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The Alchemist – Episode 5 – Curse’s End

Philip Robotham — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 19:01:27 +0000

Below we present the complete text of “Curse’s End”, episode 5 (and the final) of our new Two Fisted Cosmic Horror serial; The Alchemist. This is a brand new (unpublished) series (featuring Antoine Duvalier and Brigitte LeGrande). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

Two-Fisted Cosmic Horror – CH001 – The Alchemist

Recommended for mature audiences – may contain adult situations and themes

THE ALCHEMIST

EPISODE #5 – CURSE’S END

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

CC by-nc-nd 4.0

This play is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) International license. This play may not be commercially reproduced, performed, or sold. Non-commercial production, performance, and reproduction are allowed under this license so long as attribution is maintained. No derivative content or use is allowed. It can be freely shared in its current form (without change) under this license. If you would like to purchase one or more copies of this work (for your own personal non-commercial use, or to help financially support the author) then please return to https://www.weirdworlstudios.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #6: The Alchemist

Trent Stone and Tess Carter are approached by a young French count (Antoine Duvalier) who, after the sudden death of his brother, is concerned that he has been cursed. He asks for their help and they travel to France where they meet his childhood friend (Brigitte LeGrande), encounter a spooky chateau, numerous attempts on Antoine’s life, and pursue an underlying mystery involving a centuries-long quest for revenge. Can they unravel this mystery before the young count’s life is lost? Tune in thrill to the excitement of “The Alchemist” and find out for yourself.

Episodes in the Host Your Own “Old Time Radio Drama” series are designed to provide a fun dinner party experience for 6–8 participants. Read along, taking on the role of one or more of the characters in the story, and listen as the exciting drama unfolds. This is the theater of the mind, where the special effects are only limited by your imagination, and your participation will build a memory that you’ll treasure for years to come.

CURSE’S END

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter

TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer

ANTOINE Duvalier: Comte of the Chateau Duvalier

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: Childhood friend of Antoine

GAVROSH: Child from the village

CHARLES: Son of the Alchemist

HOWARD LOVECRAFT: Writer of Macabre Tales and friend of Antoine

ACT 3

SCENE 21: (INT) IN THE CAVERN (TRENT, TESS, GAVROSH, BRIGITTE, ANTOINE, CHARLES)

MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
NARRATOR: While on a trip to France to help wealthy Comte Antoine Duvalier rid himself of a family curse, Tess, Trent, a small boy named Gavrosh, and the injured Brigitte LeGrande, find themselves trapped in a tunnel beneath Antoine’s chateau. With no choice but to go forward, they follow the tunnel into a cavern but have since become ensnared in nets that were set to trap them. In the dark, as they dangle from the ceiling, they hear the voice of their captor.
SOUND: SWINGING NETS (CREAKING) ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
CHARLES: So, there you are, held in my nets. I have you, dangling from the roof, like kittens in sacks waiting to be drowned. Mwahahahahaha.
BRIGITTE: Sacre! It’s hideous.
TESS: Are you even alive? Are you in pain? You look starved, emaciated.
CHARLES: Of course I am alive. I have enjoyed more life than you can even begin to imagine. I neither eat nor sleep. The elixir gives me all the life I need.
TRENT: A parody of life. You are little more than skin hanging on bones. How long have you existed like this?
CHARLES: You would dare to pity me? You are insects, too stupid to even guess who I am. (BEAT) I am the scourge upon this house. The killer of countless generations of Comtes. Down through the centuries I have come, taking revenge upon this weak bloodline of puffed up petty lordlings until now, the line is almost extinct. I am…
TRENT: (SNEERING) You are Charles, son of Mauvais, discoverer of the elixir of life, and pitiful monster, cursed to this thin, stretched existence, consumed by hate beyond anything sane.
CHARLES: Mad? You think me mad? I have achieved more than you can possibly comprehend. I have studied long and hard. I have probed the mysteries of ointments and philters, potions, and scents. I can bewitch the mind, enslave the body, and…
TESS: Get yourself checked into a ward at a sanitarium.
CHARLES: Bah! You will see. I will show you all!
SOUND: BANGS AND CLANKS OF WINCHES AT WORK – CONTINUE UNDER UNTIL 789.
GAVROSH: Wait, what’s happening? We’re moving.
TESS: The nets are being moved along the ceiling.
ANTOINE: You won’t get away with this.
CHARLES: My dear Monsieur Le Comte, I wouldn’t be so quick to draw attention to yourself with this bravado, if I were you. Don’t get me wrong – I still intend to kill you – but I intend to play a little first. It has been too long since I last had any entertainment down here.
TESS: (SARCASTIC) If you can’t find a good book to read, you should get yourself a radio.
CHARLES: Laugh all you will, Miss Carter… and yes, I know exactly who you are… but I will soon wipe that superior smirk off your face.
ANTOINE: (STAGE WHISPER) Gavrosh. Here, take my knife. Your net looks the flimsiest. I’m not sure what this monster has in mind, but if anything happens to us, you must survive.
GAVROSH: But monsieur?
ANTOINE: I know, Gavrosh. But you are on the edge and not over the pit. You are our best chance. Now cut. Quickly.
SOUND: SAWING NOISE – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
SOUND: WINCHES CONTINUE AND COME TO A CLUNK STOP – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Whoah. You’ve moved us over the arena.
CHARLES: Yes. The bone pit awaits. In you go!
SOUND: MACHINERY RELEASE AND DROP OF TESS AND TRENT ONTO BONES – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT AND TESS: (UNDER) Ugh! Oh, Ouch! Etc.
ANTOINE: No! You monster! What do you intend to do to them?
CHARLES: I’ve put your friends into the pit for a purpose, monsieur. First them, then the boy and your woman, mademoiselle LeGrande. Watch as I grant them the ability to see monsters. (BEAT) Monsieur Stone? Mademoiselle Carter? Catch!
TRENT: Tess, look out!
SOUND: SMASH OF TWO GLASS AMPOULES AND HISS OF ESCAPING GAS – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: (COUGHING) He’s thrown in some kind of gas bombs. I can’t… see…
CHARLES: Don’t worry, my dear. It simply allows you to see the creature in the pit with you. Do you see it yet? The monster?
TESS: Yes… Yes, I see it. It’s huge and hideous. With tentacles where its face should be and long scaly arms with claws.
CHARLES: Yes it is. And it will be coming for you.
TRENT: Tess where are you? I can see it. It’s here.
TESS: It’s coming towards me.
CHARLES: You need to defend yourself. Take up some of the bones that surround you. Fashion a club or a knife. Fight. Fight for your lives. Bwahahaha!
TRENT: I can see it, Tess. I’m coming. It’s just standing there waiting.
TESS: It’s coming right at me, Trent. It’s…
SOUND: RIP AND LIGHT BODY DROP – UNDER.
CHARLES: (WITH MAD ENTHUSIASM) Kill it! Go-on, Kill it!
SOUND: RUNNING FEET APPROACHING) LET IT FINISH.
GAVROSH: No. No! It is you who will be killed.
SOUND: STABBING – LET IT FINISH.
CHARLES: (IN PAIN) Argh! You little beast! You’ve escaped.
GAVROSH: Take that!
SOUND: STABBING – LET IT FINISH.
CHARLES: (WAILING) Aargh, it hurts. I haven’t felt this for so long. Pain!
GAVROSH: Then take this, too!
SOUND: PUSH AND SPLASH – THEN SPLASHING – UNDER
CHARLES: (SCREAMING AS HE DROWNS) You’ve drowned me. I’m being boiled alive. I cannot swi… (GLUB GLUB GLUB).
GAVROSH: Uh… I… I killed him.
ANTOINE: Trent? Tess? Can you hear me? There is nothing in the arena with you.
TRENT: But… I can see it.
ANTOINE: No. You can see Tess. The gas. It has altered your perception. Stop moving.
TRENT: Alright.
ANTOINE: Tess. The monster has stopped moving now too, hasn’t it?
TESS: Y… yes! We’ve been drugged to see each other as monsters. (BEAT) I could have killed you, Trent.
TRENT: And me you. We’ll need to wait for the gas to wear off a little before we do anything more. (BEAT) Antoine, how is Brigitte?
ANTOINE: Brigitte! Brigitte, are you alright?
BRIGITTE: (no answer)
ANTOINE: She’s not responding. Gavrosh, can you get us down? Gavrosh?
GAVROSH: Sorry, yes. (SNIFFS. TRYING TO SOUND BRAVE) I’ll get the controls. It won’t be gentle though.
ANTOINE: That’s fine. Just hurry.
GAVROSH: Yes, monsieur.
SOUND: MACHINERY RELEASE AND DROP OF ANTOINE AND BRIGITTE ONTO BONES – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: Oh, aargh! Brigitte. Are you alright?
TESS: You appear like two more monsters. Is she okay?
ANTOINE: She is breathing… but she is not conscious. (BEAT) Gavrosh can you find something to get us out of here? (TO SELF) At least the gas has cleared, even if Trent and Tess are still useless and under its effects.
TESS: I heard that!
ANTOINE: Good!
GAVROSH: Oi! There is a cable over here. I’ll lower it to you… but you’ll have to climb it yourselves. I’m not strong enough to lift you out.
ANTOINE: Thankyou Gavrosh. Trent, are you under control, yet?
TRENT: Everything looks strange, but yes. I’m in control of everything except my perceptions.
ANTOINE: Good. I need your help to get Brigitte out of this hole. (BEAT) I’ll climb up first and then between us we’ll haul her up.
TESS: Yeah, well. Don’t ignore me just cause you both look like some kind of cross between Italian noodles and a seafood platter. I can help, you know?
ANTOINE: Er… I don’t know…
TRENT: Don’t argue, Antoine. That never ends well.
ANTOINE: Can you even see the lip of the arena?
TESS: It’s kind of on the wobbly side, but things are starting to firm up.
TRENT: Yeah, and it’s not growing purple hair anymore.
ANTOINE: That’s very comforting. I’m going up. Try not to place any strain on her burns when you pick her up. (GRUNTS) Ugh. Hmpf. Etc. (FADE OUT).
TESS: (RELIEF) Ugh! I’m glad that’s over. She’s heavier than she looks. Just let me catch my breath and I’ll be able to help you carry Brigitte out of these tunnels and get her to a doctor.
ANTOINE: How are things looking. More or less normal. Where’s Gavrosh?
TRENT: He’s over by the boiling pool.
TESS: Is that where he pushed the Alchemist in?
ANTOINE: (ANNOYED AT SELF) Ugh! I’ve been so busy with Brigitte I forgot about the boy.
TESS: I’ll go talk to him.
SOUND: WALKING ACROSS TO THE BOY – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: (GENTLY) Gavrosh? Are you okay?
GAVROSH: I thought I’d feel better, after… I didn’t mean to kill him.
TESS: You didn’t kill him Gavrosh. He slipped and fell into the pool. It was an accident at best. You were very brave, you know? He would have killed all of us if you hadn’t acted as you did.
GAVROSH: I didn’t feel brave. I don’t think I felt anything at all. Just anger! (BEAT) My sister’s gone, isn’t she?
TESS: Yes, Gavrosh. She’s gone.
GAVROSH: Look at him down there. Just lying at the bottom. His eyes are still open. (DETACHED) He doesn’t look like much now, does he?
TESS: Oh Gavrosh, I didn’t realize you could still see him. Come away. He’s finished with now. There is nothing good that will come of watching his body disintegrate.
TESS: (SNIFFS) Yes, mademoiselle.
SOUND: FOOTSTEPS – LET THEM FINISH.
TRENT: Is the boy alright?
TESS: He’ll be fine. But we need to get out of here. How’s Brigitte?
TRENT: She’s passed out. But she’s warmed up a little. I think she’ll be okay if we get her out of here quickly.
BRIGITTE: (GROANS) What? What happened?
ANTOINE: It’s alright Brigitte, we’re safe. You were unconscious for a little while.
BRIGITTE: Antoine. What happened to…?
ANTOINE: It is alright. He is dead. He cannot hurt us ever again. The curse has been lifted.
TESS: Can you walk, Brigitte?
BRIGITTE: Yes. I can (ugh!) but my arm still hurts.
TRENT: We’ll get that taken care of as soon as possible. For right now let’s get out of here. There is an opening on the other side of this cavern.
BRIGITTE: Lay on, MacDuff.
TESS: Seriously? Macbeth with a French accent?
BRIGITTE: Why not? You English keep trying to perform stage versions of Victor Hugo’s works.
TESS: Fair enough. Come on.
GAVROSH: I will help you Mademoiselle Brigitte.
BRIGITTE: Thankyou Gavrosh.
SOUND: WALKING SEVERAL STEPS THEN AN AUDIBLE CLICK – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Trent? What was that?
TRENT: It sounded like a pressure plate under the floor.
SOUND: RUMBLING BUILDS SLOWLY – PUNCTUATED BY POPS, BANGS, AND HISSES – UNDER
TRENT: Yep! I’d say we’ve set off some kind of failsafe.
ANTOINE: And… How should we respond?
SOUND: OCCASIONAL ROCKS FALLING – UNDER
TRENT: If we don’t want to find ourselves buried alive, I’d say our best bet is to run. And fast.
SOUND: RUNNING FEET – FADE OUT.
MUSIC: SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 22: INT – LOCAL HOSPITAL (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE)

SOUND: HEART RATE MONITOR BEEPING – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
PUBLIC ADDRESS: Dr. Ferrer to I.C.U, please. Dr. Ferrer.
TRENT: Tess, what are you doing out here in the corridor?
TESS: Antoine wanted a moment with Brigitte. I think he may be about to propose.
TRENT: What, marriage???
TESS: No, backgammon. Of course marriage.
TRENT: (STERNLY) Tess, you haven’t been meddling have you?
TESS: (ANNOYED) Oh, get off your high horse. No, I haven’t. Antoine’s just had a few home truths brought to his attention by the experiences of the last day or two.
TRENT: Sorry Tess. Of course, you’re right. The chemistry between the two of them was pretty obvious from the start.
TESS: I think the only thing holding them back was Antoine’s foolish notion that she was in love with his brother. That, and how she didn’t have the nerve to tell him she hadn’t felt that way about Gaspard since they were in their teens.
TRENT: Ah, L’amore. It makes fools of us all. And now that this curse has been dealt with, he can take a wife without worrying that he is sentencing her to early widowhood.
TESS: Yeah. Do you think that emaciated figure in the tunnels really was the alchemist Charles son of Mauvais?
TRENT: It strains credulity, but we’ve both seen stranger.
TESS: Yeah, I guess we have. But imagine it, all those centuries devoted to hate and vengeance? Such a waste. And with the elixir of life at his command too.
TRENT: An elixir that rendered him a walking corpse. If the curse existed at all, it was the one that condemned Charles to that hideous half-life below the Chateau. I think that it’s a good thing that the tunnels have caved in. Charles’ secret is lost with his corpse.
TESS: And that poor boy, Gavrosh – and his sister? In terms of the damage it did, the curse had a very long reach.
TRENT: Yes. Gavrosh is back with his family now. When I left them, just now, they were all grief-stricken. The police will recover the bodies of the little girl and the Banker from the Chateau. This adventure has been marred by grief and…
TESS: I know… we can never hope to save them all. We just do the best we can.
TRENT: And that was precious little on this trip. In the end, the day was saved by a little boy while the two of us were planning to kill each other in a drugged stupor. (SIGH)
TESS: Cheer up. It’s not all darkness. I think Antoine and Brigitte will be happy together, despite the grief that has made it possible. She’s going to have a nasty scar on her arm from that chemical burn. (BEAT) You know Trent, I’ve been thinking.
TRENT: Yes, me too. But, you go first.
TESS: Maybe I’ve been putting you under too much pressure over this marriage thing. If you’re not ready…
TRENT: (INTERRUPTING) How about Paris?
TESS: What?
TRENT: Well, we’re here aren’t we? Wouldn’t it be nice to get married in Paris?
TESS: What, now?
TRENT: Well, yes. It’s only a train trip away and I figure while Antoine could play best man, Brigitte would make a lovely bridesmaid.
TESS: But… but…
TRENT: I know I’ve been slow to get around to this. I’ve been waiting for the right moment. Sometime when things are quiet for the two of us. But frankly…
TESS: Life is never quiet, I know.
TRENT: So…
TESS: It’s kind of like eloping isn’t it?
TRENT: Neither of us has family to worry about… and our friends tend to be scattered about the world engaged in various forms of hero work, we can hardly offend anyone by not inviting them when they’re all too busy to attend anyway… so…
TESS: Yes! Absolutely, yes!
ANTOINE: (AT A DISTANCE) Ha Ha! Yes! You have made me the happiest man in the world! I shall go out and tell them.
SOUND: STEPS – DOOR OPENS – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: (ELATED) My friends! We want you to be the first to know. Brigitte and I are engaged to be married!
TRENT: Congratulations old man. We’re so pleased for you!
TESS: Yes, congratulations. That’s wonderful news.
ANTOINE: Of course you will have to attend the wedding. It will take some time to organize – Brigitte has, apparently, many in-laws and cousins who must be invited – and I will need someone to come and sit on my side of the church.
TRENT: It would be an honor.
TESS: Oh, we wouldn’t miss it!
ANTOINE: Come in and celebrate with us. Brigitte will want to tell you all her plans – I fear they are evolving by the minute.
TESS: Well, I’m glad you’re already recognizing your place in this process, Antoine.
TRENT: But, before I join you, I’d like to use the telephone. I want to send a message to your friend Howard Lovecraft while the events are still fresh in my memory. I think he’d be able to make a pretty good story out of these last few days.
MUSIC: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

TRENT STONE: Hello, I’m Trent Stone, Adventurer. I’m always in command of the situation (except perhaps, when it comes to Tess — who can easily throw me for a loop). I say things like “indeed,” “hmmm,” and “I see” a lot, and speak in a way that friends of Clark Kent would find very familiar. I’m smart, observant, and quick to use my fists when required (but never impulsive). I sound like Joe College but I’m blue collar through and through. My lack of higher education is something of an embarrassment to me (but I’d never let on).

I’m aware of Tess’s urgency about tying the knot, but mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.

TERESA CARTER: Hiya. Everyone calls me Tess. I’m the take-no-prisoners sort who can hold her own in the man’s world that is the concrete jungle of Star City. I’m college educated but have a mean right hook. I’m a reporter by training and a stickybeak by inclination — this tends to get me in trouble. Curious, playful, and smart, that’s me! But I’m also painfully honest, easily moved by the troubles of others, and as protective as a tigress of my friends. Now that Trent’s owned up to his feelings about me and we’re engaged, it’s time to set a date. But Trent keeps dragging his feet. I’m not getting any younger, you know?

ANTOINE Duvalier: Bonjour. I am the Comte du Chateau Duvalier (Count of Duvalier Castle) and I have discovered that the legendary curse, rumored to have killed off every male heir to the title of my family estate for generations, is not so legendary after all. My brother is dead, and I am the last of my line. I must get to the bottom of this mystery before I, too, am overtaken by it.

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: I am Brigitte LeGrande. I grew up with Antoine and his brother. Many years ago I loved the brother (though it was not reciprocated), but I was merely a child. It has been a great many years since that was true but Antoine has not realized how things have changed. Out of respect for his brother’s memory, he resists seeing me as more than a friend. Still, I am patient. I am smart. I will help him deal with this, oh so ridiculous, curse. Then, we shall see what we shall see.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

NARRATOR: Hello, I am your narrator. I introduce the cold stormy nights on which our stories take place, the dark alleys, and darker personalities who inhabit the lonely city. It is my job to set the scene and establish the serious tone of suspense and intrigue that will carry the story forward. It is also my job to remind listeners of what came before in a calm, trustworthy voice and ensure that everyone is oriented to where we are and where we are going.

GAVROSH: I am a boy, full of mischief and fun, but now frightened beyond words by the events surrounding me. My sister has been lost and I am so very, very afraid that I will be next.

CHARLES: I am motivated by an intense hatred for the House Du Valier. I will not rest until every last member of the male line has been wiped from the face of the earth. I do not care what I must do. I do not care how long it takes. I will kill them all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip Craig Robotham grew up in a house full of books and has held numerous jobs as a teacher, computer programmer, graphic and web designer, e-learning consultant and, most recently, writer. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two sons. When he was younger and fitter he enjoyed martial arts, but in recent years his hobbies have tended towards more sedate fare (board games, movies, books, and role-playing games).

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

The Alchemist

This post and all its content is copyright © 2013 Philip Craig Robotham and has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. This play cannot be reproduced, shared, or performed commercially without the written permission of the author. The production of derivative content, merchandise, or creative works and materials is expressly forbidden under this agreement. However you may share, reproduce, and perform this play freely so long as authorship is acknowledged, no money changes hands, and the play is not modified in any way.

The post The Alchemist – Episode 5 – Curse’s End appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.

The Alchemist – Episode 4 – Cat and Mouse

Philip Robotham — Fri, 22 Dec 2017 20:15:17 +0000

Below we present the complete text of “Cat and Mouse”, episode 4 of our new Two Fisted Cosmic Horror serial; The Alchemist. This is a brand new (unpublished) series (featuring Antoine Duvalier and Brigitte LeGrande). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

Two-Fisted Cosmic Horror – CH001 – The Alchemist

Recommended for mature audiences – may contain adult situations and themes

THE ALCHEMIST

EPISODE #4 – CAT AND MOUSE

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

CC by-nc-nd 4.0

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #6: The Alchemist

CAT AND MOUSE

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter

TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer

ANTOINE Duvalier: COMTE of the CHATEAU Duvalier

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: Childhood friend of Antoine’s

GAVROSH: Child from the village

CHARLES: Son of the Alchemist

SCENE 16: (INT) UPSTAIRS (BRIGITTE, TRENT, TESS, GAVROSH, ANTOINE)

MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
NARRATOR: Having traveled to France and the ancestral home of Antoine Duvalier to investigate a curse, Trent and Tess find themselves, along with a young woman named Brigitte LeGrand and a young boy whose sister has been murdered, hunting a killer in the chateau.
BRIGITTE: So, what do we do now?
TRENT: Somewhere in the building is a killer. I suggest we find and deal with him.
TESS: Or her. The killer could be a woman, you know?
TRENT: Fair enough. We should stay open to all possibilities.
GAVROSH: You are all crazy people. He is mad and scary and you want to find him? I just want to find my sister and go home.
BRIGITTE: I… uh… think you had best stay with us for now.
GAVROSH: But my sister…
BRIGITTE: (BEAT) I don’t know how to tell you this, Gavrosh, but your sister…
GAVROSH: No. No! My sister is fine. We just have to find her.
BRIGITTE: I’m so sorry Gavrosh. Your sister is not fine. There was nothing we could do. (CHOKED UP) I’m so sorry.
GAVROSH: No! (WAILING) Marielle!
TRENT: (URGENTLY) Hold him. Don’t let him run.
GAVROSH: (STRUGGLING – UNDER) No. No. No. (etc.)
ANTOINE: I’ve got him. (BEAT) I’m sorry Gavrosh. There is nothing you can do.
GAVROSH: Nothing? Kill him! Find him and kill him!
TESS: Kill who Gavrosh? Do you know who we are looking for?
GAVROSH: (DEFEATED) No. I don’t. Do you?
TESS: No, but we know where he has been and we have experience hunting people like this. We will catch this killer. Justice will be done.
GAVROSH: You’ll make him pay? You promise?
TESS: Yes, I promise.
GAVROSH: Good!
ANTOINE: If that’s settled, I too think I would like to get my hands on this murderer of innocents …
TESS: One more thing. Gavrosh, while you were hiding here in the castle, did you hear or see anything that might help us find this killer?
GAVROSH: No… Except…
TESS: Yes…
GAVROSH: When Monsieur Taggart arrived he was very angry with us. We ran from him, but I heard sounds… from the basement. I was going to hide down there but the sounds made me afraid.
TESS: What kind of sounds?
GAVROSH: Like someone dragging a boulder along the floor.
TRENT: Hmmm. I think we should start with an examination of the cellar… and I also think that none of us should get separated from the others. Our strongest advantage lies in our numbers.
ANTOINE: Alright, the cellars are this way.
SOUND: FOOTSTEPS – FADE OUT.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER

SCENE 17: (INT) STAIRS TO THE CELLAR (TRENT, TESS, BRIGITTE, ANTOINE, GAVROSH)

ANTOINE: Here we are, those are the stairs to the cellar.
TESS: Well, I’ll say this for spooky old castles; they do creepy shadows really well.
TRENT: Yes, I don’t relish going down those stairs in the dark.
ANTOINE: Behind you, on the wall. There are candles in that cupboard. There should be matches as well… assuming the mice haven’t got to them.
SOUND: CUPBOARD OPENING – CLINKING OF CANDLES – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: It looks like this is just what we need. Here, everybody take one.
SOUND: MATCH BEING STRUCK – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: Here bring your candles in so I can light them. (BEAT) There you are.
GAVROSH: Do I get one?
BRIGITTE: Sure, honey. Here. (BEAT) Perhaps it would be best if I stayed up here with the boy.
TESS: I don’t think that would be a good idea. We don’t know, yet, whether our quarry is before us or behind. I vote we all stay together.
ANTOINE: Yes. I won’t have you out of my sight while there is a killer on the loose, Brigitte.
BRIGITTE: Antoine?
TESS: (INTERRUPTING) Seriously? Now’s the time you choose to start letting her know how you feel?
GAVROSH: (SING SONG) The Comte is in lo..ove.
ANTOINE: (EMBARRASSED) Er… um… I believe I already said the stairs are just here. Let’s get underway.
TRENT: (AMUSED) Yes, let’s. But perhaps I’ll go first, Antoine. I’d hate for your desire to escape embarrassment to lead you to make a hasty misstep.
TESS: Well don’t you go and do something stupid, either, Trent.
TRENT: I make no promises. Come on.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 18: (INT) CELLAR (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE, GAVROSH)

SOUND: (WALLA) OCCASIONAL ECHOING DRIPS, BUBBLING LAB EQUIPMENT – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
SOUND: FILTER DIALOG TO CREATE WIDE ECHOING SPACE.
TESS: Get a load o’ this place will you? (BEAT) Did you know all this was down here, Antoine?
ANTOINE: No. In fact, I’ve never seen this stuff before in my life. It’s like an old laboratory.
TRENT: This isn’t a project your brother started working on, is it? A hobby, perhaps?
ANTOINE: Gaspard was many things monsieur, but an amateur scientist was not one of them. He lacked both the patience and the basic inquisitiveness for such pursuits.
BRIGITTE: What Antoine is trying to say is that Gaspard was not a man blessed with much imagination. He was interested in ledgers and accounting and little else.
TRENT: Then I think we have tracked our quarry back to his lair.
ANTOINE: If so, this individual has been quite brazen. Setting up in plain sight like this.
TESS: I guess if he thought the place was empty…?
TRENT: This equipment is positively ancient. It’s more like a recreation of a medieval lab than a modern scientific facility.
ANTOINE: Yes. Over here, these shelves act as stores; herbs, powders, chemical agents. They’re all labeled but most I don’t recognize… and the spellings are very archaic.
BRIGITTE: There’s a diary or journal over here. The text is, well, I think it’s some kind of code. I can’t quite…
SOUND: HISSING BURNING SOUND – ESTABLISH AND UNDER (UNTIL 614).
BRIGITTE: Aaargh! My skin. It’s burning. Sacre… Help me!
ANTOINE: Brigitte?
TESS: Brigitte, put the journal down. It’s been treated with something caustic.
SOUND: BOOK FALLS – LET IT FINISH.
BRIGITTE: Aaargh! It’s spreading.
TRENT: Tess, get that bucket beside you. Is it water?
TESS: Yes, I think so.
TRENT: Submerge Brigitte’s hand.
SOUND: SPLASH AS HAND ENTERS WATER – LET IT FINISH.
BRIGITTE: Oh, the pain was so strong.
TESS: Good, but that burn looks nasty.
BRIGITTE: (WOOZY) Yes, the pain was very… (PASSES OUT) ugh.
ANTOINE: Brigitte? (PANICKED) Brigitte!
TESS: It’s alright, Antoine. She’s just passed out… but the burn is severe. She may be going into shock.
TRENT: Make sure her hand stays submerged. Yes, her temperature is dropping. It’s also possible the toxins that were on the book will be trying to get into her bloodstream and are poisoning her.
ANTOINE: Poison!
TESS: Easy Antoine. First thing’s first. We’ll clean the chemical from the wound. What do you think, Trent? Some kind of phosphorus that activates when it comes in contact with skin?
TRENT: Perhaps. I wish we had more light.
TESS: It’s a good thing she passed out. Trying to clean her hand would be very painful if she were awake.
TRENT: We’re going to need some bandages.
ANTOINE: Here use my shirt. And give her my jacket… for the shock. I’ve still got my pullover.
TRENT: Thanks, Antoine.
SOUND: BRIEF TEARING OF FABRIC INTO BANDAGES – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
TESS: I think, I’ve got the wound clean. Shall we risk pulling her hand out?
TRENT: Let’s give it a try.
SOUND: HAND WITHDRAWING FROM WATER – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: Anything?
TESS: It doesn’t seem to be reigniting. What now?
TRENT: She needs proper treatment. For now, dab the wounds dry and bandage them… loosely.
GAVROSH: Will she be okay?
TRENT: I think she’ll be fine. Assuming we can get her help. She’s breathing steadily again. It may not have been true shock. The reaction may just have been to the chemicals. She certainly seems better now they have been washed off.
ANTOINE: What caused this?
TRENT: The journal… don’t touch it… There was a time when those who practiced science guarded their findings jealously. They would encode their research and the details of their experiments to protect them from their rivals. Some would even go so far, as in this case, as to use caustic chemicals in the ink and fibers of the page in order to add further protection. I think those gloves on the desk are how the owner of these materials is able to use the journal without taking any harm.
BRIGITTE: (RECOVERING CONSCIOUSNESS) Ugh. Oh, my hand!
ANTOINE: Brigitte! How are you feeling?
BRIGITTE: It hurts. (PANICKING) What? Where?
TESS: Easy, now. Do you know where you are? What your name is?
BRIGITTE: Yes. I am Brigitte LeGrande and we are in the Chateau. I have just suffered an injury, yes?
TESS: Yes, and our next priority is to get you and the boy out of here.
SOUND: SLAMMING OF DOOR – LET IT FINISH.
CHARLES: (DRY AND PAPERY) Mwahahahahaha (UNDER).
SOUND: GRINDING OF STONE AGAINST STONE – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Look! The back wall is opening up. It’s some kind of tunnel.
TRENT: If I don’t miss my guess, we’ve just been locked in… and our host is beckoning us to approach through the tunnel.
TESS: Can you stand, Brigitte?
BRIGITTE: I am fine.
ANTOINE: No, you’re not. But we will do everything we can to ensure you will be. Here lean on me.
BRIGITTE: Thank you Antoine.
TRENT: Did you know this tunnel was here, Antoine?
ANTOINE: (DISTRACTED) Hmmm?
TRENT: Antoine, did you know about the secret passage?
ANTOINE: No. I did not. It looks very old, though.
TESS: Like everything else in this place.
BRIGITTE: (SHIVERING, CHATTERING TEETH, UNDER STRAIN) Well, let’s get this over with.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 19: (INT) CAVE TUNNEL (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE, GAVROSH)

SOUND: TRUDGING FEET – ESTABLISH AND UNDER (UNTIL 670)
TESS: How’s she doing, Antoine?
ANTOINE: I’ve got her.
TESS: That’s not what I asked.
BRIGITTE: (IN PAIN) I’m still conscious. I can keep going for a little.
TESS: Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here soon. We seem to be angling upward.
ANTOINE: Good! The sooner we get Brigitte to a doctor the better.
TRENT: Hey, take a look at this.
SOUND: TRUDGING STOPS – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: What have you found?
TRENT: Markings on the walls, carved into the stone.
TESS: Fairly primitive don’t you think.
TRENT: Well maybe scratched is a better term. What do you think, Antoine?
ANTOINE: It’s French; the word “revenge” over and over and surrounding some other words – (SHOCKED) Sacre bleu!
TESS: What?
ANTOINE: Here, look. “Gaspard Duvalier”. See.
GAVROSH: That was your brother’s name, no?
BRIGITTE: (STRUGGLING) Oh, Antoine. I’m so sorry. It looks as though your brother was murdered!
TRENT: Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
ANTOINE: And look, here, further along the passage. The same basic pattern. “Revenge” repeated and surrounding another name. (MORE SUBDUED) My father this time.
TESS: It looks like a lot more of them, each the same but with a different name at the center. Ancestors of yours, Antoine?
ANTOINE: Yes, all male.
TESS: It looks like someone is obsessed with your family curse. They all appear to be in the same hand.
TRENT: Curious…
TESS: What is it?
TRENT: Look at this Tess, the further along the passage we go, the more names we see, all in the same hand.
TESS: I think I already said that, Sparky.
TRENT: Yes, but that can’t be right.
TESS: How so?
TRENT: Those scratch marks are getting older as we go.
TESS: Of course they are. They couldn’t all be… oh wait!
ANTOINE: What is it? I don’t see…
TESS: The scratch marks! Look at them. They’re getting older as we go – much older. There must be years of dirt and build-up between each set. These go back…
TRENT: A very long time indeed.
ANTOINE: What are you thinking?
TRENT: This obsession with the deaths of the male heirs of your family goes back a very long time.
ANTOINE: A conspiracy, you mean?
TRENT: Perhaps, stranger things have been known to happen.
SOUND: BUBBLING WATER, FALLING WATER (LIKE FROM A TAP)- FADE IN, ESTABLISH AND UNDER
TRENT: I can hear something up ahead. It sounds like a small waterfall.
ANTOINE: There are hot springs throughout this region. It could be a pool or inlet. But take care. Some of the springs are hot enough to cook a rabbit in.
TRENT: Got it. Why don’t you three rest a minute? I’ll go on ahead and take a look.
ANTOINE: Thank you a brief rest will be good.
TRENT: Don’t worry, Trent. I’ll keep an eye on things.
TRENT: Alright. I’ll be back in a minute.
SOUND: TRENT’S FOOTSTEPS DEPART – FADE UNDER.
TESS: I’m glad you knew where we could find these candles, Antoine. We’d be lost without them.
ANTOINE: I should have stayed a boy scout, no? I even have a pocket knife.
TESS: “Always Prepared”, huh? Do you even have the boy scouts here?
ANTOINE: Baden Powell may have been English, but his empire extends, octopus-like, into nearly every country in the world.
TESS: (AMUSED) You don’t sound like a fan.
BRIGITTE: (PAINED BUT ALSO AMUSED) He was thrown out as a youngster.
TESS: What? Thrown out of the boy scouts? What kind of terror were you when you were younger, Antoine?
ANTOINE: Now don’t get the wrong idea. The scoutmaster didn’t have much of a sense of humor. He found the presence of six grass snakes, two frogs, and a terrified hedgehog in his bedroll a far less salutary experience than the rest of us thought it was. I ultimately took the blame. It was terribly unfair.
TESS: Oh, Antoine. Were you framed?
ANTOINE: No. No. I did it, alright. But he didn’t have a shred of proof. I wouldn’t mind so much if he’d been able to prove it. As it is…
GAVROSH: I think I am beginning to like you a good deal, Monsieur Le Comte.
TRENT: (IN THE DISTANCE) Whoah!
SOUND: DISTANT ZIP LINE (TRENT HOISTED TO CEILING IN NET) – LET IT FINISH
TRENT: (BEAT) Aw Hell!
TESS: Uh-oh. I think we’d better go take a look. (BEAT) (CALLING) Trent? Are you okay?
TRENT: (IN THE DISTANCE) Yeah, I’m fine. Embarrassed, but fine. There’s a cavern containing a hot spring up here. I’ve just blundered into some kind of trap. A net. I’ve been hoisted up to the ceiling where I’ve got a marvelous, if utterly undignified, view of the candle that I dropped, 20 feet below me. I can’t see much else though. You’d better be careful coming to get me. The net was big enough to catch all of us, and there may be others.
TESS: Okay, we’re on our way… and we’ll be careful.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 20: (INT) UNDERGROUND CAVERN AND HOT SPRING (TRENT, ANTOINE, GAVROSH, TESS, BRIGITTE, CHARLES)

SOUND: BUBBLING WATER AND DISTANT SPLASHING – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
SOUND: TRUDGING – UNDER – ESTABLISH AND HALT – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Well, what have we here? Looks like the tunnel opens up into a cave. (PATRONIZING) Oh, and look, a rare example of the species “homo overconfidantus”, all tangled up and hanging from the ceiling… upside down.
TRENT: (SARCASTIC) Haha. Enjoy the moment while you can, but in the meantime find a way to get me down while you’re enjoying your laugh.
TESS: Sure, boss. Anything you say. (TO THE OTHERS) Take a look around. Let’s see if we can’t find the trap mechanism somewhere around here… not you Gavrosh. I don’t want you touching anything.
GAVROSH: (MIFFED) Aw!
BRIGITTE: (IN PAIN) I’ll sit down here, I think. Gavrosh can protect me, while I rest. I’ll feel better knowing he’s on guard.
GAVROSH: (SULKY) That’s nice of you to say Mademoiselle, but I know you’re just trying to make me feel better.
ANTOINE: The shadows are surprisingly deep here. How big is this cavern anyway?
TESS: I don’t know, but I imagine we’ll find the controls somewhere around the walls. Keep away from that pool, though. I can feel the heat radiating off it from here.
SOUND: FOOTSTEPS MOVING AWAY – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: (AT A DISTANCE) I’ve found some shelves carved out of the cave wall. There are a lot of books – leather bound – like the journal we found in the cellar.
BRIGITTE: (CONCERNED) Don’t touch them!
ANTOINE: Don’t worry, Brigitte. I won’t do so unprotected. There are some gloves here that should suffice.
TESS: (AT A DISTANCE) Wow! In the middle, there’s a large… pit or arena. It’s full of animal bones. And on this side there’s a pair of – well I’m not sure – a pair of rough-hewn sarcophagi. It’s almost like a shrine. They’re occupied. (DISGUSTED) Ew! The remains are mummified but without bandages. One is horribly burned. The other would pass for alive if the skin wasn’t so stretched and emaciated over the bones. I would have thought the moisture in the air would have destroyed them both long ago.
ANTOINE: (AT A DISTANCE) Do you think, maybe, they could be Mauvais and his son? Whoever is behind this, certainly has an obsession with collecting things related to my family history and the curse. Hmmm. Some of these journals are so old they are starting to crumble. I dare not open them. (BEAT) I recognize the titles from some of these books, though. I’d be willing to bet that they have been taken directly from the Chateau’s library. (BEAT) Hmmm, this is strange.
TESS: Hang on, I’m coming over to you.
SOUND: FOOTSTEPS – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: What have you found?
ANTOINE: These journals. The handwriting is the same, no matter how far back I go and… wait, look back there, behind the journals. There appears to be a wooden panel. If I use my pocket knife, I can just…
SOUND: WOOD BEING PRIED OPEN – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: Yes, I think these might be the controls.
CHARLES: Mwhahahahahaha. I think I have indulged this long enough.
SOUND: FOUR ZIP LINES (NETS PULL OUR HEROES UP TO THE CEILING).
TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE, GAVROSH: (UNDER) Whoah, Help, (BRIGITTE SHRIEKS) Aaargh, Ugh. Etc.
CHARLES: So, there you are, held in my nets. I have you, dangling from the roof, like kittens in sacks waiting to be drowned. Mwahahahahaha.
MUSIC: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
MUSIC: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

I’m aware of Tess’s urgency about tying the knot, but mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

GAVROSH: I am a boy, full of mischief and fun, but now frightened beyond words by the events surrounding me. My sister has been lost and I am so very, very afraid that I will be next.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

The Alchemist

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The Alchemist – Episode 3 – Hell’s Chateau

Philip Robotham — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 16:52:08 +0000

Below we present the complete text of “Hell’s Chateau”, episode 3 of our new Two Fisted Cosmic Horror serial; The Alchemist. This is a brand new (unpublished) series (featuring Antoine Duvalier and Brigitte LeGrande). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

Two-Fisted Cosmic Horror – CH001 – The Alchemist

Recommended for mature audiences – may contain adult situations and themes

THE ALCHEMIST

EPISODE #3 – HELL’S CHATEAU

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

CC by-nc-nd 4.0

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #6: The Alchemist

HELL’S CHATEAU

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter

TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer

ANTOINE Duvalier: COMTE of the CHATEAU Duvalier

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: Childhood friend of Antoine’s

VILLAGERS #1- #3: Attendees of the funeral

PRIEST: Priest officiating the funeral

GAVROSH: Child from Village

CHARLES: Son of the Alchemist

SCENE 10: (EXT) FUNERAL (PRIEST, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE, TRENT, TESS, VILLAGERS)

MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
NARRATOR: Visiting with their friend, Comte Antoine Duvalier and his companion Brigitte LeGrande, Tess and Trent learn the details of the ancient family curse that afflicts Antoine’s house. Now they attend the funeral of Pierre, the recently deceased family retainer, for whose funeral Antoine has returned.
SOUND: OUTSIDE AMBIANCE, OCCASIONAL BIRD, LIGHT BREEZE – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
PRIEST: (FADE IN) O God, whose Son Jesus Christ was laid in a tomb: bless, we pray, this grave as the place where the body of Pierre your servant may rest in peace, through your Son, who is the resurrection and the life; who died and is alive and reigns with you now and forever. Comfort those who have been left behind and raise Pierre to life eternal on the last day. Amen.
ALL: Amen
VILLAGERS AND ANTOINE: (VARIOUS TOWNSFOLK GIVING MURMURED CONDOLENCES TO ANTOINE AND ANTOINE GIVING MUTED THANKS).
TESS: (UNDERTONE) You, know Trent. I still don’t understand why Pierre kept that document from Antoine. You’d think it would have helped him to prepare himself against the future.
TRENT: Perhaps Pierre didn’t believe in the curse either. Perhaps he wished to protect Antoine. Who knows? I think we can safely assume that the reason is now buried with Pierre and will likely never be known.
TESS: I guess. (BEAT) Do we know how Pierre died?
TRENT: The porter at the train station said something about a heart attack. Why? What are you thinking?
TESS: Perhaps I’m being paranoid, but Pierre’s death would be one of the few things that would guarantee Antoine’s return home… if someone were plotting to kill him. Of course, it could all be a simple, if odd, coincidence.
TRENT: It could. There are too many options on the table (both natural and supernatural). We need to start narrowing some of these possibilities down.
TESS: Mmmm.
PRIEST: (FADE UP) My dear Comte, I am so sorry for your loss. And you my dear… my condolences. Pierre will be missed by all of us.
BRIGITTE: Thank you, Father. The service was beautiful.
SOUND: STEPS APPROACH – LET THEM FINISH.
ANTOINE: Well, I guess that is it. So short a ceremony seems a small and inadequate remembrance for all the years of a life. We really are like leaves in the wind, are we not? Here today and gone tomorrow.
BRIGITTE: Pierre remains, Antoine. In your heart and mind, as also in mine. This is the fate of us all eventually. The natural order plays out as it has done for countless millennia, and will do, for countless more.
TRENT: I doubt he would have wished you to fall into melancholy, Antoine, Brigitte. Honour his passing in the only way anyone can. Remember him with fondness and determine to make the most of the time you have been given.
ANTOINE: And how long do you think that will be Monsieur Stone?
TRENT: That remains to be seen Antoine, but if I have anything to say about it I expect you to live a long and happy life. Come, I think it is time you showed us this Chateau of yours.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 11 (EXT) CHATEAU GROUNDS (TRENT, TESS, BRIGITTE, ANTOINE)

SOUND: CAR DRIVES UP AND COMES TO A STOP – LET IT FINISH.
SOUND: CAR DOORS OPEN AND CLOSE – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Whoah! I had no idea!
TRENT: Indeed.
ANTOINE: Welcome to my humble home.
TESS: I’m glad you’re smiling while you say that. I mean, you said your family chateau had withstood war, but…
TRENT: Yes. I have to admit to being rather surprised as well. It’s…
ANTOINE: Enormous? Yes. A castle? Also true. But most of it is uninhabitable. Crumbling towers, rotted floors. And though I have the wealth, I have little inclination toward doing the repairs. Come on, we are staying in the guest house. It’s around the back and the only liveable part of the place… It is also where I grew up and feel most at home.
BRIGITTE: Antoine, look out!
SOUND: SMASH OF MASONRY – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: It came from up there. (BEAT) That was close!
ANTOINE: As I said, crumbling towers. It’s a miracle the place is standing at all.
CHILD: (CREEPY CHILDISH GIGGLING LAUGHTER IN THE DISTANCE) Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
TESS: Did you hear that? Where did it come from?
TRENT: Up there, I think Tess, on the castle roof.
ANTOINE: (DISGUSTED) Kids! (BEAT) (TO TRENT TESS AND BRIGITTE) Don’t look so put out. They break into the castle sometimes… as a dare.
TRENT: They might have killed you!
ANTOINE: But they didn’t. If there really is a curse at work, I suspect it would result in something more likely of success than this series of near misses. Let’s go get unpacked.
TESS: But what about the trespassers?
TRENT: Yes, you do seem to be taking this with a surprising lack of concern, Antoine.
ANTOINE: They are just village children. We’ll go around to the guest house and give them a chance to make good their escape. We’ll come back later and make sure they are gone.
TESS: (DOUBTFUL) If you think that’s best…
ANTOINE: I do. Brigitte? Your arm?
BRIGITTE: (CHEERFUL) Oh, Antoine, is it good to be home?
ANTOINE: I am warming up to it.
SOUND: FEET START WALKING AWAY – FADE UNDER
TESS: (UNDERTONE) I’m beginning to feel there’s something really screwy going on here.
TRENT: (MUSING) Yes… I’m beginning to agree. And our host is beginning to slip back into the role of the young aristocrat.
TESS: How so?
TRENT: He’s left us to carry his bags.
MUSIC: IRONIC SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 12: (INT) THE GUEST HOUSE AT THE CHATEAU (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE)

TESS: Ugh!
SOUND: CLONK OF SUITCASES – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: What have you got in here, Brigitte? Bowling balls?
BRIGITTE: Oh, no! Tess, you didn’t bring those bags all the way up here on your own?
TRENT: Ugh!
SOUND: CLONK OF A SUITCASES – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: Nope. I helped.
BRIGITTE: (LAUGHING) Oh, Antoine, look what has happened. We’ve been so caught up in our memories, we’ve neglected your new friends.
ANTOINE: I only wanted to show you around. We would have gone back for the car and driven it around here to unload.
TRENT: Now he tells us!
TESS: (LAUGHING) Oh, the exercise will have done us good.
BRIGITTE: If you say so. At least you will work up an appetite.
TESS: Speaking of which, what’s cooking? We’re several hours past my usual lunch time and I’m starved.
TRENT: And before you suggest it, Miss Carter doesn’t cook.
TESS: Hey!
TRENT: Should I list your culinary disasters by date or would you prefer me to do it alphabetically?
TESS: It’s probably true, but you still shouldn’t say it.
TRENT: (DRILY) Uh-huh.
BRIGITTE: Well. It looks like it’s going to fall to me then.
TRENT: Oh no you don’t. I’m a dab hand in the kitchen. It’d be my pleasure.
ANTOINE: (DUBIOUS) Monsieur, you are in France. I’m not sure that…
TRENT: You can thank me later, Antoine. Just point me at the kitchen.
BRIGITTE: This way, Mr. Stone. The kitchen should still be fully stocked (or very nearly so).
SOUND: TWO SETS OF FOOTSTEPS DEPARTING. DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: So, Antoine, this is where you grew up.
ANTOINE: Yes. My brother and I. Pierre raised us in this house.
TESS: It’s lovely. How many bedrooms does it have?
ANTOINE: Six. All upstairs.
TESS: I’m still amazed at the size of your estate. I mean this was more like what I pictured when you mentioned a chateau. But this is only your guest-house.
ANTOINE: Well, it’s my home now. In fact, it always has been. Does it bother you?
TESS: Pardon?
ANTOINE: My wealth. Does it bother you? Only I noticed in America that many of your countrymen, while they admire money, are also a little intimidated by it.
TESS: Maybe. Just a little. I can happily sit in a tribal chieftains hut halfway up the Amazon… but I don’t spend a lot of time with the nobility.
ANTOINE: And I don’t spend a great deal of time among tribal chieftains. Most people either fear me or fawn over me. It makes it difficult to make friends.
TESS: Well, you’ve nothing to worry about there. I’ve never been afraid of much. And Trent will tell you I’m not the type to fawn over anyone.
ANTOINE: Not even your fiancé?
TESS: We have an understanding. We’re engaged but Trent doesn’t ask me to play the compliant doe-eyed girl-Friday and, in return, I don’t punch him in the nose.
ANTOINE: (LAUGHING) I see.
TESS: Actually, I rather hoped we’d have set a wedding date by now. He keeps finding new excuses to put it off.
ANTOINE: Men are always afraid of losing their freedom. He will come around. He is obviously head over heels for you.
TESS: You think so? I’d occasionally like him to loosen up a little and show it. He’s always so stuffy and tense.
ANTOINE: He’s a man of honor. He maintains a greater distance than is strictly necessary out of a desire to show you respect… but he is always aware of you, even when you are away from him. You are a team, in many ways a well-oiled machine, and I think he fears the impact marriage will have on your partnership.
TESS: You know Antoine, I was wrong when I suggested you were rather thick back at the cafe. You’re way more perceptive than I at first thought.
ANTOINE: Why thank you, mademoiselle.
TESS: So is that why you are so reserved with Brigitte?
ANTOINE: What? No! She loved my brother. It would be… no! You misunderstand.
TESS: Actually, I take it back. You are as clueless as you at first seemed. (BEAT AND SUDDENLY SERIOUS) That was a long time ago, Antoine. You were still kids when that was true (if it ever really was). Brigitte has not been in love with your brother for a very long time.
ANTOINE: But then? Why has she continued to…?
TESS: Here it comes. The penny is about to drop. (BEAT) Antoine, I think you’d best do some thinking about this. She’s waited a fairly long time. But nobody waits forever.
SOUND: DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: And so I return, voila, bearing our luncheon, though well into the afternoon we may be. Stale bread, a selection of cheeses and some sausage that was hanging in the larder. I doubt even you could mess this up, Tess.
TESS: Never set me a challenge. (BEAT) Where’s Brigitte?
TRENT: She said something about getting some wine from the cellar. I’m sure she’ll be along in just a…
SOUND: DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES AGAIN – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: And here she is.
BRIGITTE: And what is a meal without wine? It simply wouldn’t be French!
ANTOINE: Wonderful. Why don’t we take it on the patio? The day is gorgeous and the wine will help cover the taste of the stale bread. After that we’ll bring the car around, unpack and go into the chateau to make sure our unwanted guests are gone.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 13: (INT) THE CHATEAU (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE)

SOUND: DOOR CREAKS SHUT – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: You should think about renting this place out as a haunted house with a door like that.
ANTOINE: It’s not as bad as all that. (BEAT) We’ve got electric light…
SOUND: CLICK – LET IT FINISH.
SOUND: HUM OF ELECTRIC LIGHT – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
ANTOINE: … and a telephone.
TESS: All the modern conveniences, I see.
ANTOINE: You mock, but we even have a radio transmitter in the north tower.
TRENT: So, what now?
ANTOINE: Now, I will give you a very thorough (LOUDLY) and loud (BACK TO NORMAL) tour of the chateau. We’ll leave the door open so that the kids can escape if, by any chance, they are still here, and we’ll go and see if the kitchen window is broken – that’s where they usually get in.
BRIGITTE: Antoine, you are too soft-hearted by half. Anyone else would call the gendarmerie.
ANTOINE: I still remember what it was like to be young and irresponsible. Come let me show you around. This is, of course, the main entrance hall with, as you can see, the great candelabra and stairs leading to the high balcony… (FADE OUT)
ANTOINE: (FADE IN)… and here we come to one of the areas we have had to close off. The floors are now too rotted and dangerous. In the days of the chateau’s grandeur, however, this passageway led to the upper balconies around the…
BRIGITTE: Sacre bleu!
TESS: Brigitte, what’s the matter?
BRIGITTE: Over there, against the wall. I thought it was a pile of rags. It’s…
TRENT: A body. A child’s body.
SOUND: STEP AND CREAKING BOARD – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: No, wait! This floor is deadly. I’m not sure it will support our weight. (BEAT) I’ll go. I’ll follow the beams.
TESS: Be careful.
SOUND: SLOW CREAKING STEPS, THEN SOME ACCELERATED STEPS – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: I’m here. It’s a little girl. Her neck is broken. The body’s cool but there are no signs of putrefaction. I’d say this had to have happened very recently. I don’t think she fell either. The roof’s intact. I can’t see anywhere she could have fallen from.
TESS: Murder, then.
TRENT: Yes, I think so.
BRIGITTE: (DISTRAUGHT) The poor child.
TRENT: Antoine, I think we’d better use that phone of yours and call the police.
SOUND: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 14: (INT) ENTRANCE HALL (TRENT, TESS, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE)

SOUND: PHONE HANDSET CLICKING – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: Hello! Operator! Is anyone there?
SOUND: PHONE HANDSET CLICKING – LET IT FINISH.
ANTOINE: I think the line has been cut.
SOUND: SHORT CIRCUIT ZAP AND CRACKLE – LET IT FINISH.
BRIGITTE: And there go the lights.
TESS: No wait, I can see some light coming from the Guest House. It must still have… actually something’s wrong there too. It’s flickering oddly.
TRENT: It’s on fire. The guest house is burning.
ANTOINE: No! I have to…
TRENT: No Antoine, it’s too late. You’ll only get yourself killed going in there now. That blaze has taken the whole building.
ANTOINE: Argh. What is happening here?
TRENT: I don’t know, but I think things are escalating. Can we take the car back down to the village?
BRIGITTE: We should be able to…
SOUND: EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Or not! It appears that someone wants us to stay put.
GAVROSH: No! Oh no! Please, leave me alone!
SOUND: BRIEF DISTANT RUNNING CHILD’S FOOTSTEPS – FADE.
TRENT: It does, doesn’t it. And I think someone’s dangling some bait right in front of us.
TESS: It’d be a shame to keep them waiting, now, wouldn’t it?
TRENT: I agree. Come on. Up the stairs, let’s get this over with.
MUSIC: ACTION SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 15: (INT) UPSTAIRS IN THE CHATEAU (TRENT, TESS, BRIGITTE, ANTOINE, GAVROSH)

SOUND: RUNNING FEET (THE GROUP) – LET IT FINISH.
BRIGITTE: Can one of you explain to me the reason we are running towards danger?
TRENT: Danger is never overcome by running away.
BRIGITTE: I don’t know, Monsieur Stone… he who fights and runs away…? Sometimes the wisest course does not take you directly into the firing line
TRENT: Perhaps, but not today. I have never been considered particularly wise, so today we fight. (BEAT) Wait…
SOUND: CHILD’S RUNNING FEET, DOOR CLOSES – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: Down there. Quickly.
SOUND: QUICK FOOTSTEPS – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: (STAGE WHISPER) I think our little trespasser is inside this room. Antoine, where does it lead?
ANTOINE: (STAGE WHISPER) It’s nothing but a cloakroom. No way out. All it contains is a wardrobe.
TRENT: Okay…
SOUND: DOOR CREAKS OPEN – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: (STAGE WHISPER) Trent… in the cupboard.
TRENT: I see it.
SOUND: CREAKING FOOTSTEPS (GROUP) – LET IT FINISH.
GAVROSH: (WHIMPERING IN FEAR)
TRENT: It’s alright, we know you’re in there!
SOUND: CUPBOARD DOOR OPENING – LET IT FINISH.
GAVROSH: No! He’ll kill me. We were only supposed to scare you away. I can’t find Marielle and he is trying to kill us!
TESS: Easy, son. My name’s Tess. What’s yours?
GAVROSH: (SNIFFLING) I’m Gavrosh.
TESS: Who’s trying to kill you, Gavrosh? We can help you if you’ll let us.
GAVROSH: The banker. He paid my sister and me to come here and try to scare the Comte. But then we got scared and tried to leave. He got Marielle. I heard her scream. I was hiding and I ran away. I’m such a coward.
TESS: Easy Gavrosh, you’re just a little boy. How old are you? Eight?
GAVROSH: Yes.
TESS: It’s going to be all right. But right now, we have to get you out of here. Come on.
GAVROSH: Yes, mademoiselle.
SOUND: FAINT CREAKING ROPE – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
BRIGITTE: Does anyone else hear that?
ANTOINE: Yes, it sounds like it is coming from the hall.
TRENT: Everyone back outside. We need to take a look.
SOUND: FOOTSTEPS – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: It’s coming from around this corner its…
SOUND: MORE FOOTSTEPS – LET IT FINISH.
SOUND: CREAKING ROPE – FADE UP.
BRIGITTE: Oh. Oh dear!
TESS: Is that?
TRENT: Yes. The corpse looks pretty fresh.
TESS: Suicide?
TRENT: Maybe. There’s something about the noose that doesn’t look quite right, though. Here, Antoine, help me (GRUNT) get it down.
ANTOINE: Ugh! The smell.
SOUND: HEAVY BODY DROP – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: Ugh! It’s even worse now.
TRENT: I think we can rule out suicide. He’s been disemboweled.
TESS: Antoine, do you recognize him?
ANTOINE: Yes. And so do you. It is Monsieur Taggart from the Bank.
TESS: Oh, how awful.
BRIGITTE: (DARKLY) It couldn’t have happened to a nicer man. (BEAT) (DEFENSIVELY) What? (BEAT) We were all thinking it.
TESS: Antoine, is there any reason why Monsieur Taggart would hire children to try and scare you away?
BRIGITTE: He was quite vocal in his opposition to Antoine taking over management of the estate. I suspect he wished it to fall to him and the bank. Perhaps, he thought he would be made a trustee.
ANTOINE: The idiot. I would never have trusted him with the estate. In fact, it was my intention to find another bank as soon as possible. My brother was suspicious that Taggart had been skimming from our funds for some time.
TRENT: That’s all quite illuminating but it does fail to deal with one rather important question.
ANTOINE: And what’s that?
TRENT: If Monsieur Taggart didn’t kill himself, then who did?
MUSIC: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
MUSIC: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

I’m aware of Tess’s urgency about tying the knot, but mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

VILLAGERS: While not close to the family, we are sympathetic to the loss of the heir to the house of Du Valier. We have come out to the funeral to show our respects.

PRIEST: It is my job to offer comfort and counsel to those who are suffering grief. I perform the services to help the bereaved say their goodbyes.

GAVROSH: I am a boy, full of mischief and fun, but now frightened beyond words by the events surrounding me. My sister has been lost and I am so very, very afraid that I will be next.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

The Alchemist

The post The Alchemist – Episode 3 – Hell’s Chateau appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.

The Alchemist – Episode 2 – A Secret from the Past

Philip Robotham — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:13:11 +0000

Below we present the complete text of “A Secret from the Past”, episode 2 of our new Two Fisted Cosmic Horror serial; The Alchemist. This is a brand new (unpublished) series (featuring Antoine Duvalier and Brigitte LeGrande). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

Two-Fisted Cosmic Horror – CH001 – The Alchemist

Recommended for mature audiences – may contain adult situations and themes

THE ALCHEMIST

EPISODE #2 – A SECRET FROM THE PAST

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

CC by-nc-nd 4.0

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #6: The Alchemist

A SECRET FROM THE PAST

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter

TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer

ANTOINE Duvalier: COMTE of the CHATEAU Duvalier

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: Childhood friend of Antoine’s

BANKER: Owner of the local Bank

COMTE: Ancestor of Antoine De Valier

COMTESSA: Ancestor of Antoine De Valier

SERVANT: A servant from Chateau De Valier

CAPTAIN: Captain of the Guard

SOLDIER #1 – #3: Soldiers from the Chateau

MAUVAIS: Alchemist

CHARLES: Son of the Alchemist

Act 2

SCENE 5: (INT) HOTEL AT BREAKFAST – NEXT MORNING (TRENT, ANTOINE, TESS, BRIGITTE)

MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
NARRATOR: On meeting Comte Antoine Duvalier and learning of his family curse, Tess and Trent agree to travel to France with him as his guests. Shortly after their arrival the Comte, in the company of the charming Brigitte LeGrande, is nearly run down in a motor accident.
SOUND: MORNING BUSTLE – BREAKFAST – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
ANTOINE: Monsieur Stone, I will not skulk about like a frightened rabbit.
TRENT: I’m not asking you to. I just think some sensible precaution is in order. It was you who asked us to join your company on the off chance there was a real danger. It would seem foolish to ignore our advice now.
ANTOINE: We don’t even know if I was the target. It may just have been a coincidence. Monsieur Drummond, the driver of the car, is not a popular man in the village. He may have been the intended victim and we may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
TRENT: Do you really believe that?
ANTOINE: It is not a ridiculous assertion. He was the one most likely to be hurt and I can’t see how the perpetrator could have had any certainty that I would be in the path of the vehicle when the brakes actually failed.
TRENT: But if a supernatural agency is involved…?
ANTOINE: I suppose anything is possible once you admit the supernatural, but given Miss Carter’s insistence that the brake line was cut with a knife, I’m willing to bet it was the result of a more corporeal agent.
TRENT: Fair enough. I’ll grant you that much. But I’m not convinced you were not the target and I think…
TESS: (INTERRUPTING) Good morning boys. I see you’ve started on breakfast already. No sign of Brigitte yet?
TRENT: Not yet, I have a feeling you kept her up into the wee hours.
TESS: Just girl talk. She’s really something, Antoine. You’ve certainly got good taste…
ANTOINE: I’m sorry, Mademoiselle Carter, I think you are making a mistake. Brigitte and I are not…
TESS: (INTERRUPTING) even if you are a little slow on the uptake.
TRENT: (WARNING) Tess.
TESS: Anyway, what are you fellas talking about? It looked like there was some heat being generated when I walked in.
TRENT: I was asking Antoine if he would let me go to the bank on his behalf. I’m not happy about yesterday’s (BEAT) “accident”.
ANTOINE: And I was saying that I won’t be coddled like an infant. I’ve only the one appointment, at the bank, then the funeral, and then we can head up to the chateau. Once back on the estate, I should be perfectly safe from careening cars. I don’t get a lot of traffic through the property after all.
TESS: I wouldn’t try to do jokes if I were you, Antoine. You don’t have the timing for it.
ANTOINE: (AHEM) Just so. Perhaps if I could…(BEAT)
TESS: Er, Antoine? You seemed to trail off there at the… oh, Brigitte, here you are.
BRIGITTE: Good morning.
TRENT: Good morning Brigitte. You’re looking lovely this morning. Do I detect a little of Tess’ influence?
BRIGITTE: Mademoiselle Carter suggested the dress might be more suitable for the funeral than my usual attire.
TESS: The tomboy look is charming in its own way, but every once in a while a girl wants to remind the world just how feminine she is.
BRIGITTE: You don’t think it is too much?
TESS: My dear, I think it is just enough. Antoine, close your mouth. You’ll catch flies.
ANTOINE: Oh, of course. Brigitte, you look splendid. I’m afraid we started breakfast without you.
BRIGITTE: Thank you, Antoine. I have been up for some time and ate in my room.
ANTOINE: In that case, the Bank opens shortly. Shall we?
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 6: (INT) BANK (TESS, TRENT, ANTOINE, BRIGITTE)

SOUND: FOOTSTEPS ON MARBLE – VIOLINS PLAYING – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
TESS: Violins? Really? And is this real marble we’re walking on?
TRENT: Pretty swish for a provincial bank.
ANTOINE: (EMBARRASSED) Er, yes. My family’s money. It has enriched the bank here. Monsieur Taggart Snr. was somewhat ostentatious.
BRIGITTE: Gaudy, more like, and lacking in both taste and a sense of propriety.
ANTOINE: Quite.
BRIGITTE: And that fawning popinjay of a son of his…
ANTOINE: Yes, yes. We’ll make our visit as quick as possible.
TESS: Just how rich are you exactly, Antoine?
ANTOINE: This… spectacle… is deceptive.
TESS: I’m glad to hear it. I was beginning to feel decidedly outclassed.
ANTOINE: I am only perhaps the eighth or ninth richest man in France.
TESS: Oh.
TRENT: Don’t mind her, Antoine. She’s just adjusting to the fact that the young man who met us in Star City could buy and sell her entire family.
ANTOINE: (PAINED) Please, this… this…
BRIGITTE: Show?
ANTOINE: Yes, this show. It is not who I am. I have been blessed with money, and I won’t deny that it has granted me an easy life, but I have not been the custodian of that money until… well, now. I barely know anything about it.
TESS: I think we’d better let him off the hook, eh Trent?
TRENT: Yes, I should think so. (TO ANTOINE) Pardon Tess’ sense of humor, Antoine. She does enjoy watching a man squirm.
ANTOINE: Ah, your famous American humor, yes?
TRENT: Yes. Though I think you had better be on the lookout for circling sharks and get yourself educated on your family finances as quickly as possible. Once the word gets out you will be besieged with offers and advice as to where you should put your money, and very little of it will be any good.
BRIGITTE: Speaking of which, here comes the Toady in Chief now.
BANKER: (UNCTUOUS AND OILY) Ah, Monsieur Duvalier, it is so good to see you returned at last. May I cordially…
ANTOINE: Enough, Taggart. I still remember our last meeting.
BANKER: Oh, but Monsieur, you mustn’t let such a small…
BRIGITTE: If I remember rightly, you spat on Antoine and told him he was too incompetent to ever be manager of the family estate. Admittedly, you were only seventeen at the time, but such things do have a tendency to stay in the memory.
BANKER: (WITH GREAT DISTASTE) Ah, Brigitte, I didn’t see you there. (UNCTUOUS AGAIN) Obviously, I very much regret any…
ANTOINE: Before this descends into more words we may all have cause to regret, I believe you have some papers for me.
BANKER: Er, yes. Yes, of course. But the introductions have yet to be concluded…?
ANTOINE: (SIGHS) How very like you. You never were comfortable until you knew the social standing of those you were addressing. It must be tiresome entering every new situation without knowing whether you need to be fawning or condescending.
Monsieur Taggart, may I present Monsieur Stone and Mademoiselle Carter of the United States?
BANKER: (WITH SUPREME DISTASTE) Charmed.
TESS: (ANGRY) Likewise.
TRENT: (SOTO VOCE) Easy Tess. I really don’t want the embarrassment of having to bail you out of jail on an assault charge while we are guests of the Comte.
TESS: (SOTO VOCE) Alright. But he only gets one pass. I won’t be responsible for what happens if this little upstart…
TRENT: (SOTO VOCE) Alright. But for now, behave yourself.
ANTOINE: Now, the papers if you please.
BANKER: Of course, come this way. Your guests can wait…
ANTOINE: My guests will remain by my side. Understood?
BANKER: Uh… yes, of course. Please, come this way. The box containing the papers is over here. This is the key.
ANTOINE: Thankyou. (BEAT) You may go.
BANKER: Oh, er, of course…
SOUND: BANKER DEPARTING – FADE OUT.
TESS: And not a moment too soon.
TRENT: An odd combination of the obsequious and the odious.
ANTOINE: Yes, he does have a gift for rubbing people the wrong way. But his kind of petty malice holds little interest right now. This box on the other hand…
SOUND: LID CREAKS OPEN – LET IT FINISH.
BRIGITTE: What is all that? Correspondence?
ANTOINE: Mostly. And his will. But this… this is vellum.
TESS: Vellum?
ANTOINE: Calf-skin. Used as an expensive form of writing paper in ages past. It’s a small package and the ink is faded.
BRIGITTE: Well, don’t keep us in suspense. Tell us what it says.
ANTOINE: I’ll have to translate as we go…
Here, 1276. This is old indeed. I wonder how Pierre came to have it in his possession?
BRIGITTE: Just read it.
ANTOINE: Fine. Fine. It reads as follows…
I know little of what to make of these sad events. With my husband’s death it falls to me… (FADE OUT)
CONTESSA: (FADE IN) With my husband’s death it falls to me to record what has happened. The tale is a sorry one and the wounds are still fresh…
MUSIC: HARP TRANSITION – LET IT FINISH

SCENE 7: (INT) THE CHATEAU (COMTE, CONTESSA, SERVANT)

COMTE: I tell you it’s just not right. The man’s a glorified serf.
CONTESSA: Do not underestimate him. He has learned much and could be a valuable man.
COMTE: (SNEERING) Michel Mauvais, nicknamed “the Evil”, and his son, Charles, nicknamed “the Sorcerer”. Alchemists, yet? Diabolists if you ask me!
CONTESSA: Don’t confuse alchemy with diabolism. They are searching for the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life. I don’t believe that nonsense about consorting with devils etc. Villager superstition can be dangerous.
COMTE: Bah! They have an evil reputation amongst the villagers. They keep to themselves, and some claim Mauvais burned his wife alive as a sacrifice to the Devil. There have been disappearances among the peasant children that many lay at his door. Mauvais and his son are not natural. Peasantry who can read! Of course, they’re consorting with devils. They’ll be engaged in all manner of unnatural rites if you ask me.
SOUND: RUNNING FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING – LET IT FINISH.
SERVANT: My Lord! My Lord! We cannot find him. Godfrey, your youngest son, is missing.
CONTESSA: (PANICKED) What?
COMTE: (FURIOUS) What? Gather my personal guard. They’ve gone too far this time.
SERVANT: (UNDER) Guards! The Comte requires your assemblage in the main hall. Guards!
CONTESSA: Who? No, you don’t really think it was them? The alchemist and his son aren’t stupid. There is no way they could have done this. Where’s the proof?
COMTE: Proof? I don’t need proof. And if you think I will give them time to cover their activities by waiting for proof to emerge, you are VERY much mistaken.
Guardsmen? To me! (DEPARTING)
SOUND: RUNNING FEET – FADE OUT.
MUSIC: SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 8: (EXT) OUTSIDE MAUVAIS’ HUT (COMTE, CAPTAIN, MAUVAIS)

SOUND: NIGHT AMBIANCE (CRICKETS ETC.) ESTABLISH AND UNDER
CAPTAIN: The men are in position, m’Lord. We await your orders.
COMTE: Piddling little place isn’t it? Just a hut. And a long way from the main village.
CAPTAIN: Yes, m’Lord.
COMTE: (SNEERING) Yes, m’Lord? Is that all you can manage, Captain? This Mauvais and his son are using the distance to mask their nefarious activities.
CAPTAIN: Yes, m’Lord.
COMTE: (IMPATIENT) Oh, very well. Kick in his door.
CAPTAIN: Yes, m’Lord. Lucrece? Now!
SOUND: DOOR CRACKING OPEN – LET IT FINISH.
SOUND: MEN RUSHING ABOUT – SHUFFLING BANGS AND BUMPS – UNDER.
MAUVAIS: What is the meaning of this?
COMTE: Don’t move Mauvais. We have caught you red handed. Where is my son?
SOLDIER #1: What is that smell? It’s rancid.
SOLDIER #2: It’s coming from the Cauldron on the fire.
MAUVAIS: No. Don’t touch that!
SOLDIER #1: Captain, there is no one else here.
CAPTAIN: No sign of Godfrey, or of Mauvais’ son?
SOLDIER #2: No sign of either.
COMTE: Where is my son, Mauvais. Where…
SOUND: BUBBLING (UNDER)
COMTE: [CUE] No! No, not that. Where is my son, Mauvais? Is he boiling? Is he boiling in that pot? Have you killed him? Where is he, Mauvais, tell me now? Where is my son?
MAUVAIS: M’Lord. I don’t. Ack! (CHOKING NOISES)
CAPTAIN: M’Lord. You are killing him!
COMTE: Have you killed my son, Mauvais? Are you boiling him in that pot?
MAUVAIS: (CHOKING NOISES).
COMTE: I will show you what we do with murderers Mauvais. I’ll show you.
SOUND: NECK SNAPPING – LET IT FINISH.
MAUVAIS: (DEATH SIGH) Ugh!
SOUND: BODY DROP – LET IT FINISH.
CAPTAIN: You have killed him, my Lord.
COMTE: Captain, douse the flames. I want…
SERVANT: (AT A DISTANCE – APPROACHING) M’Lord! M’Lord! News from the Castle.
COMTE: What new deviltry is this?
SERVANT: (RUSHING IN OUT OF BREATH) M’Lord. The Comtesse sends me with glad news. Your son has been found in the North Tower. He was hiding from his nurse.
COMTE: (HORRIFIED) What?!
MUSIC: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 9: (EXT) MARCHING TO THE CHATEAU (COMTE, CAPTAIN, MEN, CHARLES)

SOUND: NIGHT AMBIANCE – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
SOUND: TRUDGING – ESTABLISH AND UNDER (CONTINUE TO 302)
COMTE: Did your men have to put the hut to the flame, Captain?
CAPTAIN: It seemed prudent.
COMTE: And what of Charles, the old man’s son?
CAPTAIN: He will have cause to believe a tragic accident has occurred… and perhaps he will depart from this place.
COMTE: Hmmm. Perhaps? It would be fortuitous if something good were to come of this mess. (BEAT) And your men?
CAPTAIN: Sworn to secrecy and loyal to a man.
COMTE: I am glad to hear it.
CHARLES: (ALMOST INCOHERENT WITH RAGE) Are you indeed?
SOUND: TRUDGING HALTS.
CAPTAIN: Who goes there? What is your business?
CHARLES: I am Charles, son of Mauvais. I have been gathering herbs in the woods. Now I am returning home. But, if I heard you correctly, my home is no more. You have burned it, and my father within it.
CAPTAIN: Come no closer! (ASIDE) Where is he, can any of you see him?
SOLDIER #1: No, Captain. He is without the range of the torches.
CHARLES: So, you don’t deny it. It is true, then. My father, who did nothing to you, is dead! (BEAT) And you stay silent. Can it be shame that stills your tongue? (BEAT) Then I shall speak.
You, Comte of the House De Valier, are a coward and a fool! I curse you. I curse you and your line.
“May ne’er a noble of thy murd’rous line
Survive to reach a greater age than thine!”
CAPTAIN: Look out M’Lord! He’s thrown something.
SOUND: SPLASH, THEN FLAMES – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
COMTE: (SCREAMS IN AGONY) Argh! Arghhh! Put it out. Put it out! Aaaarrgh!
CAPTAIN: He has set the Comte ablaze. You men, try to smother the flames. You others, find that cursed alchemist’s son!
CHARLES: (FADE OUT ALL OTHER BACKGROUND) (ECHOING) Mwahahahaha!
MUSIC: HARP TRANSITION – LET IT FINISH.
COMTESSE: I know not what form of fire it was that the alchemist lit upon my husband. It could not be beaten out and spread to any that tried to assist him. He succumbed to his wounds two nights past. Charles the son of the alchemist called Mauvais is gone, escaped into the woods. As for his curse, we shall see how much power there was in it. I have recorded it all here against the possibility that it may, in fact, be real. (FADE OUT)
ANTOINE: (FADE IN) I have recorded it all here against the possibility that it may, in fact, be real. (LONG BEAT) Well, what are we to make of that?
TRENT: More and less than you might think.
ANTOINE: What do you mean?
BRIGITTE: You don’t think the curse is real? I’ll admit the short lives of the males in Antoine’s line date back to the year of this document… but beyond that?
TRENT: Tess, do you want to take this?
TESS: That Charles attempted to curse the De Valier line is clear, but this rhyming piece of doggerel wouldn’t do it… at least not typically.
BRIGITTE: I don’t understand?
TESS: Magic… real magic, isn’t a simple matter of a few rhyming statements. It takes power, blood, and, most importantly, preparation. I’ve never heard of a familial curse arising spontaneously like this.
TRENT: I have… once… It’s possible, where there is enough hate involved, and power, and death. The burning of the Comte might have provided the death. Charles might have had sufficient innate power… but still, something doesn’t feel right. Whatever this is, I don’t believe it is the result of a curse.
ANTOINE: Hmm. I think we’ll take these documents with us. The funeral is only an hour away. Let’s go.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
MUSIC: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

I’m aware of Tess’s urgency about tying the knot, but mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

BANKER: I do not like you. I grovel at your feet for your business (if you have money) of course but, in reality, I like you no more than I like these peasants. You all hate me, I know. But in the end, I will be richer than all of you and you’ll never be able to look down on me again.

COMTE: I can sum a person up in a moment and I am never wrong. Take that thieving cook we used to employ. I knew right away that she was a sneak thief. So what if she was never caught? I knew the truth and she was out on her ear. Apparently, she’s cooking for the King now.

COMTESSA: I find it difficult to manage this estate, what with my idiot husband making impulsive decisions at every turn. But nevertheless, I manage, and, since I took on the administration of our lands and vineyards we have begun generating a healthy profit.

SERVANT: My master is generous enough. He rarely looks at what we do as servants so the work is never too onerous. If I do catch his eye, it will occasionally mean I have to run an odd errand or two, but usually, life here is fine.

CAPTAIN: Captain of the Guard

SOLDIER #1 – #3: Soldiers from the Chateau

MAUVAIS: I am Mauvais, called “the evil” by the fools that live in the village and surrounding countryside. Such ignorance and superstition! Still, if I can convince the Comte of my genius, I will, at last, have a patron and a safe place to work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

The Alchemist

The post The Alchemist – Episode 2 – A Secret from the Past appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.

The Alchemist – Episode 1 – The Family Curse

Philip Robotham — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 19:12:44 +0000

Below we present the complete text of “The Family Curse”, episode 1 of our new Two Fisted Cosmic Horror serial; The Alchemist. This is a brand new (unpublished) series (featuring Antoine Duvalier and Brigitte LeGrande). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

Two-Fisted Cosmic Horror – CH001 – The Alchemist

Recommended for mature audiences – may contain adult situations and themes

THE ALCHEMIST

EPISODE #1 – THE FAMILY CURSE

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

CC by-nc-nd 4.0

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #6: The Alchemist

THE FAMILY CURSE

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

TERESA CARTER: Our heroine and reporter

TRENT STONE: Our hero and adventurer

ANTOINE Duvalier: COMTE of the CHATEAU Duvalier

WAITER: A Waiter

PORTER: A French waiter

BRIGITTE LeGRANDE: Childhood friend of Antoine’s

DRIVER: Car driver who nearly crashes into Antoine

SFX: SFX operator (1 required)

Act 1

SCENE 1: (INT) THE METRO RESTAURANT – STAR CITY (ANTOINE, TRENT, TESS, WAITER)

MUSIC: OPENING THEME – LET IT FINISH.
SOUND: RESTAURANT WALLA – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
NARRATOR: Our fearless adventurers, Tess Carter and Trent Stone, somewhat to their surprise, find themselves meeting a young French Count, recently a student at Star City university, in one of the finest restaurants in town.
ANTOINE: Ah, Monsieur Stone. I am so glad you could make it on such short notice. And Mademoiselle Carter, you are even more beautiful than I expected.
TESS: Why thank you. It’s such a rare pleasure to meet a man who knows how to talk to a lady.
TRENT: Down, Tess. (TO ANTOINE) We could hardly refuse the offer of dinner at the most exclusive restaurant in town. It quite provoked our curiosity.
ANTOINE: As was my intention, monsieur.
TRENT: And the insistence of your friend, Howard Lovecraft, didn’t hurt. He’s made us promise to allow him to write the story – if indeed there is one to be written. Please, I’m Trent and this is Tess. We’d prefer to be a little less formal.
ANTOINE: Of course. And you must call me Antoine. Please, be seated.
TRENT AND TESS: Thankyou. Thanks.
SOUND: CHAIRS SCRAPING AS ALL SIT – LET IT FINISH.
TESS: I don’t believe I’ve ever met a genuine French Count before. You’ll forgive me if I thought you’d be… er, well,… a little older.
ANTOINE: Ah! Yes, I guess I do appear rather young to have inherited the title… (DARKLY) though it is not uncommon in my family. It belonged to my brother, Gaspard, who died a few short months ago…
TESS: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. My condolences for your loss.
ANTOINE: Thankyou. As it happens this is the main reason for my desire to speak with you. You see, I am the last of my line, Comte Antoine Duvalier of the Chateau Duvalier. It is an old house with an old history. The… er,… castle, I think you call it, has been attacked many times over the centuries, defying Barons, Counts, and even Kings, but never once has its halls resounded to the footsteps of an invader…
TRENT: A proud lineage, to be sure, but…
WAITER: Would you care to order at this time, sirs… madame?
TESS: Madame? Why you…
SOUND: SCRAPE OF CHAIR – UNDER.
TRENT: Easy, Tess. (TO THE WAITER) You’ll have to pardon my companion, she doesn’t take terribly well to being called “madame”.
WAITER: Oh, I apologize… Mademoiselle, is it? Please forgive the misstep.
TESS: (SIGHS) Oh, it’s alright. Perhaps we should let the Count, I mean Antoine, order for us. What do you say, Trent? We are his guests after all.
ANTOINE: Hmmm? Oh, of course. We will have the Chicken Chasseur, I think.
TRENT: That sounds fine.
WAITER: Very good, sir.
SOUND: WAITER DEPARTS – UNDER.
TRENT: Now, about the purpose of your visit?
ANTOINE: (BEAT)
TRENT: Antoine?
ANTOINE: I am sorry, Trent. English is not my mother tongue and it is not an easy tale to tell. A friend at the university suggested I speak with you. Howard Lovecraft? You mentioned him earlier?
TESS: Oh, yes. He’s an interesting young editor we met a few months ago at the Mayoral reception. The poor boy was positively terrified to find himself amongst all those swells and society types. We took pity on him and invited him to our table. He was actually quite an engaging, if morbid, talker, once we got past his shyness.
ANTOINE: Yes, he was very much a fish out of water that night.
TESS: You were there? I don’t believe we met.
ANTOINE: No, we didn’t. It was the night I received word of my brother’s death. Howard was my guest, but I departed early, insisting Howard stay behind and enjoy himself. It was a sign of my muddled frame of mind that I entertained, even for an instant, the notion that one as introverted as Howard would find such an evening anything less than a torment.
TESS: Yes, you did him no favors that night.
ANTOINE: Ah, but it is just as well, for if I had not left him behind, he would not have met you, and we would not now be here talking tonight.
TRENT: And around we come again, by a circuitous route, to the reason for this meeting.
ANTOINE: Forgive me. Perhaps it would be best if I begin at the beginning… with a story of my ancestry. You see, the reason I have asked you here tonight… the reason I am asking your aid concerns an ages old curse designed to take the life of the sons of my house before their thirty-second birthday.
TRENT: A curse, you say? Antoine, I believe you now have our undivided attention.
ANTOINE: My ancestors, at least my male ancestors, have all died young, every last one of them, dating back to medieval times. It would be something of a local joke if it were not actually taken so seriously. The villagers refer darkly to the “Duvalier Curse” and cross themselves.
TESS: But surely local superstition isn’t…
ANTOINE: You are right, of course. The locals are superstitious, and could easily be ignored on most subjects, but the facts of history are against us. With no male member of my family surviving beyond the age of thirty-two, we are a house stained with grief, and it is hard to dispel the rumors.
TRENT: Rumours?
ANTOINE: Nothing concrete of course. Just the usual village gossip. A local sorcerer supposedly cursed my family in ages past. No specifics. The stuff of long forgotten local legend.
TRENT: I see. And do you believe in this curse?
ANTOINE: I never have. My brother and I always scoffed at it. We were determined we would outlive the curse and show it to be nonsense.
TRENT: And now?
ANTOINE: Now? No. I still do not believe in it, not really. Gaspard’s death has shaken me, I admit. He was the picture of health and his death came so suddenly.
TESS: Please, I know it’s hard, but could you tell us the circumstances surrounding your brother’s death?
ANTOINE: Of course. Our father died when I was but an infant. He was killed in a hunting accident. My mother died bringing me into the world, but the local gossips say she died of a broken heart at the loss of my father and that my birth just furnished the excuse she needed to let go of her body.
TESS: How cruel. I’d like to give your local gossips a piece of my mind, I think.
ANTOINE: It matters little now, it is all in the past. My older brother and I were raised by the family retainer, Pierre. He was a kindly man, good-natured and firm. He raised us well. My brother wore the title of Comte from before the age of four. He was compelled by the duties associated with the estate to remain at home while I have had the opportunity to come and study here in America – I made the acquaintance of Howard at the Star City University. I know little enough about Gaspard’s death beyond the fact that he died sitting at his desk working on the accounts. He was found by Pierre, and, from all reports, there was not a mark upon him. He had simply died. The coroner reported it as a natural death, more, I believe, from mystification than any real ability to fathom the cause of it.
TRENT: And this hasn’t altered your opinion regarding the curse?
ANTOINE: It has not.
TESS: Then forgive me, I don’t quite see…
ANTOINE: It is Howard’s idea, actually. He is not as convinced as I am. Pierre, our retainer, has died and I must, once again, return home – first for the funeral and then to stay on. The estate is now untenanted and will quickly fall into disrepair. When last I returned, for Gaspard’s funeral, I didn’t even go up to the Chateau. It was just before my final examinations so, needless to say, my visit was kept as short as propriety would allow. Since my return to America, I have been postponing my return home, leaving the running of the estate in the hands of Pierre. Now that he is gone… well, the last excuse I have to avoid the estate has disappeared with him.
TESS: Are you truly so afraid of the place?
ANTOINE: No, not afraid. But it is full of memories of Gaspard and now Pierre, and it will seem very sad and lonely after experiencing the excitement, stimulation and social life of Star City and its university. The chateau is situated in a very provincial and rural community. I am going to miss it here.
TRENT: I see.
ANTOINE: No, I do not fear to return. But, Howard does fear for me. He is convinced there are forces in the universe that we would do well to be cautious about and suggested I ask you to accompany me on my return. I am now independently wealthy and, with any luck, you will be able to return here having enjoyed a very pleasant holiday. If Howard’s fears are founded, which I am sure they are not, and it turns out that my life is genuinely under threat from an ancient curse, then your expertise in such matters may come in quite handy.
TRENT: You say none of the male members of your family have ever lived to see their thirty-second birthday. How long, if I may ask, do you…
ANTOINE: I will be thirty-two in two and a half weeks time. I know the notice is short but…
TRENT: Well, Tess? What do you say?
TESS: Hot Dog! A chance at seeing Paris in the springtime? Do you even have to ask?
TRENT: Well, Monsieur Le Comte, we would be glad to accompany you on your return home. We’ve been in need of a holiday and, while I share your skepticism about the curse, there really are some features of your story that interest me.
ANTOINE: Wonderful. I am very glad to hear it… and, but look, here comes our dinner…
WAITER: Monsieurs and Mademoiselle, forgive the interruption but your dinner is served.
SOUND: CLINKING OF CUTLERY ETC. AS FOOD IS PLACED ON THE TABLE – FADE OUT.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 2: (EXT) TRAIN PLATFORM – MID AFTERNOON (PORTER, ANTOINE)

SOUND: (WALLA) BUSTLING TRAIN STATION.
ANTOINE: Well, here we are. This is the village nearest my home.
TESS: Can we see the chateau from here?
ANTOINE: No, not from here. It is just beyond that line of hills, at the base of the mountains. It’s out of sight, but not that far really. You’ll see it soon enough.
PORTER: Monsieur Le Comte? Ah, I thought it was you. Welcome home! Welcome home. You look fit and well.
ANTOINE: Ah, Ronsard, it is good to be home… I think…
PORTER: Yes, we were all sorry to hear of Pierre’s death. He has looked after you and your family for so long. The news of his heart failure came as a shock to all of us. Shall I arrange for rooms here in the village? Mademoiselle Brigitte is waiting for you in the annex. I will take your bags.
ANTOINE: Stop fussing, Ronsard. I can carry my own bags… and I did not expect to find Brigitte here. Though you might ask after my guests. This is Mademoiselle Tess Carter and Monsieur Trent Stone.
PORTER: Of course, I apologize. Can I see to your luggage?
TRENT: No, no. That’s fine. If the Comte can manage his own bags, then we can do the same.
PORTER: As you wish Monsieur.
ANTOINE: Did Brigitte return for the funeral?
PORTER: Yes, she arrived this morning. She loved Pierre, dearly.
ANTOINE: Yes, she did. As for where I am staying. I will go to the chateau, of course.
PORTER: But sir?
ANTOINE: No, Ronsard. This superstition of yours is nonsense and needs to be laid to rest. I am in the peak of health and I have nothing to fear. I am returning to the Chateau for the duration my stay.
PORTER: (Fearful) Then at least stay in the village this evening. The bank is closed and there are documents being held there for you.
ANTOINE: Documents? What documents? And how is it that I am hearing this from you?
PORTER: I mean no disrespect Monsieur Le Comte, but when Pierre died, he was with us at the Barrel and Biscuit. There were papers on his person and instructions for you. We lodged them with the bank.
ANTOINE: I see. Very well, there is nothing for it. It looks like we will be staying here overnight after all.
PORTER: Very good monsieur.
ANTOINE: Now, lead on. I am eager to see Brigitte.
SOUND: SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 3: (INT) THE ANNEX (BRIGITTE, ANTOINE)

SOUND: DOOR OPENS – FOOTSTEPS ON WOODEN FLOOR – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
BRIGITTE: Antoine! Antoine, it is so good to see you. How was your trip? Are you surprised to see me?
ANTOINE: Brigitte. The chance is a happy one, but no, I am not surprised. Ronsard let the cat out of the bag.
BRIGITTE: Oh, that Ronsard. He is such a gossip. Worse even than my Aunt Mimi.
ANTOINE: And how is your aunt? Keeping well, I hope?
BRIGITTE: Of course. She finds the world far too interesting to ever die. She tells me she has yet to discover a third of the things she wishes to know before her end. She is decided on the matter. She will not die until she has learned all the things she wishes. Fiat!
ANTOINE: It would appear to be a worthy ambition if I didn’t know that most of those things involved the doings of her neighbors.
BRIGITTE: (MOCK SADNESS) (SIGHS) Too true. (BEAT) Well, the car is outside and it is a beautiful afternoon. Would you like me to drive you out to the Chateau?
ANTOINE: No, thank you. I am staying in the village tonight… oh, and I had best introduce my companions.
BRIGITTE: Oh? I’m terribly sorry. I must seem awfully rude, ignoring you like this. I am Brigitte Le Grande. How do you do?
TESS: Hi, I’m Tess and the large hat-rack in a suit over there is Trent.
TRENT: Be nice, Tess.
BRIGITTE: Clearly, I’m among friends. I hope I’m not intruding.
ANTOINE: Not at all. But I’m afraid you’ve wasted a trip if you hope to take us to the chateau.
BRIGITTE: Oh, Antoine, you haven’t started believing that silly nonsense about the curse, have you?
ANTOINE: (AFFRONTED) Of course not. There are some papers I need to recover from the bank, so I am simply staying overnight. (BEAT) Actually, why don’t you join us? You can help me check in, and then we can visit the old cafes and haunts of our youth while you bring me up to date on all the news.
BRIGITTE: Marvellous.
MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 4: (EXT) SIDEWALK CAFE (TESS, BRIGITTE, ANTOINE, TRENT, DRIVER)

SOUND: OUTDOOR CAFE – BIRDS TWEET – OCCASIONAL TRAFFIC – PATRONS – CUTLERY ETC – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
TESS: So, how long have you two known each other?
BRIGITTE: Oh, since I was in pigtails. We were neighbors… of a sort.
ANTOINE: Brigitte lived on the farm closest to the lands bordering the chateau.
BRIGITTE: But, truth be told, I was not there that often.
ANTOINE: And well it was that you weren’t.
TESS: Huh?
BRIGITTE: I was abroad often, traveling with my mother, a famous sociologist. It meant that I didn’t soak up the local prejudices about Antoine and his brother.
ANTOINE: As a result, each summer, Gaspard and I would have at least one playmate who was not afraid of us. At least until our teenage years.
TRENT: Meaning?
ANTOINE: Things went along just fine until Brigitte became smitten with my brother.
BRIGITTE: Antoine!
ANTOINE: In the space of a month she became unaccountably shy around Gaspard. She couldn’t speak a word in front of him without stammering and running away.
BRIGITTE: I was young. I can still remember you making an idiot of yourself over Mimi at the patisserie. I felt like such a fool for believing you kept taking me there because of the sweet rolls.
ANTOINE: (AHEM) Well… yes… I guess we don’t really need to bring up all of that, but Gaspard’s loss was my gain. Brigitte’s shyness resulted in her avoiding him and spending most of her time with me. We have been fast friends ever since.
TESS: And Gaspard? He never realized your feelings for him?
BRIGITTE: It was a crush. I grew out of it fairly quickly. But no, he never realized. As much as I thought I loved him, he was always very serious and far too interested in the management of the estate. It made him rather boring, truth be known.
ANTOINE: Really? I never knew. I always thought that, well, if Gaspard ever wised up…
BRIGITTE: I’m honestly not sure which one of you was the more stupid sometimes, Antoine.
ANTOINE: Pardon?
TRENT: Don’t let it bother you old man. We are all fairly thick when it comes to the fairer sex.
TESS: I’ll say you are…
ANTOINE: But… What? But… (BEAT) You know, I can’t help feeling I’ve missed something here.
TESS: Yes, I’d say so. But I’m sure Brigitte and I can find a way to clue you in before too long. (TO BRIGITTE) Us girls have to stick together when it comes to dealing with our Neanderthal men-folk.
TRENT: Oh no! You aren’t going to tar me with this particular brush, Tess.
TESS: (TO BRIGITTE) Brigitte, later, when we’re out of earshot of the boys, I’ll tell you a story or two about the big lug and…
SOUND: SCREECHING TIRES – UNDER.
TRENT: Look out!
SOUND: CRUNCH AND CRASH OF CAR INTO CAFE – LET IT FINISH.
TRENT: Antoine, are you alright? That car nearly drove right over you.
ANTOINE: Yes, yes. I am fine. Don’t fuss. I managed to get out of the way.
SOUND: CAR DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES. RUNNING FEET – UNDER.
DRIVER: Oh Monsieur, mademoiselles, I am so sorry. My brakes, they have failed. Are you hurt?
ANTOINE: We are all fine. Though I dare say you owe Gaston a new table… and a new window. What happened?
DRIVER: Oh, it is you monsieur Le Comte. A thousand pardons. Please? Let me…
ANTOINE: Alright. There is no need for that. But tell us, what happened? Are you okay?
DRIVER: I’m fine. A little shaken perhaps. I do not know what happened. I lost control and the brakes failed.
TESS: Hey Trent!
TRENT: Tess? Where are you?
TESS: Over here by the wreck. Someone’s cut the brake line.
TRENT: What?
MUSIC: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
MUSIC: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

I’m aware of Tess’s urgency about tying the knot, but mostly I just ignore it and keep on working.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

WAITER: I am a French waiter. I do my job with a touch of polite haughtiness.

PORTER: I am a French porter. I am a bit of a gossip, nosy, talkative, and friendly.

DRIVER: I am a local French car driver who nearly crashes into Antoine. I am shocked, apologetic, and very concerned for the near victim of the car crash.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip Craig Robotham grew up in a house full of books and has held numerous jobs as a teacher, computer programmer, graphic and web designer, an e-learning consultant and, most recently, writer. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two sons. When he was younger and fitter he enjoyed martial arts, but in recent years his hobbies have tended towards more sedate fare (board games, movies, books, and role-playing games).

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

The Alchemist

The post The Alchemist – Episode 1 – The Family Curse appeared first on Host Your Own Old Time Radio Drama.