Where's the door? 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?
What's happening?
Somebody tell me what's going on?
Ari, what's going on?
Herodotus was right.
What's happening?
Don't say it again. Greek!
Step out into your faith.
Mathayus, my son, always follow in your faith.
Faith, my son. That is your guide.
Amazing what faith can do.
Nice one, Akkadian!
How did you know?
I didn't.
Seems like nothing is what it appears to be.
What's that?
Oh, yes.
Herodotus says a living person can only remain in the Underworld
for one hour before his or her life force drains away,
and he or she
turns to stone.
Well, let's get moving.
You okay? Mmm-hmm.
Yeah.
Nice place to visit, but...
We're all gonna die here.
Impressive, young one.
Now let's see if he can get back alive.
Wait.
What's happening, Ari?
Bad omen.
Let's go.
This keeps getting better and better.
What fresh hell is this?
We should get moving.
What in the name of the gods was that?
Did you hear it?
You can't go back now.
I can go guard the obelisk.
Ah...
One thing.
Herodotus disguised himself as a dead person like this.
As the Underworld is forbidden to the living,
I suggest you do the same.
And if we're discovered?
Then we will be dead people.
What are we doing? Dusty Greeks.
He must be stupid.
How do I look?
I think death becomes you.
Tell me if you see any jewels.
Gold. Some silver.
Anything.
So it's vengeance for your father you're after, eh?
Good. Blood should repay blood.
You knew him well?
We fought many a battle, shield by shield.
Burned and sacked cities.
Left the streets running red. Aye. That was a swordsman.
What was that? I heard something.
I think I just stepped in someone.
Buggers must have journeyed here and run out of time.
Arm yourselves.
With all due respect, I don't think we should be stealing from the dead yet.
Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all, eh?
Nice.
Father?
Don't look!
Keep moving.
Do not make eye contact.
Don't look them in the eyes.
What's he going on about?
He seems dissatisfied with the shortcut.
I'll take care of the loudmouth.
No, you won't!
Save your blade for chopping onions.
Hey! Save your tongue for licking my boots, Pollux.
Calm down! Calm down!
Can't you see the effect this place is having on us all?
Later, Akkadian.
Has anybody seen a single wretched, miserable ruby, yet?
"Gold and diamonds and rubies so your feet can crunch on them. "
The only thing my feet have been crunching on are corpses.
Patience, my friend.
Ari, are you sure we're going the right way?
How close are we to the sword?
Hard to say.
Say it anyway.
Well, unfortunately, Herodotus wasn't exactly explicit.
So you don't know. Well, not exactly, but...
So you lied to us. Oh, no, no, no, no.
Appearances are deceiving.
For example, there's this game that we play in Greece.
You play by yourself.
The game keeps changing, getting harder as you continue.
And the longer you survive and keep playing,
the closer you get to winning.
How are we doing in the game?
I never played it. Right.
It's a bit like Mahjong.
Mahjong.
Double-talking Greeks. Shifty-eyed Chinese.
Insane Akkadians. Dead people! Damn Illyrian honor!
This better be worth my while.
I can't believe I find my fortune in hell.
Things are looking up the Underworld.
PeARIs.
Where is everyone?
Wait.
We have to go back.
There's no time.
You go then. I'll wait here.
Okay, let's move.
Like I was saying, the game gets easier.
Yeah, I got it.
What was that?
Who are you?
And by what devious means have you violated my inner sanctum?
Her inner what?
Let me handle this.
My lady, we are...
Actually, I'm not sure how we got here or where we are.
Because you see, we...
are humble traders journeying to China.
Yes! This curious-looking fellow's homeland
on a silk-seeking expedition and...
And we must have taken a wrong turn.
Silence!
On your knees.
My friends will have their fun with you.
I prefer to stand.
But thanks anyway.
I am Astarte,
goddess of both love and war.
You will not only kneel,
you will grovel before me like a wretched worm.
There's no reason to get agitated.
We can handle this like mature adults.
Listen.
And listen well.
I rule this land at my pleasure.
And I could destroy you with a wave of my hand.
Or, if it pleased me,
seduce you
with a single glance
into obeying my every depraved
whim.
No, please! Any woman can do as much by cinching her bust and pouting her lips.
Are you a man or a woman?
I daresay you could not seduce a beggar
if you heaped gold coins between your thighs.
Go up there and look for the sword. I'll 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-old bag of bones?
You insolent little cur.
I don't need a goddess's powers to tear you apart.
You will regret that!
We'll see who regrets what, you old cradle snatcher.
I'll tear your face off.
Good, then I won't have to look at you.
Best you can do?
Where are you?
Come on, you old cow!
That's it!
The Sword of Damocles.
Slag! Slut!
So you like to play.
What are you doing?
It's not fair. You said no magic!
I lied.
Get ready for a long fall.
Wait, My Lady.
It's not her fault we're here. It's mine.
My arrogance, not hers.
I humbly beg your forgiveness for intruding in your domain.
For your beauty and grace are unequaled.
Go on.
If you'll accept my apologies and let us leave,
I swear on my word as an Akkadian, and we always keep our vows,
that I will build you a magnificent temple
in your honor when I return home.
I have a thousand temples already. They bore me.
But I must say,
you do possess a rare degree of physical appeal.
Don't listen to her!
Perhaps if you were to stay by my side
as my consort,
then I might be persuaded to let the others go.
Except for that vermin.
Let me down! It's so hot up here!
Mathayus! Mathayus!
You would stay young as long as I decided to keep you.
With no duties save
to service my varied and copious needs.
He'll never agree to that!
He loves me!
Anyway, what man would willingly want to lay down with you?
Lady Astarte,
I would be a fool 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 fool than a liar.
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 will find a monster lurking inside.
One kiss
and you're mine.
Forever.
For the love of Zeus!
Forget it. You're not my type.
Mathayus!
Careful, it's sharp.
Here, you can keep this one.
Mathayus, we're almost out of time!
Run all you like, Mathayus.
I'll have you soon enough. Just as I took your father.
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 fault that Herodotus took a few...
You sacrificed my men, you slippery-tongued worm.
I'll skin you alive.
Look!
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!
Oh, my God. Pollux!
We made it.
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 recently.
Apparently, he's thirsting for revenge
against you.
And he took something of mine with great sentimental value.
A sword
which could wreak great havoc if it's not returned to the Underworld
where it belongs.
I want it back.
And you shall have it, I assure you.
Especially, if you can increase my powers.
You're greedy, Sargon.
I like that in a man.
You shall have all the powers you need.
But first,
you must make me the ultimate sacrifice.
Never were any mortals more grateful to see the sun again
than the Akkadian and his companions.
Even Fong, content to take the long way home to China,
ceased his endless carping.
And Mathayus, with the invincible sword in his grasp,
looked eagerly to his reunion with Sargon.
Mathayus?
What I said back there to that old battle ax of a goddess...
You know,
about you being in love with me.
Well, I only said that to try and distract her.
Cloud her judgment. Stall for time.
That's what I thought.
Clever.
Yeah, it was clever, wasn't it?
It was.
Do you think what the goddess said was true?
Inside every hero lurks the potential for a monster.
From this night forward, the goddess's protection will insure
that Akkad will be great forever.
Tonight's celebration to Astarte will be like none she has ever known.
My kingdom and powers will know no boundaries.
Hail, Sargon. Hail, Sargon.
Fong says he's enjoyed our company but he'll be heading back to China now,
to return to the simple life of being an acrobat for the emperor.
That's too bad.
We could use another good man.
Psst. Come here! Come here!
Where's everyone going?
The king has told us to go to the arena.
Everybody. Keep moving, you little rats!
Something's not right.
You better go to the arena while I go after Sargon.
I'll come with you.
I've never been a big fan of command performances
and I suspect you'll need the moral support.
Don't get yourself killed. Not even a good death.
Nor you.
Come on.
Shouldn't we discreetly climb a wall or dig a tunnel.
No time.
Halt! State your business!
I'm here for Sargon's black blood.
Stand aside and I won't have to spill yours.
Trust me, you really don't want to do this.
Impossible! What sorcery is this?
My quarrel 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.
Sit down now.
Goddess Astarte.
Hurry up!
Come on!
Anywhere. Just go.
Wait here.
This is personal.
Where are you two going?
There's no seats this way. Who's the shifty-eyed stranger?
He's the entertainment, for the crowd.
To keep them from becoming unruly.
King Sargon salutes you, citizens of Nippur.
Your great gift insures the glory
and prosperity of Akkad...
Great gift?
...and the blessing of the goddess Astarte.
I've got a bad feeling about this.
And rejoice in your new spirit.
Now.
What's going on?
Hmm?
Get away from the walls.
Move! Open the gate.
Move out!
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 miracle of the sword
that you hold that has allowed us to meet again.
But I saw you.
I saw you in the Underworld.
A place you do not belong.
Prove to me this is really you.
Remember
when you were a very young boy
and sometimes when you were frightened
I would put my arms around you and whisper something in your ear
that only you and I would ever know?
Remember?
Father?
You were a hero.
Why were you there?
We cannot escape our fate.
Scratch any hero
and a monster lurks beneath.
Feeling smaller without your special sword?
You're not the one to talk, hiding behind your trickery.
Father always said you were a coward.
Shoot that one!
They're gonna set us on fire!
What?
Okay! Let's split up!
Okay.
We can't let the arrows hit the oil.
You come to avenge your father, the great hero?
I fight for more than vengeance now, Sargon.
I fight for what my father once believed in.
And I fight for what you've corrupted.
Mark that down, scribe.
Sounds like a good epitaph.
Ari, throw me the sword.
The sword, Greek.
Ari.
Jewels first.
Careful. It's sharp.
That's right, you fool.
I planned every detail of your little heroic journey into the Underworld.
This sword makes my power supreme.
You can never trust a Greek, eh?
Nothing personal, Mathayus.
But a fortune in jewels and a good tale to tell...
What writer could resist that?
Write well of my exploits, scribe. Or I'll come for your head.
The king who became a god.
What?
Mathayus!
Never trust a Greek!
And I'm a poet not a scribe, you jackass.
Now, Mathayus, as a Black Scorpion you owe your allegiance to your king.
You took a sacred oath.
And the darkness grows.
Fong! Stop the arrow!
Get them off the wall!
Release those arrows!
Fire!
Fong! We have to stop the flames from reaching the walls.
Fong, come on!
Stop the flames!
Put out the flames!
Use the sand!
Stop the flames from reaching the walls!
Hurry, Fong!
Don't let the flames reach the walls!
Fong, hurry, get the wall! We got to put it out!
What?
This is for my father.
Layla, you saved us!
And so, Mathayus, why should I show you any mercy?
You dared spurn me.
Not to mention
you stole my sword.
Because, My Lady,
you know you'll have me soon enough.
Yes.
I will.
Oh, Shamash, hear my plea.
For three days and nights, my son has slept the sleep of the living dead.
Bring him back to us
or take him please, I beg you.
What's that stench?
I would think I've earned a thank you.
Of course, I never planned on serving that wretch.
My words will tell your story well, my friend.
In time, your exploits will be renowned.
If you'll just
let go.
Hey.
Welcome back.
Citizens of Akkad, I give you your new king.
Son of Hammurabi, Shalmaneser.
People of Akkad, we have passed through a very hard time.
But the sun is rising again.
Where is the Greek?
He said something about Olympia and Neptune's Trident.
But he wanted you to have this.
He said you'd understand.
What?
I think he'll do quite well.
Our land, the people's land, will prosper again!
People of Akkad...
Should have been you.
No thanks. Not my cup of tea.
And us?
We'll be fine.
It would have been nice to live in a beautiful palace
with lots of servants and fine linens.
I thought you wanted to be a warrior,
roam the world like a man.
Well, I decided I didn't like battles and killing as much as I thought I would.
That every man may know right from wrong.
Do you?
But the truth of the matter was
Mathayus did have a fondness for battles and killing.
And though he loved Layla, the blood of a warrior
and the scorpion's dark venom still coursed through his veins.
It would drive him out into the wide world for further adventures
and further battles until one day perhaps
he would return to become the Scorpion King.
That is the subject for another tale.