Original subtitles

You must know of me!

I�m Kai, the Saxon who fights with Arthur.

A horse! Have you ever seen a Saxon ride a horse?

One thing we do know: the Saxon fights with the axe!

I�m sorry, Morged. He�s too much for one of us.

You did well for me.

Although he does not know it, so did he.

They surprised me just outside Morged�s camp.

They took me for a Saxon, a true Saxon, one of Cerdig�s men.

They would not see their error.

But Morged knew you were moving through his lands today.

We were careful to send word.

How could his men make a mistake like that?

That is what concerns me.

Morged was the last to accept my leadership of the alliance,

and then with unshielded hate.

This could be the start of his revenge.

My dues are paid for the year.

A king does not come grubbing for taxes, Karn.

I bring you a gift.

You have nothing I could want.

Are you so sure?

I�ve already refused the highest...

honour you could offer me � to be your right arm.

What more can you give?

You are a strange man, Karn.

A warrior who put away his sword because there was no man left

who could face him in single combat.

I take no joy in killing.

To me, the contest is all.

There�s one who would give you more than a contest.

The best swordsman in this land.

The second best.

As I would prove, if he were not a leader of the Celts.

I can give him to you.

He is the ultimate contest, Karn.

The one test you have too long avoided.

You could arrange this?

Would you do it?

If the fight was fair, yes.

But Arthur wouldn�t waste his time in a test of strength.

While I�m free to do as I please,

he�s weighed down with the responsibility of leadership.

He�d never agree.

He will agree.

The question is, can you beat him?

I can beat him.

Not again, Trader, do you never give up?

I am doing you a great favour. Look! Aaah! Heh!

For six measures of silver,

this knife, mmm, is a gift from the gods!

The gods would be insulted.

I wouldn�t give you six measures of horse-feed.

Look at it!

The metal is poor. � It�s the finest iron!

It has no cutting edge. The blade is round.

For strength. See. For easier concealment!

A rounded blade can make it stronger.

It was made by the finest knife-master in the Piraeus!

Good to hunt the boar! � Ahaah!

You could tickle it to death.

You know what it�s called?

The Scorpion�s Sting.

You can hide it in your boot. You can draw it secretly.

Trader.

You haven�t been mooning around here for three weeks

just to sell me a knife. Have you?

I think our friend has other interests. � Aaah!

So that�s it. � He�s got an eye for Esla! Huh?

Oh, please!

It�s embarrassing for me.

Giving you trouble, is she?

If she was my wife, she would blossom like a flower!

But she�s stubborn!

And like all you Celts, she cannot see what is best for her!

I know what�s best for me!

And it does not include an ancient scavenger.

A messenger, from king Morged.

King Morged sends greetings to Arthur of the West.

And bids me tell him that his follower, Kai,

murdered one of the King�s men, brutally, and without just cause.

And he demands that Arthur surrenders Kai to King Morged for immediate execution!

No just cause!

What more just cause than defending my life against his assassins!

Hold your temper, Kai.

Morged knows you�re not at fault,

as he knows I would never offer you as a sacrifice.

Oh, no, no.

All this is just an overture to the sting in the tail of his message.

King Morged bids me further to tell you,

that if you refuse to surrender Kai to him,

then he will march at once with all his army

to avenge the death of his warrior.

Outright war against us?

It�s clear he hates you as much as ever.

And it�s no surprise he would break the alliance.

But to risk wholesale massacre and bloodshed...

He risks nothing.

He�s playing a game.

He�s deliberately involving me in a course of action

from which I cannot escape.

So we will play out the game.

Tell your king, that I reject and scorn his charge against Kai.

Tell him also that I have no intention of allowing war to break out in the Celtic alliance

and I claim the right to settle this matter by single combat.

He, and I.

Is that all?

That was all Arthur said, Sire.

Did I not say, I came to you bearing gifts?

Arthur challenged you, not me.

Just so.

He challenged me according to the law.

He�s no fool.

His life�s work is the alliance of the Celtic peoples,

he must choose this way!

I should leave that if I were you.

A man about to meet Arthur needs a clear head,

and a stronger arm than yours has ever been.

A leader challenged to combat has the right

to name a warrior to fight in his place.

A champion!

You!

I promised you a fair fight, which Arthur would agree.

A final test, Karn!

If you have a right to name a champion,

so has he.

Arthur is burdened with a sense of pride.

Something which doesn�t bother me.

He�s the best swordsman he�s got.

He must win this quarrel.

It will be Arthur in the sword-ring.

Good!

He is no ordinary warrior!

He was forged into manhood by Llud.

I know of Llud.

Then you must know of Arthur�s strength,

for Llud did not teach him merely to wield a sword,

but he taught him why he must kill, or be killed.

And he is afraid of no one.

I know that, also.

But if you married me,

you would have to do none of these things.

You could sit, like a queen, on a throne of gold, with hibiscus in your hair.

Oh, get from under my feet!

Here, look, look, look!

A necklace of silver, from Rhodos.

Let me put it on for you!

Listen! I�ve told you.

I�ve no intention of marrying a man who spends half his life at sea.

And the other half selling bangles at twice their worth.

King Morged bids me tell you this.

Three days from now, he will come to your village.

He will bring with him, his champion, Karn,

who is the maker of arms in his village.

The fight will be to the death, according to the law.

Then tell this Karn to spend his time profitably,

practising against the weapon of the Saxons.

For as it was an axe that began this trouble, so it will be an axe that ends it.

Tell your king that I do not choose to name a champion.

I will fight.

This is my fight. I will go against his man.

No, Kai!

Morged used you.

But only as an excuse to involve me.

It was all very carefully planned from the beginning.

He�s chosen this man, Karn, to kill me.

And I fear that I must disappoint him.

On the contrary.

He will probably roast seven boars at a feast to celebrate your death.

I know of Karn.

I�ve seen his swordsmanship.

He cannot defeat Arthur! � I�m better than I�ve ever been.

You are the deadliest swordsman in the land.

Except one. Karn.

He can kill you.

Arthur has agreed.

He meets you in three days.

Where? � His village.

And the grounds? � The ground?

Is it hard? Soft?

Is the area sheltered by trees?

If not, from which direction does the wind normally come?

Wind?

No matter. � I can discover this,

if it will help you to kill him.

You want him dead very badly, don�t you?

There were some lands in dispute. They were mine, by right.

By conquest!

But he forced me to give them up.

He made me out to be a fool, and coward,

in front of a gathering of all the chieftains.

Well. It�s true, isn�t it?

Yes, you are fast.

But Karn is like lightning.

You are clever.

He is more clever with the sword.

Your mind is set on forging a Celtic alliance. He thinks only of the sword.

I�ve told you, it�s my fight.

What are you trying to prove?

That you�re a man of stone, without fear?

I do not scorn fear.

It makes men careful.

Llud, I want the blacksmith to make me a sword.

Tell him to work through the night, if he must.

The sword will be twice the weight of my own.

For the fight?

No, practice.

So when I draw my blade,

two days from now,

it�ll be as light as a feather.

You sent for me.

The day after tomorrow, I fight Arthur.

I�m a scholar. I know nothing of arms.

But you have spoken with Arthur. � Oh!

We have debated together the Four Last Questions.

It�s a game he enjoys.

Tell me about him.

I will know his mind.

Again, faster.

Careful, Kai!

Never careful.

Karn will not hold back his blade. Come! Again!

Enough. Save your strength, you need it for tomorrow.

What I need for tomorrow, is speed.

With this blade,

it�s a miracle to even get a touch.

What happens to Arthur�s mind,

when you press him hard?

Becomes more dangerous.

Men with strong minds think clearly.

They do not waver at the point of a sword. Is this Arthur?

He wouldn�t waver at the point of many swords.

What happens if you make an argument he cannot answer,

or does not understand?

Confesses to it. That�s what makes him strong.

Good morning, my little Celtic bluebird!

Oh, not now, have you no feeling?

Feeling? Feeling, yes, but only for you, my precious!

In one hour, Arthur will be at death-grips with the man he believes could kill him.

How do you know that?

Where have you been?

Even the children of the village know it.

Yes, but how do you know that Arthur thinks he may not win this duel?

How do we know anything about those we love?

You may think me a rogue or a fool if you will.

But never think me a man with no mind!

I have more faith in this Arthur of yours.

Don�t forget the shoulder-swerve.

Arthur!

After today, you�ll be the first man in my kingdom.

You know the law.

Each is entitled to a sword,

and a knife.

You fight to the death.

Why have you no knife?

Does it concern you?

It can only concern you.

Step back, one pace.

Work with the heavy sword makes the difference.

Does it make enough difference?

You do not have the quickness with the sword, Arthur.

Your words betray your fear, Karn.

Kill him!

I have no wish to kill you.

The contest is over.

The victor decided.

Decided?

And neither have I any wish to kill you.

You said you had no knife!

I did not.

I asked you if it concerned you.

So you still do not know.

Between you and I,

there will be another time.

I�m wondering whose neck I most want to wring like a chicken�s.

Morged�s, for his deceit and cunning,

or Arthur�s, for not telling us about that knife,

and making us sweat out the last moments of the fight.

Would you have the outcome any different?

When I have your experience, Old Warrior,

perhaps I�ll also have your tolerance and understanding.

In the meantime, I could kill them both!

I�m very pleased for you. � Yeah.

But how, in the name of the gods, did you persuade a sensible woman like that to marry you?

I promised to retire from my many travels, and grow wine,

and to be an attentive husband, and never leave her side.

Yes.

Sometimes to win in this life

it�s necessary to be a little devious.

Hmm?

The knife! You owe me six measures.

What was that?

I said you owe me twelve measures of silver.

Sometimes in life you can be a little too devious.