Daylight - First Draft

Act II - Scene 38: Zalavast

SC38 - Zalavast

INT. MAYAGARDE SENATE BUILDING. DAY.

Greye opens the door to the council chamber and walks in wearily. The room is now empty as all the senators and officers are out co-ordinating the search. Greye slumps down into a chair and stares at the table in front of him blankly for a while, then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the stone he found in Balfor's desk, looking at it closely. The stone glimmers under the bright overhead lights, making it look like the surface is almost moving.

GREYE: Raije... what are you hiding?

The stone begins to pulse with a purple light. Greye frowns and leans in for a closer look. Suddenly, the light engulfs the whole room and he shields his eyes with his other hand. The light fades and Greye finds himself not in the council chamber, but in the middle of a field. He looks around in shock, trying to figure out where he is and upon turning around, sees a huge, stone tower in the distance. Before he can take it all in, a man and a woman in heavy armour walk past him, heading in the direction of the tower. They don't seem to see him at all and Greye suddenly realizes that his body is faded and ghostlike. He feels a force tug at his arm and notices that he still has the stone clutched tightly in his hand, and that it is trying to pull itself towards the tower. Having no other choice, he follows the two people and before long they begin to speak.

MAN: It's too quiet... where's the army?

WOMAN: I don't know Calscarn but if they've kept their word, there won't be any interference.

CALSCARN: And remind me why we must take their word?

WOMAN: What choice do we have?

Calscarn falls silent. The woman looks up at the tower, looming ominously overhead. They arrive at the gateway to a labyrinthine courtyard, sprawled out at the base of the structure, with General Greye in tow. The iron gates creak open by themselves and the trio enters cautiously.

WOMAN: Careful where you tread Calscarn, Zalavast's secrets are many. I hear tell of the ancient traps and curses meant to keep out intruders.

CALSCARN: I really hope they're giving the demons a hard time...

Greye stares at Calscarn in surprise at his mention of demons. The woman however, says nothing and proceeds towards the tower. They approach the entrance, the great wooden doors already lie open in front of them, and they enter the tower. The moment they set foot inside, a voice bellows out from the shadows.

VOICE: Speak your names.

WOMAN: General Surie Haven of the Aedryn United Army.

MAN: And I am Lietenant Calscarn Nero, might we hear yours in return?

The doors close behind them, with a loud thud. Three figures step put of the shadows. At first glance they appear to be human but upon walking into the light shining down into the middle of the room, Greye notices their faces are marked with glowing lines and their skin is a pale grey - demons. The middle figure is wearing a blindfold and a cloak, while the other two have glowing red eyes. The one on the right is a thin, sinister looking demon in a dark red and gold robe, while the one on the left is huge and armoured. All of them have long horns and scaly wings.

RIGHT DEMON: Magi Severite of the Strata Council.

LEFT DEMON: Warmaster Gahav of the Aedryn Legion.

MIDDLE DEMON: ... High Sorceror Demencia. What is the purpose of this meeting, humans?

HAVEN: We have come to detemine whether we can reach a truce.

Gahav laughs, while Severite silently smirks. Demencia simply faces Haven with a cold expression. Greye watches him carefully.

DEMENCIA: There can be no truce... unless you can give us what we seek.