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Fanfiction-reimagining of the pilot of the original animated series. |
"About this Fanfiction [Spoilers]"  N.B. This script makes almost no reference to camera angles and presents only the action and dialogue. It is presumed that not only PAN, TILT, DOLLY, and TRACK can be imagined, but so can various ANGLES, REVERSES, CLOSE UPS, LONG SHOTS, and even P.O.V. shots, based on the action that is called for and the information that is to be revealed. "THE PIRATES OF DARK WATER" ACT ONE FADE IN: EXT. OCEAN -- DAY The billowing ocean as it rolls and swells and breaks against a craggy coastline. The sun is bright. Over the swell of a wave appears a single-masted vessel. Its beam is long and its hull narrow. It should in outline resemble a scimitar. In fact, the ship is called the "Scimitar." A dagron flies nearby. As it passes the ship, a leviathan breaches the surface, rising to take the dagron in a single mouthful, then plunges back down into the sea. Note: A "dagron" is a fat dragon, about the size of a winged horse. A leviathan is an enormous ocean creature, like a cross between a whale and a sea serpent. EXT. OCEAN -- SCIMITAR -- DECK -- DAY The tail of the leviathan plunges beneath the waves. PIRATE #1 and PIRATE #2 watch the leviathan as it disappears. The CAPTAIN and the (very fat!) HELMSMAN stand on the helm above and behind them. PIRATE #1 Bah! There's no booty in these waters. Only death. CAPTAIN Mister Slatter! The two pirates turn to look up at him. CAPTAIN Speak a little louder if you'd like to be leviathan food. The two pirates exchange a nervous glance. All start and look over as: LOOKOUT (O.S.) Ship off the port beam! The captain raises and looks O.S. through his spyglass. It is a small, single-masted ship being pointed out. HELSMAN (disgusted) Only a drapic. Not big enough to carry my lunch bucket. CAPTAIN The biggest gleonorn afloat couldn't carry your lunch bucket. He adjusts the spyglass, through which is visible the enlarged ship and its single occupant, who waves and shouts soundlessly. CAPTAIN But her pilot is signaling us. (shouting O.S.) Come about to port! Maybe he can tell us where all the jitatin cargo ships are hiding. EXT. OCEAN -- DAY The prow of the "Scimitar" looms into frame. As it heaves to a stop, five (six?) pirates rush to the side to look down at the smaller ship. The pilot holds a small chest under his arm and waves up at them. This is REN. REN Throw down a rope! I want to come aboard! EXT. OCEAN -- SCIMITAR -- MAIN DECK -- DAY Pirate # 1 and Pirate #2 exchange a glance. #1 throws down a rope. Pirate #2 shouts down over the gunwale. PIRATE #2 Careful, or we'll crush your--! He and the other pirates jumps back as Ren leaps up and lands with cat-like on the railing. He grins, and does a leaping flip over their heads to land gracefully on his feet, chest safely under an arm. REN That's alright, it was sinking anyway. Why do you think I asked to come aboard? This is our hero. He is young (seventeen), lithe but muscular, with a tan somewhere between bronze and milk-chocolate. But his eyes are blue and his hair a corn-platinum blonde. That hair is shaggy at the front and sides, covering his ears, and long enough in the back to be tied into a loose ponytail that dangles between his shoulder blades. His face is handsome and narrow, with cat-like eyes under arched brows; it is quick to break into a sharp, glinting grin, but equally quick to shift into hard, flashing anger. When he speaks, his voice is strong and clear. He is dressed in baggy pants, a sleeveless tunic, trim belt, and soft, brown leather boots that ride halfway up his calves. He wears a thick gold band about his left bicep, a golden gauntlet on his right forearm, and a golden hoop earring in his left ear. He has the quick agility and spring of a gymnast--he is adept at handsprings, tumbling, diving, and leaping; a panther-like grace; and a lean strength. But though well-muscled, he would never be mistaken for a body-builder. He is just a youth who through lots of hard, outdoor work has developed strong shoulders, arms, legs and chest. He stands now on the deck of the Scimitar with his feet widely planted, one hand on his hip, and his chin lifted high. His expression is cheerful, almost mischievous. Under one arm is a small, wooden casket, and over his other shoulder is slung a large, soft bag. REN I am Ren of Tanapango. Which one of you fine gentlemen is the captain of this excellent vessel? The captain glances at his helmsman with wide eyes at his helmsman before answering. CAPTAIN Er, that would be me. Ren bows elaborately. REN Then I thank you profusely, sir. (beat) But you have me yet at a disadvantage, my lord. CAPTAIN (dryly) Yes, I think I do. The captain's gaze falls onto the casket under Ren's arm. CAPTAIN What's in the box? REN This? Only the near cause of my destruction! My master's payroll. PIRATE #1 (surprise) Payroll? All the pirates on deck exchange excited, greedy glances. REN Yes. My master owns a foundry twelve yonas down the coast, and it is my burden and bother to bring his payroll up from Janga-Town. Though today I nearly took it down to the abyss instead! By Kunda, am I glad you happened along! EXT. OCEAN -- SCIMITAR -- POOP DECK -- DAY As Ren continues to talk, preoccupying the pirates, the action shifts to the stern of the ship. A clawed hook-and-rope shoots over the railing and makes fast. The rope goes taut, and RATHKA appears over the stern. Rathka is taller than Ren by half a head; he is older (twenty-four) and stronger in build. His tan is browner, and his hair, though as long and shaggy as Ren's, is raven-dark. His eyes too are dark, and he is clean-shaven. He is shirtless, revealing a strong, well-muscled torso, in baggy trousers. He wears sandals but no ornamentation. He is also dripping wet. His face is set in an intense scowl as he watches the lone pirate on the poop with his back to the stern. Rathka hurries up behind, clamps a hand over the pirate's mouth, and hauls him down, striking him with a wooden club (likely O.S.). EXT. OCEAN -- SCIMITAR -- MAIN DECK -- DAY Ren, facing the stern of the ship, has the attention of a dozen pirates arrayed in front of him in a semi-circle. REN But where are my manners? Besides my master's fifty gold pieces I was to bring back janda cakes. Ren hurls the contents of his bag -- colorful, oblong loaves of baked bread -- onto the deck. REN The least I can do is share them with my rescuers! INT. SCIMITAR -- CABIN --DAY A small cabin at the back of the ship: illumination is by small windows with paned glass. The room contains a bunk, a small table (a set of quill pens prominent atop it), and a cabinet with a glass door. Rathka enters through the doorway. He searches the desk, the bed, and the cabinet last of all, whose glass doors he busts when the catch doesn't release. From the latter he draws a sheet of folded paper. He breaks the seal and opens the sheet to glance over its contents before pushing the paper down the front of his pants. That done, he lifts to his mouth a glass bottle, whose neck is wrapped in paper, which is twisted into a knot on the top. With his teeth Rathka tears off this knot. Smoke puffs from the open neck, then a small jet of flame appears there. Rathka sets the bottle down on the desk. The flame SPUTTERS as it burns. EXT. OCEAN -- SCIMITAR -- DECK -- DAY The pirates munch on the colorful loaves as they listen to Ren. The captain, though doesn't eat but listens with arch bemusement. REN -- but the baker's daughter always slips me an extra. I think she likes me, but she's got too much belly for my taste. CAPTAIN Did you say fifty gold pieces? The question catches Ren about to bite from one of the loaves. REN Yes, fifty. Or is it sixty? I forget. He starts to resume eating, but pauses as pirates crowd around him, grinning. REN I see you gentlemen have something on your mind. He looks past them toward the stern, where Rathka has appeared. Rathka makes a quick, purposeful gesture. Ren gasps and points behind the camera. REN Chongo-longo! You're being boarded! The pirates all turn to look at where he points. Rathka dives head first over the railing, catches a dangling rope, and swings into a crowd of pirates, bowling them over. His momentum carries him over and beyond them. At the crest of the follow-through, he sweeps a knife outward, severing another, nearby rope as he catches it. This rope rises like an express elevator, shooting Rathka upward. Ren crouches and does a tremendous upward back flip over the heads of those behind him. He lands on a railing behind them, then scampers up the shrouds as though they were stairs. He dives out like a gymnast, catches the topmost yard, and swings up onto it, crouching. He still has the casket as he squats on the yard like a monkey. REN Ahoy! Captain! You want my master's payroll? Catch! He tosses the casket away. The captain catches it. The lid springs open, revealing something like a starfish. The bulge in the middle shifts and splits open, revealing an eye. The pupil focuses, and the eye pops in surprise. The captain only has time to react with shock and fear before the starfish springs out and attaches itself to his face, covering it. The captain drops the casket and reels away as his crew mill about, SHOUTING. PIRATE #1 Slings and cutlasses, lads! Rathka, atop the swaying mast, puts two fingers to his mouth and makes a sharp WHISTLE. On the ocean below, on the drapic (Ren's boat) glowing runes blaze to visibility on its sail, and the ship, though unmanned, swings around and darts for the stern of the "Scimitar." Rathka signals Ren and points to the stern of the ship. Ren, still perched on the yard, grins and returns him a two-fingered salute. Rathka leaps lightly onto the topmost yard, runs along it, and dives off, neatly piercing the water below, and rising to heave himself aboard the drapic as it passes. Ren looks down into the shrouds where pirates, knives in their teeth, are climbing toward him. On the deck, the captain is still reeling about, grabbing at the starfish on his face. As the lead pirate reaches the rope binding the top of the shroud to the yard where Ren perches, Ren with a neat sweep of a knife slashes the rope, and the shroud collapses, dropping a half dozen pirates onto their mates below. Ren leaps to the top of the mast. Rathka is feverishly searching the water near the drapic, before freezing, then looking up at Ren. He freezes again in shock. Ren, with his arms trailing behind him, he runs along the rope that is strung between the fore and aft masts. Shotput balls rocket through the air up and past him as the pirates, glaring upward, swing and toss their slings at him. The captain, starfish still attached, reels over the deck. Ren makes it to the tip of the other mast, pulls out two knives which he grips overhand in each fist, and with a grin of concentration drops backward off the top of the mast. The knives pierce the canvas and as he descends these tear twin rents in the sail, which collapses as the wind empties through the gashes. Ren lands atop the pedestal of the wheel, then executes another backward flip up onto the poop as shotput missiles whizz past him. Rathka comes half out of his seat, staring in horror at this performance. Ren does another series of backflips, carrying backward across the poop, to land on the stern railing where the claw-and-rope are still embedded. He pulls the claw free, and shakes it sharply. The rope, as if alive, whips up to coil about his shoulder. REN Calm sea and prosperous voyage to you, captain! He then does one final crouching leap upward. Half a second later, fire and smoke erupt with a BANG where he was standing. A wide angle (dur!) shows the Scimitar shuddering and rolling as a great ball of smoke and flame erupts from her poop. The deck violently rises and lists forty-five degrees, sending the crew tumbling over the deck and gunwales. A secondary, SPLITTING EXPLOSION splits the stern off the back of the ship. The aft mass breaks at the base and falls forward. The captain, starfish still on face, falls onto the deck, striking his chin. The starfish's eye glances about, locks onto something O.S., widens in shock. The starfish leaps off the captain, exposing his face. His eyes are half-closed, cockeyed, and his mouth is hanging open. His skin is discolored where the starfish had clutched him. His eyes shift, and he looks up O.S. at where the starfish looked. He reacts with terror, but can't move before the canvas of the collapsing sail settles over him like a shroud. EXT. OCEAN -- THE DRAPIC -- DAY The "Scimitar" twists in two and sinks as the drapic sails away. Rathka leans over the gunwale, puts his hand out, and pulls the dripping Ren aboard. Ren collapses with a hearty LAUGH in the bow of the boat. REN What fun! I only wish it had lasted until the janda cakes kicked in! EXT. OCEAN -- WRECKAGE -- DAY As the "Scimitar" settles under the waves , exhausted pirates clamber aboard rafts of planking. They sprawl there. Pirate #2 is one of them. He turns green and puts a hand to his mouth. He looks alarmed as his stomach rumbles. Then his mouth bursts open, and with a great BURP, a multi-colored bubble, as big as his head, pops out to hang in the air before him. He reacts with shock. On other rafts, other pirates begin BURPING similar bubbles. Pirate #2 claps both hands over his mouth and stares. A huge shudder ripples through him, and a stream of small, rainbow-hued bubbles shoot from his nose. EXT. OCEAN -- THE DRAPIC -- DAY Rathka regards the cheerful Ren with a heavy stare. His voice when he speaks is a resonant baritone, contrasting with Ren's clear tenor. RATHKA It's not funny, Ren. REN You're just getting too old to laugh. RATHKA And you're getting too old to be so reckless. Your beginner's luck isn't going to last forever. Ren's face falls, and his eyes narrow. REN I'm not a beginner anymore, Rathka. RATHKA That's my point. CROSSFADE A grassy field, with one or two wind-bent trees, atop a cliff overlooking the breaking waves of the sea below. Opposite the cliff, not far, spread the eaves of a deep forest. Down the coast, visible from some angles, is an octogonal lighthouse built of stone blocks. During the conversation that follows, Rathka lounges on the grass, eating a fruit, while Ren paces restlessly. Rathka is now wearing a white, sleeveless shirt, open to his breastbone. He is reading the paper he got from the ship. RATHKA Eight thousand in silver, deposited with the Pirates Guild in Janda-Town. He slides the paper into his shirt. RATHKA That's forty for each of us, Ren, when the Sea Wardens pay us the bounty. REN I'll be lucky if Jenna lets me keep two. RATHKA That'll be plenty to keep you in janda cakes and longo beer. REN (sneering) Longo beer. Jenna won't even let me have wine! RATHKA What makes you think you'd even like wine? REN I'd better find out before I join the guard at the Citadel! What will the fellows think if I tell them I've only ever had longo beer? RATHKA What makes you think you'll ever join the Citadel guard? REN (angrily) You think I'm not good enough! RATHKA No, I confess you might be. I just don't know if you'll live long enough. (becoming hard) I told you to jump, and you disobeyed! REN I knew what I was doing! RATHKA You were showing off! REN Yes! So you'd see I'm good enough to go to the Citadel! He drops in close to Rathka, pleading. REN Take me to the Citadel, Rathka! Let me see it, at least! RATHKA (unmoved) So you can show off in front of Prince Arinaskya [pronounced air-in- ASK-ya], instead of a jitatin pirate or smuggler or what-have-you? REN If he knew how good I am, he'd let me serve in his guard! RATHKA You serve him now, as one of his Highness's coastal sub-wardens. Ren SNORTS REN Coastal Sub-wardens. We're pirates who prey on other pirates! What honor is there in that? RATHKA We are the prince's men, however we serve, and that is honor enough. A soft, distant HOOTING, from many throats, gradually creeps onto the soundtrack. REN Well, there's no money in it, that's for sure. RATHKA There's enough. You see none because Jenna saves it. She still hopes you'll live long enough to grow old. REN You told me we spend it on equipment--! He breaks off as Rathka leaps to his feet, staring up. The HOOTING is now plainly audible, and growing louder. RATHKA Monkey-birds, on the hunt! Ren looks up, skepticism on his face. REN They never forage this far west. In the sky, a flock of three monkey-birds flap into the frame. These are like monkeys, but with long necks and arms, and grappling feet, and long, feathered wings. RATHKA Maybe they're lost. Or maybe they're tracking prey that came this way. We see one of them in close-up, scowling down at the ground. In his hands he clutches a rude, stone-tipped spear. He is a distinctive reddish color. We will learn later that his name is NIDDLER. RATHKA Whatever the reason, we must get under cover. He turns to go. But Ren, sullen, stays planted. REN I'm not afraid any jitatin monkey- birds. Rathka seizes him by the arm. RATHKA Then I pray to Kunda you live long enough to learn to be! He hauls Ren away. CROSS FADE EXT. SEASIDE -- LIGHTHOUSE -- NIGHT -- ESTABLISHING The sea pounds the rocky coast, and rain lashes the sea. INT. LIGHTHOUSE -- LAMP ROOM -- NIGHT Ren stands, brow lowering and arms folded, in the lamp room. Rain washes the outside of the windows. The trapdoor in the floor rises, and JENNA appears. She is a middle-aged woman, fattish and rather plain and even fish-like in the face. She is dressed modestly and maternally. JENNA You're not hiding from me, are you, Ren? REN What? No! JENNA Then you won't be mad that Rathka told me where you were. Ren turns to gaze out the windows. REN I'm not mad at anyone, Jenna. I just want to be alone. JENNA Your brother says you want to visit the Citadel. REN There's nothing wrong with wanting that, is there? JENNA No. But it's very far away, Ren. We're on the edge of the deep ocean. Even the Wardens of the Octopon never travel as far as the Citadel. REN So I'll be stuck here forever. He turns on Jenna. REN And we were born in the Citadel, Rathka and me! You've told us that! Why can't we go home again? JENNA You can when you are grown enough. REN (groaning) And when will that be? When I'm as old as Rathka? Then when I'm twenty- four you'll tell me I have to wait until I'm thirty-one, as he will be then, and when I'm thirty-one you'll tell me I have to wait until I'm thirty-eight! JENNA (reproachful) Ren! He returns to gaze out the windows, his back to her. REN I'm sorry, Jenna. But there's something out there for me, and I have to find it! (beat) There's someone out there. JENNA If you mean Prince Arinaskya, that if he sees you-- REN No, I mean there's someone out on the water! In this storm! Jenna, he's going to hit the rocks! Ren wheels and runs past her for the trapdoor. JENNA Ren! Don't--! At least wait until I get your brother! But Ren is gone. EXT. LIGHTHOUSE -- CLIFF -- NIGHT The night is dark, and heavy rain slashes the air. Ren runs down the steep staircase carved into the cliff-face, that leads down to the rocky shore below. As he runs he tears off and casts away his tunic, then hops up and down on one foot as he pulls off a boot. Tossed atop the geysering waves is a small, single-masted boat: a drapic like the one Ren and Rathka were in. We cut in briefly enough to see that a limp figures sprawls on the deck. Ren, clad only in his trousers, leaps and dives from the top of a boulder into the water. Beneath the surface, Ren swims for the boat with fast, powerful strokes, pausing only once to breach the water to gulp down air. Ren's hand grabs the gunwale as the boat falls into a trough of water, and he half-heaves himself, is half-flung into the boat. He peers down anxiously at the old man. He is skin and bone, with long, ragged hair and a long, ragged beard. Ren lunges for the tiller and throws it to one side, saving the boat at the last second from smashing against a large rock. Another drapic appears from beneath the lighthouse, heading toward the other. Its sails are furled, yet it moves forward. Rathka grips its tiller while staring intently ahead. He cups his hand to his mouth and shouts. RATHKA Steer for the breakwater! Ren! Ren's boat rises and plunges sickeningly, dancing against the edge of the shore. Ren rises over the gunwales with the old man balanced on his back. He shouts toward Rathka. REN I have no control! I have to--! The boat lurches beneath him, and he loses balance, falling into the sea. As he surfaces, a great wave lifts the drapic and drops it onto the rocks, smashing it to flinders. Fear shows on Rathka's face as he grabs the tiller. The runes carved on it blaze and glow. RATHKA Noy jitat! He steers the boat to where Ren's head bobs above and below the waves. Rathka bends over and lifts the old man off Ren's back, hands under his armpits, as if he were as light as a child. The drapic smashes Ren in the face, and his head vanishes beneath the water. Rathka lifts the old man before him, and gasps when he looks him in the face. RATHKA Chongo-longo! He looks around. RATHKA Ren! Ren!! The boat bobs violently as Ren shoots up on the other side, COUGHING and GASPING, grabbing the gunwales. He hauls himself out of the water and into the boat. CROSSFADE INT. LIGHTHOUSE -- BEDROOM -- NIGHT The room is sparely furnished with a wooden table and chair, a bed, and a fireplace. The dark window is still lashed by rain. The old man, eyes shut, lies in the bed under the coverlets. His breath is labored. Rathka stands at the head of the bed, looking down at the old man. Ren sits on a wooden chair beside him. He is back in his boots, but his torso is naked still, and he has a towel around his neck. Jenna enters with a bowl of steaming soup. She kneels beside the bed but addresses Ren without looking at him. JENNA Finish dressing, Ren, before you get as sick as him. REN He's dying, Jenna. JENNA All the more reason to put on a shirt. CLOSE UP ON THE OLD MAN His mouth hangs open as he draws SHUDDERING BREATHS. Abruptly his eyes open, and he speaks in a weak, trembling, anxious voice. OLD MAN My son! Where's my son, I saw-- His eyes lock onto Ren who, still shirtless, has risen to stand over the old man. The old man reaches for Ren. Relief floods his voice. OLD MAN There! I knew it was you! By Kunda's grace, I am granted the gift of seeing you again! Take my hand. Take my hand, Arinaskya. My son. Ren's eyes pop. Jenna, who has taken the chair, raises her head to look at Rathka, who shifts his gaze to look at her. Jenna puts the soup on the floor. JENNA Do as he asks, Ren. Take his hand. Ren stirs, and extends his hand to take the old man's. OLD MAN Would that this moment lasted forever, my son, my beloved Arinaskya. But I go to sleep with my fathers, soon. In my time left, listen closely. REN I'm listening. OLD MAN Seek Alomar, my son, in the Abbey of Galdebar. He guards the first treasure. Seek him in my name. Alomar! REN I will seek Alomar, in the Abbey of Galdebar. In your name. OLD MAN The first treasure. You must gain it! Swear it, Arinaskya! REN I will. So I swear. (beat) So I swear by the name of Prince Arinaskya. The old man smiles. OLD MAN Good. It is good that I found you, Arinaskya, it is good that I-- He is wracked by a great shudder. OLD MAN I go now, Arinaskya! The doom I shouldered I now lay upon you. Seek the thirteen treasures! Seek them and never--! He shudders again. OLD MAN When you see Alomar, remember, my son-- His voice becomes shallow, guttural. OLD MAN Always the Quest! The light fades from his eyes. No one moves. Then Jenna draws the coverlet over the old man's face. Ren turns away to stand with head lowered. REN Such an awful way to go. Mad with sea fever. JENNA He wasn't delirious, Ren. REN He talked like he was Prince Arinaskya's father! JENNA That's because he was. Ren whirls, startled, incredulous. CROSS FADE EXT. SEASIDE -- OCEAN -- DAY Ren (taut), Jenna (melancholy), and Rathka (stoic) stare out to sea as the wind stirs their hair. A small boat (no sail) is bobbing out to sea. Great flames roar toward the heavens from inside it. RATHKA Fare you well, your Majesty. It was a foul wind that brought you home. May it be a fair wind that bears you hence. They turn for the stairs. EXT. OCEAN -- MID-AIR -- DAY The trio mounting the stony staircase that rises up the cliffside, as viewed through a spyglass. A dagron hovers in place, beating its wings hard. Its rider is a squat man, the shape of a fire plug, with a flat, frog-like face. He wears clothes associated with pirates -- sleeveless vest, knee breeches, and a purple cap. He lowers the spyglass from his eye and scowls. This is KONK. We will meet him again later. He jerks the reigns and turns the dagron about, flying off into the distance. INT. LIGHTHOUSE -- COMMON ROOM -- DAY Ren and Rathka lean against the wall on opposite sides of a cold fireplace, their arms folded and their heads low. Jenna fusses at a sink in the corner. REN I suppose you'll be sailing for Octopon, to give the king's message to the Sea Wardens. RATHKA Tomorrow. (beat) And we'll be sailing for the Citadel. Jenna and Ren are both startled. JENNA Rathka! REN We?! RATHKA The king's message should be delivered to the prince in person. And he gave the message to you, Ren. REN (thoughtful) But I don't even know what it means! Rathka turns to go. On the way out: RATHKA I'll explain after we're on our way. He exits. Ren looks at Jenna. She looks away. REN Jenna, do you know what any of this is about? Jenna hesitates. JENNA I'll leave that to Rathka. But I can tell you, and give you, one thing at least. She goes to a dresser, which she opens. From the drawer she extracts something folded in cloth. She gives it to Ren. JENNA Your father left this to you, for when you were old enough. I think you are old enough now. Ren unwraps the item. It's sword, broken off near the hilt. Ren holds it up, looks at it curiously. REN It's just a broken old sword! JENNA (waspish) Well, there's nothing wrong with your eyes, boy, only your manners. It's an heirloom. It must have some virtue, because your father kept it to be passed down to you. REN Did he leave anything to Rathka? A boat with a leaky bottom, maybe? JENNA (flaring) Your father was a great man, Ren, and if he heard you speaking--! She catches herself. JENNA Your father was a great man, and he sailed with his Majesty when the king sailed away. REN You told me he died. JENNA So we all thought! REN Well, you thought King Prithma was dead, until he washed ashore last night. So perhaps our father, Rathka's and mine-- JENNA Yes yes, after last night, we must all live in hope. Now go help your brother. You have a long voyage ahead of you. She pushes him toward the door. CROSS FADE EXT. OCEAN -- THE MAELSTROM -- NIGHT The sun has set, but the red wash of its setting lingers on the horizon. Against it, the "Maelstrom" looms. In contrast to the other ships of Mer, which are no bigger than the caravels and galleons of European sail, the Maelstrom is the size of an aircraft carrier, with proportionately immense sails. It is also knitted together of bone, not timber. And, again like an aircraft carrier, the Maelstrom has an air wing. So: The dagron bearing Konk sweeps in from O.S. and heads for the Maelstrom, shrinking to insignificance before it arrives. The stern deck of the Maelstrom, lined with cages, each containing a snapping, snarling dagron. Konk's dagron flies across the frame, disappearing. When it reappears from circling, it glides to a halt on the deck. A crewman runs forward to through a rope over its head to restrain it as Konk leaps from its back. As he lands on the deck, we see how short he is, and that he has a metal peg leg. Scowling, he runs from the dagron, until he is stopped by an immense figure stepping in front of him. Konk, shocked by the sudden appearance of this giant, scrambles to a stop. He looks up. It is a giant of a man who looms over Konk: immensely fat and strong, with a bald head and a great beard that is braided in twain. He has one normal eye with a yellow pupil, and another eye that is solid yellow, and zigzagging across the front of this eye, in a lightning pattern, continuing the zigzag scar that slices down over his eyebrow, is a scar. Half of one ear is eaten away, but it like the other ear sports a hoop earring. His lips are prominent and blue, and a handful of molar-like teeth show behind it. His dress is resplendent in shirts, scarves, sashes, cloaks with collars, pantaloons and boots, and gauntlets on his bare arms that sport numerous spikes. A great scimitar hangs off his belt. This is BLOTH, the Pirate-King of the seas. His voice, when he speaks, is a deep and surprisingly melodious bass. He bends over to glare at Konk. BLOTH Where's the old man? Konk whips his cap off and kneads it in his hands as he gazes in terror up into the face of his captain. KONK D-d-d-d-dead! I think! BLOTH You think? KONK He washed up under Tanapango Lighthouse! They p-p-put him in a boat and set him on fire! BLOTH And you didn't bring back a prisoner from the lighthouse, for questioning? Konk shakes his head with a teary frown. BLOTH Are you going to bring back a prisoner from the lighthouse, for questioning? Konk slowly nods. BLOTH (roaring) Then what are you standing here for?! Konk jumps, scrambles, turns, and runs off the direction he came. Bloth turns to look over his shoulder, where several crewmen stand. One of them, a tall, evil-looking man, whose name we will later learn is MALAMBA, holds a much smaller man in the air by his neck. BLOTH (quietly) I told you what I'd do if we didn't get the old man back. The prisoner gulps, and flails uselessly in the iron grip of his captor. Behind him, the pirates lift a grill made of bone from over a pit. From the depths of the pit comes a deep, rolling, guttural roar. The captor marches his prisoner over to the pit and drops him into it. The grill is lowered, and all the crewmen take off their caps and bow their heads with respect as a terrible human cry is abruptly cut short. Bloth, who has watched this, turns away. BLOTH Tell Konk to take the monkey-birds with him. In case the keepers of the lighthouse prove troublesome. From O.S. comes the same many-throated HOOTING as was heard earlier. CROSS FADE EXT. OCEAN -- quay -- DAY The drapic bobs gently in the swell with Ren sitting in the stern by the stone quay. He sits cross-legged, facing the stern, hands raised and turned palm-down over the tiller. He bows his head, and doesn't acknowledge Rathka, who approaches on the quay with a bag slung over his shoulder. Rathka leaps lightly down into the boat, which rocks. RATHKA Aren't you done laying the course in? You've been to Janga-Town often enough. The top of the tiller, visible under Ren's overspreading hands. Runes carved along its top glow. REN I'm having trouble concentrating. I'm so full of questions. The runes, as they glow, one by one change shape. Ren raises his head long enough from his task to look at Rathka. REN Like, why are we stopping in Janga- Town first? It's not close, and the Citadel is the other way. RATHKA Because there's dark water between here and the Citadel. Ren half-springs up in alarm. REN Dark water?! RATHKA Keep your mind on your work. Ren resumes his position at the tiller. RATHKA Yes, dark water. So we can't make a straight coastal run to the Citadel, and this little girl isn't big enough for deep ocean. So we're going to Janga-Town to find a new boat and crew. REN How will we pay for them? Behind them, Jenna is coming down the stairs. Rathka turns toward her. RATHKA We'll figure that out when we get there. (to Jenna) Well, old woman, how will you carry on without us? JENNA With a lot more peace and quiet! And fewer muddy footprints in the house! She holds out a small bag. JENNA Here. I baked you some minga muffins for the trip. Ren takes the bag. REN I don't like leaving you at the lighthouse alone, Jenna. JENNA It only takes one to run the lighthouse. Most days I have to run it by myself anyway. REN But if any pirates come ashore-- JENNA Then I'll bake some minga muffins for them too. Pirates also need the lighthouse, Ren. They won't bother me. RATHKA I'll be sending two boys back from Janga-Town with the boat. They'll stay and help you, as well as Ren and I could. JENNA Oh, so you're not only leaving me, you'll be burdening me with two hungry layabouts! I can only be so grateful. They all look at each other. JENNA Well, be off with you. I have a lighthouse to clean, and you have a message to deliver. She turns to ascend the stairs. REN (shouting) We'll make the trip as quickly as possible! You'll see us back before the first Denga monsoon! JENNA (not turning around) Oh, take your time! I probably won't even notice you're gone! Ren and Rathka take their seats in the boat, and it turns to glide away. Jenna, on the stairs, pauses and turns to watch them. JENNA May the light of the two moons show your path going. And coming back too. CROSSFADE EXT. OCEAN -- COASTLINE -- DAY The drapic glides along quickly, almost skating over the calm seas. Ren reclines in the stern, holding the tiller, and listening intently to Rathka, who stands, clutching the small mast. RATHKA Still, even after the Treasures of Mer were scattered, the kings of Ruel [pronounced roo-el] carried on as best they could. But soon they couldn't deny, even to themselves, that the Dweller in Darkness was moving again. REN But you said he was defeated more than a thousand years ago. How could he still be alive? RATHKA Whatever twisted magic sustains that jitatin sorcerer only the sea gods know, and even they might not. But the signs were unmistakable. Rathka's brow lowers. RATHKA After the dark water came. EXT. OCEAN -- sky -- DAY A dagron and three monkey-birds fly through it toward the drapic, on the sea below. EXT. OCEAN -- COASTLINE -- DAY RATHKA So, seventeen years ago, King Prithma looked into the bassinet where Prince Arinaskya, still but an infant, lay. He swore he would not leave his boy a kingdom and a world being slowly devoured by ancient evil. So he gathered an armada, commanded by the seven greatest captains of the sea, and he set out to recover the Thirteen Treasures of Ruel. But he was never heard from again. Until yesterday. Ren face betrays doubt. REN How do we know that was really King Prithma? He talked like a crazy old man. He thought I was Prince Arinaskya! RATHKA It was the old king. I recognized him, and so did Jenna. Remember, we lived in the Citadel until I was seven. And Jenna-- Jenna was Prince Arinaskya's nursemaid. Ren bolts upright. REN She never told me that! RATHKA It was a long time ago. REN So why did she leave the Citadel, and the prince, to come out--? Rathka, startled, looks into the sky. RATHKA Monkey-birds! And a dagron! The dagron and three monkey-birds, including Niddler, sweep in from the sky, rear claws extended. Ren leaps to his feet, staring as Rathka is staring. Both draw their knives and raise them to ward off the dagron, which sweeps in low with claws out, raking over them. Ren dodges, but Rathka loses his balance and falls overboard with a splash. Ren leans out over the gunwales, staring into the water. REN Rathka! Then he is distracted by Niddler, who drops in to hover in front of him, CHATTERING and grabbing at him. Ren rears back, then swings out with his knife. The monkey-bird dodges and weaves, flapping in mid-air about as Ren swings at him. Niddler grins, CHATTERS, makes faces, sticks his tongue out, and in general acts like a school-yard bully as he mocks at Ren while dodging the ineffectual swings of the knife. Rathka bobs to the water's surface, looks up. The dagron and its rider perch daintily on the tip of the swaying mast. Konk, tongue between his lips, one eye closed, aims and readies to hurl a short trident at Rathka below. Rathka dives back under water. He swims under the hull, draws his knife and slides it between two beams, sawing between them. Rathka pulls the knife out, then puts his mouth to the spot he pried at, as though kissing it. A shot inside the drapic, at the bottom of the hull, shows bubbles sputtering in and out as Rathka breathes through the hole he made. Ren rears his arm back for a mighty thrust at Niddler, but another monkey-bird swoops in and grabs his wrist in a claw, restraining it as the bird flaps in place. Ren wheels with a snarl, pulls back his other fist to deliver a haymaker, but that wrist is grabbed as the third monkey-bird drops in to grab it. Ren is now held with outstretched arms by two flapping monkey-birds. Niddler stifles a laugh with his hand, then flaps in to seize Ren by his biceps in both his hind claws, and lifts him up and out of frame. The other two monkey-birds hover after releasing Ren, and turn their heads to watch the departing flight of Niddler. Konk, on the mast scans the water below for signs of life Finally, he shrugs. KONK If dingamort not come up yet, not coming up ever! He WHISTLES sharply in signal, lifts the dagron into the air, and flies off. The two monkey-birds rise into the frame below, then wheel and fly after Konk, who is flying after Niddler. The water breaches, and a scowling Rathka surfaces. EXT. OCEAN -- MIDAIR -- DAY Niddler flaps along, carrying Ren in his claws. Ren flails violently, kicking and swinging and clawing at the air. REN Put me down, you-- Kreld-eater! Malgar! Niddler CHATTERS, which turns into a CHUCKLE. Ren catches and claws at one of Niddler's wings on the downbeat, tearing feathers loose. Niddler SHRIEKS. REN Put me down, or I'll do it again! Without missing a beat of his wings, Niddler cranes his long neck around to give Ren a side-eyed glare. When he speaks, he has a voice that is light and melodious, and elegant in intonation. But there is a nasty edge to his threat. NIDDLER Do that again and I won't wait to put you down! I'll drop you! The sea is so far below that wispy clouds drift across its face, and the waves are only wrinkles on its surface. NIDDLER And from this height, fish-boy, there's little difference between hitting water and hitting a reef. Ren stops flailing, and glares. NIDDLER That's a good little fish-boy. Whatever the captain wants you for, it's better than being a very wet, and very dead, flat-cake! EXT. OCEAN -- THE MAELSTROM -- DAY A LOOKOUT in the nest scans the horizon with a spyglass. He lowers it to point and yell. LOOKOUT Monkey-bird with prisoner off port beam! Then he ducks as Niddler with Ren swoops in, wheels sharply, and vanishes again. Niddler, his claws empty, swoops up into the air again. Ren's shadow plays against the sheets of the sails, which dent and billow where he (obscured behind them) hits and bounces off them as he falls. He falls out of the frame to the shallow sound of a SPLASH. There is a spacious luncheon table spread on the deck, covered with dishes of various kind: fowl, leg, aspic, vegetables, pastries. In the middle is a giant punch bowl, and sitting in the punch bowl, scowling hard, is Ren. Bloth grins and addresses his guest in a courtly but thuggish tone. To the side, a short row of pirates watches with terrified expressions. BLOTH How do you do? It's been so long since I've had a guest ... drop in! He SNIGGERS, and glances sidelong at the pirates. They all laugh nervously but appreciably. Bloth turns his attention back to his guest. Ren, still in the punchbowl, glares without moving. REN Who are you and why did you kidnap me? Bloth CHUCKLES and extends a hand. BLOTH Here. Do let me help you out. He yanks Ren from the punchbowl and sets him on the deck on his feet. The crown of Ren's head barely reaches Bloth's shoulder, and Ren has to lift his chin to glower up at him. BLOTH We have each other at a disadvantage. I am Bloth, Captain of the Maelstrom, Lord of the Twenty Seas. Ren's glower deepens. BLOTH And you are--? Ren folds his arms. BLOTH (continuing; smoothly) From the lighthouse? Ren studies him. BLOTH I understand you had a visitor last night. Ren's eyes widen. BLOTH I further understand that he has since expired. Was that before you found him? Or after? Ren says nothing. With alarming ease, Bloth lifts the edge of the banquet table and tips the whole thing over with a CRASH. BLOTH You'll find it goes much easier, boy, if we have a conversation. REN He was sick and delirious. He said one thing, and then he died. BLOTH What ... did he say? REN He repeated the old joke about the sea hog and the trail of smilge. Bloth's brow lowers. He puts his face close to Ren's. BLOTH (growls) The old man's chains are still warm from the touch of his cankered skin! For sixteen years I held him, against the day he told me what I wanted to know. I can hold you for as long! Quick as a cobra, Bloth seizes Ren by the shoulder. BLOTH Malamba! [pronounced: MAL-am-ba] The evil-looking man enters from O.S. He is tall and frightfully thin and emaciated. Prominent on his brow is black tattoo of a four-legged cephalopod creature. BLOTH Deck him in his Majesty's irons. Chain him just of reach of our food stores. Malamba leers at Ren, almost slavering. His voice, when he speaks, is a good match for his look: thin and malevolent. MALAMBA He's a tasty-looking one. Lots of meat ... and life! BLOTH Get him to talk, and he is yours. Malamba's eyes light up. He slides a long, wasted arm around Ren's shoulders and pulls him to his side. Ren struggles, but apparently the man is much stronger than he looks, for he is able to lead Ren away. MALAMBA Let's chat, boy. CROSS FADE EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- DECK -- FOOD STORES -- DAY Barrels of food -- fruits and vegetables and loaves -- overflow from barrels. Ren, his wrists and ankles shackled, slumps nearby his head down. He glances up only briefly as with a SHRIEK Niddler drops in to perch on the gunwale behind the barrels. He cranes his neck to look over a barrel, then daintily reaches out to pick up a melon. As he does, he sees Ren. NIDDLER Oh! Hello! And how did you get along with the captain? Without waiting for an answer, he CHOMPS a huge bite from the melon and with a full mouth chews it with relish. Ren glances up at him, then turns away. REN (muttering) I should have made you drop me in the ocean. That catches Niddler's attention, and he stops eating. NIDDLER Oh, smilge-berries! While there's life there's hope. And while there's food there's life! He takes another bite, an expression of contentment on his face. NIDDLER (mouth full) Which piques my curiosity. Why aren't you eating? Ren shoots him a dirty glance, then stretches toward the nearest food. It is just out reach. NIDDLER Oh! I see! Yes, they did that with the old man, too. Tch-tch-tch! Such a sad case. I do hope you won't be here so long. He was here when Bloth bought me, and that was, oh, ages ago! REN (surprised) Bloth bought you? You mean you're a slave? Niddler is stung. NIDDLER How long have you been out of your shell? There may be a few free monkey-birds left on Mer. But we're all slaves now. (shudders) Since the dark water came. REN But you can just fly away anytime you want! Niddler looks at him with disgust. NIDDLER Oh I can, can I? Just look at that! If you can stomach it! He extends his foot to show Ren. The ankle is clasped in a tight bracelet. NIDDLER When Bloth wants to punish me-- Bzzzt! He shivers all over, ruffling and bristling. His feathers relax as he continues talking. NIDDLER No, fish-boy. I am as shackled as you. Ren peers at the bracelet. There is a small keyhole in it. REN Where does Bloth keep the key? NIDDLER (still eating) Oh, he probably threw it away. When would he need to take it off me? REN If you bring me a twisted bit of wire, I think I can spring the lock. Niddler freezes in mid chew, startled. He peers skeptically in Ren's face. Ren smiles broadly at him. NIDDLER (accusing) You'll spring your own locks and escape yourself! REN Where to? I'd still be stuck on this ship. Ren leans forward, eager. REN But if I free both of us, we can escape together! Niddler's eyes narrow. NIDDLER But perhaps I don't want to escape! I'll say this for Bloth, he keeps us monkey-birds well provisioned! Ren looks away. REN Then he doesn't need to chain you. You're shackled to him by your own stomach. Niddler's eyes blaze and he puts his face into Ren's. NIDDLER I'll show you who's shackled to old Blue Lips! Just you wait here! He flies off. Beat. Niddler flies back in and perches. He hands Ren a bit of wire. NIDDLER Here. He turns his back on Ren, spreading his wings so as to hide him. NIDDLER Hurry it up, fish-boy. I can't stand here forever without it looking suspicious. REN So eat something! NIDDLER (pleased) An excellent suggestion! He cranes his neck to examine the various delicacies. Niddler eats, occasionally glancing behind, as Ren, glaring intently at his work, fiddles the wire inside the lock. Finally, with a clink, the bracelet falls off. Niddler sits up alertly. He looks down at his ankle, which is now free. NIDDLER Oh, I say! KONK (O.S.) Hey, what going on over there! Ren and Niddler both start, then pretend to look up and away from each other, innocent. Niddler discreetly tucks his newly freed ankle behind his other leg. Konk stalks across the frame, glaring at someone O.S. KONK What you think you doing with that jitatin rope? He stalks O.S. without even glancing at Ren and Niddler. They both relax after he's gone. REN Good! Now I just have to get free. He starts to work on his own locks. NIDDLER (insouciant) Yes. You know, you really should have freed yourself first. REN Why's that? NIDDLER Because now that I'm free, I realize that, although you need me to escape, I don't need you! Ta! He flaps away. REN (furious) Why you kreld-cruising--! NIDDLER (O.S.) Write if you get work! EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- POOP DECK -- DAY Bloth, hands behind his back, stands staring out to sea. Malamba enters. MALAMBA You summoned me, captain? BLOTH Have you interrogated the prisoner? MALAMBA I am giving him time first to reflect on his position. BLOTH I have been reflecting on my position too. I lost sixteen years to the stubborn old gantha. And this one might cost me sixty more. I'm getting too old to wait, Malamba. MALAMBA Don't do anything that would leave a scar, captain, I beg you! He is a morsel! BLOTH I'm thinking of giving him to you now. MALAMBA (shocked, pleased) Captain? BLOTH When they're old and have lost their pliancy, you can do nothing with their ... insides. But this one is still young. Still pliant, do you think? MALAMBA Pliant enough that I could learn what you wish to know? bloth Yes. MALAMBA (almost slavering) I am sure he is! Bloth recoils a little. BLOTH But I am not! Bloth turns away. BLOTH Encourage him to talk. Tell him what you will do to him if he doesn't. MALAMBA What if he still doesn't talk? BLOTH Then you may have him. MALAMBA And if he does talk? Bloth turns to him. BLOTH Then I give him to you with both my hands. Malamba grins with avarice. Then his eyes roll back until the whites are showing, his jaw slackens, and saliva gushes from his mouth. EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- DECK -- FOOD STORES -- DAY Ren is working intently at his restraints. One is off, and after a moment the other falls off. He glances around, then reacts to the sound of a FOOTFALL, and quickly slaps the bracelets back over his wrists. He looks up as Malamba looms over him. MALAMBA Are you ready to tell the captain what he wants to know? REN Sure I'm ready. But I'm not going to. A sibilant HISS escapes Malamba's unmoving mouth. MALAMBA The captain will give you to me, if you don't talk. REN Whatever that means. Malamba bends to put his face close to Ren's. MALAMBA It means this, morsel! His eyes roll back, his jaw opens impossibly wide. The cavity behind the teeth is suddenly filled with an off-white mass, that pushes out just beyond his lips. The surface rolls and ripples, and an eyeball appears in it. It focuses on Ren. Then it rolls and disappears under the skin. More rippling, and now a kind of gummy, slimy toothless mouth opens up. From out of the mouth extends a quivering proboscis. Ren stares with loathing, fear, and horror. Then he grimaces and kicks Malamba savagely between the legs. Malamba's mouth snaps shut on the thing inside as he SIGHS with pain. Ren hurls his cuffs away, and leaps and runs. Malamba's eyes roll back open, and he whirls to look after Ren. Ren leaps, handsprings, and dodges over the crates on deck. Crewman stop their tasks to stare at him. MALAMBA Stop him! The captain gave him to me! Ren hurtles across the deck, like a receiver with the football, dodging past pirates who jump in front of or leap to tackle him. He comes to the shrouds and runs up them hands-free. He pauses at the top of the first yard to glare back down. Pirates cluster below, staring up. Malamba stands in their midst. MALAMBA Come down, boy! REN I'd rather be leviathan food! MALAMBA Bring him down! The pirates run forward. Ren grimaces as the pirates swarm up the shrouds toward him. He whips out his knife and slashes the rope where the shrouds come together. The shrouds collapse, and the pirates tumble onto deck. Ren looks at two ropes near at hand, rising up into the air and stretching down to the deck, and looks them up and down. He grasps one rope and slashes the other. The rope he grasps jerks him upward. He passes a yard going the other way (down), its sheet collapsing. Abruptly he jerks to a stop with a hard GRUNT. The yard also jerks to a stop. Ren looks down, and his eyes pop. Malamba is being hugged from behind by a mountain of a man: tall, bare-chested, shaped like a pear, bald save for a red top-knot like a ponytail sprouting from the top of his head. His name (for the moment) is BOMBO. Bombo in turn is being grasped by other pirates. All are straining against a weight that is pulling them up. Malamba's mouth is open, and a thick, taut, sucker-laden tentacle is extending from it. Malamba's eyes are rolled back to show the whites. A wide-angle should be used to show what is going on: The men below are holding onto Malamba. The tentacle from his mouth extends at an angle (about 45 degrees) to grasp Ren around his calf. Ren is holding the rope which extends up, over a block and tackle, and down to the yard whose collapsed sheet is fluttering weakly. To further show what's happening, the men below are pulled and slide a little ways along the deck closer to being directly under Ren. Ren rises a little into the air. The yard falls a little further, and the sheet ripples. Bloth steps in, gazing up at Ren. BLOTH (icy) Having a little trouble with our sparrow? Bombo turns his head toward Bloth. His voice is thick, deep, guttural, stupid. BOMBO Bad boy get loose, make big mess. BLOTH There'll be a bigger mess if you don't get him down. Ren strains to reach the tentacle with his knife. Malamba's eyes open up again to glare upward. Another tentacle appears from inside his mouth, and shoots rippling up. Ren pulls his arm back as the other tentacle whips around his other leg. Malamba's eyes roll back again, and the white lump comes fully out of his mouth, its eye opening. It is shaped like the head of an octopus, and it runs up the twin tentacles, like a handcart on a railroad track. As it leaves Malamba behind, two tentacles remain locked inside Malamba's gullet. (In effect, two tentacles grip Ren; two tentacles grip Malamba's innards. These resemble a railroad track between Ren and Malamba, with the head rocketing up along them toward Ren.) Ren's expression shows terror and disgust. The tentacles release from inside Malamba's neck, and Malamba's body, and the men holding it, collapse in a heap. The wide angle, again, should be used to show the arrangement. The released tentacles snap up toward Ren, shortening as they rise. Ren rockets up toward the block-and-tackle. The yard and its sheet fall. Ren and his captor shoot past the block-and-tackle, and Ren is able to twist and execute a two-point landing inside the crow's nest under which the block-and-tackle are hung. EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- crow's nest -- DAY Ren rears back, putting his spine to the mast, as the tentacles and head ripple up to grasp him about the chest and torso, pinning his arms to his side. The head comes to rest on his chest, glaring up at him. The tip of one tentacle wriggles free and floats about near Ren's ear. A close-up should be used to show that near its tip is a metal band like the one Niddler was wearing. EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- DECK -- FOOD STORES -- DAY Bombo rises to his feet, clutching something in his hand. It is what is left of Malamba, recognizable as him only by what is left of his face. He is slack and shapeless in his loose clothes Bombo holds him like an empty tracksuit. Bombo (sadly) Aw, Bombo do bad thing! EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- crow's nest -- DAY While still clutching Ren with its tentacles, the cephalopod-ish head rises into the air to loom over Ren, glaring down at him. The eye closes, the skin ripples, and the mouth opens again. The proboscis extends. Ren twists his head from side to side, his eyes clenched shut, his teeth bared. The proboscis jabs and jabs for his mouth. It jabs, and catches itself inside one of Ren's nostrils. Ren freezes in mid-flail, and his mouth falls open with a GASP. His face goes slack. The proboscis bulges and undulates. Ren's eyes open into a sightless stare. Then they roll back in his head, showing the whites, and saliva froths out of the corner of his mouth. A SHRIEK (O.S.) Niddler, his back claws extended and glittering, dives feet-first straight at the cephalopod, SCREAMING. He sweeps across the head of the thing, slashing at it with his clawed feet. The head is knocked sideways, and the proboscis tears free of Ren. Ren's eyes roll back into position. Niddler flaps at and tears at the cephalopod with wings, hands, and feet, SHRIEKING. The thing grasps Ren with one tentacle, but purchases a grip on the crow's nest with the other three. Ren's head sinks, hiding his face. Then he lifts his face. His eyes burn with fury. Niddler bats and SHRIEKS at the thing. Ren, coming alive, grins with fury and slashes the knife across the eye of the cephalopod, cutting a great gash. The thing goes slack and falls out of the crow's nest, disappearing over the edge. Ren and Niddler gaze down at the deck. Then Niddler seizes Ren by the shoulders and pulls him from the crow's nest. Ren reacts with shock. NIDDLER Just relax, fish-boy, I'm the one doing the work. But do put away that knife. EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- DECK -- FOOD STORES -- DAY Bloth glares up at the crow's nest as the cephalopod falls onto Bombo; both tumble to the deck with a thud. Bloth pays them no attention. BLOTH Bring them down! Any way you can! Pirates pull out slings and slingshots, loading them and firing them upward. EXT. OCEAN -- sky -- DAY Ren and Niddler fly higher and higher, avoiding the shot, until they are out of range and above the top of the arcs of the missiles. They float away into the distance. EXT. OCEAN -- MAELSTROM -- DECK -- FOOD STORES -- DAY Bloth continues staring skyward, says nothing for a beat. Then, without turning: BLOTH Make yourself at home, Malamba. From O.S. comes a CHOKING and GASPING. Then silence. Bombo rises to his feet. His neck, back, and limbs are twisted at unnatural angles. His jaw hangs slack and saliva gushes from it. The whites of his eyes show. Shudders ripple through him. He freezes, then with a CRACK everything aligns and relaxes into a natural position. His jaw closes. His eyes roll down, sightless. Then he blinks, and an expression of intelligent malice comes onto his face. With a HISS, a black mark, like a tattoo of a four-legged cephalopod, burns itself onto his brow from the inside. Bloth, still staring skyward, speaks: BLOTH You failed, Malamba. Badly. BOMBO/MALAMBAMALAMBA Give me a dagron and I'll bring him back. I want him even more than you do! CROSSFADE EXT. OCEAN -- MIDAIR -- DAY Niddler he flaps through the sky, carrying Ren. Small clouds occasionally float past, behind them and between the camera and them. REN You came back for me! NIDDLER Yes, well, I had a thought. You see, I was still hungry when I left you, and I remembered that fish-boys are very good at procuring food. Ren grins up slyly at Niddler. REN So the deal is, I keep you fed. NIDDLER You keep me fed, fish-boy, and you won't need a shackle to keep me close. CROSSFADE EXT. OCEAN -- DRAPIC -- DAY The drapic with Rathka at the tiller bobs over the ocean. It often disappears altogether behind the taller waves. Water sloshes in the bottom of the hull. But Rathka's eyes are on the horizon before him. He gazes intently, freezes, and stands. RATHKA Chongo-longo! Niddler and Ren swoop in from a distance. They come to a stop, hovering over the boat. Niddler drops Ren into it. RATHKA Ren! He leaps forward to embrace Ren. They hold for a moment, long enough for Niddler to settle onto a bench in the boat. His head tilts as he quizzically watches them. Rathka and Ren release each other. Rathka glances between Ren and Niddler. RATHKA How did you escape? Where did the monkey-bird take you? (shouts) And what's he doing? Niddler has left off watching the other two, is rummaging through a food sack, pulling out loaves and fruit and examining them. REN Relax, Rathka. His name is Niddler. I freed him, and he rescued me. I'm paying him back. Niddler chomps on an apple-like fruit. REN As long as we keep him fed, he'll come with us and help. RATHKA A bargain I foresee growing very expensive. But where did he rescue you from? Ren's expression darkens. REN He took me to a man named Bloth. He was the king's jailer for sixteen years. CROSSFADE EXT. OCEAN -- DRAPIC -- DAY As before, though the sky is darker as dusk settles. Niddler is resting on his back in the prow, his hands spread contentedly over his belly. Rathka is at the tiller. Ren, between them, is bailing. As they talk, water sometimes sloshes into the boat. RATHKA It makes sense now, in a grim way. Bloth was one of the captains the king took on his quest. Probably the greatest of them, but also a pirate at heart. REN He keeps a shipful of slaves. RATHKA Of course he does. So he betrayed the king. Ay chongo! Undoubtedly he means to seize the thirteen treasures for himself. And the throne of Ruel. REN His ship is big as an island. But surely the fleets of Prince Arinaskya can deal with him. Rathka is silent a moment. Then: RATHKA One can't be too sure. Not if Bloth assails the Citadel with the power of the Thirteen Treasures behind him. REN Then we've got to get to the Citadel. We've got to warn the prince! He turns to Niddler. REN How far can you carry a man? How far can you carry me? But the reply is only soft snores from Niddler. RATHKA Not even the strongest monkey-bird could carry you all the way over water to the Citadel. Even over land, there are too many dangers. We must still make for Janda-Town. The drapic sails off over the darkening sea. CROSSFADE EXT. LIGHTHOUSE -- EVENING Jenna is pulling clothes off a line. The wind makes them FLAP. With a very loud FLAP a dagron drops down to knock her in an arc. She hits the side of the lighthouse and falls to the ground. With a grimace of pain she looks up. Her eyes pop and she SCREAMS. Two dagrons float in the sky over her clothesline. A third drops to the ground just in front of her. It folds its wings. Bombo/Malamba dismounts it. He approaches Jenna, and leans over her to put his face close to hers. Jenna cringes and WHIMPERS fearfully under the looming mountain-man. BOMBO/MALAMBA A lonely spot for an old woman. We've come to keep you company with ... informative conversations. FADE OUT |
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