Dragon Slayer Page #15

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KING:

Not now. Tyrian, remove all but one

bar. We'll try it one at a time.

ELSPETH:

Father:
did you know that some

families have paid bribes to stay

out of the lottery?

The King and Tyrian glance up at her.

KING:

Nonsense. By the power of this amulet,

justly wielded by my hand in

accordance with the laws of Urland,

now lead be thou gold.

The lead remains unchanged, but the King gives out a cry and

drops the amulet.

KING:

I'm burned! What devilish thing is

this?

ELSPETH:

Have you ever kept my name off the

lottery list?

KING:

That'll be all, Tyrian. You may

withdraw.

Tyrian bows and exits. The King uses his sceptre to pick up

the amulet and chain. He conceals it in a hollowed-out book

and places the volume on a shelf among many others.

KING:

Now, my dear, what's troubling you?

ELSPETH:

Answer my question: am I not exposed

to the same risk as every other man's

daughter?

The King paces over to the window and stares out. The rain

has stopped.

ELSPETH:

Well?

KING:

(finally)

Your father loves you very much.

Elspeth sways in dismay.

ELSPETH:

(a wail)

It's true! What have you done to

me!?

KING:

Who fills your head with such ideas?

At that moment a tremor passes through the room. King and

daughter look at each other in alarm.

DUNGEON:

The same tremor shakes the bars in Galen's cell. Puzzled, he

rolls off his straw palette and gets to his feet. The tremor

dies away. Suddenly a violent shaking hits the cell, bouncing

Galen off the walls.

CUT TO:

VILLAGE SQUARE:

Swanscombe is gripped by the same earthquake. Dodging panicky

barnyard animals, Valerian and her father join other

frightened villagers in the center of town.

CUT TO:

DRAGON COUNTRY:

Above the dragon's lair, boulders are shifting and grinding

together. Massive chunks of stone break loose and tumble

down the incline.

CUT TO:

GALEN:

The shaking has stopped. Rock dust filters down from the

ceiling. Galen picks himself up and stares: the door to his

cell is off its hinges and is sagging open. He darts out.

CORRIDOR:

Galen dashes along the hallway, rounds a corner and stops.

At the other end of the passage is Tyrian.

TYRIAN:

You little meddler! It's alive!

He draws his sword and advances. Galen warily retreats. Tyrian

breaks into a run. Galen turns and sprints away.

COURTYARD:

Unruly horses, terrified by the quake, rush blindly around

the courtyard. Hostlers try vainly to catch them. Tyrian

leans down from an upstairs window.

TYRIAN:

Close the main gate! Quick!

The men below scramble for the gates. Galen bursts out of

hiding, sees the untended horses, and swings aboard as one

goes past. A cry goes up from the guards.

TYRIAN:

There! Stop him!

Galen rides like mad for the exit, but he's a half-second

late:
the doors boom shut in his face. He wheels the horse

around. The King's men are coming toward him with pikes.

Digging his heels into the horse's sides, he urges the animal

back across the courtyard, up the steps and right into the

building!

THRONE ROOM:

Galen gallops into the empty chamber, knocking over the throne

and vaulting a table. Hot on his heels are armed soldiers.

He kicks the horse again and shoots under an archway.

KITCHEN:

The kitchen is already in chaos from the earthquake when

Galen charges in on his wild steed. Food, utensils and cooks

go flying. He reins in, ducks his head, and squeezes the

horse out into a narrow hallway.

HALLWAY:

He clatters down the passageway. But here comes a contingent

of footmen from the opposite direction. Galen rides them

into the walls!

STAIRS:

The horse scrabbles up the stairs, Galen tucked low against

its neck. On the upper landing he comes face to face with

Tyrian and more soldiers.

TYRIAN:

Get him! Stab the horse!

Galen jerks the animal around and plunges back down the

stairs.

LIBRARY:

Whinnying and blowing the horse bursts in, a wild-eyed Galen

still in the saddle. He finds himself confronting the King

and his daughter.

Casiodorus grabs Elspeth and retreats into a corner.

KING:

Tyrian! Tyrian!

Tyrian sweeps in with his men. The doors slam shut.

KING:

So much for your magic! So much for

your sorcery!

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