804 A.D. Dengfeng Shaolin Mountain Temple, Songshan Mountains, Henan Province China

"Sifu!" Kai shouted, "the Xiao are back again." Kai was bounding down the steps from the forty foot tall parapet tower as fast as he could. One of the older students, who were now standing daily watch due to demon activity, had alerted Master Kai to the flying monkeys return...again. 

  Closed and iron banded, the giant twin oak doors were the only ground access through the thirty foot high walls that enclosed the expansive Shaolin courtyard, but...there was not a roof that covered the actual courtyard so that was not about to stop the little flying bastard monkeys. "If you are younger than 15, go now to the main hall and close the doors." Grand Master Sifu Bao shouted, taking charge, and getting the children to safety. "Older boys, take charge of the smalls, and you old farts that can't fight, at least grab a child and help get the doors closed." The Xiao had a thing for small children. This was the third time in fourteen days they had come to the school. The first time was so unexpected –students and teachers alike thought the Xiao were a myth, there was not even the smallest thought that flying monkeys with man faces, dog tails, and crow wings were even something to worry about. Fifteen children snatched from their drills while gathered in the outside court, nearly one entire class. Larger students and teachers saved the last five that could have been taken...it was devastating.

  The school was on edge from that point forward. Sifu Bao sent teams of seasoned students and teachers to scour the hills for traces of the Xiao...and the children. The second time, five days later, only (yes, regrettably 'only') four children were taken. Some students posted as guards were able to give some advance warning, but not enough.

  This time, nine days later, Xiao appeared in force. It would seem that they would not be deterred in grabbing more victims this time around. Being previously denied, it seems they bolstered their numbers and effort, there were a couple of hundred of the little monsters. In kind though, the Sifu saw fit to take extra measures for their security. Many guards on the walls and fifty of the school's best students and teachers would make a stand. The smalls had made it to safety, now Sifu Bao and Master Kai would see what they could do to destroy the invaders. The wall sentries were the only ones with bows and arrows, not enough to go around. Some of the students had scrounged up slings and stockpiled rocks, the rest of the troop were armed with swords and bo staves. There were a lot of targets to choose from, but the monkeys were like sparrows and never stopped moving for long, it is very difficult to hit a moving target with an arrow or stone, this would be a challenge until the demons landed...Sifu Bao was really not sure how this battle was going to go.

  The Xiao were small and fierce with teeth and claws and an occasional small knife. They stayed high above the initial reach of the ground troops; the archers began to let loose as soon as the demons were in range. As they closed in, the demons moved so erratically it was very difficult to hit anything, but not impossible. The Xiao quickly retreated after seeing several of their kin fall with arrow shafts sticking out of them. The archers were still firing, albeit slowly, not wanting to waste their limited ammo supply, when en masse the Xiao swarmed up and over the wall knocking six archers from their perches. Other flying demons began to throw rocks, hurling with great velocity, but luckily, little accuracy.

  One key reason to build anything into the side of a mountain – it limits the attack surface available to the enemy. The monks easily took cover back inside the mountain nooks that were carved out, avoiding the missiles. Xiao began to land on the top of the parapet walls and just mill about. Most were still flying overhead presumably looking for prey. Many began to land in the courtyard; it was beginning to look like a Xiao dance hall, Xiao moving around  but not really doing anything productive. Sifu Bao and Master Kai could just look at each other with wonder, like wondering what in the nine hells was going to happen next. The little monkey bastards were crawling around and over the different areas of the courtyard – toying with doors and looking in baskets and such, apparently not really knowing what to do since they could not see small children with their own eyes.

  One Xiao  seemed to garner some bravery, began to move toward Shaolin monks and the closed doors. The creature was testing the air with his nose like hound after a fox when something on the breeze made him excited - he started hopping toward the defenders on his little squat legs flapping his wings to boost his movement, moving his arms up and own, shaking his hands...like he found something. The entryway into the temple proper was covered by a roof, extending out many feet toward the open air of the courtyard. This did not allow the Xiao t room enough fly, so they were reduced to walking, and essentially channeled into a kill box. This gave the monks the opening they were looking for. Some of the advanced students moved out and clubbed the little demons with their staves – there was a shriek, and all hell broke loose. 

  The flock of Xiao broke, many flew back out the way they came, but those that moved forward were concentrated into one small spot easily clubbed and stabbed by defenders. Hands, mouths, and wings were a blur. Sifu Bao and Master Kai moved back to defend the doors, this was pure mayhem. The defenders were able to easily guard the doors, but they were getting tired. There were so many targets, and they did not appear to be ceasing. The Xiao were not strong...there were just a lot of them and at this rate, there were many more waves of attack then there were defenders that could keep fighting. Sifu felt that their best option would be to push them  back out into the courtyard. First off, that would give the defenders more room to maneuver, and second, Sifu hoped with the limited mental capacity of the demon's, they would get scared and take the flock off.

  "Kai" the Sifu shouted, "to my right." Sifu shouted again, "Wang! To my left. The rest of you line up on me, and we are going to start pushing out to the courtyard. Do not separate from each, we don't all move up until each man is clear. Hold your line, only the men directly to your left or right will help you. We must stay solid and keep pushing – Ready! Move!"

  The Shaolin are known for their discipline – the warriors moved precisely as the Sifu required and they began to push out into the courtyard. Many Xiao were in the air again, their numbers had not really been affected by the casualties, and more were in the courtyard on the ground, wanting to get through the hall doors. "Hold at where the roof stops. We don't want them to gain ground by flying over our heads. We need to figure out how to get them to engage us on the ground. Lin, I want you to go out and see if you can bash one in the...what in the name of sanity is that...?"

  The madness of Xiao was so focused on the Shaolin defenders they did not notice their own comrades being systematically dismantled from their rear position. The Sifu noted some white man, next to the north tower on the parapet wall, had secured some space to work from. The man long light brown hair, braids running down his back. He wore a black leather jerkin covered in odd looking scales that ran across his shoulders, stopping at the elbow, and wicked looking scaled gauntlet on each hand. The scales met in the middle of his back and ran a narrow band down to cover his spine. His heavy-duty trousers were not armored, but they were tucked into his boots that had the same type of scales as his jerkin. The Sifu thought, if he just had black patches on his eyes...he'd look like a warrior panda...and had to shake his head to get the vision from his mind. The man was dispensing Xiao with an axe and hammer at close proximity, pushing the monsters back to the middle of the defensive wall as well as sending them back to the air. As the opportunity opened, he grabbed a dropped bow and began to skewer the beasts with cold efficiency.

  "Go!" Sifu shouted, "get in and start taking those demons out. Wang, keep five men back for any that may fly overhead. Kai, make your way south – the rest of you, with me up the middle and spread north." Sifu Bao got his monks fighting as he held back to watch and fill in the gaps as necessary, he was completely enamored at the pale warrior. The man had switched back and forth between the hammer and axe to a chain dart as the Xiao were dropping by the droves – this man was a literal killing machine, but he was so sloppy Sifu though, how was he not dead. 

  The Xiao did not fight much longer. The monks initial push had caught many of them off guard and were dispatched with cold efficiency of the monks training and discipline. The pale white panda man, he was surprisingly accurate with his chain dart. He was shredding wings allowing the monks to dispatch the wounded.

  At last, all of the Xiao had fled or were dead. Sifu sent men up on to the walls and out into the valley to make sure they were not gathering for another push into the temple. The panda man was walking around the fallen, inspecting them, like he was looking for something. Sifu was in the middle of the courtyard, "Kai" and Kai bowed in response, "please go get master Qin, I think he speaks a white man's language."

"Unnecessary, Sifu" Tore responded without being asked, "I speak Mandarin", still poking through the remains of the Xiao, as he looked up to gauge Sifu's response.

  If Sifu was surprised, he did not show it. He crossed his arms in the sleeves of his mantle, "Thank you pale warrior, for your timely arrival. You assisted in saving us time in dispatching the Xiao." 

Tore stopped his snooping and slowly made his way toward Sifu. He stopped a respectful distance away and bowed properly to the master of this temple. "My name is Tore and I am pleased to be of service to you, I wish we had met under other circumstances." Tore paused for a moment, "Might we find time to talk about these creatures, Sifu?"

  "You are very far away from the silk road Tore, we may talk about the Xiao, I would first appreciate it, if you can tell me how you came to be at Dengfeng Temple." A light scowl of unbelief rolled across his face, "Shall we settle for tea? Kai, please join me. Wang!" Sifu shouted, "find the men who were guarding the walls and make sure the dead are taken far away and burned, thoroughly. Tore, please follow me and Master Kai."

  The doors were now open to the inner temple, the children had been sequestered off deeper into the mountain and they were waiting until this issue could be fully resolved before coming back, even close to the front doors. The trio made their way to Sifu's sitting room and called for tea. "Tore, we do not get many foreign travelers to our doors, especially ones who kill as efficiently as you do." Tore was surprised at the Sifu's comment, impressed at himself that he would impress a grandmaster of Shaolin Kung Fu. "I was originally on my way to your temple, to inquire if I might become a student of the Dengfeng temple, when lo and behold, Sifu, it appeared that you needed a bit of assistance. Clearly, my application as a student needs to wait." Tore kept talking, "I do have a lot of experience tracking and putting down demons – if you would allow me, I can help you find the root of this demon problem. What did you call them, Xiao?"

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  Sifu was quite surprised by all of the things Tore said, especially for a man to intentionally wade into a battle with demon's – Sifu felt he would have to approach this carefully. "So, stranger" Sifu ensuring that Tore understood his position here, "you have seen demon's before, ones like these?"

  "I initially thought they were some sort of fae...but then when I saw so many gathered in one place, fae don't do that. The next logical assumption is some other world creature, like dwarves or jotuns, and knowing where I am geographically, I assumed you would call them demons, but yes – I know about creatures that seem like they should be myth, but they are real."

  "This must be fate, Tore. I would tell you that we do not, under any circumstances, welcome pale visitors to learn at our school...but we have been looking for the source of the Xiao for many days, and we cannot find them. If you can help to rid us of the Xiao, I will be happy to repay you, by letting you study at the school. Not only is that obviously a needed boon for us, but you can definitely use some help." Sifu's face scrunched up a little and he nodded, assuming that Tore was here because of a lack of refinement.

"Uhh..." Tore was stunned, "Sifu – I don't think I need help" he stammered a bit, "my fighting where I come from, there is no one better than me. I hunt monsters and demons and don't have an issue there. I would like to expand my style and knowledge, I know I can always get better, but I don't think I am really visibly lacking..."

  "Oh, Tore", Sifu's tone soothing, "I did not mean that you aren't capable, I just mean – anyone can always learn more. How about I have someone show you to a room you can use for now, and we will meet for dinner later this evening after everyone is recovered, and we can talk about tracking the Xiao down and solving this issue with them."

  Sifu stood with Tore, and gently put his hand on his shoulder, "Kai, please show Tore where dinner will be served and then to the guest quarters, he can use for his stay with us." And like that, Sifu was ready to move on.

  The two moved off down the hall. Tore was visibly offended at Sifu's appraisal of his skill, mumbling in hushed tones. "Please, let me introduce myself officially, Tore", Kai began with an upbeat tone, "I am Master Kai, I am second in charge next to Sifu Bao with managing the school. I am ranked fourth in the school for fighting behind Sifu and two other grand masters." Kai let his information settle into Tore and waited to see if he had any questions, so far. "Do not let Sifu's judgment of your fighting offend you, he can find fault in anything – he is ranked number three in China among all of the masters...and there is never a decisive victory when he fights his peers – we are all lesser than Sifu Bao."

  Tore was both relieved and awed at finding out where Sifu was ranked among the masters. Tore had spent many years in China on the silk road for the village, literally traveling across the country. His travels took him to some of the more shady spots among traders, silk was not the only thing that came out of China to go to the west, although Tore and his clan would not trade in humans or organic substances. Tore was well versed in the fighting system of China and who rates what and how, hence his reason to seek out Dengfeng for learning Kung Fu.

  "Kai," Tore asked, "where do you rank in the total ratings, I am just curious? I know quite a bit about the fighting circles."

  "I am not sure if I am in the top 100 yet, there are many of us among my peers. Sifu has taken me on to train specially. He says he can see the promise in my soul."

  "How old are, if I may ask?"

  "I am thirty four, I came to Dengfeng when I was four years old. Grandmaster Bao was Sifu then, as well. He has been here for a very long time – this is the first Shaolin temple you know?"

  "I did know that; another reason I was hoping to learn here. How old is Sifu, do you know? "

  "No one knows exactly, but I would guess he is in his late 60's. From what little I do know, he was or is, some type of prodigy. He excels in combat, philosophy, and all other learning. Emperors from all over the world have come to seek Sifu's wisdom."

  Tore nodded in awe, "He must be something, I hear his name whispered in awe along the fighting circuit."

  "Here we are", the pair stepped through a large open threshold and into an open seating area, "the dining hall. The table to the back wall there, meet us there for dinner. Please let me show you to your room."

The pair ducked back out, and a short jaunt down the hall, Kai showed Tore to an easy to find room. "Food will be served at five bells. Please make yourself comfortable here", Kai indicated the sparsely appointed room. It had a cot and some covers for the bed, one stool for sitting, and an empty set of open-faced shelves, and a pitcher on top. "If you require water, use the pitcher there, and the well is in the courtyard just outside the door to the right. Feel free to wander and explore, there are no secrets here...unless of course you find a locked door – there are not many doors in Dengfeng, please do not enter those. I will see you in a bit."

  Master Kai left Tore to his own devices. Tore did not feel like currently exploring. He had been riding his giant Shire...oh, no – his horse, "Well shit...I guess I'm not gonna take a nap now, I better go get Tiny. I can't have him mauling any of these tiny monks..."

  Five bells finally came, and Tore was ready to eat. He did get a short nap after taking Tiny to the stables. Tore met Master Lin, the stable master – he was very good with horses, Tiny took to Lin right away. Tore washed off the road dust and grime and changed into a lighter set of clothing. Ditching his riding armor for something more casual, comfy black home spun pants, a gray silk shirt, and sheepskin house shoes. Albeit, homespun from Tønsberg was a far cry better quality than the early days of homespun wool he made himself. Tore met Sifu Bao and Master Kai and the prescribed table, bowed to Sifu and Kai, "Please be welcome Tore and sit with us."

  "Thank you, Sifu, I accept your invitation. You are most kind." There was one open seat on Sifu's left, as Kai sat to his right. There were several other men at the table, some older and far older than Sifu, but none younger than Kai. Tore sat with his new friends to enjoy a meal of lamb, oats, and berries.

  After several moments, and Sifu had eaten most of the food on his plate, Sifu brooched the subject of the Xiao. "Fourteen days ago, Tore, the Xiao first showed up and took fifteen of our students they flew off east. That was a haunting day, we have not stopped looking for our children. I have dozens of our school, out looking for them as we speak. I would like to find our children, alive preferably, and bring our men home. I cannot stop searching in good conscience until I know if the children are alive or not. With my reputation, I was even able to call in favors from local township mayors to help us search. I cannot tell you how many square miles we have searched across, but we haven't' missed a square foot within 10 miles of the school. I feel as though we are missing something crucial, but we don't deal with devils, Tore, maybe the same way you can. What can you tell me about demons?"

  Tore did not need to scour the annals of his mind for information on these demons, although in this case, these were not demons of the heaven and hell sense, but demons of Chinese lore. These were going to be very similar to ogres, dwarves, and other secret earth dwellers. Not fae mind you, not behind the veil monsters, just the secret ones that live in the quiet and dark, and come out at night to steal your undies off of the clothesline...

  "Sifu, are there any caves or tunnels around the temple? Someplace dark and cool all the time, even in the daytime?"

  "There are, to the east, but we have searched them up and down. We used enough torches in that darkness to make it appear daylight. I can assure you, there is nothing there."

  "I am sure you did your best, a superb job for mundane folk that don't know the secrets of the demons you search for. These creatures probably have ways of either making hidden doorways or camouflaging even to the most seasoned of trackers...but you don't know what you don't know – but I do know. I would like to take you up on your offer, I will locate the demons, and you will allow me to study at your temple. Is that correct?"

  The Sifu nodded, "Yes Tore that is correct, it is my offer still. Please know, if we don't find our children alive, but we find them, we will put off any training for some a long time. My heart aches right now Tore, I am afraid for our children, but I must know whether or not they live."

  "Please, Sifu, I do not mean any disrespect. Even if that had not been your offer, I would still find the children – this is what I do – this is why I was put on earth, to right the wrongs of innocents. I will not only find the children, but I will also fight for them either way. I know you are critical of my combat skills, but I can assure you, I know more about demons and their ilk, than just how to knock the crap out of them, this is what makes me the best and most lethal at what I do."

  "Thank you Tore, how should we proceed then?"

  "First off, I think the children are alive. Since we are not into summer yet, the summer solstice is a popular time for supernatural creatures to do nasty things. The summer solstice has many properties that thin the veils to the "other side, I feel like our children..."

  "My children Tore – you do not know them..."

  "Sifu, pardon please, again I mean no disrespect. Where I come from, we revere children, we look out for and take in any child in need, as is the reason I say 'my' children. I will fight to the death for any child in need." Tore looked deep into Sifu's eyes, Tore's timeless green eyes conveying his truthful conviction of what he just said.

  "Accepted, and of course Tore, no disrespect take. I am impressed by your conviction; thank you and I am glad you are here. Please go on."

  "I think whoever took the children are planning something for the summer solstice. The solstice is far enough away that they need to start kidnapping now, in order to have enough kids to do, whatever it is they are doing...it just makes sense. Can we set out tomorrow, or should be plan a little further out?"

"No, tomorrow. We have stores of what we need already. The caves are a half day walk to the east, we can begin at daybreak, what else do we need?"

  "We need to take fifteen to twenty of your best fighters, but who can travel quickly. I will take my horse, Tiny, with all of my demon hunting paraphernalia. We should bring two or three other horses, mostly for carrying supplies, and maybe send them back here for reinforcements if necessary. Maybe load up some mules with additional food and sleeping gear, torches, etc. to follow as well, I can't guarantee what we will run in to once I find the door to the labyrinth."

  "Thank you again, Tore. We will have meditations after dinner, I will think over this and arrange for the men and things we need to be ready by morning. I will send a runner for you at daybreak, peace be with you my new pale friend."