Go away, we don't want beggars here.
I'm not a beggar, I'll pay...
for food and lodging for the night.
If you want to pay, give me seeds or new tools...
give me a horse, raise my sons from the dead...
or stop this stinking war.
Go away or we'll drive you away.
I'll work or write letters...
or tell you about the places I've seen, anything.
I need only a little food.
Can't you see we are starving? Go away.
Live, die. What difference does it make?
Jesus has forsaken us. Go away.
Plague.
Where are the others?
I don't know, I came here alone.
Not a soul, Captain, except this bastard.
Where are your friends?
And where are your cattle?
Wake him up.
I don't know.
I came here alone this morning after food.
I've never seen this valley before.
That won't do. Speak fast. I lost patience 12 years ago.
Two ears are better than 40, Captain.
You can't bargain with me.
I can crush you and your village like a bedbug.
That's what I want to talk to you about.
Break open every house.
Gather all we can use in that barn...
nothing in your own saddlebags.
We'll round up the peasants...
and fire the village at leisure.
Korski, over there. You, come with me.
I don't like secrets.
You can come, too, Korski.
Well?
There's famine all over Germany...
plague, pestilence, even now...
and winter's coming.
In 10, 20 years, have you seen a richer valley?
I don't answer uestions.
Take their grain and cattle, and they starve this winter.
I'm tiring of you. Come to your point.
I'm there now, Captain.
Take all this food back to your army, and down it goes into a thousand stomachs.
Why such waste?
Winter here, occupy the valley.
What?
Winter here.
Live while your army dies.
You'll never get another chance like this.
Is this scum asking us to desert?
Is that it?
A soldier has no future and no past...
and a full belly covers the present.
You talk too much, and not like a peasant.
What are you? A stinking priest?
I don't know which side you're on, Captain.
But I'll wager half your men don't care.
What of those who do care?
Get rid of them.
Good ideas are rare these days.
Very rare.
You are a priest on the run?
No, I was a teacher.
- What's your name? - Vogel. Yours?
Captain. Where are you from?
From nowhere, everywhere, Captain.
Yes, I have almost forgotten...
where I was born, also.
You have fever?
No, it's nothing.
Didn't you say, "Get rid of them"?
Yes, but it was so sudden.
And clean.
One moment alive, one moment dead.
You philosophers are such hypocrites.
I only do what is necessary.
No more.
If to kill is necessary, I do it without conscience.
Now, make peace with whatever God you worship.
Peasants hate soldiers, Captain. Soldiers hate peasants.
I'm not a soldier or a peasant.
I could speak to them just as I can speak to you.
I can help.
You'll need help. I'll be very useful.
I'll give you two days to prove it.
No more looting, Captain?
No.
We eat the place at leisure and drink it dry by spring.
Spring?
We'll eat while the army starves.
By the Madonna, I'd give my life for a winter of peace...
with good food, decent women, and maybe no killing.
Where's Korski?
Where else would Korski be, but on watch?
We found the valley, other patrols could. Ours, or enemy.
That's right, Captain.
What about our women?
Yes, I have a wife and family back there.
What about the army and the baggage train?
Listen to Hansen...
plenty of women where there's plenty of food?
Has it ever been different?
And isn't one as good as another?
But we've been winning all year.
How much pay we got? Not a god-rotting pfennig.
I say we stay. It's a good valley. A miracle.
I say it stinks of Satan.
You stink of Satan.
How else could it be like this?
Perhaps we've been led into the Promised Land, Eskesen.
Then it's agreed?
- Yes. - No.
I've got a woman back there.
First, I want to hear what Korski says.
Korski will know what's right.
Graf, take him to join Korski.
Yes, Captain. Come on.
Move.
Remember, be careful as you circle and hide.
This ambush must be perfect, and no killing.
But what about that, Captain?
It stays. Untouched.
But we burn all churches on raids. That's your rule.
Yes, but this time, we must bend the rule.
Catholic or Protestant, it would make no difference.
This time, we need the peasants to work.
That church must be an exception. The exception.
But it stinks of Satan.
It's the breeding place of evil.
So it will burn.
Stop him.
Get away, or you'll join Shutz and Korski.
Lord Jesus, help me to strike down Thine enemies.
Papist scum!
The church stays.
Anti-Christ.
Devil worshipper.
Ours is the true faith, by God, you Protestant heretic.
Blasphemer!
Death to the anti-Christ!
Make your peace with your God.
Mercy, Captain.
Our first rule...
is no religious uarrels among ourselves.
He who breaks it is a dead man.
Let him also be an exception. The exception.
Let the church stay, but let him and the Protestants build another church.
Yes, give him uarter.
Let one man escape that rule...
and we'll all be dead by sundown.
You all swore holy oaths to fight as a unit...
and sell your skill to the winner, whatever their religion.
Protestants may build if they wish without hindrance.
Vornez, Geddes, Tub...
burn him along with the others. We want no plague here.
- Go on. Run along. - Yes, Inge.
Go to your homes. Go.
Vornez!
I said no killing.
Who will speak for all of you?
- Here, you. - Fetch Gruber.
It should be Gruber.
Where is he?
Captain...
let him take me to Gruber.
I'll speak to him for you, if you wish.
And then you'll come back? Like a lamb.
Within the hour, or you'll go after him, Hansen.
You and Pirelli.
You take him to Gruber.
You can all...
You can all go to your homes.
You are safe for the moment.
Why not kill us all now and be done with it?
- Butchers! - You're young, so you're impatient.
Be patient, puppy. Wait your turn to die.
What is your name?
Erica Torfield.
Which is your husband?
Why trust him?
I trust no one.
My name is Vogel.
I bring a message from the Captain.
I persuaded them to let me come alone with him.
- There's about 20 of them. - That can wait.
Do you have pains in your throat, in your chest?
Is it hard to swallow?
He has plague?
The Captain undertakes to protect your village from all other soldiers...
on condition that he and his men be well-billeted for the winter.
The power of Jesus Christ and Our Lady of the Shrine protects us.
We don't need any soldiers here.
The Captain is a reasonable man.
If you accept, nothing will be looted.
Your women won't be tampered with.
No one will be hurt.
If not, your valley will die.
Enough talk.
If the Captain will keep discipline, I agree.
What has changed that we need soldiers?
The soldiers are here, Father. That's what has changed.
Our Lady of the Shrine will rid us of them.
In good time, Father, in good time.
Is he unclean?
I have plague?
Do you think you'd be here, or us watching if you had?
You're sure?
You have had a palsy. You're safe now.
Drink some more, it will help you get better.
I had terrible dreams.
You talked in your sleep.
You seemed to be talking to Holy Father, to God.
I can't remember. I dreamed that I was dead.
You would have been if it wasn't for my mother and Erica.
They brought you here. We've looked after you for two days.
I feel born again. Thank you.
Your clothes are filthy. We're going to wash them.
Why are you so kind to me?
Because we think you're worth caring about.
Thank you.
And the village?
All is peaceful?
No!
We're soldiers, by God. We take what we want, and to hell with the rest.
That's what we've always done.
The next time you oppose me, Hansen...
I will slit your tongue.
The penalty for rape...
will be public castration.
And for looting?
What is your pleasure, Father?
Blinding.
How else do we protect our homes, if not by fear?
Very well.
For Catholics, blinding.
For the rest, 100 lashes...
all provided my men have women of their own.
There are two or three widows who might be prepared to be visited...
Eight.
Or perhaps two dozen will become widows by sundown.
Four, then.
Six, and they had better be worthy...
and the place worthy.
And you, Father...
you will give them public blessing for their penance.
I obey God's orders, not your orders.
Of course, but why not sell them...
your holy indulgence...
a total remission for past and future sins...
which you could pay for?
Six. Widowed, married, or unmarried.
You have two days.
What are you doing here?
I was treating someone who was sick, Father.
You said to treat all without favor.
I asked her to see him, Father. It was just Christian charity.
Good night, Erica. Thank you.
So the philosopher is risen from the dead.
He was ready to die, he should have died.
Why wasn't I told that he was here?
Perhaps they didn't want my soup poisoned.
What are you, Lutheran Protestant, Calvin Protestant...
blasphemous Anabaptist, heathen Satan worshipper?
That's unimportant. I have all those among my men and worse.
I even have Catholics, Father...
which brings me to the shrine near the pass.
Our Lady of the Shrine has guarded the valley for centuries.
Many of my men think that shrines are blasphemous idols...
that should be torn apart and stamped into oblivion.
Touch the shrine...
and you will burn in hellfire for all eternity...
- and your entrails will be eaten with worms. - The pox on hellfire!
That shrine is pointing at the village like a finger.
Touch one stone...
and God will smite you.
But before that, we will rise up.
We will rise up...
and stamp you to oblivion.
How have you survived so long?
For almost six months of the year, from the first snows...
the road is blocked, we are safe.
These mountains are cruel, the country stripped bare.
Few come this way.
How he got in, only God knows.
So, where could the shrine be moved to?
Stay here. Vogel.
Here, beside the rock.
Good. Very good.
We keep our lookout up there.
A lookout is enough if your plan is to hide.
We fight for our valley.
Captain...
don't move the shrine. It saved the valley.
A shrine is still a shrine 30 paces off.
Other villages had mountains and false trails and clever leaders...
but that didn't save them.
Other villages had shrines.
Hurry.
In your name...
Holy Mother, in your name.
I'm sick of this pig-swill.
By the blood of Christ, Korski'd never let these stink-pest scum run over him.
Korski'd be king.
Not a weak-gutted lackey.
Korski's dead.
Yes, I'm sorry I let him die.
Sorry I sided with the Captain.
- I'm as good a soldier as him. - You're wrong.
Korski was a turd.
Be patient.
This Captain's clever and strong.
The best I ever served with...
and we get the women tomorrow.
We'll get bags. The pox on this place.
There's good women in the camp, wine, dice and good times, and loot to be had.
I've a kid back there. Who'll look after him?
He'll be there next spring.
If not, you can make another.
You know, they say that the plague's taken 10,000 men already.
We're blessed with luck to be here.
I'm for staying a week. Take what we want and the hell with it.
- Sorry, Father, I'm late. - Next time you're late, no food.
Yes, Father.
Good.
They say you can read and write.
I studied at the university in Heidelberg.
Then I taught there. The town was sacked.
Your family were burghers there? Shopkeepers?
No, at Magdeburg.
I envy you, seeing so many places and knowing so much.
You needn't.
Before I was your age, I had seen two brothers murdered, and one dead of plague.
Sit down.
It's years since I've seen bread so rich.
The harvest was good.
Our Lady is pleased for us to share it.
How do you earn your daily bread?
Work. Any form of work except soldiering.
I can paint a little...
I can teach writing, history, mathematics.
I can speak Spanish, Italian, French.
Father Sebastian teaches here. The Holy Word.
We've no need for writing or the other nonsense.
Works of the devil.
Why did you lead the soldiers here?
I didn't.
I was trying to get away...
from all soldiers.
Some men are good luck, some bad.
You are bad luck.
- Your soldiers will kill our valley. - No. Not if everyone works.
Peasants, landowners, and soldiers.
You are a fool as well as bad luck.
Tonight, you are alive enjoying the fat of the land.
Bless your luck.
Our Lady protects us, not luck.
Here, Vogel, eat. Then tell us about the Holy City.
Father, Vogel was there when he was young.
Once, he saw a real pope and the whole city's gold and the cathedral.
Your pardon, "Meister" Hoffman.
But, is it true about Inge?
Yes. Come, sit down.
Eat with us, share our joy.
Vogel is going to tell us about the Holy City.
But, it was always planned that we would be married some day.
Eternal salvation is better than earthly happiness, boy.
Sit down.
Salvation?
I'm to be one of the women for the soldiers.
If you were going to be a nun, to serve God, then I could understand.
But this, it's not right.
It's whoring.
Has Satan put a spell on you?
You heard what Father Sebastian said:
"Their suffering would save the village just as Christ's suffering saved the world."
Yes, I heard him.
But that doesn't make him right. He's not right!
Get out of my house!
You offered her?
They are to get a holy indulgence.
Gruber is paying for it.
If he pays the church in land, of course it is right.
What father would not want eternal salvation for his daughter?
Captain, can I speak to you?
It's about Inge, Hoffman's daughter.
Refuse her, accept another in her place.
- You want to take away her salvation? - No.
Gruber has agreed that the shrine should be moved.
- What is your counsel? - Don't touch it.
The priest doesn't agree.
Gruber is our only guarantee of peace with the peasants.
They are all frightened of him, all in debt to him.
What Gruber says must be done, is done.
No one can control this valley as he can.
No one is rich enough or shrewd enough...
or has his courage.
It is not wise to make an enemy of Gruber.
Or you.
Or Graf, Hansen, Hoffman, the list is endless.
Gruber was right. We need the counsel of clever men.
From tomorrow, you are appointed judge...
between soldier and peasant for all cases.
I'm the last person to do that. I've no authority over anyone.
Gruber agrees that you are the perfect political choice.
We will both back you.
I'll be hated by everybody and blamed by both sides.
A few days ago, life was impossible.
Now you want it to be easy.
I want a rest. Time.
You're on borrowed time now, Judge.
So is the village, the whole valley.
It's all doomed.
And the girl?
She is trouble.
So are you.
The Captain wants you.
You'll protect me?
I could kill him easily.
But that would destroy our world.
Only he keeps them from falling on us like wolves.
Then kill them all while they sleep.
We haven't the weapons.
There's too many, they're too clever.
Some patrol while others sleep.
Then put hemlock in their food.
Perhaps.
But not yet, not until the snows.
Why?
They found us, so others can.
We need them to protect us.
Open the door.
Open it.
She will not be one of the women for the soldiers.
Of course. The others are for my men.
It is a pity that you are involved with her.
However, you are involved.
How do we decide this?
Dice. Fetch them, Erica.
If I win, you'll leave her alone and protect her from your men.
- Agreed. - Three throws.
Highest score.
If eual, one more throw until there is a loser.
If you lose...
you accept that she is mine?
Agreed.
Seven.
Seven and nine are sixteen.
Ten and three are thirteen.
Sixteen and six make twenty-two.
What do the dice read, Erica?
Six and five.
Bar the door.
Father! Quickly!
What happened to your face?
There were some feathers flying last night, little bird.
We get the women at sunset.
That'll put an end to the violence.
- Who's that? - Pirelli.
He truly thinks he's got the voice of an angel.
Father, the Captain's moving the shrine! Quickly.
The Captain's moving the shrine.
That priest.
This way leads out of the valley. No one is to leave.
I'm going to the shrine.
You're going back to the village, black beetle.
Leave it.
Stop, in God's name.
Run.
Stop him.
The next time, your head leaves your shoulders.
- I'll get them. - Leave them. They're only fools.
Take this man to the Captain.
Martyrdom is not as useful as you think, Father.
Christ saved the world by suffering.
And was it necessary?
You blaspheme.
No. The politicians put him to death.
How many men do you think should die for the shrine?
We're not concerned for the shrine, for its own sake...
but because it's a symbol of faith.
Beg God's forgiveness.
Does 30 paces make such a difference to a whole faith?
Yes. And you were warned.
We have not harmed the shrine.
It is exact, stone by stone.
You were warned. Confess your sins.
Prepare for hellfire and God's wrath.
And the devil's.
Any shrine in this world is a shrine to the devil.
Priests are better on their knees, in the god-poxed holy dirt.
Idol worshipper.
He's a priest. So he worships nothing.
Can I slit his throat now?
Captain, uick.
They're moving the shrine.
Better cut around them. Too many to stop.
We'll talk. We did what was necessary, and peasants understand necessity.
Get ready. Kill Pirelli, Hansen, and Vornez first...
and watch out for that devil's whelp, Julio.
We can cut around and get the horses.
No time. We have the advantage.
You talk. I'll see that he doesn't.
No.
Father...
you will talk on my behalf...
or make your peace with your God for you and them.
There will be no uarter, not for man, woman, nor child.
And you will be castrated before I hack off your feet.
Did they touch the shrine, Father?
Don't be afraid, Father. We are soldiers of Christ. We will protect you.
Did they touch the shrine?
Yes!
Our Lady has been taken to another place.
You're all going to die...
and Satan walks the earth.
The shrine has not been harmed.
Listen, give thanks to Our Lady.
She protected us again.
Our Lady has protected our valley for centuries.
We all know that.
But that didn't prevent you from digging up the track...
nor planting forests, nor visiting her shrine by a hundred paths...
nor hiding when soldiers came...
nor concealing your fowl, and cattle, and horses...
nor keeping lookouts at the pass.
I am a Catholic, too.
I had a dream last night.
I dreamed...
that I was near the shrine...
and a regiment of soldiers came riding up under a full moon.
There was a sprinkling of snow on the ground.
They were huge and evil...
and they looked towards the shrine.
But as they looked...
the shrine vanished.
So the soldiers went their way back to Rheinfelden...
and never came back.
By hiding herself, Our Lady had hidden the village.
I am glad the Captain has moved Our Lady of the Shrine.
Isn't that what the dream said to do?
You wouldn't defy a dream, would you?
You're lying.
He never had a dream.
Go to the shrine. See for yourselves.
Is he telling the truth, Father, about the dream?
I don't know.
Do we go to the shrine?
Do we go to the shrine, Father?
Where is there to go?
Pirelli, lead the way.
You are not to be one of the women for my men.
- She's the one I want. - You can't have her.
You wanted to see me?
Did you really dream that dream?
What's real, and what isn't?
Once, I thought I knew.
Now I know I don't.
The true church is real. God is real, and Satan is real.
That we're all going to die soon and face judgment is real.
Before God, did you tell the truth?
Before God, what is the truth?
That millions are dead and more will die...
because the Pope wars on the Catholic Emperor...
who wars on the Catholic King of France, who wars on the Catholic King of Spain...
who wars on Catholic Germany...
all helped by Protestants.
Helped by a hundred other princes, kings, and bishops...
all for their own rotten purposes.
Nothing is simple. Nothing except faith in God.
You ask uestions only God can answer.
God is an excuse that's used too often.
You blaspheme.
Life exists because of a divine pattern.
You must have faith and believe...
or you will cast your immortal soul into the pit.
Look at your own soul, priest.
I do. And I look to those in the valley.
All of them.
I am the shepherd of this flock.
Since you came here, Satan has walked aboard.
I feel it.
But soon, Our Lady will give me a sign...
and then I will know what to do.
Very pretty.
That's mine.
This valley is so peaceful.
It would be easy to become possessed by it.
Does it make you feel in the presence of God, Captain?
Don't talk to me of God.
We killed God at Magdeburg.
We laid that city flat...
butchered men, women, and children...
20,000, 30,000.
And then we burned the lot.
- Why? - Vengeance.
You know, that was vengeance for one of our cities...
which was vengeance for one of their towns...
for one of our villages, for one of their hamlets...
which was probably destroyed in the first place...
to give some fat little princeling...
a better view of the Rhine.
Magdeburg is that simple.
My family were there.
My father, mother...
my wife, and my son.
Then they have been dead for 12 long years.
We all have things we would like to forget.
Magdeburg is mine.
What is yours, Vogel?
Gruber.
Good.
He'll wish he stayed in the mountains.
Captain, the shrine is settled.
The women, well, that's settled.
Leave the valley in peace for a while.
If I do that, he'll gain the initiative.
Does that matter?
It matters very much, because then he will kill us.
Captain, I've been to the road.
There are fresh tracks, many horses.
I know.
Tomorrow, we search the village very thoroughly...
for secret hoards of food.
Soldiers. They do nothing but loot, and are never satisfied.
Gold, silver, and jewelry, you keep.
But the food we put in a common store and guard it.
If the food is to be in one store, better the soldiers are, too.
- I'll find a big enough house. - Better leave them where they are.
Then any trouble will be small.
Yes, very wise.
So.