"The fumes of the dead hung in the air like poison." "A plague, more cruel and more pitiless than war had descended upon us." "A pestilence that would leave half our kingdom dead." "Where did it come from?" "What carried its germ?" "The priests told us it was God's punishment." "For what sin?" "What commandment must we break that would earn this?" "No, we knew the truth." "This was not God's work but devilry... or witchcraft." "And our task, to hunt down a demon, as God's cure." "Brother Thomas!" "Brother Thomas!" " Who is taken from us?" " Brother Ignatius." " Was it the pestilence?" " We have not been told." "I have no signs." "Please, Brother... let me out." "Averill." "Thanks be to God you're safe." " Where have you been?" " I was confined." "They thought I was sick." " I thought you were dead." " I'm alright." "I prayed for you." "I prayed all the time." "I'm all right, shh..." "I've brought food." "One of our Brothers... he died this morning, Averill." "Even the monastery is no longer safe." "You must go now." "You must go back to Dentwich Forest and hide there till this has passed." "On Sunday the Prior said the pestilence was God's new purge sent to wash away our sins." " Is God punishing us?" " No." "But you must go now." "You must go back to Dentwich." "You must go." " Osmund, I..." " Averill, you'll die." "And you will not?" "Come with me." "If I leave the monastery now, I'll betray God." "You have already betrayed him." "You know the Martyr's Cross, at Dentwich Forest?" "I will wait for you there every morning at dawn for one week." "And then I will be gone." "Forgive me, Father, I'm confused." "I confess I'm torn." "Can I serve you outside of these walls?" "I would leave here, but I would never stray from your grace, Father." "Show me your will." "Father, give me a sign." "I am Ulric, envoy to the Bishop." "What I say now does not leave these walls." "Word has reached the Bishop of a village that does not suffer as the rest do." "They say it is a sanctuary from the pestilence." "There are many villages not yet ravaged by the pestilence." "It is claimed these villagers are beyond death's icy grasp." "Then they are gravely mistaken." "These are difficult times." "Such claims, however fantastical, can find favour with those less educated than you or I." "Precisely why we cannot fall foul of rumour and superstition." "God's grip on His people is loosened." "We must ensure the flock is not tempted to look beyond God and Church for answers." "I must see for myself how this village is kept safe." "What part have we in this?" "The village I seek lies in the Great Marsh." "I require a guide, a man of God, to show the way." "No man here fit for such a task." "With the Bishop's blessing, I may choose any man here." "Out of respect, I grant you that choice." "I will lead you there." "No, he is a mere novice." " This requires a more experienced hand." " Let him speak." "The village you seek lies in the Great Marsh." "I was raised close by in Dentwich Forest" "I know the area better than any man." "He has all the experience I require." "You will lead us." "We leave at dawn." "Osmund, that man is more dangerous than the pestilence itself." "Father, I prayed for guidance." "God has answered." "Even if you survive, the world out there will change you." "Perhaps that's what I want, Father." "Get that woman out of here!" "# My lady love and I lived in joyous sin" "# Now my lady love Has got the blackened skin" "# My lady love and I We bore a love so brave" "# Now my lady love Rots in an early grave #" "We have our guide." "God has no men left." "He sends us a boy." " Are you up to it, son?" " I can lead you there." "Pray you do." "Split any man from his arsehole to his apple." "What's that for?" "How much does he know?" "Ulric was frugal, shall we say, with the truth." "This village we're headed to... they've cast God aside and in His place sits a demon." "There is talk of sacrifice, of men eating men and of raising the dead." "We have to bring the leader back for confession, trial and execution." "The Bishop seeks to roast himself a necromancer." "What is a necromancer?" "A necromancer is someone who plucks the dead from the cold earth and breathes new life into them." "We have the tools, we have the will." "We journey into hell." " But God travels with us." " So you misled me." "Return to your monastery, if you feel betrayed." "Or join us and do God's work." "Let's get this cleared up." "Let's get going!" "That includes you, Swire." "Oi!" "We're not as bad as you think." "We're worse." "But we need you alive." "You seem well suited to keeping men alive." "I spent many a long year in the King's Army with Wolfstan and Griff." "I'll be honest with you, we've never faced the demon before." "But we take what comes our way." " What happened to him?" " Ivo was captured..." "Wouldn't talk, so the bastard French tore out his tongue." " And him?" " Mold is a man to leave alone... unless there's butchery to be done." "And Dalywag, he's a torturer, a hangman." "And if rumour is true, murderer, thief and defiler of women." "But apart from that, he's a good man." "What about Ulric?" "I've got a wife and child." "I'm here for the money." "Ulric is here because God told him to come." " Burn!" "Burn!" " Please, don't do this!" " Burn!" " Have mercy!" "Please, have mercy!" "No!" "We must help her." "Do you hear me?" "You deserve to burn!" "BURN!" "Burn the witch!" "Burn her!" "You have brought sins down on us all!" " You're in league with the Devil." " What's her crime?" " She brought death to our village." " Death needs no invitation." " This doesn't involve you, step aside." " I've done nothing!" "Move!" "Stand aside!" " Please help me!" " What is this woman accused of?" "She poisoned our well, now half our village is dead." "I offered a blessing over our water to keep everyone safe!" " I did nothing wrong!" " Liar!" "The dying began when she was seen at the well." " Has she confessed?" " We saw her cast her spell." "Now she must burn!" "To spare what remains of our village!" "Move aside." "I will not ask again." "Thank you..." "Do not stop again." "As sure as the sun will rise and fall, witches will burn." "There's a village in the north that burnt 128 witches in one night." "That's 16 an hour for 8 hours." "When the night was through, they'd killed every woman in the village." "By the end of that week, the men were shagging pigs." "Pestilence isn't trial enough..." "Now God has us shagging pigs." "This village we seek, you been there?" "No." "But I know where it lies." "Hell awaits us." "Or so we're told." "If you've not got the stomach for it, then leave now and I'll have your share of the bounty." "Where does the Church believe this pestilence has come from?" "I don't believe God is punishing us, like many do." "I say from France, where all foul things emerge." "For once, Swire, you might not be too far from the truth." "Three summers past we fought a battle at Crecy in Normandy." "King Edward's Army was dwarfed." "For every 20 of us there were 100 Frenchmen at least." "And the French, oh, the French..." "They could sense victory." "They could smell it." "But on that day, for the first time, our archers used the longbow." "Quicker to load, further in flight." "Their arrows were useless." "They couldn't reach us." "But ours..." "ours were like a dark buzzing cloud." "At the day's end, the field was littered with their dead and dying." "Custom, no matter how fierce the battle, is to use the misericorde." "Misericorde is the 'mercy giver'." "You stab through the armpit, directly into the heart - quick and painless." "But on this day, there was an end to chivalry." "King Edward ordered every Frenchman left alive to be killed without mercy." "Arms, heads, legs... hacked away." "God's greatest army descended into savagery." "Forgive me, but how does that concern the pestilence?" "We invited Death among us that day." "He hasn't left us since." "That woman you killed..." "she was no witch." "Why did you volunteer to join us, Monk?" "To serve God." "Killing witches serves God." "The woman was already dead." "Had I freed her, the mob would have caught her again and burned her." "I spared her suffering." "Sometimes that is all you can do." "He says turn back." "Where we are headed, men have become savages." "Must've been something special to tempt you away from that monastery." " Anything you wanna tell me?" " No." "Do you know what my job is?" "I'm a torturer, truth-getter." "Spend hours on a man." "I can smell a lie and I smell you." "Pray somewhere else if I were you." " Have you broken any vows yet, boy?" " Leave him be, Mold." "Back!" "Get back!" "Griff!" "Griff!" " Leave me alone!" " Let me look." "Let me look." "Just going to take a look, all right?" "Okay, my friend, just having a look." "Why didn't you tell us?" "I'm sorry." "His journey is finished here." "I prefer mercy." " I need to make confession to the friar." " No, cannot be sure how this is spread." "WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU?" "I will take your confession." "Come, you shall have absolution." "YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" "In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti..." "Forgive me." "Our Father, Thou art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, come Thy kingdom, fulfilled be Thy will in heaven as in earth, our each day bread give us today." "I need a moment with him." "I'm glad it's you." "Farewell, my friend." "Bury him." "The Forest of Dentwich." " How far to the Marsh?" " Half a day, perhaps less." "Be on your guard." "God has slipped over the horizon." "You're on watch tonight, Swire." "Giving Griff absolution... .. took courage." "Do you truly believe this village can raise their dead?" "I would not be here otherwise." "Do you doubt it?" "I believe that hunting necromancers and demons serves men more than it serves God." "You have learned much nestled inside a monastery." "Demons and necromancers are among us... .. as you will find out - soon enough." "Now get some sleep." "Averill!" "AVERILL!" "Averill!" "Averill..." "No, no..." "No..." "AVERILL!" "Wake up!" "Ulric!" "Get up!" "Wolfstan!" "Ulric, wake up!" "There are men in the forest." " How many?" "What did you see?" " They're in the forest!" " How many?" " I don't know!" " How many?" "!" " He doesn't know!" "Mold, forward, now." "Wait." "Wait..." "Get in there now!" "Shut up." "Where's Ivo?" "Are you all right?" "We lost Ivo." "Why did you leave the camp?" "SPEAK!" " I came here to meet a woman." " And where is she?" "She did not survive the Forest." "God has punished me for leaving his monastery." "God has better things to think of." "Because of you, one of my men is dead." "If we move, we move now." "How do we know the man we've come for is not here?" "These men are nothing more but common thieves." " You'll lead us to the Great Marsh." " I'm of no use to you." "You WILL lead us... or stay here alone... and be damned!" "The village lies beyond the marsh." "What's the plan?" "Identify the heretic... capture him..." " Put him in the cage." " Cage will never go across that marsh." "Then we leave it behind... .. and drag him here." "Come on, boy, come on." "What brings you to our village?" "We seek refuge... a place to rest, nothing more." "Then you are welcome." "My name is Hob." "I am Ulric." "You were attacked?" " In the forest." " Then you did well to reach us." "That forest can be dangerous." "May I ask what you were doing?" "Bringing relief to the suffering." "Relief?" "From what?" "Word of the pestilence has not reached you?" "Word is all that has reached us." "Come." "What the hell is going on?" "We need guile to draw out the necromancer." "No one acts, unless I say so." "Tonight we'll feed you and give you a bed." "In the morning we'll escort you to a safer place." "We're not welcome?" "Of course, but why would you stay?" "Here are some buckets." "You need to wash." "This is no time to be blinded by grief." "If this is Hell, I can't wait for Heaven." "You're not bound for Heaven, Swire, believe me." " I'll tend to your wounds." " I'll tend to YOUR wound" "That needs to be dressed." " Come with me." " Maybe you should get it seen to." " Where are you from?" " From the monastery at Staveley." " You're in mourning." " Is it so obvious?" "Was it a woman?" " It's no sin to love a woman." " I'm sworn to God." "A man needs more than divine love to sustain him." "And he shouldn't be punished for wanting it." " Do you have a husband?" " My husband is dead." "I'm sorry." "Take off your clothes." "I need to dress your wound." "Pain's going already." " It's extraordinary." " It's a strong remedy." "May I ask, how did your husband die?" " Men like you killed him." " Men like me?" "Men of God." "This church hasn't seen worship for a long while." " The woman you went with?" " She dressed my wounds, nothing more." "Nothing here is what it seems." "Are you gonna help us keep warm, girls?" "Child." " I found it." " Where?" "In the marsh." "Every village we rode through had graveyards bursting." "No corpse-filled pits." "No burning bodies." "We can't judge them for having no disease." "A party was sent before us charged with the same task." "Four men, none returned." "They were led by a man like myself." "This symbol is worn only by the Bishop's Envoy." "The girl wore its twin." "Please welcome our guests." "What is ours is now yours." "To our guests." "To our guests." "We also want to give thanks we've been spared the terrible pestilence sweeping through the land." "If I may..." "I would like to express our gratitude for your welcome." "Now let us pray." "Amen." "I expected grace, not the entire Lord's Prayer." "Women outnumber men here." "Maybe that's why a woman speaks for them." "Do not be fooled." "Evil lurks within this place, within these people." "Osmund." "I just need some air." "We found her in the forest." "She spoke of you before she died." "Forgive me, Lord, but I am angry." "Why did you take her?" "Why did you take her?" "Osmund, where were you?" "Why did you betray me?" "Why...?" "Why did you betray me?" "Osmund..." "Osmund..." "Osmund." "Osmund?" "What troubles you?" "That we are to become beasts." "We must become more than beasts to triumph here." "I see no evil here, just a simple village that has not yet been ravaged." "Grief has softened your heart." "How would you know?" "You have no heart to soften." "I have known grief." "My wife and child sit at God's side." "Yes, this village is without the pestilence, but it is also without God." "For this, they will suffer." "Are you shy?" "I am ugly and I am Christian." "And that's not a good combination in here." "Piss off." "When will she be buried?" "Do not worry." "I will take care of everything." " Can I see her again?" " You will." "You are going to tell me these men mean us harm." "Me in particular." "I knew the moment I looked into Ulric's eyes." "What I did not know was whose side you were on." "Come with me." "Come." " What's going on?" " Something you should see." "Now." "What's wrong?" "Get off." "Eat, drink." "As a Christian you'll appreciate the concept of betrayal." "Keep your head together." "Keep it together." "Keep it together." "You bastard!" "Piss off!" "Piss off!" "Look at me, boy." "Look at me!" "Come on, boy..." "Whore!" "WHORE!" "These Christians arrived in our village claiming to seek refuge." "This was their true purpose." "They came uninvited to our home bringing malice and hatred." "These are God's gifts to us." "These are His words." "And these 'fine' men, His ambassadors." "13 centuries of control and intimidation now gaze back at us through those bars." "We do not relish suffering." "We do what we must to keep us safe." "The pestilence is a Christian disease sent by your God to ravage His own people." "By spilling your Christian blood, the pestilence is kept at bay." "You and your flock, you believe this blasphemous filth?" "Kill us now, you bitch!" "Get it over with." "I will offer you all the chance to live." "Renounce your vengeful God and you will be free." "Keep Him and you will die." "Not one man here will bow down to you." " I will die first." " Who wants to live?" " You?" " I will fight Ulric for the right to die first." "Choose one." "You will renounce." "I look forward to shagging your mother's arse in Hell." "My mother's alive." "And she doesn't relish the company of soldiers." "Come on." "Come on, then." " Die well, my friend." " Oh, I will." "Come on!" "# Lady love and I lived in joyous sin" "# And now my lady love Has got the blackened skin" "# Lady love and I we bore a love so brave..." "She did, yeah." "# Now my lady love Rots in an early grave" "# Lady love and I we lived in joyous sin... #" "Now you'll learn about pain." "There's nothing you can teach me about pain." "Don't look!" "Look away, boy." "Blood of our blood, Unholy trinity divine." "We offer this lamb for slaughtering down." "That death not ours shall stay afar." "For Christian blood, putrid and sick... into our marsh shall weep." "You bitch!" "You bitch!" "I'll fucking kill you, you bitch!" "I'll slice you open!" "Do you hear me?" "I'LL FUCKING SLICE YOU OPEN!" "YOU FUCK!" "Choose another." " I will renounce." " No, you won't!" "You try to leave this cage, I'll kill you with my bare fucking hands!" "Swire, listen to me." " You renounce, you burn in hell." " I'll come back to get you." "My friend, you'll burn in hell." " They're going to kill you." " Don't you go!" "I swear to God, they're going to kill you." "I swear to God they're going to kill you!" "God, be gone, I do renounce Thee eternally." "God, be gone." "I do renounce Thee eternally." "Holy Ghost, be gone, eternally." "Holy Ghost, be gone, eternally." "Christ, be gone, eternally." "Christ... be gone, eternally." "The false idols have been cast out." "God is gone." "The Holy Ghost is gone." "Christ is gone." "These men will escort you to the edge of the village." "You are free to go." "Where are we going?" "Where are we going?" "Where are we going?" "!" "NO!" " Osmund, you will renounce." " Leave the boy." "Leave the boy!" "Leave the boy and take a man!" "He's a boy!" "He's a boy!" "He's a boy!" "This monk came to restore our faith." "Today he will abandon his own." "Inside that cottage is the woman he loves." "I've brought her back to him." "God, I'm dead." "I'm in Hell." "No, Osmund, you left Hell behind when you crossed our marsh." "Come live here with us." "Come live with the woman you love." "We have no fury." "We have no pestilence." "We have no God." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Because I like you." "Renounce and you will be together." "Go." "Go." "Osmund." "Osmund!" "Do not be tempted." "It is not her!" "It is not her!" "Osmund!" "Osmund!" "Averill?" "Averill?" "Come here." "No, Averill." "Shh." "Averill, look at me." "It's all right." "It's all right." "You're with God." "You're with God." "And very soon I'll be with you." "I promise you." "I promise you." "I love you, Averill." "In nomine patris... et filii... et spiritus sancti, Amen." "Averill is with God." "And so am I." "This shows how cruel they are." "Even the ones they love are slaughtered in God's name." "Osmund!" "Osmund!" "The boy will not renounce." "He will not renounce!" "You have no power here." "You have no power here!" "Hob." "Crucify them all." "You cannot tear a true man of God away from his faith." "I do not fear you, or your pagan lapdog." "You finished?" "Bring out the horses." "Crucify us and you shall be spared." "That is the creed of your witch." "You came to our lands bringing death." "For once you speak the truth." "We came bringing death." "She cannot protect you from God's wrath!" "Repent before it is too late!" "Repent!" "You will renounce." "Never." "NO!" "NO!" "Never." " Renounce." " NO!" "Never..." "No!" "Stop!" "Let me see the boy." "You did well." "Come on, come on, you..." "They will all die by God's hand." "Open my shirt." "Open my shirt." "I am Death." "Vengeance is mine." "God's fury rains down on you!" "God is restored." "Move it!" "Go!" "WHERE ARE YOU?" "!" " No!" " Amen." "No!" " Hell awaits you with open arms." " There is no Hell." " Well, Heaven doesn't want you." " There is no heaven." "Why?" "Why follow her?" "Because she was beautiful." "And real." "This... is real." "There... is... no..." "God." "Where are you?" "Where are you?" ""Thou shall not kill", remember?" " Remember?" " Averill was in purgatory." "Perhaps in your twisted mind." "Did you never think that maybe Averill was never dead?" "We found her in the forest." "Injured but very much alive." "No, that's not true." "Yes, Osmund, Averill was never dead." "She was alive!" "I drugged her." " I drugged her." " No." "Why... would you do that?" "Why would you bury her?" "Because people need miracles." "And they worship the miracle-makers whoever they might be." "The people in this village believed in me." "And so did you." "NO!" "AVERILL WAS DEAD!" "You killed her." "Averill was dead..." "Averill was... .. she was dead." "Bring her back!" "I beg you, bring her back." "No." "I can't." "Pray to your God." "See what He can do." "Averill was... .. she was dead..." "There's nothing beautiful or uplifting in returning people to God." "There's no place in Heaven for those who kill." "The pestilence claimed no higher purpose and those who had survived our swords that day soon fell foul of its scythe." "They were not protected by the witch." "They were simply remote." "And once the pestilence crossed their marsh it killed them too." "Whoa." "Whoa." "Osmund..." "Osmund..." "We're here." "Osmund." "That you've returned safe is a miracle." "Who is that?" "The necromancer I'm delivering to the Bishop." "Here." "That's it." " How many of you are left?" " Enough." "Look after him." "There's no need." "He's back with God." "I never saw him again but I heard stories..." "Dark stories... that in the years that followed" "Osmund's heart turned cold." "That in the shadow of his grief he found hate." "And that in God's name he took up the sword and vengeance became his creed." "Can I help you?" "Please..." "Please..." "Please..." "I've done nothing wrong." "Please..." "You have the wrong woman..." "I want a confession and I want her alive." "Please." "Osmund, she won't confess." "Are you sure she's a witch?" "Where is she?" "Some say he found the witch and that he tortured her and burned her." "Others say it was never her." "It was only her guilt he saw, in the eyes of the accused." "I like to think that he found peace." "That he continued seeing beauty in the world... .. goodness."