"In Search of Glory"

Major Characters:
Lord Norrith Ranier

Sir Sturin Dreymis

Sir Idrian Valentre

SCENE I

Silence overtakes the stage as a soft, female voice begins to sing a beautiful,
entrancing song. Slowly, the heavy, maroon curtains begin to rise, and the
singing grows louder and more disturbing, as if lamenting. After a few moments,
the voice of Princess Marilynth wavers, bidding farewell to he who must depart
on a long journey.

Loud popping sounds, mixed with the groans and screams of a battle, draw your
attention to the center of the stage which has now become a desolate water
temple. The lament of Princess Marilynth softly resonates from a lyre, expertly
strummed by a Cantor as he focuses his attention on the center mage in a group
of three Aquamancers. A stunned look crosses the mage's face as his actions slow
to a crawl, and the haunting melody slowly fades away.

Without warning, a bard clasps his hands together causing an enormous popping
sound that nearly bursts your eardrums. Randomly-assorted, bright streams of
light whip out over the audience as they assail the group of Aquamancers.

The pool of water in the center of the temple suddenly surges, rising to create
enormous waves which sweep over the Cantors. Hot, piercing needles of rain pour
from angry storm clouds, collecting overhead. Blasts of icy water burst through
the air sending sprays of slush out into the audience. The blasts connect dead
on into the Cantors, as large hailstones pound away at their flesh.

The battle rages back and forth between the two groups, each side unwavering.
Tiny shimmers glitter the air, all that can be seen of the deadly psionics
racing into the minds of the Cantors. Bright, incandescent lights whip around in
a crazed frenzy, striking the mages with loud popping sounds. Beautiful notes
intertwine mournfully together, as the Cantors sing and play their deadly
instruments.

Unexpectedly, an enormous geyser erupts in the middle of the temple and blasts
through the ceiling. Waves crash all around, as the geyser finally dissipates,
revealing only two Aquamancers facing the three bards.

The Cantor champion grabs at his head and begins thrashing about in pain. He
abruptly lets loose a scream and begins yelling, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Blood pours from the mouth and eyes of one of the Cantor security members, as he
clings and rips at his chest, stripping the robes from his breast. He lets out a
quick, surprised scream, cut short by a grotesque gurgling sound. Without
warning, his heart explodes inside his chest in a shower of blood and rib
fragments that pour out over the stage. The once crystal-clear water begins to
swirl and mix with the blood, creating a murky soup.

A surprised look crosses the face of the second Cantor security officer, as his
eyes begin to bulge with pressure. His hands raise to his head, as he lets out a
split-second shriek of unimaginable pain, just before his head explodes. Bits of
bone, blood, and brain matter spray in all directions.

The Cantor champion suddenly stands to his feet with a look of pure insanity
upon his face. He looks out over the audience, a strange smile overcoming his
once perplexed look. His hand raises to his mouth and he lets out a curious
giggle just before sprinting towards the nearest temple wall with his head
lowered.

In moments, he connects with such an impact, a disconcerting crack can be heard
throughout the area. Shivers course through your body as you realize both his
spine and neck have virtually snapped in half.

The arena announcer suddenly blasts over the aether, "The Orange team has been
annihilated! What a turn of events that was! All that remain are the Blue
Aquamancer and the Red Paladin teams. Teams, prepare for Glory!"

SCENE II

The water temple suddenly fades away to reveal a corroded metallic walkway
over-looking the scene of the previous battle. Upon the walkway stand three
Paladin warriors: a bonecrusher, an axelord, and a blademaster, each obviously
assessing the fight that has just taken place. There is a golden retriever
sitting silently beside the Paladin wielding an enormous klangaxe.

Lord Norrith Ranier says “That geyser, do either of you know what that could
be?”

Sir Sturin Dreymis says “M’Lord, my only guess would be that the champion is
centering to leave the heat of combat.”

Sir Idrian Valentre says “That mist, ive seen it before Sir. It is sleepmist,
he must be a dream weaver.”

Lord Norrith Ranier nods his head slowly, obviously deep in thought.

Lord Norrith Ranier says “I have a plan, but you two arent going to like
it.”

SCENE III

The Paladins' voices grow fainter and fainter, as the scene on the stage
magically fades away, and a curtain slowly starts to rise.

Water begins to pool up on the stage once again, as the entrance to the water
temple comes into view. The three Paladins stand just outside the enormous gate
at the entrance, each emitting a soft, glowing Light.

The gate of flowing water opens silently, allowing the three Paladins entrance
into the temple. Slowly they dip down into the deluged, bloody waters, and begin
making their way to the center of the temple.

Multitudes of tiny jellyfish begin swarming around the Paladins, caressing their
flesh with tiny, toxic tentacles.

Intense waves crash all around the Paladins, knocking them to the ground and
sending sprays of icy cold water into the audience. Storm clouds form overhead,
releasing a relentless torrent of hot, needle-like rain and hailstones crashing
into the three warriors.

Cautiously, the Paladins press forward, ignoring the constant barrage of ice and
water. They finally make their way into the center of the temple, face-to-face
with the three mages.

Without any hesitation, and in almost perfect unison, the three Paladins launch
themselves at the Aquamancer champion. Sweeping his mighty klangaxe through the
air, Sturin attacks the mage's left leg, severing the tendon above his heel.

Without hesitation, Idrian follows suit by crashing both angelic battle hammers
down upon the unprotected head of the mage, striking with puissant blows. The
first strike crushes his jaw, leaving it hanging loose, as the next strike
connects directly with his throat, crushing his windpipe.

Immediately, Norrith leaps over Sturin's golden retriever, lunging both
prismatic, white-steel scimitars deep into the mage's exposed chest, the second
strike nearly piercing his heart.

The Aquamancers reel, taken aback by the sudden offense from the Paladins. The
air on stage ripples once again with the clear signs of psionic activity. The
Paladins begin to moan, each grabbing his head, as vessels throughout their
bodies start rupturing from the telekenetic and telepathic assaults.

The waters on stage surge once again, as the same enormous geyser suddenly
erupts in the center of the temple. Immense waves crash all around, dousing the
audience with icy cold, blood-mingled water. As the geyser dissipates, you
notice once again that the two Aquamancer security members are standing with
smiles on their faces.

When the waves begin to calm, the smiles on the faces of the two Aquamancers
fade as they look over at the Paladins. Surprisingly, Norrith has disappeared as
well, and the two Paladin Security marshals grin in satisfaction.

The Aquamancers turn to the north, prepared to flee, each desperate to save
their Champion.

The Paladins leap forward, simultaneously attacking the two mages as they
attempt to flee. Sturin sweeps his klangaxe through the air, nearly cutting the
enemy telepath's left leg off. Idrian pounds the telekenetic in the gut,
knocking the wind out of him, as Sturin's golden retriever leaps and clamps down
on his right arm.

Shafts of blue light decend from above, as Idrian chants the ritual of carcer
under his breath. The lights crash to the floor with a tremendous impact,
forming the bars of a prison inside the room. The mages tense slightly,
effectively trapped.

SCENE IV

The scene on stage suddenly shifts, moving towards the northern rooms of the
temple, outside of sight and hearing distance of the Paladins and Aquamancers.

The Aquamancer champion emerges from the geyser, failing to notice, or even
suspect, that Norrith had followed him. He strides over to a corner of the room,
props his back against the wall, and immediately falls into a deep sleep.

Norrith moves from behind his hiding place in the corner of the room and draws
his scimitars. He prepares himself for a puissant attack and lunges both weapons
forward into the chest of the Aquamancer champion. The second strike cuts
clean-through the protective layers of skin, muscle, and bone, piercing the
heart.

Blood gushes out of the wound for about two seconds, before being replaced by a
steady stream of shimmering, crystal-clear water. The Aquamancer champion never
moves, too engrossed in his dreamform to realize his body is being damaged. He
slumps down into a heap on the ground, dead from the intense bleeding.

A smile overcomes the previously expressionless face of Norrith as the scene on
stage begins to move with him back to the southern rooms to check on his
comrades.

SCENE V

Norrith moves through the maze of hallways and finds himself back in the center
of the water temple. He can hear the sounds of a battle being fought, as he
glances across the expanse. He looks around to find the body of Idrian in the
back corner of the room, a sliver of spine exposed where his head once was.

Lord Norrith Ranier looks down upon the corpse of his fallen comrade.

He raises his sword to his chest in salute as his face turns red in rage.

Norrith's previous happiness is now overshadowed by a deep sorrow for the loss
of his brother-in-arms. His face regains a stern look of concentration as he
stands and immediately sprints southward to aid Sturin in the raging battle.

As Norrith arrives at the scene of the fight once more, he finds the corpse of
Sturin's golden retriever in a heap on the floor. A piece of flesh, from the arm
of the Aquamancer telepath, still held in its mouth. Sturin begins to bleed from
every orifice as the two Aquamancers stir, their skulls obviously fractured, and
their legs gashed and bleeding.

Norrith screams in intense rage and lashes out at the telepath. His blade meets
the unsuspecting mage straight in the neck, slicing it open, as the other blade
pins his left leg down to the ground.

A loud gurgling sound gushes from the mouth of the telepath, as he attempts to
scream in agony. He crumbles to a crouch, grasping the sword in his leg, trying
to pull it free.

As if on cue, Sturin leaps over the corpse of his golden retriever, sweeping his
mighty klangaxe through the air, beheading the telepath.

Just as the telepath's head rolls to the ground, Sturin's heart erupts in his
chest. The explosion sends another shower of blood and rib fragments covering
Norrith, the stage, and spraying into the audience.

Lord Norrith Ranier screams “Sturin! NOOO!”

Norrith turns toward the last remaining Aquamancer, overcome with determination,
craving vengeance for his fallen comrades.

Just before his eyes meet with the mage, the lights on the stage dim so that
little can be seen. The last noticeable motion, before total darkness, is a
blast of water crashing into the face of Norrith.

SCENE VI

The lights on the stage grow dim, then begin to intensify. You notice the scene
has changed to what is obviously a child's bedroom.

A woman stands near the bed, in which lies a sleeping child. She holds a bucket
of water above her head, having just splashed the contents onto the slumbering
boy. "Wake up right now, young man!" she orders. "Norrith Ranier, you are late
for your collegium tasks again! I swear, if you skip them today, it's off to
Hallifax with you!"

The lights on the stage dim and fade away once again as the curtain drifts down
from above, heralding the conclusion of "In Search of Glory."