Vinlar • Shadows of Balthor

Download PDF (Dark) Download PDF

VINLAR

SHADOWS OF BALTHOR II

ISSUE 02

Written by Tom Hansbury

PAGE 1 (1 PANEL)

PANEL 1

Full page panel, under a bright moon that illuminates the night sky, Vinlar and Inga, torches in hand, search the wilderness that surrounds the countess Erisandra’s keep. Trees and rocks cover the landscape and an eerie mist fills the air.

  1. TITLE: SHADOWS OF BALTHOR II
  2. NARRATION: Under the watchful gaze of the moon, Vinlar and Inga, seek an entrance to Countess Erisandra’s keep.
  3. NARRATION: Vinlar the rogue. Once noble. Now driven by a thirst for revenge has tracked an emissary of his treacherous uncle to the Keep.
  4. NARRATION: Inga, a woman whose mystery runs as deep as her beauty and cunning, seeks answers for her missing sister. And perhaps motives yet revealed…
  5. VINLAR: Why are you so sure we are in the right place?

PAGE 2 (6 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Inga cautiously pulls the note she found on the guard out from being tucked into the side of her bosom.

  1. INGA: This note is how I know.

PANEL 2

Inga hands the note to Vinlar.

  1. INGA: I found it on the guard. Instructions and a secret way into the keep.
  2. VINLAR: You said that you found nothing.
  3. INGA: I had to make sure that you needed to bring me.

PANEL 3

Vinlar reviews the paper.

  1. NOTE: Commander
    Our scouts have located an abandoned servants' passage beneath the dead greythorn tree, one hundred paces north of the keep.
    If you don't receive new orders by noon tomorrow, assume negotiations have failed. Proceed with the plan to take the city and secure the keep.
    By my authority,
    The Imperial Emissary

PANEL 4

Vinlar expresses the gravity of their predicament.

  1. VINLAR: Trust is scarce, let’s not squander it.
  2. INGA: So chivalrous is the man who would blackmail a tavern girl into his own dark schemes.
  3. VINLAR: Innocent, are you? We both know the risks we take.

PANEL 5

As they continue their search, Inga spots the defining landmark through the foliage. A leafless gnarled tree stands out against the others surrounded by a clearing.

  1. INGA: There, the greythorn tree. Just as the note described.
  2. NARRATION: Guided by fate or folly the pair find their beacon in the gloom.

PANEL 6

The scene reveals a wooden door with iron handle in the ground beneath the tree and covered in overgrowth. Vinlar steps forward cautiously.

  1. VINLAR: Stand back and be ready.
  2. INGA: After you then…

PAGE 3 (8 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar and Inga navigate the catacombs, the light from their torches casting long shadows on the stone walls. Vinlar's protective stance is evident as he signals Inga to stay behind him.

  1. NARRATION: A suffocating silence cloaks the passageway.
  2. VINLAR: Tread lightly and stay alert.

PANEL 2

They press deeper into the darkness, Inga's expression mixed with resolve and unease as she peers into the darkness.

  1. INGA: This place… it feels cursed.
  2. VINLAR: If you wish to turn back now is the time. It would be a wise decision.
  3. INGA: You won’t get rid of me that easily. I need answers.

PANEL 3

Suddenly, Vinlar halts stopping their forward progress.

  1. VINLAR: Wait… there is something.
  2. INGA: Are those… bones?

PANEL 4

The eerie sight of two skeletal figures, their armor decayed, vines winding through their bones, emerges from the gloom.

  1. NARRATION: Silent guardians forever bound to the darkness.
  2. VINLAR (off panel): These warriors met their fate long before our time.

PANEL 5

Vinlar examines the remains. Inga looks on.

  1. INGA: Razing this place to the ground may not be enough.

PANEL 6

Vinlar rises, continuing down the catacomb corridor.

  1. INGA: What kind of vines grow in darkness?
  2. VINLAR: I’m afraid we may find out.

PANEL 7

Their path is barred by a formidable metal door, old yet strong.

  1. INGA: Can you get it open?
  2. VINLAR: Let me try.

PANEL 8

A close-up of Vinlar's hands at work on the lock, his tools moving with precision and care.

  1. SOUND: ‘CLICK’

PAGE 4 (4 PANELS)

PANEL 1

The door swings open, revealing an eerie chamber where nature and the supernatural collide. Thick vines weave through the skeletons pinned against the walls as if in a macabre embrace.

  1. NARRATION: Here, nature wars with the unholy.
  2. VINLAR: This place... it's unnatural. Stay close and be wary.

PANEL 2

Vinlar leads the way, his torch casting light on the grim scene, while Inga follows.

  1. INGA: What is it you hope to find in this cursed place?
  2. VINLAR: My reasons are my own.
  3. INGA: What happened to trust? I’m putting my life in your hands…

PANEL 3

Suddenly, Vinlar notices the silence behind him. He turns to find Inga no longer at his side.

  1. VINLAR: Inga?
  2. INGA (off panel): VINLAR!

PANEL 4

The scene reveals Inga ensnared by the animate vines, their grip tightening as they drag her towards the wall, her face etched with fear and surprise.

  1. INGA: The vines... they're alive!

PAGE 5 (7 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar, with swift determination, rushes back, drawing his blade.

  1. VINLAR: Hold on! I’m coming!

PANEL 2

Close-up on Vinlar's blade slicing through the thick, animate vines in a desperate bid to free Inga.

  1. NARRATION: In a heartbeat, steel meets vine, a dance of survival against the creeping grasp of the unnatural.
  2. INGA: Behind you!

PANEL 3

A skeleton, entangled and animated by the living vines, springs to life, attacking Vinlar from behind.

PANEL 4

Vinlar finds himself grappling with the vine-entwined skeleton.

  1. NARRATION: A grotesque fusion of bone and vine fights with a strength born of dark sorcery.

PANEL 5

The struggle intensifies on the ground, Vinlar's hand finds a sizable rock within reach.

PANEL 6

With a desperate swing, Vinlar uses the rock to crush the skeleton's skull, the impact causing the animating vines to recoil.

  1. SFX: CRUNCH

PANEL 7

Freed from the immediate threat, Vinlar rushes to Inga's aid, urgency propelling him forward.

  1. INGA (off panel): Vinlar, please… hurry!

PAGE 6 (7 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Inga ensnared against the wall, the vines tightening their grip around her, panic and determination runs through her.

  1. NARRATION: The vines, relentless in their embrace, ensnare Inga, binding her to the cold stone.

PANEL 2

Vinlar slashes at tendrils of the vines as he cuts his way over to Inga.

  1. SFX: SLASH! SHHHKTTT!

PANEL 3

Vinlar reaches Inga, cutting away the vines that bind her arm, freeing her to fight alongside him.

  1. INGA: Quickly! So I can reach my blade!

PANEL 4

Armed now, Inga swiftly joins the fray, slicing through her constraints while Vinlar fends off the advancing vines.

  1. VINLAR: We need to escape now!

PANEL 5

Inga, fueled with fury, attacks the vines, her blade slicing through their mass.

  1. INGA: Back cursed creature!
  2. VINLAR: Inga now!

PANEL 6

In a moment of rage, Inga hurls a rock at a skeletal figure pinned by the vines, obliterating it.

  1. SFX: CRACK!

PANEL 7

Vinlar, sensing an opportunity, grasps Inga's arm, pulling her away as the vines recoil from the impact.

  1. VINLAR: This way while the vines retreat!

PAGE 7 (6 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar and Inga, having narrowly escaped the clutches of the animate vines, catch their breath in the relative safety of a new passage. Inga wears the cuts and bruises of her entanglement. One larger wound on her forearm bleeds.

  1. VINLAR: Are you hurt?
  2. INGA: Nothing serious. Just a few scrapes.
  3. VINLAR: That wound on your arm says otherwise.
  4. INGA: It’s nothing let’s keep going.

PANEL 2

Inga rips off some fabric from her shirt and ties it around the wound on her arm.

  1. INGA: There. Does that ease your concern?
  2. VINLAR: Rest for a moment then we continue. There’s no going back that way.
  3. INGA: What could do something like that?
  4. VINLAR: Dark magic indeed.

PANEL 3

Inga, her curiosity unsated, probes further into Vinlar's motivations.

  1. INGA: What makes all this worth it for you?
  2. VINLAR: There is a man here. An emissary for Lord Vinlas. I intend to find out what he’s up to and stop him.
  3. INGA: You seem ready to throw your life away for this cause. Are you some kind of rebel?
  4. VINLAR: His master Vinlas destroyed my family. One day I'll return the debt.

PANEL 4

Inga reaches out to Vinlar, her touch gentle, seeking to connect, to understand, but also to read him.

  1. INGA: So you are a broken man out for revenge. In my experience it rarely brings what you need.
  2. VINLAR: Is that not why you are here? To find your sister’s fate and punish those responsible?
  3. INGA: To find out, yes. The punishing, we’ll see.

PANEL 5

Inga and Vinlar continue.

  1. INGA: Most men would be chasing coin or women. Instead, you're down here chasing ghosts. Ever consider that?
  2. VINLAR: I did. But fate had other plans.
  3. INGA: Fate always getting in the way of a good time.
  4. VINLAR: In a manner of speaking, yes.
  5. INGA: Then perhaps you're chasing more than revenge.

PANEL 6

Their path is abruptly halted by a dead end, the way forward unclear. Vinlar examines the walls.

  1. INGA: The path… it just ends?
  2. VINLAR: Give me a moment. These walls…

PAGE 8 (3 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar applies pressure to one of the stones revealing a hidden door in the wall which gives way opening.

  1. NARRATION: Vinlar, with practiced eye, finds and presses a concealed stone in the wall.
  2. SFX: CLICK
  3. VINLAR: There it is.

PANEL 2

Close up on Inga after entering the chamber her face a look of shock.

  1. SFX (inga): GASP

PANEL 3

This panel dominates the page, revealing a chilling scene within the chamber. At the heart lies an altar, and atop it, a naked woman lies lifeless, her arm draped over the side, blood slowly flowing into a cistern below. The altar and the surrounding floor are etched with strange, arcane symbols, suggesting a ritual of dark intent. A podium with an open tome stands overseeing the altar. The room is dimly lit by braziers affixed to the walls, casting an eerie glow that accentuates the horror of the ritual site.

  1. NARRATION: The ghastly tableau unveils a grim fate.

PAGE 9 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar cautiously approaches the altar.

  1. VINLAR: Stay back.

PANEL 2

He examines the woman on the altar gently touching her neck for life.

  1. INGA: Is she still alive?
  2. VINLAR: Just a flicker… fading.
  3. INGA: Is there anything we can do?
  4. VINLAR: No. She’ll be gone soon.

PANEL 3

Drawn to the sinister tome, Inga examines its pages.

  1. INGA (indecipherable whispering):
  2. VINLAR: You understand those markings?
  3. INGA: Just offering a prayer. She deserves that much.

PANEL 4

Inga’s seemingly lost in the pages of the book.

  1. INGA: This was my sister’s fate… I feel her spirit’s anguish.
  2. VINLAR: I’m sorry Inga… I-

PANEL 5

Before Vinlar can finish speaking, overcome with anger and sadness, Inga tears a page with her fist.

  1. INGA: Aaaaahhhhhhh!
  2. SFX: TEAR!

PAGE 10 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

The silence of the chamber is pierced by the ominous creak of a hatch opening above.

  1. SFX: CREEEEAAAK

PANEL 2

Vinlar and Inga dart into the shadows.

  1. VINLAR: Hide quickly!

PANEL 3

A single foot, clad in dark leather, descends, finding footing on the bars embedded in the wall.

  1. SFX: CLINK

PANEL 4

Hidden in the darkness, Vinlar and Inga observe the newcomer. Inga's readiness to defend or attack is clear, her resolve steeling her for what may come.

  1. NARRATION: They watch as the figure descends, a silent intruder upon their grim discovery. Inga grips her blade with anticipation, prepared for the worst.

PANEL 5

The figure, robed, steps fully into the chamber, pausing to survey the scene. The torn tome draws their attention.

  1. NARRATION: The mysterious figure pauses perhaps sensing something amiss.

PAGE 11 (6 PANELS)

PANEL 1

The robed figure, driven by a sinister purpose, hastily gathers the blood from the cistern into a canteen.

  1. NARRATION: A grim task in service of a darker will.

PANEL 2

Just as the figure attempts to leave, Vinlar springs into action, seizing them from behind.

PANEL 3

The reveal is shocking; the figure is a woman her expression one of fear as Vinlar exposes her identity. Her mouth open from the shock revealing her tongueless.

  1. INGA: Who are you, and what is this place? Speak!
  2. NARRATION: But the truth is more horrifying than any scream.

PANEL 4

With nowhere to run, the woman stands cornered, her eyes pleading, unable to voice the horrors she's complicit in.

  1. VINLAR: She can’t. They cut out her tongue.
  2. INGA (to the woman): Can you understand us? What is this awful ritual?

PANEL 5

In a sudden, desperate act, the woman lunges towards Inga.

  1. INGA: Stay back!

PANEL 6

The scene reaches a climax as the woman, in a shocking turn, uses Inga's own hand to turn the knife upon herself.

  1. INGA: No! Stop!

PAGE 12 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar and Inga stand over the dead woman’s body. Blood still dripping from Inga’s knife.

  1. VINLAR: She chose her own way out.
  2. INGA: What a nightmare this is.

PANEL 2

Vinlar takes the lead, climbing the ladder to the hatch. Inga kneels by the body searching for clues.

  1. VINLAR: I’ll scout ahead. Wait for me.

PANEL 3

Vinlar cautiously peeks through the hatch into a dimly lit kitchen, the quiet suggesting abandonment or perhaps a late hour.

  1. NARRATION: Silent and untouched by the horrors below.

PANEL 4

Inga, now wearing the woman's robes as a guise, begins her ascent. Vinlar, ensuring the area is secure, notices her change in appearance.

  1. VINLAR: Looks safe.
  2. VINLAR: Why the robe?
  3. INGA: It may help to pass unnoticed.

PANEL 5

(cut this panel?)
Together again, Vinlar and Inga stand in the keep kitchen, the stark contrast of their underworld discoveries to this mundane setting not lost on them.

  1. NARRATION: In the keep’s kitchen, a brief respite from the horrors below. Yet the path forward is fraught with uncertainty, their journey far from over.

PAGE 13 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar presses his ear against a door, his expression concentrated as he listens for any signs of movement outside. Inga looks on.

  1. INGA: Now what’s our plan?
  2. VINLAR: Follow my lead closely. Move when I move, stop when I stop. Understood?
  3. INGA: Understood.

PANEL 2

Inga steps closer to Vinlar, her eyes meeting his.

  1. INGA: Vinlar.

PANEL 3

In a spontaneous gesture of affection Inga leans in and takes Vinlar’s hand.

  1. VINLAR: Inga…

PANEL 4

Vinlar and Inga, faces close, in an almost will they kiss distance.

  1. INGA: Thank you.
  2. VINLAR: Save that for when we make it out of here.
  3. INGA: I thought you should hear it in case we don’t.

PANEL 5

Vinlar peers out of the door down a hallway.

  1. VINLAR: Okay let’s move.

PAGE 14 (7 PANELS)

PANEL 1

The following are a series of panels depicting Vinlar and Inga’s journey deeper into the keep.

PANEL 2

Vinlar and Inga sneaking down a dimly lit hallway.

  1. NARRATION: With every silent step they delve deeper.

PANEL 3

A lone guard strolls ahead in the corridor, unaware, his shadow stretching toward them.

PANEL 4

Vinlar and Inga pressed against the wall hidden in a small alcove, half-swallowed by the dark as the guard passes mere feet away.

PANEL 5

Vinlar and Inga climb a large spiral stone stairway.

  1. NARRATION: A stone serpent twisting in the night.

PANEL 6

They pass by a large painted portrait of the countess in her youth. Long flowing black hair. A silver amulet holding a ruby hangs around her neck.

  1. NARRATION: The countess Erisandra her youthful visage is ever watchful as they ascend the stairs.

PANEL 7

Close up on the portrait.

PAGE 15 (6 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar and Inga continue down a hallway.

  1. NARRATION: Stealth buys them some freedom while exploring.

PANEL 2

They find an alcove with scrolls and potions. Inga stops to inspect them.

  1. VINLAR: Not our concern. Keep moving.

PANEL 3

Muffled, indistinct voices float through a nearby door.

  1. SFX: “Muffled voices”
  2. INGA: What are they saying?
  3. VINLAR: Mundane matters… nothing of our interest.

PANEL 4

The flickering torchlight reveals a lone guard, struggling against sleep in the quiet of the keep.

PANEL 5

Vinlar lifts a keyring from the guard unnoticed.

  1. NARRATION: With a thief’s grace Vinlar relieves the sentinel of his keyring.

PANEL 6

Now safely away from the guard Vinlar examines the keys.

  1. VINLAR: With any luck these will be useful.

PAGE 16 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

The pair come upon an ornate doorway, flanked by vigilant guards. The hallway, awash in torchlight, offers no shadow for concealment.

  1. VINLAR: That must be the entrance to the Countess's private chambers.

PANEL 2

In a whispered conference, Inga proposes a plan.

  1. INGA: Let me handle this. You find the emissary. This is something I must do alone.
  2. VINLAR: That is mad, you don’t know what-
  3. INGA: Trust me. This is the only way.
  4. VINLAR: What’s your plan?
  5. INGA: Just go. I’ll manage here.

PANEL 3

Inga steps into the torchlight, her figure draped in the robes of the woman, blending with the keep's inhabitants.

PANEL 4

Close up on Vinlars face.

  1. VINLAR (to himself): Damnit Inga...

PANEL 5

Approaching the guards, Inga's concealed identity and the ruse of her garb grant her a moment of opportunity.

  1. GUARD: You’re late. She is waiting.

PAGE 17 (3 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Large panel on the page. Inga steps into the opulent private chambers. The room is baroque, ornate furniture and decorations. Old paintings cover the walls. A desk covered in mysterious trinkets, baubles, and papers cover its surface. Also on the desk rests a golden goblet inscribed with runes. A woman sits behind a privacy screen only her silhouette visible.

  1. WOMAN: You’re late. There on the table.
  2. WOMAN: After you’ve finished return to your chambers.
  3. NARRATION: The room, a tableau of luxury masking the sinister, waits in hushed silence.

PANEL 2

Inga pauses taking in the room.

  1. WOMAN(off panel): Negotiations should conclude tomorrow. Then we must plan for a more permanent transition to Ariselle.

PANEL 3

The desk, holds a goblet inscribed with runes that echo those from the sacrificial chamber below.

  1. WOMAN(off panel): Make sure the girls are ready.
  2. WOMAN(off panel): Another generation. They pass so quickly.
  3. NARRATION: A vessel for the blood…

PAGE 18 (6 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Inga extracts the small canteen hidden within the folds of her robe, tipping it gently to let the dark blood flow into the runic goblet.

  1. NARRATION: Perhaps from instinct or some deeper dark knowledge Inga intuits its purpose.

PANEL 2

Inga then reveals the wound on her arm, wiping some blood from it onto her hand.

PANEL 3

Inga stirs the blood from her fingers gently into the goblet mixing it.

  1. NARRATION: A drop of her own blood, given freely, joins the dark potion.

PANEL 4

As she makes to leave, a final glance reveals the woman stepping from behind the privacy screen. She is young looking just like the portrait of the young countess.

  1. NARRATION: The countess steps into view, her youth undimmed! Mirroring the ageless portrait.
  2. NARRATION (alternative?): The woman steps into view, full of youth and beauty, mirroring the ageless portrait of the countess! Could this be the countess’s niece Ariselle?! Such a spitting image of her great-aunt?
  3. ARISELLE: Go now.

PANEL 5

She lifts the goblet to her lips and drinks. The runes glow faintly.

  1. NARRATION: The secret to Erisandra’s everlasting youth rooted in the consumption of purity and death. Ariselle, the great-niece, a clever ruse. A cover to continue her supernatural existence for another generation.

PANEL 6

(small panel) Inga’s face betrays a smirk from the under the robe’s hood.

PAGE 19 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar navigates the perilous exterior of the keep, leaping from one balcony to another.

PANEL 2

Peering inside the room from the balcony Vinlar spies the emissary’s form shrouded in sleep. Beside him, a table laden with personal effects confirms his identity.

  1. VINLAR: At last...

PANEL 3

Vinlar carefully slips into the room through the window.

PANEL 4

The emissary's eyes snap open feeling the edge of Vinlar's blade pressed against his face.

  1. EMISSARY: Gah! What is this?
  2. VINLAR: We’re going to talk. You’ll tell me everything.
  3. EMISSARY: Vinlar… Kill me and a thousand men swarm the keep.
  4. VINLAR: Why are you here?

PANEL 5

The emissary, caught in a dance of fear and calculation, weighs his options.

  1. VINLAR: Speak, and you might live beyond this night.
  2. EMISSARY: The countess seeks a royal marriage for her niece… to bring Dracea back into the Empire.
  3. VINLAR: Her niece?
  4. EMISSARY: Ariselle.

PAGE 20 (5 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Inga shuts the door to the room behind her after leaving the countess.

  1. NARRATION: The heavy door thuds as Inga exits the countess’s chambers, her steps quickening to put distance between herself and the ritual she left behind.

PANEL 2

The Countess, sensing something, sets the goblet aside, her composure shaken by a sudden, unfamiliar weakness.

  1. ERISANDRA: What is this feeling... this sensation is… My hand.

PANEL 3

Disbelief covers Erisandra’s face as her once youthful hand betrays her, aging rapidly before her horrified eyes.

  1. ERISANDRA: What treachery is this?!

PANEL 4

The Countess bursts from her room into the hall shouting a command at the guard waiting outside her chambers.

  1. ERISANDRA: Seize her! Now! The girl in the robe.

PANEL 5

Inga, her robe now abandoned, casts a determined look back towards the source of the Countess's cries.

  1. ERISANDRA: You will pay for your disruption.

PAGE 21 (4 PANELS)

PANEL 1

Vinlar continues to interrogate the emissary.

  1. VINLAR: What stake does my uncle have in this alliance with Dracea?
  2. EMISSARY: Territory, loyalty, the usual mundane aspects of building an empire.
  3. VINLAR: No, there is more! What is it?
  4. EMISSARY: The library. He wants access to the library.
  5. VINLAR: Why, what does he seek?

PANEL 2

(two panels?)
Inga hastily navigates the keep's hallways, the echo of pursuing guards a constant threat at her heels.

PANEL 3

A sudden intrusion disrupts the tense interrogation, a guard bursting through the door with news of the unfolding chaos.

  1. GUARD: Sir, we have a breach within the keep!

PANEL 4

As realization dawns on the guard's face upon seeing the emissary at Vinlar's mercy, Vinlar makes a split-second decision, leaping towards the balcony's precarious freedom.

  1. EMISSARY: Stop him!
  2. GUARD: Another intruder!
  3. NARRATION: to be continued in the epic conclusion of Shadows of Balthor!

← Back to Vinlar