Blackthumb and Hals in … The Swamp
PAGE 1.
Exterior, day. A swamp. Two figures in boat, Hals and Blackthumb. Blackthumb is a dwarven forester; roughhewn, burly, and tan. He’s not quite 5 feet tall, but is 200 pounds of muscles, bone and beard. Hals is his adolescent human apprentice/ward/de facto son. He is a boy of 10; almost as tall as Blackthumb but a third the weight. The boat is stopped in front of a totem pole, very clearly a warning against trespassers. Hals asks what it means. “it means we’re in the right place” Blackthumb replies. He pushes the boat on, past the totem and into the heart of the swamp. “this used to be elven territory, before you humans pushed ‘em further out.” “what if they aren’t all gone?” “we’ve got enough to worry about without addin’ elves. Gators, ‘wugs, fugitive orks, - ” “-witches.” Hals gulps at the mention of witches. “don’t worry m’boy. We’ll keep our heads down and be out before anything knows we’re here. Three days… a week, tops.”
PAGE 2.
Caption: nine days later
“I feel like we’re being watched again.” “it’s just another gator. He’s not gonna mess with us after what we did to his friend.” They are hard at work, pulling a log up from the murky depths. Behind them is their camp, they’ve got quite the set up. On the shore are several soggy black logs, the boat, their campfire, axes, saws, and other lumbering gear. As what they’re pulling nears the surface, we see a face. Hals drops the rope and falls backwards in fright. “It’s her, she’s back!” Blackthumb moves up and with one mighty tug pulls it onto shore and into view. Half emerged is a corpse, its lips pulled back in an evil grimace. The body is thin, its skin the color of tanned leather. He was an elven warrior in life, evinced by the sword still clutched to his chest after untold centuries in the bog. “It’s fine boy! Calm down! It’s just… a mummy…”
PAGE 3.
“cool sword!” Hals swings the mummy’s sword, as long as he is, in a wobbly arc. Blackthumb cooks dinner, the tail of an alligator on a spit over the fire. “ha, better leave the fighting to me.” ”but I’ve got to learn how, too.” “ I don’t want you fightin’” “you’re not always gonna be there to protect me.” “why wouldn’t I be? Dwarves can live 300 years.” “yeah, but what about when I leave?” Hals says obliviously. Blackthumb doesn’t respond.
PAGE 4.
the two sleep under the open sky on either side of the fire. The fire swells supernaturally, over them stands the animated elven mummy. It numbly extends a wretched hand towards Hals. The sword floats up from beside the sleeping boy onto its tip, then begins to move under its own power towards its master’s hand. Hals wakes up and shouts. Blackthumb springs up, ready to fight despite wearing nothing but his flannel pajamas. “the sword, don’t let him grab it!”
PAGE 5.
Hals lunges for the sword, now being pulled in earnest towards the mummy. He misses the hilt and grabs the blade. It still pulls, cutting his palms and smearing the rusty blade with blood. The mummy looks at him in anger. “get away from him!” SHUNK, Blackthumb’s tomahawk hits the mummy square in the chest. CRACK, he follows it up with a log to the mummy’s skull. The mummy is unfazed by the attacks and counters with a mighty backhand. Blackthumb reels.
PAGE 6.
As the mummy and Blackthumb fight, Hals struggles to hold on to the sword by the blade. He has a flash of insight! He knuckles down, gripping the blade harder as he pulls himself to the hilt. He gets one hand on, then the other, still struggling mightily to keep it from flying to its master’s hand. Then, he stops struggling.
PAGE 7.
The blade, with Hals still holding on, flies towards the mummy. Hals twists, using the momentum of the blade to swing it in a devastating arc. The mummy is decapitated. It falls, truly lifeless now. Hals stands over it, offering his bleeding hand to help Blackthumb up. “let’s get out of here”
PAGE 8.
They’re on their boat, full with only a fraction of their loot onboard; a hasty retreat with whatever they could grab. Hals’s hands are bandaged. A bruise is developing on the side of Blackthumb’s face, along with a host of other injuries. As Blackthumb guides the boat away, Hals holds the sword, the blade trailing in the water. A shot from below the water as he lets the sword go. Long shot of the boat working its way out of the swamp as the sun rises. The swamp bubbles.