Medieval England...
the early years of
the reign of Edward I.
A troubled land in those days.
Her great feudal fortress castles,
born in that uneasy time...
stand now as stately
monuments...
to how unyielding were the enmities
that caused their building.
More than two centuries
have passed...
since the Norman conquests have
brought the last infusion...
of what was one day
to be English blood.
Yet, the bitterness between the Norman
conqueror and the Saxon conquered...
lay still unhealed.
It had separated the neighboring
great houses of Bulaire and Gurnie...
by far more than the scant
few miles that lay between them...
in those days that began
with the death of Rauf...
Earl of Lessford and
Lord of the House of Bulaire.
You there.
What's your business?
- I was sent for by the earl's man of law.
- And what might your name be?
They call me
Walter of Gurnie.
I should have known
you're his son by the look of you.
You had a good man to father you,
I'll say that. You'd best come this way.
Saxons of any breeding won't find much
welcome here now that he's dead.
- What do you want here?
- He wants to see Simeon Bautrie, the earl's man of law.
Oh, so you're the lad
from Oxford.
- I'll take you to him.
- Thank you.
- Walter, my lad.
- Simeon, I'm glad to see you.
You've grown.
Thickened out anyway.
Did you find
your grandfather well?
Well, I- I didn't stop at home.
I came straight here.
I thought-Well, I was afraid
that he'd forbid my coming.
My grandfather never
stopped hating him.
You'll not have eaten then.
Sit down, lad.
I keep bite and sup handy.
Fall to, lad.
Tell me, young scholar...
what have they taught you
in this Oxford of yours?
Oh, numbers.
Ma- Many things.
- I can read as well as you, Simeon Bautrie.
- And write too?
Yes, I know a little Latin
and some Greek too.
And French too, perhaps?
No, I'll not learn
that Norman tongue.
Let them learn ours.
Two hundred years since they came here...
and their court still
clatters with that foreign-
Easy, lad, easy.
You forget this is a Norman house now.
Do you want to
get us hanged?
Simeon, tell me,
why did you send for me?
Reason enough.
- You're in the will.
- By name?
I mean, he acknowledges me
as his son?
Yes, he says you're his son.
I knew he would.
But don't count on
too much from it, lad.
Tell me.
You knew my father well.
He loved my mother,
didn't he...
more than he loved
that Norman... woman he married.
He loved me too.
I know he did.
I remember once
when I was little...
I admired a pair of boots
he was wearing.
They were black
with gold leopards.
He said that he'd
get me a pair like them.
He never did, of course,
but I knew that he wanted to.
If he could have done
what he wanted, he-
he would have made
things different, wouldn't he?
Your father, Walter,
bore a stout lance in battle...
and he was gentle enough
of heart, there's truth in that.
Yes, I think he loved
your mother best...
and that you were
the son he wanted.
But it may be too that he's done you more harm
than good by mentioning you in the will.
There's no love here for Saxons
of any breeding now.
They gave their allegiance
to your father...
and well that Norman wife
of his knows it.
She's already thrown a score of them
into her dungeons...
hostages against trouble.
So I'll not have you come charging into
this business with all your emotion.
You can be present at
the reading of the will...
but only if you'll stand
well back in the hall.
If my lady sees you,
she'll do you harm if she can.
Oui.
Begin.
In the name of God, amen.
This is the last will
and testament of Rauf...
Earl of Lessford
and Lord of Bulaire.
First, he gives and bequeaths his soul
unto the Lord God Almighty...
and to all saints...
and his body to be buried
in the chapel ofhis castle at Bulaire.
Item- He wills that
all such manors, lands and rents...
which were descended unto him by way
of inheritance, shall remain unto his heirs...
namely, Eleanor, his wife,
and Edmond, his lawful son.
Item.
He wishes to acknowledge
a known truth...
that he had another son,
who, for lack of his name...
is known as Walter of Gurnie,
and for whom he had affection.
To this said Walter of Gurnie...
he bequeaths his black boots of
Spanish leather with the golden leopards.
Further,
and of most importance...
it was his wish to will this son's life
into the service of our king...
confident that he will make a fitting and
honorable place for himself in such service.
Item-
He gives and bequeaths to
the high altar of the chapel of Bulaire...
- the chalice- - There's no more in
that will concerns that nameless lout!
- Let him take what was given him and leave.
- Why should I?
Shall I crawl out on my hands and knees
because some Norman tells me to?
- Watch your Saxon tongue!
- And I'll serve no Norman king either.
I'm a Saxon. He had no right
to hand me over to a Norman tyrant.
- This is treason!
- And may you hang for it, Walter of Gurnie.
By your leave, my Lady of Lessford.
There's something here, I think,
that touches on a matter...
with which I am
very much concerned.
I should like to
question this young man.
You have no need to ask,
Your Majesty.
It would seem that the prospect
of entering the service of your king...
does not altogether
fill you with pleasure.
I'd like you to tell me freely
why this feeling is so bitter.
You may speak up, lad.
As you see, I came
this way while hunting...
so let us say that for the moment
I am not your king...
so we talk as
between two men.
There'll be no penalty
for the truth.
You're a Norman,
that's reason enough.
But it's not.
It's over 200 years
since the conquest.
Surely Saxons and Normans
should have found a way...
to live together
in that time.
Your father did not feel as you do.
He was a Saxon.
He knew that if this
bitterness was not healed...
it would be
the worse for England.
This is a problem that must be
dealt with one way or another.
Tell me, when you refuse me
your loyalty because I am a Norman...
have you not considered that
I have no choice in the same matter...
that I must be king
for Norman and Saxon alike...
whether I like it or not?
Do you Saxons not owe something
besides hatred to the same cause?
What do I owe the Normans?
We lived at Gurnie when the Normans
were no better than wolves of the sea...
and it was a better Gurnie then
before they came to rob us.
She's a Norman...
and she robbed me
of my name.
She robbed my father of the chance
he had to have a Saxon son.
It was her doing
that I never knew my father.
He willed me into the service of a Norman,
but he can't make me serve them.
I have heard nothing in this
that touches my problem.
This seems to me to be a matter
between a son and his father.
I would not like the lad to be hanged
merely because he has been hurt.
It is our wish
that he be let go free.
Do you suppose this house could give
a traveler rest? Let's say if he was born here?
- Master Walter!
- It's good to see you, old Will.
You've grown, and well too.
Come in. Come in.
You're home again.
I hoped you'd come by suppertime.
I laid a place for you.
You knew I'd left Oxford then.
Aye. We have a guest who came
from Oxford. About you, I think.
- Who's that?
- Bacon. Friar Roger Bacon.
Oh. Friar Bacon. He was
a teacher of mine. I'd like to see him.
I'll tell him, Master Walter.
Will-
Uh, what did he say when
he found I'd left school?
- My grandfather, I mean.
- You know him, Master Walter.
He never says anything.
He just looks.
- Well, how is he?
- You saw that pile of iron in the moat?
Yes, I did.
I meant to ask.
We have gone into trade.
A belted knight
of Gurnie in trade...
dealing in armorers'
iron and swine.
And just like he does everything else,
not a word to anyone.
One morning, the horses were gone
and the swine came.
And then the iron.
And when they wanted to know
where he wanted it put...
he told me to have them
put it in front of the gate.
They didn't know what he meant,
but I did.
If we were going to be in trade,
put it out where the world could see.
If there's a price
to pay, pay it.
And when he walks by it...
he looks neither to
the right nor to the left.
I'll call Friar Bacon,
Master Walter.
I trust this reception
is not planned for me.
Oh, Friar Bacon.
L- I couldn't help doing that.
When I was very little,
that was my measure of growing up...
when I could wield
that sword.
I could wish I'd given you
so much of feeling about your books.
Perhaps you would not have
given them up so readily.
Oh.
What happened
concerning your father?
Was it all you hoped for?
No.
Will you return with me then?
I, uh-
I don't know.
Never mind.
There'll be time to talk of that later,
perhaps with your grandfather.
That won't be so easy.
Why not?
Well, you see, my grandfather and I only
talk to each other through someone else.
It, uh- It makes
discussion difficult.
You mean
you don't speak?
Generally we talk
through old Wilderkin...
but I should warn you that it may
very well be you if no one else is here.
No, you mustn't think
that he's unkind.
It- It's just an oath he took after
the great quarrel with my father.
Well, perhaps I ought to tell you
a little bit about it to make it clear.
My father was betrothed to my mother
before he went on his crusade...
but when he was returning, he fell ill
of a wound-very nearly died of it.
They cared for him
in a Norman house.
Well, after a long time,
when he was well again...
he married the daughter of that house,
the one who had nursed him.
It was out of
gratitude, I suppose.
He didn't know that I'd been born.
How could he?
As soon as he found out,
he came straight here.
And then there was a quarrel,
so bitter that I can still remember it.
My grandfather swore that he would
never speak to my father again...
nor to anyone else
of his blood.
That included me,
of course...
although he didn't
mean it that way.
I've often thought that
he was sorry for it afterward.
But my grandfather, you will find,
is a man who does not take an oath...
- nor anything else, lightly.
- I see.
I, uh- I think that
I should tell you something-
Wilderkin! Is our supper ready,
and is our guest here, Wilderkin?
Yes, my lord.
Uh, Wilderkin, tell my grandson
that I'm pleased to see him...
and to see that he's grown
the shoulders of a man.
- My lord wishes me to tell you-
- Tell my grandfather, Wilderkin...
that I'm glad to see him,
and that I hope the shoulders...
are broad enough to be
of service to him soon.
- My lord, Master Walter says-
- Well spoken, Wilderkin. Well spoken.
Ah, and our guest!
- Welcome to our table, Friar Bacon.
- Thank you, my lord.
Ah. Pig.
Not the best of meats to offer a guest,
Friar, but it's stout and it fills the belly.
Uh, Wilderkin, ask my grandson what
he thinks about our venture into trade...
- a course of which no doubt he's aware.
- My lord asks-
Tell my grandfather,
Wilderkin...
that I think he has adopted
a courageous and knightly course.
Ah, well spoken again,
Wilderkin.
Well, now let's fall to.
Talk comes easier
on a full belly.
The Normans haven't
changed that yet.
A pair of boots...
and the privilege of wearing
an iron collar for a Norman king.
- Ask him what else he expects.
- My lord says-
Tell my grandfather I- I had hoped
there would be some help for Gurnie in it.
Tell my grandson
he was a fool to think it.
Tell him he can help Gurnie best
by returning to his studies...
where he can learn to be
a better man than his father was.
Tell my grandfather that...
I'm not going to return to school.
Tell him that I think my place is here
with him at Gurnie, if there is to be a Gurnie.
Ask him by what right he thinks
at all in such a matter.
Ask him who's the best judge
of what he'll need...
to hold this house
against the Norman thieves.
- Ask him if he thinks I-
- Tell my grandson that-
- My lord, will you permit me?
- On whose side will you speak?
- On no one's side, my lord.
- I warn you, Friar...
that if what you say
is not on my side...
I shall pay but little heed
to the fact that you're my guest.
I journeyed here, my lord,
to urge the same point as you-
the return of
your grandson to Oxford.
Few scholars have come to me with such
an aptitude for learning as your grandson.
It would be a personal
and bitter failure to me if I lost him.
What good is it?
How can you fight the Normans
with-with books?
Walter, if I was young and had
no sure place to put my life...
I could think of nothing better than
to give it for the search for knowledge.
The strength in knowledge, it can
win victories that the sword cannot.
There's so much we need to know
and so few people to seek it out.
England will need it someday.
She needs it now.
Just a handful ofbooks in all our land.
Painfully written,
painfully read by only too few.
There is in every land knowledge
that we need to add to our store.
I've heard of Cathay, a country they say
where no Englishman has been...
an old country,
fabulously rich not only with gold...
but with the knowledge
of many ages.
I've heard that they know
of a substance...
which when it touches a spark...
disappears in
a blinding flash of light.
That they have instruments which help them
to travel by sea and land without becoming lost.
Do you believe
those old wives' tales?
Yes, and more.
Walter, what a challenge
when you're young.
What better thing can a man
ask of life than that?
I don't know...
but it's a- it's
a soft blow to strike.
If I'm gonna leave
him here alone, I-
I want to strike
a better blow than that.
Let him go.
He has been hurt.
He'll think better
after he has slept.
You! What are you
doing down there?
- What do you want here?
- Who are you?
- It's the grandson of the old lord.
- Nobility then. I don't like it.
Tris. Tris Griffen. You're no thief.
What are you doing here?
- Go on. Let him up.
- But he's Saxon.
Tris, we've played
too often on these walls.
I know you and- and you, Dicken.
You're not thieves.
- What are you doing here?
- Well, it's bad enough.
We had no trouble with Bulaire castle
while your father was alive.
But now the Norman woman has thrown
a dozen Saxons in her dungeons as hostages.
- Yes, I saw them.
- Well, we're gonna get them out.
Out of Bulaire? How?
Well, don't think too little
of the strength of this.
She has a beautiful
long arm.
Oh, but not against
stone walls, Tris.
I told you
he'd be on their side.
Who said I was on
Norman side in anything?
- Who's your leader?
- Well, I am, in a manner of speaking.
- Well, we all are.
- Well, you-
You might stand a chance
if you could get inside the gate.
What's your plan?
Well, that's the hard part,
the thinking.
- Well, maybe I can get you in.
- Look, this isn't your quarrel, Walter.
Give me a few men. I may be able
to get them in the miller's gate.
I know the signal.
If we can get the drawbridge down
from the inside, you might stand a chance.
If we can't, you're still on the outside safe,
to hunt me down if I've betrayed you.
All right, you can go with us.
Come on. Get your weapons.
What do you want?
Who are you?
- Our luck's too good.
- It's probably yours.
Who are you,
out there?
Stay where you are!
Any man coming out of that door
will meet a shaft coming in.
Like this.
The rest of you in there,
throw out your arms one at a time.
You down there,
whoever you are.
I must ask you
to disperse...
and if you have a grievance,
to submit it in the proper fashion.
We'll present it now.
We'll give you five minutes
to yield the prisoners.
For every minute more, we'll hang a man
of the household from the battlements.
Wait there.
Well, that's the end
of your problem.
His new Norman master
has no belly for fighting.
I'll go see about
my problem now.
The prisoners
will be set free.
Who you are,
I have no means of knowing...
but I beg of you
to receive them quietly...
and go to your homes before
deadly harm comes of this night's work.
Oh, I say.
We can't go without young Gurnie.
Stop where you are!
You'll pay for this,
Walter of Gurnie...
and you,
Tris Griffen!
Well, we can't stay here.
They'll hunt us
early in the morning.
I know this forest
better than they do.
They'll hold your family
to bring you out.
There's nobody
but Sarah.
You're lucky.
I have my grandfather to tell, and tonight.
Why did you want the boots
so much, Walter?
Well, they were all I had on the side
of sayin' my father loved me...
when all the world
said he didn't.
Well, if they- if they fit,
they'll keep my feet warm.
It's a letter,
Tris, from my father.
He did care.
Listen.
"Written at Bulaire by candlelight
with the hand of Simeon Bautrie to help.
"To my son Walter:
"I have left a legacy
in gold for you...
"with Joseph at the sign
of the merry- totter in London.
"I could not leave this openly because
to do so might do you hurt.
"And in the matter of bidding you
to the service of the king...
"that was done in the hope that in
helping him to serve this torn England...
"you could earn for yourself
the honorable name I could not give you.
"God bring you
to a good decision...
"and I regret to my heart
all unhappiness I have brought you.
Your affectionate father,
Rauf of Bulaire. "
I'm glad we got the boots.
Tell my grandfather if they find me here,
Gurnie will suffer for it!
Ask my grandson when it was the part of
Gurnie men to run from Norman trouble.
Tell my grandfather, please,
Wilderkin, that we've no choice.
They've won.
The-The Normans have won.
Bulaire is theirs and-
and Gurnie soon will be.
It's their England now,
not ours!
And tell him that I'm not going
to stay in this Norman country.
- Master Walter says that he has-
- Ask my grandson...
where he hopes to find a land
where he can live with himself...
when he knows he's run away
from his obligations.
Tell my grandfather
that I'll find it...
and the farther away
from this land the better.
And the farther away
from this land the better.
That-
Cathay, perhaps.
Tell him if I can get my hands on enough gold
to buy the lands that Gurnie needs...
then maybe
I'll come back.
But until that time,
they can have their England.
I'll not set foot
on Norman soil.
Our guests, Wilderkin,
have a long road before them.
- See that they have what they need for their journey.
- Yes, my lord.
Come on.
The sun will soon be up.
Yes, the Bulaire hounds
will run with the first light.
Master Walter, he said you were
to have all the things you needed.
And... he said you were
to have this standing cup.
It has some value.
It is the last.
Oh, tell him
to keep it.
Maybe I'll fill it
with gold for him someday.
Thank you, Wilderkin,
for everything.
Good luck,
Master Walter.
Well, that's the end
of something...
or the beginning of something,
I don't know.
- I hope you sleep well in your forest.
- Walter, I've been thinking.
- What?
- I was thinking about going with you.
- To Cathay?
- Well, where's that?
Well, it's a long way
from your forest.
Well, maybe Sarah would
like it there.
Now, don't talk
too lightly about it, Tris.
If we should go to such a place,
the chances are all you'll get out of it...
is that in the end you'll be hung
by a Mongol instead of a Norman.
Well, if it comes to that, I'd sooner give
the pleasure to somebody I don't know than-
than a Norman I hate.
A far land it is then.
I guess this is the beginning.
- Well, that's the best.
- So far.
Now, what heathen-
Easy.
Crusades have given these people
reason enough not to love Christians.
Besides, we're not
looking for trouble.
We're looking for the biggest merchant with
the biggest caravan to the farthest places.
He'll likely be
the biggest pirate too.
Good day.
- Are you master of this house?
- No. The master of this house...
is the amiable, gracious
and kindly Anthemus of Antioch...
who I serve
the best I can.
Will you tell him two travelers
of importance are here to see him?
My kindly master concern himself
with only the greatest matters.
Perhaps his servant could-
Look, we've come a long way
to see your master himself.
It will be difficult.
I don't want to disturb him without a reason.
The risk is too great.
I suppose the risk
seems less now, hmm?
I will see my kindly master.
Good day.
You do not look important to me.
I warn you that every minute
of my day must show me a profit.
Well, all we wanted to say, sir, is that we
desire passage with a caravan to the East.
- To what part?
- It's of no matter, sir.
- To Cathay perhaps.
- Well, I have a caravan...
which will go near enough
to, uh, Cathay.
It is a caravan of gifts...
I'm sending to Kublai Khan.
We understand that
small caravans...
too often disappear
in the wild country they pass through.
Small?
What are you talking about?
When you send presents
to the great Khan...
he demands nine times nine
of everything-
silks, jewels, women.
I had to find 81 of the most
beautiful women of this land.
And because it is
all for the Khan...
it will travel under the protection of the army
of the great General Bayan himself.
Bayan of the Hundred Eyes.
Does that sound
safe enough for you?
A caravan of nothing but gifts.
It's strange. L-
It isn't
strange at all.
You see, the Khan begins
his war against China-
Cathay, as you call it.
He will have the spoils of the oldest
and richest country in the world.
I will be his friend.
I will help him to, uh,
dispose of the wealth of ages.
I will be the richest
merchant in the world.
Well, young travelers,
are you prepared to, uh, pay well...
to travel in such company?
Well, we thought we might put ourselves
to hire as guards for such a caravan.
Christian guards.
It would invite attack.
Is that the best you can offer?
You've wasted my time.
I warned you. Search them!
If there is nothing of value, cut off
their hair to make a pillow for my feet.
I will have something
for my trouble.
I have already
made such a search.
There was only
this of value.
I kept it
for just such a moment.
It's not much profit,
but it is enough to save my honor.
- Throw them out.
- Oh, yes, sir.
This way.
What did you do that for?
Why did you lie to him?
Sometimes they call me
"the bird who feathers his nest"...
because they say that
I steal from everyone.
It is not true, of course.
But let us say that I'm in a position to take
a smaller profit than my kindly master.
I go with the caravan.
I'm in charge of it.
Perhaps I will take you.
It will cost me nothing
to provide you with equipment.
It will be his.
How much gold do you have?
There isn't much left...
and you're not exactly giving us
good reason to trust you with what there is.
Who is this Bayan general,
the one with all the eyes?
Oh, he's the greatest
soldier in the world.
The great Khan borrowed him
from Persia for his war against China.
He will conquer
the world one day.
And, uh,
where is he camped now?
Three days from here
with his army.
I wouldn't consider offering
your services to Bayan.
His men are trained
to love killing.
They would enjoy cutting
a Christian's throat.
I'm afraid you have no choice
but to... deal with me.
How much gold have you?
What kind of a country
is this?
- Good.
- How soon can we get started?
Two dawns from now.
You're lucky you found me.
These, by the reason
of the great kindness of my heart...
they're for you
for the journey.
This one they call her "the singer"
because she makes horrible noise all the time.
The other will bite you
whenever she cannot kick you.
You'll have to find a place
to sleep in your tent...
where it doesn't leak.
But I think it's
good enough for Christians.
The servant is good.
He will steal
everything for you.
- Mahmoud, sir.
- That's all.
Good day,
young sirs.
I'll toss you whether
you get sung to or bitten.
- Wet or dry?
- Wet.
It's dry.
Mahmoud, I don't know why
they didn't build me to fit a camel better...
or build a camel
to fit me better.
Well, I found out some of it
from our nest-feathering friend.
That mighty general is camped
right over that hill with his army.
We're camped here
so that wild crew of his...
doesn't get a look at
the women we brought with us.
We're not traveling today
because he's holding games...
some sort of tournament
on the plain.
And I also found out another thing-
why they call him Bayan of the Hundred Eyes.
- Thought maybe he had that many.
- No, they say he can see everything.
Tomorrow he'll know how
every man performs in the games.
- There'll be all kinds- horsemanship, archery, all-
- Archery?
- Oh, that interests you, huh?
- Yes, it's a little cold for fine work...
though the light
should be good.
- What are their bows like, do you think?
- Bone and steel.
- The finest in the world.
- Ah, wait till they hear Sarah talk.
But they won't,
my impulsive friend.
The last thing we want
to do is to attract attention...
so you leave Sarah
right where she is.
It wouldn't hurt
just to take her along.
- Well, you won't take her off your shoulder.
- She wouldn't make any trouble.
I'd feel surer about that
if her name wasn't Sarah.
That's an English banner.
Probably a crusader's
that he killed.
The infidel swine!
- What's that about?
- He's the camel driver...
who came too close to
the women's tent yesterday.
Child's play.
Child's play, hmm?
At that range,
I could toss an arrow in the mark.
Somebody ought to show them
what an English bow can do.
Tris!
Get over there and see if
you can find out what's happening.
He says that master
is to compete...
but if he does not make good,
the bow is to be broken over his head.
He means that if master fails,
they are to beat out his brains.
- Who is he?
- That, master, is Bayan of the Hundred Eyes.
- Does he know what'll happen to him if he fails?
- I do not think so.
Well, I guess you're right.
Look at him.
All he knows is
that he's out with Sarah.
What were they
talking about?
Oh, nothing. Nothing.
The bow, that's all.
Well, go ahead,
my friend.
- Remember the wind, Tris.
- Walt, I was weaned on remembering the wind.
Sarah herself would remember it
if I forgot.
Good enough.
Well, that's enough
of children's games.
Now give us
a little room to shoot.
Tris!
If we're gonna show them something,
let's show them something good.
Tris! Don't be a fool.
That's far enough.
No, a little further.
I want to make him refuse to try it.
Now, my heathen friend,
would you like to try first?
I thought as much.
Tris! Not even a miracle
can make that shot.
Well, if I miss this,
I'll have missed a hard one.
- You did it!
- Yes, but it was luck.
I moved too far back.
I don't know why.
I think it was Sarah
trying to show off.
- Well, if you'd have missed, we'd be very dead by now.
- What?
Yes. His orders,
Bayan himself.
Well, why didn't you tell me?
No, I'm glad you didn't.
Sarah.
Bayan wishes
to see you, master.
- Now?
- At once. Be very careful what you say.
You let me do the talking. This may be
the chance we've been waiting for.
- My lord-
- That shot of yours, how much luck was there?
- I want the truth.
- There was a certain amount of luck in it, my lord.
- How often can you make the same shot?
- Three out of five times.
The bow can be
handled quickly?
He's put three shafts in the air
before the first touches the ground.
I asked the bowman.
With accuracy?
I've seen him bring down
three ducks with four shafts.
It's light. Light and strong.
Comes from the wood or the way it's made?
From both, my lord.
From the yew, and from skill...
- in shaping the bow to take advantage of the grain.
- What's it called?
- It's called a longbow.
- He calls it Sarah, my lord.
- Sarah. That's a woman's name.
- Yes, my lord.
You'll have reason to love your Sarah
even more after today.
She... saved
your skull, you know.
- Yes, I've just been telling him about that, my lord.
- The shaft should pierce armor.
- Yes.
- You've seen it tried? You.
Steel-tipped, it will
pierce anything, my lord.
I think this is the finest
weapon in the world.
She can reach out that long arm
of hers and meet the enemy...
before he can get close enough
to strike a blow against her.
With her, an English yeoman
stands as tall as any man.
He's the greatest soldier
in the world.
I take it
you're English then?
Yes, my lord.
I've seen you English hacking away
at the Saracens in your crusades.
Each man his own fortress
in his great armor...
so weighed down
he can't move.
It's very stupid.
But this... is not so stupid.
We'll talk about it.
Do you play chess?
- Sorry, no.
- Oh, I do, my lord.
- How well?
- Well, four moves soundly.
Four sound moves is more
than any man in this army can do.
- We'll play in my tent tonight.
- With pleasure, my lord.
Oh, how do we
find your tent?
Scholar, if any man in my army
can't tell you where my tent is...
our poetic young bowman
can use him as a target.
Maybe your Sarah did us a good turn
after all. Come on. We'll take her home.
You can make up
a sonnet to her as we go.
- Oh, go swallow your tongue.
- Why, Tris!
Over there.
Let me see
that bow of yours.
You'll find
the game's ready.
I always, uh,
make the first move.
About this, uh-
this bow of yours.
- Could you make another one like it?
- If I had the wood.
A sound game. Thoughtful.
It lies in wait for the attack.
It won't win against
an attack, of course.
It's just the kind of game I want,
young scholar. Pawn to king's bishop four.
Play it.
- Can you train men in the use of such a bow?
- Yes, my lord.
Then the right wood
can be found.
Uh, as a scholar...
you permit no weakness
in the attack.
Good. As a scholar
you know something of your country's...
military theory
and practice.
I have a-
I have a certain knowledge
of those things, my lord.
War is my trade.
At least I'm good enough to know
no war was ever won...
that was fought in the same way
as the war before it.
Why, I've made a weapon of speed.
Speed.
No man should wear armor so heavy
that he can't move quickly...
to save himself or to pursue
his enemy and destroy him.
That's why I like this bow of yours.
It's- It's light.
It can reach out to the enemy
and put an end to him.
That's the only way you can
ever sleep soundly, you know...
when your enemy's
sleep is eternal.
Forgive me for distracting you
from your game, but I'm curious.
Why are you young travelers
in this far place?
We came in search of
adventure into this new land.
We heard of the greatness of my lord Bayan
and came in search of him.
If that's flattery,
I don't like it.
We had to find someplace
to put our lives.
Don't you plan to return
to your own country?
We have no country, my lord.
That's a strange thing
for an Englishman to say.
Why? A woman?
- No, more than that.
- Oh, it doesn't matter.
Bowman and scholar,
both without a country.
It's just possible you two
could be of service to me.
I'll think about it.
It's your move.
Oh, it's you.
What do you want?
It is bad, very bad.
- What is?
- This old tent...
these old blankets
and one little servant.
Steal food, cook-
it's too much.
- You need second boy.
- How do we get him...
by the great
kindness of your heart?
Maybe I get him for you.
Maybe some dislike Christians.
I do not.
All right, out with it.
What are you trying to say?
Never talk important matters
where you cannot see who listens.
I have a message for you,
from the Black Rose.
And who would
the Black Rose be?
She is the sister
of my kindly master.
- Well, that's fine.
- She wishes to escape.
She say she is
going to England...
and that all
Englishmen are gallant...
and you will be glad to help
one of your own blood.
- Are you trying to say that she's English?
- There is some report...
that her father was English,
a crusader taken prisoner.
- Well, why is she called the Black Rose?
- That's the name...
they've given the clove,
the most precious of the spices.
I don't like it, a girl of English blood
being sent to these heathen.
- Oh, we don't know she's English.
- She has relatives in Maratha.
The only thing she needs
is to reach them.
I see. And what are you
doing this for?
I'm not troubled that
the lady's in distress.
She has
a very large sapphire.
What does she expect us to do
in the middle of Bayan's army?
The bird who feathers his nest
never leaves things to chance.
I have a very well-made plan in which
I will do all that's dangerous, if you're afraid.
Afraid? We'd do more for
English blood any day...
than you'd do for
an overgrown sapphire.
Oh, that's good.
I'll tell that to the Black Rose.
Master, the strange one's
here again.
Oh?
This is
your second boy.
- His name is Mahomet.
- Well, you can take him back.
- Go on. Get out of here.
- Very strange.
Last night, the camels
run through the tents of the women.
They have to take a time for the search.
The Black Rose is missing.
Go on. Get her out of here.
They'll find her when they search...
and they'll drag us over the hill like
they did that camel driver the other day.
- Go on, Mahmoud. Go on. Back to your work.
- Yes, master.
I'm no fool. Yesterday, I bought
a slave boy for the Englishman.
That boy disappeared...
and everybody thinks
this is the boy.
And I did something else.
One of the camels
that run away was saddled.
When they find that camel,
they will believe...
the Black Rose
tried to escape on it and was hurt.
- It's very simple.
- Well, get her out of here!
Perhaps I will call out
that I've found her here now.
No one would believe
your story.
Perhaps you would like
being staked out for vultures.
- Well, I found the camels.
- And we have a new second boy too.
He's all yours, Tris.
He has beautiful, big eyes.
Very simple, young sirs.
She will do whatever you tell her to do.
You understand that?
You know what'll happen to all of us
unless you do exactly as you're told?
Oh, yes, most kind grandeur.
Oh. Oh, where did-
Never mind. Mahmoud!
- I wish to say that I am very grateful.
- Yes, I know all about that.
This new second boy
will stay here to help you...
but you'll still be first boy,
you understand?
Master, we don't need second boy.
This boy no good.
- I can do everything.
- You'll do as you're told.
Get him out of here.
Get him some breakfast, and put him to work.
Yes, master.
Second boy will eat when I'm through.
Now, go!
Oh, it's not gonna work.
What are we gonna do now?
I guess the only thing to do
is just to sit here...
and wait for
the ax to fall.
Well, the old pirate's right
after all.
And there's that
saddled camel.
He's the offspring
of a sore-eyed camel driver!
- He wanted to beat me!
- Quiet! Get her into the tent.
- Do you know who she is?
- Mahmoud has struck a great lady.
- Mahmoud should be whipped.
- Never mind about that!
Do you know we'll all be killed
if anybody finds out she's here?
I will tell no one.
Mahmoud would die first.
I want you to get into that tent and pretend
as though nothing had happened.
- Can we trust him?
- We'll either trust him or slit his throat.
- I am glad he knows.
- Why?
Because now there is
no more need of pretending...
and I can be in the tent with you
the way that it was meant to be.
- Now, look, Mahomet-
- I suppose he told you...
that I am English and that
I am to go to England.
- Yes, we know that.
- There is so much I must know about England...
if I am to go
to live there.
Do you think they would like me?
What is it like there?
Are all the people
as beautiful as you are?
Ask him.
He's the beautiful one.
Oh, no! I think you are
much more beautiful than he is.
You look just
as I've always known-
Mahomet, there's no time for talking.
This is very serious for all of us.
Put that turban back on,
button yourself up...
and get ready to play
second boy again, understand?
- Yes, but I-
- I don't wanna talk about it.
- Just do as I say, and quickly too.
- Yes, most kind, but-
All right, then do it!
I never saw anyone look less like
young gallants going off on a great adventure.
- How does the lady feel about it?
- The lady, my lord?
Hmm. What's her name?
Sarah?
Oh. I think she'll like
what lies ahead, my lord.
We're making some kinsmen for your Sarah
so she won't be lonely.
I've given orders to find
that wood of yours, bowman.
There's something to
interest you, young scholar.
With that
direction-finding chariot...
we can strike straight through
any storm without getting lost.
We can leave the trade route
and travel across country.
- Was that made in China?
- Mmm.
- Well, how does it work?
- Inside, there's a box.
In the box there's a needle that points
always in the same direction.
What makes the needle
behave in such a manner?
Well, if you don't know, scholar,
I won't worry about it.
I need the time to make war.
Look.
- There's India. We'll conquer that someday.
- India?
We're done with China,
we'll have to conquer something.
No doubt your scholar's mind
inquires into a plan for India.
But China first!
It looks like they believed
his trick with the camel.
The men they left to search
have joined us here.
There doesn't seem to be any sign
of a search of the camp. Where is she?
In there, out of sight.
- What are you doing?
- I'm taking this ugly stain off my face.
- Put it right back on again.
- No. It's very ugly.
And I mustn't be ugly
when I eat here in the tent with you.
- Mahomet-
- Maryam. There.
- Where did you get that?
- I needed it.
And I got some clothes too
to wear when I eat here.
Mahmoud!
- Yes, master.
- Mahmoud, did you steal these things?
Mahmoud see, Mahmoud take.
Suppose they searched this camp?
There's to be no more stealing.
All the women steal
from each other.
- There's to be no more stealing.
- But if great lady wishes-
You'll do as I say no matter
what great lady wishes.
- Maryam, I want you to put that stain back on your face.
- No.
- What do you mean, no?
- I mean no!
There is no danger.
If they were going to search the camp,
they would have done this by now.
And no one will come near our tent
because we are Christians.
Everything is happening
the way it said in the miracle...
only I must take the stain off my face
so the rest of the miracle can happen.
Miracle? What miracle?
I've been very ashamed because
I almost stopped believing in it...
when I found out
I was going to be sent to the Khan.
But when I saw you, I knew
it must have been working all the time.
Uh, Maryam, I've never been
part of a miracle before...
so I don't know much
about it.
But what makes you think a miracle is
telling you to take that stain off your face?
I've known about it ever since
I was a little girl. My father told me.
I wanted very much
to go to England...
because I thought
how wonderful it must be in a country...
where all the people were like him-
gentle and very tall and beautiful.
He wanted to take me there,
but he couldn't because he was a prisoner.
So he said that we should have
to ask God to help me.
And maybe if we believed very hard,
there would be a miracle.
Oh, I like the God that
would do miracles like that.
So I believed very hard.
My father gave me this before they
killed him to help me with the miracle.
He said that someday,
a tall, beautiful Englishman...
would come riding
over a hill...
and would think that I was very beautiful,
so he would help me.
So when I saw you, I knew
God sent you to be part of the miracle.
Only how are you to see
that I am beautiful...
if I've got
that ugly stain on the face?
That's very nice, Maryam,
and I-
I wish it was a miracle,
because that's just what we need.
But I'm afraid we can't count on it
because miracles just don't happen like that.
Oh, but it has happened.
Tall, young Englishmen
do not ride across this country.
But you were here just when
the miracle needed you.
So I know the rest of it will happen
just the way my father said the miracle.
Well, miracle or no miracle,
I'm not gonna get us hanged.
Now, unless you do as I say, I'm gonna
send you back to the women's tent.
No. We'll do
just as the miracle said...
or- or I will tell them
I'm here.
All they will do to me is send me back
with the other women.
But they won't be so kind
with you, I think.
Now I think you will look
to see if you think I am beautiful.
All right, all right.
You're beautiful.
Now I think you will help me
to take this ugly stain where I cannot see?
Don't tell me you've never
seen men hanged before.
- What did they do, my lord?
- See that pass there?
We ride through there today. We could
fight our way through, but we haven't time.
So this is a warning.
If there's trouble...
I have twice as many
of these fellows as prisoners.
- I'll hang them too.
- I see.
You see,
but you don't like it, do you?
I forget your
English gallantry in war.
I suppose different people
believe in different things, my lord.
Well, not such foolish things,
Englishman.
No. What I can't touch
doesn't exist.
You conquer,
or somebody conquers you.
That's all there is to it.
I thank you for
reminding me, my lord.
I like you, scholar.
I like the way you speak your mind.
I must reward you.
You do not feel like talking,
Walter?
No.
That's too bad.
I hoped you would begin
telling me about England.
What is it like there?
Is it very beautiful?
- I don't know.
- Do you think it's beautiful, Tris?
Yes, I think
it's beautiful.
The most beautiful place
in the world.
It smells good.
The forest,
the English soil.
It's clean.
The rain washes it that way, I suppose.
It's so clean,
it's fragrant with it.
I think it's the most
beautiful country in the world.
Why, Tris!
Well, I wish I was there,
that's all.
Bayan was right about
that poet business.
And a homesick poet too.
Oh, it must be very beautiful
if he feels so about it.
He only remembers the good part.
I like him
for feeling like that.
Don't you ever feel
like that about it?
That's the way
my father felt about it.
Oh, I think you feel so too,
only you don't want to say so.
Tell her about
the Normans, Tris.
I don't like you
to feel like that, Walter.
I think to feel like that,
you must have loved it very much...
and- and been hurt...
by something.
- I don't like her.
- Who?
The girl in England
you loved that hurt you.
There wasn't any girl.
Oh, you'll be glad-
You'll be glad to go back
in England, won't you, Walter?
That's one thing I won't have to worry about.
I won't be going back.
But where will you go then?
You'd better ask
Bayan general about that.
I'll be with him, with the victor,
if our luck holds out.
What's the matter, Mahomet?
Mahomet, what's the matter?
It hurts to think of England
if you will not be there.
It's not the way
the miracle said.
Oh, I-
I'm sorry, Maryam.
I forgot about that miracle.
But it'll be all right,
you know.
You'll find yourself a hill and another
Englishman to come riding over it.
He'll be a Norman probably,
but that won't make any difference.
We'll make as much of your miracle
come true as we can.
- It'll be all right.
- I wish you didn't feel so.
I will be Mahomet again
if it will make you feel not like that.
I don't mind the stain.
It-
Well, why don't you
say something?
You're the one that started all this,
you and that poetry.
You're the one
that's in the miracle...
and you look
very beautiful there too.
We've come a long way
to see that, scholar.
Cathay.
There it lies.
Play the real game with me, scholar,
and the best game.
Play as you've never played.
Think. I have a new plan for war.
Find a flaw in it if you can.
It's a plan for China.
Many men have tried to conquer China,
but she swallowed them all.
Strike a blow into
a great, soft pillow.
The pillow gives with the blow,
and the force is spent.
You can't conquer
geography.
Occupy a country,
and what happens?
Your soldiers become jailers, and you're
that much weaker. What do we do?
Think, scholar.
We don't occupy at all.
We strike and strike on.
Destroy.
Strike at the very heart
of China- Kinsai.
Destroy the government.
Destroy the will to resist.
- But suppose they get behind you, my lord?
- Let them.
It's for that I have made
a new weapon of speed.
- But your lines of supply-
- We won't use any.
We'll live off the country.
Think deep, scholar.
There's supposed to be a weakness
in every plan. Find this one.
My lord has spoken often
about winning battles and losing wars.
Even if you win,
each battle will weaken you.
We'll only fight one battle here
when the Khan's army arrives.
Then we'll wait for the news
of our victory to spread.
If we lose, well, we'll be
very little men as history is written.
But, scholar,
if we gain China...
gain its strength
and wisdom-
They have an iron tube there that shoots fire.
It's just a toy now...
but someday it may help us
to crumble the walls of Rome.
- Rome?
- Mmm.
- Rome is a long way, my lord.
- So is England.
Not too long. How would you like
to visit your island again, Englishman?
This time as a conqueror to do
what you like with those that conquer you.
Think deep, scholar.
We may win the greatest game
in the world.
What's the matter, bowman?
Can't you sleep?
I was thinking of-
Do you think he can do it?
I don't know.
I think maybe he can.
I was thinking,
the way he talked...
maybe we were fighting
on the wrong side.
- Tris?
- Yeah?
- Do you wanna turn back?
- Well, what do you want to do?
Well, I'll tell you one thing.
I'm sick of lost causes.
If he conquers the world, at least
we'll be on the winning side for a change.
What's wrong with
going back with him?
It's the only way you'll ever see that England
of yours that smells so good to you.
- Yes, I know.
- We'd better get some sleep, bowman.
Tris, you haven't got
yourself hurt, have you?
- No, I'm all right, I suppose.
- I saw you at the beginning.
You and your bowmen
against those fire tubes.
They sounded like
the anger of God.
I think perhaps
they were.
They're killing every man,
woman and child in the district.
Like harvesters going
through a field of grain.
They'd pull their heads forward
by the hair for the ax.
Not one left alive,
like harvesters cutting wheat.
What's the matter, Englishman?
We won today.
But you have no joy in the victory.
Why?
It's the business ofbattle.
It's very simple.
Kill the enemy.
A soldier must like to kill.
No man can follow me
who hasn't the belly for that.
Go back to your tent now
and think about it.
Think hard.
You have a choice to make.
That's right. We'd better
go to our tents.
It was a victory,
wasn't it?
The bows did well.
The general was pleased.
Let's go to our tents
and think about it, Walter.
I was afraid for you.
I was very afraid for both of you.
Nothing could happen
to us.
It isn't the way it went
in the miracle, don't you remember?
- I know, but-
- Isn't that so, Tris?
Yes, that's so.
- I will be glad when-
- That's right, Maryam.
You mustn't forget
the miracle.
A tall, young Englishman
came riding over a hill, didn't he?
A knight.
A knight in shining armor.
You should have seen him today, Maryam.
He looked almost like a knight.
An English knight.
A sword and shining armor.
You'd have been proud of him.
He looked more beautiful than ever.
Except those knightly vows. You didn't think
to say those over, did you, Walter?
- What's the matter with you?
- Your father would have been proud of you.
Your grandfather too.
He was a credit to them.
The way you looked anyway.
Why don't you ever wear your father's boots?
You'd look well in them.
Where are they?
I'll get them for you,
and you can put them on.
There was a letter too.
You'd better read it again. What did it say?
- Something about honor.
- Tris!
Keep your hands off-
Tris!
- Walt, I'm sorry. I-
- What's the matter with you?
I don't know you anymore, quarreling,
short-tempered all the time.
You're not the Tris
I used to know.
- Let's get away from here, away from all-
- For what?
- I can't help them anymore.
- Well, if you don't like it, you don't have to stay here.
What do you want to do?
March with them on England?
I don't owe England anything.
I think it's very foolish
to speak of that anymore.
I think you'd better
go back to England.
I don't think you have what he was
talking about- the belly for it.
- I think you're the one-
- No, I'm all right. I'll stay right here.
If you don't want the same thing,
it's all right too. I'll help you get out ofhere.
And it all fits together nicely. You can take
her back with you wherever she wants to go.
No. If you are going to stay here,
I will stay here too.
That's very nice, Maryam,
but it just doesn't work that way.
It's been all right up to here,
but it wouldn't be from now on.
- Where are you going?
- You can't just walk out of here without a plan.
I'm gonna find out
how to get to China.
What's the matter with him, Maryam?
What are we gonna do?
I don't know.
But he doesn't mean
everything he says.
I think he doesn't
really know what he wants.
But I don't know
what to do about it.
Well, you're leaving just in time.
I found out that much.
We move again tomorrow.
Bayan's army turns south into China...
and the caravan of gifts
goes north to the Khan.
That means that from now on,
we camp right in the middle of the army...
and you'd never have
a chance to get away.
You'd better
try it tonight.
Yes, I guess
we'd better do that.
I'd head
straight south first.
Then cut across
to Kinsai.
From there,
the river runs to the sea...
and you might stand a chance
of getting back that way.
- Yes, we'd better do that too.
- Where's Maryam?
In there.
We are going tonight, Walter.
I heard what you said to Tris.
Yes.
You want to say
good-bye to me?
Well, yes.
I'm glad it's hard
for you to say.
Tris-Tris will take
good care of you, Maryam.
You can depend on Tris.
And I- I hope
you like England.
He'll feel much happier
when he can smell it again.
And, uh, tell him-
Oh, never mind.
You know, Walter,
I can go or I can stay.
Whatever you want.
No. No, you'll like
England better.
I'll- I'll be up
with the column...
so they won't get suspicious
for some time.
You'll need a good start.
Well, it looks as though
it might be a nice day for a ride.
I'll go and see
about the horses.
So it was you, Englishman.
Was it your curiosity as a scholar?
- Or did you know you were steering us off our course?
- I knew, my lord.
Why? You realize the penalty
for such a thing.
Why take such a risk to do me an ill turn?
Why do me an ill turn at all?
Move the column south and east
for as far as we've gone off the trail.
When we camp tonight,
bring him to my tent.
Well, what's the matter?
We got away, didn't we?
They can't track us
in the dark.
You've got a part of your miracle.
You're going to England.
I don't want
to go anymore there.
I know, Maryam.
I know.
So there was a woman in it.
I might have known.
A woman and a bowman
who didn't like war.
Why take such a risk for the girl?
You must love her very much.
- No, my lord.
- The gallantry again.
I didn't mean
to be gallant.
If my lord Bayan hadn't been quite
so observant, I wouldn't be here now.
Why didn't you come to me about her?
I would have given her to you.
- What's one woman more or less?
- It didn't occur to me, my lord.
No, of course not.
It would have spoiled the gallantry.
Well, it's worth something...
to be willing to die
for something.
There's a way you may have a chance for
your life. A few men have come through it.
I'll send you to the rope walk
in the morning. Good night, scholar.
Good night, my lord.
Now, you understand,
Englishman.
As long as your feet touch the rope,
no one can strike you...
except the two men
with the pig bladders.
They can hit only
below the line.
Now begin.
Let him go!
Let him go!
Take him to his tent.
You are very tough
for an Englishman.
Come in.
Well, my lord, am I a-
a prisoner or what?
You paid for what you did.
Your back should tell you that.
But... I'd like to be
doing something, my lord.
You miss the bowman,
don't you?
I have a mission of some importance
for you when you're ready for it.
- I'll take it now, my lord.
- Hear it first, scholar.
- You saw our Chinese visitors?
- They brought this tribute to avoid battle.
It won't be so easy nearer Kinsai,
but our war has been going well.
We only had to fight once.
Since you've been sick, we've taken four cities.
Perhaps I should
remain in bed.
Mmm.
Now Kinsai.
There are those in the government
who want peace...
but they haven't much influence
with the old empress.
But, scholar, suppose I sent you
to Kinsai as a traveler of rank...
a student from another land, and you
told what you've seen of our strength.
Yes, but will
the empress hear me?
Find the heads of the peace party.
They'll see that you're heard.
You can refuse to go if you want to.
The risk is great enough.
No, I'll go, my lord.
It's settled then.
Scholar?
Maybe I'm a little sorry
I thought of this journey for you.
But be sure of this.
If they kill you...
I'll kill 10 of them
for every hair on your head.
I have a strange feeling
I may not see you again.
If that's true,
I'll miss you, scholar.
I don't miss many men.
Well, for your sake,
I'll try not to get killed.
You will come with me.
- What is it? L-
- We have been waiting for you.
- What is this place?
- It is the palace of her unlimited magnificence.
Her kindly splendor,
the dowager empress of China.
Well, what am I doing here?
I do not know entirely.
You will wait.
Bow.
Bow profusely.
Now are there two of them,
or are there not?
Are their skins fair,
or have you no eyes?
Is there such a prophecy,
or is there not?
Is it your duty to know
such things, or is it not?
Do not argue with me
more in this matter.
- You will come with me.
- But what is this all about- a prophecy?
No harm will come to you.
Far from it.
Please.
This is your house.
It has been prepared for you.
Tris!
What are you doing here?
- Where's Maryam?
- Well, she must be a captive here somewhere.
Now I just left her
to find out about a boat.
- But how did you get here?
- Well, I didn't even get to the river.
Some people laid hold of me before
I got started. Don't you know where we are?
We're somewhere in the palace,
because I was just talking to the emp-
Oh, wait a minute.
Maybe we'll find out now.
Good day, young sirs.
I have come to welcome you.
We'd be very grateful
if you'd tell us what all this means.
It means that the prophecy
of the two birds...
of the fairest color
has been fulfilled.
It is a very old one.
It's said that
in a time of great peril...
two birds of the fairest coloring
would appear...
and the clouds of disaster
would roll away like the mist.
We were urging
Her Royal Grandeur to think of peace.
She was about to yield...
when word was brought her
of a stranger...
who was very fair of skin.
Such a thing
has never been seen here...
and it reminded her
of the prophecy.
She said that there must be another,
so guards were posted.
Now that you are both here...
she is sure the prophecy
has been fulfilled...
and she will talk
no more of peace.
Hmm. Well, what are we
supposed to do here?
You will live here to ensure a continuance
of the good fortune you have brought.
For how long?
I have told you,
this will be your home.
You mean
we're prisoners?
The chains that bind you are golden ones.
But I would not try to leave.
Now, look.
I can't just sit here.
I came to talk
to the empress about peace.
- You tell her that I come from the Bayan general himself.
- It is too late.
Her Excellent Kindness is certain
that you were sent by the gods.
So now,
we have nothing to fear.
The gifts are meant to fit
your station as gods.
And I'm commanded to tell you
that if you have any desire...
you have only
to express the wish.
Well, if that's true,
there is something I'd like to have done.
There's a girl. She was with my friend
when he was taken prisoner.
If you know where she is,
I'd like to have her brought here at once.
I will send someone
to carry out your command.
This house is called...
the Abode of Everlasting Felicity.
I hope it does not fail
that name for the young gods...
and the young gods
do not fail their obligation...
to a people that
they have committed to war.
I think he'd like
that one better.
Oh. What's this?
Oh, I think
he'd like that too.
- Walter! Walter!
- Not now, Maryam. Go away.
- But I have to show you.
- What?
Oh, look. It's beautiful.
They are made of silk to go on legs.
- I'll see them later.
- All right, Walter.
But it's wonderful!
Well, I don't see what
you're so particular about.
It took me a half an hour to convince
four girls they weren't going to bathe me.
- Where is he, Tris?
- I don't know.
He said he was going to find out if the gods
could still have anything they asked for.
Did he talk to you, Tris?
About himself, I mean.
No, not exactly.
But I think he's sorry
he was angry with you.
- So he ran away from the Bayan general to be with you.
- No.
Oh, you shouldn't say
such things.
He's here,
and he's not angry anymore.
And he comes
to go with us to England.
You really have learned
to believe hard enough, haven't you?
Yes.
No. He came on a mission
of some kind for Bayan.
I didn't want to talk to him about it.
You know how he is.
You can make him say things
he doesn't mean.
There's one thing. He can't do anything
about it while we're shut in here.
And there's something else too.
It's about these.
He got very interested.
He said they weren't written by hand...
and they're not
on sheepskin.
It's something to do with soaking wood
and making this out of it.
And using these.
I tried to figure it out.
But he says he knows a man in England
who would gladly give his life...
to know of such a wonder,
so there must be something to it.
Only they don't know
about it over there.
- And then last night-
- Well, you could look a little happier, bowman...
sitting right in the middle
of the wealth of ages.
And here's some more for you.
You know, I was right.
I thought if they have books, they must
set down matters of science in them...
like the direction needle
and how to make the books.
And look what else I have.
What do you think this is?
This is that powder
that disappears in a flash of light.
It's what they use
in the fire tubes.
And if you-
If you close it in somewhere-
Now, look.
You see that? Bayan was right.
There's the wealth of ages.
He'd rather have that
than all thejewels in China.
Do you know what you just heard?
They don't know it yet, but you just heard
the walls of Rome begin to crumble.
The young gods already know, of course,
the news that we have just received.
No. What news?
The armies of Bayan have taken
four cities since you came here.
One that resisted
exists no more.
Soon, that army
will be before our walls.
But the young gods
have done nothing.
Well, what can we do?
- It wasn't our idea to be gods.
- Nor was it mine.
I'm in
an unfortunate position.
If anything happens
to the young gods...
I will die very quickly
for I am responsible for them.
But I will also be among the first
whom Bayan will kill...
if the city resists.
So if I must die...
I will take the way that
will save the city from destruction.
You're trying to say, I imagine,
that if you have to die...
you prefer the choice that may convince
the empress that we're not gods.
Say if we were found
very mortally dead.
That is possible.
If you have a better remedy,
I would find it quickly.
- Walter?
- Huh?
What's the matter?
I couldn't sleep, Walter.
I want to talk. Please wake up.
Oh, can't it wait until morning?
No. I don't know
if I can say it now...
but if I think of it anymore
I won't be able to say it at all, I think.
All right.
What is it?
If it's true what he said, that we shall
never leave here until- until we die...
then- then-
Go on.
I know it's true
that you do not love me...
but if this other
is also true...
then you can never find
anyone else to love.
- Isn't that so?
- Yes, I- I suppose so.
Well, then,
I was thinking.
Since you cannot love
anyone else...
and since it may be
a very short time that we are here...
maybe you could pretend
for a little while that you loved me...
like it was in the miracle.
Oh, I would like it
very much...
and you wouldn't have
to pretend very hard.
But if you did pretend for a while,
maybe it would get to be true...
since there is no one else.
You're strange.
But the house is called
the House of Everlasting Felicity...
and I would rather be with you
even for a- for a little while...
and even if
you only pretended...
than to have all the rest
of my miracle or anything.
Maryam.
What's the matter?
Wake up, Tris.
I think he loves me.
Oh, that. Why do you have to pick
on a time like this to find it out?
Maryam?
- Maryam-
- Where have you been?
- Can you sew?
- Yes, a little.
Good. Now, I want you
to take these coats...
and sew as many of those jewels as you can
into the linings, and do it quickly as possible.
- Did you find a way to get away from here?
- Yes, I have.
You know, I thought our friend last night
was pointing at something.
So I took a look around. Now, there was
a door that was heavily barred before.
Now I could open it. There was a room
behind and a passage leading to the river.
I followed it.
There are boats on the river.
Now, the attack must be close because
a lot of people are leaving down the river.
What-What I don't like
about it is it's all too neat.
Now, I tried to think
like our Chinese friend.
Just letting us get away
isn't good enough.
But if we were killed doing itjust when danger
threatened, we wouldn't look very godlike...
and he could easily
convince the empress that...
we hadn't just returned
to our celestial paradise.
It would give him a chance
to save his city and his skin.
What do you think,
Tris?
Well, he didn't give us
much choice.
Well, we'd better wait until night.
We'll stand a better chance at the river.
Come on. Get ready.
- Well, the light's going. It won't be long now.
- No.
- Aren't you ready yet?
- Yes, almost.
- Well, hurry up.
- Yes, Walter.
I'm sorry, Maryam, that we got you
into this, having you brought here.
- It-
- I'm glad you did it, Walter.
- Well, hurry up.
- Yes.
That's-
That's yours, Tris.
If we get out of here,
you'll be a rich man with what's in there.
How does it feel?
Of course, I suppose by rights
it should be Bayan's...
the spoils of China,
but there'll be plenty for him.
- Walter.
- What?
- Look, I've been thinking.
- Well, don't.
- It only leads to trouble.
- No, no. I've gotta say it.
What happens? I mean, when we do
make it to the other side of the river?
- Well, maybe we better wait till we get there.
- No. What I mean is-
Look, I've been putting
some things together.
Things about making books. Things like
you said that man would give so much to know...
in matters of science like
the direction-finding needle.
Well, I-I thought
to an island...
you know, it might be useful
for a trade and to defend itself.
But-
What I was really thinking, I wish
it was you that was taking her back.
It'd be better that way.
I wish it was you.
Well, Bayan was right
about one thing.
You're a poet, bowman,
and a good one.
But he was wrong
about another thing.
"What you can't touch
doesn't exist," he said.
He didn't know that you could smell
those English oaks of yours from here...
did he, bowman?
Oh, no one could say it
better than you, Tris.
And I- I wish I felt
the same way.
Probably I'm sorry
that I feel that Bayan...
is the best thing that I have to follow,
but that's the way it is.
I'd lie to you, Tris, if I were sure
we weren't going to get through.
But if we do, I won't stand out there
and tell you that I'd take it back.
I'm glad that it didn't end
in the tent, you and I...
bitter and- and angry.
Felicity means something
after all, maybe.
I hope we don't make it.
I hope you don't ever
get to the river.
Walter!
I finished, Walter.
Well, that's one way
we won't get out.
This was open.
Well, this is it.
That door is not as high
as the walls of Rome.
Why don't you get your friend Bayan
to crumble it for you.
Here they are.
- Can you hold them for a while?
- We'll find out.
- I'm gonna try it.
- What?
The walls of Rome.
- Give her to me a minute.
- You couldn't hit anything. Give it to me.
And take her
back out a bit.
Tris!
Tris!
Are you all right?
You all right?
Our friends will be back soon.
Now get her down to the boat.
- Hold onto me. You take-
- Stop being a hero.
How will you keep them back?
Throw a diamond at them?
Go on.
Get her down to the boat.
Hold this clear of the bank.
We'll be right back.
Walter!
- Come on.
- I said I hoped we'd never get to the river.
Well, maybe I don't have to.
What are you talking about?
You have to get back to England,
don't you remember?
Come on. You can't just lie there.
Let me help you.
Leave them alone!
They're mine!
You get onto your walls of Rome
and leave me alone.
Look at you.
You haven't got the belly
for it either, have you?
Well, I don't know.
Books,
the walls of Rome...
and the miracles...
and-and the oaks.
I don't know.
They're just so... green.
What are you talking
like that for? What-
What are you trying to do,
die on me?
Tris, come on.
Come on, Tris.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on, Tris.
Come on, Tris.
We don't use
this door anymore.
- If you've come to trade, you'll have to-
- Old Will, couldn't I use it?
You're playing tricks at me.
It is.
It's Master Walter.
- I'm glad to see you.
- Come in. Come in.
Come in, Master Walter.
Well, it looks the same.
And I have the same questions to ask.
How's Grandfather?
He'll never say it,
but he's missed you sorely.
Once we hoped that
we might see you again.
The king's men
came looking for you.
There were very strange men with them
such as I had never seen before.
- They said that they had a message to give you.
- What message?
I don't know, Master Walter. They said
they would only give it to you when you came.
I'll tell him.
- You lie, you old villain.
- I swear it, my lord.
- He's here.
- Walter, my lad.
- Grandfather.
- Where have you come from?
We thought-Wilderkin, tell my grandson-
I've spoken to him.
- My lord-
- You let me speak to him.
- My lord, I- - What are you standing
there for? I've broken my knightly vow.
Wilderkin, tell my grandfather
that it was my fault-
Tell my grandson that-
Oh, what's the good?
When a vow's broken,
you can't put it together again.
Perhaps the good bishop
could tell my lord-
What have I got to do with the bishop?
I can set myself my own penance.
- I'll-Well, never mind. I'll think of one.
- Yes, my lord.
Then-Then I can talk to him
as much as I want, can't I?
- We've no need of you. Go on about your business.
- Yes, my lord.
Yes, my lord.
So the- the needle that
points in the same direction...
and those books,
I left in London to be sent to the king.
And as they might need
some explanation...
I left word that
they could find me here.
And then I-
I came straight here to see you.
But I- I wish I had
something more to tell you.
It- It all ought
to add up to something.
I've seen Cathay.
But what of that?
For all my talk,
there's been no help for Gurnie in it.
And maybe-
Maybe if I'd stayed here,
he'd still be in his forest...
looking down a shaft
at some king's stag.
Well, I-
I should have the answers, lad,
if you're troubled.
I'm old enough.
But if I were you, I'd-
My lord. They're here, my lord.
The king's men-at-arms.
- They wish to see Master Walter.
- Bring them in, man. Bring them in.
We're ready for them.
There is a man at Oxford who can best
tell you about the importance of the books...
and the manner in which
they are made- Friar Bacon.
As for the rest, I-
I thought perhaps...
the direction-finding needle might
prove useful on the sea that surrounds us.
I don't know. However,
it's all set down in the books...
and your men of science
can read about it there.
I am not inclined to believe
all this about the fire tubes.
- I think the young man saw a dragon.
- Perhaps I did.
You have told us much
and well, young Saxon.
All but the most
important part.
I've- I've told you
all I know, sire.
All but why
you have done these things.
I remember you well,
young Saxon.
You refused to enter my service.
You were very outspoken about it.
If you remember, I asked you a question then
about this matter of Saxon and Norman.
I have some feeling the answer
may lie here, if we can find it...
somewhere in this service
you have tried to do us.
- I didn't do it for you, sire.
- For whom then?
For him.
He- He wanted it that way,
I- I think.
- The bowman?
- Yes, sire.
Why did he wish it, then?
I don't know.
It was something he felt that-
I don't know what it was.
Bayan used to say that
nothing existed...
except what you could touch.
But it did for him.
What he felt
was as clear to him.
He'd- He'd sit there,
and it-
Well, it was like
a fragrance to him.
It had to be.
He died for it, didn't he?
Do you think it could be that he discovered
he was English first and Saxon second?
L- I don't know.
Saxons can feel like this
underneath the bitterness.
They can work with a king who would
like to be English first and Norman second.
There are some points I would like to dispose of
in your case, and in that of the bowman.
As I remember it, there was some question
of a name amongst other things.
It is our wish you remain here
until I return.
As you knelt Walter of Gurnie,
rise Sir Walter Fitzrauf.
And it is our wish that your shield
shall bear a longbow as part of your arms.
And as the first act
of your knighthood...
you shall place this bow,
the finest I could find...
above all other
of your arms at Gurnie...
since in its presence no man will be able
to live less well for England...
than did Tristram Griffen.
You will place this upon it
as a tribute from me to a brave man.
We have been sent
a long way to see you...
if you are the one
my lord Bayan called the scholar.
Bayan?
If you are that one, I have something
I am ordered to give you.
"To my friend,
Walter the scholar. "
"Bayan of the Hundred Eyes
sends greetings and a message.
"I think that I understand why
you did not return to me...
"and why you went back
to your England.
"I still do not believe
in your foolish chivalry...
"but I like men who are willing
to die for the thing in which they believe...
"wherever I may find them.
"The tall bowman died well...
"and I think you would both have died
well for me if that had been necessary.
"Therefore, I send you something I believe
you would have taken with you if you could.
"She will be wearing a coat you will recognize.
It has a very fine lining.
"I send you also my chessmen
and the message...
- that I would be happier if you were still here. "
- Maryam!
She is not to see you until
you tell us that the gift is welcome.
My lord was afraid
you might have tired of her.
Maryam!