Chapter Text
EXT. ATTOLIAN COUNTRYSIDE. A group of cars drives through the sea of olives, casting a cloud of dust behind them. At the head is a motorcycle. Close-up of the front rider shows that these men are armed to the teeth with the most modern weapons available. Camera zooms out and pans over the landscape, until it settles on a small figure lying atop a boulder, clutching a gun.
The figure is EUGENIDES. He studies the oncoming riders, cocks his gun, then looks directly at the camera.
EUGENIDES
As you can probably tell, I’m about to do something tremendously stupid. But to make you appreciate just how stupid, let me take you back about two weeks, when I first met the Magus of Sounis.
He jumps. The camera follows him closely, until the dirty blue of his shirt fades into the sky over a summer’s day in the city of Sounis. Going over the sunlit hubbub of the inner city, with jewelers, bakers, cloth merchants, and an H&M, the journey quickly reaches the less salubrious part of town, where the whitewashed, graffiti-marked walls of the prison glare into focus. The camera dwells on the various levels of security (fences with electric wires, armed guards with machine guns, cameras, heat motion detectors, etc.).
EUGENIDES (VOICE-OVER)
I didn’t know how long I had been in the king’s prison. The days were all the same, except that as each one passed, I was dirtier than before. I reviewed over and over the plans that had seemed so straightforward before I arrived in jail, and I swore to myself and every god I knew that if I got out alive, I would never never take any risks that were so abysmally stupid again.
The camera centers on the same young man, this time in a solitary prison cell, his feet stretched out in front of him, singing a tune to himself. He looks over his shoulder and speaks at the camera.
EUGENIDES
I lied.
EUGENIDES winks. A key turns into the lock, and he looks up as the silhouettes of two guards enter his cell. Fade to black.
The opening credits start.
A jeep crosses an arid yet beautiful countryside. The camera zooms in. POL is driving. The MAGUS is studying a tablet, frowning. In the back seats, AMBIADES and SOPHOS sit on either side of EUGENIDES, whose hands are cuffed. EUGENIDES whistles his theme, albeit off-key.
AMBIADES
For gods’ sake, can you stop?
EUGENIDES
Stop what?
AMBIADES
Everything.
EUGENIDES
Maybe if I knew where we were going, I wouldn’t be so bored. We’ve been driving for ages. If we’d taken a train, we’d be able to move around a bit, and it would be better for the environment. Are we there yet?
MAGUS
No.
EUGENIDES
Are we almost there yet?
MAGUS
No.
AMBIADES
Where are we?
MAGUS
We have just entered Eddis.
AMBIADES
And what are we doing there?
MAGUS
What do you know about Eddisian religion?
AMBIADES and SOPHOS exchange looks. EUGENIDES shrugs.
AMBIADES
It was the key religion in the Little Peninsula until the invaders came, featuring a pantheon headed by the Great Goddess Hephestia.
MAGUS
Very good. She was not the only deity, but she was the most important one. According to myth, she is the one who created Hamiathes’ Gift.
SOPHOS
Hamiathes’ Gift? What’s that?
The MAGUS presses something on his tablet, and a reconstruction of Hamiathes’ Gift spins slowly on the screen. It is a rough stone, with flashes of blue, and writing in an archaic script. The three boys on the back row all bend forward to take a closer look.
MAGUS
In ancient Eddisian myth, the queen of the gods rewarded a king named Hamiathes with a stone dipped in the waters of immortality. The stone freed its bearer from death.
AMBIADES
So?
MAGUS
So, what would the king of Sounis want with a stone that renders him immortal?
AMBIADES
But it’s a fairytale!
MAGUS
There is an extensive historical record proving it to be true — and we know where it is kept. Hundreds of years ago, the then-king of Attolia hid it away in a fortified temple in the middle of the least hospitable part of his country: The Dystopia.
The camera speeds along the highway until it fades into black. When it pans up, it is revealed the black is solidified lava, stretching for miles and miles on either end. The camera soon reaches a river and follows its course, landing eventually at a high, stone door hidden behind the cascading water.
MAGUS (VOICE-OVER)
Nowadays, getting to the heart of the Dystopia is easy, but the Attolians have increased their security accordingly. A special group of warrior priests are trained in secret to stand guard about the Stone. There are twelve priests in total, each of them knowing how to overcome one of the booby traps — none knowing enough to beat them all.
SOPHOS
Why don’t they tell each other?
MAGUS
Because the king thought of that. They all have their tongues ripped out in their initiation ceremony.
The boys look at each other, united by their horror. EUGENIDES reaches for his throat and rubs both hands along it, and SOPHOS looks pained while biting his own tongue.
The camera returns to the temple, going beyond the door, where a wide chasm is the first challenge. Eyes watch from the walls. They blink. The camera continues, first down the chasm, where a rat clambers over a pile of skeletons, then continues along the unburied bodies, deeper and deeper into the darkness.
MAGUS (VOICE-OVER)
Many have thought themselves up to the task of retrieving the Gift. None have succeeded since the legendary Thieves of Eddis.
The camera shows a single pair of leather boots, darting silently through the remains. A flash of light from an old-fashioned oil lamp illuminates the scene, and the rats scurry away, back into the darkness. The Thief continues on his path, but the audience does not see their face as they brush their hands along large blobs of obsidian and through ever-narrower corridors.
MAGUS (VOICE-OVER)
They alone have the training, the skills, the ancient knowledge required to meet each obstacle head-on
Flashes of the booby-traps: a set of walls that close in on each other until they would have crushed the Thief, who manages to climb up between them just in time; spears appearing from every side, which would have skewered the Thief had they not activated the alarm by throwing a rock before entering; a stone bridge, each individual rock falling away just as the Thief crosses, and they have to jump to make it to the end.
AMBIADES
And we have…
MAGUS
… Gen, exactly.
Everybody in the car stares at Eugenides, who smiles.
AMBIADES
Why do we even bother?
The camera returns to the temple. As the Thief dangles from the final step, they look down, and the audience sees the full body, recognizing the blue outfit and dark braid of EUGENIDES. Close-up of his face as he swallows and pulls himself up onto the platform. In the process, he loses his crowbar, and it takes a long time before a terrifyingly soft clang tells him how deep the drop is.
He brushes the dust from his shirt and continues the final yards, entering through a door at least twenty feet high. The camera pans out, showing how small EUGENIDES is in a high-ceilinged room. Suddenly, ancient torches burst to life around him, revealing impossibly tall, robes figures who sit perfectly still. He is obviously unnerved as he crosses the floor and reaches the final statue, that of the Great Goddess Hephestia. Glowing on the tray in front of her lies a stone very familiar to the reconstruction the MAGUS showed. EUGENIDES reaches for it.
Something rumbles, and the stone dances around on the tray. Fade to black.
EUGENIDES leaps from the boulder, straight onto the shoulders of the motorcyclist. They swerve, and the motorcycle falls to the side. Both EUGENIDES and the rider roll off and out of the way of the oncoming cars as swiftly as possible. Even as they get to safety, they fight. As soon as they reach the sandy ditch, they move to an upright battle, where neither has the upper hand. During the struggle, EUGENIDES shoots his gun at the cars, blowing the tires of two, although the third continues. The motorcyclist kicks the gun from EUGENIDES’ hand and follows it with a swift kick to his guts, then an elbow to his temple. As he sinks to the ground, the passengers from the two cars he shot come out, all four of them holding guns pointed straight at him.
The motorcyclist removes their helmet, revealing an attractive woman with long, black hair.
IRENE
We meet at last, 007.
EUGENIDES
Agent. A pleasure to see you.
IRENE looks over her shoulder.
IRENE
No, wait —
A gunshot. Fade to black.
Darkness. Medical beeping. A groan. EUGENIDES wakes up in a hospital bed. He takes in the darkened room around him, disorientated, and reaches for his head. He winces.
The lights come on, bright and clinical. Eugenides covers his eyes with his hand and blinks. When the camera pans away from him, IRENE is sat in a chair at the end of his bed. She has changed into an elegant Grecian dress and a gold-and-ruby headband. She looks ready to go to a ball. She smiles.
IRENE
Eugenides. I wasn’t expecting you to wake up.
EUGENIDES
So soon, you mean?
IRENE
At all. My colleague got rather trigger-happy and shot you through the chest. You’re looking remarkably well under the circumstances.
She assesses him, not entirely without interest, although it not clear whether it is professional or something else.
IRENE
The magus of Sounis tells me he has lost Hamiathes’ Gift.
EUGENIDES
Typical.
IRENE
Hmm. The only problem is that nobody can tell me when he lost it. Our informant has, unfortunately, not made it to the end of his mission, and none of our agents dare to swear that they saw the Gift on the magus before it disappeared. Now, normally, I would write this off as natural — in the mêlée and confusion, those things happen. Unless, of course, he lost it before we ever reached him.
EUGENIDES
That wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
IRENE
No, I didn’t think it would. Hand it over.
EUGENIDES
I can’t.
IRENE
And why is that?
EUGENIDES
I don’t have it.
IRENE cocks her head and rises from her chair. When she reaches the bed, she cups EUGENIDES’S chin and smiles, although the sinister music leaves no doubt as to her intentions. Distantly, the heartrate monitor picks up significant speed.
IRENE
We can do this the easy way or the hard way, 007. And I’d hate to ruin that pretty little face.
EUGENIDES
I can think of a hard way that could be fun for both of us?
IRENE slaps him. His head snaps to the side. EUGENIDES squeezes his eyes shut in pain, and the heartrate monitor (now loudly) goes into overdrive. IRENE steps away from the bed as two guards run in. IRENE cups EUGENIDES’S face again and brushes a blood red nail over his cheek.
IRENE
You are in a lot of pain and can’t think straight. Let’s make sure first that you don’t die. It will give you a chance to reconsider. I am sure we can come to an agreement that works for both of us.
INT. HOSPITAL AT NIGHT. Frontal view of EUGENIDES, clutching a scalpel, dressed in a hospital robe, as he escapes his room, using a piece of medical tape where he has captured IRENE’s thumb print from his cheek. The camera stays in front of him as he finds the central guardroom and deduces where they are keeping SOPHOS and the MAGUS. He is shown evading several patrolling guards. Through the ceiling-high windows, dark countryside can be seen, with a small burst of lights in the distance.
EUGENIDES places a small, flashing device on a door and turns away. The camera lingers on the device as the flashes increase, accompanied by a frantic beeping, until it detonates with an anti-climatically soft clack. The door swings open and the camera pans to the room: the MAGUS and SOPHOS, each sitting upright on simple, low beds. They are still in the clothes they wore on the expedition, dusty and frazzled compared to the clinically white sheets and walls.
MAGUS
Gen?
EUGENIDES
Let’s go, now
MAGUS
How did you —
EUGENIDES
Now is not the time, we need to run before I collapse or the bombs detonate. Are you coming or not?
The MAGUS hesitates, then looks at SOPHOS, and nods. In the corridor, SOPHOS lifts one of the fire extinguishers from the wall.
SOPHOS
In case we need to bash someone’s brains in
MAGUS
Don’t be absurd. You are not bashing anyone’s brains in. Give it here.
The MAGUS confiscates the extinguisher and lifts it easily onto his shoulders, as one would carry a lamb.
SOPHOS
Gen, did you say "bombs"?
EUGENIDES
Yes. Run.
Frontal view of EUGENIDES as he starts to run. The camera focuses on SOPHOS and the MAGUS following a heartbeat later. An explosion rattles the building, and alarms flash red everywhere. Camera flashes to a fancy dinner on the top floor, where IRENE looks away from a smiling man with a forked red beard.
IRENE
Damn it.
Final shot of the prisoners seen through a security fence: against a backdrop of approaching police cars, flashing lights, and a collapsing East Wing, EUGENIDES pushes up the MAGUS and SOPHOS to climb over the fence. He follows effortlessly, but winces when he lands. He shakes his head when the MAGUS looks worried, and they run for it. The camera pans around them, revealing the completely bare back of the hospital gown.
EUGENIDES gets carried into a different, high-security building by a soldier in camo. He has gone waxy and pale. The MAGUS and SOPHOS stick close to the soldier's heels.
SOPHOS
Please, he needs medical attention — we’ll tell you what you want to know, but Gen got shot —
EUGENIDES
I’m fine
MAGUS
He is not fine
SOLDIER 1
Looks fine enough to me
They encounter a double set of guards, each with heavy guns.
SOLDIER 1
Call the Minister of War.
The lefternmost guard nods, salutes, and opens the door for the SOLDIER.
MAGUS
Where are you taking us?
EUGENIDES
Just let them. We’ll notice
MAGUS
Easy for you to say, you’re being carried
They pass another set of guards, into a surprisingly corporate waiting room. A RECEPTIONIST takes in the new arrivals with briefly raised eyebrows. He picks up his phone and says something the audience can’t hear.
RECEPTIONIST
She’s available.
SOLDIER 1 places EUGENIDES on the floor. EUGENIDES stays upright, although SOPHOS is quick to offer his shoulder for support.
SOPHOS
Please, if we could just get a doctor — please —
Suddenly, everyone in the room except for EUGENIDES, SOLDIER 1, SOPHOS and the MAGUS stands to attention. The camera swivels to the entrance behind the reception desk. A short, black-haired woman stands like a soldier, military despite the expensive cut of her suit. We focus on her face as it settles in irritation and perfect understanding.
HELEN
Oh, it’s you, 007.
EUGENIDES grimaces and looks up from his feet.
EUGENIDES (to SOPHOS)
Bit closer.
EUGENIDES and SOPHOS approach HELEN. When they stand in front of her, EUGENIDES reaches under the braid at the base of his neck to free the thong that is tied there. Several strands of hair come along with it.
Camera pans to the MAGUS, whose jaw drops.
MAGUS
Gen, you viper.
HELEN holds up Hamiathes’ Gift and studies it against the light. The camera pans out, just in time to watch EUGENIDES, still grinning, faint.
EXT. STORMY COAST. Camera follows a rocky shoreline amid a thunderstorm, arriving finally at a high-tech lair hewn within the cliffs. IRENE looks out over the white-tipped sea. The camera lingers on her face during the entire scene.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE
You lost Hamiathes’ Gift. The Eddisians did not even keep it — they destroyed it. They destroyed it.
IRENE
I was there, I saw.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE
All you had to do was steal it back from a child. The key to eternal life, and you lost it. Let them steal it right from under your nose. I’m afraid I have no choice but to demote you —
IRENE
What?
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE
This is not the standard of a double-0, agent.
IRENE
You can’t —
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE
Of course I can
IRENE
Of course you can, but let me make it up to you. I won’t fail again, I promise.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE
You’d better not.
IRENE (to herself)
I will get you next time, little Thief.