S1.E11: Eye of the Beholder

Gravedeath's search for the Object of Great Power takes him deep underground and things get visual

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GRAVEDEATH: He used to be a nice guy until power predictably corrupted him and turned him into a murderous psychopath. He will stop at nothing to obtain the Very Powerful Object which will make him — you guessed it — unstoppable.

KING’S ADVISOR: This one is pretty self-explanatory.

MASTER OF COIN: We don’t really know what he does but the title sounds cool and every King’s Council needs one.

NARRATOR: His accent is just foreign enough to let you know this story takes place in a fantasy world, but still native enough to be relatable.

BEHOLDER: Some things are better left to the imagination.

EXT. INSIDE ONE OF OVER A THOUSAND UNDERGROUND TUNNELS UNDERNEATH MOUNT MALDIAC

NARRATOR

After months of watching his scouts and envoys return empty handed from their searches for the Object of Great Power, Lord Gravedeath has finally decided to take destiny into his own hands and go after the artifact himself. Intensive sessions of Crystal Gazing, Dream Interpretation, and Augury in efforts to divine the secret location proved fruitless, so Gravedeath was forced to rely on his own instinct and intellect to determine the best course of action. In a moment of clarity immediately following a vicious night terror about losing the throne (or so his servants reported hearing, behind closed doors) he asked himself the question: if I were an Object of Great Power, where would I hide? The answer, shrieked at the top of his lungs, waking the entire court and every household within a five-mile radius: UNDERGROUND.

Before dawn the next day the wagons were prepared, horses fed, and Gravedeath, along with the Members of the Council and one hundred of his Best Trained Men, set off toward Vanisher’s Pass, the perilous mountain range famed for its snow-capped peaks - and it’s dragons. With the great Mount Maldiac within their sights, they descended into the mines, long abandoned by the dwarves.

KING’S ADVISOR

The dwarves built these mines ages ago, before the dragons eradicated them. It’s a wonder they’re still standing after all this time.

GRAVEDEATH

Everybody knows that.

KING’S ADVISOR

Apologies, My Lord. That line was just to catch the Audience up.

GRAVEDEATH

I will allow it. Tell them about the Dragon Riders too.

KING’S ADVISOR

The Dragon Riders used to patrol the skies keeping the peace, before the Great War. Now they hide in the mountains and their number grows smaller each year - if there are even any left at all.

MASTER OF COIN

I’m glad that’s out of the way. Fourth wall breaks make my head hurt.

GRAVEDEATH

What is my Master of Coin doing down here with us? Why do we need him?

MASTER OF COIN

I’m here to, uh, make sure we don’t lose any coins along the way, My Lord.

GRAVEDEATH

And? Have we?

MASTER OF COIN

No, My Lord. Last I checked, all of our coins are accounted for.

GRAVEDEATH

Good, money and power are the only things I care about. Oh, and the Object of Great Power. It has to be around here somewhere. Does anybody see it?

GRAVEDEATH’S SOLDIERS

We’re searching, My Lord, but so far all we see are tunnel walls and abandoned mine-shafts.

GRAVEDEATH

Look harder. It will probably be Heavily Guarded by Dangerous Traps and Sadistic Enchantments. Maybe even a dragon. You won’t miss it.

KING’S ADVISOR

My Lord, what if the Bigheart boy has already reached it and stolen it from us?

GRAVEDEATH

The boy is young and unproven and I will continue to underestimate him until it becomes my downfall.

KING’S ADVISOR

A foolproof plan, My Lord.

GRAVEDEATH

Even fools proved it? Wow, then it really must be a good plan.

Suddenly, the ground begins to shake and the tunnel walls start to crumble. From the depths of an abandoned mine-shaft, a terrifying creature arises: a single, enormous eye, bloodshot and pulsating, with tentacles protruding from it in all directions. Each tentacle ends in a smaller eye. The creature rises, suspended in the air by ancient magic, and once it has drawn level with Gravedeath’s army, a mouth opens up in its center, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Human bones are lodged in between its fangs, and a putrid odor fills the tunnel, causing the soldiers to double over and vomit inside their own helmets.

GRAVEDEATH

The only thing worse than a giant disembodied eye with a mouth is a giant disembodied eye with a mouth that doesn’t brush its teeth.