"The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking."

Christopher Morley

Kung Fu Panda

The Long Night

Chapter XII: The Order's HQ

We are finally at our goal. The HQ of the Order of the Black Claw is in front of us.

It looks like a mix of a castle and a monastery. Built on a peak, more directed to the sky than to the sides with a shaky wooden bridge between us and it. The only entrance by the way.

The peak is at least several hundred meters high as well like the mountains on which we are standing. Below us is the valley with the tavern I have visited once….how much time passed since then? I put on my shaded glasses, because the strong wind here forces me to cry.

I look back at the HQ: Long towers, thick walls, high-quality stones even with religious markings like the others say and an unbelievable mystery how this thing could be built in such a height….so typical Chinese…More mysteries than answers…

I look back and see the others follow me. We are only four: Aijna, Pantu, Benkei and me. Sijna stayed at the closest harbor, few hours from here not counting the climbing up. She is a Sea dog and not a landlubber like us, she said.

"Come on! We are finally there!" I yell back to them and turn around to the shaky bridge. The second time I need to cross it and I still feel uneasy….probably has something to do with the matter, that this bridge doesn't look new. Like the whole castle by the way: It looks like a ruin almost….considering that I know like ruins look like at my home, the ruins of the Chinese people still look useful….need to find out their secret in this matter as well. I use Sun Wukong's staff to balance better…

I reach the castle gate: destroyed. Don't know what the reason for this was, but the Chinese sign for Claw, which is written on the gate looks also quite destroyed. Despite the tightness of the peak on which the castle is built, there is still place for a castle ground…here and there are seen marble stones, which were used probably as a road, but the grass has outgrown it already long time ago…Most of the towers of the castle are in front of me. They are connected by a smaller building in the ground floor level. Only one entrance there. This whole complex of towers and building looks quite small cause of its architecture, but I know that it stretches over the most part of this peak….more a small plateau I need to admit.

"Cien!" I hear Aijna's voice and turn around. Aijna and Pantu are already on the bridge and are trying to cross it, but Benkei is trembling at the starting point…I sigh.

I go back to the bridge. "Benkei! Come over here!" I yell.

"But…but…" he stammers.

"No buts!" I yell back, "Come over here right now or we will let you behind."

This bear was more a burden than a help thanks to his cowardice. My patience is at its limit….maybe it was my worst choice to let him follow us. If I could correct it….but I can't. Why am I more curious than it is good for me so often?!

He takes the first step, when Pantu reaches the other side. He is still trembling and it seems that thanks to his mass the bridge is doing this also.

"Stop trembling!" I yell to him. The ropes and boards don't look like they would withstand such trembling for long time.

I hear him gulping. He takes another step trying not to tremble.

CRACK!

Crap! "Wahhhh!" he yells and begins to run at us. He has broken one broad and breaks another one…and another before he reaches the other…Crap!

CRASH!

….

Ow! "Oi, sorry, sorry…" he stammers apologizing again. I grab my head….it is shaking in there?...he has carried me once again from my feet and crashed with me against the edge of the gate….I regret my choice even more. I look down on my nose and see that at least my glasses are not broken. Better I hide them again, before something like this or maybe even much worse happens again…

"It's good." I reply so he stops finally to apologize and turn around to Pantu, "Hey, Mister Expert. Do you know what happened with this gate?"

"I am not here that's why, or am I?" he asks in an arrogant manner. I show my teeth.

"No…" I extend it, "…but I don't want to be surprised by something while being here. So what was responsible for this?"

He sighs. "We."

"You?" I ask in a questioning manner.

"I and the other traitors. We destroyed it while fleeing…seems that the Order was not able to repair it…"

"Doesn't sound like the Order, from which you are frightened so much." Aijna says her opinion and hits the bulls-eye of what I wanted to say next.

"The Order never looked dangerous….and that is the reason why it is. My and the other's treason has hit the Order hard…never before so much betrayed them…we needed to fight our way through them, before we could escape….but the Order recovers…like always."

I remember that Moc's dad betrayed the Order as well…it sounds more like a sinking ship when you ask me.

We enter the building with the towers. It is dark here, but thanks to the light from the windows as well like my Night vision I don't think we will have prob….Ow!...damn stone…have not seen him.

Last time we were here we have inspected the HQ for days….also because we searched only for few hours a day, because of the mystery of the broken gate. Still I know most of the corners of it and know where to go. Instead going the steps up to the towers we go down. It gets darker and darker and my eyes get better and better.

"Stay close to me…" I say to Aijna and Benkei – Pantu has his own Night vision. At least he has not tried to flee even for one moment…hmmm…ah no…I am getting paranoid. We are his guarantee for being safe.

I grab one of the old torches still hanging at the walls here and give it to Aijna, before we finally see light at the end of the stairs. I know what we will see: The grey cloaked horizon in front of us….have never expected to enjoy the winter in China. But it feels more like my home in this way…we had cold winters like here.

We are standing on a platform or a balcony…without a railing. One wrong step and we would fall the whole way down of the peak. I look down….even in snow this landing would hurt not only a bit…

"What a beautiful sight…." Benkei explains while gawking…even when I have problems with him, he is right. The snowy peaks in the distance, the snowy valleys, the frozen rivers, the white forests and the peaceful villages….all of it looks wonderful…or like Po would say 'Awesome'. I would like to visit this place in the spring once again….hope that I will be able to do it.

I turn away and go the stairs downwards, which begin on the other side of the round platform. Aijna gives me the in the meantime ignited torch, because my night vision will be useless down there…inside the mountain itself. This time there are more steps down than earlier, although this platform was already so low built that there was no sign of the castle anymore except far above us. The platform was built right onto the wall of the mountain.

Finally we reach the pre-chamber of this lowest floor. With the light I show the surroundings: Broken ground plates, old walls and furniture wherever I look and even some things out of metal…this place doesn't look like it was left few months ago, but much earlier.

"What was the purpose of this chamber?" Aijna asks Pantu. I look at him. He seems tensed now…odd he was quite calm till now.

"It was…the Master's room." he replies finally. The Master's room? "He doesn't seem place value on his things, what?" I ask sarcastically. He doesn't react on it.

"It looked like this also then." he replies.

"When?" Aijna asks.

"When he came." he says and steps forward. We look at him quizzically and he turns to us. He looks right into my eyes….with an odd look….I realize it.

"Moc.", I say loud.

"Correctly. The only time I met him." Pantu replies.

"What happened then?" I ask although I realize Aijna wanted to say it as well. He has stirred up my curiosity again…

Pantu turns around to the door on the other side of the chamber and takes the first steps to it. "All the leaders of the Order gathered in this place…not only the Master. Moc had to say something to them and they listened. I had guard duty here….your friend looked impressive you know."

"I know how he looks. Don't change the topic! What was the purpose of this speech?" I reply not caring much for the reason of our arrival here anymore. He goes the next steps.

"I was at the closed door…I heard only shreds of the speech. It sounded like he wanted to leave the Order."

"What?!" I say not believing it. Why has he betrayed us, when he wanted to leave finally? I get angry and clench my fist around the staff. "That is impossible!" I say finally.

"Why do you think so?" Pantu asks me with an odd voice….I realize that he is confused. I scratch my ear. "I…" I start to say.

"He knows it simply." Aijna replies in my place. I nod to her with a thanking mien. She nods as well.

"I see…" Pantu says, "…still can't deny what I heard. Maybe I misunderstood it."

I get a tensed feeling somehow. "Hey, Pantu wait there. We will enter the main chamber first." I say to him while realizing how close he is to the door…something is obviously not right. He stops in front of the door. We hear him sighing a bit later.

"The Order of the Black Claw has a long tradition." he begins to speak, "Even to the beginnings of Kung Fu…even of China it can be retraced. Once they were heroes….although not to my time already. They have fallen."

"Fallen?" Benkei asks after no one of us does it. We know what he means. Moc has explained it to me and me to Aijna once. I take a step closer to Pantu.

"They are nothing more than a group of assassins now used by a someone superior of us." he continues. I dislike like he said 'superior of us'. Who is this? "Moc knew it. He tried to oppose them, but failed. I don't know if he survived, because I was hit unconscious during the fight back then. No one wanted to tell me how it ended, but all the leaders except the Master died this day.", he explains and then adds in a quieter voice, "This was the day I began to plan to quit the Order."

He turns around to us. "If your friend is still alive or not, I don't know. But he is not a part of the Order since then."

I growl. "So you lied to me back then in Gongmen City…"

"Not even a moment. You have only asked, if he has joined Tian Yi's army. That he didn't do."

I remember my words and began to curse myself for this. "So why have you led us here?!" Aijna yells at him, "You knew who our target is and still you have not said a word till now!"

A thought crosses my mind...a dangerous one…I look into his face. It looks like he would stay with one step in his own grave…

"This is…because you were not the first guys who have found me."

BUMMMM!

….

….

Ow! That hurt….

…Almost too late to dodge this attack….what the hell was this?

It is dusty here…really dusty….I hear an odd howling noise….it subsides at least…something is on my back….These are boards…I throw them aside. I look around and see not far away from me Aijna, who I have pushed with my staff to the side…like it seems in time. Not far between us I find my staff and use it to stand up.

I hear a noise behind me and realize that it is Benkei freeing himself from his boards…doesn't look injured. All of us are there for draped in much dust…I spit something of it of my mouth.

Another board falls down not far away from me – they are falling down the whole time…I decide to look, where the door to the main chamber once was. It is completely shredded in the middle and broken open. Beside it Pantu is lying…he has a wound at his head. Crap!

My mind begins to work. "Benkei…" I whisper back while the dust is slowly disappearing. I get a moan back and a "Yes?"

"Begin reciting." I reply.

"What? But…"

"Do it now." I say still whispering but more serious. He listens to me. The dust in the air has vanished almost and I take the first steps forward. The main chamber is one or two steps lower than the pre-chamber and much bigger. It is lightened by several torches and there are alcoves around the round built chamber….9 in total. On the ground is a destroyed map of China carved into the stone of the mountain. And in the middle of it is standing a dragon out of metal and wood. And it fires again!

BUMMMM!

….

I could dodge it to the side and have fallen into the chamber now. Some splinters have scratched my skin. A small straight wound is at my cheek.

"Damn! This Canon of Shen is too slow for this guy!" I hear an ugly boar say. He wears a black Chinese garment on which the sign of the Black Claw is written. Beside him is a deer in the same clothes. I prepare my staff for an attack, when another one appears from the shadows: A female Owl with violet eyes. Her garment is a mix of black and violet….she means trouble.

I gulp and attack them.

Next chapter done finally :) I bet everyone of you has a wtf - face now. ;) What is doing our friendly owl here? Find out in the future chapters :)
When you like this story, I would be happy, if you would review it.

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"Kung Fu Panda" (c) DreamWorks Animation

I own nothing except for the written word.
Characters you don't know are from me. The Idea is also from me.