The Trial of Angelique

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

The innkeeper, with a sly wink and a chuckle, leads you to the room where Jennings is staying. As he leaves you at the door, he remarks "Ye be a sight prettier and cleaner than most gals a-visiting me rooms of days. First time I ask no fee, but from now on, one-tenth of yer payment, and I'll keep a blind eye turned. Fair's fair."

Once he is out of earshot, you knock on the door. Jennings gestures you in. His clothing is in disarray, and he appears to be in some distress.

Without preamble, he indicates a set of heavy iron chains and manacles near the bed.

"Before the sun goes down, you must lock me securely in these chains. After dawn, you must unlock them. I am unable to do it myself, and there is no one else to whom I feel I may speak. Even if you think me mad, you must do as I say, if there be any hope for me at all!"

Spoiler:

Millicet looks shocked at the innkeeper's words. "I am here on such purpose!"

"I do not understand," says Millicent. "How can this possibly help you? Why would you ask such a thing of me?" She is moved by his distress however, and if he insists will do as he asks.

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

"I know for a fact the spell had no bearing on your testimony," says Victoria. "Reverend Trask, Josette, and I all prayed to break the spell, but it was very powerful. We only succeeded at the start of the third day. That means that your initial testimony that was stricken was given while the spell was in effect, but your final testimony was given when it was not. The spell must have had some other purpose. I know not what it was, but it is lifted now. Clearly the memories of one of us have been altered, but if it were mine, then Josette's would have had to have been altered as well, for she also knows these things did not happen. It is less difficult to alter one person's memories than two."

Spoiler:

"Miss DuPres? The lady whose mother is the only person we definitively know practices preternatural arts, and who has the clearest of all motives to wish an ill fate upon my mistress?"

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

"But that doesn't make any sense," says Victoria. "Why would she try to kill her own daughter with the music box?"

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

"But that doesn't make any sense," says Victoria. "Why would she try to kill her own daughter with the music box?"

Spoiler:

"If that is what truly occurred," says Nathan. "How certain can you be? And even if you are certain, and certain that you can refute all that I have said, you must see how the case against Mrs Collins rests upon suppositions yet weaker than those you dismiss."

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

"I can only trust my memories, just as you trust yours," says Victoria. "One of us is wrong, but I think it's more likely to be the one with whom nobody else's memories agree. I know personally the effect it had on me, and we all saw it had the same effect on Millicent, but a more pronounced one. Josette is just as certain as I am. She would have died if I hadn't intervened. If Angelique is not the witch, then someone else must be, but who else could it be? There's no direct proof it's her, but the evidence logically points to her and none other. I understand what it's like to be falsely suspected. I think Reverend Trask was suspicious of me initially, and it could have been me he accused of being a witch instead of her. There's one other thing. After the incident with the music box, I found a note in my room from the witch telling me to go to Reverend Trask and confess to being a witch, and she said if I did she would use her powers to send me home. I know it was the witch who left me the note, for it magically burned up after I finished reading it, so that I had no proof any longer. She clearly knew the effect the music box would have on me. She also made a threat, saying I would not want her as an enemy. At the time I only suspected Angelique. If it were someone else, why leave me that note?"

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

"Many said the evidence in Suki's death pointed to me, enough that I was facing the gallows in the very dock where Mrs Collins still stands. Yet if there is no direct proof of her guilt, then how can you or any of Christian conscience countenance condemning her? We all know how she begged to be able to use her skills for the sake of her husband, heedless of the fact that it would be counted against her, as indeed the Reverend has attempted to do. Is that the act of a callous witch?

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

"It's true that there's no direct evidence I've seen against Angelique," says Victoria. "All of it is circumstantial, but it does add up. I don't pretend to understand Angelique. She treated me with kindness, giving me one of her lace ribbons when my hair ribbon disappeared from my room - probably stolen by Ben Stokes. Yet I cannot deny what I've seen and experienced. People are complicated. There can be both good and bad about them. The same can be said of Reverend Trask. It was his testimony that got you acquitted, after all. He suspected the murders were the work of a vampire, and he turned out to be right about that. You saw him slay the vampire yourself. I don't know what I can do about the trial anyway, other than pray. I've already done that, and whatever evil force was affecting it has been lifted. I've already given my testimony, which was the truth. You've given your testimony as well. I don't know what further evidence Reverend Trask has, but he hasn't finished presenting his case yet."

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

"It's true that there's no direct evidence I've seen against Angelique," says Victoria. "All of it is circumstantial, but it does add up. I don't pretend to understand Angelique. She treated me with kindness, giving me one of her lace ribbons when my hair ribbon disappeared from my room - probably stolen by Ben Stokes. Yet I cannot deny what I've seen and experienced. People are complicated. There can be both good and bad about them. The same can be said of Reverend Trask. It was his testimony that got you acquitted, after all. He suspected the murders were the work of a vampire, and he turned out to be right about that. You saw him slay the vampire yourself. I don't know what I can do about the trial anyway, other than pray. I've already done that, and whatever evil force was affecting it has been lifted. I've already given my testimony, which was the truth. You've given your testimony as well. I don't know what further evidence Reverend Trask has, but he hasn't finished presenting his case yet."

Spoiler:

"And then we will see what Bradford has to say.

Spoiler:

Nathan has tried to time his comments about Josette and the Countess DuPres so that servants will hear and hopefully gossip, in the hopes that one of more might search Josette's room for something salacious and find the dolls.

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

"Yes, we'll see what he does when it's his turn," says Victoria. "Though I'm not sitting in judgment, I will keep an open mind. I just ask that you do the same."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

Jennings continues, in a pleading tone, "Each night I suffer from fits of madness, horrible to describe.
Unless I am securely bound, I am liable to do great harm to some innocent soul. Indeed, such vile acts have I already performed, as there was none whom I could trust, and I am unable to sufficiently bind myself. Now that I have bared my soul to you, will you not perform this service for me?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

Let's see if a servant finds anything. WIS = 9

VictoriaSilverwolf rolled 1d20:
9

Borderline, so . . .

The servants grow suspicious of the Josette and her family, although they find no direct evidence against her. Rumor having many tongues . . .

Whilst the trial is in recess during the search for the murderous beast, word spreads among the common folk as to all the unnatural evils that have come to Collinsport in recent days.

"'Tis them French folk," might run a typical comment. "Aye, they may have lent a hand 'gainst King George, but for their own schemin', I'd say. Run 'em back where they belong's the thing to do."

The mood of tension increases slowly day by day, with an occasional poorly aimed rock tossed at members of the Dupres family when they dare to remove themselves from the Collins estate.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

It is an easy matter to force entry into the room at the Eagle where Mister Jennings currently resides. He opens the door a crack, then thrusts himself out of his room when he sees the crowd assembled, along with the constable. He is in a state of dishevelment, as if he has had little rest. The purpose for this visit need not even be explained to him, as his shirt is open wide, revealing an entirely unmarked chest. He offers no resistance or demand for explanation, being content to stare dully at the inquisitors.

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

Jennings continues, in a pleading tone, "Each night I suffer from fits of madness, horrible to describe.
Unless I am securely bound, I am liable to do great harm to some innocent soul. Indeed, such vile acts have I already performed, as there was none whom I could trust, and I am unable to sufficiently bind myself. Now that I have bared my soul to you, will you not perform this service for me?

Spoiler:

"I shall," says Millicent. In her innocence she does not connect Mr Jennings's words with the werewolf attacks.

Do the crowd show up between this point and nightfall, while Millicent is still there? If so - knowing that her presene in his room is not proper - she will keep quiet and wait for him to send whoever it is away.

[SunlessNick]

With the trial in recess and the mood of the town hostile, Josette returns to the manor. "I wish this trial were over, whether for guilt or innocence," she confesses to Victoria, still shaking from a thrown rock coming close to her.

[Mr. Handy]

"He is not the werewolf," pronounces Reverend Trask. "That leaves two possibilities. Joshua Collins is the only man who has refused to be inspected. Either he is the werewolf, or more likely, it is not someone from here. Since I know him, I shall speak to him privately and ask if he will submit to a private inspection by me. If we can eliminate him from suspicion, then at least we shall know it is not any of us."

[Mr. Handy]

"I know how you feel," says Victoria. She tells her about the conversation she had with Nathan Forbes. "He genuinely believes the things he testified about us are true. I think the more likely explanation is that he was bewitched to alter his memories, and if that's the case, then Angelique must have done it. If someone else were the witch, why would she try to help Angelique? The other possibility is that both of us have been bewitched to change our memories instead, but I doubt that. It's more likely that one person is wrong than two. This is why there's the Biblical principle that all things are established by two or three witnesses."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

"I shall," says Millicent. In her innocence she does not connect Mr Jennings's words with the werewolf attacks.

Do the crowd show up between this point and nightfall, while Millicent is still there? If so - knowing that her presene in his room is not proper - she will keep quiet and wait for him to send whoever it is away.

Spoiler:

We shall assume that the unfriendly visit occurs at some time during the middle of the day, when you are not present. Just after dawn each day, as you release Jennings from his bonds, he expresses great gratitude, and soon thereafter collapses into restless slumber. Each evening, just before sunset, you arrive to bind him again, as he insists. One wonders how long this must continue, as eventually it must draw unwanted attention.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"He is not the werewolf," pronounces Reverend Trask. "That leaves two possibilities. Joshua Collins is the only man who has refused to be inspected. Either he is the werewolf, or more likely, it is not someone from here. Since I know him, I shall speak to him privately and ask if he will submit to a private inspection by me. If we can eliminate him from suspicion, then at least we shall know it is not any of us."

Spoiler:

Let's see if you can persuade the man. Basic CHA of 9, with penalty for things like creepy presence, so 6, especially with Joshua, given his attitude.

VictoriaSilverwolf rolled 1d20:
15

Joshua dismisses the possibility of submitting to such an examination forcefully.

"Have a judge produce a writ commanding such a degrading performance, or remain silent on the subject."

Whilst this line of inquiry is pursued, it becomes evident that there has not been another attack by the beast in a few days.

As prosecutor, Reverend Trask is kept informed by the court as to those few visitors the prisoner receives, although what conversation passes between them remains confidential. It is a matter of interest that the newly arrived fellow surnamed Jennings, who was so recently subjected to examination, is among these, although not known to be related to or acquainted with the prisoner otherwise.

[SunlessNick]

"A frightful thing that she could exert such influence even from her prison cell."

[SunlessNick]

Spoiler:

Millicent will arrive and depart from the tavern with her head held high, allowing the proprietor's earlier insinuations no hold on her dignity. Should he pester her her for his "share," she will inform him that there are none such. "As I told you, that is not the purpose of my coming here."