The Darkening Cometh© - Panelled Script Copyright 1995 Liar Comics PAGE #1: Panel #1: Straight shot of a wide, sturdy-looking oaken door, with a metal door handle (not knob) and keyhole. The door is in a wall made of large stone blocks, cut and polished smooth. The wall is mostly in shadow, with the colored light of a stained glass window (off panel) splashing across the door. Panel #2: Same camera angle, but door is now swinging opening. A small man, wearing a white wrap-around robe with a thin chain for a belt, is walking into the room. The colored light from the stained glass window falls upon his robe. He carries a leather portfolio, stuffed with paper, under one arm. This is Brother Victus, a historian. UNKNOWN SPEAKER (the word bubble wraps in from outside the door): "Even before the Darkening we were losing council seats to the Magus Consortium and their technocratic lackeys! Morality is at stake, and sorcerers are more concerned with profit and power than with faith..." Panel #3 (No border): We now lookup at him from the side, at a low camera angle, as he is closing the door behind him. He stands at the end of a chamber with two rows of desks (running left foreground, to right, background). Bolted to each desk is a large leather bound book, with metal clasps. A few of the desk are occupied by monkish looking types, dressing similarly to Victus, who is on the left side of the panel. A little to the right of top center, is a long multicolored stained glass window, depicting a naked man (viewed from the rear), crawling to the top of a green hill, and reaching towards a starburst-stylized sun. The sun itself is streaking brilliantly through the window. Throw in some nice 'lens flare' effects. The room should stretch off into the distance on the right of the panel. There are no more windows, so the desks near the far end of the chamber are lit by lamps mounted in the walls. Panel #4: View from behind the shoulder of Brother Victus, as he approaches one of the desks that was in the far corner. The lamp mounted in the wall is a low burning gas flame. The book on the desk is open, there is an ink well, and a quill. Panel #5: View from the far side of the desk. Brother Victus, sitting, and is placing the folio off to one side of the desk. PAGE #2: Panel #1: Close up of the lamp. Sheets of rectangular glass enclose a small blue flame, which in turn is coming from a bent metal tube mounted to a bracket on the wall. A metal rod -- about pencil thickness -- sticks out from the bracket and through the glass, and ends in a knob. SFX (quietly): "fsssss..." Panel #2: Same shot as #1, except Victus' has his hand (coming from off panel) on the knob, turning it. The flame grows, and sheds more light. We can see the faintest glimpse of Victus' face in the glass surrounding the flame. SFX: "FSSSS..." Panel #3: Looking down at Victus as he sits at his desk from the point of view of a bug on the ceiling. He's reaching for an ink well with the tip of a quill, and the other hand lays splay across the top of the book. At the top of the left page: "Chapter the Second: The Histories" Do some nice illumination on "The Histories," and have a little bit of text squiggles underneath it, but leave half of the left page and all the right page blank. Panel #4: Close up as the tip of the quill touches down on paper. PAGE #3: Panel #1: Long panel. A peninsula, shaped like the top half of a crescent moon stretches from the lower left to the upper right (the tip). A line of low forested hills form the spine of the finger of land. The hills give way to rocky beaches on the right, and rough cliff-like terrain on the left. The tip of the crescent breaks into rocky islets. Caption [1st]: According to local legend, the first inhabitant of the peninsula appeared more than eleven centuries ago. A simple hermit, he lived upon fish he speared from the sea and roots he dug from the ground. Panel #2: Small square panel, far left, overlapping #1 & #3. We see (from the bottom of his rib cage down) a man wearing a loincloth, sitting on a rock near the water's edge. A reed is tied to his toe, with a small, bright flower on the other end. He's dragging the flower back and forth across the surface, hoping to attract a fish. A sharpened stick hovers nearby, the hand holding it unseen. A fish is approaching the bait, and a conch shell lays next to him. Panel #3: Same camera position, same peninsula, except now there is a small village nestled against the foothills (8-9 wooden/mud buildings, thatched roofs) and some fields have been cut out of the forest. On the right, one of the beaches has been cleared somewhat, and small canoes are visible. Caption [2nd]: Roughly nine centuries ago, the first traces of civilization appeared: a village populated by descendents of the hunter-gathers that had been forced North by increasingly harsh winters. Having found comfortable surroundings, their migrations stopped. They eventually learned the cycles of the plants they ate, learned to place the seeds of the fruit in the ground, and learned to make bread from grain... Panel#4: Small square panel, overlapping #3 & #5. A close up of the ground, where we see (on the left) legs of a man wearing leather sandals, digging up the ground with a stick. An arm reaches in from off-panel to the right to drop seeds into the furrow. Panel #5 (NO BORDER): The peninsula, same camera position, except now the village is replaced by a small keep, with a small town surrounding it. The town is in turn surrounded by outlying fields, many of which are aflame! A third of the town is under the torch, and tiny specs, an army, are swarming the keep. The canoes are replaced by a small port, 5-6 small docks. The white-sailed warships of the invaders mass in the harbor, some flinging small streaks of fire towards the keep. A fire burns in a small signal-tower at the point of the peninsula. Caption [3rd]: Nearly five centuries later, the peninsula feels the boots of an invading army. The keep of Sursheel Krathan falls to the combined forces of the men of the far north, the elves, and the dwarves. Sursheel's rule of the surrounding lands was the last vestiges of the kingdom of the Ebon Lord, a despot who had been slain the year before, but whose malignant presence has echoed on for hundreds of years. Panel #5: Small square, extreme lower left corner. Close up of man built like a linebacker, in carapace-looking armor (covered with ridges), blocking an axe blow with the sword in his right hand, and holding a heater-style shield close to his body with his left hand. Behind him the silhouettes of spears, swords, etcetera, symbolizing a pitched battle. CLEARLY VISIBLE on the shield is the symbol of the Ebon Lord (see panel layout summary). PAGE #4 & #5 (two page spread) Panel #1 (no border): BIG panoramic view of our friend the peninsula, which is now completely covered by a dense city. All along the right hand side is a bustling port, with huge ships from many nations (imagine clipper ships made by elves, floating dwarvish boxes with paddle wheels, schooners, yachts, etc.) docked at two-story piers. The keep from the previous page should still be visible, tucked amidst taller buildings/towers etc. In the center of the city, there should be buildings significantly taller than the rest, think of them as pre-skyscrapers, held up by mannish steel and dwarven engineering (Put lots of flutes, buttresses, balconies, and other assorted architectural stuff I know nothing about on the tall buildings, and place steel structure supports on the outside). A few open plazas, one covered with the tents of a bazaar, and some green splotches (parks) fill up spaces here and there. Large manor-style houses and miniature keeps line the left-most shore (upper class neighborhood), with a few private docks jutting out from the cliffs into the water. Two or three hot air balloons are floating above the city. Some birds circle, and boats sail into and out of the port. Caption [1st on 4th page]: Five years ago, on High Summer's Eve... Caption [2nd on 4th page]: The city, Garrelion, is known as the jewel of the southern seas. Since the relaxation of tariffs, trade has opened up with the vast Merchant Kingdoms to the southwest. This led to a spectacular increase in the mercantile traffic, as Garellion is an ideal stop-over on the way from the Merchant Kingdoms to the expansive mannish and elvish lands to the far north, and the dwarvish heartland to the northwest. Caption [1st on 5th page]: While this had troubled some of the more conservative religious groups, many sects looked to the increased commercialism as an opportunity to increase the church coffers. Initiates are now employed by the city to light the streets at night with bright 'prayer lights,' and large merchant vessels wouldn't dream of leaving port without a man of the cloth aboard to quell any sudden storms. PAGE #6 Panel #1 (no border): The panel takes up the upper third of the page. We're looking down at two or three of the two-tiered piers from 100 feet in the air. The lower portions of the docks connect to a road along the water's edge, while the upper docks (one story higher, right above the lower docks) connect with another road higher and more inland from the first. A large, sleek vessel is docked, with colorful (or patterned if in b&w) triangular sails. Caption [1st]: Vessels piloted by all of the known seafaring races have docked here... Panel #2: Looking at the large vessel in the previous panel, from the side, with the split-level dock intervening. The top level has some odd, but BIG critter (approximately elephant sized) being led by twenty or so men, pulling ropes. The lower level is filled with men carrying barrels, bags, bolts o' cloth, etc. A small group of the tiny figures on the lower level should be carrying a stretcher with an indiscernible load, the stretcher is flanked by two men carrying spears. Caption [2nd]: ... sometimes carrying strange creatures from far away lands... Panel #3: Six men dressed in swaths of black cloth (need neat-o pseudo arabic swordsman-looking costume here) walk away from us. Nice single vanishing point with the timbers in the upper and lower piers. Two of the men carry a banged-up looking chest on a stretcher, and their manner indicates the chest is heavy. Another, in the front, holds a spear, while the fourth is in the back holding another spear. The fifth is the merc leader, Laxrahn, and Waquar walks beside him. In the foreground are two dock workers sitting down, looking at the departing group. DOCK WORKER ONE: "These mercenary types think they're so..." DOCK WORKER TWO (quietly, yet forcefully): "Shaddup! Or they'll take both of our tongues!" Caption [3rd]: ...and sometimes transporting mysterious passengers. Regardless of where the ship hailed from, one thing has always been certain: The ship will be carrying... Panel #4: Close up of chest. Can only see chest, stretcher, and maybe a hand or two. Despite beaten exterior, we get a hint of intricate filigree surrounding the lock & hinges. Caption #4: ... exotic goods. PAGE #7 Panel #1: Square panel in upper left. In the mid-ground, two of the black robed men load the chest onto a cart (the cart's rear is facing us), while the others stand in a loose a circle around the cart, facing outward, looking alert. Random dock workers are in the background. On the far left of the panel, a clerical looking figure holds a simple staff in one hand that is capped with a small flickering blue flame. His right hand is extended out against a chunk of rounded metal plate that extends off panel. Put a bit of a tele-evangelical look on his face. CLERIC: "May the fires of the heavens live within this boiler, and the metals of the earth shield the ship from the holy flames..." Panel #2 (No Border): Side view of the cart as it is led off to the right by an odd looking beastie, kind of a cross between a moose (the antlers), and a horse (the shape of its body). It should be rather shaggy. The Mercenary leader stands of to the left of the panel, as the other mercenaries walk with the cart. Waquar is riding the cart. MERCENARY LEADER: "" RANDOM NORTHERN MERC: "" Panel #3: Long panel, in which we see the cart and the mercenaries crossing (left to right) a busy street -- and the leader is absent. Simply drawn buildings should line the street that goes back into the panel. Put a tethered hot air balloon floating off in the distance, with a winged thing flying up to it. A couple of small merchant booths are on the cobbled street in the distance. One of the buildings on the left should have a low wide front, with two doorways, and a second story. The closer door is halfling sized with a few steps down to the street, the other a normal human-sized double door. A sign hangs out over the street inbetween the two doors. The building should be just far away enough that the sign can't be read, but the rough shape of a tankard is visible on one end of it. A small crowd is gathered near the building's front window. A very tiny Christophus is walking towards the crowd. Panel #4: Zoom in on the building with the sign. Written on the sign in big friendly puffy letters: "The Foot's Rest." Carved into the sign -- which is not totally in the panel -- is a big frothy mug of ale. In between the front door and the front window (both on the left), stands a large dwarf dressed halfway between a Victorian gentleman (give him a Victorian beard) and a medieval scholar. The crowd is of mixed folk, off to the right, and Christophus stands among them with a smirk on his face. They all are watching the dwarf. At the dwarf's foot is a metal cylinder, with a tube that connects to a small gaslight torch in the dwarf's left hand. The dwarf is gesturing to the light with the other hand. DWARF: "...it will shine as brightly as a prayer light, and can be modified to provide heat during our damp winters. The researchers at my Academy guarantee that the cost per year will be less than the tithing to the church." Panel #5: Same shot, except people are now looking at the man speaking about 'blasphemies.' One of the people looks a bit frightened, another nods vigorously. The dwarf takes a 'hurt' poster, and begins to defend himself. MAN FROM CROWD: "Do you not speak of blasphemy? Proposing that your science is better than a blessing of light from one of Lumin's acolytes?" DWARF: "Please let me..." PAGE #8 NOTE ON PAGES 8-9: VERY DYNAMIC PANELLING PLEASE! LOTS O' SKEWED ANGLES AND SUCH. I'LL DEFER TO YOUR OPINION, AS I THOUGHT YOU DID A GREAT JOB WITH MATT'S SAMPLE 7-11 ROBERRY SCRIPT. Panel #1: Same angle as the previous two, except a rather tall person is flying out the window. Shattered glass is flying out, and members of the crowd are diving away (the fast ones) or throwing up limbs to block the debris. SFX: "CRASH!" (Feel free to improve this sfx). Panel #2: Same angle, the crowd is well on its way to being totally dispersed (dwarf with port-o-gaslight in hand), and the body is lying on the ground (say half off panel). Christophus is running to the window frame (which is filled with jagged shards of glass). Panel #3 (no border): Inside the building, with a wall running from foreground to background along the left side of the panel. Davolar, looking somewhat worse for wear, is being slammed into the wall by a large, beefy, fur-clad barbarian type, who has just buried his shoulder into Davolar's gut. The broken window frame is visible about 15 feet in the background. Christophus is framed by it, standing outside, looking in. Some of the patrons of the tavern are standing around watching the fight. In the midground, at a table near the fight, sits this group: A burly warrior type with a beard and an eye patch, and elf with little bits of electricity arcing between his fingers, a bearded woodsman with an ornate crossbow on his back, and a dwarf wearing a black cloak and a big grin, gesturing to the fight. They all watch with interest. This should just be mixed in with the general background, it's a tribute to some old friends of mine. Caption [1st]: On that fateful High Summer's Eve, Davolar Condoin, the Wayfarer, was first sighted in a common brawl at the Foot's Rest Tavern. CHRISTOPHUS: "Davolar!" SFX: Put something here coming from Davlor. Panel #4: Looking down at Davolar, from behind and partly above the big barbarian type. His arms are raised ominously, and he is mostly in silhouette, as he stares at Davolar. Davolar is mostly obscured by the intervening figure, show just enough of him to get across the feeling that Davolar's had enough. BARBARIAN: "I will SUCK the marrow from your BONES!" Panel #5: The camera, aimed at Davolar, is now right in front of the barbarian, so we don't see the brute. We do, however, see Davolar executing a spin kick, with lines tracing his leg from left to right, with an impact starburst kind of thing right in the middle of the panel. SFX: "Smack!" (Feel free to liven up the SFX stuff, 'tis not my forte'.) PAGE #9 Panel #1: Same angle as panel #4 on the previous page, except the barbarian's head is now facing over his right shoulder, his mouth is open, and drips of blood are falling off of his lip. From the little we can see of Davolar, he has a rather grim look on his face. Panel #2: Same angle as the above, except the barbarian is sliding straight down, with his arms beginning to buckle. He's still looking over his right shoulder, though... Davolar can now be seen standing in a psuedo-karate stance, rapier sheathed at his side. Panel #3: From off to the side, we see Davolar turning to face yet another barbarian type, who is wielding a large axe in one hand, and is looking over at Davolar with a leer on his face. The patrons are actively moving away from him. The fellow who got kicked in the face is lying in a heap on the floor. RANDOM CUSTOMER: "How rude, he drew steel in a friendly brawl." THE ONLY STANDING BARBARIAN-TYPE: "My axe THIRSTS for your mongrel blood!" Panel #4: Shifting the camera angle to whatever would be a bit more dramatic. The barbarian guy has lifted his axe above his head, and wears a shocked look on his face. Davolar's blade is a blur as it shoots out to the barbarians right, and then cuts back over the barbarians head, cleaving the axe haft in two along the way. SFX (along first cut): "Svosh!" SFX (along second cut): "Svish!" SFX (at axe): "SNAK!" Panel #5: Looking at the door of the Tavern as the barbarian is hot-footin' it out the door, Christophus is off to the side of the panel making his way to Davolar as quickly as he can. Panel #6: Davolar is leaning up against the wall, sliding his rapier back into its sheath. Chris comes to a sharp halt in front of him. CHRISTOPHUS: "Gods, Dav! Chaos still follows you like a hound! Are you hurt?" DAVOLAR: "No, Chris..." Panel #7: Close up of Davolar and Christophus as they clasp hands. A pudgy hobbit waiter is framed by their clasp, as their hands hover a few inches above his head. The waiter is looking up at Davolar in indignation. Some the other patrons are passing back and forth the results of their wagers. DAVOLAR: "...I'm fine." WAITER: "Just WHO is going to pay for this, eh? You started all of this, and why that WINDOW aLONE..." PAGE #10 Panel #1: Chris is stepping in between D. and the hobbit waiter as D. catches his breath. Chris is pointing an accusatory finger at the hobbit. CHRISTOPHUS: "You think that MY friend here is responsible for this?!" WAITER: "Yes, and when Mister Mugfrothy finds out about this, he'll..." CRISPIN (OFF PANEL): "He'll..." CRISPIN (continuing balloon staggered): "... WHAT?" Panel #2: Crispin makes his appearance (he should be a couple of inches taller than the waiter). Crispin Mugfrothy is standing -- with his arms on his hips -- at 'north'. Christophus is at 'west.' Davolar is at 'east.' The waiter is at 'south.' The waiter looks cowed a wee bit. Davolar's strength is returning, and he is watching with a bit of amusement. We're looking at Chris' back, and he should be at the far left of the panel. WAITER: "I, er..." CRISPIN: "Did you notice the three fallen brawlers are the thugs who have been intimidating our patrons for the last few weeks? Go help the others clean up Bobert." WAITER: "Yes, sir." Panel #3 (no border): Wide angle shot of the tavern, from across the room, looking toward Davolar, Crispin, and Christophus, who are off in the background. Crispin is gesturing towards the bar. A barmaid, the waiter, and a friendly patron are dragging the comatose barbarian-type who got kicked off to the right, toward the front door. The bar runs along the left side of the panel. The patrons are slowing regaining their composure. In the lower right corner, foreground, a merchant faces off panel to the right, offering a tuber to an unseen customer. Crispin and the good guys are visible in a break in the crowd. The hobbit is gesturing the two good guys towards the bar. MERCHANT WITH TUBER: "...genuine kreft root, guaranteed to add years to your life!" Panel #4: Now the bar runs along the right side of the panel, from mid to back ground. Steps up to the raised floor behind the bar are visible in the foreground, along with the kitchen door to the right. Crispin is walking off into the kitchen, as he looks back at Davolar and Chris, who are walking up to the seats at the end of the bar. CRISPIN: "Just have a seat, I'll be with you in a moment." Panel #5: Chris is sitting down on the last stool, and gesturing to Davolar to take the second to last. In the background, a buxom hobbit waitress brings a platter piled high with food to an overly eager merchant, seated at the bar, who is licking his lips and reaching out for the food. Davolar looks a bit defensive. CHRIS: "So what was all that about?" DAVOLAR: "They didn't care for my parentage, and even less for my defending it." CHRIS: "Naughor's teeth! It's been far too long since I last saw you to talk of prejudices!" PAGE #11: Panel One: Point of view of someone standing near Christophus, looking at the adjacent stool. Davolar is sitting down next to Christophus. Chris is trying to dispel gloom by jabbering about happier stuff. He is succeeding in getting Davolar to smile a bit. CHRISTOPHUS: "Last I saw you, you had just returned from a journey to the homelands of some eastern tribe, to learn to change into a goat or some-such... DAVOLAR: "A hawk, actually. How's your father?" Panel #2: Close-up on Chris' head, looking left. He's smiling. CHRIS: "Father's been ranting that by this time next month the city will have blown up, or been cursed by the Light God." CHRIS: "Lumin's priests want to raise the tithing on the prayers for the light poles, while the Dwarves want to lay pipes that spew some flammable vapor to light the city instead." Panel #3 (NO BORDER): Long shot of the bar, in the center, Chris and Davolar. Crispin -- who can now look them in the eye because of the raised floor -- is walking towards them. Other patrons are at the bar. Chris' expression is somewhere between sarcasm and excitement. Chris: "Claims it will save money. Myself, I plan on getting away from father's politics and join the crew of the Wasp's Wing, they're off to explore the Nameless Lands. Fabulous wealth, glory, my usual interests." Davolar: "Heh. You always take interest in the oddest things, Chris." Panel#4: Crispin stands inbetween Davolar and Chris. In the lower right hand corner, a pair of tankards clank into each other, sloshing ale over their edges. A variety of oddly shaped bottles are visible in the background, onshelves behind the bar. Crispin: "Now I remember you! You're Davolar Condoin, aren't you? Were in here a couple years ago back during that were-creature scare?" Davolar (smirking): "Yes, I was here, and I hope your breeble-berry cider is just as good now as it was then..." PAGE #12 Panel #1: Close up of Crispin, with a huge grin on his face, as he speaks. One index finger raised to punctuate his remark. Crispin: "I'll go draw you a measure right now, sir!" Panel #2: Looking at Chris from Davolar's point of view. Chris: "So, what brings you back out of the forest this time, here to woo some nymph-like elvish dignitary?" Panel #3 (No Border): Looking from the common room to the bar again. In the lower left portion, two burly sailor types are standing, and can be seen from the sternum up. They have their arms around each other, and their heads pressed together at the temples. Their mouths (randomly speckled with teeth) are wide open in song. Chris is wincing slightly at the serenade, and scowling at the singers. At one end of the panel, Crispin draws a dark cider from a tap in a cask. Davolar: "No such luck. My affairs concern a far less lofty goal than wooing maidens." Panel #4: Nearly the same camera angle, but zooming in on Chris' head. Try to squeeze one of the sailor's heads into the pic. Chris is scowling in his direction. Chris: "Some one should teach 'm common courtesy..." PAGE #13 Panel #1: View from behind the bar. Davolar is wearing a wry smile, Chris shoots him a glance. Sailors are in the background. SAILOR #1: "-=Hic!=-" DAVOLAR: "Christophus, last time I visited, I remember a serenade just as... heartfelt." Panel #2 (no border): Looking at the bar from the center of the room. Crispin (smiling as only a hobbit can) is placing a worn earthen tankard by Davolar. Chris is looking a bit reflective, maybe blushing a little. CHRIS: "True, perhaps I did have a bit too much ale that night to try to win Shayn's heart." CRISPIN: "On the house, sir." DAVOLAR: "Thank you, Mr. Mugfrothy." CRISPIN: "Call me Crispin." Panel#3: Close up of Christophus, from the point of view of someone behind the bar. In the background, the sailors can be seen listing off severely to one side. Chris, on the left, is facing Davolar (off-panel), and pointing in the same direction. Crispin can barely be seen as he walks off to the left. CHRIS: "But you still haven't told me why you're here. Whenever you are about, curious things seem to happen. What is it this time?" Panel#4: Close up of Davolar facing the left. Davolar suddenly looks VERY serious. In the background the sailors have fallen over. A couple of the background figures pause to look at the fallen crooners. SFX (near fallen sailors): "whump." DAVOLAR (whispering): "The mage vaults back in Nalakai were violated. I'm trying to track down what was stolen. If you still have your friends wharfside, I'd be grateful if you can arrange a meeting." PAGE #14 Panel#1: Looking down at the grim face of the Mercenary Leader, from the point of view of someone wearing 6" elevator shoes standing in front of him. He's standing on well kept cobbles. LEADER: "We have what your master seeks. I come for payment. Let me pass." Panel#2: From behind the Merc Leader, and a little to his left. He stands near 3 stone steps leading up to an archway in a stone wall. A wrought iron gate with a prison-style keyhole on the bars is being opened by a man dressed in plain grey clothing, with a shaved head. On his head are some weird geometric looking tatoos. He's opening the gate. BALD GUY: "As you wish." Panel #3 (no border): Nice shot of a huge sprawling, asymetric Victorian-style mansion with lots of Gothic touches (gargoyles!), and maybe a tower or two (if they can be worked in coherently). All of the doors are shut, and all the shutters closed. The bald-guy is walking on a path up to the ornately carved front door. The Merc Leader is striding purposefully behind the bald guy. There is some nice hedge work out front, and a fountain that is not on. PAGE #15 Panel One: The foyer. Big open room with a double staircase at the far end, and a large chandelier (unlit). The bald guy (very blank look on his face) is facing out of the panel, holding the door open for the merc leader, who is walking inside. The room is decorated with all sorts of odd tapestries, tables, mirrors, odd looking carpets, carvings, mounted animal heads, etc. Should convey a macabre feeling, with lots of unsavory old stuff. Off to the sides are huge hallways leading off into darkness. In general, tastefully arranged weird shit. BALD GUY: "Wait here, I shall announce your arrival." Panels #2-#5: Upper body shots of the Merc Leader as he moves about the room, looking at stuff, his reflection in a mirror, etcetera. He grows more and more impatient. In panel #5 he should be looking left at his scowling reflection in a mirror. Panel #6: View from the bottom of the staircase. On one side of the panel, the bald guy is leaning in, carrying an a lit brass oil lamp shaped like a candle & holder. The Mercenary (halfway between the stairs and the front door, which is now visible) turns away from the mirror to look at the Bald Guy. His reflection continues to stare back at him, with a scowl that has a little more leer in it, and the reflections eyes are covered in shadow. Odd black wisps float in the background of the mirror. This should not be too prominent in the panel, I'd like it as a background/mood thing. BALD GUY: "Lucience will see you now." PAGE #16 Panel #1: View from behind the mercenary, as he is following the bald guy up stairs which are slowly arcing up to the next floor. The Bald Guy's oil lamp is providing the only light in the stairwell. Panel #2: Still following the merc, following the bald guy. They're now in a hall at the far end is another staircase leading up. This corridor is sparsely decorated, perhaps a wing of what used to be guest bedrooms. Halfway down the corridor, looking very incongruous, one of the doors has a small barred window, a large lock, and an iron bar laid across it. Panel #3: No border, the blackness surrounding the panel fades into the panel. The merc looks toward the barred window. Slightly above and to the right of the center of the panel is the barred window itself. SFX (from the behind the window, little, almost unconscious, wavy letters, squiggling up and down across the page): "uuuuuh..." Panel #4: They are now standing in front of a decoratively carved door, mostly curves, flowers and such in the motif. Not even a hint of a gargoyle. The bald guy is unlocking the door with a key from a large key chain that has been hidden in his clothes up until now. Panel #5: The bald guy and the mercenary are entering a room. Small, ornate oil lamps burn low to either side of the door. An oil painting of a king upon a throne is partly visible on the side of the panel. BALD GUY: "Master, the northman is here." OFF PANEL: "Very well, Temp, you are dismissed. -Cough!- Tend to the garden until I come for you." PAGE #17 Panel #1 (no border): Big room. Poorly lit by small oil lamp on the walls scattered about the room. The place looks very Victorian, with a couch, some chairs, a table with a silver decanter and small chalices. A crystal chandelier hangs from center of the ceiling, with only four of twenty wicks burning, gently reflecting the light. A hooded, lanky figure stands in the shadows halfway between the chandelier and the far wall. His arms a raised in a gesture of welcome. The back wall has a curtain in an archway. Laxrahn's head is visible in the lower left, he is scanning the room. Lucience (IN SHADOWS): "Laxrahn! Welcome to my home once again. You are well?" LAXRAHN: "My heart still beats. Do you have the jewels you promised?" Panel #2: Close up of Lucience in the shadows, he is walking into the light, you still can't see his face, its under a hood, but he is reaching up to move the hood. He's wearing a loose fitting robe, with a belt around his very thin waist. He wears a large clunky necklace, with chain made of irregular metal plates that are about 2" in diameter. LUCIENCE: "Very well. Perhaps it is wise for us to speak only of business, as I haven't much time left. You have the piece from the vaults with you?" LAXRAHN (from off panel): "No, but you have my word, upon the sun, that it shall be here within the hour if you give me the emeralds and silver now." Panel #3: Lucience from the front. Lucience has removed his hood. He is little more than skin and bones. Deep wrinkles and crevices crisscross his face. His eyes are sunken, thin lips open wide as he is almost shouting. His eyes are piercing, and they sparkle with almost an white inner light. He has drawn himself up somewhat, and is leaning forward slightly. His hair is pulled back into a braid, and he wears a thin circlet with a small gem centered on his forehead. Accentuate the lines of his face, he should look quite pissed, put an angery aura around him. LUCIENCE (bold, large letters, he's somewhat peeved): "You shall have your gems to bring back to your clan's shaman, and silver enough to keep you and your BOLD troops in both wine and houses of ill repute for months! -=Cough!=- But NOT until I get what belongs to me!" Panel #4: Back to a panel showing both Lacxrahn and Lucience. Laxrahn and Lucience face off, looking almost like cowboys at high noon. Lucience's posture shows he is seething. Lacxrahn's has drawn himself up to his full height. Silence. Panel#5: Same shot Lucience calming down a bit. LAXRAHN: "My men shall wish to see the coin before surrendering your prize. You've already said that you don't have much time." LUCIENCE: "Fine." lettering style drip with contempt. LUCIENCE: "You will have your payment shortly." contempt still in lettering, but calming down a bit. PAGE #18 Panel #1: Lucience turning around, looking back over his shoulder, starting to walk toward the curtain. He's gesturing towards the decanter on the table. LUCIENCE (softly): "My, yes, you will have your payment." Calm letters again. LUCIENCE: "Sit, partake of my wine. It's laced with Kreft distillate, quite tasty." Panel #2: Now in the adjoining room. Lucience (on the left) is walking through the curtain, head thrust forward, arms bent, hands hovering out in front of him, eyes squinting (I'm trying to give him the look of an old, and slightly maniacal man). He strides towards a mirror with a plain wooden frame on the wall far to the right. This room is much more plain than the previous one. Throw in a floor to ceiling bookshelf, a comfy looking chair with a table covered in open, dog-eared books. Panel #3: Looking over Lucience's shoulder, at the mirror, where we can see his reflection in the mirror, his expression is blank. His right hand is reaching towards the surface of the mirror, palm parallel to its surface, with his ring finger bent, pointing at the surface. His hand should be glowing slightly, almost imperceptibly. LUCIENCE (whispering, funky font): "Eigo, obay." Panel #4: A close up of Lucience's hand & the mirror. Part of his face's reflection should be visible in the far left of the panel. His hand is now glowing. His ring finger has touched the surface. A ripple is starting to travel outward from the point of contact. A sparkle should be twinkling at the point of contact. Panel #5: Zoom in on the center of the mirror, cutting out Lucience's reflection. His hand is pulling away and down from the mirror. The ripples travel outward, leaving behind a hole, through which we can start to see a small, rectangular niche carved in the wall. Panel #6: The last of the mirror is rippling away in the corners, while we can now clearly see the niche contains two velvet pouches with drawstrings, a small wooden box with a copper latch, an empty pouch, and a couple of copper coins. There is room for much more, as I'm trying to convey a "the cupboard is near empty" feeling. Panel #7: Lucience takes up most of the left of the panel, where we can see his face and hands, which are held up to his chest, close to his face. In one hand, the wooden box, in the other, a filled pouch. On the right of the panel, we see the mirror in the background, closing up with ripples. Page #19: Panel#1: An enlongated panel in which we just see Lucience's hands with motion lines in the last bit of a throw. The box and bag are flying out of his hands. Underhand, if ya don't mind. Panel#2: Looking slightly down at Laxrahn's front as he is catching the box in one hand and the pouch in the other. He looks down at his prize with calm satisfaction. LUCIENCE (from off panel): "Payment..." Panel #3: Looking up slightly at Lucience's head, from off to the side. He looks somewhat aloof. LUCIENCE: "...in full. Do not disgrace me by counting it here. I trust you will bring me my due, WITHIN the hour, as your gods surely heard your oath." Panel #4: Side view of the room. As he begins to walk through the doorway, Laxrahn (far left) is putting the two packages into the folds of his clothes with one hand, and is opening the door with the other. Lucience is at the far right. One arm hangs at his side, the other is stretched out toward Laxrahn, index finger pointing menacingly, the other fingers hanging somewhat limply. LUCIENCE: "I trust you understand if an old man asks you to see yourself out." LAXRAHN: "My men will return shortly." Panel #5: Close up of Lucience, from the waist up. Blackout the entire background. He stands on the left side of the panel. A furrow on his forehead matching the thin crease of his mouth, drawn very tight. His eyes are tightly closed, and his arms are folded up across his chest, hands clutching shoulders. His chin is pressed against his chest. The fingers of his left hand are drumming. SFX: "Click." (door closing) LUCIENCE: "Xavier?" Panel#6: Same shot, except the blackness is coalescing into a squat, snake-like head, with piercing white eyeslits, and equally piercing white fangs. Have it forming out of bubbles, or whatever funky dissolve technique you'd like. Small black tendrils should be forming behind it's head. XAVIER THE DEMON-SNAKE (wavy lettering): "Yesssss?" Panel #7: Same shot, the blackness seems to be hover around the base of Xavier's levitating head. Lucience is smiling slightly now. LUCIENCE: "Follow that man. Find where he sleeps, and return. Tonight, after the casting, bring him nightmares from which he never awakens." Panel #8: Same shot, the snake thing is almost writhing in pleasure. Lucience's shoulder are sagging a bit, and his head is now leaning back slightly. He's relaxing. XAVIER (waving snake font): "Mmmmmmmm. Thank you, Massssster!" PAGE #20 Panel #1: View of Laxrahn stalking through the street. Point of view of a dwarf on Laxrahn's right, twnety feet ahead. Have him bumping someone roughly into a passerby. RANDOM SLIGHTLY BULLIED PEDESTRIAN: "Ooof!" Panel #2 (no border): View from about 10 feet above the planks of a dock, looking down over the shoulder of dock worker who is shrugging his shoulders. Beyond him, stands Davolar, who is gesturing in some way. At his feet is a sea gull digging under its wing with its beak. Walking past them on the dock is a dwarf shouldering a dolly with a large cast iron thing vaguely resembling a wood-burning stove. On the iron thing's side is a stylized hammer, above a stylized crown, above a stylized anvil (this is a craftsmanship mark on the side of a boiler unit from a dwarven steamer). Panel #3: In a rather wide, well lit by sun alleyway, Laxrahn is walking up the steps of a porch, where there is a door that looks like the back entrance to an inn (go figure what the back door to an inn looks like). Where the wall meets the street, some weeds stick out sporadically. On the door, a small sign: Tiger's Den <-----<< Entrance (+ simple pic o' tiger) Panel #4: Camera is now up on the porch, looking at the door at an angle. Waquar, flanked by two more of the mercenaries, stand in the open doorway, and look out at Laxrahn. Laxrahn points back out to the street. He looks somewhat hurried/stressed. WAQUAR: "< Laxrahn, did you get payment... >" LAXRAHN: "< I have no TIME for questions Waquar. Take the others, fetch the chest, and bring it to the old man! >" Panel #5 (No border): Same view as Panel #2, except now the man who was shrugging is pointing back along the dock (towards the unseen city) most emphatically. Davolar stands with one hand on his hip, a satisfied smile upon his face, and his other hand raised toward the merchant with a small coin pouch. Panel #6: The cart driven by the weird reindeer thing is being loaded with the chest (side view), and the critter is being harnessed by one of the mercs. This is taking place in the alley by the back door to the Tiger's Den. Laxrahn is up on the porch, looking down at the rest of the men. Waquar is driving the cart. With the other three men taking up positions at the four corners of the carts. PAGE #21: Panel #1: View from across the street, on top of a building, as the cart with the chest draws up in front of a long stone wall with an iron gate set into an archway. Lucience's mansion is visible above the wall. The figures in black are small, as I want to be able to see some of the adjacent buildings, and show that they are on the upscale side. Panel #2 (no border): Pick an interesting angle. Davolar is standing on a busy street corner, bending down at the knee somewhat, talking to a girl in a simple dress who is standing at tiny cart laden with fruit. His hands are held up to his forehead, splayed out like antlers. A well-off couple are strolling by, and the woman, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers (one hand), points to the comical figure (the other hand), and the Gent on her arm bears a good natured smile. The girl points off in some direction. Panel #3: Shot of the iron gate in front of Lucience's house. The bald guy is eagerly unlocking the gate. There is a trowel laying at his feet. Two of the mercs stand off to the side, holding the chest, while Waquar stands off to the other, facing away from the gate, scanning the street for signs of do-gooders. Panel #4: Shot from a higher step, looking down a spiral staircase. The Bald Guy is in front, walking sideways, holding one of those candle-shaped oil lamps, trying to provide light for the two mercs carrying the chest. Waquar is coming up the rear with a similar lamp. Panel #5 (no border): A perspective shot, looking at Davolar's front as he is walking away from the street corner. He's munching on a piece of fruit that looks like an apple. The little girl can be seen holding on to a coin and biting it to see if it is real or not. Change the figures in the background, to show that the street is busy. Panel #6: The bald guy and the mercs are spilling into the room where we first saw Lucience. Lucience is seated at the couch, legs crossed, one arm up on the top of the couch, the other hand is gesturing up towards the ceiling. Put this pic at some angle where we can't see his face (use shadows if you want) The bald buy looks excited, in a boyish kind of way, and is just barely able to suppress it. Temp: "Master, the northmen have returned with that which you need to..." LUCIENCE: "Thank you Temp, Gentlemen. Please place the chest at the top of the stairs leading to the uppermost chamber." PAGE #22: Panel #1: Close up of a hand (Davolar's) knocking on a door. SFX: "Knock! Knock!" Panel #2: Looking at Laxrahn as he sits at a small table, with six piles of silver coins spread out in front of him. His head is jerking up. LAXRAHN (whispering): "" Panel #3: Looking at Davolar from the side, as he is standing in front of the back door of the Tiger's Inn (the place from page #16). The point of view should be far enough away from the wall to allow us to see the sign on the door. His left hand rests lightly on the hilt of his rapier, and his right hand is raised in a gesture, as he explains himself to the door. DAVOLAR (bold letters, he's shouting): "Excuse me, the innkeeper said that there were some spare rooms available back here, and I was hoping to see them!" DAVOLAR (2nd balloon, spaced to indicate a pause): "Hello?" Panel #4: Looking at Davolar, standing at the door way. He looks contemplative. DAVOLAR: "Hmmm. Very well, a bit of of larceny then." Panel #5: A wooden stair case, with a banister is visible, as Laxrahn descends. Try to make him look vaguely feline, despite his build. He has a long knife in left hand (pommel end near his thumb), and a smooth metal cylinder in the other, with a few odd projections (flintlock pistol). He's trying to descend the stairs quietly. Panel #6: Davolar is bending down, bring his face and right hand close to the lock on the door. A tendril of light snakes off of the his pointed index finger, into the keyhole, which is glowing slightly. SFX: "Click!" DAVOLAR: "Ahhh." Panel #7 (no border): Looking at the long wall of a hallway. Lit by sunlight coming in through a couple of small windows. Hanging on the wall, mid-panel is a Persian rug looking tapestry, with two tigers rampant, and facing eachother. At the extreme right of the panel, there is a curtain, held to a rod with rings. On the extreme left, Davolar is entering cautiously, right hand on the grip of his rapier, left holding his scabbard. Davolar should be about 10 feet from the curtain. PAGE #23: Panel #1: Side view of Laxrahn, he is clearly standing on the other side of the curtain from panel #7, Page 18. The curtain is on the left side of the panel. The knife is held out to his side, and the gun is held straight out in front of him, aimed at the height of the average man's chest, if the average man was about to pass through the curtain. Panel #2: Close up showing just the gun, and Laxrahn's hand. His thumb is on a small wheel, add a couple of tiny motion lines showing that he is pulling back on the wheel. SFX: A tiny "click." Panel #3: Looking straight at a close up of Davolar's face. His eye brows are lifted, and his eyes are open wide in an "oh shit" expression. Panel #4 (no border): Back out in the hall with Davolar. Same kind of perspective, except he is now only five feet away from the curtain. In a blur of motion, he draws his sword, lunges (left leg extended behind him, right leg out in front, thigh and shin at 90 deg), and cuts upward through the curtain (at about the level of gun). SFX: Near scabbard > "Schinng!" Near curtain > "Slice!" Can you think of anything better than "Slice!"? Panel #5: Back to the other side of the curtain. Again, we're looking at Laxrahn's arm, only now Davolar's blade has cut through the curtain and is knocking Laxrahn's gun to the side, as it is going off. The blade is also cutting into Laxrahn's hand (no blood yet). SFX: "BANG!" (Something better than 'bang' maybe?) Panel #6: View from behind Laxrahn, and slightly off to one side, as he is raising the knife in his left hand. He is staggering back. His gun is in mid-air, falling to the floor. We can see Davolar leaping into a flying tackle (pushing off of his right leg), through the curtain, which now has a considerable slice through the middle. The curtain is catching on Davolar's shoulder and being drawn taut, and the rings are snapping off of the rod. Laxrahn's right hand is pulled into his chest, so we can't see it. SFX: On breaking rings: "Ting! Ting!" Panel #7: Side view has Davolar connects with Laxrahn. Davolar's rapier's guard partially deflects the point of the long knife, which still manages a 1/4 inch deep cut on his right forearm, show his sleeve being sliced. A few droplets of blood are flying off of Laxrahn's right hand. Laxrahn's head hits the ground (ouch!), his eyes are squinted shut, and a grimace of pain embraces his face. PAGE #24: Panel #1: Davolar is sitting on top of the now barely conscious Laxrahn. Davolar has the presence of mind to take the knife and send it skittering across the floor with his rapier's guard. Davolar's hair is a bit more mussed than before. Blood spots are appearing on his shirt sleeve where he was cut. Davolar looks relieved, and has part of the curtain hanging from his shoulder. DAVOLAR: "Heh, I guess I'll have to wait a bit before I can find out anything from you." LAXRAHN: "uuuuuh..." (< make that kind of wavy) Panel #2: Davolar is scurrying to his feet looking back toward the curtain bringing the sword point 'round to face the entrance. The part of the curtain that was on his shoulder has migrated down to his right leg. SFX (from the curtain side): "Knock!" Panel #3: Looking down the corridor (corridor about 5 ft wide), from Davolar's point of view, toward the front door. Davolar's rapier blade extends into the panel and is gleaming. The door is opening, and two of the mercs are entering. Merc #1: "" Panel #4 (no border): Long sideways view of hallway again. The tiger tapestry/rug hangs in the center. Davolar is off to the right, standing in the archway where the curtain once hung (it's now kind of wrapped around one of his feet). On the left, Merc #1 is crouching down inside the doorway, near the far wall, he has drawn two 10 inch long curved daggers. Merc #2 has crouched as well, and has unveiled a leather strap attached to one arm covered with throwing stars, he's reaching for one. Merc #3 is stepping into the doorway with a spear leveled at Davolar. Davolar's sword is pointed back towards Laxrahn. Davolar's chest is facing us, and he looks as if he is trying to calm himself and look stern. DAVOLAR: "I warn you, I have one of your companions at my mercy. Advance and his life is forfeit. The City Guard is already on its way." MERC #1: "To be slain by a dishonorable foe while unarmed? A guarantee of an afterlife in the heavens..." Panel #5: Close up of the Mercs. Merc #1's face (cold expression) fills the right hand quarter of the panel. Merc #2's face (evil leer) fills the left hand quarter of the panel. The center portion of the panel has the torso of a third merc, with the tip of the spear he is wielding looming ominously in the foreground. Put some pretty carvings on the spearhead. MERC #2: "And one less man means more silver for the rest of us..."