Major Charactres: Nomad Crew, Bedoura, Ishmal, Serendib, Rumina
Minor Charactres: People in Bar, Demon Guards, Villagers
(The crew is on the Nomad; Firouz is playing the recorder, and Rongar the harp; Doubar is singing, then Maeve joins in)
Doubar: (singing) Speed bonny boat, like a bird on the wing
Onward the sailors cry
Carry the lad that’s born to be King
O’er the sea to Skye
Loud the wind howls, loud the waves roar
Thunderclaps rend the air
Baffled, our foes stand on the shore
Follow they did not dare
Maeve: (singing) Oh, speed bonny boat, like a bird on the wing
Onward the sailors cry
Doubar: (singing) Carry the lad that’s thought to be King
Maeve: (singing) Over the sea to sky
(Meanwhile, Sinbad tied the tiller up, so he could come closer and enjoy the singing; the Nomad shakes)
Firouz: Sinbad! The tiller!
(The crew runs around, trying to steady the Nomad; Sinbad goes to the tiller)
Sinbad: Check below, the damages!
(Doubar goes below deck)
Doubar: (from below) Sinbad! We’re taking on water! We need a safe harbour! Now!
Sinbad: Tell me something I don’t already know.
Firouz: Bear two points off the wind!
Sinbad: I can’t see a thing!
Firouz: I figure any port in a storm!
(They stop)
Maeve: Do you have any idea where we are?
Sinbad: No. But we have to make repairs, and we can’t do that at sea.
Maeve: I’m not sure I like this.
Sinbad: You say that every time we make an uncharted stop.
Maeve: Yeah, and with good reason.
Sinbad: Doubar! Get going with the repairs! I’m gonna see about getting us some help.
(Sinbad climbs down the ladder)
(Sinbad arrives at a city)
Sinbad: (looks down a road) This looks promising. (heads that way, but hears something) Oh boy. (draws sword) Hello? (no answer) (puts sword in sheath) Not much of a welcoming committee.
(Sinbad goes into a bar)
Bedoura: Welcome, stranger. I am Bedoura, and that is Ishmal. You must be hungry, thirsty.
Sinbad: As a matter of fact—
Ishmal: What brings you to the City of Mist?
Sinbad: My ship was blown here by an ill wind. I seek strong labourers with…well…good hearts.
Bedoura: Ah. In other words, you’re broke.
Sinbad: Yes.
Bedoura: Are you a man who trusts in luck?
Sinbad: (pauses) I’ve been known to benefit from good fortune.
Bedoura: Oh, well, then. Perhaps you’d enjoy a quick game of High Card Vishmal. It’s very simple, really. The deck is shuffled, the betters bet against you, you pick a card, announce it, then Ishmal picks a card, and if your card is higher than his—
Sinbad: I win.
Bedoura: You’re a stranger here, yet so clever.
(Maeve and Dermott are waiting back on the Nomad for Sinbad; Dermott chirps)
Maeve: Yeah. I am worried about him. Something’s wrong. I want you to go and check on him.
(Dermott flies off)
(Sinbad is talking to Bedoura in the bar)
Sinbad: You are too kind. Yet, I don’t have anything to wager. Have you heard of the term collateral?
Ishmal: He has a sword.
Sinbad: Oh, I really couldn’t bet with this.
Bedoura: Well, ah, how about that rainbow-coloured bracelet? That’s very pretty.
Sinbad: I’m afraid I couldn’t bet that either.
Bedoura: Your knife?
Sinbad: I don’t have one.
Bedoura: Your shoes?
Sinbad: (laughing) Who would…(still laughing) who would—
Bedoura: Done deal. The man bets his shoes.
(The crowd in the bar is laughing)
Sinbad: All right. (goes over to table) Who will shuffle the cards?
Ishmal: I will.
Sinbad: (sits down, takes boots off, and puts them on the table) There. I put my boots on the table. Who will bet against me…and with what?
Bedoura: They will wager the jewel of the city.
Sinbad: That sounds impressive. Might I use this jewel to purchase labourers as well as supplies for the ship?
Ishmal: Let’s just say you’ve never seen a jewel like it before. Our whole town revolves around it. Now, pick a card.
Sinbad: (picks a card and looks at it) The Three of Dragons. I guess it’s just not my day.
Ishmal: Now it’s my turn. (picks card and puts it under the deck without showing it to anyone) Um…the Two of Weasels. You win.
Sinbad: I won? (smiles)
Ishmal: Behold! The jewel of the City of Mist.
(Serendib stands up and turns around)
Bedoura: Her name is Serendib, and you will need the luck of the gods to deal with her.
(Opening Credits)
(Dermott flies back to Maeve and chirps)
Maeve: Sinbad’s in trouble.
Doubar: Are you sure?
Maeve: We have to leave now. Right now! Doubar!
Doubar: Rongar, let’s go prepare the other shore boat.
(Doubar and Rongar leave)
(Sinbad and Serendib are walking through the City of Mist)
Sinbad: Serendib? How’d you come to be in the City of Mist?
Serendib: I’m an orphan. I came here with my keepers.
Sinbad: Look! Now that’s strange. Excuse me. We seem to be trapped here.
(Some cloaked men come out at them)
Sinbad: All right, here we go. Greetings, spirits. Ah…we mean you know harm.
Serendib: They’re the demon guards! They keep us here!
Sinbad: Maybe they’ll listen to reason. (pauses) Maybe not.
(Sinbad draws sword and begins to fight the demons)
Serendib: Sinbad! Behind you!
(Sinbad fights for awhile longer, then Serendib destroys one of them with a stone from her bag)
Sinbad: (gets up from the ground) Serendib! Those stones. They’re magic?
Serendib: They’re just a few things I play around with every so often.
Sinbad: Well, I’m glad you have such toys. Well then, I should go and find some supplies.
(The crew comes around the corner)
Doubar: Little brother! (laughs) At last! Where have you been?
Firouz: We started to worry when you didn’t come back last night.
Sinbad: Last night? But I’ve only been gone a few hours.
Firouz: Sinbad. You’ve been gone for a whole day.
Maeve: What’s going on?
Sinbad: You see, there was this bet…
Maeve: I’m not sure I wanna hear this.
Doubar: Sinbad. Aren’t you going to introduce us to your little friend?
Serindib: I’m Serendib.
Firouz: (walks forward) Pleasure to meet you, my dear. I’m Firouz.
Maeve: How are we going to repair the ship?
Sinbad: How bad is it?
Doubar: Bad. We’ll never sail out of the harbour unless we make some serious repairs.
Sinbad: Firouz? You’re the master of unconventional solutions. What do you suggest?
Firouz: Our only alternative is to march to the forest of cedar beyond this town. We cut down trees, and make our own lumber, since you provided us with neither supplies nor help.
Sinbad: What can I say? As it is, I’m lucky to be alive. If Serendib hadn’t dispatched the demon with her magic—
Maeve: She uses magic?
Serendib: Just a little.
Doubar: Can you repair the hull of a ship?
Serendib: No.
Doubar: Well, if we don’t make repairs to the Nomad soon, we’re gonna be sleeping with the fishes.
Sinbad: What do you suggest?
Doubar: How are you at cutting lumber?
(They start walking)
Doubar: Well, I’m certainly glad we didn’t leave anything aboard the ship.
Sinbad: The forest is right beyond the town. It’s just a little further.
Firouz: You may not know it, Serendib, but many people would envy you.
Serendib: Right.
Firouz: No, I’m serious. Different people have different strengths. Some people have the ability to communicate with words, with song, with art. Some people have the ability to heal. You? You have a powerful gift. It will take great patience to learn how to master it.
Serendib: All I know is every time I use it, something bad happens.
Sinbad: How long have we been walking?
Maeve: Long enough. Why?
Sinbad: We’re still in this wretched little town. It doesn’t appear very large, nor very populous. And didn’t we pass this sign just minutes ago?
Maeve: I’m not sure.
Sinbad: Quickly! Down this alley!
(They run down the alley, then come back out from where they started)
Sinbad: (sees same sign) I knew it! It’s the same markings on the wall!
Doubar: It’s witchcraft!
Firouz: Well, it’s certainly unusual.
Maeve: I don’t like this at all.
Sinbad: Serendib? Do you know what’s going on here?
Serendib: You might as well just go and leave me here.
Firouz: Don’t be ridiculous. Nobody’s going to leave anybody. Right, Sinbad?
Sinbad: Right.
Serendib: There’s no use. You won’t be able to return to your ship. You’re trapped here, and I can’t help you. The streets of the City of Mist lead only to themselves. That’s what my keepers told me.
Sinbad: So the entire city is cursed.
Doubar: What, do you mean we have to stay here for the rest of our lives?
Maeve: Not necessarily. Serendib, the curse?
Serendib: The streets of mist lead only to themselves.
Maeve: Before this city, was there another city here? Ruins, maybe?
Serendib: Yes. That’s what my keepers told me, but that was hundreds of years ago.
(They come to a barred tunnel)
Maeve: Sea towns often build catacombs underneath the villages to serve as escape routes, against pirate attacks.
Serendib: No one’s ever thought of that before.
Firouz: But it’s blocked!
Doubar: Not for long.
(Doubar and Rongar bend the bars)
Sinbad: I wonder what’s on the other side.
Doubar: It’s what’s on the inside that worries me.
(They enter the tunnel; soon, they pass a skeleton)
Maeve: What now?
Sinbad: Seems we’re not the first to use this as an exit.
(They continue walking)
Firouz: (looks at the skeleton) Tragic.
Doubar: So close to the opening of the passage.
(They continue walking; the skeleton turns his head towards the crew)
(The crew is still walking through the cave)
Firouz: Nine ninety-six, nine hundred and ninety-seven, eight, ninety-nine, one thousand.
Serendib: What are you doing?
Firouz: Counting the paces. I figure one thousand paces puts us right in the middle of the passageway.
Serendib: Then that means we’ve got as far to go as we’ve come.
Sinbad: Look! It’s a cavern!
(They walk more)
Maeve: (sees another skeleton) Oh, not another one.
Doubar: There’s just too many skeletons in here for my liking.
(The skeleton comes alive and watches the crew)
(The crew is still walking, when a skeleton comes at them)
Doubar: Ah! Sinbad! I think we’ve got company!
Sinbad: Doubar!
(They fight the skeletons)
Firouz: (to Serendib) Stay down, my dear! Let Sinbad and the others handle this!
(They continue fighting)
(After awhile, Serendib throws a magic stone, and the skeleton disappears)
Doubar: For a girl, she packs quite a whallop.
(Rumina appears in her whirlwind to Bedoura)
Rumina: I’m here for the girl.
Bedoura: She…she isn’t here.
Rumina: (uses magic to choke Bedoura) I really don’t appreciate insolence. Where is Serendib?
Bedoura: Your pardon. She’s gone off with a…with a sailor.
Rumina: A sailor? Who was he, what is his name?
Bedoura: I believe his name was Sinbad.
Rumina: Sinbad? Here? And you let her go off with him?
Bedoura: She’s at that age where I can’t control her anymore! She has a mind of her own, and her powers are growing every day!
Rumina: I really don’t care about your family problems. Where did the girl go?!
(Bedoura leads Rumina to the tunnel)
Rumina: She escaped? Impossible. My spell prevents escapes.
Bedoura: Perhaps this Sinbad was unaware of your power.
Rumina: How long ago did they enter the passageway?
Bedoura: A few hours.
Rumina: Good. I still have time to play.
(The crew and Serendib are resting in the tunnel; Sinbad holds out a piece of meat for Serendib)
Sinbad: It’s all we’ve got. Sea rations.
Serendib: I’m not hungry.
Sinbad: Well, you should eat. Who knows when we’ll get another chance? (takes bite of meat; it is very tough) You’re right. It’s not very good.
Serendib: Why are you being so nice to me?
Sinbad: It’s a flaw in my personality. (pauses) You probably haven’t met many people who are…well…nice.
Serendib: My keepers are nice. They seem to like me. Sometimes, I think they even wanna help me. I frighten them, though.
Sinbad: You’re a young girl. How could you possibly frighten adults?
Serendib: It’s the power. It’s always a part of me and always trouble. All it’s done is make my life miserable. (gets up and leaves)
Sinbad: Sorry.
Maeve: She seems so lost and sad. Poor little thing. I feel sorry for her.
Firouz: She has powers she can’t understand. But so did you, at her age.
Maeve: No. No, I had to be trained. And I’m still learning. Serendib, she has a natural talent.
Firouz: I knew you of all people would understand how lonely she must feel. How different. I can’t even begin to imagine her sense of total isolation. (goes to Serendib)
Doubar: Maeve, I don’t mean to seem foolish, but that girl and her powers make me very nervous.
Maeve: You have every right to be nervous, Doubar. Whatever’s going on in this spellbound land, she’s the reason for it.
Firouz: (walks up to Serendib) Serendib, do you like beads? (hands her a necklace of beads) Go ahead, they’re yours to keep.
Serendib: They’re beautiful. No one’s ever given me a gift before.
Firouz: Well, then, all the more reason to enjoy it, eh?
(Serendib kisses Firouz on the cheek)
Firouz: That’s not really nec…n…necessary. (walks away)