by Mark Swaine
“Always,” replies the Warden, humbly.
“Then do this for me,” asks Yu-Huang.
“Even the Necromancers?” asks the Warden.
“All of them, all but the monsters you toss into the fiery abyss. You appear surprised Warden, why?'' asks Yu-Huang.
“All this time you have known?” asks the Warden strangely.
“How long I have known matters not. All men who commit crimes so heinous cannot be redeemed, regardless of their guilt upon capture,” says Yu-Huang.
“I did not think you would approve of their disposal,” replies the Warden.
“I don't, but I am not the naive fool you secretly believe me. Mortals who violate the innocent are monsters by definition, and have no place in this world. Better to make room for those entering the world with a clean soul,” says Yu-Huang to the perplexed Warden listening intently. “Farewell Warden Seto, I must leave,” says Yu-Huang, leaving for the main entrance.
“Where are you going?” shouts Warden Seto from afar.
“To the Pits of Guàiwù,” replies the Emperor.
“I not know this man,” says Warden Seto in quiet worry as he watches the Emperor walk back across the bridge.
CHAPTER twenty-ONE
Earlier, in the Pits of Guàiwù.
In a downpour of heavy rain, a stocky soldier with a long goatee overlooks a small pen where two rabid dogs fight to the death in a muddy pit. The Jade Captain smiles cockily as his dog bites into the jugular of her bloodied whimpering opponent. A panicking Jade soldier shouts for the Captain's attention from the other side of the pen and begins pushing his way through the tight crowd of revellers.
“Captain Hao!” shouts the guard urgently whilst waving two scrolls in his hand.
The soldier approaches the Jade Captain in a fluster and the preoccupied superior fails to acknowledge his presence above the excitement of the crowd.
“Captain Hao!” shouts the Jade soldier.
“Make it quick, my beast is winning,” says the Captain in slight annoyance. “I want to see the look on this filthy peasant's face when I take his farmland,” sniggers the Captain.
“Captain, I come with urgent news,” says the drenched soldier.
“Officer Jing calm yourself. Have you readied the troll and traitor for combat?” asks the Captain, leaning over the pen and screaming ferally as his dog is wounded by a sudden savage bite.
“No Captain, that is why I am here,” says the soldier agitatedly and short of breath. “I have just received word from the Ministry, and the Liumang prison: the troll and the soldier are not to be harmed,” says the soldier urgently whilst opening the scroll for him to read.
The Captain reads both scrolls briefly and tears them into three quarters before tossing the pieces into the pen. The soldier looks at the Captain with worried surprise and feels a sharp tug on his neck as the Captain pulls him closer.
“Accidents happen all the time, do they not?” says the Captain quietly and shrewdly in the soldier’s ear. “I have bargained much on this large beast, keep your mouth shut and we shall all walk away a little richer this night,” he adds whilst lightly slapping the back of the youngster's neck.
“What of the traitor?” says the soldier, almost too afraid to ask.
“Change his clothes before you put him in,” replies the Captain. “Where are the cranes that carried the messages?”
“Resting in the coop Captain,” replies the naive soldier.
“they never made it, we received no messages. Have them stone roasted and brought to barracks,” says the Captain uncaringly.
“Yes sir,” replies the weak-willed soldier.
Large ringed formations of rusty cages surround huddled collections of arid rocky basins bustling with activity from the elevated spectator stands. Cowrie shells are passed from hand to hand as peasants and off duty soldiers shout crazily to the grind and slam of the drop gates of a wide cell. As the barred cell doors open, a group of armoured prisoners look out into the slanted hive wall surrounding the arena, and an an certain fate. Some of them look out in defiance of the rounded wall of hexagons, whilst others appear apprehensive about even stepping foot out of the cage. They all know that a fight is coming, but what they face will surely come as a surprise. A fat grubby Jade soldier approaches the bars from the other side of the cell and begins to laugh. The chuckling guard yanks hard on a lever and kick starts a series of clanking machinery. Chains and stone wheels begin rolling the cage forward to the brim of the basin whilst lifting upwards at the back. With the back of the cage lifting, the floor of the cage slants steeply towards the arena. The greasy guard throws a bucket of light yellow gunky liquid onto the defiant and crazy prisoners as they exit the cage screaming for blood, carnage and a painful death. Losing their balance on the slippery floor dripping with yellow gloop, they slide onto their backs and fall out of the cage and tumble down the hive wall and into the arena. The more timid prisoners leap for the bars of the tilting cage and cling on for their life.
The laughing and leering Jade guards batter their hands with clubs until their bloody broken fingers loosen from around the bars. Leaving their cell in a free-falling scream of terror, they bounce roughly of the hive wall landing on the rough surface of pale blue sand. The brave and timid warriors scramble for the variety of blunt discarded weapons in the flat centre of the arena, and peasants and merchants shout raucously from the safety of the circular stands behind a metal mesh. The spectators place bets on the armour clad warriors currently forming an offensive circle in the centre. The team of alert assassins and raiders move erratically as they hear a sudden flapping and skittering behind the dark hexagonal holes of the bowled hive. The more experienced assassins pay heed to the irregular sound coming from behind the hive wall, and can only describe it as a rapid fluttering of leaves. In the cell adjacent to the empty tilted cage, a dirty weathered face looks to the side and into the arena, watching the raiders alerted to every direction. The muscular giant wearing leather strapped boots, loin cloth and a sash crossing his chest, leans forward resting his elbows on his knees. On the opposite side, a group of frightened prisoners huddle into the corner, fearful the gigantic beast might tear them apart at any minute. In the neighbouring cell, a Jade soldier sits against the bars with his back adjacent to Yeman Ren's.
“Yeman Ren, explain it to me, how is it you came to raise Xiaojian the Healer?” asks Shaozu.
“Long ago, when Emperor Yu-Huang was but a cub, I lead a raid on the Red Sun village. Many lives were lost on both sides, and many lives... we took,” says Yeman Ren.
“Took?” asks Shaozu.
“Food was scarce Shaozu, meat is meat. My plan was to keep the survivors alive, and breed them as livestock,” replies Yeman Ren.
Shaozu's eyes widen in surprise as his brows furrow in deep disturbance.
“My son, now the King, would not allow their slaughter, so I found an alternative purpose for the humans,” says Yeman Ren,
“You did?” says Shaozu, apprehensively.
“Yes, I formed a separate army of trolls loyal only to me and built a base far from my homeland, large enough for thousands of livestock to flourish and graze freely,” says Yeman Ren.
“For what purpose?” asks Shaozu.
“For over nearly two hundred years, my soldiers have been training the humans... to kill Yu-Huang,” says Yeman Ren.
“two hundred years? Why have you not attacked?” says Shaozu, confused.
“Kao Lu discovered my plan, even though he was impressed by their training. He told me they were to be used as a last resort should the Jade army invade our homeland within the Kunlun mountain. Kao Lu swore that he would not take the throne if I sent them to attack without genuine cause,” smiles Yeman Ren.
“Wise boy,” replies Shaozu.
“A far wiser, and stronger King than I ever was,” says Yeman Ren.
“And Xiaojian?” asks Shaozu.
“When the plague of Darkness began, it claimed a third of my
human army. I sent Xiaojian away to the Huanghua city while she was very young, hoping Yu-Huang's divine power might shield her from the horrors to come, I was wrong,” says Yeman Ren, regretfully.
“Where is the army now?” asks Shaozu.
“The Legion of Shāshǒu (Killers) await my command to storm the Huanghua city and kill the Emperor,” replies Yeman Ren.
“Will you give the command?” asks Shaozu.
“No, I have a new enemy now, and it must be destroyed,” says Yeman Ren.
“Good, it would be a shame if I had to kill you so soon after saving my life,” says Shaozu.
“This Darkness deceived me, I allowed myself to be manipulated. 'Twas the Darkness that cast its shadow of the Legion of Shāshǒu, the Darkness led me to believe Yu-Huang was to blame, the second I allowed it control over my body, I knew I had been conned. Only by serving Yu-Huang will I be able to avenge my beloved,” says Yeman Ren.
“The Emperor needs you, having a troll bodyguard would have its merits,” replies Shaozu as his eyes scan the cell for weak points. “Remind me, why are we not breaking out of this place?” he asks, dumbfounded by their own presence.
“I can break you free, but I must stay. I cannot free myself, not without taking the lives of more Jade soldiers,” explains Yeman Ren.
“No, we leave together, these are not soldiers to the true Jade army, they do not deserve to wear the colours of the Emperor,” says Shaozu angrily. “Why would Emperor Yu-Huang allow such a barbarism?”
“He does not know Shaozu,” replies Yeman Ren. “He is blind, otherwise he would have foreseen the army I built long ago,”
“What was that green wave of fire?” recalls Shaozu in awe.
“Such a force could only have come from the Emperor,” replies Yeman Ren.
“Do you think Akio survived?” asks Shaozu.
“I hope so,” replies Yeman Ren. “If anyone can save him it’s Xiaojian,”
“Maybe she can remove his tongue also,” jibes Shaozu.
“The world is not that kind my friend,” replies Yeman Ren.
As the two laugh half-heartedly, a stocky big bearded soldier with cornrows stands outside Shaozu's cell.
“YOU! Change!” commands the guard.
The scummy-looking Jade soldier throws Shaozu a pair of slacks, sandals and a set of chewed upon armour. The second-hand attire, dripping in the previous owner’s blood and a strange yellow gloop, lands by Shaozu's feet.
“I will not wear that. I am a Jade soldier, not some honourless mercenary,” replies Shaozu, looking around in disgust at his cellmates.
“Not today, I have wagered seventy cowrie shells on you and I intend to collect,” snarls the Jade guard.
“I am Shaozu Zhu, Major of the 2nd West Wall Battalion of the Jade army. I bear the colours of Emperor Yu-Huang. When General Arachie discovers this act of treason...”
“Do not worry, he won't,” sneers the guard. “Now put them on!”
“Go pleasure your mother in a dope den: you put them on,” replies Shaozu kicking the clothes away.
“What did you say?” says the guard crossly.
“You heard me,” replies Shaozu.
“Listen to me now you traitor, you can die in here, or you can die out there, it makes no difference,” says the guard, tapping the bars with a blade-edged baton. “Disrobe, or I have your friend killed,”
Shaozu knows too well that no weapon can pierce the massive troll's thick skin so easily, but out there in the arena, who knows what merciless creatures lay in wait for a huge meal like Yeman Ren. Shaozu takes the clothes from the floor and flaps the clothes to rid of the excess blood then wipes the yellow excrement from the armour. As Shaozu begins to disrobe, a Japanese woman with black hair and pink streaks watches comfortably as the semi-naked man puts on the warm, blood soaked clothing.
“What are you looking at, raider filth?” says Shaozu unkindly.
“Your body,” replies the woman casually. “What a waste,” says the woman, looking out into the arena of splashing blood and flying dismembered bodies.
“What is out there? What manner of beast do we face?” asks Shaozu turning back to Yeman Ren.
“Tis nothing I have ever seen before. They move too fast,” replies Yeman Ren.
“Should you hear the shake of wings, dive for dirt. Dive after the shaking of wings has stopped, and I'll be taking both halves of your body home... Shaozu,” says the raider, with a seductive evil smile.
“Do not speak with me, you are lower than swine to me,” says Shaozu.
“They move so fast, too fast to out manoeuvre,” says a shaking raider.
“Where do these creatures hail from?” asks Shaozu.
“It's the dragons,” replies a guard. “Rogues and scavenger dragons are not even aware of this, but they are able burrowers. When a starving dragon is too weak to fly, they will burrow for their food, and they will burrow far and long until they find it. Ask him, he knows this all too well,” says the guard gesturing to Yeman Ren.
“Sometimes they discover creatures we never knew existed, old creatures that lived long before our time,” says Yeman Ren.
“Sometimes they'll emerge covered in strange eggs or parasites,” says the guard.
“It is time,” barks the other corn-rowed guard.
The corn-rowed guard approaches Yeman Ren's cell and drags his baton along the bars to scare the prisoners to the centre. Laughing joyously, he pulls on the lever and the drop gate slams upward.
“Bring me many cowrie shells, and I may not piss upon your bloody carcass,” hisses the guard.
As the clanking gears attempt to tilt the cage, it grinds to halt and the guard's smile drops as he repeatedly pulls on the lever. Pulleys snap, and cogs buckle and bend as the cage groans in refusal to budge with the troll inside.
“Move beast; get into the arena... MOVE! You too, all of you, into the arena!” bellows the guard viciously.
Officer Jing appears carrying a bucket of sludge, and without warning he throws the pail of goo over the challengers. Yeman Ren flicks his head to the side, ridding of the excess hanging of his chin before casually rising to his feet. Yemen Ren crouches whilst departing the low exit of the cage and snorts a laugh of contempt at the peasants, gamblers and blood sport fans cheering and heckling. As the raiders exit the cell with him, the massive wall of solid meat and bone becomes a source of comfort and safety for the gang as some of the more petrified murderers group around him. Yeman Ren jumps into the centre of the arena and is joined shortly by the others making their way down the ramped hive wall. The raiders quickly grab the discarded weapons left behind by the previous challengers, who are nowhere to be seen. Where the previous doomed raiders stood, only spatters of blood and disorganised patterns of scattered footprints remain.
“Save us beast, save us,” says a shaking raider, deciding on whether or not he is brave enough to leave the safe centre of the pit and run for a blade lying on the outskirts.
“You are on your own,” replies Yeman Ren.
Shaozu watches from the bars of his cell and alerts Yeman Ren of movement with the walls behind him.
“Your friend stands a better chance without you shouting over like an overbearing mother,” says the armoured woman resting her head back.
Shaozu ignores the woman and continues to alert Yeman Ren as disturbed dust falls in a trail around the hive wall.
“You are distracting him,” says the female raider, more firmly.
“Shut up woman, we need not aid from the likes of a dirty murderous wench,” snaps Shaozu.
“Say that again, just as you did,” says the female raider biting her lip and rubbing her chest.
Shaozu frowns weirdly and turns his attention back to the arena and the Japanese raider joins his side with a confident strut in her stride. Together they watch the heads of the contestants jerk in all directions as a chorus of clicking and chirping sounds echo from the dark hexagonal voids of the grey hive. The short necked Yeman Ren is
unable to turn fast enough to track the various flaps of chequered wings zipping to and from the adjacent holes in the hive. Only Shaozu and the Japanese raider are just about able to track their erratic and ultra fast flight as they notice dust shaking of the entry and exit points. Shaozu sees an overhanging lip of dirt crumble from an exit point and frantically points to it through the bars in a bid to alert Yeman Ren. The Japanese raider beside Shaozu uses her heightened instincts and quickly pulls him back as a large chequered wing rushes inches by the tips of his fingers. Shaozu frees himself from the woman's grip and pushes her away, and the woman simply smiles at him as if to savour a rare exotic dish. Back in the arena, Yeman Ren feels a short gust of wind behind him and he faces the other confused contestants.