"The name of the ship on which Sinbad sailed!" "Lord Akbari, please, I beg you!" "I'm only a humble Harbour Master." "I don't know!" "Then what use are you to me?" "No!" "Master." "There's only one way to find Sinbad now." "Well, I'm just anticipating it, all right?" "OK, well..." "Now, don't worry." "It doesn't taste like the first bottle." "It tastes worse." "Oh, that's vile." "Right?" "Ah!" "I still don't understand why you're so keen to get this tattoo." "I think we should just all be glad..." "Ah!" "The good doctor is finally throwing caution to the wind." "I think he wants something to remember this trip by." "Exactly." "At least this way I have something to remind me of all the people I've met along the way." "Anwar, just stop talking and sit still." "You're worse than a girl." "Loosen up, yeah." "Yeah, there we go!" "So, what's the story behind your tattoo, then?" "Ah, it's a farming tattoo." "A blessing to have the sheep be more productive in their breeding." "Breeding?" "Please don't give me one of them." "Don't move!" "So, uh, you going back there, then, to the farm?" "Ah, it's a big world out there." "Lots of trading still to be done." "Home can wait." "Anwar!" "No, look, I just need some air." "Unbelievable." "Ha, ha-ha!" "No, I'm just..." "Go." "It's the alcohol." "I'll be back in a minute." "Oh, he's so scared." "Come on." "Just a tattoo, Anwar." "It's just a permanent mark on your skin." "God!" "I don't want to..." "Guys, we need to leave." "If you don't want a tattoo, just say so." "No, it's not..." "It's a wise choice..." "Oh, really?" "Is what your parents would say." "There are Basra guards here." "Four of them." "What?" "Behind me." "Don't look." "Just..." "Maybe it's just a coincidence." "This far from Basra." "No." "No coincidence." "Somehow they know you are here." "Well, then maybe I should help them find what they're looking for." "No, no, no, no, no." "I am not going to run from them." "Yes, you are." "It's the best way." "Get back to the ship." "Be careful." "Bring her around to the cape on the other side." "Shouldn't we all stay together?" "No, they'll be watching the docks for him." "No, look, because of men like that, my brother is dead." "And you want the rest of us to join him?" "I imagine Akbari wants you taken alive." "But, if they catch the rest of us in your company..." "Look, swallow your temper, and think of a way of getting us out of here." "What?" "She didn't mean anything to me, I swear!" "Then why were you kissing her, huh!" "?" "I didn't kiss her." "You did too!" "Stop." "He's mine now." "No, he's mine!" "Don't get any big ideas, lover boy." "Anyone else getting a bad feeling?" "Cook said if there was trouble, he'd lower the flag." "If there was trouble maybe he didn't get the chance." "I hope not." "Without Sinbad or Gunnar, I don't like our chances." "I can take care of us." "We stick to the plan and get back on the ship." "Come on." "We keep moving." "Cut across the land, keeping the sun on our right and we make it to the cape on the other side." "Great, crawling on our bellies like the cowardly rats we are." "Rats are smart." "They have survival instinct." "You can learn something from them." "Learn?" "I grew up on streets like these." "I don't need a farmer telling me how to sneak through them." "The coast is clear." "Come on." "Anwar." "Leave off!" "See?" "I told you." "No problem." "Your hand's shaking." "Let's be honest, we're all out of our depths on this one." "Speak for yourself." "Run." "Now!" "And all the fishes in the sea came swimming neatly home to me." "Come on." "Where are you going?" "We need to go back and around." "There's a second patrol coming this way." "That's taking a risk." "Well..." "Gunnar!" "Come on." "I'll take it from here." "You may fool Lord Akbari with your magic act... but it won't work with me." "I'm so sorry." "I've seen your future." "You won't live to go home." "Your wife, your children, you'll never see them again." "This place will be your tomb." "Keep playing your games but my men will bring Akbari the fugitive." "Not you." "What do you think you're doing?" "You lied to me." "There was no second patrol!" "I told you" " I'm not going to run." "Then you're a fool!" "You can't take them on all by yourself." "And I won't fight along side you." "Gunnar!" "Now, we move." "Gunnar." "Gunnar." "Are we going to talk about that?" "I've never seen you that angry." "Who are you?" "I'm just a man... who thinks you should save your energy for walking and not talking." "It's a long hike to the cape if night falls and we haven't made it yet." "I want to help you." "But, you need to help me first." "Only you can save your friends now." "What does that mean?" "Lord Akbari has given the order that anyone collaborating with Sinbad be put to the sword." "One by one, your friends will die." "I will kill them all." "No." "Tell me what you know about Sinbad, where he's headed, and I will do everything I can to protect your friends." "I know how you're feeling." "Scared." "Out of your depth." "But we don't have much time." "They... don't have much time." "Then I'm sorry." "Guards, execute the prisoners." "The cape." "He's heading to the cape the other side of the island." "Where's he headed to after that?" "Basra to see his family?" "Why not?" "I don't know." "You can save her." "You can be the hero." "And all you have to do is tell me." "Or, you can watch her die." "Hm." "He can't go back." "His grandmother, she put a curse on him." "Thank you." "You don't know what it's like." "Every time I think of home, I think of Akbari and my brother." "You're angry and think you have the right to take revenge." "But you don't." "Sinbad, get control of yourself." "You don't keep yourself in check, you're going to end up in real trouble." "Shh!" "What?" "Run!" "The Khaima!" "You better draw your sword now." "No!" "Gunnar, I'm serious." "No." "Gunnar!" "Gunnar!" "So, you're certain that Sinbad is heading for the Cape?" "Yes." "But by the time you get there, I'll already have brought him back." "They have no right to be on my ship." "They're just possessions." "Meaningless." "They don't feel meaningless." "She said she needed something of Sinbad's." "Not clothes, something that was part of him." "What did you tell her up there?" "I did what I had to protect us." "What exactly does that mean?" "And who does this belong to?" "Is it his?" "Is it Sinbad's?" "You tried." "Don't feel bad, you couldn't help it." "It was just that little moment of fear, of... being found out that told me everything I needed to know." "This is his hair." "What's she doing?" "Old magic." "Dark." "She is summoning a hunter." "Part of Sinbad, part of her." "Sinbad is part of you as you are part of me." "Breathe what he breathes." "Feed off his emotion." "Follow the magic of his curse." "Go to him now." "Bring him to me." "Gunnar." "What was that creature?" "Um, well, technically it would be called a familiar, a creature created with a certain bond to someone, though how it can actually move and exist is quite extraordinary and, well, wrong." "Strange, though." "The way I heard it, you can only use a creature like that if you knew your pray had some magic about him." "You told her about the curse!" "?" "I'm so sorry!" "Would you rather they slaughtered us all one by one?" "And, if you hadn't been so fondly keeping a lock of his hair hidden away..." "It will smell Sinbad out." "It's connected to him now." "I had no choice." "I just hope Sinbad is safe." "It's all in the muscles." "Escapologists." "Illusionists." "Keep talking." "It's all you're good at." "Able to expand and contract their muscle groups accordingly when tied with ropes." "Oh, and thieves too." "Ah." "Be careful!" "Yes, I'm not going to rush." "I might not be Sinbad, but I can do this." "Oh, yes, of course you can!" "All the time you spent studying in dusty libraries." "Shh!" "Go." "Good plan." "Distracting the guard." "Worked well." "I need to check his airways are clear." "What?" "!" "He could choke on his tongue." "He wouldn't hesitate to kill us if it was the other way around." "Yes, well, I'm not the same as them." "Did I just...?" "I think you did, Doctor." "Get some rope." "We've been looking for you for a long time, Gunnar Halflidarson." "Do you know why you're here?" "There must be some mistake." "What are you?" "I am just a trader." "Now, yes." "But before?" "You know who we are." "No." "Yes, you do." "No, I don't." "I'm Obsidian." "And these are the Khaima." "It's our job to bring justice to the world... to protect the innocent and punish the lawless." "So, why are we interested in you?" "I don't know." "Liar." "There must be some mistake." "I am here with my friends en route to Baruch." "I have trading contacts there." "Ah, so we made a mistake, confused you with someone else." "Yes." "I see." "Yes, you must have." "Never have we got the wrong person." "Not once has innocent blood been spilled." "We're thorough." "We're sure." "Perhaps rather than talk, we should see." "Do you remember, Gunnar?" "How it felt when you set foot on fresh soil, you and your comrades, knowing what you were about to do?" "I was never..." "I was..." "I was a farmer." "We can only show the truth." "We can't change it." "Ah!" "Ah, you have to believe me!" "Men." "I know nothing about this." "Women." "Children." "Oh!" "Please!" "Please don't!" "Stop!" "I am..." "Valsgarde." "And what life did the Valsgarde lead?" "We were soldiers." "Soldiers?" "We wouldn't spend so much of our time bringing a mere soldier to justice." "We were warriors." "Our name was feared across the northlands." "Anything in our path, we would burn." "Destroy." "Men, women... and children." "She's in a trance." "But there are two guards." "Even if we rush them, they'd cut us down without drawing breath." "I can explain to them who my father is." "Was." "How important we were and how this is a huge diplomatic error on their part." "And if they let us go," "I will personally make sure there are no reprisals." "Right." "So, does anyone have a plan that isn't totally stupid?" "My plan isn't stupid." "This is the real world." "They are just working men." "Exactly!" "So, Nala sort of has a point." "Thank you." "This is just a job for them." "You saw how horrified they were when that thing was created." "Ah, so we dress up as a monster and we scare them." "Oh, I like it." "No." "No, I'm happy to do it." "No, no." "We play on their fears." "Gunnar Halflidarson, you've been judged for your crimes." "Do you have anything to say before we pass sentence?" "I accept my punishment." "For the part I played, the person I was." "I am." "You'll be put to the sword." "Your people believe it's a great honour to die in combat." "We'll allow you that choice if you so desire." "I do not desire to draw my sword in my own defence." "So be it." "What do you think you're doing!" "?" "Trying to save your life." "Do you want to die here?" "You're incredibly brave." "Look, I don't want any trouble." "I just want to take my friend and we'll go." "I commend your spirit." "Sneaking into one of our bases, facing us the way you do." "For that, at least, you have one chance to turn around and walk away." "Go." "No." "Go!" "No!" "Listen to me, if you get in their way, they will kill you." "What I have done, what I did." "He's right, Sinbad." "I was a Valsgarde." "A bloody, barbaric killer." "I have run long enough." "It ends here." "That thing, it came back!" "That thing came back!" "It's gonna kill us all." "See?" "I told you it would work." "I see what you're thinking." "How many of us can you take down, and would it ever be possible for the two of you to escape?" "There's your answer." "Your anger, your fury, your lack of control defeated you even before I'd raised my sword." "You should have listened to your friend." "You should have run." "Run." "Don't you see?" "The creature is after you!" "Run!" "Run!" "Run!" "Not you." "I can't let him." "You don't have a choice." "I won't let him face it alone." "Clearly it was meant for him." "It will kill him!" "Why does a Valsgarde care so much for a man like that?" "Obsidian, I give you my word, if you let me go after him, I will return." "I will not run." "You are men of honour." "You protect the weak." "And, Sinbad, he is..." "What are you doing?" "Stopping that creature before it kills Sinbad." "No, you don't understand what you've done!" "It was meant to bring him back." "Not kill him." "Without me, it has nothing to control it." "She's lying!" "It won't stop now until Sinbad is dead." "No!" "No!" "No, please, listen, please." "Listen, there's a creature after me." "We have to get away now!" "We are not going anywhere." "No!" "Listen!" "We return to Basra with you as our prize and we are heroes." "Akbari should know better than to send a woman to do a man's job." "Where are you?" "Where are you?" "No!" "I can't." "I can't stop it." "You have to listen to me!" "Sinbad!" "No!" "It's no use!" "It's feeding off you." "You have to let go!" "Your emotions, your fury, your anger!" "You have to let it go." "No, Sinbad!" "Now, listen to me." "You saw what I was like before." "You can't give into that anger, that rush." "You can't." "It will kill me." "Sinbad, trust me." "Go in peace." "Sinbad." "Are you all right?" "Thank you." "Well done." "No, wait." "I gave him my word." "I was sure you'd run." "But you put your life on the line for him." "No thought for your own safety." "You're not a Valsgarde." "You're not a bloodthirsty killer." "The Khaima could use a man like you." "I am not ready." "We'll train you, teach you." "A whole world you can't imagine." "No." "I'm not..." "I'm not ready to leave my friend." "Akbari's mage, she created a creature to go after you." "I had no choice." "If I had not done his lordship's bidding, then..." "I'm sorry for all of you." "You're all marked now." "Each one of you, fugitives." "Akbari will hunt you down for what you've done." "And you tell Akbari that..." "You tell him to stop." "We're done." "He took my brother from me." "The blood debt has been paid." "You're going to let her go?" "We're not killers." "If it's because you're squeamish..." "It's not what she's done." "It's Akbari." "Sometimes you have to let things go." "There was this village, Hindmark, little farming place." "Beautiful." "The Valsgarde tore through it one morning." "Torching the buildings." "Putting down any resistance." "Just as we were leaving, somebody starts to strike me from behind." "I turn and see this little old lady standing there, tiny thing." "She has a walking stick in her hand." "She's hitting me with it again and again." "Everybody's laughing at her." "She's too old and weak to do me any harm... and I start laughing, too." "And then I see the look in her eyes." "Not of fear or anger." "But of disgust... for what we are." "Inhuman." "A plague." "And it's a look I've seen many times since... in my own eyes." "Then you're saying that we can't change." "That what we did in the past, what we were, we'll always be those things." "I don't believe that." "And I don't think you do either." "I have to tell them the truth... which is that you got into trouble and I rescued you." "I was very brave, of course." "You, not so much." "Maybe that will be enough to stop them throwing me overboard." "Why would they want to do that?" "It's thanks to me that we can't go to Baruch." "We NEED to run." "We're hunted." "Fugitives." "And it's safer for us to stay together." "Yeah." "Perhaps this was all meant to be." "Fate." "Destiny." "Bringing us all together." "Do you really believe that?" "No, not really." "I just thought you'd like to hear it." "Truth is, they do want to throw you overboard." "That's what I thought." "Rip the city apart." "Find Sinbad's family." "Anyone who might know where he is." "Wait." "You." "You know this Sinbad." "Go!" "Is it true?" "I don't..." "The truth." "When I was a child, his family..." "Bring me his family and I will see you are rewarded beyond your wildest dreams."