PROLOGUE for Ugh the Barbarian and Fleck the Burglar. [PRIOR TO SEASON ONE REBOOT]
SCENE: The Gallows in Vashanka’s Square. Two captured criminals - Ugh the Barbarian and Fleck the Burglar wait solemnly for their fate. You are both captives at the hanging block located in Vashanka’s Square outside the Governor’s Palace.
You have your hands bound behind your back and are standing beside each other on a raised platform with nooses tied around your necks. A small crowd of onlookers has gathered to watch the entertainment. Two city guards oversee proceedings. A man calls out from the crowd “Let’s see them dance! I want to see them dance on air! (laughter)”. It is impossible to tell where the comment came from. You quickly scan the twenty or so onlookers faces gathered in front of the gallows. They are a mixture of different townspeople: S’Danzo, urchins, beggars and street scum. You notice there is none that looks familiar. A non-descript government official shuffles forward and unrolls a piece of parchment.
Government Official “By decree of the Prince Governor, in accordance with the laws of our fair city, these criminals are hereby sentenced to death by hanging for their numerous crimes against the citizens of Sanctuary. These crimes include: assault on a Hellhound, theft, smuggling, association with known criminals and murder. Let all citizens assembled here bear witness that justice has been served. His Excellency. Prince Kidakathis. Protector of Sanctuary and servant of the Rankan Empire. 0014”. The official steps back and signals to the executioner who is waiting nearby.
If a rescue attempt was going to be made, now would be the time. You look to the rooftops and high walls nearby searching for an unlikely rescuer. Nothing. You say a silent prayer to the Gods. Your mouth is dry making it hard to swallow. At any moment the executioner will activate the trapdoor on which you are standing. Not long now. The end is near. The anticipation of your imminent death is agonizing. You glance at your friend beside you. Companions in life and now companions in death. He has a look of steely determination in his eyes. Time for one final joke. One last insult. One last laugh.
Ugh “If we get out of this I am going to kill you!”
FLECK “Yeah, sure… you will have to catch me first”.
You are jolted back to reality by a loud CRASH! as the executioner triggers the trapdoor on which you are standing. You immediately drop, helpless to control your decent. For a moment time seems to stop. Memories of people from your past flash through your mind. Jubal and his hawkmasks, Myrtis the Lady of the Night, Jake the fence, Jang the peasant, Argentia the S’Danzo and others. In your remaining seconds of life you relive encounters you have had throughout the city: the Bazaar, The Golden Lion, The Maze, the epic battle on the rooftops, the attempted rescue of that townsperson in his home and killing the assailant with a precesion strike through his eye! Again you are wrenched back to reality. This time by the sharp pain of the noose tightening around your neck. This is the end. Darkness encircles you.
Suddenly you are aware of a bright light. You feel a strange flash of heat. The white light, it is burning! Without warning the rope above you catches fire. You can smell the odour of singed rope. Your prayers have been answered! Or so it seems. You begin to pass out. Strangely, the pain has gone. The last thing you remember is seeing a shadowy figure approaching, cloaked and hooded. He has strange glowing eyes. The crowd parts like a curtain as the stranger moves towards you. Chaos follows. People scatter like leaves, some screaming in terror. Fear washes over you and then darkness.