Major Charactres: Firouz, Sinbad, Rongar, Dermott, Maeve, Doubar, Jullaner, Caitiff, Mahmud al-Misri
Minor Charactres: Bartender, Plunkett, Milford, Villagers
(The crew is in a bar; they check in their swords at the counter)
Firouz: (reads sign that says "NO SWORDPLAY") Very good sign. Quite civil.
Sinbad: Let’s see here. (counts money) One, two, three, four, five. There you go. (hands money to bartender) Maeve? Allow me. (takes tray of drinks to the table)
(Sinbad watches as the bartender tests to see if the money is real)
Maeve: What do you expect, when the bar’s on the same island as a school for alchemists?
Sinbad: Well, a little trust would be nice. Do I look like I’d use counterfeit gold to pay a debt?
Maeve: You don’t look like you’d know how to create alchemist gold.
Plunkett: (from nearby table) Mauriel!
Sinbad: (turns to the sound of the voice) Now there’s a face I regret recognizing.
Doubar: I thought he was dead!
Sinbad: He should be so lucky.
Firouz: Who is he?
Sinbad: (sighs) His name’s Plunkett. It’s men like him that give pirating a bad name.
Firouz: And she looks like such a nice girl. What’s she doing with those cutthroats?
Doubar: Probably getting hoodwinked.
Plunkett: I’m sure everything will be fine. As soon as we get enough money for water and supplies.
Jullaner: Ah, I have to, ah, go and get the gold. Now, you promise you won’t go anywhere?
Plunkett: Jullaner, we promise.
Jullaner: You swear?
(Jullaner leaves and Sinbad walks up to Plunkett’s table)
Plunkett: Sinbad. I thought you were dead.
Sinbad: Funny. I was just wishing you were.
Plunkett: Keep wishing. Let’s just see how long you stay alive on your own.
(Sinbad’s crew stands up)
Sinbad: But I’m not.
(Both Sinbad and Plunkett at the exact same time reach for their swords, find nothing, look at where their swords should be, then look over at the counter where they handed them in, then start fighting without them; the crew helps defeat Plunkett’s crew; the bartender helps by hitting a tray over one of the men’s heads; in the end, Plunkett and his crew run out)
Doubar: Well, it’s always nice to run into some old friends.
Sinbad: It’s even nicer when they run away.
(They all laugh)
Sinbad: (turns to bartender and hands him some money) Sorry about the damages, and more ale. (hands the bartender more money)
(Jullaner walks up to them)
Jullaner: There was some men here?
Doubar: We got rid of them.
Jullaner: You what? Oh, I should, um…
Doubar: What?
Jullaner: Go find them.
Firouz: I don’t think that’s a very good idea, my dear.
Maeve: Firouz is right. Those men would have killed you for your gold.
Doubar: They were pirates. What were you doing with pirates?
Jullaner: I needed some sailors, and a ship.
Doubar: They weren’t sailors. They were pirates.
Jullaner: There’s a difference?
Firouz: Of course there is! Haven’t you traveled at all?
Jullaner: Of course I have…when I was small…and then when I went to school…I just never been alone before.
Doubar: Sinbad?
Sinbad: Why did you need a ship and crew?
Jullaner: Oh, I can’t trouble you.
Sinbad: Trouble and us are old friends. (pauses) Please. We’d like to help.
Jullaner: It’s my father. Mahmud al-Mistri. I have to find him. He’s all I have left.
Maeve: How long has your father been missing?
Jullaner: Well, I went to school, and he hasn’t written in almost a year. Malaysia, the island that he’s on, is only two-days journey by sea.
Sinbad: Malaysia. What a coincidence. That’s just where we’re headed. We have some things to trade.
Jullaner: What? What are you trading?
Sinbad: Well, um—
Firouz: Pearls!
Maeve: Grain!
Doubar: Silk!
Sinbad: It’s a large cargo. But there’s more than enough room for one passenger. Adventure anyone?
(They laugh)
(Opening Credits)
(The crew and Jullaner are walking along the island of Malaysia)
Firouz: Really fascinating when you think about it! Amazing! Utterly astonishing!
Doubar: Spill it, Firouz!
Firouz: A few generations ago, this island didn’t even exist. Which means we stand on nothing more than a thin layer of hardened lava.
Doubar: How thin?
Firouz: Earthinomically speaking? Very thin. But, to the everyday person, who maybe doesn’t know as much science as someone like myself, who studied so long and so hard.
Jullaner: The reason my father first came here was because of a volcano. The ash made the soil very fertile.
Sinbad: I’ve heard people call Malaysia a real paradise of the sea.
Jullaner: There’s no poverty on this island. No wont of any kind. My father used his science to help the farmers care for their land.
Maeve: I’m sure he’s all right.
(They walk for a few minutes; Rongar picks up something and hands it to Doubar)
Doubar: Another piece of lava rock?
Firouz: (examines it) It appears to be some sort of gigantic scale.
Doubar: Scale. As in lizard or snake?
Firouz: As in giant lizard or snake.
Jullaner: We reach the first village!
(They walk into the village)
(The crew and Jullaner are in the village)
Jullaner: It’s all so different.
(A man runs by, carrying a sash, Sinbad pulls on it and the man keeps running with the other end)
Doubar: Even Firouz can track him.
Jullaner: You see the small inn? It’s run by a man named Milford. I’m sure we can get some rooms.
Sinbad: And hopefully some answers.
(They follow the trail of a sash and knock on the door of the inn; Milford answers the door)
Milford: What do you want?
Sinbad: We’d like some rooms for the night.
Milford: No rooms for strangers.
(Milford grabs his sash and slams the door shut)
Doubar: Excuse me. (he throws the door open)
(A child appears at the door, but Milford brings the child back in, and slams the door)
Sinbad: Not a very warm reception.
Jullaner: Something’s happened. These people need me.
(The villagers are all running after the crew and Jullaner)
Doubar: Look’s like trouble.
Jullaner: But they aren’t armed.
(The villagers throw rocks at them)
Doubar: That’s close enough!
(Doubar runs at the villagers, and runs right into them)
Maeve: They don’t seem to know very much about fighting.
Jullaner: Please don’t hurt them.
Sinbad: Why did you attack us? What have we done to you?
Milford: It’s not you. It’s her.
Jullaner: Milford, I’ve never done anything to you.
Milford: But your father—
Jullaner: My father! What do you know of him? What’s happened?
Milford: He’s sent three monsters to destroy our homes.
Maeve: Monsters.
Milford: Terrible beasts that kill without thought!
Firouz: We found a piece of a giant scale. Could that be from one of these monsters?
Jullaner: Why do you think my father has anything to do with these monsters? Hasn’t he always tried to help you? Make your life easier?
Milford: True. But we no longer struggle. Now we simply die! Go back before it’s too late! Outside of the village, your lives mean nothing!
Sinbad: Well, do we go on?
Jullaner: I can’t ask you to. I can’t ask you to put your lives in danger. I can go on alone from here.
Doubar: You aren’t going anywhere alone.
Firouz: And what’s a few monsters between friends?
(They walk on)
Jullaner: This is the only home I’ve ever known. Where my father worked as an alchemist, and traveled from place to place. And then he worked for rich passion. And we had enough money to come to Malaysia, to let my father pursue his one dream. All my father ever wanted to do was to use his science to help people. All people. Regardless of wealth, positions.
Firouz: A wise and noble goal. I’m sure your father’s just fine. He’s probably been busy.
Jullaner: Too busy to write? Oh, I know something’s wrong.
Sinbad: Did your father ever write and tell you of any unrest? Any strange creatures?
Jullaner: No. In his last letter, he sounded quite hopeful. He said that he’d found a way to end all war forever. Then the letters stopped.
(There are two people pulling a cart)
Jullaner: Hey, those things! They came from my house!
Sinbad: Wait here. (runs towards the men) Hey! Excuse me! May I ask where you got those things?
(They fight; in the end, the two men run away after hearing a roar)
Sinbad: Stay here! I’m going to get some answers. (leaves to see what made the roar)
(Sinbad comes to a gigantic lizard; he runs from it)
(The crew is wondering where Sinbad is)
Maeve: If he’s not back soon, we’ll go look for him.
(Sinbad comes back)
Doubar: Little brother!
Maeve: Hey! We were just about to send a search party out for you.
Sinbad: Well, you would have found me, and one big, green, hungry companion.
Firouz: What?
Sinbad: One of the monsters the villagers spoke of. A lizard as large as a palace.
Doubar: Did it follow you?
Sinbad: No. And I don’t think we should stay around here much longer.
Firouz: Sound reasoning. Very sound.
(They leave)
(The crew is still walking)
Sinbad: Jullaner?
Jullaner: There used to be a village right here. And the town’s market square was right there. (picks up a broken sign) Oh, this is from the Weaver’s Shop.
Doubar: (feels the ground) Blood.
Sinbad: Seems our thieves are quicker with their hands than their feet.
(Firouz gets stuck in a sinkhole)
Firouz: I appear to be sinking…rather rapidly!
Sinbad: Hang on, Firouz! We’ll get you out of here!
(Sinbad and Doubar hold up a branch from Firouz to grab onto)
Sinbad: Hold on!
(They pull Firouz out)
Maeve: Was that a trap?
Firouz: No. It’s a naturally occurring phenomenon. A sinkhole.
Doubar: That nearly ate you alive!
Firouz: On volcanic islands like Malaysia, are notoriously unstable. Sinkholes are rare. The volcanic rock keeps them from forming.
Sinbad: What do you think caused it?
Firouz: Well, increased pressure is the only answer. The rock and soil are compressed. (crumbles soil in hand) Shoved down, so that all that lies beneath is a thin layer of ash.
Doubar: Shoved down by what?
Firouz: Something of gigantic size and weight.
Doubar: In other words, something really big and heavy. Like a monster?
Jullaner: The largest, wildest animals I’ve ever seen on Malaysia are gazelles. Gentle creatures.
(Dermott chirps)
Maeve: Dermott hasn’t seen any other animals. No gazelles. No other birds. The island’s dead.
Sinbad: Don’t forget Mr. Big Green and Scaly.
(They walk on for a few minutes)
Jullaner: When I left home, this was a beautiful village. Gardens. Fountains. I used to walk here from my house.
Sinbad: We’re close, then?
Jullaner: Oh, yes. It’s just over the next rise in the valley. (sighs as she sees some objects lying around) There are more things from my house!
Doubar: The thieves probably left them behind when they ran.
Jullaner: The people from Malaysia are hardworking and kind. They would never steal.
(Jullaner picks up something)
Maeve: What did you find?
Jullaner: This is one of my favourite toys as a child.
Doubar: The thieves must have smashed it.
Jullaner: No. I did. When I was a child. My father kept trying to develop a paste to fix it, but nothing ever worked.
(They continue walking)
Firouz: Perhaps the lizard Sinbad saw was an anomaly.
Doubar: A what?
Firouz: An anomaly. A one-of-a-kind mistake.
(Dermott flies off)
Maeve: Dermott!
(A giant bird appears)
Doubar: That’s two of a kind!
Sinbad: Run!