Episode transcript: The Prize
Monday, 16 October 1972 08:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arthur_of_the_britonsEpisode 1.12: The Prize
Writer: Robert Banks Stewart
OPENING SCENE
A river near a Saxon encampment. Arthur is up to his shoulders in the water, fully clothed. He puts a reed into his mouth, and sinks beneath the surface.
Some Saxon warriors, wearing distinctive shark-fin helmets, wade among the reeds near the river banks, prodding with staves, clearly searching for Arthur.
Their leader, Hoxel, stands on the bank, addressing his lieutenant, Cubert, who is standing in the river, with more Saxons behind him.
Hoxel: Well?
Cubert: He can’t have got across.
Hoxel: Are you sure?
Cubert: I posted guards as soon as the alarm was sounded. If he’d got across, they would have spotted him.
Hoxel: Then keep up the search. Find him! [angrily] Try again!
Cubert: Hoxel – we’ve searched every inch of this bank, ten times over.
Hoxel: This was his only way of escape.
Cubert: Then he must have drowned.
Hoxel strides off, followed by Cubert and the rest of his men.
Arthur emerges, blowing and puffing, out of breath.
[OPENING CREDITS]
PART 1
In Mark’s village. Mark attacks a chain mail shirt, displayed on a primitive dummy.
Mark: Yeargh!
The chain mail splits. Mark turns on the Armourer.
Mark: You expect me to buy chain mail with the strength of a spider’s web?
The Armourer looks uneasy.
Armourer: Small defect. The others are stronger.
Mark points his sword at the Armourer, approaches a shirt of scale armour, and attacks it.
Mark: [yelling] Teargh!
This one stays intact.
Mark: Perhaps the sweat of wearing this monstrous garment is worth the protection it gives.
Arthur comes up behind him.
Arthur: But its weight would slow you down to half your speed.
Galt: But could save your life.
Arthur: From that kind of a blow, yes. [He borrows Mark’s sword.] From this sort of an attack? [He rams the sword upwards; the point gets through a gap between the scales. Arthur plants the sword emphatically in the ground.] No!
Mark and Galt now look annoyed. The Armourer looks discomfited; the watching villagers shake their heads.
Mark: You call yourself an armourer!
Arthur follows Mark away from the crowd.
Arthur: Mark? You’re looking powerful and well.
Mark: You didn’t come all this way out of concern for my well-being. You want something. Well if it’s men, you can forget it!
Arthur: Not men.
Mark: Well what, then?
Arthur: I would borrow a boat from you.
Mark frowns. Galt approaches.
Mark: All this way? For a boat?
Arthur: Saxon longboat, beached on your shores last summer.
Mark: Nyeargh …
Arthur: [blinks innocently] The boat is still there, isn’t it?
Mark: Yeah.
Arthur backhands Mark on the chest, as if they have come to some sort of agreement.
The river bank. Arthur walks along the length of a Saxon longboat, moored beneath a tree. Mark and Galt watch from the bank.
Arthur: Yes. Perfect.
Mark: For what?
Arthur picks up an oar.
Arthur: A raid.
Galt: Saxons?
Arthur: A stronghold upriver.
Arthur starts hitting the bottom of the boat with the oar, apparently checking that the hull is sound.
Galt: Why go to all this trouble for one Saxon stronghold?
Arthur: [still thumping with the oar] It’s a small encampment, but vital. [He puts the oar down.] A supply base.
Mark: Since when did you decide to raid their supply bases?
Arthur: New tactics. Hit the Saxons in the rear, and they will ease off pressure on our villages.
Mark: Who accompanies you on this campaign? [He walks across a horizontal ladder, and joins Arthur on the boat.] Kai? Llud?
Arthur: Kai’s leading a group of men to help Yorath the Jute against some marauding Angles. [Arthur steps back along the boat, to meet Mark.] Llud is further south, with Hereward, who’s plagued by the Scots.
Mark: [dubious] Aargh, come now! You would undertake such a dangerous mission without your two best men?
Arthur: I only need a handful of strong, well-seasoned warriors to capture this prize.
Mark chuckles, thinking that he is finally getting nearer to the truth, and closes with Arthur.
Mark: Prize? A Saxon supply base? Arms is it?
Arthur: There could be arms.
Mark: But it would not be worth the risk of so dangerous a mission. Nah … Something … er … [He rubs his fingers together.] … more precious I think.
Arthur: I can assure you, Mark, that this is simply an attack on a Saxon encampment.
Mark: And I assure you Arthur, that not only do I not believe you, but until you tell me the truth, the boat stays here.
Arthur gestures towards a seat; they sit down, face to face.
Arthur: Ever since the Saxons came to these shores, they have burned and looted our monasteries.
Mark: [intensely interested] Yes?
Arthur: Most of the plunder has helped to pay for their armies. Why do you think, they have an encampment so deep in their own territory, so well defended?
Mark shakes his head.
Arthur: Monastery ornaments. Chalices, studded with diamonds. Treasures of gold and silver.
Mark grins.
Mark’s longboat, with Mark and Arthur standing at the stern, and most of Mark’s sixteen men rowing, is making progress along the river. Many of them are wearing sheepskins, like Saxons. Mark holds an axe; Arthur has the tiller.
Mark: My boat, my men, a fair deal, half the treasure.
Arthur: You left me no choice.
As they continue down the river, a group of Saxons – men, women and children - comes into view, on the bank.
Galt: Saxons!
Some of the Saxons wave to Arthur’s party.
Arthur: So are we. [Arthur starts waving cheerily.] Why do you think we’re dressed like this? Wave!
A few of the oarsmen wave to the Saxons, then carry on rowing.
Arthur: There’s a fork in the river here.
Mark: Well, which do we take? The fork or the main stream?
Arthur: Main stream, I’m almost certain.
Mark: You want to make sure.
Arthur: Exactly. Set me down on that bank. I’ll scout around for a landmark.
Mark: Right.
Arthur gives the tiller to Mark, and makes his way towards the prow, as the boat is steered towards the bank. One of Mark’s men disembarks to moor the boat. Arthur follows, then heads for what is obviously a pre-arranged meeting place. As Arthur approaches, a Celt, Baldur, emerges from hiding.
Arthur: Baldur – what news? Have you heard from Hoxel and his pack?
Baldur: Yes. They thought that you’d been drowned. [He laughs.] You should have seen their faces when they heard you were alive.
Arthur: [not amused] They agree on the price?
Baldur: The price is your village.
Arthur: [disconcerted] The village belongs to my people. I cannot give them what is not mine.
Baldur: What would you have me do?
Arthur: [sighs] Tell Hoxel he’ll have my decision tomorrow.
They nod to each other, and Arthur departs.
Arthur and Mark’s men are slowly rowing the longboat ever deeper into Saxon territory. Another party of Saxons appears on the river bank, more heavily armed than the group they previously encountered, and all wearing helmets, including some of the shark-fin design. Galt turns to address Mark and Arthur.
Galt: These may not be so friendly.
No greetings are exchanged. The Saxons just stand and watch them row past.
Galt turns to address Arthur.
Galt: Arthur, we’ve been hauling this boat for hours. A stop for food would make the pulling easier.
Arthur: After we’ve put in a league or two between us and those Saxons.
They continue rowing.
Beside the river. Two Celt warriors stand guard, while the rest of the party, including Arthur and Mark, lie sleeping. The armed and helmeted Saxons recently seen on the shore begin to creep up on the Celts. The longboat starts moving away from the shore. Arthur suddenly awakes.
Arthur: Boat! Mark!
Arthur leaps to his feet, quickly followed by Mark. The other Celts start to wake up. Arthur and Mark run down to the river, dive in, swim out to the boat, and haul themselves aboard. Several Saxons also get on board. While Mark and Arthur successfully defend the boat, throwing their attackers overboard, the Saxons on land launch their attack on the Celts, and quickly get the upper hand. Mark sees what’s going on.
Mark: [yells] Galt!
Galt is hit in the stomach by a Saxon axe, falls with a cry, and dies.
Mark: Galt ...
Mark bangs his fist on the side of the boat, in fury. The Saxons finish off the last of the Celtic oarsmen. Mark turns angrily towards Arthur.
Hoxel (along with some of his men, including Cubert), stands behind a schiltron. Baldur is on the other side of the barrier, on horseback.
Hoxel: Will you get it quite clear with your Arthur. I’m not prepared to bargain. Tomorrow is too late.
Baldur: Arthur must have more time, as I have said.
Hoxel: Now you go back to your Arthur and you tell him this from me. There will be no more talk between us. As long as he can defend it he can keep what is his. And we will keep what is ours.
Baldur turns his horse, and rides away.
Hoxel: Your leader Arthur, puts a higher price on a few leagues of land, than he does on your lives.
We now see that he is addressing Llud and Kai - each of whom is tied to a tree.
Hoxel: By a lucky escape, he saved his own skin. But you it seems are dispensable.
Cubert: Tomorrow, you’ll be killed. But first – hunted.
Hoxel: [laughs] The way you Celts hunt the boar.
Cubert: A circle of men – the hunters. Inside the circle – the hunted.
Hoxel: Now and again the men need a little sport.
[INTERVAL]
PART 2
Mark sits in the longboat, looking disgruntled.
Mark: We should have gone back downstream with the current. These Saxons could never have kept up with us. Now we’ll have to hide till nightfall.
Arthur, who has been scouting on shore, walks back toward the boat.
Arthur: No sign of ‘em. And it isn’t far to that encampment.
Mark: [incredulous] You’re not suggesting that we carry on?
Arthur: Why not? The two of us can row the boat. Think what’s at the other end.
Mark: We can’t take that treasure now.
Arthur: Certainly we can. [Arthur steps onto the boat.] Surprise is on our side. And I know exactly where that treasure is stored.
Mark: What if the Saxons are still looking for us?
Arthur picks up an oar, and glances around.
Arthur: Near here there’s a narrow stream which runs off the main river, loops round and rejoins further up. It’s overgrown. Give us good cover.
Arthur uses his oar to start pushing the boat off; Mark grudgingly picks up another, and follows suit.
The next day. Kai, still tied to the tree, comes awake, and looks around, as if he had forgotten where he is. Llud, still tied to the next tree, also raises his head.
Llud: I wager you we see the sunset tonight.
Kai: I’ll stake a hundred pieces of silver, and lose it willingly.
Llud: You don’t believe that, do you?
Kai: Hmm?
Llud: That Arthur’s deserted us?
Kai: Of course not. He’ll come. Question is – will he come in time?
Arthur and Mark are desperately trying to push their boat free, from where it is stuck in the mud. With a huff of exhaustion, Mark stops pushing.
Mark: It’s no use.
Arthur: We can do it!
Mark: You’ve been saying that all night! In daylight, we find we’ve been trying to float her in a puddle of water. You keep repeating yourself like an old washerwoman. Ah! [He slaps the boat in frustration.] She’s gone as far as she can go, and that’s the end of it.
Mark turns and makes his way toward shore.
Arthur: What about the treasure?
Mark: Let it rot.
Mark clambers up the river bank. Arthur takes a look at the boat from the side, picks up an oar, and prods about under the keel. Mark bangs his fist into his palm, then grips his hair, as if to pull it out by the roots.
Arthur: The deepest part of her keel is nearest the stern. That’s where she’s stuck fast. We’ll have to push her back, and then forward.
Mark: [incredulous] Push it back?
Arthur: [annoyed] Yes, back! To go forwards!
Mark makes a gesture of resignation, and sploshes through the water to join Arthur at the prow. Together, they start pushing the boat back. It starts to move. Arthur slaps Mark on the shoulder, and they run to the stern. Mark gets there first and start pushing.
Mark: Yes!
Arthur joins him; the heave and strain, grunting with the effort.
Arthur: [excited] She moves!
Mark: Come on …
Arthur: She’s moving.
Mark: Come on Old Girl!
They laugh as the boat slides free, briefly clasp each other, then run after the boat, and climb in.
Mark: [shouting happily] How much further?
Arthur: Couple a’ leagues or so.
Mark laughs. The boat moves forward.
Kai and Llud are still tied to the trees.
Llud: Yes, you can tickle them. Course you can.
Kai: [scoffs] Tickle them? I’ve only got to look at them and they skittle away.
Llud: You got to approach them carefully. Slide your hand under the bank, till you can feel the tail fins … then gently along the belly until you’re … under the gills. Oh … the fun of it.
Arthur and Mark continue to row.
Hoxel and Cubert and a few of their men approach Llud and Kai. Cubert unties Llud.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: How close are we?
Arthur glances behind him.
Arthur: Around the next bend.
Cubert leads Llud to Kai, unties Kai, and manacles them together.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: We’re nearly at the bend. We’d better pull into the side and wait until it’s dark.
Arthur: [very grim] We go in now.
Mark: [disbelieving] In daylight?
Arthur: Why not? We’re dressed like Saxons, and we’re rowing a Saxon longboat.
Hoxel addresses Kai and Llud.
Hoxel: These woods are completely surrounded by my men. You are free to go in any direction you choose. And the man that finds you, and kills you, receives extra rations for a week, as a reward.
Kai looks unconcerned.
Arthur and Mark continue rowing.
Hoxel: Naturally, we shall give you a fair start. So, Gentlemen. The forest is yours.
Hoxel makes a mocking gesture of welcome.
Llud: [to Kai] Come on. Let’s make them work for it.
Llud and Kai leave the clearing, watched by the Saxons.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Cubert comes to stand beside Hoxel.
Hoxel: I see no reason why we should be excluded from the chase.
Cubert: Certainly not! I intend to have those extra rations.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing. Throughout the conversation, Arthur refuses to look in Mark’s direction.
Mark: [insistent] The treasure will still be there tonight.
Arthur: Llud and Kai might be dead.
Mark: But Kai’s fighting with Hereward, Llud with Yorath. You said so! How can this venture affect them?
Arthur: They’re held prisoner here, as I was, before I escaped.
Mark: [wholly astonished] Prisoners? Llud and Kai? Here?
Arthur finally looks at Mark by way of confirmation.
Hoxel raises his horn to his lips, then, to Cubert’s annoyance, lowers it again.
Hoxel: No. Not too early a kill. We want some sport.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: [angry] Treasure. There is treasure?
Arthur: Treasure counted in human lives. Two friends. One, who is as a brother to me. The other I love as a father. That is the prize.
Mark rises to his feet, furious, but then they hear a hunting horn being blown. Arthur grabs a short sword in a scabbard and they turn to look in the direction of the sound. We see Hoxel sounding the horn, then he and Cubert set off. Arthur and Mark stand listening. Some Saxons make their way into the woods.
A Saxon with a spear rushes at Kai and Llud; they let the spear pass between them, catch the Saxon by the throat using the chain between their manacles, and choke him.
Mark and Arthur have pulled their boat in to the shore. Arthur moors it to a stump, and addresses a Saxon on the bank.
Arthur: We’ve settled our camp further downstream. We’ve no further use for this. Wondered if your chief might be interested in buying it.
Saxon guard: He’s just signalled a hunt. Shouldn’t be long.
Arthur: All depends on how the boar runs, doesn’t it?
He looks behind him at Mark.
Saxon guard: Well, it’s not exactly a boar hunt. There’s a very special game in these woods.
Kai and Llud look around warily.
Arthur and Mark approach the woods.
Arthur: That ‘special game’ is Llud and Kai.
An axe-wielding Saxon attacks Kai, who kicks him, twice, disabling him. Llud uses his metal hand to deal with a second Saxon. A third Saxon rushes Kai, who links arms with Llud, and kicks his attacker with both feet. Llud dispatches a Saxon with his metal hand, and Kai flings another over his shoulder. Cubert joins the attack, but Arthur comes up behind him and stabs him in the back. Mark deals with Hoxel. All four Celts make their escape.
They run to the longboat and get in. Arthur hands Kai an axe, and Kai uses it to break the chain between him to Llud. Mark casts off and gets the longboat moving.
All four Celts are rowing the longboat; Kai and Llud sit behind Arthur and Mark.
Llud: We haven’t thanked you yet, Mark, for coming all this way with Arthur and risking your life, to help us.
Mark: [as if the word treasure has never ever been mentioned] Well … you would have done the same for me.
Mark and Arthur exchange a meaningful look.
Kai: Some day it would be worth paying their encampment another visit.
Mark: I’d have thought you’d seen enough of it by now.
Kai: Oh, more than enough. After Arthur escaped, they moved us from the hut where we were imprisoned … and shackled us to some trees in the forest.
Llud: And on the way out of the main encampment, we passed what looked like a store hut.
Kai: It was a store hut alright. No wonder that encampment is so well guarded.
Llud: Full of precious metal. Packed to the roof with gold and silver.
Mark, starting to look interested, turns to face Llud and Kai.
Kai: Probably all stolen from the monasteries they’ve sacked.
Llud gives a knowing smile. Arthur looks at Mark, smiles, and gives a slight nod. Mark smiles and nods. In the background, Kai and Llud also smile. As the credits roll, we see them turning the boat around to go and steal the treasure.
[ROLL THE CREDITS]
Writer: Robert Banks Stewart
OPENING SCENE
A river near a Saxon encampment. Arthur is up to his shoulders in the water, fully clothed. He puts a reed into his mouth, and sinks beneath the surface.
Some Saxon warriors, wearing distinctive shark-fin helmets, wade among the reeds near the river banks, prodding with staves, clearly searching for Arthur.
Their leader, Hoxel, stands on the bank, addressing his lieutenant, Cubert, who is standing in the river, with more Saxons behind him.
Hoxel: Well?
Cubert: He can’t have got across.
Hoxel: Are you sure?
Cubert: I posted guards as soon as the alarm was sounded. If he’d got across, they would have spotted him.
Hoxel: Then keep up the search. Find him! [angrily] Try again!
Cubert: Hoxel – we’ve searched every inch of this bank, ten times over.
Hoxel: This was his only way of escape.
Cubert: Then he must have drowned.
Hoxel strides off, followed by Cubert and the rest of his men.
Arthur emerges, blowing and puffing, out of breath.
[OPENING CREDITS]
PART 1
In Mark’s village. Mark attacks a chain mail shirt, displayed on a primitive dummy.
Mark: Yeargh!
The chain mail splits. Mark turns on the Armourer.
Mark: You expect me to buy chain mail with the strength of a spider’s web?
The Armourer looks uneasy.
Armourer: Small defect. The others are stronger.
Mark points his sword at the Armourer, approaches a shirt of scale armour, and attacks it.
Mark: [yelling] Teargh!
This one stays intact.
Mark: Perhaps the sweat of wearing this monstrous garment is worth the protection it gives.
Arthur comes up behind him.
Arthur: But its weight would slow you down to half your speed.
Galt: But could save your life.
Arthur: From that kind of a blow, yes. [He borrows Mark’s sword.] From this sort of an attack? [He rams the sword upwards; the point gets through a gap between the scales. Arthur plants the sword emphatically in the ground.] No!
Mark and Galt now look annoyed. The Armourer looks discomfited; the watching villagers shake their heads.
Mark: You call yourself an armourer!
Arthur follows Mark away from the crowd.
Arthur: Mark? You’re looking powerful and well.
Mark: You didn’t come all this way out of concern for my well-being. You want something. Well if it’s men, you can forget it!
Arthur: Not men.
Mark: Well what, then?
Arthur: I would borrow a boat from you.
Mark frowns. Galt approaches.
Mark: All this way? For a boat?
Arthur: Saxon longboat, beached on your shores last summer.
Mark: Nyeargh …
Arthur: [blinks innocently] The boat is still there, isn’t it?
Mark: Yeah.
Arthur backhands Mark on the chest, as if they have come to some sort of agreement.
The river bank. Arthur walks along the length of a Saxon longboat, moored beneath a tree. Mark and Galt watch from the bank.
Arthur: Yes. Perfect.
Mark: For what?
Arthur picks up an oar.
Arthur: A raid.
Galt: Saxons?
Arthur: A stronghold upriver.
Arthur starts hitting the bottom of the boat with the oar, apparently checking that the hull is sound.
Galt: Why go to all this trouble for one Saxon stronghold?
Arthur: [still thumping with the oar] It’s a small encampment, but vital. [He puts the oar down.] A supply base.
Mark: Since when did you decide to raid their supply bases?
Arthur: New tactics. Hit the Saxons in the rear, and they will ease off pressure on our villages.
Mark: Who accompanies you on this campaign? [He walks across a horizontal ladder, and joins Arthur on the boat.] Kai? Llud?
Arthur: Kai’s leading a group of men to help Yorath the Jute against some marauding Angles. [Arthur steps back along the boat, to meet Mark.] Llud is further south, with Hereward, who’s plagued by the Scots.
Mark: [dubious] Aargh, come now! You would undertake such a dangerous mission without your two best men?
Arthur: I only need a handful of strong, well-seasoned warriors to capture this prize.
Mark chuckles, thinking that he is finally getting nearer to the truth, and closes with Arthur.
Mark: Prize? A Saxon supply base? Arms is it?
Arthur: There could be arms.
Mark: But it would not be worth the risk of so dangerous a mission. Nah … Something … er … [He rubs his fingers together.] … more precious I think.
Arthur: I can assure you, Mark, that this is simply an attack on a Saxon encampment.
Mark: And I assure you Arthur, that not only do I not believe you, but until you tell me the truth, the boat stays here.
Arthur gestures towards a seat; they sit down, face to face.
Arthur: Ever since the Saxons came to these shores, they have burned and looted our monasteries.
Mark: [intensely interested] Yes?
Arthur: Most of the plunder has helped to pay for their armies. Why do you think, they have an encampment so deep in their own territory, so well defended?
Mark shakes his head.
Arthur: Monastery ornaments. Chalices, studded with diamonds. Treasures of gold and silver.
Mark grins.
Mark’s longboat, with Mark and Arthur standing at the stern, and most of Mark’s sixteen men rowing, is making progress along the river. Many of them are wearing sheepskins, like Saxons. Mark holds an axe; Arthur has the tiller.
Mark: My boat, my men, a fair deal, half the treasure.
Arthur: You left me no choice.
As they continue down the river, a group of Saxons – men, women and children - comes into view, on the bank.
Galt: Saxons!
Some of the Saxons wave to Arthur’s party.
Arthur: So are we. [Arthur starts waving cheerily.] Why do you think we’re dressed like this? Wave!
A few of the oarsmen wave to the Saxons, then carry on rowing.
Arthur: There’s a fork in the river here.
Mark: Well, which do we take? The fork or the main stream?
Arthur: Main stream, I’m almost certain.
Mark: You want to make sure.
Arthur: Exactly. Set me down on that bank. I’ll scout around for a landmark.
Mark: Right.
Arthur gives the tiller to Mark, and makes his way towards the prow, as the boat is steered towards the bank. One of Mark’s men disembarks to moor the boat. Arthur follows, then heads for what is obviously a pre-arranged meeting place. As Arthur approaches, a Celt, Baldur, emerges from hiding.
Arthur: Baldur – what news? Have you heard from Hoxel and his pack?
Baldur: Yes. They thought that you’d been drowned. [He laughs.] You should have seen their faces when they heard you were alive.
Arthur: [not amused] They agree on the price?
Baldur: The price is your village.
Arthur: [disconcerted] The village belongs to my people. I cannot give them what is not mine.
Baldur: What would you have me do?
Arthur: [sighs] Tell Hoxel he’ll have my decision tomorrow.
They nod to each other, and Arthur departs.
Arthur and Mark’s men are slowly rowing the longboat ever deeper into Saxon territory. Another party of Saxons appears on the river bank, more heavily armed than the group they previously encountered, and all wearing helmets, including some of the shark-fin design. Galt turns to address Mark and Arthur.
Galt: These may not be so friendly.
No greetings are exchanged. The Saxons just stand and watch them row past.
Galt turns to address Arthur.
Galt: Arthur, we’ve been hauling this boat for hours. A stop for food would make the pulling easier.
Arthur: After we’ve put in a league or two between us and those Saxons.
They continue rowing.
Beside the river. Two Celt warriors stand guard, while the rest of the party, including Arthur and Mark, lie sleeping. The armed and helmeted Saxons recently seen on the shore begin to creep up on the Celts. The longboat starts moving away from the shore. Arthur suddenly awakes.
Arthur: Boat! Mark!
Arthur leaps to his feet, quickly followed by Mark. The other Celts start to wake up. Arthur and Mark run down to the river, dive in, swim out to the boat, and haul themselves aboard. Several Saxons also get on board. While Mark and Arthur successfully defend the boat, throwing their attackers overboard, the Saxons on land launch their attack on the Celts, and quickly get the upper hand. Mark sees what’s going on.
Mark: [yells] Galt!
Galt is hit in the stomach by a Saxon axe, falls with a cry, and dies.
Mark: Galt ...
Mark bangs his fist on the side of the boat, in fury. The Saxons finish off the last of the Celtic oarsmen. Mark turns angrily towards Arthur.
Hoxel (along with some of his men, including Cubert), stands behind a schiltron. Baldur is on the other side of the barrier, on horseback.
Hoxel: Will you get it quite clear with your Arthur. I’m not prepared to bargain. Tomorrow is too late.
Baldur: Arthur must have more time, as I have said.
Hoxel: Now you go back to your Arthur and you tell him this from me. There will be no more talk between us. As long as he can defend it he can keep what is his. And we will keep what is ours.
Baldur turns his horse, and rides away.
Hoxel: Your leader Arthur, puts a higher price on a few leagues of land, than he does on your lives.
We now see that he is addressing Llud and Kai - each of whom is tied to a tree.
Hoxel: By a lucky escape, he saved his own skin. But you it seems are dispensable.
Cubert: Tomorrow, you’ll be killed. But first – hunted.
Hoxel: [laughs] The way you Celts hunt the boar.
Cubert: A circle of men – the hunters. Inside the circle – the hunted.
Hoxel: Now and again the men need a little sport.
[INTERVAL]
PART 2
Mark sits in the longboat, looking disgruntled.
Mark: We should have gone back downstream with the current. These Saxons could never have kept up with us. Now we’ll have to hide till nightfall.
Arthur, who has been scouting on shore, walks back toward the boat.
Arthur: No sign of ‘em. And it isn’t far to that encampment.
Mark: [incredulous] You’re not suggesting that we carry on?
Arthur: Why not? The two of us can row the boat. Think what’s at the other end.
Mark: We can’t take that treasure now.
Arthur: Certainly we can. [Arthur steps onto the boat.] Surprise is on our side. And I know exactly where that treasure is stored.
Mark: What if the Saxons are still looking for us?
Arthur picks up an oar, and glances around.
Arthur: Near here there’s a narrow stream which runs off the main river, loops round and rejoins further up. It’s overgrown. Give us good cover.
Arthur uses his oar to start pushing the boat off; Mark grudgingly picks up another, and follows suit.
The next day. Kai, still tied to the tree, comes awake, and looks around, as if he had forgotten where he is. Llud, still tied to the next tree, also raises his head.
Llud: I wager you we see the sunset tonight.
Kai: I’ll stake a hundred pieces of silver, and lose it willingly.
Llud: You don’t believe that, do you?
Kai: Hmm?
Llud: That Arthur’s deserted us?
Kai: Of course not. He’ll come. Question is – will he come in time?
Arthur and Mark are desperately trying to push their boat free, from where it is stuck in the mud. With a huff of exhaustion, Mark stops pushing.
Mark: It’s no use.
Arthur: We can do it!
Mark: You’ve been saying that all night! In daylight, we find we’ve been trying to float her in a puddle of water. You keep repeating yourself like an old washerwoman. Ah! [He slaps the boat in frustration.] She’s gone as far as she can go, and that’s the end of it.
Mark turns and makes his way toward shore.
Arthur: What about the treasure?
Mark: Let it rot.
Mark clambers up the river bank. Arthur takes a look at the boat from the side, picks up an oar, and prods about under the keel. Mark bangs his fist into his palm, then grips his hair, as if to pull it out by the roots.
Arthur: The deepest part of her keel is nearest the stern. That’s where she’s stuck fast. We’ll have to push her back, and then forward.
Mark: [incredulous] Push it back?
Arthur: [annoyed] Yes, back! To go forwards!
Mark makes a gesture of resignation, and sploshes through the water to join Arthur at the prow. Together, they start pushing the boat back. It starts to move. Arthur slaps Mark on the shoulder, and they run to the stern. Mark gets there first and start pushing.
Mark: Yes!
Arthur joins him; the heave and strain, grunting with the effort.
Arthur: [excited] She moves!
Mark: Come on …
Arthur: She’s moving.
Mark: Come on Old Girl!
They laugh as the boat slides free, briefly clasp each other, then run after the boat, and climb in.
Mark: [shouting happily] How much further?
Arthur: Couple a’ leagues or so.
Mark laughs. The boat moves forward.
Kai and Llud are still tied to the trees.
Llud: Yes, you can tickle them. Course you can.
Kai: [scoffs] Tickle them? I’ve only got to look at them and they skittle away.
Llud: You got to approach them carefully. Slide your hand under the bank, till you can feel the tail fins … then gently along the belly until you’re … under the gills. Oh … the fun of it.
Arthur and Mark continue to row.
Hoxel and Cubert and a few of their men approach Llud and Kai. Cubert unties Llud.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: How close are we?
Arthur glances behind him.
Arthur: Around the next bend.
Cubert leads Llud to Kai, unties Kai, and manacles them together.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: We’re nearly at the bend. We’d better pull into the side and wait until it’s dark.
Arthur: [very grim] We go in now.
Mark: [disbelieving] In daylight?
Arthur: Why not? We’re dressed like Saxons, and we’re rowing a Saxon longboat.
Hoxel addresses Kai and Llud.
Hoxel: These woods are completely surrounded by my men. You are free to go in any direction you choose. And the man that finds you, and kills you, receives extra rations for a week, as a reward.
Kai looks unconcerned.
Arthur and Mark continue rowing.
Hoxel: Naturally, we shall give you a fair start. So, Gentlemen. The forest is yours.
Hoxel makes a mocking gesture of welcome.
Llud: [to Kai] Come on. Let’s make them work for it.
Llud and Kai leave the clearing, watched by the Saxons.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Cubert comes to stand beside Hoxel.
Hoxel: I see no reason why we should be excluded from the chase.
Cubert: Certainly not! I intend to have those extra rations.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing. Throughout the conversation, Arthur refuses to look in Mark’s direction.
Mark: [insistent] The treasure will still be there tonight.
Arthur: Llud and Kai might be dead.
Mark: But Kai’s fighting with Hereward, Llud with Yorath. You said so! How can this venture affect them?
Arthur: They’re held prisoner here, as I was, before I escaped.
Mark: [wholly astonished] Prisoners? Llud and Kai? Here?
Arthur finally looks at Mark by way of confirmation.
Hoxel raises his horn to his lips, then, to Cubert’s annoyance, lowers it again.
Hoxel: No. Not too early a kill. We want some sport.
Arthur and Mark are still rowing.
Mark: [angry] Treasure. There is treasure?
Arthur: Treasure counted in human lives. Two friends. One, who is as a brother to me. The other I love as a father. That is the prize.
Mark rises to his feet, furious, but then they hear a hunting horn being blown. Arthur grabs a short sword in a scabbard and they turn to look in the direction of the sound. We see Hoxel sounding the horn, then he and Cubert set off. Arthur and Mark stand listening. Some Saxons make their way into the woods.
A Saxon with a spear rushes at Kai and Llud; they let the spear pass between them, catch the Saxon by the throat using the chain between their manacles, and choke him.
Mark and Arthur have pulled their boat in to the shore. Arthur moors it to a stump, and addresses a Saxon on the bank.
Arthur: We’ve settled our camp further downstream. We’ve no further use for this. Wondered if your chief might be interested in buying it.
Saxon guard: He’s just signalled a hunt. Shouldn’t be long.
Arthur: All depends on how the boar runs, doesn’t it?
He looks behind him at Mark.
Saxon guard: Well, it’s not exactly a boar hunt. There’s a very special game in these woods.
Kai and Llud look around warily.
Arthur and Mark approach the woods.
Arthur: That ‘special game’ is Llud and Kai.
An axe-wielding Saxon attacks Kai, who kicks him, twice, disabling him. Llud uses his metal hand to deal with a second Saxon. A third Saxon rushes Kai, who links arms with Llud, and kicks his attacker with both feet. Llud dispatches a Saxon with his metal hand, and Kai flings another over his shoulder. Cubert joins the attack, but Arthur comes up behind him and stabs him in the back. Mark deals with Hoxel. All four Celts make their escape.
They run to the longboat and get in. Arthur hands Kai an axe, and Kai uses it to break the chain between him to Llud. Mark casts off and gets the longboat moving.
All four Celts are rowing the longboat; Kai and Llud sit behind Arthur and Mark.
Llud: We haven’t thanked you yet, Mark, for coming all this way with Arthur and risking your life, to help us.
Mark: [as if the word treasure has never ever been mentioned] Well … you would have done the same for me.
Mark and Arthur exchange a meaningful look.
Kai: Some day it would be worth paying their encampment another visit.
Mark: I’d have thought you’d seen enough of it by now.
Kai: Oh, more than enough. After Arthur escaped, they moved us from the hut where we were imprisoned … and shackled us to some trees in the forest.
Llud: And on the way out of the main encampment, we passed what looked like a store hut.
Kai: It was a store hut alright. No wonder that encampment is so well guarded.
Llud: Full of precious metal. Packed to the roof with gold and silver.
Mark, starting to look interested, turns to face Llud and Kai.
Kai: Probably all stolen from the monasteries they’ve sacked.
Llud gives a knowing smile. Arthur looks at Mark, smiles, and gives a slight nod. Mark smiles and nods. In the background, Kai and Llud also smile. As the credits roll, we see them turning the boat around to go and steal the treasure.
[ROLL THE CREDITS]