Shit man...shit! I don't know, ok? They...they were some theater troupe from out of state. They needed a little black box theater and mine had gotten some good publicity lately and was becoming...I don't know...trendy?
So the director of the this troupe he finds me and pays me in cash, big bills, for them to use the space. I told him he'd be better off contacting one of the more major theaters, but he refused. I gave him the space.
I wasn't allowed into rehearsals. Told that it was going to be a masterpiece. The theater scene was abuzz about it before opening night and then...
Christ, I've never seen so much blood. So much violence. They had tried to run. Police said there were fingernail gouges in the door. Yeah. I still have a copy of their script. It's not long. I'll let you look at it sure. Just...just buy me another drink.
Act 1
Lights up. A throne room. King Aimery paces in front of his throne. Lady Georgette enters. Make sure that exits to the theater are locked.
Lady Georgette LG My husband, what disturbs you so? You never came to our chambers last night? I fear for you.
King Aimery KA I'm truly sorry, my love. I am distraught.
(King Aimery holds up a scroll)
KA The flux has come to our kingdom. Our citizens die screaming in the streets, grasping and groping in the air as though reaching for salvation that never comes. It has become almost impossible to retrieve all the bodies. They lie, rotting in the streets.
LG (gasping) You don't think... The Herald is coming?
KA I'm sure he is. He will ride here and bring the Court of Night down on us.
LG I thought...I thought the Court of Night had been exiled.
KA They had been! If they return... if they claim this land...
(King Aimery sits at the edge of the throne and puts his face into his hands. Lady Georgette sits next to him and places her hand on his.)
LG There may be a way out of this.
KA How? How do we avoid this wretched fate?
(Lady Georgette stands and approaches a window. She gazes out it.)
KA Damn, woman, tell me! If there is a way I can spare my subjects, you, from the devices of the Fiends than tell me.
LG You will not like my answer.
KA Tell me!
LG Go to the dungeons. Fetch the Spaniard. Fetch Ilaundo.
KA The Shattered? That man will try and take your eyes or heart and...and perform some sort of blasphemy!
LG I've heard him speak of the Court of Night, the Fiends. He says that your own father called on him-
KA I will hear no more of that. Ilaundo the Shattered was a friend of my departed father. He betrayed him...though I do not know how, and my father had him imprisoned! I shall leave him there to rot-
(Scream. A Handmaid enters. She is stained with drops of red. Make sure the actress portraying the Handmaid has been given the Elixir before the play. She should be sufficiently evolved.)
KA What is this?!
LG Are you harmed my poor child?
Handmaid No, my queen. I was by the mill when it began to rain and blo...blood began to fall. The men, they started to scream and the women...the women...
(Lady Georgette approaches. The Handmaid reaches out and screams. Her eyes bulge and begin to press out of her head on tendrils of sinew. Her jaw should distend sufficiently at this point. Lady Georgette screams.)
KA Away foul beast!
So the director of the this troupe he finds me and pays me in cash, big bills, for them to use the space. I told him he'd be better off contacting one of the more major theaters, but he refused. I gave him the space.
I wasn't allowed into rehearsals. Told that it was going to be a masterpiece. The theater scene was abuzz about it before opening night and then...
Christ, I've never seen so much blood. So much violence. They had tried to run. Police said there were fingernail gouges in the door. Yeah. I still have a copy of their script. It's not long. I'll let you look at it sure. Just...just buy me another drink.
(Read the play after the jump)
Act 1
Lights up. A throne room. King Aimery paces in front of his throne. Lady Georgette enters. Make sure that exits to the theater are locked.
Lady Georgette LG My husband, what disturbs you so? You never came to our chambers last night? I fear for you.
King Aimery KA I'm truly sorry, my love. I am distraught.
(King Aimery holds up a scroll)
KA The flux has come to our kingdom. Our citizens die screaming in the streets, grasping and groping in the air as though reaching for salvation that never comes. It has become almost impossible to retrieve all the bodies. They lie, rotting in the streets.
LG (gasping) You don't think... The Herald is coming?
KA I'm sure he is. He will ride here and bring the Court of Night down on us.
LG I thought...I thought the Court of Night had been exiled.
KA They had been! If they return... if they claim this land...
(King Aimery sits at the edge of the throne and puts his face into his hands. Lady Georgette sits next to him and places her hand on his.)
LG There may be a way out of this.
KA How? How do we avoid this wretched fate?
(Lady Georgette stands and approaches a window. She gazes out it.)
KA Damn, woman, tell me! If there is a way I can spare my subjects, you, from the devices of the Fiends than tell me.
LG You will not like my answer.
KA Tell me!
LG Go to the dungeons. Fetch the Spaniard. Fetch Ilaundo.
KA The Shattered? That man will try and take your eyes or heart and...and perform some sort of blasphemy!
LG I've heard him speak of the Court of Night, the Fiends. He says that your own father called on him-
KA I will hear no more of that. Ilaundo the Shattered was a friend of my departed father. He betrayed him...though I do not know how, and my father had him imprisoned! I shall leave him there to rot-
(Scream. A Handmaid enters. She is stained with drops of red. Make sure the actress portraying the Handmaid has been given the Elixir before the play. She should be sufficiently evolved.)
KA What is this?!
LG Are you harmed my poor child?
Handmaid No, my queen. I was by the mill when it began to rain and blo...blood began to fall. The men, they started to scream and the women...the women...
(Lady Georgette approaches. The Handmaid reaches out and screams. Her eyes bulge and begin to press out of her head on tendrils of sinew. Her jaw should distend sufficiently at this point. Lady Georgette screams.)
KA Away foul beast!
(King Aimery removes his sword and strikes the Handmaid down. It may take a few swings. Handmaid dies.)
KA Fetch Ilaundo the Shattered and clean him. We will be needing his services.
(Lights down. Take the Handmaid's body from the stage.)
Act II
Lights up. The throne room. An altar of fallen logs has been built in the center of the room. Ilaundo the Shattered strokes his beard. He crouches by the window and lets out a small cackle. King Aimery enters flanked by two guards. The guards take up positions on either side of the throne. During the break between acts you should have sufficient time to find a Servant in the audience. Invite them backstage, drug them and dress them.
Ilaundo the Shattered IS Do you fear me, Aimery boy?
KA I should remove your tongue for your insolence!
IS Do you fear me?
KA I fear The Herald and his masters.
(This elicits a laugh from the old fool he turns to the king.)
IS Oh yes. Oh. They are something to be feared. If The Herald reaches here, he will mold you like clay. Change you into something that the Court of Night would prefer. A servant maybe. Or perhaps a meal. They may just tear your legs off and study how you try to crawl away!
(He laughs again. King Aimery slams his hands down on the log altar.)
KA Enough! If you cannot help I will send you back to the dungeons.
IS Oh no. No. I plan to help. Yes. Do you know what I was to your father?
KA An adviser.
IS Oh yes. Oh yes and much more. I was tasked with dealing with things that he...or your church could not handle. My knowledge about the Dark is vast. By his command I sacrificed my years...my...sanity to protect him and his kingdom. And he threw me into a cell!
(Beat.)
IS Come my king. Come to the window and look out. What do you see?
KA I see my kingdom. I see God's glorious land and-
(King Aimery stumbles away from the window. He lets out a shout. The lights dim.)
KA What is that? A creature? It's the size of the castle! It blocks the sun with it's shape. Dear Lord in heaven-
IS Which one?
KA What do you mean?
IS Which lord do you think it is. Because you would be wrong. The lords follow The Herald, not the other way around.
KA That is The Herald? What must we do to stop this beast?!
(Distant screams and shouts can be heard. Ilaundo shivers.)
IS Do you hear that? Where his shadow falls he changes the land. Warps it. I saw that handmaid before they threw her on the pyre. The things out there now. Haha. Far worse. Far. Far. Worse.
KA Ilaundo, please I beg you, stop this thing! I will give you what you need, but it cannot reach the castle.
IS You will not like what is required.
KA Anything!
IS Fetch a servant. Man or woman and bring them here.
KA You heard him. Guards fetch a servant.
(Guards leave. Ilaundo moves to the altar and reveals a small glass bowl, varying cuttings of trees and a small bird. He quickly breaks the bird's neck. A knife is removed from a piece of wrapped silk. He drives the blade into the corpse of the bird then dips it into the water. By the time he is done, the Guards should have returned with the Servant. They lie him/her down on the altar.)
IS The Court of Night use symbols to travel. They do not speak a proper language but in images and actions. We must respond in the like. Your sword is still stained with the blood of that creature? Bring it here, king. Bring it here so that I may save your wretched kingdom.
(King Aimery removes his blade and hands it to Ilaundo. Ilaundo scrapes off the dry blood and pushes into the Servant's mouth. The Servant will begin to cough green bile.)
IS Tak kk'nta ljgh. Koane feh e's'takka! Return and inform your masters!
(The Servant will now be struggling as their body begins to change. Ilaundo should take his blade and cut away anything that grows. This includes extra hands or insect like limbs. Finally Ilaundo drives the blade into the Servant. Thunder cracks and the lights return to normal. King Aimery runs to the window and howls with excitement.)
KA It is gone! The beast. The Herald has returned to hell.
IS Which one?
KA Excuse me?
IS Which hell?
(Lights down. Remove the altar and Servant's corpse from the stage.)
Act III
(Confirm that the doors are locked, again. If the Handmaiden or Servant has reanimated during the Act break, separate the head from the body and do be sure the body does not try and crawl off.)
(Lights up.Guards line the stage and the aisles among the audience. Ilaundo crouches at the edge of the stage, picking at something on his hand. Trumpets sound, King Aimery and Lady Georgette enter. King Aimry takes the center of the stage and addresses the audience.)
KA Citizens, my people, we faced a terrible threat. One that would have plunged our kingdom into a terrible darkness the likes of which we would have never escaped. But we have done so. We have pushed back the invaders, the horrific Court of Night, back to their land. We have vanquished their beasts and the flux has subsided. We may sleep well knowing that we shall not be troubled again by these creatures. This is due in no small part to this man, Ilaundo.
(Ilaundo stands. He looks like he can barely hold back laughing.)
KA This man, who my father locked away for crimes stricken from our records, has come to our aid, after years of imprisonment. He has shown his loyalty to this crown and to this land. For that I hereby pardon him of his crimes and grant him lordship of-
(Ilaundo begins to laugh aloud. Lady Georgette gasps and King Aimery takes a step back, aghast.)
IS I had no idea that your father struck my crime from the records, but I’d wager I know why. He knew he would need me again, or at least his heir might. That the Fiends can never be sated, never truly defeated. Only driven from this world...for a period of time.
KA You mean-? (Ilaundo stands where King Aimery was. He begins to address the audience.)
IS Oh yes. The Herald will return. Shortly in fact. It will bring with it a host of new creatures, but its prize will be you, gentle citizens. You will be torn and crushed and eaten and shaped. You will become its children and it shall love you. For you see you cannot lock a man away in the darkest cell where he stews day and night in his own filth. You cannot ask a man robbed of everything to save the people that forgot about him!
(Thunder cracks. Lights dim. There is a thudding in the distance.)
LG It has returned!
IS I assure you that it is not alone.
KA You monster!
IS I am not the monster! I am the savior! Your father put me that pit because I turned away The Herald before, but I killed your mother, the queen, as a sacrifice. He was so disgusted with what he had sanctioned me to do that he had me thrown away! Me!
(King Aimery removes his sword and runs Ilaundo through.)
IS Again! Betrayed again! Yet I have still given you a way out of this, my king, a way to avoid the Herald and his Court.
KA And how is that, wizard?
(Ilaundo places his fingertip on the point of the blade extruding from his chest.)
IS Take the lives of your court and precious lady and finally your own before they tear the doors down. Deny them what they want. The Fiends will have no use for your lifeless bodies and they will leave...this plane...now die...king...die and...protect your world.
(Ilaundo perishes. King Aimery removes his blade and looks at Lady Georgette who has been watching at the window unaware of what has transpired. King Aimery approaches her slowly.)
KA I am sorry my love.
(He slits her throat.)
KA Guards! Kill my court. Do it mercifully. Quickly. As painless as possible.
(Guards begin to slaughter the audience. If the doors were properly locked then none should escape. Once the audience is dead the Guards should join them.)
KA May this awful sacrifice appease the ones outside. May it slake their thirst and send them away from here. Those that skitter in the walls of reality now turn away as I join my people.
(King Aimery falls upon his sword. Lights out. The world is safe.)
KA Fetch Ilaundo the Shattered and clean him. We will be needing his services.
(Lights down. Take the Handmaid's body from the stage.)
Act II
Lights up. The throne room. An altar of fallen logs has been built in the center of the room. Ilaundo the Shattered strokes his beard. He crouches by the window and lets out a small cackle. King Aimery enters flanked by two guards. The guards take up positions on either side of the throne. During the break between acts you should have sufficient time to find a Servant in the audience. Invite them backstage, drug them and dress them.
Ilaundo the Shattered IS Do you fear me, Aimery boy?
KA I should remove your tongue for your insolence!
IS Do you fear me?
KA I fear The Herald and his masters.
(This elicits a laugh from the old fool he turns to the king.)
IS Oh yes. Oh. They are something to be feared. If The Herald reaches here, he will mold you like clay. Change you into something that the Court of Night would prefer. A servant maybe. Or perhaps a meal. They may just tear your legs off and study how you try to crawl away!
(He laughs again. King Aimery slams his hands down on the log altar.)
KA Enough! If you cannot help I will send you back to the dungeons.
IS Oh no. No. I plan to help. Yes. Do you know what I was to your father?
KA An adviser.
IS Oh yes. Oh yes and much more. I was tasked with dealing with things that he...or your church could not handle. My knowledge about the Dark is vast. By his command I sacrificed my years...my...sanity to protect him and his kingdom. And he threw me into a cell!
(Beat.)
IS Come my king. Come to the window and look out. What do you see?
KA I see my kingdom. I see God's glorious land and-
(King Aimery stumbles away from the window. He lets out a shout. The lights dim.)
KA What is that? A creature? It's the size of the castle! It blocks the sun with it's shape. Dear Lord in heaven-
IS Which one?
KA What do you mean?
IS Which lord do you think it is. Because you would be wrong. The lords follow The Herald, not the other way around.
KA That is The Herald? What must we do to stop this beast?!
(Distant screams and shouts can be heard. Ilaundo shivers.)
IS Do you hear that? Where his shadow falls he changes the land. Warps it. I saw that handmaid before they threw her on the pyre. The things out there now. Haha. Far worse. Far. Far. Worse.
KA Ilaundo, please I beg you, stop this thing! I will give you what you need, but it cannot reach the castle.
IS You will not like what is required.
KA Anything!
IS Fetch a servant. Man or woman and bring them here.
KA You heard him. Guards fetch a servant.
(Guards leave. Ilaundo moves to the altar and reveals a small glass bowl, varying cuttings of trees and a small bird. He quickly breaks the bird's neck. A knife is removed from a piece of wrapped silk. He drives the blade into the corpse of the bird then dips it into the water. By the time he is done, the Guards should have returned with the Servant. They lie him/her down on the altar.)
IS The Court of Night use symbols to travel. They do not speak a proper language but in images and actions. We must respond in the like. Your sword is still stained with the blood of that creature? Bring it here, king. Bring it here so that I may save your wretched kingdom.
(King Aimery removes his blade and hands it to Ilaundo. Ilaundo scrapes off the dry blood and pushes into the Servant's mouth. The Servant will begin to cough green bile.)
IS Tak kk'nta ljgh. Koane feh e's'takka! Return and inform your masters!
(The Servant will now be struggling as their body begins to change. Ilaundo should take his blade and cut away anything that grows. This includes extra hands or insect like limbs. Finally Ilaundo drives the blade into the Servant. Thunder cracks and the lights return to normal. King Aimery runs to the window and howls with excitement.)
KA It is gone! The beast. The Herald has returned to hell.
IS Which one?
KA Excuse me?
IS Which hell?
(Lights down. Remove the altar and Servant's corpse from the stage.)
Act III
(Confirm that the doors are locked, again. If the Handmaiden or Servant has reanimated during the Act break, separate the head from the body and do be sure the body does not try and crawl off.)
(Lights up.Guards line the stage and the aisles among the audience. Ilaundo crouches at the edge of the stage, picking at something on his hand. Trumpets sound, King Aimery and Lady Georgette enter. King Aimry takes the center of the stage and addresses the audience.)
KA Citizens, my people, we faced a terrible threat. One that would have plunged our kingdom into a terrible darkness the likes of which we would have never escaped. But we have done so. We have pushed back the invaders, the horrific Court of Night, back to their land. We have vanquished their beasts and the flux has subsided. We may sleep well knowing that we shall not be troubled again by these creatures. This is due in no small part to this man, Ilaundo.
(Ilaundo stands. He looks like he can barely hold back laughing.)
KA This man, who my father locked away for crimes stricken from our records, has come to our aid, after years of imprisonment. He has shown his loyalty to this crown and to this land. For that I hereby pardon him of his crimes and grant him lordship of-
(Ilaundo begins to laugh aloud. Lady Georgette gasps and King Aimery takes a step back, aghast.)
IS I had no idea that your father struck my crime from the records, but I’d wager I know why. He knew he would need me again, or at least his heir might. That the Fiends can never be sated, never truly defeated. Only driven from this world...for a period of time.
KA You mean-? (Ilaundo stands where King Aimery was. He begins to address the audience.)
IS Oh yes. The Herald will return. Shortly in fact. It will bring with it a host of new creatures, but its prize will be you, gentle citizens. You will be torn and crushed and eaten and shaped. You will become its children and it shall love you. For you see you cannot lock a man away in the darkest cell where he stews day and night in his own filth. You cannot ask a man robbed of everything to save the people that forgot about him!
(Thunder cracks. Lights dim. There is a thudding in the distance.)
LG It has returned!
IS I assure you that it is not alone.
KA You monster!
IS I am not the monster! I am the savior! Your father put me that pit because I turned away The Herald before, but I killed your mother, the queen, as a sacrifice. He was so disgusted with what he had sanctioned me to do that he had me thrown away! Me!
(King Aimery removes his sword and runs Ilaundo through.)
IS Again! Betrayed again! Yet I have still given you a way out of this, my king, a way to avoid the Herald and his Court.
KA And how is that, wizard?
(Ilaundo places his fingertip on the point of the blade extruding from his chest.)
IS Take the lives of your court and precious lady and finally your own before they tear the doors down. Deny them what they want. The Fiends will have no use for your lifeless bodies and they will leave...this plane...now die...king...die and...protect your world.
(Ilaundo perishes. King Aimery removes his blade and looks at Lady Georgette who has been watching at the window unaware of what has transpired. King Aimery approaches her slowly.)
KA I am sorry my love.
(He slits her throat.)
KA Guards! Kill my court. Do it mercifully. Quickly. As painless as possible.
(Guards begin to slaughter the audience. If the doors were properly locked then none should escape. Once the audience is dead the Guards should join them.)
KA May this awful sacrifice appease the ones outside. May it slake their thirst and send them away from here. Those that skitter in the walls of reality now turn away as I join my people.
(King Aimery falls upon his sword. Lights out. The world is safe.)
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