The Countess Marburg arrives in Salem bearing gifts for the citizenry and advice for Mary. As she plans her next move, her son Sebastian remains preoccupied by less puritanical matters. While Anne Hale reflects both guiltily and gleefully on her recent activities in using witchcraft to sway Cotton's heart, Cotton Mather-fueled by magic, alcohol, or perhaps by true emotion-comes to blows with Hathorne in the way he spoke about Anne. The ensuing battle leads to an outcome that hindered Mary's plans. John Alden pursues his deadly mission and-finding himself seriously weakened by his recent and repeated uses of unfamiliar magic-seeks respite in a familiar place. Meanwhile, Cotton makes a measured confession, two of Salem's most damaged residents continue to find solace in each other, Mercy is visited by Countess Marburg who takes her in, and Mary seeks out help from an unexpected source: Increase Mather.
[PREVIOUSLY_ON] Mercy: Tonight, I shall finish with Isaac. Isaac: She'll kill you if she catches you. This way. Anne: Hathorne came to me today. He demanded I marry him, and if I refuse, he's all but promised to have me examined for witchcraft. Mary: Convince Cotton Mather to marry you. You must take a piece of him and leave a piece of you and offer up something that you love. Petrus: A witch dagger to kill, a moonstone to see, and a medicine bag to be unseen. Von Marburg: Tell the captain to lift anchor, and once he has made his way out of Boston Harbor, I will send a stiff wind to speed our way to Salem. Sebastian: And to Mary Sibley. But I want to taste her. Tituba: Did you never wonder what happened to the witches of the other old lands... what happened to them? Not witch hunters, but her. Mary: I alone will open the gate for our dark lord. 'Tis my accomplishment and none of your own. Von Marburg: Your accomplishment is not only my concern, but my destiny. In your house, I have left a token. Mary: [Breathing heavily] Ugh! [Breathing heavily] Oh! Get the candle! [Grunts] [Breathing heavily] The toad is gone. Tituba: We are losing him, Mary! Mary: Find the toad! Come on, come on. Find the toad! [Toad croaking] George, come on. George. Come on. [Breathing heavily] [Toad screeches] [Breathing heavily] Ash the symbol. [Flames roar] Tituba: [Blows] Mary: [Breathing heavily] Tituba and Mary: Splinter of life, take haste, take hold. Quicken the breath to awaken the soul. [Flames roar] Splinter of life, take haste, take hold. Quicken the breath to awaken the soul. Splinter of life, take haste, take hold. Quicken the breath to awaken the soul. Splinter of life, take haste, take hold. Quicken the breath to awaken the soul. Mary: Splinter of life, take haste, take hold. Tituba and Mary: Quicken the breath to awaken the soul. George: [Retching] Mary: [Gasps] Come on. Come on, George. Come on, come on. Come on. Come on, George! Tituba: Yes, yes! Mary: Come on! Come on, I need you! Yes, come on, George! I need you! Come on! No! No! I need you. Come on. Come on, George! Come on! Come on! Damn it! Tituba: Marburg's spell is too strong. Mary: No! No! He is mine, not hers! [Breathing heavily] Okay. [Gasps] [Moans] [Moaning] George: [Gasping] Mary: You can't leave me, George. [Liquid bubbling] [Sobbing] Please don't leave me! Please! George! [Sobs] George! George, no! No! Come back, George! Tituba: Mary! Mary: I need you, please! Tituba: Mary! Mary: No! No! No! [Sobbing] No. Tituba: He's lost. Mary: [Sobbing] Then all is lost. ["Cupid Carries a Gun" plays] ♪ pound me the witch drums ♪ ♪ witch drums ♪ ♪ pound me the witch drums ♪ ♪ pound me the witch drums ♪ ♪ the witch drums ♪ ♪ better pray for hell ♪ ♪ not hallelujah ♪ [Indistinct conversations in distance] [dogs barking in distance] [Thunder rumbling] [Horse neighs] [Speaking indistinctly] John: [Breathing heavily] [Indistinct voices echoing] [Skin crackling] Von Marburg: You had but one task, and that is to watch my back. And yet you allowed a woodland witch to cross our waters and slip past you on our ship. Sebastian: No ordinary woodland witch. Von Marburg: No. Mary Sibley is, indeed, something more. All more reason for vigilance. Sebastian: I promise I will never let my eyes stray from her again. Sebastian: You must admit, stepping foot onto our bow, settling blaze to our ship... the minx is brazen. Come, Mother. [Glasses clink] Make peace and celebrate. The war is won in a single blow. Von Marburg: How like a man to mistake the battle for a war. True war is only won when the enemy is dead. Even so... A dead bee may yet sting. Hmm. Some will be lulled... And some will be killed. But some will have all they wish fulfilled. [Blows] Oh. One dear little bee lost from the hive. How useful. [Men laughing] [Indistinct conversations] Hathorne: Raise your glasses, gentlemen. The ship I've chartered to the Carolinas arrives in two days. To the conquest of new lands in the days to come, and tonight, to the tightest tidbit of twat in all of Salem... Anne Hale! [Laughter] Soon to be Anne... hunh-hunh-hunh... hawthorne! [Laughter] Young Anne. As we all set out into virgin territory, so shall I. [Chuckles] Cotton: How dare you speak so of a lady... any lady, let alone one you claim to love. Hathorne: [Laughs] Love? Who said anything about love? I talk of marriage, sir, and the property what comes with it. Cotton: Property? Is she but a house or a cask of wine? Hathorne: Indeed, like all women, she is. And I will shatter her doors, uncork her casks, and drink my fill. Cotton: [Breathes deeply] Hathorne: Oh! [Indistinct shouting] [Insects chirping] Anne: [Thinking] I did it... slew my Little Brown Jenkins, trod the left hand path, and spelled a man to force his love. Did it even work? [Indistinct shouting in distance] [Shouting continues] Tituba: Hathorne will kill him any second now. Mary: No, when two dogs fight, it isn't always the biggest or most experienced who triumphs, but the hungriest. Cotton is hungry like he's never been hungry before. [Indistinct shouting continues] [Crowd groans] Man: Up! Up! Up! [Indistinct shouting continues] Tituba: Anne spelled him. Mary: And if Anne's spell inspires Cotton to finish him, then all of Hathorne's threats to Salem and to me vanish. I could use one less enemy. Hathorne: Hyah! Cotton: Hyah! [Indistinct shouting] Hyah! [Grunting] Hyah! Mary: Plunge it deep, Cotton. Cotton: Aah! Anne: You're no killer. Mary: Do it. Cotton: Hyah! [Breathing heavily] Aaaah! Mary: The town magistrate and a world-renowned puritan divine. What a disgrace! Understand, good people, that nobody is above the law. Drag them to the jail. A night of discomfort and shame will do them both some good. Hathorne: Mrs. Sibley... Mary: Don't you have homes to go to?! John: [Breathing heavily] [Breathing heavily] [Door creaking] [Flies buzzing] Petrus: So, it's true. Killers do always return to the scene of their crime. [indistinct conversations] Man: Royal flags and colors. Man #2: Can you see them? [Indistinct conversations] Braun: [Germanic accent] People of Salem, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting our Countess Palatine Ingrid Von Marburg and her son, the Baron Sebastian Von Marburg. [Indistinct conversations] Woman: They're lovely. [Indistinct conversations] Von Marburg: Oh, Salem... We have heard of your terrible plight. And we see now with our own eyes the neglect that has been shown you. We took sail as hastily as we could to show solidarity and to bring an abundance of supplies. [Cheers and applause] Mary: Such a display of wealth and opulence. How could we ever repay you? Von Marburg: The look of open affection and gratitude in your face is repayment enough. [Smooching] The renowned Mary Sibley. Sebastian: An honor... and, even more, a pleasure. Von Marburg: We were so very sorry to hear about Mr. Sibley. His ongoing illness must be a strain on you, my dear, and indeed, on all of Salem. Mary: Thank you. But he is quite hardy. Von Marburg: Good. He won't mind, then, if I make away with you to be my guide through these foreign alleyways, for I should know my new home like a bee knows its hive. [Indistinct conversations] [Geese squawking] Looking into the faces of all those about to die at your hand, how does it feel? [Cheers and applause] Mary: I take no pleasure in it. Von Marburg: No, I see that. Makes me worry about you and for you. For what is the point of so much work if it affords no pleasure? [Applause] Mary: I try to focus on the future... And what will be gained by their sacrifice. Von Marburg: Oh, my dear. What do you think that world will be like? Oh, thank you. Mary: A new breath of freedom... utopia. Von Marburg: Do you even know what that word means? Mary: An ideal world. Von Marburg: It means "no place." Do not be blinded by the light of your dreams, Mary Sibley, for these are not the last but merely the first of the sacrifices it will take to achieve our new world. There are other cities to conquer, other empires to fell. And all the while, we must wear our mask of respectability. Mary: Then why have you destroyed my mask and killed George? Von Marburg: To show you who are your true and only friends, to eliminate your false confidence, and to prove that those elders of yours hiding in the woods have less hold over you than I. But have no fear. Your secret about George is safe with me, as long as we are allies. Isn't it exciting? Either your life is about to truly start by my side, or it may be over in an instant... your choice. [Applause continues] Mary: I choose life. There will be time enough for death. Besides, I would not want to be robbed of the chance to learn from such a wise mentor. Von Marburg: Excellent. Then your first lesson is simple... practice the art of losing gracefully. [Chuckles] [Cheers and applause] Cotton: [Moans] [Breathing heavily] Anne: [Breathing heavily] [Dog barking] [Horse neighs] Cotton: [Moans] [Indistinct conversations in distance] [Breathing heavily] Hathorne: Now we see the world-famous fool, Cotton Mather... Can no more hold his drink than he can his tongue. Increase always said you were an utter failure. How right he was. That's why you're not fit to take a girl like Anne Hale. Cotton: You think she would want a murderer? Hathorne: No, a man. Cotton: [Grunting] Hathorne: One who takes what he wants, rather than pleading for it. By god, I swear, Mather, if it weren't for your beard, you'd be a woman. Cotton: What an infinite dribble of nonsense falls from your flaccid lips! Hathorne: Puking, grey-coated gnat. Cotton: And you? All bowels and no brains. Hathorne: Craven scurvied pignut. Cotton: Canker blossom! [Slow clapping] Von Marburg: Bravo. Rome itself never had two such distinguished gladiators. No need for mea culpas. In my experience, a little contest of manhood moves the blood and makes for a virile mind and body. Hathorne: And may I introduce myself? I am the magistrate. Von Marburg: Well, my good man, you seem to have found yourself on the wrong side of these bars. [Lock rattles] Hathorne: Oh, indeed. [Chuckling] Indeed, Countess. Uh. Wendell Hathorne. I... I'm most pleased to make your acquaintance. Von Marburg: Wendell Hathorne. The same Wendell Hathorne whose name is spoken of in the most respected halls in Boston? Even in London, in the court of King William and his wife, Mary. Hathorne: I... I do not know that I... Von Marburg: But I will shield the king's court from your drunken revelry... And the scandalous rumors that you intend to uproot the good people of Salem and plant them in a less holy land, the Carolinas, seeing as the humble man I see before me cannot be capable of such treason. Hathorne: I... I am most indebted to you, Countess. Von Marburg: Hello. You are free to go. I have paid the fines for your public drunkenness and mayhem. Cotton: But Mrs. Sibley... Von Marburg: And I are of one mind. And as for your excesses, let our motto be, "moderation in all things... including moderation." [SCENE_BREAK] Anne: [Thinking] I still can't quite believe it. I did it, and it well and truly worked. Cotton was a new man, full of a lion's strength. And for me... I must admit, to see a man fight and bleed for my very honor... a more thrilling sight I have never known. [Creature squeaking] Brown Jenkins? [Brown Jenkins squeaking] It cannot be. I... squeezed the very lifeblood from your body. And yet, here you are... Alive... again. [Clicking tongue] [Thinking] Mary Sibley told me, as a witch, my familiar would find me. Now I know. Brown Jenkins is no mouse. He is my familiar. And it appears it is not only cats that have nine lives. [Squeaking continues] May the lord have mercy on my soul... if I still have one. [Indistinct conversations] Isaac: Can't stay here for much longer. Dollie: If we leave, she'll find us. You don't know mercy. She hates like others love... beyond all reason. Isaac: Then we will go far from here. We can start in a new world with new names... a chance for us to have something of our own. I remember Magistrate Hale talking of the West Indies... warm waters and soft beaches everywhere you turn. Dollie: No mercy or pox. Isaac: [Chuckles] Dollie: Oh, Isaac... What a sweet dream. Isaac: One that we don't have to wait for sleep to see true. Dollie, I've got means. Dollie: Your money? I heard them talk about it in the clinic. Where did you get it? Isaac: I earned it. It's mine. It's too dangerous to go by daylight. We'll have to wait until nightfall. Dollie: No, save your strength. You enter that place in your state, they'll surely put you back in a bed, and you'll be lying prey for mercy again. I will go. Isaac: No. Dollie: Shh. [Door creaking] Sebastian: Now, this is awkward... you being here with your ex... and your next. Mary: Leave. Sebastian: You are even more beautiful when you're angry. I knew you would be. Mary: You do not know me. Sebastian: I do know you, Mary. After all, I have tasted you on my mother's lips. [Breathes deeply] I know, for instance, that no man who has ever loved you has ever served you. Every man in your life has served but himself. George Sibley took what he wanted until you could bear no more and... and made him but a toad bone man. John Alden took what he wanted and left, returning only to take yet again. No man... not one has ever asked what it was you wanted, what you needed. You simply have no idea what it will feel like to have a man as resourceful and determined as me dedicate himself entirely to your every need, your every desire. I am no fool. I know you do not love me now. But you will... Sooner than you think. Let me begin by ridding you of your most vexatious problem. Mary: I was quite capable of dispensing of George in my own manner. Sebastian: Perhaps. But I prefer to have George in my pocket, not yours. And I promise, his corpulent carcass will remain hidden... So long as you behave yourself. Mary: What kind of man woos with blackmail? Sebastian: It is not the beginning of love that matters... it's love's end. And trust me, I know how our story ends. It ends like this... "and they lived happily ever after"... Madam. [Water splashing] Petrus: You never hesitated to kill before. Indeed, you slit my throat like you were opening a letter. John: That's true. Got no end of blood on my hands. Petrus: Yet Mary Sibley, the very queen of the Essex witches, stood mere inches from your blade, and you did nothing. John: It wasn't time. Petrus: Even you don't believe that. You just couldn't do it, because you're still in love with her. [Dishes rattling] John: Petrus... Just leave me be. Petrus: Wouldn't be the first nor the last time a man had to kill the thing he loved. John: I know what I have to do. Petrus: Then do it. John: Shut up. Petrus: What are you waiting for? Time's running out. You're nearly as dead as I am. John: I said, shut up! Mercy: [Gasps] [Sobbing] Von Marburg: Mirror, mirror, on the wall... Mercy: [Sniffles] Von Marburg: ... Who is the most betrayed by all? Mercy: [Hoarsely] Who are you? Von Marburg: Call me... your fairy godmother. Here to grant your wishes. Mercy: Leave me be. I'm no child anymore... to be beguiled by fairy stories. And I'm all out of wishes. Von Marburg: Come, we're all children inside, and we all have wishes. You, my dear, have two. You hide in here, and you wish upon the moon itself to give Mary Sibley even half the pain she's given you. Mercy: [Sniffles] Von Marburg: I can help you... deliver her a thousandfold more pain. And you wish upon the stars... To be as unmarked as you once were. I will give you more. Such beauty as launched a thousand ships will be yours. Mercy: Why? What have you to gain from granting my wishes? Von Marburg: It is no mystery. I, too, would see Mary Sibley curled into a ball of pain. Mercy: [Sniffles] Von Marburg: And I have much use... oh, much loving use... for a beauty such as will be yours. Mercy: [Sighs] I tell you, madam, after a lifetime of betrayal and torture... I've not a drop of trust left in me. I couldn't believe you if I tried. Von Marburg: But I do not ask you to trust. [Knife falls] There, now. Mercy: [Grunting] Von Marburg: Oh. Come and see. Mary: I called you here to discuss a dark matter we must talk about increase. Cotton: I shall never cleanse my hands of his blood. Mary: No, we mustn't let his final madness be his lasting legacy. His reputation as the greatest witch killer of our time rests upon his past success, does it not? Cotton: My father was the very scourge of witches in the old country... not only in Old Essex, but also in Germany. There, he stopped this tribe of germanic witches, led by this ancient pagan siren that he sent back to hell. He often told me that was his... Proudest moment. Mary: And your father trained you through childhood to follow in his footsteps. Cotton: [Sighs] Mary: Sent you in his place to lead the war against the witches here in Salem. In this as in so much else, I have failed... miserably. Mary: No, you did not fail. It is not over. Search your memory, Cotton. Think hard. Surely, your father told you something about his great victory... some hint or clue as to exactly how he sent this siren back to hell. Perhaps it will help us defeat the witches here and now in Salem. Cotton: Would that he had. I'm afraid all his secrets died with him. Mary: If only we could learn of your father's sweet victory from his own lips. [Indistinct conversations] Woman: Worth it, sir. Come inside. Isaac: It's been hours! I feared that I'd never see your face again. Dollie: I found your money. We must leave this place at once. Isaac: What? Dollie: Come on. Isaac: What happened? Are you hurt? Dollie: I am most lucky to be alive. Isaac: No, I am lucky you are alive. It is the good news I could have hoped for. Dollie: But I have better news. I secured us passage out of Salem by boat. Isaac: Truly? How? Dollie: A ship leaves tonight. And though it took nearly half of your gold, the captain agreed to let us stow away in the belly of his ship. New Providence, a Bahamian isle, just as you wished... warmth, exotic peoples, no puritans. Isaac: Or witches. Dollie: This is the captain that's going to shepherd us to freedom. [Sighs] Braun: You must hurry. The ship is ready to sail. [Knock on door] Anne: [Sighs] [Door creaks] Cotton! The hour is late. Cotton: I hope my presence is a welcome one, even after curfew. Anne: Yes, but what brings you on such urgent business? Cotton: I... I... I was going to return this... Anne: Oh, thank you. Cotton: ... Um, as an excuse. But the truth is that I come for a much greater reason... a renewed vigor for life... a life that I want to share with someone who evokes the vitality that I have come to know well in recent days. Anne: Would it not be prudent to allow such feelings to settle, to fully blossom, before, uh, asserting such declarations so freely? Cotton: I have raised fist against another man out of the robust feelings I have. I have... I have spent a night in the dank jail. Anne: I... I fear it is all my fault. Cotton: There is no fault to be had. I've never felt so alive as I do right now. I mean, why... why delay saying what I know in my heart? Anne: I must ask if you have enjoyed an excess of spirits again. Cotton: No. If I am drunk, it's on a much rarer spirit... you. All my waking hours and all my dreaming nights are haunted by one face, one voice, one... [Sniffs] scent. Ah, for all my arsenal of words, my tongue is tied. Um, what I am saying is... I... I love you. Anne: [Sighs] Cotton: [Chuckles] I didn't have a name for it. But now I do... love. Its name is... forever inseparable from yours. No, no, no, no. This is too much, too soon. Um... Sorry. Um. Anne: No. Cotton: No, no, no. For now, just know... that I love you. I shan't rest till you are safe. And, um, the only safe place for you is here... [Sighs] In my heart. [Sighs] Good night. [Whispers indistinctly] Anne: Good night. [Door closes] [Sighs] [Laughs] [Brown Jenkins squeaking] [Footsteps approaching] Isaac: Dollie... You're sure you want to say goodbye to everything that you've known? Dollie: There's nothing left here for me but you. And wherever we go now... we go together. [Sighs] Isaac: Then nothing can stop us from leaving this hell. Dollie: [Sighs] Braun: Ergreift sie! Isaac: What? Dollie: [Screaming] Isaac: Oh! Dollie! Dollie: Help! Help! [Indistinct conversations in distance] [Floorboards creaking] [Brown Jenkins squeaking] John: [Gasping] Tituba: Petrus' eyes showed me all, witch killer. You will kill no witches tonight. John: [Gasping] [Footsteps approaching] Mercy: [Breathing heavily] Von Marburg: Come, now. Mercy: You have my Dollie. What are you doing? Von Marburg: Taking away your shame and giving you back your glory. Do you not think that this flesh has seen a lifetime of wounds and scars and the ravages of time? And yet, behold... It retains its youth. And so, too, will yours. Whatever torments have marred your flesh... marred even your soul... will be washed away. Dollie: [Sobs] Mercy, please help me. Mercy: She is mine, not yours. Von Marburg: Wait until you see what I can make her do for you. Dollie: No, Mercy, don't listen to her. Remember me... who I am? Who you were? [Breathing quickly] We've been the best of friends since were mere babes just crawling in the grass. Mercy: Since we were babes? Dollie: [Crying] Mercy: I remember differently. You were too good for me, always, until you saw my dark gift... the power to send people to death with just the point of my finger. And you took Isaac. You betrayed me. Dollie: No. [Sobs] Mercy, please. [Moaning] [Latches clicking] Mercy: What are you doing? Dollie: [Breathing heavily] Von Marburg: Trust me. Dollie: [Whimpering] Von Marburg: Here. [Metal creaks] Yes. Dollie: [Crying] Von Marburg: Come. Mercy: [Breathing heavily] [Liquid splashing] [Gasps] [Metal creaks] Dollie: [Gasping] [Groaning] [Sobbing] Mary: [Breathing heavily] I never thought I'd say these words... But I need you... [Bones crack] ... increase Mather.
III Met By Moonlight