He opened them, he knew exactly where he was, laying on the floor of a room on the second floor of that tavern. He laid there, looking at the piles of shit, stained wooden floor, the candles mounted to the wall, barely lighting the room, and the others who were there, sleeping or just sitting or crying. He could hear the snoring, chatter coming from downstairs, groaning from the rooms nearby and the church bells outside.* “Ugh… J? J, you there?”

*feller sitting by the door* “He went downstairs.”

*P walking towards exit* “Thanks.” 

*P walking down stairs* 

*tavern view. description: He covered his mouth with his right hand as he entered the large room, reeking of alcohol, sweat and piss. P could see a group of prostitutes in the right corner near the entrance, all wearing different dresses, all of which were red; some scattered souls outside through the dirty windows, poor sods who couldn’t even afford even a tankard of ale or cheap whore, all of whom wore black, the mark of the beggar; travellers from across the country, dressed in a lot of imaginary ways, faces with scars, men missing legs or arms or both; the bartender of the tavern, busy even in those early hours of the day, preparing beers for folks across the room.* 

*And there, right at the centre of it all, sat J, with a mug in hand, talking merrily to a man in brown with a knapsack.*

*J notices P*

*J waves at P* “Hey, I found our first mercenary!”

*P and Michel make eye contact*

*P sits down by the table*

*Michel reaches out his hand* “The name’s Michel.”

*P stares at him blankly* “Tell me about yourself.”

*Michel* “I am an experienced soldier. I followed the King’s banner. I am proficient with swords, bows, daggers… But I prefer my axe.” *same frame* P: “How much you workin’ for ?” Michel: “10 francs a day.”     

*P laughing* “There are whores more expensive than you here! Tell me, why’s your rate so low?”

*back to Michel* “I don’t need a lot.”

*P and J* P: Found any others? J: Michel here tells me there are two brothers and a knight willing to fight for pay. P: Knights are expensive. 

J: As if I don’t knwo that. Anyway, we’ll also need a cleric. Michel: There’s one I know. *Michel* J: Who’d that be? Michel: We call him ‘Reverend’.  J: Does he do what he does well? 

M: He’s the best I know. J: Alright then. P, how about you and Michel find us this Reverend while I find us the brothers and the knight? P: Fine.

Michel took the lead, walking northwards through the busy streets. P could feel the eyes around him watch him, or rather the man he was following. The tall wooden buildings towered over him, and even there he could see the faces, watching him too.* M: He’s not a actually a priest, at least not anymore. Apparently he was excommunicated. And yet the man wears the black with not much shame. He also sells potions. Let’s head to the cathedral. He usually begs for money there.” 

P: Why’s your eye shinin’?

*Michel and P side by side. Add detail where Michel looks away from Inquisitors* M: I dunno. P: You said you followed the King’s banner. M: And? P: Then you must have been at the Battle of Ettlingen. 

*Same frame, except Michel is uncomfortable* M: How’d you know? P: ‘Cause I was there too. Of course, I was unconscious before the explosion. When I woke up, the sky was grey and the world was dying. 

*Michel face* M: It wasn’t nice. P: I’m sure it wasn’t. I didn’t see what happened to the horsemen charging at us. M: But I did… I saw it all. I swear, those horsemen didn’t die nice. I couldn’t tell where horse ended and man started… The soldiers screamed, the horses screamed… And the ones knocked unconscious… Excuse me, I don’t know what words to use… We just stood and watched as men, horse, armour and cloth all melted away into the dirt. It’s like they perished in less than a second, and died in minutes. What a foul stench that was… 

*P face, horrified. He remembers.* 

*They stand at the cathedral square description: The gothic cathedral itself, around a hundred metres tall, rose far above the houses surrounding it. Other than the usual crowd, there were around two rows of beggars, all wearing black robes and hoods, sitting at the front of the dark cathedral.* 

*Back to their faces* M: He’s not here. P: How do you know? M: He sits alone . Come, let’s look for him over there.. 

*They walk. A single man is visible sitting in the alley, his back to the cathedral closer and closer etc.* 

*Shot of the three visible in the alley. Michel has his right arm raised. P stands right behind him. The Reverend’s face is not visible.* M: Oi, Reverend, I got work for ya! R: What is it? M: This fella needs a cleric. 

*Rev gets up and swings his arms open. Only him in the shot.* R: Well he’s found one! What’s your name, son? P: P. R: SFX-HA! ‘S that a nickname? Anyway, Sir, for only a 100 francs a day, my expertise and potions are at your disposal. 

*Back to Michel and P. P esner.* P: 100 francs? That’s bollocks. R: Is there any other fool that would give you access to my level of skill and stock of potions? If you’re assembling a company, I’ll keep them alive and well. 

P: Ugh… Fine. I’m not paying your wage anyhow. Let’s get back to the tavern.      

*TAVERN. J is sitting with the other characters, Paul, Eric, and Helena.* 

*P, Michel ve Rev. stand by.* P: Which of you is a knight? 

*Shot of Helena greeting him fancily* H: Sir Helena, at your service. 

*Shot of Eric and Paul* P: And you ? E: I’m Eric, this is my brother Paul. We were both soldiers. 

*shot of Paul’s eyes* 

*shot of J and Michel looking at each other. Both had noticed the eye* P: Fate is a cruel bitch. M: True that.

*back to Michel, Rev. and P* Rev: Wherever we go, would it be wise to have a woman with us? M: I recommended her, Reverend. We’ve had an employment together, the woman fights better than I do. 

*Helena, semi-blank expression* H: I was among those who assaulted the Iron Keep. Surely you won’t mind me asking how many battles you’ve fought in, good Sir?

*Revenant, semi blank expression, but seems sort of impressed* : Would you mind me asking how a woman got to be a knight? 

J: I’m fine with taking any woman who doesn’t wear the red with us. Sir Helena told us about herself, and I see no good reason not to employ her. Now, has my friend P told you anything about our missi

R: No. J: In that case, allow me to do so. I am employing you, all of you, to escort me on a journey to the Tomb of St. Rochard.

*Faces: Michel, Rev., Helena, Paul, Eric. Michel, Helena and Eric look confused, Rev. looks surprised and Paul doesn’t know what the tomb is. *

*back to bird eye view * Rev: What exactly will we be doing there of all places?

J: I’m not paying you to know. Rev: I think you’d do well to at least tell your mercenaries what they are risking their neck for, no? 

*J face, face shows boredom. Bruh moment* J: Fine, we are looking for a sword that belongs to my family. I will pay your wages until the day we find that sword. In my understanding you all have your equipment. I think it would be best if we set off tomorrow before sunrise. We’ll meet here when the first church bells ring.