Marco Polo Film 2015

THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO
"CONSPIRACY"
SCREENPLAY
BY
ROB COHEN
Based on the SCREENPLAY BY
FENGGE
Revisions by
Michael Finch
DRAFT: December 28, 2014
A Paramount/China Film Group Corporation Production

1.
FADE IN:
EXT. GENOA, ITALY -- DAY
A bustling port city. The CAMERA CRANES down to reveal an
ENORMOUS FORTRESS into which PRISONERS are roughly herded
chained neck and foot. They pass by gallows where nooses are
placed around men’s necks
A SUPER-TITLE reads: GENOA, ITALY 1298 A.D.
INT. DUNGEON - DAY
Dark and dank with high ceilings. Bands of natural light
stream through barred windows. GUARDS are arrayed about.
Four men hang from a makeshift gallows -- a beam with ropes
tied to it. A HANGMAN, on the beam, lowers a noose to a
SECOND who places it around a PRISONER’S neck who stands on a
stool. The Second Hangman steps back, and KICKS the stool
over. The Prisoner falls, gagging.
ANGLE ON a cell where a man, 30’s balding and with a beard,
fingers stained with ink, parchment stuffed in his pocket,
stands at the bars, watching in fear and horror. This is
RUSTICHELLO.
He turns back to the cell.
INT. CELL - DUNGEON - CONTINUOUS
Small and fetid, the floor covered in rotting straw. And in
the corner, a second man -- early 50’s, tall and lean, with
dark hair and piercing eyes -- sits, back to the wall. In
Italian, with subs:
RUSTICHELLO
Who are you?
MAN
(without looking up)
...Nobody.
RUSTICHELLO
I am Rustichello Da Pisa. I write.
THUNK! The sound of another Prisoner dying.
RUSTICHELLO (CONT’D)
Or at least I used to. You have a
name, friend?
The man doesn’t respond.

RUSTICHELLO (CONT’D)
(tense and afraid)
You must have a name.
MAGISTRATE (V.O.)
He has several.
ANOTHER ANGLE to include THE MAGISTRATE. Sixty, tall and
lean, with dark and dead eyes, he stands outside the cell,
flanked by GUARDS.
MAGISTRATE
Don’t you, “Il Millione?”
RUSTICHELLO
(reacting)
“Il Millone?” You are..?
MAGISTRATE
(English)
Marco Polo.
Door swings open and the Magistrate enters. All eyes track
him as a Guard places a stool down for him. He sits,
shifting his robes, just so as the Guard exits, closing the
door behind him. The Magistrate’s eyes bore into Marco.
[From this point on, conversations between Italian characters
will be in English.]
MAGISTRATE (CONT’D)
Captured at the battle of Curzola
by our glorious Genovese navy. I
am Allesandro Dominico Calliari.
MARCO
The hanging judge.
MAGISTRATE
...Some call me such. But I only
hang the guilty. After a fair
trial.
MARCO
And how many men have you fairly
tried, Master Calliari?
MAGISTRATE
Four hundred and seven.
MARCO
And how many swung?
MAGISTRATE
...All.
Rustichello cringes. Marco does not.
2

There’s much evil in this world,
sir.
MARCO
If you look hard enough.
Beat as the Magistrate studies Marco.
MAGISTRATE
You’re an interesting man, Marco
Polo. When I approach, most men
profess their innocence. They...
beg. But you’re not like most men,
are you?
Marco takes in the Magistrate, but does not respond.
Is it true? What they say?
MARCO
Depends on what they say, hangman.
MAGISTRATE
That you’ve been to the ends of the
earth?
MARCO
...No. The beginning.
The Magistrate... smiles. It’s not nice.
MAGISTRATE
I don’t believe in dragons, or
magic, or in a wall a thousand
miles long.
MARCO
Then you will die as you lived: in
ignorance.
Marco turns away.
MAGISTRATE
Then enlighten me. Convince me of
my ignorance, and free me of it.
Marco looks back at the Magistrate.
I am an... educated man, sir; well
read, but poorly traveled. Unlike
you. My days of adventure are
past, like my youth. I would see
the world through your eyes. Tell
me your story.
3

MARCO
My story?... You wouldn’t believe
my story.
MAGISTRATE
Humor me.
MARCO
Why should I?
MAGISTRATE
Because your life depends upon it.
Make me believe, and I will let you
live.
Marco’s eyes burn into the Magistrate. As CAMERA closes on
his face, the beginning of a small smile creases his
features.
EXT. VENICE, ITALY - AERIAL -- DAY
Establishing the bustling city, center of European commerce,
and the epicenter of trade with Turkey, the Levant, and soon,
The Great Yuan. It’s a wintry day. The wind blows and
gondolas slap at their moorings as traders and citizens go
about their business. A PAPAL BARGE is moored on the GRAND
CANAL.
A SUPER TITLE ANNOUNCES: “VENICE, ITALY - 27 YEARS EARLIER.”
And a FIGURE hurtles by!
EXT. ALLEY - VENICE - DAY
As the figure looks back, we get a glimpse of him. At
seventeen, MARCO POLO is dark and lean and strong. But it’s
not his appearance that grabs us, its his eyes. There’s an
intelligence to them, and an intensity that speaks to a
complicated mind unsatisfied by the ordinary. They are the
eyes of a young man who will become a trader, a traveller,
and a warrior.
But that’s later. Right now, he’s running. For his life.
Three seconds later and a MAN in a uniform cuts into frame.
He’s followed by a SECOND and THIRD -- the Doge’s GUARDS.
Marco turns down another alley, sprinting. A FOURTH Guard
appears in front of him, sword drawn.
He swings the blade at Marco who RIPSLIDES between his legs,
punching him in the crotch. The man doubles over, dropping
the blade.
Marco grabs it as the other Guards are on him, swinging at
him.
4

He parries, just, sliding back -- this kid is fast and though *
his technique is unrefined, he has undeniable potential with *
a bladed. *
He engages, sliding to the side, his blade moving with speed
as it sparks off the guards’ steel. He topples a barrel,
wheeling around. And as he moves, a sense that he might be
just a little bit drunk.
A Guard lunges. Marco sidesteps the attack and STABS the man
in the foot. He drops, screaming. Two others charge and
Marco slips between. They SMASH into each other. When they
look up, Marco is disappearing around a corner at speed.
EXT. STREET - VENICE - DAY
Marco runs for a high wall... and climbs right over it,
dropping into:
INT. COURTYARD - CASA DE POLO - VENCE - DAY
A house looms. He runs into it.
INT. GREAT ROOM - CASA DE POLO - CONTINUOUS
Marco pushes in and freezes as two sets of eyes lock on him.
They belong to NICCOLO POLO, 40s, Marco’s father, tough and
hardened, and CARDINAL GIUSEPPE LARDERA, the Pope’s envoy,
hard in a different, and perhaps more dangerous way.
Marco nods to his father, and half bows to the Cardinal:
MARCO
Father. Cardinal?
NICCOLO
(to the Cardinal, and by
way of introduction)
Cardinal Lardera, my son, Marco.
(eyes on Marco)
Who apparently has been drinking.
The Cardinal studies Marco for a beat, then:
CARDINAL LARDERA
Will the boy accompany you?
Niccolo, reacting to a commotion outside -- shouts, the sound
of steel and leather -- glances out the window, sees armed
men on the street, searching with purpose. He shifts his
gaze to his son, reading the younger man, his stress. A
beat, then:
5

NICCOLO
Yes.
MARCO
(distracted)
What?
CARDINAL LARDERA
When do you leave?
NICCOLO
Today.
Cardinal Lardera takes in Niccolo and Marco. A beat, then:
CARDINAL LARDERA
Take care, Niccolo. The Mongols
are the greatest military power the
world has ever known. They have
conquered all who stood before
them, and now mass at the gates of
Europe. Open their empire to
trade, and make them allies, not
enemies.
Niccolo nods. The Cardinal exits. Niccolo turns on his son:
NICCOLO
What is it this time?
MARCO
Who, father.
NICCOLO
The Doge’s daughter? Good Christ,
Marco. Did you?
MARCO
I didn’t get the chance.
Niccolo grabs a well worn scabbard, home to a Venetian sword,
from the wall. Marco stares, unsure.
NICCOLO
Come.
MARCO
Where are we going?
NICCOLO
(simply)
East.
MARCO
East? How far ‘east?’
6

NICCOLO
As far as we can go: We are to be
the Pope’s envoys to the court of
Kubai Khan. There we will forge
relationships and negotiate trade
agreements.
Marco stares at his father, speechless. Then:
MARCO
No.
NICCOLO
You were not yet born when last I
journeyed to Cathay, and fifteen
before I ever met you. I won’t
leave you again.
Niccolo walks out. Marco stares after him as his world
implodes.
EXT. AMID-SHIP - DAY
A THREE-MASTED CARAVEL prows into the Mediterranean. A glum
Marco, just a bit green, stands with his father watching
Venice recede.
NICCOLO
One day you will thank me.
MARCO
She’ll never wait for me.
NICCOLO
Listen, my son, Cathay is rich
beyond words. There we will make
our fortune and girls will be
begging to marry a rich man like
you. Even a Doge’s daughter.
MARCO
I was so close...
NICCOLO
By the time we reach Shangtu,
Marco, I promise you you’ll be an
old hand at women. *
Marco looks at his father... and vomits over the rail.
OVER CREDITS: A living map of the known world, a mix of the
mystical and the real... pushing across a vast ocean... to
Jerusalem... by a caravan crossing high mountains. Marco
rides, watching as two native guides speak, learning the *
language... zooming over a vast wasteland...
7

to an oasis where beautiful young women serve wine and
melons, one making eye contact with an older Marco. She
speaks to him in a tongue we don’t understand... and he
answers her. She puts a hand on his thigh. He stares at *
her. She motions him to follow... Pushing to tent set on the *
valley, the moon’s bright light backlighting the interior. *
Inside, two forms writhe, making love... Pulling away, to a *
valley where Marco, on a camel, studies a book filled with
Mandarin text... He looks up, face covered in a sheen of
sweat, at cloud formations. One is of a dragon. He
stares... and slides off the camel. His father is there,
concern creasing his features, staring at his son’s feverish
eyes as the pages of the book flip in the wind. Marco’s hand
reaches for the book as we PUSH in on his eyes...
And PULL OUT to:
EXT. TAKLAMAKAN DESERT - DAY
Marco’s eyes are clear. He’s a year older and a wispy beard
frames his sunbaked features. He and Niccolo, with a few
camels and retainers, are in an endless desert.
Their isolation, vulnerability, and insignificance is
overwhelming. They are covered in a fine silt and almost
unrecognizable. Marco turns his head and hears SPECTRAL
VOICES all around him.
There’s horrible thumping and the cacophony to CYMBALS,
FLUTES and DRUMS.
MARCO (V.O.)
...Two and a half years into our
journey we reached a placed called
the Taklamakan desert. 600 miles
of nothingness. Hell would have
been more apt.
ANGLE ON Marco, lips cracked and parched, fine silt covering
his face. He is wide eyed, hallucinating from the stress and
the dehydration.
VOICES
Marco... run, Marco. Run with us...
Marco and his father exchange looks. And te voices are gone,
replaced by the howling wind. Then the camels become nervous,
difficult to control. A BLACK ROTO-TILLER IS ROLLING TOWARDS
THEM. IT’S A SAND STORM!
MARCO (V.O.)
...For it was home to monsters.
Marco pulls his keffiyeh over his face as the storm hits. It
is the stuff of nightmares. Their wagon is knocked over like
a toy.
8

Marco runs, half-blown, to the capsized wagon. All their
trade goods scatter.
EXT. DESERT -- NIGHT
Like a tidal wave, it’s rolled over them and dissipated. The
Polos are scattered picking up some of their goods. Marco
finds a bolt of silk buried in the sands and picks it up.
VOICES
Marco, dance with us. Marco...
He looks up. Heat shimmers off the desert floor. And in, an
optical illusion: DUST FIGURES DANCING IN A RING, STARING AT
HIM WITH THEIR EMPTY EYES.
MARCO
Go away!
Watching from a low ridge is a MONGOL LIGHT CAVALRY
SOLDIER(BUQA). He carries a BOW over his shoulder, a FULL
QUIVER, a SCIMITAR and a long PIKE in hand. Even in this
heat, he wears a round sable hat with ear flaps. His horse
nickers. Marco looks up, blood draining fast.
MARCO (CONT’D)
...You see them? See them dancing?
Not understanding, the Mandarin gives a short whistle and TEN *
OTHER SOLDIERS crest the ridge.
MARCO (V.O.) (CONT’D)
...Starting then, my Mandarin *
proved invaluable. His name was
Buqa. Once he saw our ‘paiza’ our
pass of safe conduct from the Great
Khan himself, his attitude changed.
He and his men would escort us to
Shangtu, the summer capital of
Kublai Khan...
EXT. LOP NUR BASIN - DAY
The air thrums with unidentifiable sounds bouncing off the
sandstone minarets. The caravan, flanked by Buqa and his men,
is dwarfed by the landscape.
MARCO (V.O.)
...The Lop Nur Basin was the most
god-forsaken place I’ve ever been.
Diabolic sounds and visions
filled my days. The further East I
went, the more magic swirled around
me. It became a way of life.
9
(MORE)

But, it was nothing compared to the
magic I would come to know later...
EXT. YAM STATION - DAY
A simple inn set next to a corral filled with fresh horses.
Buqa and his men saddle mounts. Marco tracks a Mongol *
MESSENGER, galloping in, his lathered horse kicking up dust. *
The Messenger slides off his spent mount, and takes another, *
offered by a STABLE HAND. Without a word, the Messenger *
mounts and rides. *
MARCO
What is this place?
BUQA
It is called a yam. They are every
twenty-five miles.
MARCO
Why?
BUQA
The Khan rules half a world, Marco.
He knows everything that happens in
his kingdom.
MARCO
(peering after the *
Messenger) *
This is for information, then?
BUQA
And command.
Buqa angles for another horse as a SECOND MESSENGER appears, *
repeating the actions of the first. *
MARCO
Does he know we’re coming?
BUQA
Why do you think he sent me?
(looking back at Marco)
As I said, the Khan knows...
everything.
EXT. PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE -- NIGHT
Massive and imposing, and right now drenched by a monsoon
deluge. Below the fortress, the TENTS AND COOK FIRES of a
MASSIVE ARMY ENCAMPMENT stretch across the valley. A PAIR of
black-cloaked RIDERS gallop through the castle’s gates.
10
MARCO (V.O.) (CONT'D)

As they pass, a shadow, high on the wall, moves. And deep
within it, a pair of eyes, watching.
BARON TOBA (V.O.)
Heaven weeps for what we do.
INT. LIBRARY - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE -- CONTINUOUS
Thousands of SCROLLS line the shelves, a COAL FIRE BURNS in
the STONE BRAZIER, set in the room’s center. The castle’s
master, PRINCE YAN, Chinese by birth, 30s, tall and lean with *
the bearing of a military leader, watches as BARON TOBA, a *
Mongol, 40s, compact, physically strong, intelligent, and *
positively lethal, warms himself by the fire. *
PRINCE YAN
Let it. Kublai Khan has grown
weak. He spends his days lying with
concubines as the empire falls into
chaos. We should strike now.
BARON TOBA
Why?
Yan’s eyes move to a man standing to the side. He’s big and
lean, with a scarred face. If the eyes are the window to the
soul, his is already in hell -- BLACK TIGER.
BLACK TIGER
Polo returns.
Toba looks at Black Tiger for a beat. Next to him is Toba’s
riding companion -- a woman, early 30s, dressed in SCARLET,
and radiating a physical power equalled by her beauty.
BARON TOBA
He is a merchant, nothing more. *
PRINCE YAN
A merchant who bring messages from
his Pope. His purpose is to open
The Great Yuan to the West.
European traders will follow, and
their armies after that. We must
stop him before it’s too late.
A RAT scurries across the shelves. In a blur, Red Snake snaps
and a pulse of energy, shaped like a snake, extends from her
sleeve. In a flash, it fangs the rodent and retracts it,
squealing. And then the snake energy is gone, leaving the
dead rat on the floor.
RED SNAKE
As quick as that...
11

EXT. PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS
The BLACK-CLAD FIGURE scales the walls and roofs like a
spider. On the first battlement, a patrolling GUARD passes.
And Kun passes directly behind him, completely unnoticed.
This is DRAGON KUN.
INT. LIBRARY - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - NIGHT
BARON TOBA
...I have a plan, but it needs you,
my Prince. *
PRINCE YAN
What it needs, dear Baron, is my
army. You ask me to pledge my life
and that of 100,000 men. What do
you pledge?
BARON TOBA
My ingenuity.
Yan studies Toba for a moment.
BARON TOBA (CONT’D)
At this point, we must both work on
trust.
PRINCE YAN
In matters such as these, there is
no such thing as trust.
BARON TOBA
You’re wrong, Prince Yan. In
matters such as these, there can
only be trust.
The BARON TOBA produces a dagger and SLICES HIS PALM. He
holds his wrist out. Blood drips.
Yan studies Toba for a beat, nods... and SLICES his own palm.
They clasp hands and bleed together.
Know this: on the fifteenth of the
first month, a fiery dragon will
burn through Heaven--
Behind them, something falls. A single drop of water! Red
Snake moves, fast, hand extended, catching the drop in her
palm.
All eyes lock on her, then move up, to the shadowy roof. And
there, the sense of something or someone.
12

Red Snake’s arms move. Air compresses, and the shock wave
ripples towards the fire. It ROARS, illuminating the
library, and reveals Dragon Kun in the rafters.
And things happen fast. Very fast. Black Tiger throws
multiple knives as Dragon Kun leaps from the ceiling, feet
landing light on the wall. He runs. Same instant, Black
Tiger leaps, also landing on the wall, also running across
it.
They meet, defying gravity -- or at least moving so fast and
so light that they seem to -- and they fight! Moves are fast
and hard. This is speed and technique versus skill and
power.
Black Tiger swings. Dragon Kun dodges. With every blow,
Black Tiger tears holes in the wall with feet and fists.
Dragon Kun spins away, landing on the floor, catlike. He
angles for a set of windows, but Red Snake is there. Blows
are exchanged, fast and lethal. The air CRACKS with static.
Dragon Kun palms Red Snake. She’s propelled back. Same
instant, Black Tiger’s fist impacts Kun. The blow sends him
rolling away. He comes up on one knee as the two killers
close in.
Kun’s hands move and a FLASHBANG detonates! SMOKE suffuses
the area.
Black Tiger and Red Snake spin as CRASH, glass shatters.
Both LEAP through the broken window, on to:
EXT. ROOFTOP - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - NIGHT
The rain has slowed. Dragon Kun’s feet patter over slick
clay shingles. Black Tiger and Red Snake land in front of
him, and the three engage. It is almost beautiful -- a duel
of masters, a dance of death.
Dragon Kun parries a vicious Black Tiger attack. Red Snake’s
kick sends him reeling. He lands on one knee--
--and slides back as an arrow WHOOSHES by.
A dozen SOLDIERS are running along the roof, some with bows,
some with swords and pikes.
Dragon Kun clocks Black Tiger and Red Snake, closing fast.
He DRIVES his palm onto the rooftop.
The effect is dramatic and instantaneous -- a shock-wave of
kinetic energy emanates from the impact-point. Roof rises
and falls, tiles are hurled into the air! Black Tiger and
Red Snake jump, over the wave. The Soldiers don’t.
13

Men are blown back, some landing on the roof, others falling
over the edge, screaming as they hurtle to their deaths.
Dragon Kun runs, angling for a chimney set on the rooftop.
He dives, head first.
A beat and Black Tiger is there. He follows.
INT. CHIMNEY - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS
Kun slides down the narrow chute. He is wearing ASBESTOS
CLOTHING with which he shields his face. (The Yuan Chinese
were adept at weaving asbestos cloth.)
He drops away, into darkness. A beat and Black Tiger
follows, sliding.
EXT. BLACK SMITH FORGE - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - MOMENTS LATER
Kun emerges, rolling through the white hot coals, onto his
feet, and sprinting into the courtyard as Black Tiger
follows, his clothes burning! Without missing a beat, he
ROLLS, putting out the flames, and follows.
EXT. COURTYARD - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS
SOLDIERS on horses, searching. Kun cuts between them. As he
does, horses rear, throwing their riders.
An OFFICER spins, searching for the man. And the man is on
his horse! Officer tumbles away as Kun spurs the horse for
the gates.
OFFICER
SEAL THE GATES!
Gates drop as Kun gallops towards them. He hooks his stirrup
and slips to the mare’s flanks. Man and horse slide under
the gaate as it seals the pursuit inside.
EXT. PARAPETS - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS
Yan, Toba at his side, stares down at Kun, galloping away.
PRINCE YAN
Archers.
A score of ARCHERS step forward, bows drawn, and aim.
PRINCE YAN (CONT’D)
Loose.
14

They do. A fuselage arcs towards Kun.
EXT. PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - NIGHT
Last second, Kun shifts in his saddle, weaving, avoiding the
projectiles, and somersaults through the air landing
BACKWARDS IN THE SADDLE. In his hands are the prior owner’s
bow and arrows. Kun nocks an arrow in his bow firing quickly
and with unerring accuracy, picking off the battlement
archers at a terrible rate.
EXT. PARAPETS - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - NIGHT
ANGLE ON Red Snake walking towards the edge of the parapet.
She takes an archer’s bow -- but not an arrow.
She moves her hands and snake energy -- a dark and powerful
form of Chi -- manifests, like heavy smoke. She pulls her
hands apart to reveal a snake. The thing wraps around her
naked wrist. She brings it to her face, whispering words we
don’t hear, and the snake goes rigid.
In one smooth motion, she notches the snake, as you would an
arrow. Like a Zen Master, she draws and fires into
blackness!
A fresh burst of lightning illuminates the night. Kun is
visible in the distance.
And we are the snake/arrow, hurtling through the dark night,
arcing. Below us, Kun, riding hard.
EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS
Kun senses the danger, looking back. The snake/arrow is
almost on him. He shifts. It’s going to miss!
And the snake lashes out, fangs digging into Kun’s shoulder!
He PULLS it out, throwing it into the darkness.
EXT. PARAPETS - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS
Baron Toba steps forward.
BARON TOBA
How long?
RED SNAKE
A natural man would be dead
already.
15

PRINCE YAN
(watching Kun disappear)
So what does that make him, witch?
RED SNAKE
Black Crane Temple.
Toba and Yan exchange a look. Whatever Black Crane is, it
concerns them, and it means something to her. A beat.
BARON TOBA
(to Red Snake)
Find him.
EXT. FOREST - DAWN
Dark and dense. Foliage moves. A mounted figure, dressed
all in black, pushes through. It is Dragon Kun. His face is
pale, his skin covered by a thin sheen of sweat. This man is
dying.
REVERSE to reveal a Yam station -- corral and inn. Kun spurs
his horse. It trots towards the Yam.
INT. MARCO’S ROOM - YAM - DAY *
Marco sinks into a WOODEN BATH TUB. The experience is
transcendent. Suddenly, KUN’S BODY comes crashing through his
SKYLIGHT. Grabbing a LINEN CLOTH, Marco jumps up in shock.
It’s the dying Kun. Marco rushes to his side.
When Kun speaks, it is in Mandarin:
KUN
Who are you?
MARCO
(English)
Marco Polo.
KUN
My lucky day.
(wincing with pain)
I find the one man in The Great
Yuan who doesn’t speak Mandarin.
He stumbles for the door. Marco, in Mandarin:
MARCO
You need help.
Kun stops, turns, staring. From this point on, they will
speak in English:
16

KUN
...I’m already dead.
MARCO
I don’t understand. The wound is--
KUN
Poisoned.
Kun grabs Marco by the neck hard, chocking off another
question. He drives him back, slamming him against the wall.
KUN (CONT’D)
Look into my eyes, boy.
Marco shakes his head, trying to speak... and somehow his
eyes are drawn to Kun’s. Something hypnotic about those
eyes... Kun places his left hand on Marco’s right temple.
KUN (CONT’D)
Open your mind.
MARCO
(a hoarse croak)
To what?
KUN
The truth. The Khan’s life is in
danger. The Great Yuan is in
danger.
PUSH IN on Marco’s eyes, and as we do, images flash by, fast.
They are Kun’s memories, relayed, as though by magic, into
Marco’s mind, and played out via Kun’s POV, and backwards:
--The Inn, seen from the forest. *
--The snake lashing out at Kun, fangs grazing his arm.
--Riding out of the castle courtyard as the gate drops.
--Battling Black Tiger and Red Snake on the roof.
--In the library. A voice:
VOICE [BARON TABO]
--Two men, speaking. Their faces coming into the light--
SMASH back to the inn room before Marco clearly sees the
conspirators’ faces!
Kun’s back arches. He stumbles... and falls into Marco’s
arms.
KUN
Tell him!
17

And Kun’s body goes limp. Outside are heard the sounds of *
HORSES CIRCLING the inn.
EXT. INN COURTYARD -- CONTINUOUS
Yan’s GUARDS invade the inn, lead by Black Tiger and Red
Snake.
BLACK TIGER
Empty the inn!
INT. MARCO’S ROOM -- CONTINUOUS
Marco stares at Kun’s body, mind racing. Outside, footsteps
pound up the stairs. A beat and Marco drags Kun’s body to a
large wooden trunk, opens it, and slides the body inside. He
closes it as the door opens and a Guard pushes in.
MARCO
What’s the trouble?
GUARD
No questions. Downstairs. Now.
The guard looks around. Sees nothing amiss.
EXT. THE COURTYARD -- CONTINUOUS
Niccolo and others are herded into the open.
BLACK TIGER
We saw a criminal enter here. If
you give us any information, we
will give you a reward.
RED SNAKE
If you are hiding him, we will skin
you alive and roll you in salt.
These warnings are translated into a polyglot: Turkish,
Persian, Mandarin, etc. The assassins circulate. *
RED SNAKE (CONT’D)
Why are you wet?
Marco pretends not to understand.
RED SNAKE (CONT'D)
Hmm, soap. I like clean men.
BUQA
These men are under the Khan’s
protection.
18

RED SNAKE
Too bad he’s not here to protect
them, then.
Buqa’s hand drops to his sword. His men follow suit.
Suddenly, a dozen bows are on them. They freeze.
Black Tiger levels a hard stare at Niccolo who remains stoic.
BLACK TIGER
You. What do you know?
NICCOLO
(guessing)
My name is Niccolo Polo...
Black Tiger pincers the pressure point in Niccolo’s neck.
Niccolo, drops to his knees, eyes bulging. Marco lunges to
stop it but gets a HYDRAULIC FLAT PALM STRIKE to his sternum.
He drops in agony.
RED SNAKE
He’s given you the death fingers.
Your heart will enlarge until it
explodes. So talk!
Marco rips back his shirt. His rib bones are BENT OUT with
the tortured beating of his swelling heart.
(strokes his brow)
There, there... Just tell us what
you know and we can make all that
nasty pain go away...
And suddenly, a breeze blows through the courtyard. Red
Snake and Black Tiger turn, focusing on the entrance. And
there, moving towards them is a dust devil. Inside it is a
figure.
The wind dissipates to reveal a LANKY MAN, early 20’s, all
sinew and muscle, a small and ever present smile gracing his
features, like he’s always laughing at a joke no one else
heard. This is WIND.
Wind. What a pleasure.
WIND
For you, perhaps.
BLACK TIGER
This doesn’t concern you.
Wind glances at Marco, on the ground.
19

WIND
No. But the Khan’s business does.
Black Tiger steps forward, balling his fists. Wind doesn’t
react. And suddenly, the haunting notes of a BAMBOO FLUTE
wash over us.
From the opposite roof, casually walks another warrior, PIPER
CHU playing his BAMBOO FLUTE.
RED SNAKE
And Piper Chu.
Chu just... smiles at her.
WIND
His name was Dragon Kun. He was the
best of us.
RED SNAKE
Perhaps he’s crawled into a hole
and died.
WIND
If so, you’ll see him soon enough.
Wind and Piper Chu flip into the courtyard--
Same instant, Buqa and his men move! Red Snake and Black
Tiger tense, arms moving. A wave of energy SMASHES into Buqa
and his men, sending them spinning back, smashing into the
walls--
--as a martial arts battle unfolds using Kung Fu styles new
and fresh. Through Marco’s excruciating perception, what he
sees is only partly realistic.
Niccolo examines Marco, sees his ribs cracking like
drawbridges.
Although Wind and Chu are brilliant martial artists, Red
Snake and Black Tiger have a dozen Guards in the fight. Long
odds. Until...
A figure, hooded and veiled, only her beautiful eyes exposed,
appears from shadow. This is WATER MAIDEN.
She rolls between guards and attacks with a combination of
moves, both beautiful and lethal. Impacts send Guards
flying. They hit the wall so hard, their ARMOR SPLITS OPEN.
Then she launches herself at Red Snake while Wind’s on Black
Tiger. Chu uses his flute in a Wu Shu routine, so beautiful
to watch so terrible to receive. He takes out last of the
guards.
20

The combination of Wind, Chu, and Water Maiden are too much
for the assassins. They leap on their horses and escape. The
martial arts battle has been won but the battle for Marco’s
life is almost lost.
INT. MARCO’S ROOM -- CONTINUOUS
Niccolo, Buqa, Wind, Piper Chu, and Water Maiden carry Marco
to his palette. His rib bones crack. He turns blue.
Water Maiden looks at him, shakes her head.
Marco’s eyes are on the large trunk. Wind follows his gaze,
moves to it, opens it to reveal Kun’s body.
WIND
(off Marco)
He chose not to speak.
PIPER CHU
And say what? Kun was dying.
Could he have told the Westerner
anything?
WATER MAIDEN
...He didn’t have to.
Off their looks.
WIND
Dragon Kun studied the old ways.
He was adept at entering the mind
of another.
PIPER CHU
Which means that--
WATER MAIDEN
What Kun saw, the boy may know.
Water Maiden produces a SILVER TUBE from her bodice. Inside
are a series of exquisite NEEDLES. She moves to Marco,
pushing torn linen aside to expose his chest, and expertly
taps the needles in, quickly unblocking his meridians.
NICCOLO
What are you doing?
WATER MAIDEN
Probably nothing.
But it is something. Marco’s CHEST RETRACTS as the bones re-
set, as his heart shrinks. Through his feverish eyes, he has
seen magic, and passes out, breathing deeply. Niccolo puts
his ear to his chest, hears his son’s heart once again
beating normally.
21

Niccolo is amazed, the first time a Westerner has seen
ACUPUNCTURE.
NICCOLO
What happens to my son?
WATER MAIDEN
It depends.
NICCOLO
On what?
WATER MAIDEN
His Chi. If it is strong, he will
live. If it is weak, he will die.
(to Buqa)
Get them safely to the Khan.
Marco watches as the Taoists walks towards courtyard center,
his eyes locked on Water Maiden, robes flowing easily behind
her.
EXT. SHANGTU -- DAY
The Polos’ caravan comes over a rise. Below them, SHANGTU
(Xanadu), summer capital of Kublai Khan’s Yuan Empire, (220
miles north of modern-day Beijing), sprawls in splendor.
Walled, it encompasses some 16 miles of palaces and park
land.
Marco, very much alive, stares down at the sight.
MARCO
Papa, down there is the future.
NICCOLO
No, down there is our fortune.
INT. HALLWAY - THRONE ROOM
The Polos wait in their BEST CLOTHES. Marco has shaved his
beard and looks like a healthy, glowing young man. His eyes
take in every detail. Niccolo confers with an older man,
MASTER LOU, a scholar and translator. *
NICCOLO
(bowing in respect)
Master Lou.
MASTER LOU
(returning the gesture)
It’s good to see you again, Master
Polo. The Great Khan has been
anxious for your arrival.
22

NICCOLO
As have I.
The sound of a staff striking the floor echoes and HUGE
GOLDEN DOORS swing open.
INT. THRONE ROOM -- MARBLE PALACE -- DAY
The THRONE ROOM is immense. SCRIBES, SOLDIERS, and VARIOUS
NOBLES stand in attendance.
Seated on a RAISED DAIS, is a man of remarkable presence. His
face is intelligent, his eyes cunning. This one man COMMANDS
50% OF THE KNOWN WORLD, the largest empire ever known, and
radiates that fact with his entire being.
The Polos approach the throne. To everyone’s amazement,
Kublai descends to greet them. His words are translated from *
Mandarin to English. *
KUBLAI KHAN
(Mandarin)
Niccolo, welcome back to
Shangtu. I had almost given
up hope of seeing you again.
But who is this you bring?
MASTER LOU
(English)
I had almost given up hope of
seeing you again... but who
is this you bring?
*
NICCOLO
(English)
May I present my son, Marco.
MASTER LOU
(Mandarin)
May I present my son, Marco. *
KUBLAI KHAN
(Mandarin)
You have travelled far, Young
Polo.
MASTER LOU
(English)
You have travelled far--
*
And Marco cuts Master Lou off, answering in fluent Mandarin: *
MARCO
Dreaming of this day, My Khan. It
is a great honor to stand in your
presence.
Kublai stares at Marco for a beat, reading him, interested.
KUBLAI KHAN
(Mandarin) *
You speak our language. That makes
you the first Westerner to do so.
(English now:)
Why, I wonder?
[From this point on, when Marco is in a scene, it will be in
English. When he is not, the dialogue will be in Mandarin.]
23

MARCO
My father has talked endlessly
about the glories of your culture.
I could think of no better way to
appreciate that culture than to
understand it in your own tongue.
KUBLAI KHAN
Then help you understand it, we
shall.
At this moment, A REMARKABLE YOUNG BEAUTY (PRINCESS KOKOCHIN)
enters the hall. All bow to her.
KUBLAI KHAN (CONT’D)
Ah, my daughter, Princess Kokochin.
Meet Marco Polo and his father.
MARCO
It is an honor, indeed...
The Princess is likewise surprised by his Mandarin. She and *
her father exchange looks.
KUBLAI KHAN
I thank you all for the gifts and
letters from your pope. Not many
men could have survived such a
journey. But merchants aren’t like
other men, are they? Why is that,
Young Polo?
MARCO
Greed, My Lord. Pure greed.
Kublai rears back and laughs. The entire room does likewise.
KUBLAI KHAN
Yes, greed it is. Very amusing.
(becomes more formal)
I am having a small gathering
tonight. A simple meal. I invite
you Polos to attend...
He remounts the dais. The audience is over.
INT. BANQUET HALL - PALACE -- NIGHT
Kublai’s idea of a small gathering is anything but. Hundreds
line the hall.
As always, Kublai is the sun of this solar system. The
Princess sits on his right. The ‘simple meal’ consists of
WILD BOAR, VENISON, RABBITS, and SQUIRRELS, CHEESE and YOGURT
washed down with KOUMIS and TURKISH WINE.
24

And to the Khan’s left sits none other than BARON TOBA
demonstrating a SCALE MODEL of a new SIEGE ENGINE. He drops a
small stone in the catapult and fires! The projectile is
flung with such force, it shatters SEVERAL GOBLETS and beans
a SERVER who is knocked out cold. Kublai is delighted by the
design.
KUBLAI KHAN
You are the greatest of engineers,
Baron Toba. Much of my empire has
been acquired with your ingenuity.
BARON TOBA
Everything in your honor, My Khan.
They look every bit the old friends they are.
Among the honored guests sit the Polos. Though Niccolo
hardly eats, Marco tries everything. Near them, CHEFS pound
and stretch DOUGH into NOODLES.
A passing SERVER carries a tray piled high with COOKED
NOODLES covered with a meat sauce. As they are piled on their
plates, Marco digs in, the noodles sliding off his ‘Kuaizi’
(chopsticks.)
MARCO
You’re not eating, father.
NICCOLO
White worms don’t agree with me.
MARCO
Better to experience than to judge.
That is the only way, father, to
know any culture.
NICCOLO
I’m not interested in culture, son,
but in wealth. As you should be.
ANGLE on a set of tables that are home to scores of Kublai’s
FAVORITE COURTESANS. At the head sits BLUE LOTUS, slightly
older than the rest, her LUMINOUS BEAUTY infused with WISDOM
only making her more so. Sitting by her is her 14 YEAR OLD
SON, BATAAR.
ANGLE ON Blue Lotus and Bataar.
BLUE LOTUS
Watch the Baron. Always watch the
Baron. Do you understand, Bataar?
BATAAR
Yes, mother. I know.
25

Neither of them misses the currents swirling around. Their
futures, their very lives depend on it.
ANGLE ON the head table. Prince Yan approaches, with eyes
only for Princess Kokochin. He hands her a ribboned SCROLL
tied with a PERFECT ORCHID.
PRINCE YAN
For you, Princess Kokochin. A poem
I wrote about you over many
sleepless nights
KOKOCHIN
Such poems are usually untethered
from any reality.
PRINCE YAN
Not in your case.
KOKOCHIN
Then I will read it and see if I
can find any of myself within.
PRINCE YAN
I look forward to hearing the truth
of what you think.
KOKOCHIN
Oh Prince, there is nothing so
boring as the truth.
Prince Yan bows to her and to Kublai. He and the Baron barely
acknowledge each other.
Marco watches Yan as he moves past the Baron. And suddenly,
a FLASH -- Dragon Kun’s memory:
--In the library. A voice:
VOICE [BARON TABO]
--Two men, speaking. Their faces coming into the light, just
visible in perspective now, but not quite recognizable... *
Baron Toba and Prince Yan?
ANGLE ON MARCO, staring, shaking his head.
Then a SORCERER crosses between the men, hands moving, doing
a trick as other MAGES pass by. WHEN KUBLAI’S GOBLET IS
EMPTY, IT MAGICALLY REFILLS. Everyone regards this as normal.
26

Kublai gets up and CLAPS A RHYTHM to his MUSICIANS. As the
ruler of The Great Yuan, enamored of all things Chinese, he
still honors his Mongolian roots like the BIYELGEE DANCE he
begins. It’s full of FAST HAND MOVEMENTS and ATHLETIC MOVES.
When he’s finished, the court goes wild. As he and the
Princess withdraw, Marco pans the room.
NICCOLO
What are you looking for?
MARCO
The woman who saved me.
NICCOLO
Water Maiden.
MARCO
Have you seen her?
NICCOLO
She’s Black Crane Temple. Forget
her.
MARCO
I can’t. I want to--
NICCOLO
What you want is to keep as far
away from her and her kind as
possible. As easily as she saved
your life, she can take it.
Probably easier.
A EUNUCH leans close to Marco.
EUNUCH
The Kahn wishes you to attend him.
MARCO
Right now?
EUNUCH
With matters concerning the Khan,
the time is always right now.
Marco looks to his father, stands. Niccolo puts a hand on
Marco’s arm and leans into his son’s ear:
NICCOLO
Remember, Marco: we are here for
trade and for wealth, nothing more.
Marco looks at his father for a beat, then follows the
Eunuch. As ‘Young Polo’ is lead out, all eyes watch him with
the attention given to seismic events.
ANGLE ON Baron Toba and Prince Yan, standing close.
27

BARON TOBA
The young Venetian is getting a
private audience. A rapid rise in
status to be sure.
Ever since Kublai was a boy, it was
always the shiny new toy that took
his attention. But he gets bored
easily and he would put the new toy
down as fast as he raised it up.
But Yan’s concentration is not on the Baron. IT’S ON BLUE
LOTUS. The look is one of PURE LUST.
ANGLE ON the Concubine Table where Blue Lotus meets the
Prince’s stare with one of her own. The effect on him is
electric.
BLUE LOTUS
Bataar, tell me what you see. *
BATAAR
You have been making eyes at Prince
Yan...
BLUE LOTUS
What else?
BATAAR
The merchant’s son is having an
audience with my father.
BLUE LOTUS
Correct. What else?
BATAAR
The Baron and the Prince are not
happy about it.
BLUE LOTUS
Smart boy...
The game of thrones has begun.
INT. ANTECHAMBER - PALACE -- MOMENTS LATER
The Eunuch pulls silk drapes back, and ushers Marco into a
long corridor. An odd cooing sound emanates from all
directions. Marco looks back. The eunuch is gone.
A beat and Marco starts down the long hallway. He turns a
corner. Racks of GYRFALCONS meet him. He stares at the
impressive animals.
28

KUBLAI KHAN (O.S.)
I have learned much from these
falcons.
Marco turns, taking in the Khan.
They are swift and bold. And yet
they are useful only when they are
in action. Leaders must be the
same: swift, bold, and in action.
He stops, looking at a prized bird.
Do you know what the trap of empire
is, Marco?
MARCO
...No.
KUBLAI KHAN
You cannot hold it unless you
expand it... and that is a never-
ending cycle.
(turning to Marco)
Water Maiden tells me you had some
trouble on the road, and that you
faced death rather than betraying
the trust of a man you never met.
MARCO
A man who served you, my Khan.
KUBLAI KHAN
...And what did he tell you?
MARCO
That your life is in danger. And
then he showed me words I did not
hear: ‘On the fifteenth of the
First Month, a fiery dragon will
burn through Heaven.’
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN (O.S.)
The fifteenth of the First Month
can only mean the Lantern
Festival...
Marco turns, taking in Kokochin as she approaches, robes
trailing. She radiates strength and beauty.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN (CONT’D)
...but that is still some months
away.
29

The Khan looks at his daughter, then at Marco, reading him
like an open book.
KUBLAI KHAN
There are those amongst my people
who believe that you and we are
like oil and water; that we will
never mix. They believe that all
Westerners, like your father, come
to The Great Yuan because they
hunger for something -- jewels,
silk, wealth in many forms --
whereas we hunger only to find
meaning in a simple ideal. What do
you hunger for, Young Polo?
MARCO
(eyes still on Kokochin)
...Knowledge.
KUBLAI KHAN
Be careful what you wish for...
You survived the Death Fingers.
Few have. Perhaps it was luck, or
perhaps you have a greater
purpose... Spend the time you have
finding it.
And the Khan walks away, leaving Marco and the Princess.
Marco tracks the man, then looks back at her, all questions.
MARCO
What just happened?
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
More than you can imagine. You
passed the first test.
MARCO
First?
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Of many. The two who tried to kill
you were assassins. They will try
again.
MARCO
Why?
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Because you are a threat to their
master.
MARCO
I didn’t see his face.
30

PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Who he is, is not important. What
he represents is: Isolation. You
want to live, Polo, you’ll do as my
father commands.
She starts to move away.
MARCO
And what does he command?
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
That you do the impossible... that
you become Yuan.
Hold on Marco, staring after her. Prominent in her hair is
an exquisite jade pin with a crane on the end...
EXT. THE GREAT WALL -- NIGHT
Marco, on a fine mare, gallops down a paved road. Buqa is
next to him, his squadron of Mongolian cavalry behind. To
their right, seen by moonlight, the GREAT WALL.
MARCO (V.O.)
...I was to learn that to become
Yuan was not to embrace a way of
life, but a state of being. My
education began immediately. We
rode through the night past a wall
so great I was told it ran for
thousands of miles...
INT. CELL - DUNGEON - DAY
Rustichello scribbles on his parchment. Beside him are a
pile of sheets. The Magistrate leans forward, fixated, eyes
locked on Marco, and his story. Behind him, two Guards stand
at the bars, staring in, listening.
MAGISTRATE
...You saw this with your own eyes?
MARCO
I did.
MAGISTRATE
(in wonder)
Cities of millions? Goblets that
fill themselves?
(focusing on Marco,
intense)
Tell me about the dragons.
31

MARCO
In time.
MAGISTRATE
They’re real then? I knew it! And
the magic. Where did you see it?
MARCO
...Everywhere. The truth is, in
The Great Yuan, there is magic in
the people and in the sky and the
water and the wind. To walk its
roads and breath its air is to live
with magic.
MAGISTRATE
It touched you?
MARCO
How could it not?
MAGISTRATE
And what of other men; men like
me. Would it touch them, also?
MARCO
Do the sun’s rays touch a man when
walks to his door, or rides his
horse through green fields?
The Magistrate stars at Marco for a long beat. Then:
MAGISTRATE
(tense)
And what of religion?
MARCO
What of it? Kublai Khan granted
freedom to all religions. For him,
all were of equal merit. Is that
not magical in and of itself?
Magistrate checks behind him.
MAGISTRATE
Speak softly, Venetian. To say all
religions are equal is heresy.
They will burn you in Genoa just as
fast as they will in Venice.
MARCO
I thought I was to be hanged.
MAGISTRATE
...Not yet, I think. Continue.
Please.
32

Marco studies the Magistrate for a beat, then:
MARCO
The further I rode from Xanadu, the
more magical things I saw, and the
more questions I had. And then, at
sunset, we arrived at a place more
magical than any I have ever
known...
EXT. THE BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAWN *
Like a Jing Hao watercolor, it is nestled in a DRAMATIC
MOUNTAINSCAPE covered with lush BAMBOO FORESTS, WATERFALLS
and rising GROUND MIST.
MARCO (V.O.)
...The Black Crane Temple...
PULL BACK to reveal Marco, with Buqa and the escort.
The gates open, as though by magic.
MARCO (V.O.)
No Westerner had ever passed
through those gates.
Marco looks at Buqa who stares back at him. And in those
impassive eyes... concern... for Marco.
BUQA
Take care, Marco.
Marco... nods, dismounts, and passes through the gates. As
he does:
MARCO (V.O.)
I would find out why.
The doors close with a THUD.
INT. COURTYARD -- BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAWN *
A thick mist rises from the wet courtyard, obscuring vision,
and giving the place an etherial quality. It is a large and
open space framed by tall and beautifully wrought buildings.
Through the mist, forms are visible: great dragons, carved
of jade and bronze and stone. Their eyes seem to track Marco
as he moves. And all around, the statues of cranes in
various martial poses.
The mist clears to reveal a figure leaning on a wall: Wind.
There’s an undeniably appealing quality to this man. He’s
confident and easy, and always smiling. But under that smile
is something else, something hard.
33

WIND
You owe me money.
MARCO
And why is that?
WIND
Because I bet Water Maiden you
wouldn’t live. Oh well.
(straightening up)
I am called Wind.
Marco looks around.
MARCO
What is this place?
WIND
It is... whatever you make of it.
A flute melody wafts through a door and out steps Piper Chu.
WIND (CONT’D)
...And this is Piper Chu.
PIPER CHU
I am not happy you are here.
MARCO
I owe you money, too?
PIPER CHU
Money means nothing to me,
merchant. I am not happy you are
here because you are neither Mongol
nor Han, and I fear that you will
bring us nothing but trouble.
WIND
(still smiling)
All are welcome here to learn.
PIPER CHU
Not all. Only the worthy.
WIND
I think he proved himself when he
stood ready to die for the Khan.
PIPER CHU
A dog will die for its master.
That does not make it worthy. The
world is changing, and we must
change with it. Our secrets belong
to The Great Yuan, not the West.
We would all do well to remember
that, brother.
34

MARCO
I’ll do my best to change your
mind.
Chu snaps his flute and VISCOUS SOUND WAVES fire from its end
with such force, they knock Marco on his ass.
PIPER CHU
How? There are powers at work here
that your Western mind can never
comprehend.
Chu gives Marco a contemptuous look and walks towards the
training apparatus.
PIPER CHU (CONT’D)
It’s called Chi, by the way.
Suddenly a smiling Wind is there, offering Marco a hand up.
Marco... takes it.
WIND
Forget about him. He hates
everybody.
MARCO
Glad it’s not personal.
WIND
(smiling)
Pray it doesn’t become so.
Wind motions Marco towards a door. A beat and Marco heads
for it.
INT. INNER COURTYARD -- MORNING *
Marco follows Wind through the labyrinth until they come to a
space filled with strange ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES. A dozen
STUDENTS (Taoists) are put through their paces by their
MASTERS. The training is brutal, mistakes paid for in flesh.
MARCO
Is this some kind of punishment?
WIND
It can be. It’s where we train.
You will learn every one of these
devices and you will have the
bruises to prove it.
Wind motions to an elaborate set of wires that form a
corridor that stretches the length of the courtyard, like
some great spider’s web.
35

MARCO
What am I supposed to do?
WIND
Pass through.
Marco looks at Wind, then angles for the web’s start.
WIND (CONT’D)
And Marco: try not to touch the
wires.
Marco steps through and into the web, moving carefully,
trying not to touch the wires. He gets a third of the way
through, unscathed.
MARCO
(to self)
Not so hard.
And a wire starts to move, slowly at first, like it was a
living thing. Marco moves with it. Pushes forward. And
with every step, more wires move, faster... He grazes one,
and things happen very quickly!
A javelin, its tip rounded, FLIES out of the wall by the
wires. He ducks, tracking it. Then a second, IMPACTS his
back. He’s knocked forward. Other javelins fly, hitting
him, hard, knocking him to the side. He starts to run!
As he does, he touches more wires and scores of javelins
launch, HITTING him -- four, six, a dozen...
He stumbles out of the webbing and falls hard on the dirt.
When he looks up, Wind and STUDENTS are looking down at him.
Wind... shakes his head. The Students go back to their
training -- much of it hand to hand, fast and lethal. Marco
rises, already sore.
WIND
I told you there’d be bruises. If
you need anything, whisper my name
to the wind. I will hear.
He turns to go, walking by the students.
MARCO
A sword. I need a sword.
Wind, walking, motions to a rack of Chinese weapons --
assorted spears and swords.
MARCO (CONT’D)
How long would it take me to master
those?
36

WIND
For you? A year’s worth of
lifetimes.
MARCO
Then I would design my own.
Wind... smiles.
INT. STUDY - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAY *
CLOSE ON a table. A parchment is rolled out.
PULL BACK to include Wind, placing ink and quill by the
parchment. Marco’s to the side.
WIND
Can you draw?
MARCO
Some.
WIND
Then draw.
Marco takes the quill, and starts to draw. A long line.
It’s a rapier.
Wind, watching, nods approval.
MARCO *
What now? *
WIND *
Find a man to build it, I suppose. *
Wind starts to walk away. *
MARCO *
How? *
WIND *
No idea. Or perhaps you should *
follow the smoke. *
EXT. BLACKSMITH’S FORGE - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DUSK *
Smoke pours out of a forge. Marco stands with the *
BLACKSMITH. Between them is the parchment with the hand *
drawn rapier. The Smith... nods.
WATER MAIDEN (O.S.)
I’m to show you to your room.
37

Marco turns, taking in Water Maiden, robes flowing over her
body, a veil covering her face, showing him only her eyes.
Even covered as she is, she is undeniably beautiful. There’s *
an energy between them, something just a little bit electric. *
INT. MARCO’S ROOM - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE - NIGHT
A small, spartan room. An open window looks out on the *
courtyard. Marco steps to it, eyes taking in the space from *
this elevated angle -- it’s peaceful, the soft light of *
magic hour casting long shadows over the area. Like the calm *
before the storm. *
MARCO
You know, back at the inn, I never
got to thank you--
WATER MAIDEN
Don’t.
Off his look:
WATER MAIDEN (CONT’D)
I saved you for a purpose. And
that purpose is The Great Yuan.
Your life is no longer your own.
If you live, you will belong to
her, as I do. And she is a harsh
mistress. In the years to come,
you will curse me for your life.
Prepare yourself. Tomorrow your
training begins.
She angles for the door. He tracks her.
MARCO
Who are you?
Water Maiden stops.
WATER MAIDEN
Disciples of the Crane Master, and
servants.
MARCO
Of who? The Khan?
WATER MAIDEN
Order... *
She continues. To her back:
MARCO
What does that mean?
38

WATER MAIDEN
That our job is to defend the
Empire against the chaos that would
destroy her.
She moves. His voice stops her: *
MARCO *
Water Maiden... Thank you. *
She hesitates, and then she’s gone. Marco looks after her, *
intrigued. Outside, it starts to rain. He looks out the *
window and watches her move away. *
WIND (O.S.) *
I wouldn’t if I were you. *
Marco turns, takes in Wind, standing in the room. *
MARCO *
You wouldn’t what? *
WIND *
Wonder... No one knows who Water *
Maiden is, only that she comes and *
goes as she pleases. *
Wind tosses Marco a rolled up mat, then spreads one out for *
himself, and drops onto it. *
Marco’s eyes move back to the courtyard. Water Maiden is *
galloping away into the night. *
MARCO *
So you don’t know her real name? *
WIND *
Names are not important. Only *
actions are. Sleep, Marco. Trust *
me, you’ll need it. *
When Marco turns back, Wind is sound asleep. A beat and *
Marco digs in to his pack, pulling out a quill and notebook. *
He begins to sketch... Water Maiden. *
EXT. PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE -- NIGHT
Heat lightning racks the skies as a HOODED RIDER approaches
the gates. The rider pulls her hood back. It is BLUE LOTUS.
GUARD
Raise the gates!
39

INT. COURTYARD - PRINCE YAN’S CASTLE -- NIGHT
Rain pours. Prince Yan walks alone. Suddenly, a shadow
moves -- a SOLDIER appears, sword raised. Yan pivots, using
the man’s momentum to send him crashing into a wall. Then
FIVE more are on him with sword and spear. He draws his
sword and engages. Blades sing as they slice through the
air. And Yan disassembles the men. Whatever else this man
may be, he is first and foremost a skilled fighter.
Yan knocks the last Soldier back, sword at his throat... and
he offers the man a hand, pulling him to his feet. The
Soldier bows, as do the others. This was an exercise.
ANOTHER ANGLE to include Blue Lotus, standing in the
courtyard, eyes on the Prince.
INT. PRINCE YAN’S LIBRARY -- NIGHT
Blue Lotus is sipping some hot tea as the Prince watches.
PRINCE YAN
I did not expect a visitor at this *
late hour.
BLUE LOTUS
I knew a man like you would find
sleep a waste of time.
PRINCE YAN
As a soldier, I’ve learned live *
with two hours of sleep. I dream *
when I’m awake. What do you want, *
Courtesan? *
BLUE LOTUS *
...A friend. *
PRINCE YAN *
Does your Khan grow weary of you? *
BLUE LOTUS *
He is not my Khan. *
Yan studies her, interested. *
BLUE LOTUS (CONT’D) *
I am... a prisoner in a gilded *
cage. *
A beat, then: *
PRINCE YAN *
We all are. *
He turns to go. *
40

BLUE LOTUS *
You were meant to rule. *
Yan stops. *
BLUE LOTUS (CONT’D) *
Royal blood pulses through your *
veins. How is it a man like you *
bends a knee to another? *
Yan turns back to Blue Lotus, studying her. *
PRINCE YAN *
...Do you know what Genghis’s real *
genius was? *
Blue Lotus doesn’t answer. *
PRINCE YAN (CONT’D) *
Winter. The Mongols used the *
frozen rivers like highways to *
attack us. Never before had there *
been a winter campaign, so they *
caught us by surprise. They put my *
grandfather and half my family to *
the sword and made the rest of *
us... kneel. So here I am. As you *
say, meant to rule, but in reality, *
allowed only to serve. *
BLUE LOTUS *
That time should come to an end. *
PRINCE YAN *
...Oh, it will. *
BLUE LOTUS *
Until that time, I would be your *
eyes and ears in the capital. *
PRINCE YAN *
...And what would you ask for in *
return? *
BLUE LOTUS *
Friendship. For me and my son. *
Hold no Yan, studying Blue Lotus. *
INT. ROOM - YAN’S CASTLE - NIGHT *
A stone room cut into living rock. An undulating ball of *
fire burns in the center, as though by magic. Red Snake, in *
her red robes, stands over it. *
41

Her eyes are locked on the flame. She steps forward, her *
robes falling away to reveal her lithe form. She reaches *
out... touching the. Her eyes roll back, to reveal jet black *
snake eyes. Then a smoky, ephemeral viper rises from the *
flame, entering her mouth. Her back arches. *
INT. MARCO/WIND’S ROOM - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- NIGHT *
Marco, asleep, wakes with a start, panning. Wind is next to *
him, asleep. He turns to the window, and there is Red Snake - *
- or a vision of her. She floats above him, beautiful and *
effervescent, diaphanous robes clinging to her body, hinting *
at the pleasures to come. *
Then’s she’s close to him, the fabric of her robes enveloping *
him. Her lips brush his cheek, and she whispers: *
RED SNAKE *
Do you know what you are, Marco? *
Marco stares at her. *
RED SNAKE (CONT’D) *
I do... There’s nothing here for *
you... *
Her legs straddle him now as she looks into his face. *
RED SNAKE (CONT’D) *
But with us, there is everything *
you desire -- wealth, power... *
pleasure. *
(lowering her mouth to *
his) *
Join us. *
Marco stares at her. She opens her mouth. Inside, the head *
of the viper-- *
MARCO *
NO! *
Marco SITS UP, fast. Red Snake is gone. Wind is there, *
alert, concern creasing his features. *
WIND *
What did you see? *
MARCO *
Nothing. It was a dream. *
Wind’s eyes are on the window. Outside, the wind rustles. *
He touches the window frame, as though he’s looking for *
something. *
42

WIND *
Tell me. *
MARCO *
I saw a woman... The same woman *
who killed Dragon Kun. *
WIND *
Red Snake. Then that was no dream. *
MARCO *
What are you saying? *
WIND *
That they know where you are now. *
It’s only a matter of time. *
MARCO *
Until what? *
WIND *
They try to kill you. *
MARCO *
...What do I have to do? *
WIND *
Learn to live. *
INT. ROOM - YAN’S CASTLE - CONTINUOUS *
The flame extinguishes. Red Snake convulses, eyes rolling *
back to normal. *
INT. CORRIDOR - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE - DAWN *
Marco follows Wind down the long stone corridor. Ahead, a
door looms.
WIND
...There is only suffering on the
road to mastery. Your training
continues here... *
He pushes the door open to reveal:
INT. KITCHEN - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAWN
A large space lined with pots and bowls. At the end of a
long counter is an old man, making noodles. This is the
COOK.
MARCO
The kitchen?
43

WIND
Impressive powers of observation.
Now let us see how impressive you *
are at cleaning it. *
MARCO
What has this got to do with Kung
Fu?
WIND
Absolutely nothing.
Wind nods to the Cook who ignores him and walks away,
smiling. As he exits: *
WIND (CONT’D) *
And everything. *
Marco stands there for a beat, watching as the Cook rolls
noodle dough, and SLAMS it on the counter, hard.
COOK
The noodles won’t make themselves.
MARCO
I didn’t come here to make noodles.
COOK
Then why did you come?
Marco walks to the Cook, taking some dough, and starts to
work it, poorly.
MARCO
...To learn how to fight.
COOK
Fight? Then I’m afraid you’ve come
to the wrong place. Black Crane
Temple does not train you to fight.
MARCO
Then what does it train you for?
COOK
To think. And to make noodles.
Marco looks around, frustrated.
MARCO
I need to speak to the Crane
Master.
COOK
And what would you ask of him?
Marco doesn’t answer.
44

COOK (CONT’D)
The Master is not a man to approach
with doubt in your heart, Marco.
MARCO
Then how do you approach him?
COOK
How do you approach a giant with
the strength of a hundred men and
the power to kill with a thought?
The Cook extends the dough, SLAMMING it down on the surface
where the large flat noodle separates into perfect noodles.
COOK (CONT’D)
When you can answer that, you will
be ready.
The Cook starts to shuffle away.
MARCO
And in the meantime?
COOK
Learn to cook. I’ve been waiting
to meet that legend my entire life.
Marco watches the Cook angle for the door.
MARCO
You don’t.
Cook pauses.
MARCO (CONT’D)
You don’t approach him. You wait
for him to approach you.
The Cook turns, taking Marco in for a beat.
COOK
Fifty years and no one has given me
that answer. Yet a Westerner does.
Interesting.
MARCO
I don’t understand, sir.
COOK
You will. The Khan told me you had
the heart of a warrior.
And Marco and we realize that the Cook is CRANE MASTER.
45

MARCO
(bowing)
You’re... Crane Master.
CRANE MASTER
Yes. And he also told me you have
the body of a merchant. We must
align the two.
EXT. TRAINING COURTYARD -- BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAY
Students work on the ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES, Marco and Wind
are to the side, next to a A GIANT MILLSTONE that runs
through a WOODEN TROUGH. Crane Master is behind them.
CRANE MASTER
...Kung Fu is not something you
learn. It is a strength already
inside you. Here you learn how to
uncover it and how to use it. The
first lesson is the control of Chi;
the method is the stone.
Marco eyes the contraption suspiciously.
CRANE MASTER (CONT’D)
You must learn to pull it.
MARCO
Impossible. It must weigh ten tons.
CRANE MASTER
And what is ten tons? It is a
feather. Treat it as such.
The old man blows on the millstone. It moves, easily.
Open your mind, and anything is
possible.
Crane Master moves to another station and other Taoists.
WIND
That means get in the harness.
Marco looks at him, and slips into it, eyeing the wheat.
MARCO
For bread?
WIND
Noodles. The chi needs to be fed.
Now feed it...
Marco pushes... goes nowhere.
46

MARCO
I feel like a donkey. I guess they
have a lot of chi.
WIND
They do. And the mind to understand
it. Do you?
Marco looks at him again... smiles. He strains... but goes
nowhere, looks frustrated.
WIND (CONT’D)
Start with the breath, draw it in
slowly. Channel the air through
your lungs and feel it
concentrating and gaining power in
your stomach. Then see the power
shooting through your legs. Feel
your legs anchoring to the center
of the Earth...
Marco leans into it, with everything he has. Wheel does not
move.
ANGLE ON Water Maiden, standing to the side, and close to
Wind.
WATER MAIDEN
No one pulls it the first time.
Wind... nods. He turns to go. Water Maiden follows. Then
they hear a CRUNCH!
They turn, staring. Marco is moving the wheel -- just a bit -
- but it is moving.
The two share a look, surprised, and maybe a little bit
impressed.
EXT. HIGHEST TEMPLE ROOF - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- SUNSET
Marco sits, legs crossed, writing in his notebook. CAMERA
swings around to reveal the page: A dragon on one side, a
drawing of the young woman, her face covered in a veil, on
the other, and all around, words--
WIND (O.S.)
Be sure you mention me. W-I-N-D.
Marco looks at him.
MARCO
Why do they call you that?
47

WIND
My family was murdered when I was
four. I alone escaped...
A FLASHBACK SEQUENCE -- TEMPLE DOORS
A young Wind, starving, emaciated, knocks on the door.
WIND (V.O.)
...I had nowhere to go, so I came
here looking for a meal...
A powerfully built man, 40’s, dressed as a cook opens up.
WIND (V.O.)
...The cook said, ‘where did you
blow in from, Little One? Do you
have a name?’
He feeds the boy some noodles in the temple kitchen.
WIND (V.O.)
...I couldn’t answer. I had not
eaten anything for a week, so all I
could do was slurp my noodles. He
said, ‘your old name doesn’t
matter.’ Since you blew in like
the wind, you will be called Wind
from now on...
EXT. HIGHEST TEMPLE ROOF - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- SUNSET
Marco is fascinated by his story.
WIND
...And so it was. I always wanted
to be like my name, to travel free
as the wind over the earth, to see
foreign lands and have great
adventures. Like yours.
MARCO
And the cook became Crane Master.
WIND
More than that. He became a father
to me.
MARCO
...You’re lucky.
WIND
Your father doesn’t love you.
48

MARCO
I didn’t know him until I was
fifteen. He doesn’t understand me.
WIND
Then make him understand you.
INT. TRAINING COURTYARD -- BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- NIGHT
A half dozen straw men arrayed around the yard. One IGNITES
in a FIREBALL! Another, a third. Flames ROARING!
ANOTHER ANGLE to include Piper Chu, across the courtyard,
rubbing his flute like a FIRE STICK creating molecular
friction. A FIREBALL emanates, engulfing the remaining straw
figures.
And suddenly, the flames of one burning straw man are SNUFFED
OUT!
Wind steps forward, hands and feet moving to a precise
cadence. A master of the FOURTH DIMENSION, he can STRETCH
TIME and DECONSTRUCT SPACE! The result is a control of air --
this man can pass like a gentle breeze, or crush like a
tornado.
The wind pushes against a rope structure, shaking them. We *
follow it up, twenty feet, to Marco, balancing on the *
vibrating ropes, a bamboo staff in his hands. As he fights *
for balance, Water Maiden, also on the ropes, approaches. *
She has no weapon. But she doesn’t need one. Because she is *
a weapon. Her eyes are tight on Marco. He swings at her. *
She glides up, over the blow, then lands, her feet, wrapping *
around ropes for purchase. He fights for balance, *
recovering, just. *
WATER MAIDEN
You can do better than that.
Marco looks at her and attacks. She sidesteps the staff. A *
blow sends him reeling. He almost falls. *
Your body is soft!
When Marco regains balance Water Maiden’s stalking towards *
him.
And your mind is weak!
Marco focuses on her. Attacks. Bamboo swings. She bends *
backward as it slices air millimeters above her head. Then, *
using only her feet, she swings under the rope, and comes *
back, behind Marco. *
49

You are unfocused! I cannot teach
you unless you chose to exist in
the moment!
MARCO
(smarting, and through
gritted teeth)
Oh, I’m right here.
WATER MAIDEN
You’re not. Your mind is
elsewhere.
Marco lunges at her. She BREAKS the bamboo staff in two,
grabs one end, and HITS Marco with it. He stumbles back. *
Tell me where?
She HITS him again, hard. Impact sends him reeling. He’s
trying to get his balance when she hits him again. Again! *
ANGLE ON Chu and Wind, watching as Marco’s beaten back, *
losing more balance with every blow. *
Then she grabs a rope, expertly wraps Marco up in it, and *
PULLS. His legs whipsaw and goes flying... until he hits the *
ground, hard. *
ANGLE ON Marco pulling himself up... and looking directly *
into the eyes of Water Maiden who’s hanging from the ropes, *
upside down, one foot wrapped around a rope for purchase. *
She flexes and the rope unravels. She drops silently to the *
earth in front of Marco. *
I cannot help you.
She drops the staff, turns and walks away. *
MARCO
It’s a woman.
WATER MAIDEN *
Typical. Does this woman have a
name?
MARCO
I don’t know.
Water Maiden, back to Marco, stops.
MARCO (CONT’D)
But she’s beautiful, and strong,
and there’s something about her...
50

WATER MAIDEN
What?
MARCO
...Have you ever looked into
someone else’s eyes and felt...
whole? Like suddenly, all your
questions have been answered, and
nothing can ever hurt you? When I
look at her, that’s how I feel. To
me, she is... perfection.
Close on Water Maiden. And in those eyes, emotion -- perhaps *
even a hint of jealousy.
WATER MAIDEN
...There’s no such thing.
Water Maiden walks away. Marco stares after her. Then his
eyes find the broken bamboo staff lying in the dirt. *
EXT. BLACKSMITHS FORGE -- BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- NIGHT
By the red glow of the bellowed COAL, the TAOIST FARRIER,
pulls out a THIN WHITE-HOT BLADE of forged STEEL. He tongs it
out and hammers it into an edged weapon.
ANOTHER ANGLE to include Marco, watching, his face
illuminated by the fire.
The Farrier drops the white hot blade into a stone urn.
Water STEAMS on contact. When he pulls the blade up, it
glistens in the light.
The Farrier offers the sword to Marco who bows... and takes
it.
ANGLE ON Wind, taking in the blade.
MARCO
I’ll need to make a handle. *
WIND
You won’t.
Marco looks at his friend who produces a small bundle wrapped
in silk.
Marco takes it, opens it to reveal an exquisitely crafted *
hand carved ivory sword-handle. *
MARCO *
(genuinely touched) *
You made this for me. *
51

WIND *
I carved it. But the jade was *
another’s idea, and a gift. Use it *
well. *
Wind turns to go. *
MARCO *
A gift from whom? *
WIND *
(walking away) *
Water Maiden. *
Hold on Marco, looking after his friend... then looking down *
at the ivory handle. *
INT. KITCHEN -- NIGHT *
Marco stands at the block, cutting vegetables. Behind him *
are bags of rice and flour, hanging strings of garlic, etc. *
He seems distracted as he works. His eyes move to the corner *
where his rapier, now with the handle mounted, leans on a *
wall. A beat and drops the kitchen knife. *
He walks to the sword, placing his hand on the ivory handle. *
He savors the feel, the precision, the craft... and he draws *
the sword. The blade glistens as light refracts off it. *
He SWINGS the sword. The blade sings as it slices through a *
string of garlic. Then Marco moves, cutting through *
vegetables, then bags of rice and flour. *
The effect is both beautiful and dangerous. *
EXT. ROOFTOP - BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- NIGHT
Water Maiden, on a gabled roof, watches Marco in the kitchen. *
PIPER CHU (O.S.)
You like him, don’t you?
Piper Chu steps into frame, eyes on Marco.
Too bad. Because he’s going to
die.
(not unkind)
You know this, sister.
Marco swings the sword. It seems to glow in the moonlight.
52

WATER MAIDEN
All I know is that we all die. The
art is in choosing how, and for
what.
INT. THRONE ROOM -- DAY
Niccolo enters. It is empty save Kublai Khan who is standing *
by a large globe. It spins. Niccolo bows. *
KUBLAI KHAN *
Do you know your future, Niccolo? *
NICCOLO *
I know what I would like it to be, *
sire. *
KUBLAI KHAN *
Wealth beyond measure? *
NICCOLO *
...Yes. *
KUBLAI KHAN *
Do you know what mine is?.. Power. *
NICCOLO *
Are they not the same? *
KUBLAI KHAN *
To you, perhaps. *
He stops the globe. His index finger is squarely on Western *
Europe. *
KUBLAI KHAN (CONT’D) *
Walk with me. *
Kublai angles for a side door as Niccolo hurries after him. *
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY *
*
They walk, angling down a long hallway. Doors swing open to
reveal a courtyard. They step in to it. *
EXT. COURTYARD - CONTINUOUS *
On one side is a THICK BRONZE TUBE anchored to the ground on *
a BASE. It is open at the FRONT END.
Across from it are a score of men, standing against a wall.
They kneel as the Khan appears. *
53

Khan angles for the bronze tube. Next to it are three GLASS
ALEMBICS, each filled with a different powder -- one white,
one yellow, and one black.
KUBLAI KHAN
(to Niccolo) *
What do you see? *
NICCOLO *
...Powders, sire. *
KUBLAI KHAN *
I see the future. *
(turning his attention to *
the prisoners.) *
These... traitors did not. *
Khan lifts a burning brand and sets it against a fuse.
KABOOM! A huge barking explosion and the view is obscured
with BLACK SMOKE. When it clears, the men are... gone.
Niccolo tears his eyes from the wall, shaken, and focuses on
Kublai Khan who looks at him, hard. *
KUBLAI KHAN (CONT’D) *
It is called Black Jade, and you *
will trade in it. *
Niccolo, confused, watches as the Khan walks away.
ANOTHER ANGLE to include Blue Lotus, watching from shadow.
EXT. TRAINING COURTYARD -- BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- DAY
Wind, Marco, Water Maiden and Piper Chu spar. Movements are *
fast and precise. PULL BACK to reveal that they are on a *
large STRUCTURE -- a cross between a BIRD’S NEST and a PLUM *
PETAL -- the four balancing as they move from spar to spar, *
rope to rope, in a three dimensional dance. Except if you *
fall, the ground is twenty feet down. Looks easy for Wind
and Water Maiden and Chu, but not so much for Marco. Chu
hits him. He stumbles. Wind catches him. A brief exchange:
WIND
You must think in three dimensions:
height, width and... depth.
He helps Marco up, then OPEN PALMS Marco who DROPS TEN FEET
straddling a rail, crushing his balls. His eyes implode.
Chu shakes his head in disgust.
54

WIND (CONT’D)
You cannot practice the art of
evasion by evading pain. Now shake
it off and come back up here.
Wincing, Marco re-climbs to Wind as Chu and Water Maiden
engage.
WIND (CONT’D)
Try again...
Again they spar but this time Marco launches a wicked HOOK
KICK that sends Wind banging all the way to the bottom. Marco
kips back to his feet, using the rope (like Water Maiden did) *
for purchase as Piper Chu leaps towards him. The two engage, *
fast. Chu swings and Marco ducks, leg sweeping Chu who
falls. Then Water Maiden is there. The two exchange blows,
and for the first time, Marco holds his own. They’re close
now, arms moving fast, striking and blocking. Marco wraps
Water Maiden up.
MARCO
Why the veil?
WATER MAIDEN
Perhaps I’m ugly.
She sweeps his feet out. He back-flips, landing easily, eyes
on her. They reengage, moving from spar to spar, like very
dangerous acrobats.
MARCO
Must be. Or maybe its something
else.
WATER MAIDEN
You don’t know me, Marco.
MARCO
I know enough to know when
someone’s hiding.
WATER MAIDEN
And who do you think I’m hiding
from?
MARCO
...Yourself.
She coils and strikes. Anticipating a swing, he slides back,
using Water Maiden’s own leverage to THROW her over. She
spins mid air, and lands like a cat, eyes on Marco, the last
man standing.
The three Taoists share a look. Wind starts to laugh and Chu
nods. Water Maiden just stares at Marco for a beat, then
walks away.
55

Marco drops down between Wind and Chu, eyes on Water Maiden
who mounts her horse and spurs it, angling for the gates.
Piper Chu reads him, or at least thinks he does. *
PIPER CHU
I know what you’re thinking,
kitchen-boy--
MARCO
You don’t.
PIPER CHU
(smiles)
You can’t catch her. Go back to
your noodles--
--And Marco starts to run, cutting through a side gate,
angling for the tree line, shadowing Water Maiden as she
gallops into the forest.
Wind and Chu exchange a look. Chu holds out a purse heavy
with coin.
If he finds her, five to one he’s a
dead man.
WIND
I won’t take that bet.
EXT. BAMBOO FOREST -- EVENING
Whipping through the black bamboo, Marco does his best to
keep up with the sound of hooves ahead.
EXT. BAMBOO FOREST -- NIGHT
The forest is now lit only by moonlight. Marco climbs the
relentless mountain tracing the source of the thunderous
sound.
EXT. BAMBOO FOREST -- LATER
The low thunder has become a ROAR as Marco clears a vantage
of a high ridge. He stealthily shoulders to the edge. Down
below is a sight that will stay with him forever.
HIS P.O.V: Water Maiden bathes in the POOL below a
WATERFALL. Her NAKED BACK to him, she luxuriates in the
falling water. He cannot see her face but her form is so well-
shaped, her strong shoulders flowing to her perfect waist, it
is nearly enough.
56

Using her hands in mysterious ways, SHE RAISES AND SHAPES THE
WATER INTO SCULPTURAL FORMS, COLUMNS, SPHERES, CUBES. Water
Maiden has MASTERY OVER WATER.
She dismisses the forms and they fall apart back in the pool.
When she sinks under the water, Marco moves closer.
The woman emerges and turns, her long, wet hair covering the
protuberance of her breasts. Marco stares, a thousand
emotions coursing through his mind and body.
WATER MAIDEN IS PRINCESS KOKOCHIN.
INT. DUNGEON CELL - EVENING
The Magistrate leans forward on his stool, captivated.
Guards behind him are silent. Rustichello sits, quill
suspended, waiting...
MARCO
...Even today, married as I am,
father of three beautiful girls, I
still dream of her. My youth was
consumed by her and a man’s youth
is the land unto which he hungers
to return.
MAGISTRATE
I have never known such a love, I
regret to say.
MARCO
Count yourself lucky, for as it
turned out, there was much pain
that came of it...
EXT. BAMBOO FOREST - CONTINUOUS
Water Maiden/Kokochin stares at Marco for a beat, then she *
moves! Water rises up, obscuring vision... and she explodes *
out of it, fully clothed, sword in hand, and heading directly *
at Marco. *
He rolls, his blade flashing as hers impacts it. Sparks fly. *
KOKOCHIN *
How long have you known?
MARCO
I didn’t. Until tonight. *
She attacks and he defends. It’s fast and deadly, but *
there’s something beautiful about it, sensual almost, and *
surprising. Marco matches her, blow for blow, his technique *
a mix of Western and Yuan fighting styles. *
57

They get close, swords sliding down one another, sparks *
flowing off the folded steel, cascading over their arms and *
torsos. *
MARCO (CONT’D)
Why didn’t you tell me?
KOKOCHIN
Because it was not important.
MARCO
It is to me.
KOKOCHIN
Because it would not make a
difference.
She attacks and he defends.
MARCO
You don’t know that.
KOKOCHIN
I do. And because you didn’t need
to know. *
MARCO
Then what do I need to know? *
Closing on him with a series of vicious strikes that he *
parries and blocks, just. *
KOKOCHIN
That I am here only because the
Great Khan wanted me to watch over
you.
MARCO
I am deeply touched by his concern,
but-- *
She swings and he dives, rolling away. *
KOKOCHIN
Don’t be. He has plans for you.
She launches herself at Marco. He stands his ground. Last *
moment, he pivots, grabbing her, wrapping her up. They’re *
close now, very close. *
MARCO
...They can wait.
She looks into his eyes...
58

KOKOCHIN
You’re not in love with me, Marco
you’re in love with a Princess who
doesn’t exist.
MARCO
You’re wrong. When I said she was
“perfection,” I wasn’t talking
about Kokochin. I was talking
about the woman who saved my life.
A beat as emotion courses over Kokochin/Water Maiden’s
features.
KOKOCHIN *
Water Maiden is not real. She is *
as much an illusion as Kokochin. *
MARCO *
She’s real to me. You are real to *
me. *
KOKOCHIN
Do you know what I am? *
MARCO *
The woman I love-- *
KOKOCHIN *
A princess of the Great Yuan! I *
was born to serve a purpose greater *
than my own. Whatever fire burns *
in your heart for me, Marco, put it *
out. *
MARCO *
And if I can’t? *
For a moment, something softens in her. But just for a *
moment. *
KOKOCHIN *
You will live your life in search *
of something you can never have, *
and that is no life at all. *
And in that moment, we realize that Kokochin is talking about *
herself. *
KOKOCHIN (CONT’D) *
(resigned) *
Water Maiden and Kokochin are *
servants of The Great Yuan, and *
that is all they will ever be. *
59

She flexes and chi-energy pulses from her body. The force *
drives Marco back. He lands, hard. When he looks up, she’s *
gone.
EXT. CASTLE TOBA -- NIGHT
The structure is like a weapon, foreboding and dark. There
are THREE DRAWBRIDGES now resettling over a MOAT BELOW thick
with KRAITS, one of the world’s most VENOMOUS SNAKES.
INT. FOO DOG ROOM - CASTLE TOBA - NIGHT
The room is made of STEEL. Dominating it is a GIANT FOO DOG
(half lion, half dog) cleverly made from WOVEN STEEL MESH
over SCULPTED LEATHER. The life-like effect is unsettling.
And right now, its black and dead eyes are on a hooded
figure.
BARON TOBA (O.S.)
To protect me.
The figure turns to reveal Blue Lotus. Baron Toba is across
the room.
BLUE LOTUS
From evil spirits, Baron?
BARON TOBA
From everything. Some tea?
She... smiles. It’s radiant. Nods.
The Baron claps his hands twice and an AUTOMATON SERVANT
shuffles forward bearing a TRAY loaded with TEA FIXINGS.
BLUE LOTUS
Very clever.
BARON TOBA
Simple mechanical tricks. I have
made a life-long study of how
things connect.
BLUE LOTUS
Then we have much in common, you
and I. I connected with Prince
Yan. He will do as you require.
Toba pours the tea.
BARON TOBA
I never doubted it. Or you. But *
that’s not why you’re here.
60

BLUE LOTUS
No. The Khan’s mind is failing.
BARON TOBA
And that is news?
BLUE LOTUS
No. But the fact that he has
offered the Polos Black Jade is.
Toba focuses on Blue Lotus.
BARON TOBA
He would destroy us all.
BLUE LOTUS
But you will save us by destroying
him.
A beat, then:
BARON TOBA
I thank you for your help.
BLUE LOTUS
I help you because of your promise
to help me. We are in this
together.
BARON TOBA
And you can rest assured, when the
time comes, I will guide your son
right onto the Khan’s throne.
Blue Lotus nods.
BLUE LOTUS
And what of Yan?
BARON TOBA
Once the Khan is dead,
incriminating evidence will be
found in Prince Yan’s possession.
It will point to a plot between
him, the Polos, and the Black Crane
Temple. The people will turn on
him for justice, and then the army
will turn to me for leadership.
Blue Lotus studies Toba, then she bows her head in respect.
BLUE LOTUS
(rising)
Must get back to Shangtu before I’m
missed. The Khan has four wives, a
thousand concubines but only one
me.
61

BARON TOBA
There’s just one of you in all the
world.
BLUE LOTUS
You are too kind.
She bows and leaves. Clearly neither trusts the other.
INT. CORRIDOR - CASTLE TOBA - DAY *
Blue Lotus, robes flowing, sweeps by, towards a main door. *
As she passes a side corridor, she cuts left. We go with *
her, moving down the corridor. A door looms. She tries it. *
Locked. She pulls a hairpin from her hair and picks the *
lock. It clicks open. She pushes the door open and steps *
into: *
INT. TOBA’S STUDY - DAY *
Models of machines, chemicals, diagrams, scrolls. Quickly, *
she moves to the scrolls, rifling them, searching... *
Footfalls outside. She turns to the door. *
ANGLE ON Baron Toba, entering. Blue Lotus is... gone. He *
moves to the scrolls, grabs one, and rolls it out on the *
desk. *
We catch a glimpse. It looks like a ship of some sort, with *
large sails... *
Toba tenses. Over his shoulder, in the corner, ten feet off *
the floor, pinned to the wall, is Blue Lotus. As he turns, *
she moves for a high window, silk rustling behind her. When *
he focuses, all he sees is the open window. *
CLOSE ON Toba, unreadable... *
INT. ANTECHAMBER - PALACE -- DAY
Gyrfalcons coo. The Great Khan studies them. Princess
Kokochin stands a few yards away.
KUBLAI KHAN
Power has an allure few can resist.
The older I get, the more plotters
meet in the night. It was this way
for my father and for my
grandfather Genghis...
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Do you know who they are, father?
62

KUBLAI KHAN
Yes.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Tell me.
KUBLAI KHAN
(smiling)
Everyone... There are no such
things as friends for you and I,
Kokochin. There are only future
enemies. Such is the nature of
being a ruler... What is the
report on Young Polo?
Kokochin studies her father for a beat, then:
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
His chi is strong but his mind
seems to be focused on everything
at once.
KUBLAI KHAN
You are drawn to him.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
No.
KUBLAI KHAN
As he is drawn to you.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
He is nothing, father. He lacks
concentration, poise, and skill.
KUBLAI KHAN
He is a stranger in a strange land,
yes, but he has much potential.
Everything rides on his reaching
it.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
You give him too much importance.
KUBLAI KHAN
And you, not enough. Marco is the
key to the West. He is the first
Westerner who truly has an
affection for our culture. He will
be the first one back to promote
our ways. Europe is our last
frontier and I would rather conquer
it with ideas than with armies.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
If you live.
63

KUBLAI KHAN
Worried for The Great Yuan,
daughter?
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
I’m worried for my father.
Kublai looks at his daughter. Real affection there. And
from her, real concern.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN (CONT’D)
Marco will not save you from the
conspirators.
KUBLAI KHAN
No. That burden falls to me... and
to you.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
Me?
KUBLAI KHAN
You will marry Prince Yan. And we
will make him an ally.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
No!... Please, don’t ask that.
KUBLAI KHAN
I am not asking.
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
(stone cold)
...If my mother were alive, she
would stop you.
KUBLAI KHAN
If your mother were alive, she’d be
the first to agree with me. She
always took the largest view of all
things...
PRINCESS KOKOCHIN
A daughter for an army. Is that it?
Is that what I’m worth?
KUBLAI KHAN
To me, you are worth a thousand
Yans; a thousand armies. But for
our Dynasty, this is the price you
must pay.
64

INT. BLACK CRANE TEMPLE -- KITCHEN -- NIGHT
Marco and Wind are preparing dinner. Marco is pounding and
stretching NOODLE DOUGH. He slaps it on the MARBLE COUNTER
silted with flour. The dough separates into MANY STRANDS.
WIND
You hit that any harder, it’ll cry.
MARCO
Let it.
WIND
Anything you want to talk about?
MARCO
No.
WIND
Emotions are like sounds, Marco.
You can feel them if you listen.
And I feel yours.
Marco throws the NOODLE STRANDS at Wind like Spiderman throws
his silk. The noodles wrap around his friend’s FACE like
LITTLE BOLOS. He snaps Wind back.
WIND (CONT’D)
Tennger! What are you doing?
He peels back the noodles so he can see.
MARCO
Inventing Noodle Fu, I guess. And
telling you to shut up.
Wind’s anger dissolves with a good belly laugh.
WIND
First it’s Fencing Fu, now Noodle
Fu. You are very inventive. And
sensitive.
Water Maiden enters.
WATER MAIDEN
Crane Master wants us right now.
Wind nods, angling out. Water Maiden turns to follow. Marco
puts a hand on her arm. She stops, eyes on him.
MARCO
Kokochin--
65

WATER MAIDEN
My name is Water Maiden. It will
always be Water Maiden to you. Do
you understand, Marco?
A beat and... he nods. She pulls away.
EXT. POOL OF FLOATING CUPS -- NIGHT
Behind Crane Master’s quarters is a lovely COURTYARD. A
MOUNTAIN STREAM has been diverted into small FALLS that run
into a LUMINOUS POOL. CANDLES and TEA CUPS FLOAT magically on
the surface. Crane Master snatches a cup and hands it to
Marco. Wind, Water Maiden flank him while Piper Chu plays a
beautiful melody.
CRANE MASTER
Don’t sip your tea just yet, Marco.
Look inside the cup. Is the tea
level?
MARCO
Yes, Master.
CRANE MASTER
Tilt the cup without spilling.
(Marco does so)
Is it tilted?
MARCO
No, Master, it is still level.
CRANE MASTER
Just so. Your body is a cup. The
tea is your chi. No matter where
your body is, your heart must be
calm and your chi level. Tea is
water. How does water attack rock?
Marco looks at the STONES under the waterfall, some smooth,
some jagged with cracks.
MARCO
In the seams.
CRANE MASTER
Exactly. The enemy makes mistakes.
Those are his seams. You fill his
seams with your kung fu and you
will defeat him.
Marco finally understands. The others sip their tea.
We are going hunting, so prepare
yourselves.
66

MARCO
Hunting for what, Master?
CRANE MASTER
Dragons.
MARCO
...How can we defeat a dragon,
Master?
CRANE MASTER
We are the five elements: I am
sky.
(to Chu)
Chu is fire...
(to Water Maiden)
Water...
(to Wind)
Air...
(to Marco)
And Earth... like your sword...
How can we not?
Crane Master rises, and turns towards his small abode.
As the Four Elements leave, Blue Lotus emerges from Crane
Master’s home. She and Crane Master exchange somber looks. *
BLUE LOTUS *
The Baron is infinite in his *
cleverness, and I fear for my *
Khan’s life. Kublai must *
understand Toba’s weapon, and his *
plan, so that he might defend *
against it. *
Crane Master... nods. *
EXT. BARON TOBA’S CASTLE -- NIGHT *
The structure, dark and forboding, rises up out of the
mountain itself.
PULL BACK TO the five elements, standing in silence, watching *
it. Three pull away. Marco and Water Maiden remain. A *
beat. *
WATER MAIDEN *
You should go home. *
MARCO *
This is home. *
WATER MAIDEN *
(focusing on him) *
Who are you? *
67

MARCO *
You know who I am. *
WATER MAIDEN *
No. Why are you here? What do you *
want? *
MARCO *
...Freedom. *
WATER MAIDEN *
What does that mean? *
A beat. *
MARCO *
Where I come from, freedom isn’t *
real. If you don’t believe in one *
religion or one leader, you can be *
silenced, imprisoned, or even put *
to death. You, your father, all of *
you, have built something here, *
something better: An idea that men *
can be free to follow their hearts *
and their minds. It’s an idea *
worth fighting for. *
WATER MAIDEN *
And is it worth dying for? *
MARCO *
...Yes. *
She looks at him. Dead serious: *
WATER MAIDEN *
Tonight, you might. *
She pulls away. *
EXT. DRAWBRIDGE UNDER-STRUCTURES 1 & 2 -- NIGHT *
Groping from one position to the next, BOW AND QUIVER strung
across his back, Crane Master leads Marco and Chu from hand
hold to hand hold towards the castle. In the moat, the
VENOMOUS WATER SNAKES become agitated. To fall is to die.
EXT. CASTLE CORNICE -- CONTINUOUS
In the shadows, Wind parkours along the stonework high above
the castle entrance.
68

EXT. DRAWBRIDGE -- CONTINUOUS
Water Maiden saunters over Bridge #2 like a maiden on a
stroll. Bridge #1 is raised to prevent access.
GUARD #1
Who are you? Stop where you are!
Guard #2 nocks an arrow in his bow and aims, an easy shot.
From POUCHES on each hip, she pulls TWO THROWING KNIVES and
hurls them full-force, NOT AT THE GUARDS, BUT AT THE WOODEN
LINTEL ABOVE THEM. Ka-chunk! They embed up to the hilts. The
ARCHER FIRES! The arrow streaks at her chest. She SLOWS DOWN
TIME and plucks it out of the air and breaks it in half.
From above, UPSIDE DOWN, Wind drops like a stone. He breaks
his fall by grabbing THE EMBEDDED KNIFE HILTS. In one motion,
he flips over, dislodges the knives and plants both right
through the guards’ throats. He lowers bridge #1. All five
reunite and enter the castle, passing over the bodies. *
INT. PASSAGEWAY -- CONTINUOUS
There, a DOZEN GUARDS form a counterattack. His hands in
MOTION BLUR, Crane Master dispatches the vanguard with
unerring arrows but soon, ALL ARE ENGAGED HAND-TO-HAND.
Wind dispatches a guard with his knife thrown so hard it
embeds the guard in the wall. He spins and STRETCHES to and
retrieve it in time to IMPALE TWO CHARGING GUARDS, one with
each hand. He evades THREE OTHERS but they are on him with
SPEARS.
Water Maiden fights her attackers with DOUBLE SWORDS. She
mows through them like a SCYTHE THROUGH WHEAT.
Marco lays on with his FENCING FU. He parries away a SPEAR
and LEAPS clear over the guard, then RUNS HIM THROUGH with
his RAPIER. He collides with one of WIND’S ASSAILANTS and
dispatches him with a fast kick/palm strike. His SPEAR flips
in the air. Marco catches it, spins and jams it into a guy
twice his size.
Piper Chu sits it out, playing his flute.
MARCO
You waiting for an invitation?
Chu smirks and sees a guard attacking Marco from his blind
side. He whips his flute and KNOCKS HIM BACK with a BLAST OF
SOUND WAVES. He collides with Water Maiden who runs him
through without looking at him.
69

CHU *
(to Marco) *
You owe me. I’ll collect later. *
And Marco THROWS his sword at Chu. It sails just over his *
shoulder, eviscerating a Guard who was attacking from behind. *
MARCO *
You just did. *
Chu stares at him... At their feet are the guards, all dead. *
And one gets up and RUNS for a SIDE CORRIDOR tangled with *
stacks of DISCARDED FURNITURE. Crane Master draws his bow,
but an arrow shot through the MAZE OF STUFF seems impossible.
In PHOTO-SONIC SLO-MO, the CAMERA tails the arrow as it
grazes ever so delicately off DIFFERENT SURFACES redirecting
its flight up, down, right, left threading a complex needle.
The guard is ALMOST TO THE CORNER, about to scream his
warning. He ducks low behind a tangle of CHAIR LEGS. Like a
PINBALL, the arrow knocks side to side through the obstacles
and slams into the guards skull. He has been silenced.
The 5 have taken out 12 men in less than 60 seconds. *
INT. TOBA’S ROOMS - CASTLE TOBA - CONTINUOUS *
Toba stares down at schematics. Black Tiger enters. *
BLACK TIGER
We have visitors.
BARON TOBA
Who?
BLACK TIGER
Black Crane Temple.
BARON TOBA
...Introduce them to the Foo Dog. *
Black Tiger bows, and exits. We hold on Toba...
INT. CORRIDOR - CASTLE TOBA - CONTINUOUS
Crane Master, Marco and the others move down the long
corridor. Movement ahead -- SOLDIERS. As the men see them, *
they retreat. *
The five elements turn a corner. More SOLDIERS... who *
retreat. The five move forward. They turn a corner. A *
large steel door looms ahead. *
70

A beat and Water Maiden leans into it. It swings open to *
reveal:
INT. FOO DOG ROOM - CASTLE TOBA - CONTINUOUS
The five enter. The room is empty save the Foo Dog statue *
resting in the center, its black eyes staring, impassive. *
The five look at each other for a beat, wondering where the *
Soldiers went. *
BARON TOBA (O.S.) *
It’s an honor, Crane Master. *
Everyone tenses as they turn to take in Toba standing by an *
identical door on the other side of the room. Black Tiger is *
just to his left. *
CRANE MASTER
Baron Toba. Black Tiger. *
Baron Toba bows, ever so slightly. Black Tiger does not. *
His hard eyes are locked on Crane Master. These men have a *
history, and it’s not good. *
CLOSE ON Marco, focusing on Toba. FLASH to his memory: *
VOICE [BARON TABO]
--Two men, speaking. Their faces coming into the light to
reveal Prince Yan and Baron Toba.
MARCO *
It’s a trap, Master. *
BARON TOBA *
Yes. But from where? *
CRANE MASTER *
Where we least expect it. *
(focusing on Toba) *
You are like a brother to the Khan, *
Baron. *
BARON TOBA *
As he is to me. *
CRANE MASTER *
Then it is not too late to stop *
this madness. *
71

BARON TOBA *
I’m afraid it is. We are no longer *
children, and this is not a game. *
Know that I take no pleasure in his *
end. I do what I do not out of *
hate, but for love. *
CRANE MASTER *
Murder is not love. *
BARON TOBA *
You’re a good man, Crane Master, *
but simple. In death there is *
rebirth, and his death will bring *
new life to the Great Yuan. *
WATER MAIDEN *
And what of your death, Toba? *
Her body is tense, her senses locked on Toba, eyes tight on *
him, every fibre of her being preparing for what is to come. *
She’s going to kill this man. *
BARON TOBA *
My death, like my life, will be *
meaningless unless I protect this *
empire-- *
Water Maiden’s arms flash! Two knives sail through the air, *
rotating, heading for Toba. *
Black Snake answers in kind -- blades sail, and meet in the *
center of the room, sparking, and CLATTERING to the floor.
Then Crane Master MOVES, gliding forward, angling for Toba. *
Black Tiger, a blur, impacts him. Moves are fast and hard. *
Good bye, Crane Master. *
He bows, turns, and walks out. Black Tiger strikes at Crane *
Master, who blocks him. A blow sends Black Tiger spinning *
away. He lands, cat-like, eyes on Crane Master... then pulls *
away, following Toba. Door starts to close behind them. *
Simultaneously, the door through which the five entered *
starts to close! *
Marco and Water Maiden and Wind MOVE, sprinting for the door
Toba went through. Same moment, Chu moves for the one they *
came through. *
The door in front of Marco seals with a resounding THUD as *
the other seals, trapping the five in the room! *
72

Marco tries the door. No handle, no hinges, no nothing --
just solid steel. He looks back at the door they came
through. Also sealed, like it was never there. *
A rumbling sound echoes, like a series of pistons firing.
The four look around... nothing. Then steam pours out of
the Foo Dog’s joints and nostrils.
WATER MAIDEN
(focusing)
You know, I have a not so good
feeling about this.
And suddenly the Foo Dog’s black eyes are blood red.
MARCO
What could possibly go wrong?
And things happen very fast--
-Razor-sharp BLADES POP OUT of the Foo Dog’s mane, shoulders,
and joints as the hindquarters telescope, raising it to a
full SIX FEET of mechanized mean--
WIND
That.
--And it ATTACKS!
The five DIVE as steel claws DIG into the floor, tearing up *
tile. The thing SPINS, slicing at Marco who slides back,
evading, just. It LUNGES! He ducks and it SMASHES into the
steel wall, denting it.
He’s backing up and it CHARGES. Marco runs, cutting between
supporting beams. The Dog follows, back spikes tearing into
the pylons, ripping great gouges into them!
It SNAPS at him as he cuts between more pylons. One SHEERS.
Another. They fall and Marco dives.
The Foo Dog is almost on him when Crane Master hits it with a
flying kick -- enough force to kill a horse. The Dog tumbles
away, SMASHING into a wall, denting it, and pivoting to its
feet. It turns on him, snarling. Steam pours of its steely
maw to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. A deep RUMBLE
emanates from somewhere deep down and as the five come *
together, back to the wall and no place to run. *
WATER MAIDEN *
I wish it could end another way.
Marco focuses on the beast. Condensed water coats its *
joints, leaking out, onto the floor.
MARCO
...It can.
73

PIPER CHU
(shaking his head)
We can’t outrun that thing, Marco,
and we can’t fight it. *
MARCO
We don’t have to.
They look at Marco, unsure. Marco’s looking at the door
behind them, at the very faint seams where it sealed...
MARCO (CONT’D)
(echoing Crane Master)
How does water attack rock?
Water Maiden and others follow his gaze... *
CRANE MASTER
(smiling just a bit, like
a proud father)
...In the seams.
Marco... nods, and Crane Master moves, fast, sprinting *
directly at the door! The Foo Dog LEAPS after him, closing *
the gap, fast. It’s maw is inches from Crane Master when he *
hits the wall, and RUN RIGHT UP IT, flipping back and over *
the Foo Dog as it SLAMS into and through the sealed doors and
into corridor beyond. *
It tries to turn, gets stuck for a moment. SHAKES its massive
head and masonry rains.
CRANE MASTER (CONT’D) *
Quickly! *
Marco and Water Maiden, Wind and Chu run towards the back of *
the Foo dog. *
INT. CORRIDOR - CASTLE TOBA - CONTINUOUS *
The five LEAP over the beast, sliding over it, and landing in *
the corridor as it starts to tear itself free. *
They run and the thing follows, ripping up the corridor as *
the five sprint, cutting down a perpendicular corridor, and *
then another. Stairs ahead. They take them. The Foo Dog, a
thousand pounds of metal-mean, is a beat behind, sliding
around corners, tearing up tile and smashing walls. *
Chu slips and falls. Marco turns, grabbing him, pulling him
away as the Foo Dog SNAPS.
MARCO *
Now you owe me! *
74

Crane Master spins, drawing two arrows from his quiver and
FIRES! Arrows arc, SMASHING into the thing’s eyes. It
rears, limbs flailing, smashing into the walls, talons arcing *
towards Marco! *
And Chu pushes him aside! Claws DIG in to Chuck, lifting him *
up and shaking him like a rag doll. *
MARCO (CONT’D) *
NO!
He attacks, blade SLICING into the Foo Dog’s arms. Sparks *
fly as Marco SEVERS the thing’s paws. Chu falls and the dog *
rears, great maw open, exposing rows of teeth. As it lunges, *
Marco moves SLIDING under the dog, his blade splitting it’s *
torso. Water spills out, pooling -- a steam engine drives *
this beast!
The dog howls and spins, focusing its rage on Marco. *
Water Maiden, seeing the water, focuses her Chi. A pulse
emanates from her and the water becomes ice, rising up, into
the dog’s guts, and FREEZING.
The dog takes a step, stops as ice forms around it.
Crane Master focuses his Chi. The air ripples as a wall of
energy emanates from his palms, washing over the dog. The
effect is instantaneous and devastating. The frozen metal
SHATTERS, pieces raining down as the dog collapses into its
component parts, pistons firing and gears spinning.
The four stare down at Chu, sorrow creasing their features.
PIPER CHU *
(to Marco) *
We’re even. *
MARCO *
Why? Why sacrifice yourself for *
me? *
PIPER CHU *
Because I was wrong about you. You *
didn’t come to take, but to give... *
Don’t let them win, brother. *
And he’s gone. Marco closes his eyes. Kokochin stares at *
Marco... *
A sound of machinery echoes, close.
WIND *
Another of these things?
MARCO *
...No, something worse.
75

Crane Master... nods, and turns to go. *
WATER MAIDEN *
Piper Chu’s body, Master--
CRANE MASTER
Is a shell, nothing more. We will
honor him through our actions.
He’s moving. Others peel off, one by one, and follow. As
they move, the sounds of machinery grow and with it, a glow
of fires. They pause at the corridor.
Below them is a vast WORKSPACE in which something monumental
is being constructed. Hundreds of SLAVES work under the eyes
of whip-cracking OVERSEERS. The Baron’s GUARDS patrol
everywhere, his GUNNERS man several BRONZE CANNONS.
WIND *
It looks like they’re laying down
the ribbing of some sort of boat...
CRANE MASTER *
If that were a ship, it would be
too big for the river.
Marco’s locked on the “ship’s” prow. It resembles a great *
dragon head. *
MARCO *
(almost to himself) *
“...a fiery dragon...” *
Sound behind them. Water Maiden turns. There stands a 10 *
YEAR OLD SLAVE BOY, a yoke and buckets over his shoulders.
All freeze.
WATER MAIDEN *
We are not here to hurt you... We
are here to help...
The boy lets out A PIERCING SCREAM. The GUARDS locate the
source and spot the INTRUDERS. A KLAXON sounds.
MARCO
Time to go!
TWO CANNONS pivot, fuses lit. They thunder, their BALLS
shattering the ROCK WALLS above our TAOISTS. They run as the
guards fire a VOLLEY of fuse-ignited MUSKETS. The heroes rush
back the way they came as the space around them is shredded
with LEAD MINI-BALLS.
A squad of SHOCK-TROOPS give chase, fuse-spiked CANNISTERS
hanging from their belts, PRIMITIVE HAND GRENADES.
76

Marco Polo Film 2015

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