By Evan James.
Well, much to my surprise, one of the better well-known secret warriors from Shadowfist did not make it into his own sourcebook. I really thought I would see a bit of Kan Li, but no. Therefore, I shall re-print this very short story I wrote a few months ago, complete with stats for the main man himself at the end. Enjoy!
The sounds of clanking swords and hurtful yells filled the voluminous pagoda corridors. Shing looked up and scanned the dark hallways that trailed away from Kan Li's throne room. "Have they broken in?" he wondered aloud. Kan turned to address his servant. "Why don't you go find out?" he asked, his voice a cold monotone.
A worried look etched itself onto Shing's face, wrinkling his appearance that crosscut all the way up his bald head. He stood and quickly scurried out of the room. Kan spun and approached his throne when a cry and a shuffle regained his thoughts. He turned to see Shing stumbling over backwards, his face and body laced with bruises, followed by a gathering of rebel troops saturated with the blood of his soldiers. One of them, a tall man with a streak of silver in his hair, stepped ahead of the rest and pointed a wicked blade directly at Kan, "Your reign of evil ends today!"
Kan smiled slightly, "If your men leave now and return to their farms, they may be spared. You, however, you will not survive this night."
Emitting a warrior's cry, the rebel surged forward up the platform's steps. Kan held his ground until the last second when he ducked to the side and grabbed the man's sword arm. With a flick of his wrist, he toppled the rebel leader to his back and brought a booted heel down upon his neck, ending the man's life.
Golden doors on all sides opened, allowing a flood of fresh soldiers into the room. They swarmed the small band of rebels, hacking and destroying them. Kan Li watched on as his villainous laughter drowned out the chaotic battle playing out before him.
Last modified: September 10th, 1997; please send comments to durrell@innocence.com.