[00:01.38]Chapter 14, The Final Reckoning.
[00:04.63]So, we had come full circle.
[00:09.18]Another foul day, another battle at hand.
[00:14.54]The stench of death would not be long coming.
[00:18.69]Malcolm's army was organized well.
[00:22.29]They kept up their disguises till the castle was in their sights.
[00:28.78]Then, as one, they threw down their branches.
[00:33.48]Drums rolled and trumpets blared.
[00:37.29]The siege began.
[00:41.49]At first, it seemed the defense was sound.
[00:46.81]A rain of arrows pegged back the attackers and boiling oil sent grown men screaming back.
[00:56.83]But sheer weight of numbers saw Malcolm gain the upper hand.
[01:02.83]The siege hammer smashed over and over into the gates till the hinges creaked and the timber splintered.
[01:13.62]At last, they gave way.
[01:16.63]Attackers poured in, hell bent on revenge against the tyrant Macbeth.
[01:25.81]Some of the defenders fought back desperately, many fled.
[01:32.32]Macbeth fought as he always fought, savagely.
[01:39.34]He was like a bear tied to a stake, teeth bared, sword slashing out in every direction.
[01:50.00]Again and again, he reminded himself of the second prophecy, that no man born from a woman could harm him.
[02:03.04]Soon the prophecy was put to the test.
[02:07.66]Young Seward sprang into view, Malcolm's teenage uncle.
[02:13.17]Young Seward was a fantastic fighter for his age.
[02:17.68]He feared no one.
[02:23.50]What is your name?
[02:25.78]he ordered.
[02:28.32]Macbeth looked down on the young man with scorn.
[02:33.67]You'd be terrified to hear it, he mocked.
[02:38.13]Not if it were the hottest name in hell, replied Young Seward.
[02:45.48]My name, pronounced the king, is Macbeth.
[02:54.29]Young Seward spat on the ground.
[02:58.36]There is no word more vile to me, he said.
[03:03.63]Or more frightening, scoffed Macbeth.
[03:09.35]Young Seward raised his sword.
[03:12.20]We'll soon see about that, he replied.
[03:17.62]The two men rushed together.
[03:21.01]Young Seward's sword smashed into Macbeth's armored breast, but Macbeth had taken harder blows than that.
[03:33.47]In an instant, he was back at Young Seward.
[03:37.92]The youth was certainly brave, but Macbeth was a hundred times more canny.
[03:45.54]In less than a minute, it was all over, and Young Seward was dead.
[03:51.24]Ha!
[03:53.78]panted Macbeth.
[03:56.73]Another man born of woman.
[04:00.52]You're all wasting your time.
[04:04.26]Your swords are useless against me.
[04:09.82]Macbeth's army was not so lucky.
[04:14.02]Those who did not flee lay dead at their posts, while a final few fought a last desperate battle.
[04:24.88]If Macbeth had had any sense, he would have fallen on his sword.
[04:31.49]Instead, he threw himself back into the fray like a man possessed.
[04:40.14]Meanwhile, another warrior stalked the castle.
[04:46.34]Like Macbeth, his eyes were fixed before him and his mind was set on one sole purpose.
[04:54.73]His name was McDuff.
[05:06.78]Malcolm surveyed the scene inside the castle gates.
[05:13.03]The savagery of battle appalled him.
[05:17.37]Old Seward, meanwhile, had seen it all before.
[05:22.68]To rid ourselves of Macbeth, he said, this is a price worth paying.
[05:30.67]Ross rushed to greet them.
[05:33.74]The day is as good as ours, he proclaimed.
[05:41.04]Is Macbeth alive?
[05:44.29]asked Malcolm.
[05:46.56]By some miracle, replied Ross.
[05:51.65]Then the battle is not yet won, said Malcolm.
[05:59.58]What of my son?
[06:02.73]asked Old Seward anxiously.
[06:08.66]Your son, replied Ross, has paid a soldier's debt.
[06:17.60]Old Seward was a hard man.
[06:20.51]He showed no emotion.
[06:24.86]There was only one thing that concerned him.
[06:32.12]Where were his wounds?
[06:34.88]he asked.
[06:40.18]On the front, replied Ross.
[06:44.98]In that case, said Old Seward, he could not have had a better death.
[06:54.21]Malcolm winced.
[06:58.98]Macbeth pulled his blooded sword from another English wretch, then spun to face the next enemy.
[07:07.23]Before him, like fate itself, stood McDuff.
[07:15.14]Greetings, hellhound, rasped McDuff.
[07:21.88]Macbeth lowered his sword.
[07:25.83]Get away, he said.
[07:31.34]I've had too much of your blood already.
[07:38.56]You filthy savage!
[07:42.32]cried McDuff.
[07:44.94]He ran at Macbeth in a vengeful fury.
[07:49.66]Macbeth fought him back.
[07:52.72]You're wasting your time, cried Macbeth.
[07:57.64]I lead a charmed life.
[08:00.77]No man born from a woman can kill me.
[08:08.43]McDuff's face broke into a savage grin.
[08:13.75]Is that so?
[08:16.17]he scoffed.
[08:17.93]Well, Macbeth, your charmed life is about to end.
[08:25.48]I, McDuff, was never naturally born.
[08:31.47]Surgeons cut me from my mother's womb.
[08:38.80]At these words, the confidence drained from Macbeth.
[08:47.67]I don't want to fight you, McDuff, he said.
[08:52.48]Then yield, replied McDuff.
[08:57.17]What?
[08:58.93]And be dragged before a howling crowd, said Macbeth, to kiss Malcolm's feet?
[09:08.83]To be stuck on a pole, hissed McDuff, with see the tyrant written underneath.
[09:20.24]I will fight to the end, declared Macbeth.
[09:24.84]Do your worst, McDuff!
[09:28.65]The warriors rushed together like snarling terriers in a last ditch struggle.
[09:36.75]Macbeth's strength was superhuman, but no one had fought back like McDuff.
[09:43.96]The blood of his innocent children fueled his every blow.
[09:50.27]They fought across the courtyard into the view of Malcolm and Old Seward.
[09:56.92]McDuff fell back inside the castle.
[10:00.99]Macbeth pursued him.
[10:06.30]There was a cry, unearthly as a devil's shriek.
[10:16.32]The door opened.
[10:20.99]Out walked McDuff, bearing the severed head of the tyrant king.
[10:29.29]Hail, King Malcolm! he cried.
[10:35.86]There was a mighty cheer and the victorious army took up McDuff's cry.
[10:46.30]So ended the story of Macbeth, and for now, my interest in the sisters' class.
[10:54.67]Malcolm, I was sure, would reward his friends as all kings do, and reign happily for a long time.
[11:04.41]After that, as the sisters foretold, Fleance would be king, then his son, then his son, and so on.
[11:17.01]But the memory of Macbeth and his fiendish wife would live as long.