INT. SIRWIN'S TAVERN - BAR - NIGHT - PRESENT DAY

 

A hooded and cloaked figure is sat at the bar hunched over a goblet of dark red wine. He interrupts the story.

​

HOODED FIGURE

(cutting in)

Ergh, enough with the history lesson.

​

His voice is tired and disinterested, as he looks over at someone off camera.

 

HOODED FIGURE

Don't you have any teeth to collect?

 

Then a female voice replies from off camera.

 

CHERRY(oc)

I'm a sprite.

 

REVEAL: Cherry, dressed more like a warrior now and pacing on the bar. She is to the point and a little pessimistic.

 

CHERRY

Was it really a history lesson.

 

HOODED FIGURE

(he puts fingers into his mouth)

If I loosen one will you fu --

 

CHERRY

I'm not interested in your --

 

He accidentally removes a tooth - a molar - and looks at it in disbelief.

 

Cherry looks at him disgusted.

 

He shakes his head, throws it away and downs his wine, then he taps his goblet on the wooden bar to attract the landlord's attention.

 

HOODED FIGURE

(holding up his goblet and speaking to the landlord)

Put me out of my misery.

(to Cherry)

I assume there's some sort of point to this... Whatever this is.

 

SIRWIN, the landlord, replaces the hooded man's goblet with a full one.

 

SIRWIN

(to the hooded man)

Want me to swat her?

 

CHERRY

(to Sirwin)

You could try.

 

The hooded man looks up at Sirwin, who is a Carpi - a creature with long hulking arms, used to walk on, and legs with hands instead of feet that he uses as arms. The hooded man looks towards Cherry.

 

HOODED FIGURE

(waving Sirwin away)

Nah, I'm sure she'll get the hint soon enough.

 

She has a sarcastic smile.

 

The hooded man turns back to Sirwin, who tilts his head and walks away, the hooded man stares at his drink.

 

CHERRY

Do you think he actually died? - Elric?

 

HOODED FIGURE

You can swat her now!

 

Cherry is not impressed with this man's behaviour.

 

CHERRY

Elric was a strong Vervewalker, a demi-God,

do you think there's

the possibility he could have survived?

 

HOODED FIGURE

No. Come on, everyone knows he was

shredded like kreel meat -- and to

be honest I'm not sure why you want

to talk to me about ancient history.

 

He looks at Cherry, who gestures to the man's wrist. He's wearing a bracelet that houses a purple gem stone - a prosopon stone (like magical dog tags it functions as a form of identification, a communications device and a GPS.)

 

CHERRY

That's pretty...

 

Cherry gives the gem a little tap with her foot and the hooded man quickly covers it up.

 

CHERRY

...where'd you get it?

 

Cherry examines the man with an interrogating stare.

 

The hooded man half raises his glass to drink the first swallow of his new wine. However he stops short, detecting a peculiar smell in the alcohol.

 

HOODED FIGURE

(slightly distracted by his beverage)

I picked it up from an old destelt merchant,

a long time ago.

 

CHERRY

And I assume that you don't even know what it is?

 

HOODED FIGURE

Just a pretty bracelet

 

The hooded man waves the landlord over.

 

Cherry flies up to be eye to eye with the hooded man.

 

CHERRY

I know who you are...

 

The hooded man tries to shoo Cherry away with his hand, like an annoying fly.

 

CHERRY

You're...

 

Cherry flies up above the man's head and pulls down his hood.

 

CHERRY

...Elric?!

​

Cherry is shocked when she finds an over weight, older than she was expecting man with thinning hair and a beard below the hood.

​

ELRIC

(Annoyed now)

If you want to believe I'm Elric, fine.

Now bugger off.

​

She flutters back to the table in disbelief.

​

CHERRY

But you're fat.

​

Elric looks at her a little hurt before trying to attract the attention of Sirwin again.

​

CHERRY

And you're balding.

​

ELRIC

It was an unfortunate burn accident.

​

Sirwin returns to the couple.

​

SIRWIN

I need you to drink up sir, it's closing time.

​

Elric looks at the innkeeper.

​

ELRIC

What did you use? Diamond Wart?

​

Sirwin looks a little sheepish.

​

SIRWIN

I don't know what you mean,

I just want to go home.

Please drink up and leave.

​

Elric continues to look at the innkeeper, his expression one of utter disgust, as Elric drops his Cudgel - a Vervewalker's main weapon and as recognisable as a police badge would be to us - onto the bar.

 

ELRIC

Crowshrooms then? The poison.

 

The two stare at each other with loaded eyes.

 

Elric tightens his grip on his weapon.

 

SUDDENLY Sirwin leaps at Elric with a growl. Elric is too fast though and smashes his Cudgel into Sirwin's jaw.

​

Elric steps back energetically.

​

Sirwin looks over at Elric with contempt before mounting the bar and roaring at him.

​

Cherry flies into the rafters and watches on with curiosity.

​

Sirwin charges at the mage and as the two collide Elric is disarmed and his Cudgel crashes to the floor on the opposite side of the room. The combatants continue to fight furiously. Elric is not as coordinated as he was in the past and his responses are laboured. He struggles to tame Sirwin's superior strength which over-powers the Vervewalker.

Finally, Elric is thrown to the floor next to his magical weapon. He quickly grabs the club and silently invokes a spell.

As he stands his spell book floats up by his side and flips open to the relevant page intuitively.

Sirwin looks up at Elric before pacing towards him.

​

Elric places the blue syphon stone on the bottom of his cudgel over the open book and the ink of the runes written on the paper quickly peels off the page. It transforms into red coloured energy and gathers into a ball of focused magic around Elric's baton encasing his hand, leaving the page empty. Elric unleashes the magical projectile at Sirwin as he starts to charge once more.

​

Sirwin dodges the ball of magical energy and it explodes on contact with a nearby wall. Elric gives off a frustrated expression but Sirwin doesn't loose pace.

​

ELRIC

(defeated)

Do it already!

​

Sirwin barges into Elric before tackling him to the ground and continuously beating him.

Cherry is non-plussed by the spectacle and flies down to help Elric. She takes out her own cudgel and pulls a spell from her spell book.

​

Sirwin is still landing blow after blow on Elric. Suddenly he freezes in his tracks - an ice sculpture.

Elric, whose eyes had been clenched shut, opens one and looks towards Sirwin. He realises the threat has gone and gets up, dusts himself off before making his way over to the bar.

​

ELRIC

(disappointed)

Thanks.

​

CHERRY

What has happened to you?

​

©MajorWood Studios 2021