FADE IN:
INTERNAL: VALENTINE’S BEDROOM, MORNING
A small bedroom with a bookshelf, computer desk, and a bed. Sunlight streams around the blankets that have been hung up to cover the two windows. The blankets are a mess, with VALENTINE poorly concealed beneath them. He is young, with dark, messy hair and long, slender limbs. With a gasp, he sits up, confusion on his face.
NARRATOR
Valentine awoke suddenly from a dream that he was a single cell on the bottom of the ocean. All Valentine could remember was that it was very dark, and he was very, very lonely.VALENTINE gets out of bed, puts on a T-shirt, ragged pants, and looks at himself in the mirror, pulling his crusty eyes open wide, and sticking out his tongue to inspect. VALENTINE walks out of the bedroom.
Cut to hallway, wide shot, looking up as VALENTINE walks down the hall and past the camera, which turns to follow him down the stairs into the living room and stops looking over his shoulder at CHLOE ISIS, sitting on a white couch. The living room has three large windows blown out white with the sunlight streaming through. CHLOE ISIS is tall with fire-engine red hair.
NARRATOR
On his new couch, Valentine found something he didn’t expect. He didn’t know her, but he’d heard the stories.VALENTINE
What are you doing here?CHLOE ISIS
Want to go on an adventure?VALENTINE
(shrugs) Sure.CHLOE ISIS holds out a smokey blue glass bottle that twinkles in the sunshine. VALENTINE takes the bottle and drinks.
VALENTINE
Uck, that takes like battery acid.CHLOE ISIS
Probably is. Some guy told me it would cure all my ills. It’s worked so far.VALENTINE
What kind of adventure?CHLOE ISIS
Extreme importance. You and I are going to save the world.VALENTINE
From what?NARRATOR
Valentine was a man of few words.CHLOE ISIS
From the Black Ice that has frozen the Tree of Life. It’s going to consume the world if we don’t stop it.VALENTINE
(crosses his arms)Where do you suppose we find the Tree of Life?
CHLOE ISIS
In the most ancient quarter of the Old City, deep in the gorge at the edge of the Great River, where all life first came into creation, deep at the bottom of the sea.VALENTINE
(Looking over his shoulder.)Did you say the sea?
CHLOE ISIS
The Tree of life has grown cold. Old City has started to freeze.VALENTINE
You can’t get into Old City. It’s closed.CHLOE ISIS
Well, I did. And I can do it again too. Did you ever think you were going to be a hero?VALENTINE
(Rolls back his eyes in thought.)No, not really.
CHLOE ISIS
Well, let’s get going!VALENTINE
I don’t even have socks!CHLOE ISIS
There’s no time for that now, we have to reach Old City before it’s too late!CHLOE ISIS grabs Valentine’s wrist and drags him out the front door. Cut to...
EXTERNAL: VALENTINE’S HOUSE. MORNING
Crane shot, looking down on Valentine’s quaint brown house with big front windows and bluestone front steps. CHLOE ISIS pulls VALENTINE behind her. Camera follows from behind as they walk intercut with close-ups of their faces as they talk.
VALENTINE
How did you hear about this?CHLOE ISIS
I had a dream about it.VALENTINE
We’re doing this because of a dream?CHLOE ISIS
Don’t tell me you’ve never had a dream that you knew had meaning, that someone was trying to give you some kind of message.NARRATOR
Valentine thought back to the one from which he’d just awoke, the dark, droning of the lightless seabed, sand beneath and thousands of pounds of water crushing down on him.VALENTINE
Nobody gets inside the city. That’s what they told me and my Dad.CHLOE ISIS
Well, the Tree of Life is sick, and we’ve got to save it. We don’t have a choice.Closeup on CHLOE ISIS as she smiles, with big eyes and sunlight glistening on her teeth.
NARRATOR
Valentine was starting to see the logic of her arguments.They pass down cobblestone streets and orange brick buildings chipped and worn by the wind.
VALENTINE
How are we supposed to save this tree? How can we stop the ice?CHLOE ISIS
Way I see it, this is magic ice, not like anything you’ve seen. If we’re going to stop magic ice, we’re going to need magic of our own.VALENTINE
Do we have magic?CHLOE ISIS
You ask too many questions. I hope the entire trip isn’t going to be like this. I might have to rethink the whole adventure.VALENTINE
No, no, it’s cool. It just seems like an awful lot at once. I mean, do you even know my name?CHLOE ISIS
It’s Rubin, right?VALENTINE
Call me Valentine.CHLOE ISIS
I’m Chloe Isis. Pleased to meet you. Now, to answer your absurd question, no, of course I don’t have any magic, but I know where to find it. There’s an old wizard in Triangle that owes me a favor. If he can’t give me advice, there’s probably a few other avenues we can explore.VALENTINE
We’re going to Triangle?CHLOE ISIS
Don’t be such a baby. How else do we get to Old City?VALENTINE
There’s other ways.CHLOE ISIS
And we don’t want to take them, believe me. I’m telling you, we’re not starting this thing out on a good foot.Scenes match NARRATOR’s dialogue.
NARRATOR
Triangle was a half day’s journey from Valentine’s home. They took it by train over the soft, rolling hills and deep valleys, full of short, sharp blades of grass still yellow from winter, baking golden brown in the new sun. Triangle was the hub of three highways through the Southern Tier, forming a web across the county that reached out north from other lands Northwest, and to the fabled ruin of Old City to the west. Chloe and Valentine arrived at Triangle by lunch, which they purchased from a street vendor on the train platform. They ate grilled cheese with peppers and spinach.Zoom in on Valentine and Chloe eating sandwiches on the concrete platform.
VALENTINE
So where is this wizard?CHLOE ISIS
Oh, he’s around. Usually doesn’t take him too long to find me. He’s got spies all over the town.VALENTINE
Are you sure he’s a wizard. Have you seen him do magic?CHLOE ISIS
Oh sure, lots of time. What’s wrong, Rubin, you sound like you don’t trust me.VALENTINE
Call me Valentine, and sure, I trust you, I suppose, but, I mean... we’ve been at this all day and I haven’t seen anything. I mean, I had things to do!CHLOE ISIS
What did you have to do? Fifty years down the line, you won’t remember anything else about this week. It's an adventure, it's going to take time.
CHLOE ISIS leads VALENTINE through the streets of Triangle past dirty wooden buildings with broken boards and posts. People shamble about like they are only half alive. A few take a passing notice, but most don’t look up.
VALENTINE
It’s like everyone is zombies.CHLOE ISIS
There are Glithvals in town.VALENTINE
Glith-what?CHLOE ISIS
Warrior-priests from Old City. No one smiles when the Glithvals are in town.VALENTINE
What do they look like?CHLOE ISIS
Keep your eyes open, there’s no way to miss them.NARRATOR
This was a prospect Valentine found daunting. It seemed sure they would cross paths eventually. Valentine had never considered himself a warrior of any sort, let alone a priest. The Glithvals were sure to take issue with unwelcome visitors in the city they protected.CHLOE ISIS
There’s one now!VALENTINE
Where?Wide shot of the crowded street. Towering above the crowd are three armored men with long hair and beards.
CHLOE ISIS
Those are the Glithvals.The crowd parts before the warriors and they stomp past Chloe and Valentine without looking down. The people are all silent until the Glithvals are gone. Then the murmur and din return, slowly at first, building to a dull roar.
VALENTINE
They’re monsters.CHLOE ISIS
You haven’t seen them in a fight.CHLOE ISIS starts walking. VALENTINE struggles to keep up.
VALENTINE
You have?CHLOE ISIS turns down a corner and leads him into a damp alleyway with garbage and stray animals lurking in the shadowed corners. CHLOE ISIS stops halfway down the alley.
CHLOE ISIS
They follow the trolls. I was in Tiphereth, north of here, and a few Glithvals came in hunting a warband. The trolls found us that evening, came in over the mountains when it started to get dark. I’ve never seen a raiding party that big. The village was swarmed before anyone even knew what was going on. The trolls were hacking and slashing, and setting fire to every structure they had time to stop at. The Glithvals had been drinking at the tavern, but still met the enemy lightning quick. They all had swords, but I don’t think one was ever drawn. Glithvals use magic, burning the trolls, or tossing troll like sticks without even a touch. I saw one tear down a light post from fifteen feet away.VALENTINE
And we have to fight them?CHLOE ISIS
Not if we’re lucky. Come on, my friend is just up this way.CHLOE ISIS takes VALENTINE's wrist and drags him around a corner, where a single torch burns nearly at extinction above a warped wooden door.
VALENTINE
You sure he’s a wizard?CHLOE ISIS
They don’t all live in towers, Rubin.VALENTINE
You can call me Valentine.CHLOE ISIS
He may not be as talented as the rest, but he has ears and he knows what wizards know.CHLOE ISIS knocks on the door and it resonates with a heavy, ominous, and hollow ‘Thump! Thump! Thump!’ like the sound is bouncing down a long corridor. CHLOE ISIS steps back and crosses her arms. VALENTINE waits to he right. Footsteps, far off at first, but getting louder as they approach, echoing off stone walls within. Half a dozen heavy metal locks crash open on the other side and the door swings open to reveal a bedraggled old man with an untamed white beard that wraps up around the sides and back of his head, but leaving the top bare. He is wearing a blue bathrobe that is dirty and frayed from years of use, tied tightly in the front with an overhand knot. He is HOOK. His eyes are wide and crazed, and he clearly doesn’t recognize Chloe Isis at first.
CHLOE ISIS
Hook?HOOK
(Looks her up and down) Chloe Isis?...
What are you doing here?
CHLOE ISIS
I’m saving the world.HOOK
Again? (Pokes a long, knobby finger at VALENTINE) Who is this?CHLOE ISIS
This is Rubin.VALENTINE
Valentine.CHLOE ISIS
He’s coming with me. The Tree of Life is freezing.HOOK’s eyes get wide again and he looks up and down the alley.
HOOK
Get in here. Get in here.HOOK grabs CHLOE ISIS and VALENTINE and pulls them both inside.
INTERNAL: HOOKS APARTMENT
One room with a table and tiny bed in the corner. Every other inch of the walls are shelves with books crammed in from ceiling to floor. HOOK pulls VALENTINE and CHLOE ISIS inside, slams the door, and locks the single bolt.
HOOK
You know better to talk about that in public! What if the Glithvals hear you?CHLOE ISIS
So what if they do? I’m not afraid.HOOK
You will be when they drag you back to Old City and put you in chains. Do you think I haven’t seen it? They have no mercy, young lady. No mercy.HOOK’s eyes blank as he wanders off in thought, turns to VALENTINE, looks him up and down, and approaches, pointing a long, knobby finger at him)
Who is this?
CHLOE ISIS
His name is Rubin.VALENTINE
Valentine.HOOK gets inches from VALENTINE and looks him up and down.
HOOK
Could be a spy.CHLOE ISIS
He’s not a spy.HOOK
Where did you meet him?CHLOE ISIS
I went to his house.HOOK
I don’t trust him. Leave him here, I’ll find a place to dispose of him.HOOK draws a small knife from inside his robe.
VALENTINE
(Backs up with hands raised).I’m not a spy!
HOOK
I’ll be the judge of that, young man.CHLOE ISIS
Stop! (Steps between them) He’s not a spy! (Circles him closely.) Look, Hook, we need to know how to melt the ice on the Tree of Life.HOOK
How should I know? Use a torch. I’ve got one here. Only cost you a few pennies.CHLOE ISIS
It’s magic ice. We need magic to melt it.HOOK
(Lights a long, wooden pipe.) Magic ice?CHLOE ISIS
Placed there by a curse. It’s spreading over the land.VALENTINE
She’s seen it.CHLOE ISIS
It’s made the people of Old City despair. It’s already here in Triangle, can’t you see it?HOOK
I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it. Thing is, that kind of magic, you can’t just waltz in there and break it down. You need to combat it. On its own level.CHLOE ISIS
That’s why we came to find you. How do we fight it, Hook?HOOK
You’ve got to give me some time, let me do some digging. Couple’a days. I should have an answer for you. In the mean time, I’ve got another way to help you get in there.CHLOE ISIS
Tell me, Hook, tell me!HOOK
There is this coat. A Maroon Coat, came from a great and mighty wizard. It’s said the magic in that coat can protect you from anything. You could wade right into that magic ice and not even burn. If you want to save this tree, this coat is the only way to get there.CHLOE ISIS
What is it? Let me see it!HOOK
Don’t got it. It got stolen by trolls a couple years back. They took it back to Wicked City as a prize.VALENTINE
You want us to find it?HOOK
No, my boy, we want you to find it. (Puts his arm around VALENTINE and leads him away from CHLOE ISIS.) You, me, and that little girl over there, we want you to find it, because if you don’t, there is no way we can accomplish this mission of yours. (Takes a long draw on his pipe.) Hear me?HOOK exhales a billowing cloud of bluish smoke that swirls around Valentine, slowly dissipating and fading.
VALENTINE
Yes sir, of course, sir.NARRATOR
Valentine did not like addressing this man as sir.HOOK
Good. (Leads VALENTINE back to CHLOE ISIS.) You see, without that coat, the moment you go wading in that river to save the Tree of Life, your legs will freeze and crack and shatter. You don’t want that, do you?VALENTINE
Um... no.HOOK
Of course not. Now, last I knew, the Maroon Coat was in possession of an old troll named Bandyboo. He owns a junk shop on the edge of Wicked City.VALENTINE
Junk shop?HOOK
Oh sure, trolls love junk. Can’t get enough of it. I’ve seen them wandering around the city picking up trash to take back and sell it for a tidy profit. Not a bad thing to keep in your mind. If you ever need a few pennies, just track down a troll. He’s bound to buy whatever trinket you happen to be offering, be it whittled stick or painted stone. Trolls eat them up.VALENTINE
Can we just talk to him?CHLOE ISIS
Bargain with a troll? Are you kidding?HOOK
Why not? How else are you supposed to buy it back?VALENTINE
Buy?HOOK
I’m not asking you to walk in and take it.CHLOE ISIS
We don’t have any money!HOOK
You’ll have to earn it then. Lord knows Bandyboo isn’t going to just hand it over.VALENTINE
This is too important for games. If we just explain to him what we’re doing, he will be moved to give the coat to us in good faith.HOOK
And he’ll be so swayed by the melody of your song that he just gives it to you out of the sweetness of his black, slimy little heart. This is a troll, boy. If you want something, you’d best be ready to give it to him if you don’t back it up. If you give him something nice, he’ll probably be a little more inclined to listen.VALENTINE
(Raises his fist.) If he doesn’t, I’ll give him something to help think it over.CHLOE ISIS
All right, Rubin, that’s what I thought!HOOK
You do that, boy. Come back and tell me how those trolls answer back. Better yet, write me a letter while they’re chewing on your guts. (Chuckles and turns away.) He used to have a store in the marketplace, but I’ve heard he moved. Ask around town, someone is sure to know him. Now go.CHLOE ISIS
All right, but...HOOK
There’s no time for that now. Move. Quickly.HOOK ushers them out the front door, back into the alley.
VALENTINE
Why you! Let us back in there!HOOK laughs and slams the door. VALENTINE and CHLOE ISIS dust themselves off. VALENTINE breathes heavy, calming himself down.
CHLOE ISIS
So then we go east.VALENTINE
That’s it? He pushes out so we go brave the trolls?CHLOE ISIS
You got a better idea?VALENTINE
Well, no...CHLOE ISIS
So we go east.VALENTINE
(shrugs) We go east. You want to stay here tonight?CHLOE ISIS
Stay here? In Triangle? We’ve got to keep moving. It’s barely one o’clock! What time do you think it gets dark?VALENTINE
Be the time we get out of the valley and over the mountain the sun will be almost down. You want to go through the Black Forest at night, because I certainly don’t.CHLOE ISIS
So we camp out at the top of the mountain.VALENTINE
The top?CHLOE ISIS
Why not? Haven’t you ever wanted to see the sun rise from the highest place in the world?NARRATOR
Better than midnight at the lowest for sure.VALENTINE
Sure! Of course I have. We’re going to need food though. And supplies.CHLOE ISIS
Then we’d better go shopping.VALENTINE
I only have six dollars.CHLOE ISIS
Everything will work its self out.Montage matching NARRATOR’s monologue as CHLOE ISIS and VALENTINE collect supplies.
NARRATOR
They bought food at the food maker, drink at the drink maker, and a little desert from the vendor on the street. Chloe moved off and came back with blankets that she put in a sack that she negotiated from a spinster for only two coins and a gem that was probably fake. When they were ready, the sun was just over their heads, painting the world red and drawing long shadows on the road to the East Gate, which wasn’t as much of a gate as two guard houses manned only in daylight hours and never on holidays and weekends, and usually just by stable boys the Elder Council had talked into feeling tough for the afternoon.The guards glared menacingly as Chloe and Valentine passed, but said nothing. Their auspicious posts required the guards to wear heavy plate armor, more likely as a deterrent from attacking an innocent passer-by. Valentine hoped this news never reached the ear of a marauding troll warband, or any other invading force that might show up at night or during the Feast of Saint. Sebastian on the First Sunday of Spring.
Triangle was the gateway to all of the South, wedged in a pass between two mountains and a river. If it were to be captured, it would surely spell doom for every free man, woman, and child anywhere in a few days march of the town. Trolls weren’t too likely that smart–they were big, brutish creatures that smashed down everything in their path, but strategic importance was wholly lost on them. They were disordered and easily kept at bay, and served as a limited defense in themselves against any invader that may want try and attack from the north.
The hillside was warm as Chloe and Valentine followed the highway zig-zagging through the pine trees that were flexing their muscles and stretching every needle and thorn in the new Spring sun. Chloe ran and jumped and skipped and made Valentine carry both their packs, but even he found opportunities for a little skipping of his own.
NARRATOR (cont)
They were at the summit of the hills when the red sun finally touched the far-off mountains in the west. Chloe stood at the top with her arms spread wide, soaking it in. When she was done, they descended a little until they found a sheltered clearing in the trees to lay their blankets and built a little fire. They ate cheese and spinach sandwiches with avacado smeared over it. For desert they ate orange slices and drank tea until the whole world was dark and they fell asleep holding hands with the eye of the full moon looking down on them from above.Fade to...
INTERNAL: HOOK’S APARTMENT
HOOK is asleep sitting up. A clay cup is knocked over in front of him. Heavy pounding on the door. HOOK snaps awake.
HOOK
Whoisit? Huh? Whos’ere?More pounding.
HOOK
I’m coming, I’m coming, hold on. Miserable piece of...As soon as HOOK turns the door handle, the door is thrown open and three GLITHVALS enter. They are TEPPINS, LOKIA, and TREMONT. TEPPINS wears a skull-faced helmet with long, twisting horns.
TEPPINS points at HOOK , and he is hurled back against the bookshelf behind him, knocking most of its volumes to the ground.
HOOK
Marshal Teppins! You came!, and so fast!TEPPINS traces a line in the air, and HOOK is lifted off the ground, hanging suspended above a pile of books.
TEPPINS
I don’t have much time.HOOK
No sir, of course not!TEPPINS
Give it to me.HOOK
I don’t have it yet. Soon. That coat is on its way.TEPPINS flicks his finger, hurling HOOK against the bookshelf, smashing it apart, leaving HOOK atop a pile of books and broken boards, holding his back and clenching his teeth against the pain.
TEPPINS
(to TREMONT) You called me down here for this? Next time, you’d better see it before you pull me away from dinner. (Removes helmet. To HOOK) How long?HOOK
Day or two.TEPPINS
Where is it?HOOK
That’s for me to know and deliver to you very shortly. Now, about this reward...TEPPINS draws his broadsword and presses it against HOOK’s throat.
TEPPINS
Reward? You deserve a reward? You give me some reason to even believe you, and we can talk about a reward.HOOK
My sources...TEPPINS
Your sources are running out one by one.TEPPINS leans in, pushing harder against HOOK’s neck.
HOOK
Wicked City. A street girl named Chloe Isis went off to get it.TEPPINS
Who has it?HOOK
Got taken from me by a troll.TEPPINS
You sent a little girl to fight a troll.TEPPINS looks over his shoulder to the GLITHVALS. All laugh.
HOOK
Not to fight, to pay back the debt I owe him.TEPPINS
Ah yes, because trolls like to eat little girls. This story doesn’t smell right.HOOK
But it’s true, sir. I wouldn’t lie. Not to you.TEPPINS
I’d know if you were. (Sniffs at HOOK.) (To TREMONT) Stay here. Keep your eye on him. If this girl comes back, pay her for her services and throw this thing in the river.TREMONT
(Deflates)I live to serve you, Marshal Teppins.
TEPPINS exits, followed by LOKIA.
FADE to BLACK
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