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| − | == The Script ==
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| − | Birch Rock Camp Productions
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| − | proudly presents
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| − | The Prince of Biroca
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| − | Written by Mike Mattson
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| − | 8/2/00
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| − | * Between acts, while the staff prepares, the campers will be instructed to pretend they are sick until they are given their pill (M & M). The campers will be told to pretend they are sick every time the narrator holds up a sign. This will be explained to them by the director/narrator.
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| − | Narrator: The great kingdom of Biroca finds itself plagued by an evil disease. The King has fallen ill and so has his glorious kingdom (that’s you! The narrator states as he points to the audience). Holding up a sign, the narrator will tell the audience to pretend they’re sick. The narrator will then put the sign down, quiet the audience, and continue: Someone must go find a cure for this evil plague. There is only one choice….THE PRINCE OF BIROCA!
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| − | The Prince & Man-at Arms will be on stage with the four knights around the outside walls. The “Battle Music” will begin and the Prince and Man-at-Arms will be slow motion practicing. When the music ends Act I will begin.
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| − | Act I The Prince gets his quest
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| − | Narrator: Long live the King of Biroca!
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| − | In walks the horn blower faking a horn salute for the King. The King then walks in with a knight on either side. The King is ill and coughing. The Prince, Man-at Arms and knights all kneel on one knee and bow their heads.
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| − | King: My son, rise and look into the eyes of your father. (Cough…Cough) I have a mission of great importance to place on your shoulders. You and your men must find out what horrible disease plagues this valley. Many have died and I fear we will loose many more. (Cough….Cough) Possibly even your father, the King. (Cough)
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| − | Prince: No father!….. I will lead whatever expedition is necessary to find a cure to this horrible sickness and return with it to Biroca.
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| − | King: Go immediately my son before it’s too late! Search for the Biroca Cathedral on the far eastern part of the kingdom. There you will find the Arch-Bishop. He may be able to help you find an antidote of some sort.
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| − | Prince: Then I will find the Arch-Bishop and return soon.
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| − | The Prince and his knights leave for the Biroca Cathedral.
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| − | Act II Journey to the Cathedral
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| − | Narrator: The Prince and his knights have hiked for two days when they come to the great bridge of the Salmador. You see, the Salmador is a well-known and feared monster that guards the bridge and attacks weary travelers who try to cross. The prince sees the bridge and knows they must cross it.
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| − | Knight: I’m not crossing that bridge.
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| − | Prince: You will because we must!
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| − | Narrator: The knight, although scared, was very loyal to the Prince and agreed to cross.
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| − | The knight walks across and arrives on the other side safely.
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| − | Knight: I didn’t see anything, my Lord, it looks safe to cross.
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| − | The Prince then walks across with his man-at-arms and then the rest. As the second to last knight walks across the bridge suddenly a beast attacks and rakes the knight off the bridge and into the chasm.
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| − | Prince: It’s the Salmador! Defend yourselves!
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| − | The men defend themselves against the beast and are victorious in defeating it. The men then briefly mourn the loss of their friend.
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| − | Prince: All right men we need to move on because time is working against us.
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| − | Act III The Cathedral
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| − | Narrator: After a few more days of traveling the men finally arrived at the eastern edge of the kingdom. The Biroca Cathedral stands upon a great hilltop and can be seen for miles around. The Prince and his men enter and bow before the Arch-Bishop.
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| − | Arch-Bishop: Please, my lord, it is I who should bow to you. You are the Prince of Biroca! Soon you will be the mightiest King this land has ever known.
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| − | Prince: Arch-Bishop, we need your help. As you know our kingdom has been plagued for weeks. At this very moment our King lies dying in the castle….for all I know he may already be dead.
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| − | Arch-Bishop: No my Prince, your father still lives and he’s counting on you to complete your quest.
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| − | Prince: (In a panic) But we don’t even know where to begin.
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| − | Arch-Bishop: There is only one thing that I know of that may be able to reverse the plague…..The Spring of Longevity. This spring has water so pure that even the worst of disease can’t survive in it.
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| − | Chant Song: The Spring…………The Spring
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| − | The Spring of Longevity so sacred and so pure
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| − | The Spring of Longevity is surely the cure
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| − | The Spring of Longevity that is your quest
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| − | And finding the spring will surely be a test.
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| − | The Spring
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| − | Prince: How do we find the Spring of Longevity?
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| − | Arch-Bishop: You will need to travel south to the caves of the witches. Only they know where the spring can be found. They have a map that will show you the way. But beware they are extremely evil and they won’t hesitate to destroy your whole party.
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| − | Prince: Thank you, Bishop! We will not fail the people of Biroca
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| − | Arch-Bishop: God speed, My Prince….God Speed!
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| − | Act IV Journey through the Mountains
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| − | Narrator: The prince and his men journey through the thick woods only to stumble upon a trap set by the wood elves. The prince and men walk through the trees towards the audience and have nets thrown over them by the wood elves. The elves circle them giggling.
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| − | Man-At-Arms: The wood elves have captured us sire. We must break free or we will work as slaves for the rest of our lives.
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| − | Just then a mighty wizard appears from the woods. The wizard casts a flashy spell and says:
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| − | Wizard: Be gone with you wretched elves and torment others no more.
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| − | The elves run in all directions fearing for their lives. After the elves retreat the wizard will free the Prince and his men.
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| − | Prince: Thank you mighty wizard! Those wood elves would have slowed us from our quest.
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| − | Wizard: You are the Prince looking for the Spring of Longevity.
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| − | Prince: Yes I am. Your powers are obviously strong and we could use someone of your talents on our adventure. You probably know this area better then we do, so please won’t you join us.
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| − | Wizard: I would be honored to join your party. I recommend that we proceed though because those elves will be back with many of their friends.
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| − | Prince: Lead on my friend.
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| − | Narrator: The wizard leads the party into the steepest part of the mountain. He explains to them that these mountains hold the most frightening beasts of the land, Mountain Giants. These giants hate outsiders and will hurl boulders and rocks down on their enemies. This worries the knights but nothing will stop them from completing their quest.
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| − | Act V Giant’s Bridge
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| − | Narrator: The Prince and his party arrive at a large bridge that crosses the Jun River. The bridge doesn’t look very sturdy but it seems safe enough. Just then a pair of wandering barbarians arrive on the scene.
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| − | Barbarian: We have come to help the mighty Prince of Biroca complete his quest. The mountain giants of this area are very protective of the bridges up here and you will need our help to get across safely.
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| − | Prince: We are proud to have you join us. Lead on then.
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| − | The party will walk across the bridge slowly, single file with the lead barbarian (Lenza) first. As half the party gets to the other end of the bridge…just then a few giants appear above and start hurling boulders down on the party. Two of the knights are hit and fall off the bridge. The barbarians are firing arrows and the wizard casts a spell and all the giants are killed or scared off.
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| − | Man-At-Arms: We are lucky to be alive after that battle.
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| − | Prince: Two more men dead and we haven’t even met with the witches yet.
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| − | Wizard: I am sorry about your men, they were great fighters of high nobility. This bridge is the only way to get to the witches cave. You see, just around those trees is the entrance. The wizard points to the trees and the cave entrance. The men journey around the trees.
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| − | Act VI Witches Cave
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| − | Inside the cave three witches stand around a fire doing some light chanting and swaying back and forth. One of the witches holds an old map.
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| − | Narrator: As the Prince and his party enter the room they see a trio of old nasty witches chanting around a fire. One of the witches holds an old scroll.
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| − | Knight: Get the map!
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| − | Wizard: No wait!
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| − | The knight yells as he runs at the witches with his sword drawn. One of the witches quickly turns on the knight and rips the knight’s heart from his chest. The knight topples to the floor as the witches laugh at the recent sacrifice. The witch will hold the heart up high to the crowd.
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| − | Prince: NO!!! Kill those evil witches and get the map. The Prince and the other warriors rush the witches.
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| − | Witches: Be gone! The witches yell in unison as they through an invisible force wave that sends the Prince and his knights back.
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| − | Wizard: Sleep! The wizard yells, as he raises his arms and puts the witches to sleep. The Man-At-Arms grabs the old scroll and reads it.
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| − | Man-at-Arms: This map shows a mark where the Spring of Longevity can be found. My Prince, it looks like we’ll have to fight past the Nexus Dragon to get to the chasm where the spring can be found.
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| − | Prince: We will do whatever it takes to get to the spring and save our people.
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| − | Wizard: We must move on before those wretched witches wake up.
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| − | The party leaves the cave and marches across in front of Lion’s Den.
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| − | Act VII The Nexus Dragon
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| − | Narrator: The party has traveled for many more days and they grow weary of this quest but they know that they must press on and save the people of Biroca. They travel high into the Nexus Mountains to the entrance of a great cavern. Here is where they will find the dragon and end their quest.
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| − | The men stand at the entrance and look down into the cave.
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| − | Prince: Men, we have traveled far and wide to find this cave, the location of the Spring of Longevity. We must slay the dragon and then fill our flagons with the Spring’s healing waters. Once we have the healing waters from the Spring we must return to the Valley of Biroca and save our people by supplying them with drink.
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| − | Barbarian: Lead on Mighty Prince. I for one will gladly follow you into any battle.
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| − | As the party steps towards the cave, the dragon’s head and neck will shoot out of the cave with a hiss. The wizard will step forward and attack the beast and fight it back down into the cave. Right before the wizard is out of sight the dragon will be seen biting the wizard and pulling him into the cave.
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| − | Prince: The dragon ate the wizard whole! Defend yourselves! Sounds of battle can be heard from the cave. After a while the combat will stop and the party will reemerge from the depths of the cavern with satchels full of the spring’s water (SPRITE).
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| − | Narrator: The party has safely returned to the Valley of Biroca with the healing powers of the spring in tow.
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| − | Prince: My people, (The prince says to his audience) it is I, the Prince of Biroca. We have traveled around all of Biroca searching for the Spring of Longevity. A spring with healing powers that will over come the plague that destroys our glorious kingdom. Drink of these flagons as they will give you great renewed energy and spirit.
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| − | The cans of sprite are then taken out of the bags and handed over to the audience. While the sodas are being handed out the man-at-arms will scream:
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| − | Man-at-Arms: Long live the Prince of Biroca!
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| − | Everyone Chanting: Long live the Prince!
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| | [[Category:Skits]] | | [[Category:Skits]] |
Starring David Nesher as the Prince of Biroca
The Prince of Biroca was a play written by Mike Mattson and was originally performed as a regular Saturday evening Campfire skit sometime in the late '90s. For a few years, Birch Rock used the old Riflery Range as an outdoor theater, and the Prince of Biroca was a highlight of those outdoor skits.
During the summer of 2000, Mike Mattson started talking to Ryan Massey about resurrecting that outdoor theater and bringing the Prince of Biroca back to camp once more. It was not until the summer of 2001 that they decided to do it, and this time it would be a Sunday afternoon event, which meant it had to be a little longer. Mike quickly fired out a skit and had all the staff on board. Ryan and Mike prepped the old Riflery Range by weedwacking and clearing away some fallen brush. Props and costumes were purchased or made, including a paper-mâché Dragon's head that Ryan, Mike, and Cole Penley put together.
The skit had background music for slow motion battle scenes, low-budget special effects pyrotechnics acomplished with powder and sparklers for when the witches entered, and a water balloon in a bowl of ketchup used by a witch as a heart pulled out of a knight's chest. The campers were told to act as the sickened townspeople between scenes and were handed M&Ms as a temporary medicine until the Prince could journey to the Spring of Longevity and bring its liquid back to the people. By the end of the skit upon the Prince's slaying of the dragon a chest was found with the Spring of Longevity inside, which was cans of Sprite.
Although Mike was a barbarian in the original skit, he chose to act as a narrator this time as a way to better control the pace.
The Story
The story begins with the Prince and the court's wise Man-in-Arms practicing sword play. Music plays in the background as the two battle all through out the audience. As the music fades, a few knights enter and sound the horns and one knight hollers, "The King" and kneels. They all kneel as the King enters escorted by knights. The King is coughing and is not well. He explains to his son that is up to him to save the King and his sick people (the audience is told to cough). The King has his servants offer a temporary medicine to the audience and asks the Prince to travel to the Arch Bishop of Biroca and seek his advice.
As they adventure all around the audience and along the wall in the back of the old rifle range, the groupg is attacked by the mighty Salmador. One knight is knocked down and plummets to his death.The Prince travels with his trusty Man-in-Arms and a few knights to the great church of Biroca. There the Arch Bishop tells them that they must travel to the caves of the Three Witches and learn from them the location of the Spring of Longevity. They immediately muster and move out.
They then travel off into the woods behind Lion's Den and march down around from the other side. Next they are attacked and netted by a troop of Wood-Elves. Luckily they are rescued by a mighty Wizard who appears up on the roof of the bike shed, firing bottle rockets in the air from his wrists. After the wizard joins them they journey some more and are attacked by Mountain Giants hurling boulders (soccer balls) down on them. A pair of barbarians come to their aid and join them.
The now massive group travels all around the range and eventually arrives outside the "cave." The witches are chanting around a fire pit three feet from the front of the audience. They weave spells and sprinkle sparkler dust into the fire. Just then one of the knights charges in screaming, and a witch pops up and yanks the water balloon heart away from the knights chest as he drops dead. The witch holds the heart high and then licks the balloon. The Wizard shouts, "Enough!" and blasts the witch. The rest attack the other witches and capture them quickly. The witches tell them where the Spring of Biroca is in exchange for their release and slink off into the woods.
After one more dangerous journey they finally arrive at the Dragon's lair. The Nexus Dragon, three staff members under a black blanket, one manning the paper-mâché head to open and close the mouth, comes surging out of the old Riflery Range building and kills a barbarian quickly and manages to eat the wizard as well. Finally, the Prince, older Barbarian, and Man-in-Arms overcome and destroy the dragon. Shortly after that the chest with the Spring is found and the audience members all get a Sprite.
Cast in 2001
Rich Deering as the sickened King
Thomas Joyce as the Arch Bishop
Lenza Latendresse as a Barbarian
Erik Joelsson as a Barbarian
Ryan Massey as the Wizard
Gerhardus Van Rensberg as a Witch
Jacubus Pietrse as a Witch
Clinton O'Leary as a Witch
| Role
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Actor
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| Narrator
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Mike Mattson
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| King
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Rich Deering
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| Prince
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David Nesher
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| Man-in-Arms
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Josh Pincus
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| Arch Bishop
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Thomas Joyce
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| Wizard
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Ryan Massey
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| Barbarian
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Lenza Latendresse
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| Barbarian
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Erik Joelsson
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| Knight
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Mark Sutherland
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| Knight
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Mike Nordblom
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| Knight
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Pete Callanan
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| Witch
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Gerhardus Van Rensburg
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| Witch
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Clinton O'Leary
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| Witch
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Jacobus Pietrse
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| Witch
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Kwan Lee
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| Witch
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Robert Doran
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| Salmador
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Orin Dodge
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| Many Roles
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Colin Penley and Owen Wolfertz
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| Wood-Elves
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2001 CITs
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