Transcript:The Prince of Iorden, Part 3

EPISODE THREE:
 DREAM SEQUENCE: ENDLESS, MISTY WOODS - TIME UNCLEAR
 NARRATOR
 Brennen dreamt of an infinite forest. Well, not really.
 We sprites can comprehend the infinite. But the minds
 of mortals are, by nature, limited and must
 approximate. So really, Brennen dreamt of a very, very,
 very big forest.
 Out of nowhere, a young girl materialized in front of
 him. She looked the very picture of innocence. Or, at
 least, she would have were not for the gaping puncture
 wound in her chest. She opened her mouth to speak.
 YOUNG GIRL
 There are seven things you must know to save me. The
 first thing is: my killer has died as well, but has not
 yet joined me.
 NARRATOR
 The general looked on silently, because any mortal who
 claims to know how he’d respond to that is a liar.
 YOUNG GIRL
 You should run, Brennen.
 NARRATOR
 He did decide to look behind him, and that’s when he
 saw it. I’d describe what he saw, but what it looked
 like to him isn’t important. Imagine you’re in your
 bedchambers late at night, and you put out the last
 light. A sliver of moonlight creeps through the window
 and spills onto your bed. Make a list in your mind of
 the five things you’d least want the moonlight to
 reveal, then imagine you saw all of those things at
 once. That was what this moment in the dream felt like
 to Brennen.
 Brennen, though, was ever the warrior. His first
 reaction, when faced with indescribable horror, was to
 try to murder it with an axe. He unslung the twibill
 that had been the woe of so many of House Guernatal’s
 enemies, and swung with all of his might at the
 terrible thing. Unfortunately, this was a nightmare,
 and he could not get any speed on the thing despite his
 considerable strength.
 The thing easily dodged the blow, and then took the
 form of a huge bear. Less effective than its previous
 form at making a man question that he’d ever known
 NARRATOR (cont’d)
 anything good, but quite handy at knocking a battle-axe
 out of man’s hands with a swipe of its paw, and then
 biting out the throat of a young girl.
 Brennen ran for his axe, hoping against hope to save
 the girl, or at least make the beast pay. But he was
 distracted by a bird. No common bird, but a
 spectacularly beautiful bird, with feathers of red and
 gold. Soon it was joined by two other birds, one of all
 red and one of all gold. This caught the attention of
 the beast, and also of the blood-soaked but still alive
 young girl.
 As the three of them stood there, mesmerized, four grey
 birds joined the flock, one of which wore a crown.
 That was when Brennen heard the disembodied voice...
 VOICE
 General...
 NARRATOR
 And saw the intense light from some unknown source.
 VOICE
 General...
 INT. BRENNEN’S BEDCHAMBERS - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT 
 NARRATOR
 Brennen jolted awake in his sparse quarters to see one
 of his officers standing over him with a torch.
 SOLDIER
 Sorry to wake you, sir.
 BRENNEN
 What’s happened?
 SOLDIER
 The elf found some suspicious travelers in the eastern
 woods. His Majesty has called an emergency meeting of
 his court.
 BRENNEN
 Thank you, Lieutenant.
 INT. CASTLE GUERNATAL DUNGEON - SIMULTANEOUS
 NARRATOR
 The travelers - our travelers - were at that moment in
 a cell of a dungeon several stories below Castle
 Guernatal. Billy and Jen sat together on a stone bench
 that could never be mistaken for comfortable, while
 Nelson was curled up asleep on a different bench.
 JEN
 How late do you figure it is by now?
 BILLY
 Late. If I’m lucky, my old man’ll be too plastered to
 notice I’m not home yet.
 JEN
 Billy, I’m scared.
 BILLY
 Don’t get all worked up, honey. Somebody’s always doing
 this reenactment shit. People get carried away
 sometimes. They’ll let us out soon, and if they don’t
 I’ll start kicking some asses.
 JEN
 But what about that snake?
 NARRATOR
 A piercing clamor badly startled Billy and Jen and
 jolted Nelson awake. The castle jailer was banging his
 shortsword against the bars of their cell.
 JAILER
 Up, vermin! Don’t keep the King waiting.
 EXT. PRISONER PROCESSING AREA - A FEW MINUTES LATER
 NARRATOR
 They were led up several flights of stairs and out into
 a small, walled-off courtyard in between the dungeon
 and the castle proper. The courtyard was dominated by a
 large hedgemaze, a man tall and then some. The pikes of
 patrolling soldiers were just barely visible over the
 tops of the hedges.
 JAILER
 Wait here until someone comes for you.
 NARRATOR
 The Jailer headed back towards the dungeon and out of
 earshot.
 NELSON
 (WHISPERS)
 I can get us out of here.
 BILLY
 No, you can’t.
 NELSON I’ve beaten every single Legend of Zelda game.
 JEN
 But those are games.
 NELSON
 You can see their pikes over the top of the hedges. We
 can use them to map their patrol routes.
 NARRATOR
 Nelson watched the motion of the pikes intently for
 several seconds.
 BILLY
 Look, nerd--
 NELSON
 Shh! On my signal, run into the maze and turn right.
 JEN
 Now, let’s just--
 NELSON Now!
 NARRATOR
 Nelson darted into the maze. Jen and Billy, realizing
 their dearth of better choices, ran after him.
 It must be admitted, it was wise of Nelson to notice
 the pikes, and skillful of him to have discerned the
 patterns of the patrols so quickly. It must also be
 admitted that it was quite foolish of him to fail to
 notice the guard tower that overlooked the courtyard,
 since this was, after all, a castle.
 Two bowmen in the tower each nocked an arrow and aimed.
 BOWMAN 2
 Halt down there!
 NARRATOR
 The three young humans stopped in their tracks as every
 guard in the hedgemaze converged on them. The jailer
 stormed back out from the dungeon, fuming.
 JAILER
 WHAT IN SELBIRIN ARE YOU THINKING?!
 NELSON
 I didn’t expect there to be guard towers.
 JAILER
 You didn’t expect--THERE ARE VISIBLE GAPS IN OUR PATROL
 ROUTES!!
 NELSON
 Yes, I noticed those.
 JAILER
 Some castle we’d be if we didn’t account for those.
 Might as well build the walls from cow shit. You lot
 are lucky I’ve orders to keep you alive, or I’d wring
 your necks right here. Come on, then.
 INT. CASTLE MAIN HALL -
 SIMULTANEOUS
 NARRATOR
 As the three travelers were being led to the throne
 room, High King Gunther Guernatal was addressing his
 court. His court, which looked precisely like it had
 just been dragged out of its respective beds, comprised
 humans of all skin colors and from all walks of life.
 And Yllowyyn. And, from "all walks of life" you can of
 course imply, "provided they were wealthy." Humans in
 Iorden at that time placed tremendous value on how much
 gold one’s father happened to possess at the time of
 one’s birth. In fact, the only member of Gunther’s
 court whose father was not tremendously wealthy was
 conspicuously absent at the moment.
 GUNTHER
 I hope by now you see that the measures I’ve taken have
 been necessary. In chaotic times such as these,
 vigilance is the last weapon of order.
 NARRATOR
 Brennen strode in hurriedly, despite the weight of all
 his armor. Had any other baseborn man interrupted a
 meeting of His Majety’s court, the uproar would have
 NARRATOR (cont’d)
 been deafening. But the King’s regard for this man,
 along with his many military triumphs and decorations,
 stayed their contempt. Not to mention the gigantic
 battle-axe and dozen or so throwing axes he wore.
 Brennen took his seat at the right hand of the King.
 BRENNEN
 (WHISPERS)
 Sincere apologies, your Grace.
 GUNTHER
 Sorry we had to wake you, friend.
 BRENNEN
 Old soldiers are used to not sleeping the night.
 GUNTHER
 (TO EVERYONE)
 As I was saying, our young Kalth’yr has taken my
 message of vigilance to heart, and brought us three
 possible spies that he encountered in the eastern
 woods.
 GUNTHER
 I have called this meeting so that we may try to
 discern their motives. Guards, send them in.
 NARRATOR
 The doors of the main hall opened, and our three young
 travelers were marched in a few inches in front of the
 jailer’s sword. There were many murmurs regarding their
 garb, which seemed entirely bizarre to Gunther’s court.
 Their attire also caught Brennen’s attention, but for a
 different reason. As you may have noticed, they were
 clad in the same colors as the birds in Brennen’s
 dream.
 Yllowyyn stood to give a report.
 BILLY
 Oh great, it’s Weenie.
 YLLOWYYN
 Thank you for the floor, your Grace. As you can see,
 their attire is completely unfamiliar. And you can take
 my word that their manners are equally alien.
 Furthermore, if you’ll look at the puny one, you’ll see
 he wears tokens of Garedian around his neck.
 COMPANY [GASPS AND HUSHED TALKING]
 NARRATOR
 He was of course referring to the token that Nelson
 called a "d20," which was considered relatively
 inoffensive back where Nelson came from, but mortified
 gasps broke out throughout the court nonetheless.
 BILLY
 I swear to God, Nerd...
 GUNTHER
 Silence!
 YLLOWYYN
 Your Grace, I would have brought them to the court’s
 attention sooner, but I had been out hunting and did
 not hear of the Her late Majesty’s tragic demise until
 I returned.
 GUNTHER
 (TO YLLOWYYN)
 I understand, Kalth’yr.
 (TO THE KIDS)
 Where are the three of you from?
 BILLY
 N! E! P! A!
 GUNTHER
 I’ve never heard of such a place, and I am High King.
 Who claims those lands?
 BILLY
 Um...the governor of Pennsylvania?
 JEN
 His name is Tom Corbett, I think.
 NARRATOR
 Billy looked at Jen, just the slightest bit taken
 aback. Very much taken aback by the proceedings was
 Ardel of House Redmoor, a somewhat petulant lord of 24
 years and no small influence in Guernatal’s court.
 Until this moment, he held his tongue. But his more
 mild-mannered twin, the maid Arlene, who sat with him,
 had noticed the signs of his anger growing ever more
 dire. At the mention of fantastical-sounding lands and
 governors, he could no longer remain mute.
 ARDEL
 This all sounds made-up. What manner of game do they
 think they’re playing at?
 NELSON Well, the setting is very similar to The Elder Scrolls series, but the introduction seems a bit lengthy, even for a Bethesda game.
 GUNTHER
 I assure you I do not have time for games.
 BILLY
 You don’t have time for games? I’m glad you guys are
 having so much fun with your little renaissance fair,
 but we need to get home.
 GUNTHER
 You will go nowhere if you don’t tell me what you were
 doing on my lands. I believe in justice, but DO NOT TRY
 MY PATIENCE!!
 BILLY
 You can’t just keep us here!
 GUNTHER
 GUARDS!!!
 NARRATOR
 Three soldiers emerged from the crowd, swiftly pushed
 our travelers to their knees and put swords to their
 necks. Billy and Nelson finally joined Jen in the
 realization that this was a very appropriate time to be
 frightened.
 GUNTHER
 Now...WHAT WERE YOU DOING ON MY LANDS?
 JEN
 Listen, your Maj...your Grace. We honestly don’t know
 how we got here. We were in trouble at school, and then
 there was a storm, and then something with my ass, and
 then there were trees--
 BRENNEN
 --Were they wearing those clothes when you found them,
 Kalth’yr?
 YLLOWYYN
 Indeed they were, General.
 BRENNEN
 Where did you get your clothes, children?
 JEN
 (SCARED, SIMULTANEOUS)
 Central High Varsity Athletics
 BILLY
 (SCARED, SIMULTANEOUS)
 Central High Varsity Athletics
 NESLON
 (SCARED, SIMULTANEOUS)
 My grandma.
 GUNTHER
 Speak your mind, General.
 BRENNEN
 It’s probably nothing, your Grace. But I may have had a
 dream about these three.
 NARRATOR
 This caught the attention of the clergy who were
 present at court. The Bishop of Guernatal’s dominion
 spoke up.
 HEAD PRIEST
 What sort of dream?
 BRENNEN
 I was in danger, and was rescued by birds. Of the same
 colors that these three wear.
 NARRATOR
 The clergy talked quietly but excitedly amongst
 themselves.
 GUNTHER
 I would know what you are saying.
 NARRATOR
 The Bishop stood, which required great effort. This was
 because he had lived for just about as long as any man
 had a right to live, and then kept on living for
 another few decades. He wore elegant purple robes, and
 on a silver chain around his neck was a golden disk. On
 it were some inscriptions, but more on those later.
 HEAD PRIEST
 General, had you seen these strangers at any point
 before these things were dreamt?
 BRENNEN
 I had not, your Eminence.
 HEAD PRIEST
 And have you ever heard of the scrolls of Baradir?
 NELSON
 Those sound SO epic.
 GUNTHER
 Time is of the essence, Bishop.
 HEAD PRIEST
 They are writings, your Majesty. Their veracity has
 been refuted by the Elders, but they have not been
 declared outwardly heretical. As such, they have become
 the domain of scholars such as myself, who study them
 as anthropology rather than theology.
 NARRATOR
 Had the Bishop’s eyes not been far too old to function
 properly, he may have noticed the epidemic of yawning
 that had broken out in the throne room.
 HEAD PRIEST
 The writer speaks of a time of Garedian’s reign.
 HEAD PRIEST
 (UNDER NARRATOR)
 A time of war, and fear, and darkness, and pestilence,
 and weeping, and gnashing of teeth, and war, and fear,
 and...
 NARRATOR
 (OVER HEAD PRIEST)
 At this point, Billy had managed to doze off while
 still on his knees with a sword at his throat. This
 embarassed Jen to no end.
 HEAD PRIEST
 ...Forgive me, my Lords. I forgot what I was saying.
 NARRATOR
 A younger priest could take no more.
 YOUNGER PRIEST
 (HURRIEDLY)
 An Anointed One will save us from the dark times. The
 prophet of the Anointed One’s coming will be a great
 warrior, and the sigil of the Anointed One will be a
 bird.
 NARRATOR
 There was excited chatter throughout the hall.
 Fortunately, it covered up Billy’s snoring long enough
 for Jen to nudge him awake with her elbow. Lord
 Redmoor, however, was having none of it.
 ARDEL
 You can’t expect us to give weight to this prophecy,
 Bishop. You said yourself that the Elders refuted it.
 HEAD PRIEST
 Indeed. Very few still put any faith in the scrolls of
 Baradir, and I am not among them. Yet, you must admit,
 the details are uncanny.
 GUNTHER
 What would you have us do, Bishop?
 HEAD PRIEST
 It may be prudent, after our host is assembled of
 course, for me to take these three and a small guard to
 see the Elders.
 ARDEL
 Come now, your Grace. War is at our doorstep. We should
 put them to death in the town square.
 JEN What?!
 ARDEL
 We shall make an example of them to discourage any who
 sow dissent.
 NARRATOR
 Arlene Redmoor could no longer ignore the look of
 innocent terror on young Jen’s face.
 ARLENE
 With respect, your Grace, what harm can they possibly
 do from within the dungeon?
 NARRATOR
 Ardel turned to look at his sister with fury in his
 eyes.
 ARDEL
 The harm of seeming too weak to act.
 GUNTHER
 Lord Redmoor speaks wisely. We cannot afford to seem
 weak.
 YLLOWYYN
 If I may, your Grace, Maid Redmoor may have a point.
 Your Grace, do the commons know I’ve captured these
 things?
 BILLY
 (UNDER HIS BREATH)
 Why don’t you capture my--
 JEN Shhh!
 GUNTHER
 Not yet, Kalth’yr.
 YLLOWYYN
 Then if they are villains, House Guernatal will be
 praised for killing them in a few days just the same as
 if they are killed tomorrow. If they are no one, you
 can do with them as you will with no consequence. And
 if the Elders do deem them important...Bishop, what
 would it mean for the Kingdom if one of them were the
 so-called Annointed One?
 HEAD PRIEST
 His Majesty’s victory in any future conflicts would be
 all but assured.
 YLLOWYYN
 Best to not discard such a potentially powerful weapon
 in our haste to seem powerful, your Grace. Just my
 humble opinion.
 NARRATOR
 The King took a few long moments to ponder, as the
 travelers took the same moments to realize that perhaps
 their deaths were not imminent.
 GUNTHER
 ...Sound reasoning, I must admit. Wouldn’t you agree,
 Lord Redmoor?
 NARRATOR
 Relief passed over the faces of Billy, Jen, and Nelson,
 but Ardel had not taken his eyes off his sister for an
 instant.
 ARDEL
 Yes, your Grace.
 GUNTHER
 Then it is settled. Guards, let them up.
 NARRATOR
 The soliders sheathed their swords and pulled the three
 young humans to their feet.
 GUNTHER
 These prisoners will remain here until it is deemed
 safe to unseal the inner hold, at which point they will
 be taken to the Elders to determine their import.
 NARRATOR
 Suddenly, one of the King’s soldiers burst into the
 hall at a full sprint, struggling for breath.
 SCOUT
 (CHOKES)
 Pardon, Lords.
 BRENNEN
 Catch your breath, boy.
 SCOUT
 (GULPS FOR AIR)
 Traft’s army crosses the Black Mountains. Fifty
 thousand strong. Foot, horse, bows, and siege engines.
 GUNTHER
 And the Knights of the Wood?
 SCOUT
 ...Watched them cross.
 NARRATOR
 Where before there were excited murmurs, there was now
 all-out panic. Billy, Jen, and Nelson did not know what
 they should be panicking about, but it was clear that
 some very bad news had just been given. In fact,
 Brennen and his King were only ones in the room who
 kept their composure.
 GUNTHER
 Your haste in returning has saved countless lives, and
 the Kingdom thanks you. The rest of you, I will unseal
 the hold so that you may make whatever arrangements you
 wish. We have at least two dawns before Traft arrives.
 For those of you who seek the protection of this keep,
 it will be open to you, but we will seal the gates
 again at dusk tomorrow. We shall do our utmost to keep
 you safe.
 NARRATOR
 The court leapt from their seats and scurried off in
 myriad directions.
 GUNTHER
 General, I would have words. Kalth’yr, wait outside
 with the prisoners.
 YLLOWYYN
 Your Grace.
 NARRATOR
 Yllowyyn motioned for our travelers to follow him, and,
 not having the slightest idea what else to do, they
 obliged.
 GUNTHER
 There is a traitor among us. There is no other way news
 of the Queen’s death could have gotten out.
 BRENNEN
 I’m afraid you’re right, old friend.
 GUNTHER
 I need you to track down the traitor.
 BRENNEN
 I will send our best men.
 GUNTHER
 You will send yourself. If we’ve been betrayed, you’re
 the only one I can trust.
 BRENNEN
 I would not leave your side in these dark times.
 GUNTHER
 It gives me no joy, but that’s an order, General.
 BRENNEN
 ...Yes, your Grace.
 GUNTHER
 Take Yllowyyn with you as well.
 BRENNEN
 An order as well, your Grace?
 GUNTHER
 A pompous little shit, I know. Even for an elf.
 YLLOWYYN
 (O.S., MUFFLED THROUGH THE DOOR)
 I can hear you.
 NARRATOR
 They both shook their heads.
 GUNTHER
 But his skills as a tracker will be very useful to you.
 You might as well come back in now, Kalth’yr.
 NARRATOR
 Yllowyyn re-entered with his charges in tow.
 JEN
 Your Grace, I’m really sorry all this stuff is coming
 down on you, but I swear on my mother we had nothing to
 do with it, and we just wanna go home and see our
 families.
 GUNTHER
 I’m afraid we can’t let you leave. At least for a
 while.
 BILLY Hey, all due respect here your Kingship, sir, and thanks for not having us killed, but we do not wanna get wrapped up in this.
 GUNTHER
 YOU ARE WRAPPED UP IN IT! War is coming, boy. Funny
 thing about war. Doesn’t give half a starving man’s
 shit what young men want from their lives.
 BRENNEN [GRUFF CHUCKLE]
 GUNTHER
 For your own protection, you will accompany General
 Brennen on his journey. Now, have the three of you any
 supplies that might be of use?
 YLLOWYYN
 The tall one was carrying armor of some sort when I
 found them.
 GUNTHER
 Good. Take them and retrieve their effects from the
 dungeon. The five of you will leave as soon as you are
 able.
 YLLOWYYN
 Yes, your Grace.
 NARRATOR
 They turned to exit.
 NELSON
 I think we just got our first quest!
 BILLY
 Shut it, Nelson.
 JEN
 Nelson, I don’t think they’re fooling around.
 YLLOWYYN
 Indeed. We’ll likely be in danger every step of the
 way, and the more you talk the more dangerous it
 becomes.
 NELSON
 Welcome to my life in Pennsylvania.
 NARRATOR Brennen was about to leave as well when Gunther grabbed his arm. They waited until everyone else was out of earshot - human and elvish earshot.
 BRENNEN
 Your Grace, I cannot help but think they would be safer
 in your keep than on the road with me.
 GUNTHER
 Galadon help us, Brennen, if Traft is coming and the
 Knights of the Wood sit idly by, Felghir will follow
 soon enough. And when he does, these walls will not
 hold forever. You know that as well as I. If one of
 them can save us, I would not lose them to my own
 frailty. Keep them safe, and when you have completed
 your two other missions, see them to the Elders.
 BRENNEN
 Two missions, your Grace?
 GUNTHER
 Do you remember what I told you, after Prince Uther was
 killed?
 BRENNEN
 Has it come to that, your Grace?
 GUNTHER
 Would I mention it out loud if we had another choice?
 NARRATOR
 The King removed a sealed scroll from his pocket and
 handed it to Brennen.
 GUNTHER
 This scroll has a name on it, but cannot be read except
 by a mage practiced in the art of deception. Take it to
 the college at Armstrungard, and seek out the great
 wizard Ba’a lo-Ky’yr. This should go without saying,
 but divulge the importance of the name to no one.
 BRENNEN
 Which first? The traitor, or...
 GUNTHER
 Do you remember thirty years ago? The last words of my
 coronation speech?
 BRENNEN
 You said we would strive for a day when honor and
 justice would come before politics.
 GUNTHER
 Today is not that that day.
 NARRATOR
 Brennen nodded. He put the scroll in his pocket.
 An odd thing I’ve observed about mortals with the
 capacity for speech: if there’s one thing you can count
 on them to lie about, it is things that frighten them.
 Though these two men did not say anything plainly
 untrue, they spoke as though they planned to see each
 other again.
 GUNTHER
 Go with Galadon, Brennen.
 BRENNEN
 Till we meet again, Gunther.
 NARRATOR
 They embraced, briefly but warmly, and then Brennen was
 gone.
 END OF EPISODE THREE.
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