Chapter 10: November 1st

[HoneyDog]

Rolf nods at Isolde.

“I’ve no idea why” says Blessing. “We have to see what Miss Bayldon has to say about it. Rolf, help me with the Doctor.”

The two men, Rolf with the gun in his hand while Blessing pushes the chair, take the sullen Vandorff from the room.

OOC,You can use this opportunity to talk if there is anything you want to keep among yourselves.

[Philulhu]

”We’d do well to keep an eye on Rolf,” said Vic quietly. “As long as he has the pistol, I won’t be happy!”

[Mr. Handy]

"Why, what did he say in German?" whispers Alexander.

[Philulhu]

Vic flushed. ”To be honest,” she said. “I struggled to follow the conversation between them. My German is a bit rusty.’

“I don’t necessarily think he’s a threat per se, but he has got the pistol and we haven’t.”

[HoneyDog]

OOC,Look at the previous posts – you were diving for a shotgun just a short while ago! Both Harry and Alexander are armed now.

A short while later Blessing returns to the room. This time, Joan Bayldon is with him, looking confused but otherwise unharmed.

“Miss Bayldon is unhurt” says Blessing. “She says that Dr. Vandorff had questioned her, but erm…” he trails off.

“Yes, I’m still Annie” says Joan. “But I was in Joan’s room. It felt… familiar.”

Blessing gently guides her to a seat, while she looks curiously at the unconscious Greta on the bed.

“I want to start the hypnosis treatment as soon as possible, to find out what's going on” he says, "but I do need to see to our inmates. I’m sure they must be hungry – they haven’t had their lunches. Neither have I, for that matter. I believe that food was already prepared. Perhaps you could eat with us?” he asks the companions.

[Philulhu]

OOC,Vic’s point is that we have someone whose motives and allegiances we’re not 100% sure about has a pistol. Having a shotgun is fine, but not much use if someone who you trusted shoots you in the back.

[HoneyDog]

OOC,Sorry, just responding to what was written in the post. Harry has the revolver that Vandorff was shooting the place up with a few moments ago, and Alexander has the shotgun.

[Philulhu]

”But, erm...?” repeated Vic to Dr Blessing. She looked between the doctor and Miss Bayldon. ”What did Vandorff want to know?”

[Mephistophilis]

'You'll understand if I turn down the offer, under the circumstances' Harry says to Blessing. He's not getting caught with the same trick twice, he thinks, he can eat later when he knows what's going on.

'Can you ask Miss Bayldon what the significance is of those strange designs found on the bodies?'

[Mr. Handy]

"Aye, how do we know Vandorff didn't drug the food too?" asks Alexander.

[HoneyDog]

Blessing holds up his hands.

“I’m sure that it’s natural for you to be suspicious. But I can think of no possible reason why the food would be drugged, unless Dr. Vandorff was planning to drug everyone in the asylum, including the stuff. As for your questions, they must wait until we’ve eaten I’m afraid. As you might be able to see, Miss Bayldon is somewhat malnourished after her time in the streets.”

“He wanted to know about my dreams” Joan says suddenly. She looks pale and tired. “Nightmares, actually. About the dog-thing. It flies through angles.”

Blessing pats her arm.

“Please, Joan. Eat first, then we can talk.”

Blessing checks on Greta, who is still asleep, then leads Joan out of the room.

“I’ll serve the food in the dining room downstairs. Rolf is looking after the inmates, then I suppose he’ll come back here.”

They leave the room.

Blessing serves lunch, a nutritious soup with lots of bread and butter, and more tea. The dining room is little used; the chandelier over the long dining table is dusty. Paintings of previous directors of Malbray glare down from the walls.

The diners are joined by Melody, whose hunger gets the better of her caution. Joan begins to look a little better as colour returns to her cheeks. Towards the end of the meal, a groggy Cpt. Crozier appears, attracted by the smell of the food. While he eats, he is filled in on events.

After the food is finished and the dishes cleared away, Blessing begins to prepare for the hypnosis session. Joan waits quietly.

OOC,I want to bring Snapper back into the game before we start to find out what’s been going on, so now that lunch is finished, you can ask some more questions.

[Mr. Handy]

Alexander decides to take his chances with eating the food as well. "Why did Vandorff do what he did?" he asks.

[HoneyDog]

"As I already said, I have no idea" says Blessing apologetically. "Miss Bayldon should be able to shed some light on the matter."

He places a chair in front of Joan, and sits facing her.

"Now, ahh... Annie, this won't hurt a bit. I'm just going to show you something."

Blessing removes his pocket watch and dangles it in front her. Going to work, he has soon put her into a trance.

"Who am I speaking to?" he asks.

"Annie Bayldon. They call me Crazy Annie."

"And why do they call you Crazy Annie?"

"Cos I hurt that fella. 'E tried to mess with me, so I cut 'im."

Blessing turns around to the companions.

"Annie was Joan's mother. She had a history of violent behaviour and was sent to Malbray after an attempted murder. Joan was actually born here. But how and why did she adopt her mother's persona?"

He turns back to Joan.

"Is Joan there too?"

Joan speaks again, in a less confident voice this time.

"Yes, I'm here."

Blessing gasps in triumph.

"Now we can question her!"

OOC,Blessing Psychoanalysis 20: [url=https://orokos.com/roll/874238]Pyschoanalysis[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]9[/b]

[Mr. Handy]

"What did Dr. Vandorff do to you?" asks Alexander.

[HoneyDog]

Joan is silent for a time.

“I… I was having headaches. He gave me something he said would help me – an injection. I… began to see. I saw my mother! She was a patient here. I had had no idea! I saw myself being born!”

[Philulhu]

Vic watched proceedings, fascinated that someone could think they were more than one person. It reminded her of the book she had read the year before - Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde...

[HoneyDog]

Joan shivers, then continues.

“It ended, but, I don’t know, somehow it happened again. Again, I remember him injecting me. And I went back even further. The people were dressed so strange, and after a while I couldn’t understand them.”

[Philulhu]

”In what way were they dressed strangely?” Vic asked Joan. “Can you describe their clothes?”

[HoneyDog]

“So simple, really crudely made. And eventually, they weren’t even like clothes, more like skins and such.”

[Philulhu]

Vic glanced at the others. That sounded like pre-historic times. That couldn’t be possible, could it? That one person could be linked in that way to people who came before them?