes and goes now.”

  ​“Shut up,” Fa Lien commanded as she continued to dig into the lock with a pick. The shouts of several guards echoed down the passageway followed by thundering boot falls. The guards were already on her trail. She cursed under her breath and the cell lock refused to budge.

  ​“Get out of here, Commander. Nothing will matter if you’re dead. You have to save yourself,” said Jade Lotus.

  ​Fa Lien pressed her face against the opening. “I will come back for you, sister. I promise. Just… don’t die.”

  ​ There was no other exit in the chamber. She mustered what little strength remained in her arms and legs and shimmied up a rock wall at the far end of the chamber. She leaped onto one of the wooden platforms near the ceiling and waited for the guards to pass right beneath her.

  ​“She’s hiding. Search every hall and chamber. Check the prisoners’ facilities. She might be attempting to free the others!” barked one of the guards. His voice sounded odd, as if it was not even his own.