The Grail Knight, Part 3. (A radio script)

 

SCENE 24.INT. ENTRANCE TUNNEL SOON AFTER

SCRABBLING, DRAGGING, PANTING, GRUNTING THROUGHOUT SCENE

P: (V.O.) Of course I had never actually agreed to wait. I was eating dirt in a half-choked tunnel sloping down at forty five degrees. It was the smallest space that I had ever been in, and I could barely force my way along.

(BEAT)

P: (V.O.) The roof will come down!

(BEAT)

P: (V.O.) The floor will give way!

(BEAT)

P: (V.O.) It'll turn vertical!

BEAT

P: (V.O.) But I kept on going.

SCENE 25. INT. BURIAL CHAMBER 1. CONTINUOUS

NOT TOO ECHOEY AS THE WALLS ARE PLASTERED. P ENTERS PUSHING ASIDE DETRITIS

P: (V.O.) And then it was finished

HE COUGHS AND SPLUTTERS, SWITCHES ON HIS TORCH. TAKES A FEW STEPS.

P: (V.O.) I flashed the light around. I was in a large round chamber, there seemed to be paint or plaster on the walls. In the middle stood two figures. They didn't move, and I didn't move. After some very long moments I resolved to advance towards them. My knees were water.

P ADVANCES SLOWLY TOWARDS THE FIGURES, ABOUT 7 STEPS, THEN HALTS.

P: (V.O.) They didn't move. I played the light over them. I could definitely see colour. I moved in.

P TAKES 3 MORE STEPS, HALTS.

P: (V.O.) They were ... carvings, statues, a bit larger than life-size, in wood or maybe stone. No, definitely wood. A man facing a woman, eerily life like, wonderful workmanship, the paint was mostly still there. Their arms were outstretched towards each other.

P TAKES MORE STEPS, CIRCLING AROUND THE FIGURES.

P: (V.O.) I walked around them, looking at every detail. They seemed to be both leaning back a little. There was something just above my head. It was ... something suspended from the ceiling, not moving. A much smaller thing. It had paint on it too.

P TAKES 2 STEPS BACK.

P: I stepped back to get a better look, calming down. There was something else lying on the floor. I realised that originally it had been held between the man and the woman.

P TAKES ANOTHER STEP BACK.

P: That thing in the air, it was a carving of young child. The whole thing is a man and a woman, throwing a child into the air using a blanket.

 

SCENE 26. INT. BURIAL CHAMBER 1. SOON AFTER

P WALKING SLOWLY (AROUND THE CHAMBER WALLS)

P: (V.O.) I had to press on, I had only one set of reserve batteries and then that was it. Before I left I had a good look at the designs on the walls.

: It was some kind of plaster, apparently completely undamaged. It was painted to show a wooded scene from the top of a hill, with water in the foreground on every side. It seemed that this was the view from Glastonbury Tor several thousand years ago.

: One odd thing was that it showed the sun twice, at both dawn and dusk. My conclusion was that this was some kind of inner sanctum. There was an exit, with two large stone uprights and a lintel framing a stone slab door. I pulled at the door, ( P GRUNTS, DOOR OPENS WITH A SLIGHT GRATE) and it opened easily, turning on some kind of hinge. A passageway was revealed and I moved on.

 

 

SCENE 27.INT. FIRST PASSAGEWAY. CONTINUOUS

MORE ECHOES NOW. P TAKES A FEW STEPS THEN STOPS.

P: (V.O.) After just a step or two I make a grisly find. A human skeleton, missing it's skull, is kneeling in the passageway facing towards the chamber that I had just left, hands tied behind it's back. I couldn't see how it was being maintained upright. After a few moments of inspection I decided to move on.

P MOVES ON.

: I become aware of in a change of ambiance. To both left and right there are gaps in the corridor walls, not quite opposite each other. I look into the one on the left, and my torch shows neat rows of bones. They're not complete skeletons; there's no skulls. It looks like just the long bones, the arms and the legs. I duck back into the corridor to look into the opposite chamber.

P MOVES ACROSS TO THE OTHER CHAMBER.

: In here I can see only lines of gleaming white skulls.

P: Comrades united forever.

P: (V.O.) Keep moving.

P WALKS ON FOR ABOUT A DOZEN STEPS.

P: (V.O.) Looks like another chamber ahead.

P TAKES THREE MORE STEPS AND STOPS.

P: (V.O.) Another round room, smaller, with two more figures in the middle, shorter. I approach.

P TAKES THREE MORE STEPS AND STOPS.

P: (V.O.) What's this? More painted wooden statues. A woman kneeling in front of ... a cow? It looked like a cow. Was she milking it? Possibly. Again, the paint on the wood was virtually intact. How was that possible after all this time? I looked very closely at the woman's face, changing the angle of the light. It looked like there was a very thin coating of a clear substance, perhaps wax, covering the paint.

: The torch light gave a flicker, the batteries were getting weaker; I had to get on. I could see an open exit to one side.

P TAKES 6 STEPS THEN STOPS.

P: (V.O.) It was a raw, natural fracture in the rock floor. There were patches worn smooth by human activity here and there. I was running out of time, I had to get on. I stuffed the torch into my belt and began to descend.

P BEGINS CLIMBING DOWN. HE LOSES HIS GRIP, SCRABBLES FOR A HOLD AND FALLS WITH A YELL.

SCENE 28. INT. ARTHUR'S CHAMBER. SHORTLY AFTER.

P GROANS. THE CHAMBER IS ALL OF STONE, SO SOUNDS ECHO.

P: Oh no.

HE GETS UP.

P: Ouch. Well, I can stand ok.

P: (V.O.) Where was I? The torch was out. I gave it a good shake, (SHAKES TORCH) and it flickered back into life. I was in another circular chamber, maybe twenty, thirty feet across. Immediately I could see that I wasn't the only occupant.

P TAKES TWO STEPS FORWARD.

P: (V.O.) This was it. This was definitely it.

P TAKES ANOTHER STEP AND THEN STOPS.

P: Your majesty.

P: (V.O.) He would be a tall man by modern standards, over six feet six. The skeleton was lying on a low plinth in the classic, dignified pose of a knight; no armour no clothing, but the skull was covered by a large piece of bark. He was surrounded by a rich selection of grave goods within easy reach. There was a long bow, arrows, various small items and... a gold cup at his head, and a matching gold cup placed below the hip.

: He wasn't alone. In a pattern radiating from his feet, were 10 other skeletons on similar plinths, each skull next to King Arthur's feet. There were also two empty plinths in the same arrangement. It reminded me of the legend of the round table.

: Three of the other skeletons had skulls which were also covered with bark. The torch was dying, but I bent to have a close look. I didn't dare touch it, but thought there might be an image of a face, yet there was nothing. Maybe it was some kind of shield. And then the torch went out.

 

SCENE 29. INT. ARTHUR'S CHAMBER. SOON AFTER

P: (V.O.) Complete, utter, pressing blackness. (FUMBLING WITH THE TORCH) Fumbling, I managed to put in my reserve batteries, turned the torch on. There was nothing. (SHAKES TORCH) I shook the torch. Still nothing. (SHAKES TORCH HARD) I shook it, shook it, shook it. Nothing.

P BEGINS TO WEEP.

P: (V.O.) I groped back towards the wall, fingers outstretched, incredibly slowly. At last my fingers brushed the stone. Oh thank God. (SLIDES DOWN THE WALL INTO A SQUAT) I put my back against the solid wall and squatted down. Without light I could never escape.

SCENE 30. INT. ARTHUR'S CHAMBER. NEXT DAY.

FADE IN TO P'S SLOW, EVEN BREATHING. SOUNDS WILL ECHO.

P: (V.O.) How long was it now? 36 hours? 48? Why had I not thought to bring any food or water? The first 12 hours hadn't been too bad, but now I was getting weak. Even if I had light I was in no condition to climb back.

P: (SHOUTS) Help.

VOICE 2: We are the dead.

VOICE 1: (BEAT) What would you like to know?

VOICE 2: We know much. We have been told many things.

P: Who are you?

VOICE 1: He wants our name.

VOICE 2: Our name.

P: Help me please.

VOICE 2: Our name is the same as your name.

P: I don't want to die.

VOICE 2: Then learn this well; if you never live, you will never die.

VOICE 1: (BEAT) Embrace death. Sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others.

VOICE 2: (DISAGREEING) Others who think little of you.

P: So how come you are dead then?

VOICE 1: (BEAT) The Ancient Way is very cruel.

VOICE 2: Very cruel. But we have our knowledge.

VOICE 1: It is a poor sort of happiness.

P: How can I learn what you know? (BEAT) Will you tell me?

VOICE 1: (BEAT) Lie with us.

VOICE 2: Lie with us.

VOICE 1: Yes lie with us.

VOICE 2: We may not kill, oh no.

VOICE 1: But we might slay.

P: No.

 

SCENE 31. INT. ARTHUR'S CHAMBER. CONTINUOUS

SOUNDS WILL ECHO.

P: (V.O.) Suddenly I realised that it was no longer absolutely pitch-black. A tiny circle on the chamber wall had become grey. As I watched the grey became tinged with red, then a small ray of light sprang from it. It was feeble, wan, but compared to the profound black it was a searchlight. I had not forgotten that the winter solstice was due. It seemed that the tomb builders had engineered a light well through the rock to provide the dead king and his knights with the briefest illumination from the weakest light of the entire year.

: I could see the tomb again. Could I climb up the shaft in the few minutes of light that I would have?

P WALKS A FEW STEPS TO THE BASE OF THE SHAFT.

P: (V.O.) Whatever climbing aid had once been in place was removed or had perished.

HE SCRABBLES AT THE ROCK.

: (V.O.) I couldn't get a grip. I tried for holds in several places. (SCRABBLING) It was no good. Now the light was beginning to go.

P IS PANTING HEAVILY. WITH A CRY HE TRIES AGAIN, GRUNTING, STRAINING .AFTER A FEW MOMENTS HE FALLS TO THE FLOOR.

P: (V.O.) I looked at the tiny circle of light on the wall, turning from milky pink, to bright grey, to dark grey.

P SOBS.

P: (V.O.) The shadows were flowing in from the walls. What could I do? I didn't want to die here.

P. SOBS.

P: No! No! No!

P: (V.O.) The light was all but gone. Then - an idea.

P FUMBLES WITH HIS TORCH, UNSCREWING THE END.

P: (V.O.) Just one tiny tiny tiny chance.

P: Oh please God.

P: (V.O.) I unscrewed the battery compartment on the torch, had a look inside at the batteries. Yes! I had placed one of them in the wrong way round. In a moment I whipped it out, put it back in the right way.

P: Oh please...

THE TORCH CLICKS ON.

P: (V.O.) Nothing.

BEAT. THEN P SHAKES THE TORCH VIOLENTLY.

P: (V.O.) Light! I had light again!

 

SCENE 32. INT. ARTHUR;S CHAMBER. CONTINUOUS

SOUNDS WILL ECHO.

P: (V.O.) Before I left there was still one thing to do.

P TAKES SEVERAL STEPS TO ARTHUR.

P: (V.O.) The Holy Grail. But Arthur had two cups.. Why not take them both? I picked up the one placed below his hip. It was about 4 inches wide, 4 inches tall, clearly solid gold, with thick horizontal corrugations, a flared lip and a plain flat base. Surprisingly, it had a modern-style handle riveted to the side, again made of gold The cup wasn't empty. Inside was a tiny dagger, not gold, possibly bronze, much too small to be of practical use.

: I could see the other matching cup sitting beside his head. Perhaps they worked together as a set. I should take them both.

: The Holy Grail. When I take it outside I become one of the famous people in history. My name will be repeated everywhere around the world.

:: I looked down at the skeleton of the king. How long had he lain here? Three thousand years? Four thousand years? What incredible things had he accomplished? What deeds had he done to inspire the loyalty of these great men? Even we still remembered him.

: I will write books, I will live comfortably forever. I will talk about my theories, my philosophies and conjectures, and all of the people will listen.

: Glastonbury Tor will be laid open, all the artifacts photographed, cataloged, removed. Arthur and his knights will be taken to the British Museum, people will queue for miles to see them, a sensation bigger than Tutankhamen. And whatever it was that Glastonbury Tor was doing for all the free-thinking people outside, the Druids, the Wiccans, the Pagans, the Hippies, the Flower Powerers and the romantics, all that would be finished forever.

: Take the Holy Grail, or be condemned to eternal obscurity, to nobody-dom. Take the single most valuable thing in all Christendom.

P: (BEAT) (V.O.) Slowly I put the Grail back. I give the king a deep bow, turn, (FOOTSTEPS) and walk back to the base of the shaft.

SCENE 33. INT. ARTHURS CHAMBER. CONTINUOUS

SOUNDS ECHO. P LABOURING AS HE CLIMBS.

P: (V.O.) I found that if I extend my arms straight out to each side, I can hold on for long enough to get a decent foothold.

P LABOURING, BOOTS SCRAPING FOR FOOTHOLDS, PALMS SLAPPING HARD AGAINST THE WALLS.

P:: (V.O.) Eventually I drag myself to the top...

P TAKES DEEP BREATHS

P: (V.O.) ... take a quick rest, then walk unsteadily to the exit, the same way I came down, the tunnel.

P WALKING UNSTEADILY, GETS TO THE ENTRANCE TUNNEL.

P: (V.O.) Just so weak, not sure I'm gonna make it. Here's the exit.

P PUSHING UP THROUGH THE TUNNEL. HITS THE EXIT, THE AMBIENCE CHANGES.

P: Thank God.

P TAKES SHUDDERING BREATHS.

P: (V.O.) Free! Free again! Night time. Before I set off for the hotel, just one thing to do.

P FILLING IN THE ENTRANCE.

P: (V.O.) Fill in the entrance. Unless somebody puts their foot right through it, they'll never find it.

 

SCENE 34. INT. SINGH'S BOAT. TWO DAYS LATER

RIVER SOUNDS OUTSIDE.

P: (V.O.) Mr. Singh opened his chest of river treasures and took out the long cedar wood box that I recognised. He opened It, picked up the sword, turning it to catch the light.

SINGH: Stand here.

P: (V.O.) He used the sword to point to a spot just in front of him. I stood there, and he tapped me on my left shoulder.

SINGH: Now you feel the weight of my blade, and I cut you down. Kneel.

P: (V.O.) I knelt down on one knee.

SINGH: Have you overcome fear?

P: (V.O.) I thought back to beneath Glastonbury Tor.

P: I have.

SINGH: Have you overcome greed?

P: (V.O.) He knew. Somehow he knew. I thought of the Holy Grail.

P: I have.

SINGH: Have you overcome love?

P: (V.O.) I froze.

P: (BEAT) No.

SINGH: Ah.

P: (V.O.) He put the sword back in the box.

BEAT

P: Just a minute.

P: (V.O.) I had been on my way to practice, and had my gear in a holdall. I took out the boots and climed up the stairs (CLIMBS WOODEN STEPS) and up onto the deck. Mr. Singh followed me up.

: (V.O.) I held up the boots, swung them round and round...

BOOTS SWING IN THE AIR, RELEASED WITH A GRUNT, LAND WITH A SPLASH. BEAT.

SINGH: Come.

THEY BOTH GO BELOW.

P: (V.O.) We went down into the cabin. He picked up the ancient sword (SWORD RINGS) and tapped me on the right shoulder.

SINGH: For the second time you feel the weight of my sword. Kneel.

P: (V.O.) I knelt.

SINGH: Though I have cut you down, still you rise through your own power. Arise now, Perceval, knight, member of the Order of the Sacred Grail.

P: (V.O.) I rose. Singh reversed the sword and handed it to me.

SINGH: The river gives up to you one of it's greatest treasures. May you distinguish yourself always.

 

SCENE 35. INT. AT HOME. THE NEXT DAY

DISTINCTIVE DOORBELL.

MUM: I'll get it!

SHE WALKS TO THE DOOR AND OPENS IT.

MUM: Yes can I help you?

WOMAN: We are here to beg the assistance of Sir Perceval. We are on a desperate mission to find the True Cross of Jesu.

MUM: You'd better come in then. (SHOUTS INSIDE)  Perceval! There's someone here who needs you!

---- THE END ----