"Najid!" "Cut the horses loose!" "We have to turn back." "We have been riding for six months." "And we've lost 20 men." "But we survived." "Yes." "By chance." "Any one of us could have met that same fate." "We were the strongest." "Remember why you're here." "In the West, we would be enemies, and I would have to kill you." "At least here, we have a common goal." "Oh, yes." "This black powder." "It turns air into fire." "And kills a dozen men at one time." "It is the weapon of our dreams." "And what if it's just a myth?" "Men have sent word that it's real." "And those men are dead." "And we are next." "We have no maps, no medicine, and no food." "No one is going back." "We take inventory of what we have left, and finish what we started." "There's not much here." "The moon is strong." "When the horses are fresh, we move." "To where?" "North." "If they keep after us, we'll kill them in the mountains." "The magnet." "Too heavy." "Useless." "I'll have it." "It's all yours." "Amigo, only you would carry a stupid magnet through the desert." "I can use it to make a compass." "Rizzetti won't make it." "The wound is festering." "We'll be dragging a corpse." "I heard that." "He's earned the right to die where he wants." "I've been left for dead twice." "It was bad luck." "For who?" "The people who left me." "Maybe Rizzetti's right." "Where are they?" "Hill tribes?" "It's no man." "Then what is it?" "Whatever it is... it's hunting." "What was that?" "I don't know." "I took its hand." "We need to move." "Agreed." "I'll take the hand with us." "What the hell for?" "So someone can tell me what I just killed." "Persistent bastards, aren't they?" "We'll take the rise, make a stand there." "What a long shitting way to go to die." "Mother of God." "I have no need to go down fighting." "Agreed." "I say we take our chances with the gents in front of us." "I haven't surrendered in a while?" "It'll come back to you." "Follow my lead, we'll be fine." "Of course, my friend." "Where you go, I follow." "You're doing such a great job already." "They know what it is." "And they don't look happy to see it." "All the more reason to get the hell out of here." "Our weapons are on that table." "Have you lost your mind?" "I can take out the guards on the perimeter with my bow." "You cut the legs out from under the officers." "I must confess, this is not my favorite plan." "Where was this found?" "You speak English?" "Fantastic." "Where was this found?" "It wasn't found." "It was taken." "That thing killed three men before we took it down." "Where?" "Two days' ride." "North, in the mountains." "Two of you, you did this?" "Well..." "I killed it." "Alone?" "Tell me how." "A swing of the sword." "The hand, it came away clean." "The beast fell back into a chasm." "Why are you here?" "We came to trade." "We were ambushed." "You are soldiers." "Are you killing us, sister?" "Two lost travelers?" "I think she'd like that." "If it is death, my dear, we need time to pray." "I'm trying here." "Sister, I know a siege when I see one." "What comes at you so hard you need a wall like this?" "What the hell did we kill out there?" "Tao Tei." "You killed a Tao Tei scout." "You killed it alone." "You're correct." "We are under siege." "But we did not expect the attack for another nine days." "Attack?" "Tao Tei." "What the hell is a Tao Tei?" "Many things about your story have importance." "You are not to die today." "The black are the foot soldiers." "And the red?" "Those are the archers." "And the blue?" "They're all women." "What the hell do they do?" "Look at this army." "Have you ever seen anything like this?" "Incredible." "They look nervous." "It's a big wall to be so nervous." "Do you hear it?" "William, over there." "Why isn't he tied up?" "There's our escape." "We need to move!" "We need to move or we die!" "Go, go!" "Go and fight!" "Cut me loose!" "Fight or run?" "Run where?" "Aim for the eyes!" "William!" "Hey!" "Bitch!" "William." "I need a shot." "What god made those things?" "None that we know." "Think they'll hang us now?" "I could use the rest." "You've earned General Shao's praise." "Will they come back?" "Yes." "All we can do is prepare." "Who are you?" "Easy." "I'm Ballard." "William." "This is Tovar." "What are you doing here?" "We came looking for black powder." "I bet you did." "I came with mercenaries for the same thing." "Twenty-five years ago." "And did you find it?" "Finding it and leaving with it alive are two different things." "You saved the west turret." "That was extremely diplomatic." "We weren't being diplomatic." "We were trying to stay alive." "You smell like animals." "Thank you." "Clean up and they'll feed you." "He knows where the powder is." "Then why is he still here?" "He needs help getting out?" "Right." "We play our part, take the powder... and go home." "I didn't sign up for this." "Which part?" "Well... all of it." "But mostly the monsters." "There's a lot of them." "We really do smell." "General Shao welcomes you, as honored guests of the Nameless Order, and thanks you for your skill and courage." "We are honored to be honored." "Is that the best you've got?" "Commander Chen thinks your bow is not worthy of your skill." "Tell him there's no better weapon here." "They wish to see you shoot." "In here?" "What was that?" "He thinks you have fear." "Too many people." "Get one of the cups." "Now?" "Get one of the cups." "I want to eat." "You remember how to do this?" "Last time didn't go so good." "We were drunk." "How high?" "Ten yards." "Six hands to the right." "Turn around." "No, I'll do it this way." "On my count." "Amigo..." "One." "Two." "Three." "Pull." "Good luck with that." "I want food." "Who taught you English?" "Sir Ballard." "English and Latin." "Heard he's been here for 25 years." "You won't let him leave." "He must stay here." "What about us?" "Pace yourself." "The meals are regular here." "I hope not to stay that long." "I like your thinking, but I suggest you keep your plans private." "You aren't the first Westerners to come here looking for black powder." "We'll discuss it tonight." "Bring your partner." "How long have you been here?" "Always." "I was not five years old when I came here." "I have no other family." "We're the same." "I was given to an army before I can remember." "As a soldier?" "Worse." "As a gleaner." "Packs of children, we'd clean the battlefields." "After, when the fighting's over." "I became a page, a pikeman's boy..." "For your country?" "No." "I fought for food." "You fight to eat." "You live long enough, you fight for money." "How many flags do you fight for?" "I don't know." "I fought for Harold against the Danes." "I saved a Duke's life." "I fought for him until he died." "Fought for Spain against the Franks." "Fought for the Franks against Boulogne." "I fought for the Pope." "Many flags." "We are not the same." "Meet me on the Wall." "I have something to show you." "He should be careful with her." "She's very powerful here." "Then it is a fair contest." "Come." "You wish to try?" "She says men have so much to teach us." "I don't think that's what she said." "You know what I think?" "I think you're afraid." "You said that this morning." "And yet... here I am." "Yes." "Here you are." "Will you jump?" "Or not?" "These men know what they're doing?" "Wrong question." "Whether or not the cable is attached, that is the question." "And the answer?" "Xin ren." "Xin ren means trust." "To have faith." "Here, in this army, we fight for more than food or money." "We give our lives to something more." "Xin ren is our flag." "Trust in each other." "In all ways, at all times." "Well, that's all well and good, but I'm not jumping." "I'm alive today because I trust no one." "A man must learn to trust, before he can be trusted." "Then you were right." "We're not the same." "My God!" "A taste, a glimpse." "A few pilfered grains from Strategist Wang's supply of black powder." "He's mastered the transmutation of these elements." "People speak of a weapon." "There are many weapons here." "Why have we not seen them?" "There are many things you have not seen." "And many things you should pray will not be needed before the siege is through." "The Tao Tei will return." "When the drums call to battle, the guards leave their posts and take their positions on the Wall." "That is our moment." "We want to be riding away, as the battle rages." "And the armory doors?" "You have keys?" "I have black powder." "Enough for several doors." "He brings us in." "We get us out." "As you fought, where was this stone?" "In my bag." "Its unseen force is powerful." "I believe this strange stone could help us." "We try everything." "Where are the Tao Tei now?" "The mountains, regrouping." "Where do they come from?" "About 20 centuries ago, there was an emperor whose greed brought deep suffering to all of China." "The heavens sent the meteor that struck Gouwu Mountain, turning it green and releasing the Tao Tei." "From that day on, the Tao Tei rise every 60 years to scourge the north of China." "They come to remind us of what happens when greed is unchecked." "They eat anything, alive or dead, and take food to their queen." "She depends on her soldiers to feed her." "Only with the food they provide is she able to multiply." "The capital, and its two million people, is only 800 li away." "If the Tao Tei ever had that much nourishment, no corner of the world would be safe." "You can't hunt them?" "Men try." "They disappear." "We never find their bones." "This is envoy Shen from the palace." "He has brought important records to help with the coming battle." "A 900-year-old battle report." "At the Hansha gates, three beasts mounted the Wall." "They killed many men as they went forward." "Then, by the grace of the ancient gods, the beasts stopped... and sat peacefully as we slaughtered them." "At the Hansha Gate, was a magnet just like this one." "I believe that magnet was the reason that two of you Westerners killed the Tao Tei so easily." "I believe the magnet makes the Tao Tei deaf." "Without instruction, they fall still." "How can we be sure?" "Why not try it?" "Capture a Tao Tei." "See if it works." "How?" "No net is strong enough." "Hunt them." "Like a whale." "You know what that is." "A water beast." "Hundred times the size of a Tao Tei." "A spear that grabs." "Hook the bone." "Pull them up." "I've seen it done in Spain." "What the hell are you doing?" "We need to be free when the attack comes." "How many chances do you think we will get?" "Be injured." "Be missing." "Be a coward." "Get out of this." "We did enough." "He'll be here." "When?" "When it's over?" "We start and he will find us." "Start?" "We're jumping off a cliff here." "I have everything." "Powder, tools, maps." "It's all hidden and arranged along the route." "Once we start, there's no going back." "I'll find him." "Forget him." "He'd rather die trying to impress the new general than grab the key to every counting room and brothel in the world." "Good God, man." "The time is now!" "I can't go without him." "More the spoils for us!" "We need his bow!" "No, no, no." "Stop!" "There's too much tension." "Chain will break." "That way." "That way." "Let him run!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "We need longer for the sleeping potion to work." "That way." "That way." "We need to isolate it." "Separate it from the others." "The chain won't hold much longer!" "William, wait." "These arrows will scream as the Tao Tei run." "Aim for the sound." "I'm only saving you so I can kill you myself." "Grab an ax, we're fighting blind." "Not yet." "I know what to do!" "The fire's not holding them back." "Die well, brother." "What the hell are you doing?" "She's listening." "Did it work?" "Yes." "The beast was captured." "My friend..." "He was unharmed." "Why did you go over the Wall?" "Did I say it right?" "Thank you." "Black powder." "It is a terrible weapon." "It would be better, if you had never seen it." "I know very little of the outside world." "But it seems to me, the greed of men is not that different from the Tao Tei." "Is that true?" "The strong take what they want." "Forget what you have seen." "You're much braver than they think." "You wounded?" "I was looking for you." "To say thank you." "You feel good?" "Maybe you sing a little song?" "I will join you." "We can sing together how you saved the grateful chinese." "You saw what happened out there and that's what you say?" "I see black powder." "I see a man forget his friends." "The black powder's not going anywhere." "What goes nowhere is you." "You'll never get what you want from this." "You think they see you as some kind of hero?" "A man of virtue?" "Maybe you can fool them... but I know what you are." "You know what you are." "A thief... a liar... and a killer." "And you can never undo the things you have done, and you will never be anything." "Good to see you again, amigo." "Nothing?" "No." "How do you know he won't betray us?" "I don't." "They'll kill him." "They'll kill him no matter what." "The time they spend killing him." "Is time they are not chasing us." "Careful with that." "There's powder here." "Tovar." "Have a look." "See if it's gone out." "Is it safe?" "Of course it is." "Shake it off, man." "To work." "I thought you said it was safe?" "We're in, aren't we?" "You're here." "We've come to our senses." "Ballard has planned well." "Getting out is easy." "There's a gate." "20 miles west." "We dodge the hill tribes." "We can make it." "They need us here." "They need more than us." "These people are doomed." "Don't be a fool." "I've been a fool." "I'm done with it." "Brother, please." "We've been fighting for nothing." "For greed." "Amigo, after all the blood, and cold, pain, with this black powder in our saddle bags, we win." "You come with me." "I can't do that now." "Stay and fight." "William..." "Think he's dead?" "It'd take a lot more than that." "Come on." "I tried to stop them..." "You dare to speak to me?" "I didn't do this." "And you came here to trade." "And you knew nothing of black powder." "What a fool you must think I am." "If I was with them, why would I be here?" "I tried to stop them." "I tried..." "You lie." "Some part of you knows that's not true." "If I were not the General," "I would kill you myself." "Which way, left or right?" "Go up and take a look from the high ground." "No!" "No!" "Bastard!" "What happened?" "What happened?" "We have failed." "The Tao Tei are in the Kingdom." "You are free to leave." "Take what you wish and go." "This was the General's final order." "Where is she?" "To do what?" "To fight?" "Is there a chance?" "There's only one." "Kill the Queen." "Kill the Queen, or we all die." "Leave." "Tell the world what you have seen, and tell them what is coming." "I'll need my bow." "If I'm to join you, I'll need my bow." "He wishes to join us." "No." "No." "No." "No." "No, don't throw that thing near fire!" "Above you!" "Behind you!" "I set you free." "And here I am." "There's the Queen!" "They will not attack while the Queen is feeding." "We have a chance!" "Hold on!" "There is an underground canal here." "Has it been breached?" "The Tao Tei should all be above ground." "And the one we captured?" "We load it up." "We feed it." "And it will return to its Queen." "Good." "You'll have one hell of a scar, but you'll live." "We'll come back for him." "They've broken through!" "Patience, William." "And it will go to the Queen when it's done?" "It should." "It will." "Let it in." "I can get a shot from above." "Go!" "I'll hold them back." "Wait." "Not yet." "Hit." "Go higher." "I'll get a better shot." "General!" "It's up to you now!" "We have one black powder weapon left." "Give me the spear." "I've trained for this my whole life." "I'll get you the shot." "I've got you." "So, how's life without me?" "A little slow." "You're a hero after all." "Well, it looks that way." "You seem pleased with yourself." "And what are they giving you for all of your troubles?" "A bag of gold?" "A victory parade along the top of the Wall?" "All the black powder I can carry." "And a cavalry escort to get me home safely." "Well, congratulations." "Thank you." "So what is this?" "You're here to rub my nose in it?" "Well, would you blame me?" "The last time I saw you, you left me for dead." "And the time before that, I saved your life." "True." "You know, the Emperor gave me a choice." "I could take the black powder, or I could take you." "Please tell me you chose the powder?" "I don't even know you anymore." "The horses are saddled and waiting." "Best we ride before nightfall." "I'll be inside." "Don't leave without me." "I came to say goodbye." "I understand congratulations are in order." "General of the northwest territory." "That's quite an honor." "Seems you've made your choice." "Him?" "Believe me, I'm already thinking about trading him back for the powder." "I heard that." "Perhaps we were both wrong." "We are more similar than I thought." "Thank you, General." "Are you sure you don't want to go back?" "Of course I do." "I just don't trust you to make it out of here alone." "By LESAIGNEUR Sync  corrections July 2017"