For this one: You must alert the king to a spread of dark magic.
WATCHING US (any gender, mid teens through late fifties)
Sire. There is something very wrong. It spreads through the village. It spreads through the countryside. I seek your help before it spreads to the palace.
I know you think me a fraud. A fool pretending to have magic powers. Perhaps I WAS. I failed at your last festival. Rather than power, I used tricks. And even my tricks weren't very good.
But I happened on something last week. I was practicing a chant and then I saw it. A hole in the air. It was the size of a plate. Big enough for me to peer through.
Sire, there's another world on the other side of that hole. There are people and they are watching us. They are seated in a room and they hear what we say. They see what we do. They murmur when we transgress. And they laugh when we struggle.
Sire, as soon as I backed away from the hole, it multiplied. There were ten of these holes, the last time I saw. They float around the village like soap bubbles. Sire, the citizens: They are looking through these holes. They now know they are being watched. They are unable to concentrate on their work.
And when the hole moves on, they act with growing bitterness. They see what fools they must be in others' eyes. They are beginning quarrel. They are beginning to despair. They are changing what they do. They are beginning to rebel. Not against you, sire. They are rebelling against themselves.
And the holes will keep multiplying. The village and the countryside are turning into a mad carnival.
Sire, I ask that you let me stay by your throne. One hour is all I ask. I must share these tales with you. Tales from the village. If you do not see the danger, then I am glad. I shall let you call me a fool again. But if you do see the danger, I beg you: Tell me. What was this world before you ruled it? How did this kingdom come to be? I think I can bring it back to order.
Copyright 2016 by Matt Haynes.
If you would like to use this piece, please credit: "Courtesy of Matt Haynes and The Pulp Stage"