The Trial of Angelique

[Mr. Handy]

Reverend Trask also goes out in a boat to try his best to rescue the survivors. "We should go armed," he says to Nathan Forbes, "in case there are wreckers looking to steal the cargo."

OOC,Actually, [b]Nathan[/b] was a naval officer.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Nathan is no sailor, but needs must.

One can only explain this excessively modest statement as a cry of regret from a former officer in the United States Navy who lost that position under circumstances less than honorable.

In any case, although Forbes was more at home in supply houses and the like than ships, he has not lost such maritime skills as were forced into his head while a mere lad serving under harsh taskmasters at sea. A natural skill for commanding men, at least such low and feeble-souled sorts as populate the docks, enables him to assemble what one might charitably term volunteers, although a resemblance to men taken by a press gang cannot be denied.

Spoiler:

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A pair of burly sailing men join Forbes and Trask aboard a rescue boat. The elements seem to oppose them with malign intent, but the application of brute strength allows the quartet to row their way, against wind and wave, to a jagged rock, rising from the storm-wracked waters like a sea dragon, upon which lies what remains of the Lydia. The ship's torn sails ripple with each blast of the gale. Gaping holes, where the merciless teeth of hidden shoals tore at the hull, reveal insensate bodies within.

Spoiler:

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[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Nathan,With eyes trained to make careful observations in the worst of weather, you are able to just barely tell that Angelique is among those aboard, but you cannot tell if she is alive or dead. She must have been hidden somewhere other than the cargo area you searched. At a moment when the wind is particularly loud in its howling, one of the two rough sailors whispers to you, "a woman," indicating he has spotted her also, although he may not know exactly who she is. Due to the noise, Trask and the other sailor do not hear him, and it seems they have not noticed her presence.

[Mr. Handy]

Reverend Trask defers to Nathan's expertise in matters nautical, ready to help out however he can.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

At first, it seems that no sign of life comes the wreckage. Then, a moment later, a feeble cry for help strikes the ears of the rescuers, at a time when the gale, in its capricious way, ceases for a heartbeat, leaving an eerie silence, broken only by the pathetic pleading of a desperate soul. To those familiar with the voice, it is clearly that of Barnabas Collins.

[Mr. Handy]

"We're coming, Mr. Collins!" calls Reverend Trask as he rows toward the sound of his voice.

[SunlessNick]

OOC,Sorry, I'd forgotten he was Navy rather than army.

Nathan points out Angelique's form and says, "There is a woman there!"

Vicki,He reasons that the sailor will not shirk in alerting the others.

He calls out to Mr Collins, "Keep shouting if you can. It will help us find you."

[Mr. Handy]

"As I thought, she wasn't dead," says Reverend Trask, peering at the woman. "Let us make haste before she is."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The rescuers discover, along with several crewmen who are clearly no longer among the living, Barnabas Collins, barely conscious, clinging desperately to the insensate form of Angelique. Slow and shallow rising and falling of her chest is her only sign of life, but it is enough to prove that she stills dwells in the mortal realm. Attempts to seize Barnabas prove that his grip upon the body of his wife is one of iron, as if he fears losing hold of her more than he does the loss of his own life. There is, by the by, no sign of the master of the Lydia, although the captain's cabin is one of the few portions of the ship to have suffered little damage.

[Mr. Handy]

"Are there nets aboard?" asks Reverend Trask. "We may have to fish them out."

[SunlessNick]

If there are nets, the two sailors accompanying Nathan and the Reverend are likely more adept with them. For the moment, Nathan tries pulling Angelique out of the water instead, in case Barnabas is willing to relinquish his hold for the sake of her safety, after which he can be brought aboard too.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

For whatever reason, it proves impossible to separate man and wife through the use of mere mortal hands. One of vivid imagination might suggest that, as Scripture has it, two have become one flesh, although this is not to be thought of as literal. If the separation be desired, it shall be necessary to make use of some powerful device or other.

Reverend Trask having made inquiry as to the availability of a net, such does lie in the rescue boat, along with such common equipment as a knife, rope, a lantern (useless in such a storm), and such.

[SunlessNick]

The Reverend's idea seems the only course. Wrap the net around them, then two of us may be able to haul them aboard while the others provide a counterweight so the boat doesn't tip over.

[Mr. Handy]

Reverend Trask helps use the net to get Barnabas and Angelique out of the water and onto the boat.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

let's test strength for both. results vary as to two successes, two failures, or mixed.0

With the power that Providence oft grants to desperate men, Trask and Forbes are able to haul the insensate couple aboard the rescue ship, their stalwart companions aiding with all the maritime skill at their command. Once this is accomplished, the pair of seamen turn to the task of rowing back to shore, which requires all their strength and attention. It is for this reason, perhaps, that they fail to act when, as if awakening from the tomb in the manner of Lazarus, Angelique awakens. With remarkable speed, she seizes the knife lying on the boat's deck, her fingers reaching through the mesh nimbly, although she is not yet able to free herself from it. Her countenance, half-hidden by the long and tangled strands of soaking wet hair that hang down from her head, is one of icy calm.

With one hand still grasping that of her unconscious husband and the other holding the knife pointed at her captors, she speaks.

"Forbes. Free us and dispose of these fools, and claim your reward."

[SunlessNick]

"I am sorry, Mrs Collins, but the scales are gone from my eyes," says Nathan. "You cannot both threaten us with that knife and cut your way from the net. Your best course is to surrender and allow us to convey you and your husband to where they can be tended."

Vicki,Nathan's pistol is useless in this foul weather, he does not rate highly his chances of murdering three men hand to hand in this boat, and nor does he wish to kill Reverend Trask. Since Victoria Winters has already voiced the possibility that his mind and memories were altered, he sees playing along that line as his best option.

[Mr. Handy]

"Do not try to escape again, Mrs. Collins," says Reverend Trask, drawing his silver dagger. "You will return for the rest of your trial, and you will face justice. Drop the knife and surrender quietly."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

If the former state of mind of the prisoner was unnaturally cold, one might say that it has now become overheated to the state of boiling. Laughing maniacally, she maneuvers within the net in such manner as to raise the knife to her own neck. With a cry of "In death, if not in life," she draws the blade across her throat. As blood pours from the wound at an alarming rate, she uses her fingers to place a small amount of the fluid of life onto the lips of her husband. Speaking in a voice distorted nearly to unintelligibility by the blood that fills her mouth, the appalled witnesses strain to hear her last words.

"My curse . . . my curse . . ."

[SunlessNick]

Shocked at what has occurred, Nathan lunges forward to sieze her wrist and pull the knife away. Remembering the fate of Ben Stokes, he says, "Quick! We must wipe the blood from his mouth." If Angelique is not fighting over the knife, he will use the sleeve of his coat in an attempt to match his words with action - otherwise, he will attempt to keep her restrained trusting the Reverend to do see to Mr Collins instead.

[Mr. Handy]

Reverend Trask quickly does so, and as he does he prays over Barnabas to try to negate Angelique's dying curse.

Victoria,I'm using Exorcism.