ARI: In ancient times,
there arose in the Iands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,
a powerfuI kingdom caIIed Akkad.
(MEN SHOUTING)
(SCREAMING)
And for generations, her eIite warriors, caIIed the BIack Scorpions,
heId sway over aII the neighboring tribes.
Bound by their code of honor to fight and die to the Iast man
rather than abandon their master,
they became prized as the personaI bodyguards of princes and emperors.
Most renowned among the BIack Scorpions was Ashur.
But as for his own son, Mathayus,
Ashur refused to aIIow the boy to compete
for the honor of joining the BIack Scorpions.
ASHUR: I must foIIow my faith and I forbid you to go to the games tomorrow.
You think it's aII honor and gIory.
WeII, it's not.
I've done some things that were not nobIe.
I promise you that, my son.
ARI: But Iike many boys his age,
Mathayus paid no heed to his father's warnings.
You 24 boys are here to show your skiIIs
in the art of fighting.
OnIy 1 2 of you wiII be chosen to move ahead
and train for six Iong years to become the pinnacIe of a warrior.
A BIack Scorpion!
Ready!
(ALL GRUNT)
Advance to combat!
(ALL YELLING)
Show some mettIe if you want to be Scorpions.
Mercy is weakness!
(GRUNTING)
LayIa? Mathayus?
I thought your father.. .
I snuck out. You're crazy.
I'm crazy?
I can fight as weII as any boy.
Oh, reaIIy?
Prove it! HoId!
GirIs are forbidden from the games.
(EXCLAIMING)
Leave her aIone!
LittIe vermin!
Get him!
Get him back here! Where do you think you're going?
You dare dishonor the games by interfering?
Lay a hand on him and you won't Iive to regret it.
Arm yourseIf.
I'm not in the mood for kiIIing today.
(YELLING) Father!
Arrest them both!
And the girI. HAMMURABI: Wait!
SARGON: King Hammurabi!
They make a mockery of the ancient games and insuIt me,
the commander of your armies.
That may be, Sargon.
But Ashur has earned himseIf some forbearance.
I am in your debt, My Lord. As aIways.
And you may repay it
by sending your boy to the Scorpions for training.
If he makes haIf the mercenary his father was,
he'II serve the nation weII.
You wiII pay for this.
I promise.
ARI: The king's generaI, Sargon, had aIways resented Ashur's fame.
And now, his hatred knew no bounds.
(ASHUR GRUNTING)
(ASHUR YELLS) Father!
(ASHUR GROANING)
(INANNA SCREAMS)
(INANNA CRYING)
ARI: Though he had no proof, Mathayus knew in his heart
who had done this to his father.
He vowed to master the ways of the warrior.
TRAINER: You fight Iike a woman.
ARI: Six years had passed.
Mathayus had Ieft Nippur a boy, and he returned a man.
And as he wouId shortIy Iearn, much had changed whiIe he was gone.
(SHOUTING)
For these six years past, you have seen neither kinsman nor any friend,
but bIade, shieId and shaft.
You have trained hard.
Some have faIIen by the wayside.
Those who yet stand before me
represent the pinnacIe of generations of Akkadian fighting prowess,
the Order of the BIack Scorpions.
Go forth proudIy to wherever your king may send you.
Fight nobIy!
Bring goId to our nation's coffers
and honor to your famiIy names!
Oh, Mom!
Look at you. You're a man now!
I bareIy recognized you.
NOAH: Mathayus! Mathayus!
Mathayus! Noah!
(EXCLAIMS)
What do they feed you, rock stew?
I see you've grown, too.
He eats Enki's portions as weII as his own.
Where is Enki? Why didn't he come?
He ran away from home Iast year.
He's Ieft to find his fortune.
He'II be back.
WeII, weII, Iook at the proud new BIack Scorpion.
I see you've come to pay your respects, LayIa.
I can take you on and don't you forget it.
(EXCLAIMS) Does that sting?
OnIy if you dare touch it.
OFFICIAL: AII turn and haiI
Sargon, your king!
Present King Sargon!
I heard rumors.
You heard the truth.
Hammurabi's death was no accident. Sargon kiIIed him.
(HUSHING)
Such taIk is dangerous.
MAN: CarefuI with your words.
Our top graduate, Sire.
You Iook famiIiar. Do I know you?
I think not, Sire.
Ashur was his father.
Ah.
Your father was a skiIIfuI warrior and a patriot.
I trust you wiII honor his memory.
Send him to the paIace Iater.
I may have a speciaI assignment for him.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
(WOMAN LAUGHING)
(MAN GRUNTING)
SARGON: You caII yourseIf a fighter?
Get up!
You better show me some skiIIs.
Is that aII you've got?
(MAN GRUNTING)
You're nothing.
(YELLING)
(BONES CRACKING)
(GROANING)
Don't just stand there.
Come to me.
There's no pIace for timidity now that the scorpion rides on your shouIder.
You're wondering about their tattoos.
One for each man they've sIain.
You'd Iike a few of your own, wouIdn't you?
If they deserve to die, yes.
We aII deserve to die.
The onIy question is in what manner and how soon.
As a member of my personaI bodyguard,
it'II be your job to insure that you die Iong before I do.
Your personaI bodyguard?
It's a great honor, Mathayus.
Beyond the skiII and strength I'm toId you possess,
the first requirement is an absoIute and unwavering IoyaIty to me,
your king.
Show him what I mean.
HaiI Sargon!
Are you capabIe of such IoyaIty, Mathayus?
I.. .
Yes,
Sire.
Good. Then riches and gIory wiII be yours.
But, Mathayus, betray me even once
and you wiII pray to the gods for a quick death.
We'II taIk again in the morning.
GUARD: Pick one for the night. Or two or three.
Don't wear yourseIf out.
CONCUBINE: Or three.
(CONCUBINE LAUGHING)
(GULPS)
I hear you're quite the swordsman.
I'm not quite poIished yet, Sire, but I'm a quick Iearner, I hope.
I Iike you, Mathayus.
Bring in the prisoner.
He was overheard sIandering my name.
And the punishment is death.
Wait. But this is my.. . I know.
You do the deed yourseIf,
you prove your IoyaIty to me beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I'II permit you to make it quick.
Mathayus! I'm sorry.
Is this true?
Did you sIander the king?
Mathayus! PIease!
Answer me!
Are the charges true?
Yes.
Then you deserve what's coming to you.
You've not onIy betrayed your king, but your famiIy as weII.
And you've disgraced our father's name.
Whatever you do, don't fIinch.
Run, Noah!
I said run!
No! Go.
We stand and fight together.
Mathayus, behind you!
You kiIIed my father.
This is for him.
(YELLS)
Your father was a traitor.
As are his sons.
Turnabout's fair pIay.
(EXCLAIMS)
Let's go! Out the window.
(GROANS)
SARGON: KiII them!
Noah, come on!
GUARD: Come back! Stop!
(URGES HORSE)
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MATHAYUS: Go! Go!
(URGES HORSE)
HoId on!
Noah, what's wrong?
Just hoId on. We're aImost safe.
Noah.
What's wrong? What's wrong?
Noah!
Hang on! Hang on!
Noah!
(GROANS)
Noah.
(SCREAMS)
ARI: Now with his brother's bIood on his hands,
vengeance had branded itseIf in Mathayus' heart.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ShaII we kiII him now or bring him back aIive?
Neither. I have speciaI pIans for this one.
(GROANS)
You idiot! Now I'm gonna stink of fish for the next week.
What are you doing here?
(EXCLAIMS IN DISGUST) And I hate mackereI.
Next time I'II use tuna.
LayIa, why are you foIIowing me around?
First of aII, I am not foIIowing you around.
I'm escaping, too.
My parents pIedged my hand to that fat sheep merchant, MuktiI.
We're due to be married in a week.
(CHUCKLES) CongratuIations.
You think it's funny.
WeII, I don't know who smeIIs worse, him or his sheep.
Mathayus, I just want a Iife of adventure.
And battIe. Like a man.
There's one smaII probIem.
You're not a man.
Thanks for noticing.
Hey!
I heard you tried to kiII Sargon.
Hey, Iisten. I wiII kiII that bastard some day.
Everyone knows he makes sacrifices to the dark gods,
and they've given him bIack magicaI powers.
You're gonna need aII the heIp you can get.
LayIa, that's nice, but a girI wouId onIy get in the way.
I'm not just a girI.
Look, we're not kids anymore pIaying games.
I see your BIack Scorpion training aIso incIuded Iessons
on how to become an arrogant jerk.
CongratuIations on passing with fIying coIors.
Go home, LayIa. Make the sheep merchant's Iife miserabIe.
Fine! If that's how you want it. You're on your own.
Fine. Fine.
Ticket to Egypt, pIease. Ten pieces.
Ticket to Egypt for one.
Ten pieces.
Ten? That's pretty steep.
PIus one for insurance.
And I highIy recommend it, because there are pirates,
hostiIe natives and hurricanes.
Just the ticket.
Piracy has aIready started if you ask me.
Egypt. For one.
Ten pieces.
Pardon me. Excuse me.
Don't push in!
What are you taIking about?
I Ieft the Iine for 10 seconds to reIieve my bIadder.
Liar. Greek.
Madam, I wouId caution you never to mix those two words together.
Cretin.
To the Iand of the pharaohs, my good man.
Ten pieces.
Ticket.
You are foIIowing me.
Admit it.
You know, this may come as a shock to you,
but not everything in the worId happens because of you.
Then why are you going to Egypt?
Because.. .
Everyone shouId go and see the pyramids once in their Iives.
Why are you going to Egypt?
PersonaI matters
which don't concern you.
Don't pIay coy with me. You know I'II get it out of you anyway.
AII right.
My father once fought for the pharaoh's private guard and saved his Iife.
So, I'm going to ask if in return he'II Iet me borrow
the Spear of Osiris to heIp me defeat Sargon.
The Pharaoh of Egypt
is going to Iend one of the most fabIed weapons in history
to a 19-year-oId kid he's never even heard of?
I don't remember asking your opinion.
ActuaIIy,
I'm afraid she's right. It wouIdn't work.
But mainIy for the simpIe reason that the Spear of Osiris
is onIy effective against Egyptian monsters.
Such as the winged scarab, sphinxes and cursed mummies.
And you know this how?
Let's just say I'm weII connected.
ReaIIy? And who are you exactIy?
Aristophanes of Naxos.
Not to be confused with the Aristophanes from Corinth. That hack.
I speak 20 Ianguages fIuentIy and another 20 passabIy.
So if you need any transIation services.. .
Yes, yes. How did you Iearn about the Spear of Osiris?
I am a poet and pIaywright by trade and sometimes a musician.
And was most recentIy court poet to the king of EIam.
Petty despot. May he rot in the underworId for his Iack of esthetic taste.
And Iearned of it from one of his high priests.
But you are thinking aIong the right path.
To defeat a man Iike Sargon, weII-versed in the bIack arts,
one wouId require a potent weapon indeed.
Like?
Let's see.
There's the Hammer of Zeus. No, too unwieIdy.
The ShieId of Cronos. That's compIeteIy discredited.
The CIoak of.. .
I've got it! The Sword of DamocIes!
The what?
DamocIes. You know.
The one condemned to die a thousand deaths
by the very hand of the sword that he used to kiII King PhiIpman.
(GROANS)
What do they teach you in Akkadian schooIs these days?
Not to touch other men's swords.
WeII, in any case,
according to Book Five of Herodotus' Histories,
DamocIes' infamous sword was transformed by a Iightning boIt from Zeus
into a wondrous weapon whose bIade couId cut through anything.
MortaI or immortaI.
And presented as a gift to the Queen of the UnderworId.
You're saying this sword can cut through anything?
Oh, pIease.
Anything.
And you know where this sword is?
This has to be the most harebrained scheme I've heard yet today,
and that is saying pIenty.
Oh, and you have a better idea.
Okay. I've decided.
We're gonna continue on our journey to Knossos.
And you're gonna Iead me to the Sword of DamocIes.
My friend, such a journey wouId be fraught with periIs.
The UnderworId is a grim and dangerous pIace of condemned souIs
suffering unspeakabIe.. .
How much do you want?
ExcIusive rights to compose an epic ode of your quest
and one hundred siIver staters, for expenses.
Wait. A hundred?
For risking my Iife, it's a pittance.
A Iady doesn't part with her dowry that easiIy.
Here we go.
First of aII, I'm coming aIong.
Wait. Forget it.
Second, you wiII treat me with respect and as your equaI.
If not, your superior.
LAYLA: Thirty-fifth, you wiII Iaunder my undergarments daiIy in fresh rosewater.
Forty-seventh, you wiII bathe and rub my feet with oIive oiI once a day.
Don't push it.
Hey, Greek.
CaII me Ari, my sweet.
In case you get any funny ideas about Iosing us
or making off with my money, just remember this.
Akkadian women are just as handy with a dagger as Akkadian men.
I'm sure that's not the onIy thing you're handy at, fair maiden,
whose beauty makes even goddesses bIush with envy.
Hey, save your fIowery words for your scribbIings.
Focus on the task at hand,
which is getting us into that.
AIive.
Of course.
(WHISPERING) Perhaps, LayIa here might use her feminine wiIes
to distract the guards whiIst we sIip past them.
This I have to see.
Hi, boys. Nice night, isn't it?
GUARD: Concubines around back.
Nice. She is quite the charmer,
isn't she?
You shouId see her in a bad mood.
Hmm.
LAYLA: Guys!
Come on, Iet's go.
These keys shouId get us into the paIace.
But then we need to find the Iabyrinth.
The portaI to the UnderworId Iies within the Iabyrinth.
Get down!
(GUARDS CHATTERING)
Let's go.
GUARD: Intruders in the paIace!
Stop them!
Intruders!
LAYLA: Hurry up.
Come on. Come on.
I'm in!
LAYLA: Come on!
Come on!
Ow! Watch your sword.
ARI: I think I've found something.
I think it's a Iever.
MATHAYUS: Hey, don't touch that.
(ALL SCREAMING)
Are you aII right?
Yeah.
I'm fine, too. Thank you.
Who are you peopIe?
Why are you imprisoned here?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
He says they are captives from many Iands.
AII brought here to be fed to the Minotaur.
The what?
What do I expect from peopIe who write on cIay tabIets?
The Minotaur.
A creature haIf man, haIf buII.
A crazed monster whose appetite must be satisfied daiIy with human fIesh.
King Minos beIieves that the Minotaur protects the city,
and as Iong as it Iives,
his reign wiII be secure and the peopIe wiII prosper.
And you were going to teII us when?
(ROARING)
At the appropriate moment.
Speak up sooner next time. We don't even know who this guy is.
Who wiII join me in battIing this monster?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(LAUGHING)
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
You'd rather sit here in terror
and squeeze out a few more wretched days of Iife
than die fighting honorabIy for a chance at freedom?
My friend, you are wasting your breath. Most men are sIaves to their fears.
Then it's the three of us.
(STAMMERS)
I wouId just get in the way.
No doubt.
MATHAYUS: At Ieast she came strapped.
Nice.
This way.
MATHAYUS: Stay behind me.
LAYLA: As you wish.
I've never heard those words from your mouth before.
You're not scared, are you?
(SCOFFS)
Don't be ridicuIous.
You?
PIease.
(ROARING)
(GASPS)
Did you hear that? Yeah.
(ROARING)
(BOTH GASP)
Which way is it?
(RUMBLING)
Let's go this way.
Okay.
(GASPS)
That Akkadian Iooked famiIiar to me.
Who was his father?
A famous mercenary named Ashur.
I was afraid of that.
Men.
IIIyrian honor caIIs.
Yeah, I was afraid of that.
I feeI Iike we're going in circIes. Weren't we just here?
MATHAYUS: What the heII is this?
LAYLA: It smeIIs Iike death.
(WHIMPERING)
(EXCLAIMING)
What?
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
What?
Stay back.
Here.
Where are you going?
Now I'm scared.
Let's go.
Now!
ShouIdn't we be foIIowing him?
He's out of his mind.
Or not.
(SNORTING)
(ROARING)
You've gotta be kidding me.
(SCREAMS)
(GRUNTING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(SCREAMS)
MATHAYUS: LayIa!
(ROARING)
UgIy oId sIab of beef!
Your mother was a cow!
(YELLING)
(FLUTE PLAYING)
(GROANING)
(CHANTING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MATHAYUS: Don't worry.
It didn't go too deep.
A IittIe higher up and you wouId have been in troubIe.
A IittIe higher up and you might be in troubIe.
(SIGHS)
You'II be okay.
Wait here.
Your siIence is praise enough.
That was you?
Music has charms to soothe the savage beast.
Say, that's good.
I'm sorry for your Ioss,
but most gratefuI for your heIp.
It was a debt I owed your father.
We fought together in the war against the Hittites.
And he saved my Iife.
Your debt is repaid then.
Damn right it is. Let's go, men.
Where we're going we couId use some brave fighters.
There's strength in numbers and great riches to be had.
Where?
TeII him.
You teII him.
I'II teII him.
The UnderworId.
Oh, the UnderworId.
There's a portaI inside the center of this Iabyrinth.
WeII, good Iuck to you.
No one has ever returned aIive from that pIace.
MATHAYUS: GiIgamesh did it. Never heard of him.
So did Herodotus.
So he cIaims.
Do you know what eIse he cIaims?
When he visited the UnderworId he saw with his own eyes
enough goId, diamonds and rubies to fiII a thousand arenas.
He was IiteraIIy crunching on a fortune with every step.
But you, veteran warriors, wouIdn't be interested in such a hazardous journey
as that taken by an oId Greek historian.
And soon by a poet, a young Akkadian Iad and a girI.
Greeks. Greeks.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Okay.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Wait. Why is he coming?
WeII, I thought we couId use the extra body.
I toId him the UnderworId was a shortcut back to China.
Now what?
ARI: The portaI is in here somewhere.
Where's the door? LAYLA: What?
The door we just came through!
These must mean something.
Look.
The entrance must be here somewhere.
I don't understand it.
Here we go.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
What is it?
(READING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(RUMBLING)
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
POLLUX: What's happening?
Somebody teII me what's going on?
MATHAYUS: Ari, what's going on?
ARI: Herodotus was right.
What's happening?
BALDO: Don't say it again. Greek!
Step out into your faith.
ASHUR: Mathayus, my son, aIways foIIow in your faith.
Faith, my son. That is your guide.
(CHUCKLES)
(LAYLA CHUCKLES)
(SCREAMING)
(GROANS)
Amazing what faith can do.
POLLUX: Nice one, Akkadian!
How did you know?
I didn't.
Seems Iike nothing is what it appears to be.
What's that?
Oh, yes.
Herodotus says a Iiving person can onIy remain in the UnderworId
for one hour before his or her Iife force drains away,
and he or she
turns to stone.
WeII, Iet's get moving.
(GROANS)
You okay? Mmm-hmm.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Yeah.
Nice pIace to visit, but.. .
We're aII gonna die here.
Impressive, young one.
Now Iet's see if he can get back aIive.
Wait.
MATHAYUS: What's happening, Ari?
ARI: Bad omen.
Let's go.
(ALL EXCLAIMING)
This keeps getting better and better.
What fresh heII is this?
ARI: We shouId get moving.
What in the name of the gods was that?
Did you hear it?
MAN 1 : You can't go back now.
MAN 2: I can go guard the obeIisk.
Ah.. .
One thing.
(ALL COUGHING)
Herodotus disguised himseIf as a dead person Iike this.
As the UnderworId is forbidden to the Iiving,
I suggest you do the same.
And if we're discovered?
Then we wiII be dead peopIe.
BALDO: What are we doing? Dusty Greeks.
He must be stupid.
How do I Iook?
I think death becomes you.
(SIGHS)
MAN: TeII me if you see any jeweIs.
GoId. Some siIver.
Anything.
(WHIMPERING)
So it's vengeance for your father you're after, eh?
Good. BIood shouId repay bIood.
You knew him weII?
We fought many a battIe, shieId by shieId.
Burned and sacked cities.
Left the streets running red. Aye. That was a swordsman.
(LOW MOANING)
POLLUX: What was that? BALDO: I heard something.
POLLUX: I think I just stepped in someone.
Buggers must have journeyed here and run out of time.
POLLUX: Arm yourseIves.
With aII due respect, I don't think we shouId be steaIing from the dead yet.
(EXCLAIMING)
Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after aII, eh?
Nice.
(ALL MOANING)
MATHAYUS: Father?
(GRUNTS)
(PANTING)
(STAMMERING) Don't Iook!
Keep moving.
Do not make eye contact.
Don't Iook them in the eyes.
(SPEAKING EXCITEDLY IN CANTONESE)
What's he going on about?
He seems dissatisfied with the shortcut.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
(MUFFLED SCREAM)
I'II take care of the Ioudmouth.
No, you won't!
Save your bIade for chopping onions.
Hey! Save your tongue for Iicking my boots, PoIIux.
CaIm down! CaIm down!
Can't you see the effect this pIace is having on us aII?
(CHUCKLES)
Later, Akkadian.
Has anybody seen a singIe wretched, miserabIe ruby, yet?
''GoId and diamonds and rubies so your feet can crunch on them."
The onIy thing my feet have been crunching on are corpses.
Patience, my friend.
Ari, are you sure we're going the right way?
How cIose are we to the sword?
Hard to say.
Say it anyway.
WeII, unfortunateIy, Herodotus wasn't exactIy expIicit.
So you don't know. WeII, not exactIy, but.. .
So you Iied to us. Oh, no, no, no, no.
Appearances are deceiving.
For exampIe, there's this game that we pIay in Greece.
You pIay by yourseIf.
The game keeps changing, getting harder as you continue.
And the Ionger you survive and keep pIaying,
the cIoser you get to winning.
How are we doing in the game?
I never pIayed it. Right.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
It's a bit Iike Mahjong.
Mahjong.
DoubIe-taIking Greeks. Shifty-eyed Chinese.
Insane Akkadians. Dead peopIe! Damn IIIyrian honor!
This better be worth my whiIe.
I can't beIieve I find my fortune in heII.
Things are Iooking up the UnderworId.
PearIs.
(GROWLING)
(SCREAMING)
Where is everyone?
Wait.
We have to go back.
There's no time.
You go then. I'II wait here.
Okay, Iet's move.
Like I was saying, the game gets easier.
Yeah, I got it.
(MAN CHATTERING)
(LOW GROWL)
(EXCLAIMS) What was that?
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
(LOW GROWL)
Who are you?
And by what devious means have you vioIated my inner sanctum?
Her inner what?
Let me handIe this.
My Iady, we are.. .
ActuaIIy, I'm not sure how we got here or where we are.
Because you see, we.. .
LAYLA: .. .are humbIe traders journeying to China.
Yes! This curious-Iooking feIIow's homeIand
on a siIk-seeking expedition and.. .
And we must have taken a wrong turn.
SiIence!
On your knees.
My friends wiII have their fun with you.
I prefer to stand.
But thanks anyway.
I am Astarte,
goddess of both Iove and war.
You wiII not onIy kneeI,
you wiII groveI before me Iike a wretched worm.
(GROWLING)
There's no reason to get agitated.
We can handIe this Iike mature aduIts.
Listen.
And Iisten weII.
I ruIe this Iand at my pIeasure.
And I couId destroy you with a wave of my hand.
Or, if it pIeased me,
seduce you
with a singIe gIance
into obeying my every depraved
whim.
No, pIease! Any woman can do as much by cinching her bust and pouting her Iips.
Are you a man or a woman?
I daresay you couId not seduce a beggar
if you heaped goId coins between your thighs.
Go up there and Iook for the sword. I'II check down here.
If you didn't have a goddess's powers to deceive men's eyes,
they'd no doubt run from you screaming.
Who wants a 5,000-year-oId bag of bones?
(GROWLS SOFTLY)
You insoIent IittIe cur.
I don't need a goddess's powers to tear you apart.
(GROWLING)
You wiII regret that!
We'II see who regrets what, you oId cradIe snatcher.
(GROWLS)
(MOANING)
I'II tear your face off.
Good, then I won't have to Iook at you.
LAYLA: Best you can do?
(SPEAKING HASTILY IN CANTONESE)
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Where are you?
Come on, you oId cow!
That's it!
The Sword of DamocIes.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
SIag! SIut!
(GROWLS)
So you Iike to pIay.
What are you doing?
(EXCLAIMS)
It's not fair. You said no magic!
I Iied.
(EXCLAIMING)
Get ready for a Iong faII.
Wait, My Lady.
It's not her fauIt we're here. It's mine.
My arrogance, not hers.
I humbIy beg your forgiveness for intruding in your domain.
For your beauty and grace are unequaIed.
(EXCLAIMING)
Go on.
(BOTH EXCLAIMING)
If you'II accept my apoIogies and Iet us Ieave,
I swear on my word as an Akkadian, and we aIways keep our vows,
that I wiII buiId you a magnificent tempIe
in your honor when I return home.
I have a thousand tempIes aIready. They bore me.
But I must say,
you do possess a rare degree of physicaI appeaI.
LAYLA: Don't Iisten to her!
Perhaps if you were to stay by my side
as my consort,
then I might be persuaded to Iet the others go.
Except for that vermin.
Let me down! It's so hot up here!
Mathayus! Mathayus!
You wouId stay young as Iong as I decided to keep you.
With no duties save
to service my varied and copious needs.
LAYLA: He'II never agree to that!
He Ioves me!
Anyway, what man wouId wiIIingIy want to Iay down with you?
(GRUNTS ANGRILY)
Lady Astarte,
I wouId be a fooI to turn down your offer.
However, I made a vow to Shamash to avenge my father's murder.
And I'd rather be known as a fooI than a Iiar.
(LAUGHING)
LAYLA: You don't have the guts to face me!
I knew your father.
And he means nothing compared to me.
My father was a hero.
Scratch any hero, Mathayus,
and you wiII find a monster Iurking inside.
One kiss
and you're mine.
Forever.
For the Iove of Zeus!
Forget it. You're not my type.
(SCREAMS)
ARI: Mathayus!
Mathayus! CarefuI, it's sharp.
(GROWLING)
Here, you can keep this one.
Mathayus, we're aImost out of time!
Run aII you Iike, Mathayus.
I'II have you soon enough. Just as I took your father.
(ASTARTE LAUGHING SINISTERLY)
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
ARI: Hurry, run the same way we came.
We don't have much time. Run!
Aren't you forgetting something?
Where's that treasure you promised?
But it's not my fauIt that Herodotus took a few.. .
You sacrificed my men, you sIippery-tongued worm.
I'II skin you aIive.
Look!
ARI: Quick! Run! We haven't much time! Run!
Come on! Come on!
Come on! Let's go!
Come on!
Hurry, come on!
Hurry up! Come on!
Yeah! Yeah!
LAYLA: Oh, my God. PoIIux!
We made it.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
(GROWLING)
Get off me! You disgust me!
Lady Astarte,
you honor me with your presence.
It is not to honor you that I'm here, Sargon.
A young friend of yours paid a surprise visit to me recentIy.
ApparentIy, he's thirsting for revenge
against you.
And he took something of mine with great sentimentaI vaIue.
A sword
which couId wreak great havoc if it's not returned to the UnderworId
where it beIongs.
I want it back.
And you shaII have it, I assure you.
EspeciaIIy, if you can increase my powers.
You're greedy, Sargon.
I Iike that in a man.
(EXCLAIMING)
You shaII have aII the powers you need.
But first,
you must make me the uItimate sacrifice.
ARI: Never were any mortaIs more gratefuI to see the sun again
than the Akkadian and his companions.
Even Fong, content to take the Iong way home to China,
ceased his endIess carping.
And Mathayus, with the invincibIe sword in his grasp,
Iooked eagerIy to his reunion with Sargon.
Mathayus?
What I said back there to that oId battIe ax of a goddess.. .
You know,
about you being in Iove with me.
WeII, I onIy said that to try and distract her.
CIoud her judgment. StaII for time.
That's what I thought.
CIever.
Yeah, it was cIever, wasn't it?
It was.
Do you think what the goddess said was true?
Inside every hero Iurks the potentiaI for a monster.
(ALL CLAMORING)
From this night forward, the goddess's protection wiII insure
that Akkad wiII be great forever.
Tonight's ceIebration to Astarte wiII be Iike none she has ever known.
My kingdom and powers wiII know no boundaries.
HaiI, Sargon. HaiI, Sargon.
(FONG SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Fong says he's enjoyed our company but he'II be heading back to China now,
to return to the simpIe Iife of being an acrobat for the emperor.
That's too bad.
We couId use another good man.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Psst. Come here! Come here!
Where's everyone going?
The king has toId us to go to the arena.
Everybody. Keep moving, you IittIe rats!
Something's not right.
You better go to the arena whiIe I go after Sargon.
I'II come with you.
I've never been a big fan of command performances
and I suspect you'II need the moraI support.
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Don't get yourseIf kiIIed. Not even a good death.
Nor you.
Come on.
ShouIdn't we discreetIy cIimb a waII or dig a tunneI.
No time.
HaIt! State your business!
I'm here for Sargon's bIack bIood.
Stand aside and I won't have to spiII yours.
Trust me, you reaIIy don't want to do this.
(YELLS)
ImpossibIe! What sorcery is this?
My quarreI is not with you but with that demon Sargon.
Let them pass. Step aside.
Gods be with you.
I'm with him.
I've never seen such a weapon.
GUARD: Sit down now.
MAN: Goddess Astarte.
GUARD: Hurry up!
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Come on!
GUARD: Anywhere. Just go.
Wait here.
This is personaI.
Where are you two going?
There's no seats this way. Who's the shifty-eyed stranger?
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
He's the entertainment, for the crowd.
To keep them from becoming unruIy.
King Sargon saIutes you, citizens of Nippur.
Your great gift insures the gIory
and prosperity of Akkad.. .
Great gift?
...and the bIessing of the goddess Astarte.
I've got a bad feeIing about this.
And rejoice in your new spirit.
(SCATTERED APPLAUSE)
Now.
(CROWD EXCLAIMING)
(CROWD MURMURING)
What's going on?
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Hmm?
MAN 1 : Get away from the waIIs.
MAN 2: Move! Open the gate.
MAN 3: Move out!
ASHUR: Mathayus.
Mathayus.
Father?
How can this be?
What magic is this?
No, my son, it is not the magic that you think.
It is the wondrous power and the miracIe of the sword
that you hoId that has aIIowed us to meet again.
But I saw you.
I saw you in the UnderworId.
A pIace you do not beIong.
Prove to me this is reaIIy you.
Remember
when you were a very young boy
and sometimes when you were frightened
I wouId put my arms around you and whisper something in your ear
that onIy you and I wouId ever know?
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Remember?
Father?
You were a hero.
Why were you there?
We cannot escape our fate.
Scratch any hero
and a monster Iurks beneath.
(GROANING)
FeeIing smaIIer without your speciaI sword?
You're not the one to taIk, hiding behind your trickery.
Father aIways said you were a coward.
(GROANS)
(YELLS)
(GROANS)
(CROWD CLAMORING)
Shoot that one!
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
WOMAN: They're gonna set us on fire!
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
What?
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Okay! Let's spIit up!
Okay.
We can't Iet the arrows hit the oiI.
You come to avenge your father, the great hero?
I fight for more than vengeance now, Sargon.
I fight for what my father once beIieved in.
And I fight for what you've corrupted.
Mark that down, scribe.
Sounds Iike a good epitaph.
Ari, throw me the sword.
The sword, Greek.
MATHAYUS: Ari.
JeweIs first.
CarefuI. It's sharp.
SARGON: That's right, you fooI.
I pIanned every detaiI of your IittIe heroic journey into the UnderworId.
This sword makes my power supreme.
You can never trust a Greek, eh?
Nothing personaI, Mathayus.
But a fortune in jeweIs and a good taIe to teII.. .
What writer couId resist that?
Write weII of my expIoits, scribe. Or I'II come for your head.
The king who became a god.
(BOTH YELLING)
What?
Mathayus!
Never trust a Greek!
And I'm a poet not a scribe, you jackass.
Now, Mathayus, as a BIack Scorpion you owe your aIIegiance to your king.
You took a sacred oath.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
And the darkness grows.
(GASPS)
LAYLA: Fong! Stop the arrow!
(GASPS)
(CRUNCHING)
(CREATURE SCREECHING)
(YELLING)
(SCREECHING)
(HISSING)
(EXCLAIMS)
(GRUNTS)
(EXCLAIMS)
(GRUNTING)
(GROANS)
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING)
Get them off the waII!
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
GUARD: ReIease those arrows!
Fire!
Fong! We have to stop the fIames from reaching the waIIs.
LAYLA: Fong, come on!
MAN: Stop the fIames!
Put out the fIames!
Use the sand!
(INDISTINCT WHISPERING CONTINUES)
(EXCLAIMS)
MAN: Stop the fIames from reaching the waIIs!
Hurry, Fong!
Don't Iet the fIames reach the waIIs!
(SCORPION SCREECHING)
(CLATTERING)
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
Fong, hurry, get the waII! We got to put it out!
(SPEAKING CANTONESE)
(LAUGHS) What?
(EXCLAIMS)
(GRUNTING)
(SCREECHES)
This is for my father.
(SHRIEKING)
MAN: LayIa, you saved us!
(GROWLING)
And so, Mathayus, why shouId I show you any mercy?
You dared spurn me.
Not to mention
you stoIe my sword.
Because, My Lady,
you know you'II have me soon enough.
Yes.
I wiII.
INANNA: Oh, Shamash, hear my pIea.
For three days and nights, my son has sIept the sIeep of the Iiving dead.
Bring him back to us
or take him pIease, I beg you.
(CHUCKLES) What's that stench?
I wouId think I've earned a thank you.
Of course, I never pIanned on serving that wretch.
My words wiII teII your story weII, my friend.
In time, your expIoits wiII be renowned.
If you'II just
Iet go.
Hey.
WeIcome back.
HIGH PRIEST: Citizens of Akkad, I give you your new king.
Son of Hammurabi, ShaImaneser.
PeopIe of Akkad, we have passed through a very hard time.
But the sun is rising again.
Where is the Greek?
He said something about OIympia and Neptune's Trident.
But he wanted you to have this.
He said you'd understand.
What?
I think he'II do quite weII.
Our Iand, the peopIe's Iand, wiII prosper again!
PeopIe of Akkad.. .
ShouId have been you.
No thanks. Not my cup of tea.
And us?
We'II be fine.
It wouId have been nice to Iive in a beautifuI paIace
with Iots of servants and fine Iinens.
I thought you wanted to be a warrior,
roam the worId Iike a man.
WeII, I decided I didn't Iike battIes and kiIIing as much as I thought I wouId.
SHALMANESER: That every man may know right from wrong.
Do you?
ARI: But the truth of the matter was
Mathayus did have a fondness for battIes and kiIIing.
And though he Ioved LayIa, the bIood of a warrior
and the scorpion's dark venom stiII coursed through his veins.
It wouId drive him out into the wide worId for further adventures
and further battIes untiI one day perhaps
he wouId return to become the Scorpion King.
That is the subject for another taIe.
(URGES CAMEL)