The Eagle of the Ninth (1977–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - The Wild Hunt - full transcript
Oh, when I joined the Eagles,
as it might be yesterday,
I kissed a girl at Clusium
before I marched away.
A long march, a long march
and 20 years in store.
When I left my girl in Clusium
beside the threshing floor.
It's the Dance of the New Spears.
So we dance it, too, we the Brigantes,
on the night our boys become men.
And do your people not hold
the Feast of the New Spears?
We hold a feast but not like this.
All this is strange to me. I've seen
many things tonight to make me wonder.
And these things?
Wait, for I will tell you.
For you are young
and doubtless wish to know.
I am old and by far
the wisest man in all the tribes.
Truly wisdom shines from the face
of Tradui. My ears are open.
And you say that no guard is kept on
the Place of Life, no watch of attendant priests?
What need?
The Place of Life has guardians of its own
and who would dare meddle
with that which is of the Horned One?
And are all these things of the Horned One,
even the wingless bird?
Why do you speak of the Eagle,
caught of the Red Crests?
I've seen such Eagle gods before
and wondered to see it here.
We are always curious, we Greeks.
- Also we have little cause to love Rome.
- Aye!
Tell me how you took this Eagle god?
There was a great hosting of the tribes,
not more than ten or 12 seasons ago,
to put down a great army of the Red Crests.
I went south with the rest of them,
though I was an old man even then
and it was my last fight.
We brought them to bay a day north
of the place they call the Three Hills.
We pulled them down at last!
Ah, but they took a goodly escort
of our warriors with them.
But we pulled them down,
and they were left but a knot, as many
as there are fingers on my two hands.
And the Eagle god still in their midst.
But I, Tradui,
threw with my last throw-spear
the priest in the wolf's hide
who held the staff,
but another took it from him and held it
so that the god did not go down.
Oh, he was a chieftain among the rest.
I would that I had slain him,
but another was before me.
We left them
and the Eagle god came back with us.
And there was great rain later
and the rivers coming down in spate,
and at a ford the warrior
who held the god was swept away.
And when we found it later,
the wings were gone.
That chieftain of the Red Crests...
he was like you!
And yet you say you're a Greek.
Is not that strange?
There are many of Greek blood
among the Red Crests.
So.
That could be it.
Oh, but they were truly warriors.
And we left them their weapons,
as befits warriors.
But from that chieftain
of the Red Crests I took this,
for he was fierce and valiant
beyond all the others.
See.
It will not go on my hand.
Take you it and look.
- Are you sure it was your father's ring?
- Yes.
I'd often seen it before on his hand
and it was engraved with our family badge.
Still that's not what I came here to find.
- So you're still going to take the Eagle?
- If I can.
- Did you find a place?
- Oh, aye.
They might search till the loch runs dry
and never find it.
But I shall know the place
when I come again.
Good. I've already told the chieftain
that we're starting south tomorrow.
He's loath to see us go, but I said I wish to be
south again before the winter closes in on us.
Do you not feel bad in your heart
to deceive him?
No.
They welcomed us and in return
I have doctored their sore eyes
with all the skill I possess.
There's no debt on either side,
no room for guilt.
- Aye, but in the matter of the Eagle?
- They're the enemy.
A worthy enemy. I...
I like them, respect them.
Let them keep the Eagle if they can.
In the name of light.
Blood?
Deer's blood or that of a black cock.
A midnight offering.
It's strong magic, don't touch it.
Look.
The Eagle.
The last Roman hand
to touch this was my father's.
The bolts are corroded into the holes.
Stay on your feet!
To kneel would leave us
unprotected against...
whatever is here.
Stiff.
If only we could take it outside,
away from here.
We must have light to work by and
light anywhere outside might betray us.
This is the one place
that we're free from interruption.
From the interruption of men.
It might be a fault in the wick or bad air.
Or it might not.
Think light, Esca.
Think light!
Oh, great god Mithras, slayer of the bull,
hear the prayer of thy son.
Let us not go down into darkness,
oh, great god Mithras.
Steady, old friend.
We ride south by the shores of the loch
and then north-east through the mountains
but slowly, Esca, slowly,
breathing the horses often.
We mustn't get too far from the Place of Life
before the next move
In the game can be played.
The loss of the Eagle won't be discovered
until after midnight,
when the priest comes to renew the offering.
Here they come.
Dergdian? Liathan? What is it
you want with us in such haste?
You know well enough.
- I fear not, you will have to tell me.
- Yes, we'll tell you.
We come to take back the winged god,
also for blood to wash off the insults
you put upon us and the gods of our tribe.
The winged god? The Eagle god?
You mean, you've lost it?
- We mean that it is stolen.
- And it must needs be I who stole it?
Why in the name of the Thunderer
should I want a wingless Roman Eagle?
You might have had your reasons.
Is it the custom of the Seal People to hunt
and slay those who have been their guests?
Well, do the Romans call
the men of the north barbarians.
If you are so sure it is we
who have stolen the Red Crests' god,
you have but to search our gear to find it.
Search then!
Will you bid your hounds be less
rough with the tools of my trade?
It maybe that there are still
sore eyes in Caledonia,
though your own son 's eyes are now well.
Softly you fool. There is no need that
you should break the medicine sticks.
Are you satisfied now?
Or is it that you would search us to the skin?
Though it must be perfectly obvious
that we have nothing
a tenth the size of an Eagle
hidden about us.
We must cast our net wider, it seems.
We have offended against
our own laws of hospitality.
We have hunted down two
who have been our guests
and not found the winged god, after all.
Come back with us, Demetrius of Alexandria.
Come back with us,
lest our hearths be shamed.
We are for the south,
before the year closes in.
We shall remember
that we've been your guests.
The rest we've already forgotten.
Good hunting to you
on your game trails this winter.
Do you wish the Eagle
yet in the place we took it from?
No. If it were still there,
it would still be a danger to the frontier,
danger to other Legions,
also it was my father's Eagle,
none of theirs.
I only wish that we needn't have made
Dergdian and his sword brethren feel ashamed.
Ah, there was no helping it.
We shall be upon a village soon.
How do you know?
Smoke over yonder.
I caught the blur of it a while back.
Could be heat smoke.
No, no, it was hearth smoke.
It is time I sickened of the fever.
Oh, my head!
Man, my head's on fire!
Esca, Esca.
Slump a little more and roll a little less.
It's fever not barely spirits
that's lit the fire, remember.
Be at peace, Esca. It's only me.
The villagers are terrified of entering.
I explained that the sickness in my servant
is caused by devils in his belly
and he cannot be looked upon by any
who have not the marks for protection.
- But they'll let us stay?
- Yes.
The headman invited us
to share his fireside.
I insisted that we must have a place
as far away from the living huts as may be.
Good.
It's rough, but it'll keep out the weather
for the two or three days until you return.
The sooner I go, the sooner I return.
Oh, curse this leg of mine.
It should be me going back, not you.
No, even if your leg was strong enough,
you couldn't leave this place
without rousing the dogs
or find your way back
through the mountains.
This is work for a hunter, not a soldier.
It's pitch black but all's clear.
Well?
Can you find your way?
Yes.
Then, good hunting.
- Is it well?
- It is well. How went the hunting?
The hunting was good.
Was there any trouble?
None.
Is there anything to eat?
Gault the fisherman found it on the island.
It was caught in an alder bush.
You were right, wise one.
I was right, who am never wrong.
I said it was the healer
who took the Eagle god.
He had the face of that chieftain of
the Red Crests I saw killed under its wings.
I must have been blind or doting
not to know him for his father's son.
And I am ashamed for doubting you.
It may be that it is you
who will hunt him down,
for there is a link of fate
between his line and ours.
If it be so, kill him if you can,
for he has put shame
upon the gods of our tribe.
Over there.
A broch built by the forgotten people.
It'll give us shelter for the night.
It's been a gruelling ride, Esca.
Two more days should
see us out of the mountains.
Mithras be praised!
It's been a good hunting, brother.
I can scarce believe that all has gone so well.
The ring-brooch.
Where's the ring-brooch?
It could have fallen off anywhere,
even while you were in the water.
No, it rang on the pebbles when I dropped it
to remove the Eagle from its hiding place.
Oh, yes, and then when I picked it up,
it caught for an instant on a branch.
I remember now.
At the time, I scarcely noticed.
If anyone finds it, they'll know that one of us
has been back since they searched our gear
and there could only be
one possible reason for that.
Well, no matter how fast the hunt comes on,
we'll pass the point where
we can be cut off in the mountains.
But the horses won't stand
another two days like the last.
I know, and the old cavalry brands
make them only too recognisable.
We should trade them for others.
There's a town nearby.
No.
No, word of the Eagle may
have reached there ahead of us.
We'd best press on.
The hound has their scent.
And their horses are lame.
Three more days.
Three more days now, by my reckoning,
we shall reach the wall.
Aye, we've made good speed.
But we're gonna have to get rid of the horses
soon, take to the heather on foot.
I wish to be as far south as possible
before that day comes.
The hunt is up with a vengeance!
Down to the stream! We might have a chance.
Go on! Hip!
They've gone after the horses.
Without our weight,
they'll run like the wind, for a while.
Till they run them down,
then the hunt will be back to look for us.
We'll stick with this stream for a bit,
break the trail.
It aches?
Intolerably.
Now I know what Guern meant.
Now I know what it means to be hunted.
How far is it to the nearest
guard post on the wall?
At least two full days' march.
And we'll be marching on empty stomachs,
since we can't stop to trap as we go.
Oh, it's bad! What little food we had
has gone with the horses.
I know. I feel sad about the horses.
I'd grown quite fond of them.
No harm will come to them.
Hunting dogs are trained to bring to bay,
not to kill until the word is given.
With us the word wouId have been given.
Aye.
No food.
Well, at least I remembered to take the Eagle.
We daren't rest here.
They're bound to find the place
where we went into the water.
I think they already have.
as it might be yesterday,
I kissed a girl at Clusium
before I marched away.
A long march, a long march
and 20 years in store.
When I left my girl in Clusium
beside the threshing floor.
It's the Dance of the New Spears.
So we dance it, too, we the Brigantes,
on the night our boys become men.
And do your people not hold
the Feast of the New Spears?
We hold a feast but not like this.
All this is strange to me. I've seen
many things tonight to make me wonder.
And these things?
Wait, for I will tell you.
For you are young
and doubtless wish to know.
I am old and by far
the wisest man in all the tribes.
Truly wisdom shines from the face
of Tradui. My ears are open.
And you say that no guard is kept on
the Place of Life, no watch of attendant priests?
What need?
The Place of Life has guardians of its own
and who would dare meddle
with that which is of the Horned One?
And are all these things of the Horned One,
even the wingless bird?
Why do you speak of the Eagle,
caught of the Red Crests?
I've seen such Eagle gods before
and wondered to see it here.
We are always curious, we Greeks.
- Also we have little cause to love Rome.
- Aye!
Tell me how you took this Eagle god?
There was a great hosting of the tribes,
not more than ten or 12 seasons ago,
to put down a great army of the Red Crests.
I went south with the rest of them,
though I was an old man even then
and it was my last fight.
We brought them to bay a day north
of the place they call the Three Hills.
We pulled them down at last!
Ah, but they took a goodly escort
of our warriors with them.
But we pulled them down,
and they were left but a knot, as many
as there are fingers on my two hands.
And the Eagle god still in their midst.
But I, Tradui,
threw with my last throw-spear
the priest in the wolf's hide
who held the staff,
but another took it from him and held it
so that the god did not go down.
Oh, he was a chieftain among the rest.
I would that I had slain him,
but another was before me.
We left them
and the Eagle god came back with us.
And there was great rain later
and the rivers coming down in spate,
and at a ford the warrior
who held the god was swept away.
And when we found it later,
the wings were gone.
That chieftain of the Red Crests...
he was like you!
And yet you say you're a Greek.
Is not that strange?
There are many of Greek blood
among the Red Crests.
So.
That could be it.
Oh, but they were truly warriors.
And we left them their weapons,
as befits warriors.
But from that chieftain
of the Red Crests I took this,
for he was fierce and valiant
beyond all the others.
See.
It will not go on my hand.
Take you it and look.
- Are you sure it was your father's ring?
- Yes.
I'd often seen it before on his hand
and it was engraved with our family badge.
Still that's not what I came here to find.
- So you're still going to take the Eagle?
- If I can.
- Did you find a place?
- Oh, aye.
They might search till the loch runs dry
and never find it.
But I shall know the place
when I come again.
Good. I've already told the chieftain
that we're starting south tomorrow.
He's loath to see us go, but I said I wish to be
south again before the winter closes in on us.
Do you not feel bad in your heart
to deceive him?
No.
They welcomed us and in return
I have doctored their sore eyes
with all the skill I possess.
There's no debt on either side,
no room for guilt.
- Aye, but in the matter of the Eagle?
- They're the enemy.
A worthy enemy. I...
I like them, respect them.
Let them keep the Eagle if they can.
In the name of light.
Blood?
Deer's blood or that of a black cock.
A midnight offering.
It's strong magic, don't touch it.
Look.
The Eagle.
The last Roman hand
to touch this was my father's.
The bolts are corroded into the holes.
Stay on your feet!
To kneel would leave us
unprotected against...
whatever is here.
Stiff.
If only we could take it outside,
away from here.
We must have light to work by and
light anywhere outside might betray us.
This is the one place
that we're free from interruption.
From the interruption of men.
It might be a fault in the wick or bad air.
Or it might not.
Think light, Esca.
Think light!
Oh, great god Mithras, slayer of the bull,
hear the prayer of thy son.
Let us not go down into darkness,
oh, great god Mithras.
Steady, old friend.
We ride south by the shores of the loch
and then north-east through the mountains
but slowly, Esca, slowly,
breathing the horses often.
We mustn't get too far from the Place of Life
before the next move
In the game can be played.
The loss of the Eagle won't be discovered
until after midnight,
when the priest comes to renew the offering.
Here they come.
Dergdian? Liathan? What is it
you want with us in such haste?
You know well enough.
- I fear not, you will have to tell me.
- Yes, we'll tell you.
We come to take back the winged god,
also for blood to wash off the insults
you put upon us and the gods of our tribe.
The winged god? The Eagle god?
You mean, you've lost it?
- We mean that it is stolen.
- And it must needs be I who stole it?
Why in the name of the Thunderer
should I want a wingless Roman Eagle?
You might have had your reasons.
Is it the custom of the Seal People to hunt
and slay those who have been their guests?
Well, do the Romans call
the men of the north barbarians.
If you are so sure it is we
who have stolen the Red Crests' god,
you have but to search our gear to find it.
Search then!
Will you bid your hounds be less
rough with the tools of my trade?
It maybe that there are still
sore eyes in Caledonia,
though your own son 's eyes are now well.
Softly you fool. There is no need that
you should break the medicine sticks.
Are you satisfied now?
Or is it that you would search us to the skin?
Though it must be perfectly obvious
that we have nothing
a tenth the size of an Eagle
hidden about us.
We must cast our net wider, it seems.
We have offended against
our own laws of hospitality.
We have hunted down two
who have been our guests
and not found the winged god, after all.
Come back with us, Demetrius of Alexandria.
Come back with us,
lest our hearths be shamed.
We are for the south,
before the year closes in.
We shall remember
that we've been your guests.
The rest we've already forgotten.
Good hunting to you
on your game trails this winter.
Do you wish the Eagle
yet in the place we took it from?
No. If it were still there,
it would still be a danger to the frontier,
danger to other Legions,
also it was my father's Eagle,
none of theirs.
I only wish that we needn't have made
Dergdian and his sword brethren feel ashamed.
Ah, there was no helping it.
We shall be upon a village soon.
How do you know?
Smoke over yonder.
I caught the blur of it a while back.
Could be heat smoke.
No, no, it was hearth smoke.
It is time I sickened of the fever.
Oh, my head!
Man, my head's on fire!
Esca, Esca.
Slump a little more and roll a little less.
It's fever not barely spirits
that's lit the fire, remember.
Be at peace, Esca. It's only me.
The villagers are terrified of entering.
I explained that the sickness in my servant
is caused by devils in his belly
and he cannot be looked upon by any
who have not the marks for protection.
- But they'll let us stay?
- Yes.
The headman invited us
to share his fireside.
I insisted that we must have a place
as far away from the living huts as may be.
Good.
It's rough, but it'll keep out the weather
for the two or three days until you return.
The sooner I go, the sooner I return.
Oh, curse this leg of mine.
It should be me going back, not you.
No, even if your leg was strong enough,
you couldn't leave this place
without rousing the dogs
or find your way back
through the mountains.
This is work for a hunter, not a soldier.
It's pitch black but all's clear.
Well?
Can you find your way?
Yes.
Then, good hunting.
- Is it well?
- It is well. How went the hunting?
The hunting was good.
Was there any trouble?
None.
Is there anything to eat?
Gault the fisherman found it on the island.
It was caught in an alder bush.
You were right, wise one.
I was right, who am never wrong.
I said it was the healer
who took the Eagle god.
He had the face of that chieftain of
the Red Crests I saw killed under its wings.
I must have been blind or doting
not to know him for his father's son.
And I am ashamed for doubting you.
It may be that it is you
who will hunt him down,
for there is a link of fate
between his line and ours.
If it be so, kill him if you can,
for he has put shame
upon the gods of our tribe.
Over there.
A broch built by the forgotten people.
It'll give us shelter for the night.
It's been a gruelling ride, Esca.
Two more days should
see us out of the mountains.
Mithras be praised!
It's been a good hunting, brother.
I can scarce believe that all has gone so well.
The ring-brooch.
Where's the ring-brooch?
It could have fallen off anywhere,
even while you were in the water.
No, it rang on the pebbles when I dropped it
to remove the Eagle from its hiding place.
Oh, yes, and then when I picked it up,
it caught for an instant on a branch.
I remember now.
At the time, I scarcely noticed.
If anyone finds it, they'll know that one of us
has been back since they searched our gear
and there could only be
one possible reason for that.
Well, no matter how fast the hunt comes on,
we'll pass the point where
we can be cut off in the mountains.
But the horses won't stand
another two days like the last.
I know, and the old cavalry brands
make them only too recognisable.
We should trade them for others.
There's a town nearby.
No.
No, word of the Eagle may
have reached there ahead of us.
We'd best press on.
The hound has their scent.
And their horses are lame.
Three more days.
Three more days now, by my reckoning,
we shall reach the wall.
Aye, we've made good speed.
But we're gonna have to get rid of the horses
soon, take to the heather on foot.
I wish to be as far south as possible
before that day comes.
The hunt is up with a vengeance!
Down to the stream! We might have a chance.
Go on! Hip!
They've gone after the horses.
Without our weight,
they'll run like the wind, for a while.
Till they run them down,
then the hunt will be back to look for us.
We'll stick with this stream for a bit,
break the trail.
It aches?
Intolerably.
Now I know what Guern meant.
Now I know what it means to be hunted.
How far is it to the nearest
guard post on the wall?
At least two full days' march.
And we'll be marching on empty stomachs,
since we can't stop to trap as we go.
Oh, it's bad! What little food we had
has gone with the horses.
I know. I feel sad about the horses.
I'd grown quite fond of them.
No harm will come to them.
Hunting dogs are trained to bring to bay,
not to kill until the word is given.
With us the word wouId have been given.
Aye.
No food.
Well, at least I remembered to take the Eagle.
We daren't rest here.
They're bound to find the place
where we went into the water.
I think they already have.