Soulbinder’s Bane

A one-act play in verse

by

Joseph P. Rogers

This play is a sequel to The Magician’s Gambit.  The action in this play occurs several months after the events of its companion play.

Cast of Characters (in order of appearance)

PAIGE (a forest sprite)

SOULBINDER (an evil warlock)

MATTHEW (the good magician)

FRANCINE (Matthew’s wife)

PRIEST

SHERIFF BROWN

SALLY BREE (a townswoman)

Scene 1

PAIGE (addressing the audience):

Over field and forest do I fly

Until a fun game do I spy.

Then I land and stay awhile,

Playing and laughing, beaming with smiles.

Yet today I can find no playmates;

Perhaps they have slept very late.

Still, it is odd to see none of my friends.

To what chores do they tend?

Only a gaggle of geese

High in the sky;

Every else has gone bye-bye.

Where are Sarah, Bella, and Jessie?

Are they playing hide-and-seek with me?

Perhaps, but I think something else is happening;

Ill omens on the wind does bring:

This is not a day to sing.

Look!  Over there!  That’s the thing.

That is why no one is around today.

Something sinister comes this way!

I would be wise to turn and run,

But that would not be any fun.

I want to know what brings him here.

Hush!  He draws very near.

(SOULBINDER enters.  PAIGE covertly watches him.)

PAIGE (from her hiding place):

The swamp -- murky, dark, and deep;

Its image into our nightmares did seep.

Across that swamp, a man does stride;

Over the bog, he seems to glide.

Yet on his face, there is no smile, no mirth, no grin;

His countenance is as dark as sin.

Resolve is fixed firmly on that face

Of the man who moves with supernatural grace.

He is a warlock with power great;

He believes not in luck or chance or fate.

The warlock has traveled across the wide world

In order to see his plans unfurled.

He steps from swamp onto firm, dry ground,

Confident that his enemy will soon be found.

SOULBINDER:

Matthew the Magician, I hate thee!

Your blood shall be my tea!

Very soon you shall rue the day

That your path crossed my way.

PAIGE (emerges from her hiding place):

Your pardon, sir!  Pardon me,

I would like to speak to thee.

SOULBINDER:

Where are you?  Tell me now!

Or I’ll turn you into a cow!

PAIGE:

Here, good sir!  By the tree!

I am quite small as you see.

SOULBINDER:

Oh, there you are, little gnome;

I thought that I was all alone.

But why are you there by that tree?

Do you dare to follow me?

PAIGE:

Indeed not, good sir, I would not dare;

For I know that of you, I must beware.

SOULBINDER:

Yes, you must --- if you are smart;

Else your life will be quite short.

PAIGE:

Oh, dear sir, you will think me quite bold,

But I am already very, very old.

However, since I am a fairy,

I do not show it.

Indeed you would have no way to know it.

SOULBINDER:

Impudent pup, presumptuous sprite!

It is you that I should smite!

That you are immortal, I know well;

Do you not realize that I am from Hell?

PAIGE:

Forgive me for being such a silly sprite;

Someone such as me, you could never like;

I just flitter about all the day,

Going this-and-that-a-way.

SOULBINDER:

You waste my time with your idle chat;

You are truly a little brat;

Be gone!  Leave while you still can!

In my path, never again land!

PAIGE:

It is clearly time for me to bid you good day,

And to be on my merry way.

But first let me sound a note of warning

About the dark plans that you are forming.

The path that you are on leads not to Life,

But to everlasting strife.

It is not too late to change your ways,

And to seek the Light today.

For in the Word, true joy is found.

In the Word, grace abounds.

SOULBINDER:

Bold sprite, those brazen words,

I’ll make you rue!

I shall now slay you!

(SOULBINDER lunges toward the fairy, who flees off the stage.)

PAIGE:

Not today!  Not today!

It is time for me to be far away!

(PAIGE exits)

Scene 2    

(MATTHEW and FRANCINE are relaxing in an open meadow on the edge of the woods.)

FRANCINE:

This is the perfect time of day

To sing and dance, to run and play

Perhaps we could ride our bikes;

No, wait!  Let’s fly some kites!

Perhaps we could row our canoe down the stream;

There are endless possibilities it seems!

MATTHEW:

My dear, I care not what we do;

As long as I do it with you.

FRANCINE:

I think kite flying would be the most fun,

But you will have to run, run, run

To get the kite high up in the air.

MATTHEW:

Whatever pleases you, my lady fair.

MATTHEW:

Welcome, my forever young, yet ancient friend.

What brings you to this open glen?

I am surprised to see you, I must confess.

Have you come to play some chess?

The deep woods are your natural home;

From that place, you seldom roam.

An urgent cause must bring you here today;

You are well, I hope and pray.

PAIGE:

My breath returns ---

And none too soon!

Far from this place, we must fly.

If we don’t, we soon shall die!

MATTHEW:

But the evil coven was defeated;

I thought that our task had been completed.

Is there a new menace, a new foe,

Who brings to us all new woes?

PAIGE:

Yes, in truth, and he will soon be here;

And of him, there is much too fear.

A sorcerer most evil this way is coming;

So we both need to be running.

MATTHEW:

Indeed, go seek refuge, my friend most loyal;

Thank you for your exhausting toil;

But I must stand my ground here today;

I shall block the dark one’s way.

Matthew, bravely you sing a hero’s song,

But in this sorcerer’s way, you do not belong;

Even for you, he is much too strong.

Look at those birds, those rabbits, and those deer;

They begin to flee in fear;

Our enemy must be drawing near.

PAIGE:

Then it is time for me to be out of here!

(PAIGE exits)

(SOULBINDER enters and sees MATTHEW.)

SOULBINDER:

It seems my search has reached an end;

Although this man does not seem to comprehend

That his life will soon be terminated,

And my desire for revenge will soon be sated.

You stand there as calm as calm can be.

Have you no fear of me?

MATTHEW:

As long as I walk in the Light,

There is no need to fear your might.

SOULBINDER:

Why are you alone out here?

Where is your little dear?

I heard that you had wed.

The two of you are the perfect couple,

It has been said.

So why is your wife not at your side?

Perhaps your presence she could not longer abide.

MATTHEW:

My wife is not your concern;

The reason for your visit, though, I must learn.

SOULBINDER:

It’s charming to see a newlywed;

It is too bad that you will soon be dead.

Then I will go in search of your bride;

There will be no place that she can hide.

MATTHEW:

Stranger, I do not like your threats;

Those evil words, you shall soon regret.

I do not know you,

Nor have I done you wrong.

On our land, you do not belong.

SOULBINDER:

My true name I do not reveal,

Even to those whose souls I steal.

Soulbinder is the name by which I go;

It is the only name for me that you shall know.

MATTHEW:

Your reason for being here I still do not see;

Your motives remain a mystery.

SOULBINDER:

The witches and warlock whom you did defeat

Once sat as students at my feet.

They were good students who learned well from me,

And their powers, you did see.

Yet somehow those powers, you did crush,

And their spells, you turned to mush.

For our coven, it was a disaster.

However, now today you meet their master.

Their strength was slight compared to mine.

That you shall soon find.

MATTHEW:

I heard that they have gone insane;

It is you who is to blame;

You led them down the path of the dark;

Upon their souls, you placed Satan’s mark.

MATTHEW:

Talk all that you want, son of the Light;

You can never match my might.

Matthew, it is time for you to die.

Your lady love shall cry, cry, cry.

(SOULBINDER and MATTHEW snap their arms forward with fingers spread wide as they hurl power at each other.  MATTHEW is knocked backward and falls down.  When he tries to get up, SOULBINDER knocks him down again.)

(PAIGE enters and grabs MATTHEW and helps him flee into the woods.  MATTHEW  and PAIGE exit.) 

SOULBINDER:

You can flee across the sea,

But you shall never escape me!

Scene 3

(In a small church, MATTHEW is seated on a pew between FRANCINE and PAIGE.  The PRIEST stands near the pew.)

MATTHEW:

I’m glad that Paige brought me to this church to heal;

God’s restoring graces I can feel.

FRANCINE:

I do not think that you will have long to rest;

Our courage shall soon be put to the test.

PAIGE:

Indeed, fair lady, the enemy is near,

But we shall show no fear.

We are now on holy ground.

Our power here shall quite astound.

(SOULBINDER enters with SHERIFF BROWN and SALLY BREE as his prisoners.  They are semi-conscious as he drops them onto the floor of the church.)

SOULBINDER:

In from the thunder, lightning, and rain,

Into this little church I came;

This place will never be the same.

Thus I emerge from the wild night,

Bringing with me these two children of the Light.

Look at the fools gathered here.

Oh, look! You must be Matthew’s little dear.

And there is the little forest sprite;

I shall put an end to her tonight.

Wise you were to dash away

Because you know I’ll make you pay.

You are bold, brazen brat!

I’ll  crush you like a gnat!

PAIGE:

Catching me is not easy;

I’ll run you in circles;

You’ll be quite queasy.

All of you will soon be dead;

My hunger for revenge will soon be fed.

Say goodbye to Sheriff Brown;

He tried to hide, but I tracked him down,

And now I have him gagged and bound.

He won’t be long around.

Say farewell to Sally Bree.

She was on her patio having tea

When she shrieked after spotting me,

And now she is no longer free.

Her blood we shall soon see.

Isn’t this just so sad?

Neither of them is really bad.

Their throats, though, I shall turn red,

And they will be very dead.

Does it make you want to cry?

You will have to watch them die.

This is all just such a shame;

They will be dead, and I’m to blame.

I’ll teach you to fear my name.

Then I’ll kill you and you and you:

Oh, this town shall be quite blue.

PRIEST:

Soulbinder, why are you here?

Of God the Father, have you no fear?

Into His house, you come with no shame,

And blaspheme His Holy Name.

SOULBINDER:

Over a black mass, I shall preside

And destroy all of you this evening tide.

MATTHEW:

These good souls shall not be lost

For God the Son has paid the cost.

SOULBINDER

Magician, why on earth did you stay?

You should have fled far, far away.

Now I shall make you pay!

PRIEST:

“Dominus, Dominus, Dominus,”

The Archangel Michael said.

With those words, the demons fled.

Here you stand, all alone,

By yourself with much for which to atone.

SOULBINDER:

I repent nothing, foolish priest.

Of those here, you are the least.

(The PRIEST walks forward holding a chalice containing the Eucharist.  He hands the chalice to MATTHEW.)

PRIEST:

This Consecrated Bread Unleavened

Is now the Eternal King of Heaven.

(MATTHEW, holding the chalice, steps toward SOULBINDER, who recoils in horror.)

SOULBINDER:

Stop right there!

No farther go,

Or I’ll cause you years of woe!

MATTHEW:

Sorcerer, I’ll heed not your commands;

Your house is built on shifting sands.

(SOULBINDER snaps his arms forward with fingers spread wide as he attempts to hurl power at MATTHEW.   SOULBINDER is knocked backward by an unseen force and falls down.  He then slowly gets back up, a look of amazement on his face.)

MATTHEW:

What now, proud servant of the night?

Do you begin to doubt your might?

SOULBINDER:

My strength does seem to slip away.

What magic have you used today?

MATTHEW:

No magic in this church was used;

This sacred space has not been abused.

(SHERIFF BROWN and SALLY BREE stand up. SOULBINDER’s spell on them has been broken.)

SHERIFF BROWN:

Sorcerer, why do you now grow pale?

Is it because your powers fail?

Clearly with you, all is not well.

You have been abandoned by your demons from hell.

(SHERIFF BROWN places handcuffs or a rope binding on SOULBINDER, taking him as a prisoner.)

PAIGE:

Your captives are your jailers now;

The tables have been turned on you somehow.

You aren’t as clever as you think.

Everything can change as fast as a blink.

FRANCINE:

God has wrought a miracle this night,

Dazzling us with His wondrous might.

PAIGE:

The blasphemous sorcerer, bold and proud,

Is no longer quite so loud.

SALLY BREE:

When I first saw him, I almost had a fit,

But now I see that his powers are counterfeit.

SHERIFF BROWN:

To prison we shall take this man defeated;

Justice shall be fairly meted.

SOULBINDER;

I shall forever rue the day

That I made a trip this way!

MATTHEW:

Sheriff Brown, Sally, and Paige, take him away!

We claim the victory today.

Into a prison cell, he shall be cast.

Of this fiend, we have seen the last.

(SHERIFF BROWN, SALLY BREE, and PAIGE exit with SOULBINDER as their prisoner.)

FRANCINE:

An eternal spring fills us with life,

And carries us through all strife.

MATTHEW:

The Eucharist is the greatest thing to love on earth,

It is the goal of our lifelong search,

In the Eucharist, all love is made complete.

In His Presence, life is most sweet.

The Word is concealed within the living Bread.

With His Life, let us be fed.

THE END

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