dandelionfiles

OK--I realize this is too long to post in its entirety, so here's the deal--I'll give installments to anyone who is willing to critique the story. I can't get better unless I know where I'm weak so I can work on improvement. I promise that my next post will be shorter as well as amusing in and of itself. For anybody curious, it's the notes from the Miskatonic Alumni association meeting.

This post will be too damn long--sorry 'bout that. Here is an abridged introduction to my retelling of the Camelot myth:

Modern Archeological equipment surrounds a Midwestern foresty area. In a clearing in which debris has been cleared and a bizarrely Anglican style settlement has obviously been founded, a student is hunched over a stone. As various teams work upon the area, the camera pans to a cave which is obscured from view strangely yet seems to have lights coming from it. We are then shown into the cave, as well as through various tunnels until we see two characters who are busy exploring the cave.

A young woman and a middle aged man fight to get into another room inside this cavernous area. On their heads are helmets and head lamps, and they are dressed appropriately for caving. Their faces are dirty, and it is obvious they have been exploring this cave for the archeological team for awhile. The suits they wear bear the name of the university as well as ARCHEOLOGICAL DEPT on the back.

They dodge a sudden avalanche of stones that fall from the top of the cave, as well as darts that shoot suddenly from the walls. The middle aged man grabs a dart that is lodged into a skeleton of someone else who didn’t make it out of the cave and sniffs the tip,”

“Interesting—I haven’t smelled this neurotoxin for—for a long time. They used to use it in Ancient Europe, this stuff—what is it doing in the New World?”

“Maybe the Vikings brought it along with their milk jugs to attack the Native Americans with,” the girl shrugs.

“The dating has this settlement linked to the same time period—looks like we have evidence of yet more folk who discovered America before Christopher Columbus.”

The woman suddenly turns her head, as if she heard a voice. A strange song in an ancient language of the British isles can be heard by the audience.

“Morgan? Where are you going?”

“Don’t you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“That song—it’s a lady singing a song but I don’t recognize the language.”

“You don’t have psychotic tendencies, do you?”

She rolls her eyes. “No, Galbraith. I do not. You’re just deaf.”

“It’s just—I don’t hear anything and people who hear strange voices are considered to be insane—“
(as he speaks, the young woman has been nosing around, trying to find the source of the song. She puts her ears to different walls of the cave, then suddenly down to the floor. She puts her hands upon something on the floor, we see a sudden golden flash and the floor falls out from underneath her. The song gets much louder for the audience as she falls through the floor into a hidden underground chamber.

“MORGAN!”

”I’m all right!” Get me more lights—this place is incredible! You have to SEE this, Galbraith! It’s like something out of a fairy tale! No, this is something out of de Morte D’Arthur! This is impossible! How could this be in North America rather than Great Britain?”

“Out of a fairy tale? King Arthur? ” He’s trying to get gear but suddenly rocks give way and he slides down the hole himself, landing near the young woman, who is wiping grime off of her suit and looking around appreciatively. He touches the inscriptions on an nearby wall, and they seem to light up to his fingertips. He shakes his head and whistles.

“My God. We’ve finally found it.” He grabs his radio and starts to call excitedly to the rest of the archeologists, and we hear him raving about the new find.

The room is covered in beautiful stonework, many of which are not native to North America—inlaid precious stones shaped into a style similar to ones displayed on ancient European artwork. Gal grabs a flare, and we see several places which are obviously meant to be set on fire to light the place.

The cavern is huge, and there is a giant “moat” that is obviously deep which has something swimming in it. In the middle of the area of water, there is a small island that houses a very large stone.

Morgan looks suddenly as if she is in a trance. She suddenly goes to the moat and steps in the water. Scaly tiles come up to meet her feet as she walks dazedly towards the little island. There is a slight hill between the water and the island, and it is too high for her to pull up from. A head from a serpentine beast, which has her feet upon the step, rises up and reveals something that is very dragon-like which carries her physically up so she can easily step off into the island.

Galbraith missed most of this because he was excitedly screaming into his two-way radio. However, he sees Morgan at the last step and starts yelling her name in terror. He tries to run towards the little island as she does, but no steps come out to meet him and he is suddenly immersed in the water. The serpentine beast, which was so helpful to Morgan turns towards him and hisses. Terrified, Galbraith rushes to the side of the moat and scrambles to get to the other side as the serpent begins pull its head slowly in his direction.


In the stone is a sword. The sword is covered in grime, but it is obvious that the piece is valuable—it is decorated with many jewels—some of which are not known currently. There are inscriptions written all over the hilt, as well as ancient runes dating from Old England. Despite the fact that it appears to have been stuck in the stone for centuries, there is no rust upon the blade.

“Why do I think you’re talking to me, wanting me to grab you and free you from this stone?” the young woman asks the artifact, still behaving as if she is in a trance. It looks like it suddenly shines at her. Galbraith, who has gotten over to the right side (and the serpent has now left him alone, making it clear that only certain people can cross the moat safely) and stares at the young woman with fascination, then looks at her thoughtfully. “Could it be? Yes, it’s a different age, now—it could be—my God! He’s finally come. My waiting is over and he’s finally come.” He mutters. He reaches in his pocket. Out of it comes a disc that is obviously ancient and that bears his face upon it with runes translated to the audience at the bottom of SIR GALAHAD.

“What did you find, Morgan? What do you mean by ‘talking to you’?” The man’s eyes glitter in anticipation. It is as if this is something he has been waiting for

“This is weird. It’s like it’s calling my name asking to be free or something,” Morgan touches the hilt of the sword, and it seems to suddenly move from the stone, sliding quickly.

“LEAVE IT ALONE!” A professor suddenly screams as she enters the room with another archeological team, this time much better equipped than our two original characters. “Your fingerprints! They erase hard evidence. Leave it ALONE, don’t you know better than that? Were you raised in a barn?”

“Whoops, sorry Dr. Fry!” She stops touching the sword, and all of the lighting in the place goes out at once.