Chapter the Fifth: The Ceremony

[Priest]

Throughout this entire exchange Elizabeth has kept quiet in fear that her slightest movement might cause the masked figure to fire his pistol. Now she awaits developments with a growing sense of trepidation.

[maelstrom]

A cacophony of thoughts pour through Duncans mind, then as the final chime sounds,a peace settles on his mind, like the eye of a hurricane and the answer seems clear.
His dagger lowers slowly " Never is a curse cured with the edge of a blade, only ended." looking at Mr Harcourt lying in his unnatural repose " I am sorry to have failed you here, but this was not your answer. I will find a cure if there is one to be had."

[Rooter]

Lila regards the masked highwayman warily. "Sir, we know not why, if Mister Harcourt is truly your father, you should wish to see him remain afflicted so."

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"You are a wise man, magician." The highwayman drops his pistol to the floor. "It would have been a shame to have killed you." He walks calmly to the head of the bed and nods at the Hand of Glory. "I believe this belongs to me. Thank you for recovering it, huntress. As for my reasons, you shall learn of them soon enough."

With his left hand he removes the glove from his other hand. It is a crude wooden prosthesis. "I lost it during an unfortunate disagreement with a party of His Majesty's soldiers." He removes his mask. The right side of his face is a mass of scars, the right eye socket empty. "They left me with reminders of our encounter. Fortunately, they now lie where they will never disagree with anyone again."

With a mighty blow of his left hand he knocks the Hand of Glory to the floor, snuffing its flame. "The enterprising resurrectionist who absconded with it after I had disposed of the brave troops was clever enough to hide it in a place where my dear father dared never go, lest he be reunited with his late wife. I believe you are acquainted with the lady. I imagine he neglected to relate the whole story; how their child was born dead, how she went mad with grief, how she devoured part of the infant's corpse, how he slew her in rage!" He bows to Miss Carrow. "Is that not a pretty tale, little songbird?"

During this impassioned speech Mister Harcourt is slowly returning to consciousness.

"If that story does not amuse you, perhaps this will. The bastard child of a Gypsy, despised by the race that fathered him, driven to thievery because he was hated as a thief as soon as he was born! He learned early to loathe his mother's broken English, and taught himself to speak so there was no trace of his shameful background. It is ironic, is it not, that his dear brother, so clearly one of the Gypsy race, was born without a trace of their supernatural power, while I, who never wished for it, have strength enough to curse the one who caused me to be born.

"Behold my curse!"

Mister Harcourt rises from his bed. His eyes glow more brightly than ever, as if he is consumed by an inner fire. His clothing rips apart as his body is twisted into bizarre shapes. Thick, dark fur appears on his skin. His face expands into a large snout, with crooked fangs. With a howl of agony he runs from the room, half-man, half-beast, and disappears into the night.

The highway man drops to his knees and laughs. "Do with me as you will, my friends. Vengeance is mine!"

[Mr. Handy]

Henry is still shocked by the transformation he has witnessed. Caterpillars turn into butterflies of course, but a man into a beast? How was it even possible? "I will not take your life, young man," he says at last when he recovers himself, "and not just because you would then be unable to answer questions. My next one is a simple one: Why?"

[Priest]

With a growing feeling of horror Elizabeth listens to the masked man's story, gasping with each reveal of scars. By the time the disfigured highwayman finishes his tale she is balancing on the edge of consciousness, and with the sudden, and unexpected, transformation of Mr Harcourt into something all together impossible, her grip on consciousness fails and with a despairing wail she crumples to the floor in a dead faint.

OOC: This seems like the kind of thing that would send her into the black oblivion of a faint.

[Mr. Handy]

Henry again rushes to catch Elizabeth when she swoons, as if on cue.

[Rooter]

"So this explains the presence of the Ghoulish Revenant from the churchyard we slayed," Lila murmurs upon hearing the highwayman's dark tale. Concerned lest the creature which Mister Harcourt has become should turn attacker, she hurries from the bedchamber to ensure that the house's other occupants are safe, calling for Davros to inform him of events.

[maelstrom]

Duncan listened as the highwayman spat forth his tale, his word bitter with bile t and venom for the man starting to writhe in the bed before him. As the hideous transformation takes place, Duncan looked on with dismay. Thinking to himself Did i make the wrong choice, could I have saved Mr Harcourt. For certain this fate, he did not deserve. glancing at the highwayman he see the almost maniacal delight gleaming in his eyes as his curse comes to fruition.

In that moment Duncan feels an animalistic snarl rise from the back of his brain and he can picture plunging his dagger into the highwayman’s heart over and over. The thoughts are broken as Miss Davenport dashes from the room calling for Davros. He blinks coming to himself and sees Miss Carrow swooned in the Doctors arms. He kicks the highwayman’s pistol towards the doctor “ If you wouldn’t mind making sure he doesn’t leave” and he heads out the door following Miss Davenport.

[Mr. Handy]

Henry sets Elizabeth down gently in a chair and retrieves the discarded pistol. Though he has his own, two are better. They take a long time to reload.

[Priest]

The faint passes and Elizabeth, eyelids a flutter, awakens as if from a strange dream. A dream in which a tall masked man with horrendous scars grinned madly over the barrel of a long pistol while the familiar figure of their host seemed to blur into something resembling a wolf. As her vision clears she sees that Henry, dear Henry, now holding two pistols, faces the disarmed brigand. She slowly gazes around the room, of Lila and Mr Rachman there is no sign. Likewise Mr Harcourt's bed lies empty.

"Henry, did I dream or has something awful occured?"

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"I will not take your life, young man," he says at last when he recovers himself, "and not just because you would then be unable to answer questions. My next one is a simple one: Why?"

"You are an educated man, Doctor. Surely you are familiar with the words of Adam to God:

Did I request thee, Maker, from my clay
To mould me man? Did I solicit thee
From darkness to promote me?

Meditate upon them, and you shall find all your answers."

The highwayman makes no effort to defend himself, and seems grimly amused by the whole situation.

Meanwhile . . .

Miss Davenport and Mister Rachman find most of the servants awake in their nightclothes, alarmed by the howling of a beast, which seems to shatter the night. Davros is found in working clothes, a "Brown Bess" musket in his hands.

"What happens?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I regret to say that something awful has indeed occurred, Elizabeth," says Henry somberly before replying to the highwayman. "Now I see. You wanted revenge upon your father for bringing you into the world unbidden, where you have suffered greatly. I too am well acquainted with sorrow. None of us has asked to be born, but here we are, and we need to make the most we can of our lives with what we have, while we can. Death comes for us all soon enough, and there is no need to hasten it or to cause others to suffer. You hate your father, but I loved mine, and he was taken from me too soon. What I wouldn't give to bring him back from the dead! Or my mother, or my wife and our baby..." He is on the verge of tears, but he holds them back. "Which brings me to my next question: the mystery of the black roses. How is it that they remain alive and fresh after being cut?"

[Victoria Silverwolf]

""Which brings me to my next question: the mystery of the black roses. How is it that they remain alive and fresh after being cut?"

With his left hand the highwayman produces another of the strange flowers. Perhaps it was concealed under his sleeve, and this is merely a clever act of legerdemain.

"Examine it as you will. You will learn nothing. They belong to me, and I alone can supply them.

"Shall I tell you a fable? Once upon a time there was a man who fell among enemies. They left him wounded and dying. After a time another man came along, accompanied by a thunderstorm that seemed to tear apart the heavens. He was young, tall, and handsome, dressed in fine black velvet. His eyes were bottomless pits of blackness, his skin whiter than starlight on snow.

"'Come with me," he said.

"The dying man fired his pistol at him. It passed through his body without effect.

"'Come with me," he said again.

"'I am not yours to command," the dying man said. 'Go play your games elsewhere.'

"At that the stranger's eyes seemed to glow. 'I cannot resist a challenge.' He waved his hand and a chess set carved from bones appeared. 'You may have the first move. If you win, I will leave you, for now. If I win, you will come with me.'

"'And if there is no winner?'

"The stranger smiled. 'That very rarely happens.'

"The dying man felt strength return to his body. The game began. The stranger was a bold and clever player, and the dying man knew he could not win. He played cautiously. After many moves he manipulated the stranger into a stalemate.

"'Very well,' the stranger said. 'Now you are one of those who bear my mark.' A black rose blossomed from the blood-soaked ground. 'Remember me, and call upon me when you are ready to follow.'

"With that the stranger vanished. The man who was no longer dying took the rose with him. No matter how often he gave it away, another remained with him.

"Now was that not a strange dream the man had, Doctor?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Strange indeed," muses Henry. "All the more strange for being true." If I cannot defeat Death, he thinks, perhaps I too can fight him to a standstill. I must be ready for him when he comes. "Is there any way your curse can be broken?"

[Priest]

Elizabeth understands none of this but she realises the tenseness of this situation so keeps her council. The tale and the black rose fascinates her, as does the story of Henry's loss which would explain his sometimes sad moods.

[Rooter]

Lila quickly informs Davros of what has occurred. "Perhaps it would be prudent to mount a search of the grounds," she suggests to he and Mister Rachman.

Spoiler:

OOC:   I'm unsure if Lila is recovered enough from her injury to be able to ride or otherwise mobilize? If she is then she will go with any search party, if not and if nothing else happens then she will return to the bedchamber.

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"Strange indeed," muses Henry. "All the more strange for being true." If I cannot defeat Death, he thinks, perhaps I too can fight him to a standstill. I must be ready for him when he comes. "Is there any way your curse can be broken?"

"Only when I am ready to follow that stranger into His kingdom, and that moment has not yet arrived. I understand that He never refuses invitations, although He may come in another shape. Make of that what you will."

Meanwhile . . .

Miss Davenport is well enough to resume vigorous activities. The only concern is that, if subjected to violent dangers, she may not be able to survive quite as serious a wound as when she is in perfect health.

The mysterious gentleman who was attacked by Miss Dupray's sling has recovered sufficiently to leave his bed. There is not much time for conversation, once he learns of the escape of the thing that was once Mister Harcourt.

"We are both hunters, Fraulein," he explains, "although I am not so skilled as yourself. My name is Friedrich Hoffer, and I have tracked the one who has injured us both across Europe for years. He has currently returned to England, and I had hoped to enlist your aid. But now it seems we have another task to perform."

Spoiler:

Miss Davenport may attempt to track Mister Harcourt. She may add one to her Wisdom and make an Ability Check. She may also add one to her Intelligence and make an Ability Check to see if her skill in Demonology allows her to know more about the type of creature she is attempting to track.

[Rooter]

Though her curiosity is piqued by this gentleman Hoffer's words Lila agrees that there are more pressing concerns at this moment -- the nature of Mister Harcourt's transformation and where the creature might now be headed yet eludes her.

Spoiler:

Wisdom check re tracking: 12+1[dice]0[/dice]

Intelligence check re demonology: 11+1[dice]1[/dice]

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Unfortunately the creature who was once Mister Harcourt does not resemble any preternatural being with whom Miss Davenport has had previous experience. Herr Hoffer, strictly an amateur, if a passionate one, at this business, is unable to be of much assistance. Nor has the creature left anything but a confusion of tracks.

It might be possible to request the aid of the other adventurers in attempting to track the creature, but that would take time, and the trail might grow cold. There is some possibility, although it is by no means certain, that the creature retains some memory of its human form, and seeks someone familiar to it. If so, it is likely to head either in the direction of the departing gypsy caravan, or to the Dupray cottage. A lucky guess could head off the creature, but an unlucky one could lose it completely.