Crown of Iron by admin
CROWN OF IRON by Jack Bullions FADE IN: White titles appear against the black screen. "The world is grey, the mountains old, The forge's fire is ashen-cold; No harp is wrung, no hammer falls: The darkness dwells in Durin's halls; The shadow lies upon his tomb In Moria, in Khazad-dûm. But still the sunken stars appear In dark and windless Mirrormere; There lies his crown in water deep, Till Durin wakes again from sleep." - Legend of Moria The letters fade, like wisps of smoke, into darkness. We suddenly HEAR a soft chorus of deep-throated voices... strong Dwarven music accompanied with distant booms of a drum... the effect is serene, yet full of brawn when suddenly we... SMASH CUT TO: INT. MITHRIL MINE - TIMELESS A pick-axe SLAMS into solid rock, breaking off a chunk. The dwarf lowers his axe and wipes sweat from his brow, smearing soot in the process. Muscled arms, olive complexion, a stout body, proud face partially covered by his thick golden beard. His eyes are intense, eager for the minerals and metals hidden in the quarry. Dwarven names are never shared so for now, we will refer to this dwarf as BRONIN. Bronin hefts his axe again and gets back to work. SUPERIMPOSE: KHAZAD-DUM, YEAR III 1980 Behind him and up the shaft, more DWARVES like Bronin work the metal mine -- muscles with sweat, bags of rock slung over broad shoulders, moving carts of dirt, iron ore, all working in unision. The area is claustrophobic, and dark but they don't seem to mind. The veins of the mine are the veins in their bodies. These guys are the complete opposite of what Disney saw with his Seven Dwarves. A group of DWARF ENGINEERS go over charts on an oak table, a continuously-changing representation of the mines as they chart new tunnels and shafts. Another group studies and analyzes the iron ore from passing carts. We follow the shaft of the mine up to an immense space deep in the bowels of the mining operation. Vaguely circular, the room is carved out of the very rock of the mountain Zirakzigil with giant stairwells and ramps that spiral up and up to incomprehensible heights. In the center, there's an enormous pit. Flames are visible over beveled edges descending to the depths. On one wall, a complex series of twin-ducts, gears, large bellows, and fans made of PALM FRONDS flow oxygen from the mountain cliffs into the furnace area. INT. LOWER MINE SHAFT A DWARF MINER breaks through a wall, exposes a vein of glimmering mithril. He lowers his axe, draws closer. DWARF MINER (in awe) Mithril. The word echoes from other dwarves, and they swarm to the discovery. BACK ON BRONIN Another Miner nudges him with an elbow, prompting him to stop. Bronin looks back, sees the commotion, hearing the word 'Mithril' repeated over and over. He follows the group out. INT. BLAST FURNACE (CONTINUOUS) Bronin and the group make their way across the ledge. Their figures backlit by intense heat from the FLAMES of the furnace. INT. LOWER MINE SHAFT DURIN VI, the Lord of Khazad-Dûm, powerful regal features, beard braided in gold and silver rings covering a barreled chest, sees the new group approach. Resting on his shoulder is his axe, and gripped in his other hand a tiny CANARY. Miners use these little birds to test quality of air inside tunnels. DURIN A new vein was discovered. A joyous occassion. Come join the throng! BRONIN How far deep does this vein run? DURIN Quite deep. Look at his work. His axe sheared more rock than a fist of Aule and yet we see but a small portion of the prize. The dwarves nod in agreement. DURIN Deeper! Onwards, I say! We've struck the motherlode! Footsteps. Durin turns just as a red-bearded DWARF MINER appears from the tunnel heading away from the furnace. His face doesn't share the same enthusiasm. DWARF MINER Hold fast, fellows. There is something else to see. The walls down here are lined with mithril, yes... enough mithril to fill Kheled-zâram but... (beat) ... there is something else down here. Follow me. CUT TO: INT. TUNNEL - DEAD END The Dwarf Miner leads Durin and the group lower into the depths of the mountain. At the end of the tunnel is a FISSURE, wide enough for a dwarf to squeeze through. DWARF MINER We came upon this. Look there. Bronin looks through. Perpetual darkness on the other side. His eyes narrow and we start to see through his -- BRONIN'S POV: Dwarven night-vision. The tunnel around almost as bright as day, lurid white, and smooth gray. Beyond it is the remains of a TEMPLE DOORWAY, ancient, incalculable age, and in the state of heavy decay. Debris and crumbled brick are everywhere. Bronin is struck by the sight. He looks back at Durin. BRONIN What is that? No answer. Durin leaves the group, climbs through the fissure... INT. TEMPLE ENTRANCE (CONTINUOUS) ... and instantly wrinkles his nose. DURIN Fire... a strong one. The Miners fan out. They nervously examine the walls, studying the strange HIEROGLYPHICS (RUNES) carved intricately into the temple entrance. Gone is the excitement and euphoria of the mithril discovery. Several Miners cast nervous glances through the doorway. This design... these walls... they feel different, alien to them. Something in air just doesn't sit right. BRONIN These symbols and patterns do not belong to any of the Longbeards. If there was a clan before us, we would know it. Durin takes a few steps ahead of the group, has a gander at the new tunnel... then his eyes wander down, and down, and his face becomes ASTONISHED. Durin enters the Temple, Bronin following behind. INT. TEMPLE - DECLINED PASSAGE The camera makes a hundred and eighty degree turn as we suddenly SEE where they are heading towards... AN ENORMOUS ABYSS with no end, plunging God knows how deep into the murky depths below. Durin at the ledge, stares out. He looks back at Bronin who waits by the incline. DURIN Do you see that, Bronin? Look yonder. It appears to be light but not daylight. It is red. Bronin joins his side. HIS POV: far off into the distance, a LONG WALL OF FLAME, left to right, straight center across the blackness like a horizon. Durin releases the canary. It flutters to the ground, hops around a few seconds, and then jumps and flies off towards the light. Durin turns to Bronin when suddenly -- THE DARKNESS spits something back at their feet. The two recoil. They look down in horror. The little bird, it's a tiny chunk of charred meat. A LONG OMINOUS BEAT. And then, like a slow-motion earthquake, cracks form on walls and ground, dirt begins to shift in the temple. DWARVES yell in the b.g. Something is coming alive. Durin and Bronin look back at the wall of fire where a large section of the DARKNESS BEGINS TO MOVE TOWARDS THEM, its contours incongruous with the rest of the black. Both Durin and Bronin scramble back up the tunnel. INT. TUNNEL - DEAD END Durin and Bronin burst through the fissure in panic. Behind them -- THE ENTIRE TEMPLE EXPLODES OUTWARDS b EXT. BLAST FURNACE Durin and Bronin make it out of the shaft. The entire area violently SHAKES. EQUIPMENT fall and clatter. Showers of DEBRIS and ROCK fall on the Miners. Dwarves are thrown about. Lots of YELLING. And it stops shaking. Everything goes dead quiet except the crackle of flickering flames. Confused eyes share terror- filled looks. A SOUND is HEARD coming from the lower mine shafts, like wind MOANING. The Dwarves are stunned, look around for the source of the sound, then the moan stops and is replaced by a distinct ROAR... OVERPOWERINGLY LOUD... and -- THE BALROG EXPLODES OUT OF THE MINE SHAFT