Major charactres: Nomad Crew, Belkor, Milasco, Casendra, Vorgon
Minor charactres: Boy in the market, Traxis, Casendra’s father, villagers, Squirrel
(It is the Port of Salma; Sinbad and crew are walking through the market)
Sinbad: (walks up to a boy) Young man. Tell your master, a gonful merchant, that Sinbad is here. I have exotic treasures to trade. (he hands the boy a gold coin; the boy takes it, but doesn’t answer) Well? Have you whale oil in your ears?
Boy: No. My master’s not here, now. But he left this package here for you.
(The boy hands him a bag)
Doubar: What did the boy give you?
Sinbad: Could be anything. Valuable jewels. Precious metal.
(They laugh as Sinbad opens the package)
Sinbad: Or a dirty, grey rock…by the gods! (he quickly opens the package more, and pulls out a note; he reads it) Forget the cargo. We’re leaving.
(Sinbad begins to walk back the way they came)
Firouz: Leaving? But we just got here!
Sinbad: And what a good time it’s been! And all good things must end.
(Traxis jumps down from the barrel he was standing on, while the crew passes him)
Traxis: Yes, they must.
Sinbad: I’m sorry if you came to trade, sir.
Traxis: But I haven’t. I came to take. Everything…and I won’t bother paying.
Sinbad: I’m sorry. I don’t have time for this. Make me an offer.
Traxis: Is this some kind of trick?
Sinbad: Not at all.
Traxis: How dare you speak to me in that manner!
Sinbad: I didn’t mean to offend you, sir, it’s just that—
Traxis: I am Traxis! The blunderer! I’ve got a reputation. (draws sword) Take their cargo! (his men go after the cargo)
Doubar: Here comes the welcoming committee!
(They fight Traxis’ men)
Sinbad: I said, I don’t have time for this. (he begins to fight Traxis)
Doubar: (after a few minutes of fighting) Little brother! We can’t keep this up forever!
Sinbad: Crew! Unload the cargo!
Doubar: Ha, ha. You heard the Captain! Let’s go!
(They unload the cargo from the wagon, and threw it at Traxis’ men)
(More fighting goes on)
Sinbad: All right. That’s it!
(More fighting goes on)
Sinbad: (finally gets Traxis on the ground, and stands above him) How much money do you have on you?
Traxis: Forty gold pieces.
Sinbad: Give them to me. NOW!
(Traxis hands him the bag of gold)
Sinbad: Congratulations, Traxis. You drive a hard bargain. As of now, you are the richest merchant on the island. (to his crew) Well, we’ve sold our goods. I think it’s time we set sail.
(They leave)
(The crew is on the Nomad; Sinbad is at the tiller)
Sinbad: Tighten down that rigging!
Minor Crewmember: Aye, aye, sir! (he goes to do that)
Doubar: (walks up to Sinbad) Sinbad, the crew’s talking, and it’s not about what’s for dinner.
Sinbad: I really shouldn’t do this, but there’s something you should see.
(He pulls out the rock from the pouch that hangs on his swordbelt)
Doubar: Holy mother of Earth! It’s Dim-Dim’s! His teaching stone! When we were kids, he used to make us hold it, while we recited our lessons.
(Maeve walks by)
Sinbad: Show it to her.
(Doubar hands the stone to Maeve)
Maeve: Dim-Dim’s teaching stone. Where did you get this?
Sinbad: It was waiting for me. With a note from someone pleading for help. Dim-Dim asked that his stone be enclosed, so that I’d know he was there…that I was the one requesting him.
Maeve: Dim-Dim’s alive? In this village?
Sinbad: (points to a map) That pinpoints the exact location of the village, on a small island, not far from here.
Doubar: (walks away) You! Your sails are slacking! It’s costing us speed!
Maeve: (walks away as well) And look alive, there! You’re sailing a ship, not simmering a steak!
(Opening Credits)
(The crew is traveling along the island, and they reach the ancient ruins of an old town)
Doubar: Looks like the ruins of an old village.
Maeve: (crumbles the rock of a building) An ancient one. I didn’t realize people had settled in this region so long ago.
Firouz: Because they didn’t. I’ve been through this area. There was a striving community, on this very spot, two years ago.
Sinbad: The village we seek is just a few hours in that direction. (he points, then begins to walk in that direction) Double pace, everyone!
(Rongar takes that literally, and he does a little skip-thing)
(The village is finally in sight)
Sinbad: This is it.
(They continue, but they feel a weird breeze as they go on)
Doubar: What a cold wind that was.
Firouz: None of the branches on the trees moved.
Sinbad: So the breeze missed the trees. Let’s not worry about it. Dim-Dim’s nearby.
(They continue on their way)
(They make it to the village itself; they are faced with a crowd of people)
Maeve: I don’t see him. Why isn’t he out here?
Sinbad: I don’t know. Hello. We’re strangers in these parts, in search of food and drink. I am called Sinbad. In what town do I find myself? We believe a friend of ours lives nearby. A traveler, like ourselves?
(No one says a word)
Maeve: We know Dim-Dim’s here, now let’s see him!
Sinbad: Very subtle, Maeve.
Belkor: We know nothing of this Dim-Dim. But we want you to leave immediately.
Milasco: (walks up to Belkor) Belkor. Everyone, this is no way for us to greet strangers.
Sinbad: Indeed. I’ve always been told that people in country hamlets are neighborly.
Belkor: You’re hardly our neighbors. Now go!
Sinbad: All right. But it has been a long trip. I’m sure you won’t mind if we have a little look around. Enjoy your beautiful village.
Belkor: Actually, we do mind.
Sinbad: Actually, I insist.
Milasco: Belkor! Belkor. (he lead Belkor away)
Doubar: What is wrong with these people? And where’s Dim-Dim?
Sinbad: I don’t know. It seems like they’re hiding something. Spread out. See what you can find.
Maeve: Besides Dim-Dim, what exactly are we looking for?
Sinbad: Whoever wrote us that note. Look for someone that might seem overly shy, who wants to approach us, but is fearful.
(Casendra opens the door to her house, looks up and down the street, sees Sinbad, then waves him over)
Casendra: Sinbad! Sinbad!
Maeve: Or some young nymphet waving you over, like you were her personal pet.
Casendra: Come!
Sinbad: I’ll handle this. (he starts toward the door)
Maeve: Am I surprised?
(Sinbad turns back, looks at her, then heads up to the house)
(Sinbad walks into the house, and sees an old man lying on the bed)
Sinbad: Dim-Dim! (he walks over to the bed) It’s Sinbad! I’m here! (he turns over) You’re not Dim-Dim!
Casendra’s Father: I’m Casendra’s father. Who the devil are you?
Casendra: He’s sick…with the plague.
Sinbad: There’s a plague in your village?
Casendra: I thought being a world traveler, you might possess knowledge of a cure.
(Casendra’s father coughs, then turns grey)
Sinbad: Does that happen to everyone that gets sick?
Casendra: It’s…ah…one of the later stages.
Sinbad: I know Dim-Dim’s in this town. I want to know where.
Casendra: That cannot be! The only people here are those born here. It’s a small village. We’d know of any outsiders.
(The door opens, and Firouz walks in)
Firouz: Sinbad! There’s going to be trouble with the villagers.
(Casendra’s father disappears)
Casendra: He’s passed on.
Firouz: What was that?
Sinbad: That’s one really bad plague.
(Sinbad and the crew are walking through the town)
Doubar: If Dim-Dim is here, then I’m a gazelle. What’s going on?
Sinbad: Trickery! And finding out by whom is the first thing on my to-do list. (they see some people running at them, to attack) Well, maybe not the first thing.
(They fight; Sinbad goes after Belkor)
Sinbad: (after a few minutes of fighting) You don’t fight like a farmer.
Belkor: I’m not a farmer. I’m a warrior who farms, and I’ve been practicing all my life, for the likes of you.
Sinbad: I think you need more practice!
(Rongar rolls a wagon wheel, and it rolls behind a number of townspeople)
Doubar: (throws a bench at a few people) You’re all benched.
Maeve: (fights a man) Hmmm.
(Sinbad finds himself trapped)
Firouz: Sinbad! Get ready!
Sinbad: Okay!
(Sinbad puts his sword down, jumps onto a part of a wagon, Firouz jumps onto the other side, and sends him flying, flipping out of reach from the people that are after him)
Sinbad: Yes!
(Belkor aims a bow and arrow at Sinbad; the arrow leaves the bow, and Sinbad doesn’t have time to do anything; Milasco saves him, by putting a stool in front of Sinbad, and the arrow hits it)
Sinbad: Thank you.
(Sinbad fight Belkor, until he is down on the ground)
Sinbad: Haven’t you had enough, Belkor?
Belkor: Everyone! Put down your weapons.
Sinbad: Why are you all trying to kill us?
Belkor: (gets up) We’re not fools. We know you’ve been sent here to burn us out, because of the plague.
Doubar: Plague? What kind of plague?
Villager: We don’t know. But even on our isolated island, we’ve heard stories of strange sicknesses on other strange lands.
Sinbad: Well, you should get out more. I’ve been to those other strange lands. What you have here is no plague.
Maeve: It’s magic.
Milasco: But we know not of magic. None of us here practice it.
Sinbad: Oh, really? Then who sent me this? (pulls out the rock) Huh? (no one answers) I see. Then, I guess since no one called me, we’ll just be moseying along.
(They begin to walk out of town; the villagers follow them)
Milasco: (runs up to them) Wait! Wait! It’s not my wish to inconvenience you, but we don’t know how to confront magic.
Belkor: Don’t waste your breath. They are the ones who put up the wall.
Sinbad: Wall? What wall? (he turns and runs into an invisible wall) What the—
(Sinbad puts his hands up to the wall)
Milasco: That is not a wise idea.
(Doubar punches the wall, but hurts his hand)
Milasco: We’ve already tried everything.
Maeve: This is what we felt when we arrived. You can enter…(she knocks on the wall)
Milasco: But you can’t leave. None of us can. It…it…encircles our village.
Doubar: You mean we’re trapped here?
Sinbad: This is definitely not a good thing.
(Sinbad tries to see how high the wall is, by shooting an arrow over it; it clears it)
Doubar: That one cleared!
Sinbad: I made the wall, topping at about fifty feet. Shall we see if Dermott can clear it?
Maeve: There’s no need. I think I can handle this one myself. (Dermott flies off) Everyone, stand back. I’m going to burn a hole through this thing. (she tries that)
Milasco: You know magic!
(Her magic doesn’t help)
Maeve: Apparently not enough.
Firouz: (pats Sinbad on the shoulder) Fifty feet, you say? Not a problem. Give me a few hours. Rongar!
Sinbad: Now, can we talk? On our journey, we passed another hamlet. Now, it’s buildings have decayed. The people were nowhere to be found.
Casendra: The east village. It’s the only other one on the island.
Sinbad: Then whatever afflicted them, seems to have somehow traveled to you.
Belkor: Milasco? He was there, last week. The disappearances began after you returned! You brought this curse back with you—! (he draws his sword)
Sinbad: (holds sword up in front of Belkor’s, to stop him) Now, let’s not get into that. Look. My friend, Firouz, is working on a plan to help. I suggest you all go pack your most precious belongings. We’re gonna leave this village.
Maeve: I’m going to check the perimeter, for weak spots. (she runs her finger along the wall, and goes around the whole village)
(Sinbad and Maeve are later talking)
Maeve: Well, the wall seems solid, but after my walk, I looked through my books. Dim-Dim’s writings tell of a village five centuries ago, cursed with an invisible wall. The villagers vanished, one by one.
Sinbad: When I was a child, he told me of such a village. But it didn’t exist five centuries ago. In fact, he had talked about it, as if it had happened yesterday.
Maeve: How can a curse last that long?
Sinbad: And travel such distance? You saw the last village. Even the buildings were decaying. Firouz had said that it was a healthy town, just a few years ago.
Milasco: (walks up to them) Try a few days ago. Sorry, I didn’t plan to eavesdrop. My entire town feels that I brought this…this evil back with me from the east village. Do you?
Maeve: It’s possible.
Milasco: All I wanted was to get out of town for a few days. When I arrived in the east village, the people were already withering. I came back here for safety. Now, I’m trapped here. We’re all trapped here. Perhaps Belkor should have his way. If killing me will save our village…
Maeve: We don’t know that it would.
Sinbad: Let’s not give him hope, yet. Though, your pension for self sacrifice is admirable, I have no doubt Firouz will find another way out of this.
(Maeve and Sinbad walk off)
Sinbad: (calls over his shoulder) Come with us, Milasco. We’re going exploring.