1627: All Witches Must Die (CLOSED: BRIGHTWELL)

"If I catch you doing that again, the headsman will get you!"
Barbara turned her back to her young brother, who had suddenly gone very quiet at the mention of the executioner. Having just turned nineteen, she was just as much a person of authority to him as her mother - and it was time that he started treating her like that! Fortunately, she had happened upon the trick with the headsman - what child wasn't afraid of the sinister, tall man in his menacing hood?

Smiling, she left him standing there and went to the river bank with her basket of laundry. It was early in spring, but the sun was already showing its full strength, making the weather ideal for drying and bleaching the white laundry on the meadows. Even from afar, she could see some other town girls there, all carrying their laundry baskets and ready to go to work. After some words of greeting towards the group, she found her best friends, Anna and Maria. With them here, the tedious work ahead of them would be much more bearable. Even on the way to the river, the three young women started exchanging gossip, especially about the mayor's fat daughter. They liked to make fun of her behind her back - pretty much all the town girls did. She had a nasty temper, but she had a good dowry. Now, the rumor went, an out-of-town gentleman, noble but down on his luck, was courting her in the hopes of adding some wealth to his title. Her father, the mayor, knowing his daughter's sour personality, and eager to finally marry her off (no one from Würzburg itself had yet proved tough - or crazy - enough to marry her), was trying to keep her bad side hidden from the man as much as possible. "That poor man, tricked into marrying the devil himself- or at least his cow", Anna laughed. Mary, the most pious of the three, gave her friend an angry look at mentioning the Unholy One. She did not like idle talk of the devil: "He is always there, waiting for you to slip up!", she would admonish them in her more serious moments. Now was not such a moment, though, and Anna barely noticed the glare.

As they were washing the clothes, Barbara could not help but notice the young men on the road next to the river bank walking past suspiciously slowly. "Gobel Babelin, the prettiest girl in town", that was what she was called by these youths. She knew it, but knew better than to let it go to her head. Without doubt, she had a tall, slender figure, long blond hair and was gifted with quite a nice face - but she left the praising of her looks to the young men. None of them had yet worked up the courage to court the prettiest girl in town, even though she knew they wanted to. For sure, there were two or three of these boys she was hoping would find courage soon - Alfred, the handsome coppersmith's son, for example, or Hans the nailmaker, who never failed to make her laugh.

Meanwhile, the girls' conversation had drifted over to the second topic which was the talk of the town: A troupe of actors had been spotted by Barbara's eagle-eyed friends making their way through the city gate. They were exotic-looking people, much more dark-skinned than the people here, and one was "a real moor, black as the devil, I was so scared to even look at him!", or so Anna insisted. None of their fathers was very fond of their daughters going to see one of the wild, ribald comedies these foreign travellers liked to perform, and the three girls knew that. So, they agreed, they would all just happen to go to the market that evening. If they saw any actors telling dirty jokes and making faces, they would of course avert their eyes and close their ears, as expected of good girls. Of course.

Laughing about their little plan for adventure, the young women continued washing the clothes. Their baskets were almost empty; their conversation had made light work of all of it. "Barbara, is it true that your grandmother ran away to the woods? I heard she's a witch now!", came Anna's taunting voice. "Oh yes! She must have gone mad from you constantly running your mouth.", Barbara replied with a grin. If there was a way to shut that girl up, no one had found it yet. How different was Maria compared to this: Shy and religious, she would one day make a good wife. She was not much of a talker, but the girls liked her for being honest and dependable. Not to mention that being friends with "the pious Maria", or even "the virgin Maria", as drunk people who were feeling blasphemous liked to call her, gave them more freedom to do what they wanted without getting into trouble. It was almost as if some of her pious reputation was rubbing off on them, keeping people from judging them too harshly. Most of all, though, the girl was friendly and polite, never failed to help her friends and never spread any nasty gossip about them (this role was filled more than adequately by Anna...)

the three wise men and the hunter

Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince bishop of Würzburg
Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg
William V, Duke of Bavaria

and
Hans Shuenfelt

.............................................................................................................................
Three days earlier.

Duke William stands next to the window looking out side. "Phiipp this not why I turned down the throne. The people need to see that the one true god lives amoung us here in southern Germany!" Sitting at a heavy wooden table picking at some meat is Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg. "My lord you know the Catholics here love you and the work you have done for the mother Church."

Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince bishop of Würzburg looks up. "This is true William. I have but two problems in Würzburg. The Protestants and those bedamning witches."
The Duke turns and looks at the Prince bishop. "Witches, I have not heard of witches in Würzburg. "
Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg looks at the Prince bishop with annoyance. "Yes there have been some reports of witchcraft in that general area. I have sent spies there, but the reports come back as simple talk of the towns people."

The duke turns from the window and looks at von Ehrenberg "Simple talk of the towns people. You say, there is no simple talk when they speak of the devil. It is a violation af law, to praise the devil, it is a violation to consort with the devil."

Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg could see this was not going here he wanted the conversation to go. He has other thiungs that weighted heavily on his mind other then witches in Würzburg. " My lord this is a simple matter of sending a witch hunter to Würzburg and rooting these witches out. Have some quick trials and then burn them. "

The Prince bishop looks up."And I know just the man for the job, Hans Shuenfelt."
Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg sees this a positive turn toward ending the witch talk. "Yes he is an outstanding man I have heard of him. He is very talented at hunting witches!"

ONE DAY earlier,

Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince bishop of Würzburg sits at the table in his great hall. "Look Hans the Duke himself is interested in the out come of these trials. I want to send him a good report. Go down to the town and listen for talk amoung the town folk of the devil. Find these devil worshipers and flush them out! Leave no stone unturned. The girls meet at the river to launder their washing. I advise going there. The market is another fine place to seek out these devil worshipers."

Hans stands and looks at the Prince bishop. "This will not make me popular with the town folk. I will have to look for woman elsewhere. I will need funds for the trials. I will have to pay judges and exicutioners. "

"Like I said the Duke is interested in the out come. The money will be there when the time comes. You find the witches, I will take care of the rest. Oh and Hans, if you find one you like take your time with her. Consider her as your reward in part. There are many younge woman in Würzburg that would rather spread their legs then burn as a witch."

Hans gives the Prince bishop a crooked smile. "I will do my duty, Prince bishop."
" Oh Hans be sure to wear my colors so the people will know you are acting under my good graces."
"Yes Prince bishop, I wear wear your black and yellow standard under my cloak."

That very day:

As the day continues Hans makes his way around the town. In the market place a man speaks of the devil. And is taken to the castle prison. On a side street two woman shout at each other over a delivery bill. Each acure the other of whitchcraft. They are sent to the castle prison. As the day grows on Hans makes his way down to the river and hears a woman speak of the devil and not ask the lord for protectoin. She then says she would like to go meet a black devil. "
Hans is shocked to hear the woman wanting to laydown with a "Black devil' that is the worst kind he thinks. He moves closer to the woman "You, the one they call Gobel Babelin, you, you will come with me!"

Hans opens his cloak and shows her the colors of the Prince bishop. "I arrest you in the name of the one true god, the mother church, and the Prince bishop of Würzburg!."

Hans reaches down and puts a strong hand on the girls arm. " I will make you a prisoner of special interest, Gobel Babelin. She who would lay down with black devils. We will see who you spreads your legs for, my dear!"

When Barbara first heard the words, they did not even properly register in her confused brain. What? Witchcraft? What did that even mean? She knew of it by rumors - barely - but the term was so alien to her it caught her off-guard. Yet the bishop's man seemed entirely serious about this. Bewildered and frightened, she decided to react to the only part of his speech she did understand - the lewd remark at the end: "A...arrested? Arrest me, if you must...I am completely innocent...do not talk to a respectable woman like this, though, I ask you. God sees everything!"

She just hoped he would be cowed by the invocation of the Lord. Witchcraft? Surely this was some kind of misunderstanding. Surely, if she just came with him, the mistake would soon be corrected. She was not a witch, as surely as the bishop was not a moor. Any reasonable man would see that she was just an ordinary girl. For now, she would just have to come with the official, answer the questions truthfully and be released soon.

Her friends were as shocked by the development as she was, especially Maria, who kept making cross signs and looking at the bishop's man imploringly. Anna just stood there dumbfounded, unsure how to react. She gave them what she hoped was a reassuring smile and said: "Do not worry. It is probably just some kind of mishap. I will get out of there as soon as we have cleared up whatever it is." Actually, she was far more concerned than she allowed herself to show - dark rumors of torture and dungeons abounded about the bishop's palace. Yet surely they would not do that to an innocent? Would they?

She turned to the man at arms again. "I will come with you. I do not fear the trial. I am completely innocent."

Hans Shuenfelt/Jon Werner-Jailer

Hans led the woman away from the river. "I will come with you. I do not fear the trial. I am completely innocent." she states.

"We shall see. I will speak to the jailer. Then the Prince bishop. He will decide who your Judges will be. Witch trial require three judges. A senior Justice and two lower level judges."
As he aprouched the road leading to the castle he passes tho guards. "My name is Hans Shuenfelt I am the under sheriff of Munchen. I am the witch hunter for Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince bishop of Würzburg. There are two woman down by the river a Anna and Maria. They are to be watched. They will be called as wittnesses at this woman's trial." Hans opens his cloak and displays the Prince bishop colors.

The gaurd snap to attention" Yes, of course under sheriff Shuenfelt we will watch the woman and follow where they go."

Hans looks back at the river then back at the guards. "The small one Maria I think is an innocent. But the other Anna talks a lot. She may prove interesting.

" Yes under sheriff it will be done. " Stated the more intellegent looking of the two.

Hans leads the woman up the roadway to the castle. As he reaches the main gate the Captain of the guard greets him. "Greetings Hans you have picked up a pretty one this time. Witch craft or sorcery?" he asks.

Hans looks past the Captain. Then back at the woman. "She desires to have carnal knowledge with the devil. A black devil at that!"

The Captain is taken back and looks at the woman. "So you wish to be had by the horned beast master. A black one is it. Your trial will be most interesting. I will have to make sure I am in attendance for that."
"Is Jon still on duty? Hans askes.
The Captain smiles. "Yes, and he clubbed the old man just a few hours ago. So he is in a foul mood. The preist took his cofession on the spot. "
Hans thanks the guard Captain and moves through the outer court yard toward the dungon door. Two skinny guards are sitting next to the door. They raise slowly as Hans gets closer.

"I have business with the Jailer, Jon Werner." states with authority.
"And who would you be?" askes the one with a fairly clean frock.
"I am Hans Shuenfelt the under sheriff of Munchen. " He open his cloak and shows the colors of the Prince bishop.
The two guards quickly change their atittudes. "Yes under sheriff, Jon is in prayer right now. His priest is with him. He clubbed a man earlier and is working on absolving his sin."

Hans looks thoughtfull. then motions the guard to open the heavy wooden door. Soon he is in a stone stairway lit by torches. He desends the stairway and reaches a door with a small barred window. Inside he hears Jon speaking.
"OH forgive me lord for my sin." A thinner vioce calls out "Louder god can not hear you.
"OH FORGIVE ME OH LORD..."
Hans bangs on the door. "Jon its Hans I have a prisoner for you."
After a minute a large man in brown arrives followed by a preist dressed in gold and white. "What is the charge ? The preist askes.

"The desire to consort with the devil!" Hans replies. Joh unlocks the door and opens it. Hans leads her in. The preist looks the woman over carefully. "I think this one will need to be searched quite well."

Jon nods "I quite agree with the good father she may be hiding marks of the devil on her body." The priest grabs her arm and leads her away. Jon smiles at Hans. "We will check her out. Give her the full attention she deserves. We will notify the bishop when we are done."

Hans pulls on Joh's arm "If she is a virgin. Make sure she stays that way. The Prince bishop may wish to inspect her personally and it may affect her trial. "

The jailer smiles. "Don't worry Hans neither the father or I will not take what is not ours. Rest asured."

Hans turns and exits the door. "I'm going up stairs to report to the Prince bishop now. Please be quick and no marks on her...no marks Jon!"

She felt strangely relaxed as she followed the bishop's man back to the palace. She was arrested, but she was not bound - she was following him of her own free will, and the accusation was so absurd that it would probably be dropped soon.

"So you wish to be had by the horned beast master. A black one is it. Your trial will be most interesting. I will have to make sure I am in attendance for that."

The words made her blush, and brought a furious look to her face. How dare they? And what were they talking about? The offense was so great she could not help but talk back to the captain, her desire to sort this all out peacefully overridden by the man's foul words: "I do not wish that! How can you even say that? I am a respectable woman, and you throw such things at me! You should be ashamed!"

A heavy wooden door and a torch-lit stairway led them deep below the earth. How deep she could not tell - too busy was her head with dealing with her new situation. Where were they going? Why were they taking her to the dungeon, like a common criminal? She wanted to present her case, convince them they had arrested the wrong person. She had a good reputation and never done anything wrong. Everyone who was asked would attest to that. They had said they wanted Anna and Maria as witnesses; where were they? And where was she? She could hardly imagine a court holding session so deep below the earth, in the dungeon. At first she had thought they were going to imprison her down there while she awaited trial. Bad enough, but she would endure it. Then she heard the man behind the door. She heard them talk about "witches' mark" and "giving her their full attention"...

And what did they mean by "no marks"? Were they... were they going to torture her? The sudden realization made her almost sink to her knees. Torture? Without trial, without even asking her to defend herself? No, it could not be. But why else were they down here with the man who had just "clubbed someone to death"? A new round of confusion overcame her, but she fought it back long enough to make a desperate plea, the fear adding a quaver to her voice which made it sound even more pitiful: "Please...do not do this to an innocent girl. Just let me appear before a judge, and it will be obvious I never did anything wrong. I do not ask much... just... just let me plead my case. I know you are men of justice, and all I ask for is that you do not do this to an innocent. Would your conscience allow it?"

She had even started to cry involuntarily a little, two large tears running down her cheeks. Her entire demeanor - the unsure voice, the cowering, the large, fearful eyes - would have melted a heart of stone. Yet would it melt theirs? These men talked so casually about unspeakable things, things she did not even dare think about. They made dark allusions to "giving her their full attention", and she could only imagine too well what they meant by this. Were these men - or beasts? Would they be moved? Or would their prey's squirming only make these wolves hungrier?

Jon Werner-Jailer/ Father Juan Monya

Father Montya leads the woman to a back cell. He listens to her pleadings. But is unmoved. Thick flat iron braces make small squares that divide the thiple cells. Thick brown torches hang from rings in the walls. The dungon is rather dark. Two cells away a man lays on a pallet coved with straw. He watches as the woman is brought past his cell. "Is she a witch father?" he asks.
The preist stops and looks at the man. "Gabriel you should avert your eyes, we are going to undress this woman and check her for witch and devil marks. You may be tempted to sin. And do foul things to yourself as we checker her. I advise to to look the other way."
"Yes father I understand. But father I have never seen a whitch. It might be to my benifit to see what one looks like. So to avert my eyes next time a woman as pretty as this one comes into my line of sight. Father a ask you, please let me watch. Rare is it when a woman undressed in front of me."

The preist reconsiders. " Gabriel I will premit you to watch untill we find a witch mark or Devil mark. Then you will turn away less you be posioned in your mind."
"Oh yes father I understand, I would not want to see a devil mark, god please protect me!"

As the father turns back to the woman. Joh walks in. "I have my orders, from the under sheriff. No marks to the woman. We are to check her for devil marks and that is all. "
The preist looks miffed. "That is all? What of hidden gifts. Rings and amulets and the like. She could be hiding any number of things."

The jailer looks at the woman then looks at the man on the straw pallet. "Well I guess it would be proper to check every thing just to make sure. And the under sheriff did remark about whether or not she is a virgin. He sad to make sure she remained that way. So I guess that means to check her for that also. " The jailer looks at the man on the pallet. "I should charge you for this little show theft!"

Joh the Jailer turns to the woman. "Listen to me clearly woman." He looks to father Monya. "The good father and I will be asking you questions and looking at your body." He pauses. And the father chimes in. "Do you have witch or devil marks on your body? Tell the truth woman! We will know soon enough!"

They waited. "By the power of the holy mother church and the Prince Bishop of Würzburg Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg I order you to disrobe and stand before god as if it was the first day of your life! Make this easy on your self or we will be rough with you!"

She was now so scared she almost kept crying, but she forced herself to stop. Disrobe? Disrobe in front of all those men? In front of the prisoner who had so openly wanted to violate her with his eyes? This could not be right! No good, righteous judge would order something like this... it could not be! "What is a witch mark? My good men, I do not know what that is. There is nothing of a witch on me. Please, spare me. Do you not know that lust is a sin?"

A quick look at the faces of the men around her in the half-darkness confirmed her fears: These men not only knew what a sin they were committing - they looked positively eager to undress her. What to do now? She still did not want to anger these men too much - if it was indeed necessary for her to be naked in order to prove her innocence, she would have to do it, even though the mere thought filled her with almost deadly shame. These were men of God, even though they were being weak and sinful at the moment. A proper trial to disprove her guilt would get her freed quickly...

"If you need me to undress in order to find the truth, then I will do it. May God give you the strength not to sin! I only ask one thing: You are the bishop's men. You have to see me undressed. That...man over there..." - she made a delicate gesture towards the lustful prisoner "will have to turn away. Please grant an innocent girl this wish."

However, she knew her protestations would be useless in the end. Even as she made this last request, she started slowly removing piece after piece of her clothing. Shame and fear made her heart pound, and she felt her face flush red as more and more of her bare skin was exposed. Eventually, she stood there. Naked, shivering in the ice-cold dungeon air and trying to cover as much as she could with her hands. "I now stand before God as you requested. May He help you find the truth...I am innocent!"

Her vulnerabiity in front of all these men, the fear, the shame - she started crying softly again as she waited for them to do whatever they were planning to do with her.

Jon Werner-Jailer/ Father Juan Monya

Father Monya watches as the woman undresses"..May God give you the strength not to sin." she states. The father raises his hand to strike the woman. "You do not tell a man of god what to do!"

John grabs his arm. "We have our order, no marks!" The preist turns away and looks at the man on the pallets. He looks strangly detatched to the whole thing like he had seen it before." Joh watches the woman with geat interest. Finally she is done all her clothes dropped on a bench near the center of the cell. His cock grows hard as he sees her breasts clearly now. Her hard round nipples partly covered by her arm.

"Here now raise your arms so I can check you proper." Joh says. The woman complies, and raises her hands high over her head. Father Monnya looks over and moves closer. He runs a hand down her body.Feeling the smoothness of her skin. When he reaches her pubic hairs he parts the hairs and looks carefully at her vaginal lips. "Yes Devil marks are most common around the womans love bud. " He turns her around and looks at her back. Then gasps for breath. " See Jailer! A devils mark at the top of her arse. " Joh moves around to have a look. Sure enough there is a tear shaped mark on the base of her spine.
The preist gets on his knees and looks closely at the tear shaped mark. "Yes you can clearly see where the devil rested his nose on the top of her arse and let his thin tongue lap and lash this woman. Jailer part her arse cheeks I will investigate this further. Joh bends the woman over and spread her ass. The father runs a finger down her ass till he gets to her rectum. He fingers it around the outside. "I will check inside for devils gifts!" He pushes inward as her exitway yelds to his finger.

"This is just a trial. They are only looking for the truth."

She kept repeating these sentences over and over as the men's rough hands inspected every part of her naked body while she held her arms stretched out above her and shut her eyes, pressing her lips close together to keep herself from crying out in fear. It was the only way she could keep the shame and humiliation from overwhelming her. Never before had a man touched her like this, and in these places! She had to keep telling herself that this was an examination, nothing else. They were like doctors, looking for sin. If they were any good, they would soon find her free of any sign of it - at least as far as witchcraft was concerned!

Even as they started to spout some nonsense about the devil's nose, she kept her mouth and her eyes firmly shut, determined to be as helpful to them as possible. Surely they were mistaken. That part was maybe looking like a witch mark - whatever that was - but closer examination would disprove it....oh God Almighty! She was not expecting the examination to be that close. "Only a trial...only a trial" she had to repeat to herself, almost audibly as they started checking inside her.

Father Juan Monya report

Withe woman bent and her butt cheeks spread the father slowly pressed his finger upward and found nothing. He withdraws his finger and sniffs it. She is clean. No devil's gifts found. The father looks the woman over carefully. Her skin is smooth. The roundness of her ass showed on signs that could be consrewed as a devil mark or witch mark. Except that tear drop mark at the base of her spine.

The father instructs the jailer to sit the woman on the table and draw her legs outward. The father looks at the woman's legs. "Some times the devil leaves marks brhind the knees. Where he holds the woman's legs appart to have his way with them. Joh the jailer holds one of her legs up high as the preist checks every inch. He pays special attention to behind her knee and to her thigh.

The preist shakes his head. "No I see no marks on this leg. Lets see the other." Joh raise the other leg high over her head. The preist checks this leg just as closely as the other. As he reaches her vaginia he pauses. He looks at the woman. I will not violate you. This is not sinful. I must check your insides. If you would spread your own private area I will only look to see if you are a virgin. I will then check your breasts and under your arms. If I find nothing you will be free to redress. I will make my report to the prince bishop and then we shall see about a trial."

As the priest reached inside her, she moved her hands to her mouth and pressed hard on it, so she did not scream out in protest. For what seemed like an eternity, she could feel his hand moving around and exploring her. The thought of the violation brought some more tears to her eyes.

Just as obligingly as before, she let him put her on the table, spread her legs and looked at them inspecting every little bit of the skin on her legs; they clearly knew what they were doing - if only what they were doing was not so embarassing! He moved closer and closer to her private parts... was he going to...? When he got very close, she gave a tiny squeal of panic and almost closed her legs reflexively, but the man's words reassured her. With a careful nod, she closed her eyes and waited for him to go to the place she had never allowed any man into before. Her legs were spread wide and she had to steady her breathing.

Father Juan and Jon the Jailer/ Father Juan-Hans Shuenfelt-Julius Echter von Mespelbr

Father Juan and Jon the Jailer

The woman spread her vaginal lips and Father Juan looks inside. Jon uses two of his callused fingers and parts them further. "Not tis time father! She it a virgin. You can see she is still intact." The Father backs away and strokes his chin. " You can lower your legs we are gone with that part." He draws Jon away from the woman. "Most strange indeed. What game is being played here. The devil took her hind quarters, but not her prize?"

Jon looks at her as she climbs off the table."Maybe he only used his tongue on her arse and is saving her jewel for another time?" The father looks thoughtful. "Maybe?"

He turns and walks slowly over toward the woman. Raise your arms again." He says now half interested. When she does he looks her arm pits and breasts over. looking carefully but much quicker. He nods his head. "Ok Girl get dressed. I will report to the Prince Bishop my findings." He walks to the cell door with Joh the Jailer behind him. As they leave Jon locks the door.

A few minutes pass. Gabriel whispers to her. "I'll give you three copper peices of you stick a finger in both your holes at the same time and let me watch."
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20 minutes later:

Father Juan Monya-Hans Shuenfelt-Julius Echter von Mespelbr

Hans leans back in his chair and listens to the good Fathers report. He shakes his head. "This means little. Granted she has not yet had sex with the Evil One. The chage was that she desired to have sex with him. The mark on her arse only shows that I was right that she did have knowledge of the Devil. And she premitted him to lick her arse. That is a violation of the law! Its consorting with the Devil. She did not report being attcked. No Demonic rape was reported. I checked before coming here. Its simple. The Devil licked her arse and she liked it and she wanted more. That is what I hear."

Julius Echter von Mespelbr looks at the priest. "What was her manner duing all this inspecting?"
The priest smiles slightly. "Well you your Excellancy she pleaded innocents cryed a great deal. Attempted to cover herself. She repeated Only a trial...only a trial."
"Only a trial...only a trial" Hans Shuenfelt repeats. " She sees her herself above the law. Only a trial? She does not fear the wrath of god. Its only a trial, indeed." Hans turns to the Prince Bishop. With your blessing I wil bring in her two friends and let you hear there words."
The prince bishop thought for a minute. "I think not. With the devil mark on her back is enough to hold her. This is true. We will have a trial for the easier cases tomarrow. I will call on the Judges in the morning. I would like to see this woman and her mark after breakfast. I will have the senior Justice take a look too. Then we will see about a trial. He can decide what will be the best course of action. "
The Father nods. I will tell the prisoner and the jailer your decision."
Hans stands and moves a few steps toward the door and stops. " And her friends?"
the prince bishop looks up quickly. "Good point. Ah Father Jaun. No visitors if she is to stand trial I want them not to have talked."
Hans shakes his head. "No your grace I ment can I bring them in for questioning?"
The bishop shakes his head. "No not yet. We will wait for the judge first. He may say to set her free!"

The worst was over for now! This thought even brought a small smile to her face. As soon as the rough fingers had stopped running over her body and she heard the command to "get dressed", she jumped off the table and put on her clothes in a hurry, not even bothering to smooth anything out or to remove the straw and dirt that was stuck to it. Just get dressed!

When she was done, she sat down on the floor, her back against the wall of the cell, her arms holding her knees. As embarassing as the inspection had been, she was still hopeful. For all the nonsense they had talked about the devil doing unspeakable things to her, they had seemed confused, not at all convinced she was guilty. Now they would allow her to stand before a judge and explain everything, something they should have done earlier... but at least it was over now.

It was dark and cold down here, with a strange mixture of smells in the air: Human waste, rotten straw, mould. She could hear a low scurrying - rats? and some screaming (or maybe that was just her imagination). Closer to her, though, it was quiet... until she heard that terrible prisoner next to her whisper. It was so twisted, so evil that she could not help but shriek, but she quickly caught herself: "You evil fiend! I hope they give you your punishment soon! You should be put down like a dog!", she yelled.

Father Juan Monya

Father Juan Monya

THe father moves at an even pace though the castle. Several lower level servents of the lord bow quickly before him as he passes them by. "Yes, of course go with god." he says several times. Till he reaches the upper door of the dungon. Here he pauses himself and saya a small prayer. He crosses himself and pushes through the door.

He walks down a stairway till he reaches a locked door. He bangs on the door. One of the assistant jailer greets him and allows him in. He talks to the man and orders food for the woman. "Just dinner, Seth. Not breakfast. She will stand befor the Prince Bishop in the morn just after the Prince Bishop has his breakfast. I want her hungry."

He moves to the rear cell and stands next to the door" You have raised a bit of a stir here young woman. It seems that very important people have an interest in your case. A high level judge will be called to hear the charges. The Prince Bishop will see you in his chamber about mid morning. If a trial is called for it will be in several days. It will take that long to get the interested parties gathered. There is talk that the Duke Wiliam V may make the trip. If he does we will have a special market day, just for him and his followers. "

Barbara barely looked up as the man appeared at the door. The fiend in the neighbouring cell had not said any more terrible things, and the excitement of the day's events, together with the darkness, had made her doze off, her back leaning against the rough wall. The sound at the entrance woke her up, but did not startle her.

"The...the duke?" was all she could choke out in response to these news. Why had she "raised quite a stir"? What were they thinking she was guilty of? The thought of having to sit in this filthy hole for a few days while a trial was prepared was not exactly comforting, either. "Why would his excellency bother with me? What am I accused of?"

The duke's presence meant she was doomed - or at least her chances of getting out of the dungeon without trouble were very low now. They would not send for their lord if they were not sure she was guilty of something big. But what? She could simply not think of anything... perhaps she could persuade the prince bishop the coming morning; surely he at least would understand. Still sitting in her huddled position, she looked at her captor with imploring eyes, hoping that he would at least take enough pity on her that she would be treated well while she awaited her doom.

next morning

Hans Shuenfelt/Julius Echter von Mespelbr/Sabine Schnarrenberger

The gray haired Judge has just finished having breakfast with the Prince Bishop. They had been dicussing the case of the woman with the Devil mark.
Sabine:" My dear Hans. I hear such great thing about you!"
Julius: " Yes, Hans has a way with women and finding witches. We think we have a strong case with this devil mark case. A Hans what do they call her?"
Hans: "Gobel Babelin, you grace." He replies, annoyed at the false flattery he just received. "I'm a humble servent of the Lord and your self, your grace."
Julius: "Well then we will refer to this as the Babelin case. From this point forward."
Hans "As you wish, your grace."
Sabine"Well where is this woman, this Gobel Babelin?"
Julius: "Hans go down anf fetcher her will you."

Twenty minutes later:
Hans returns with the woman, Gobel Babelin.

The Prince Bishop rises as does the Judge.

"Young woman my name is Julius Echter von Mespelbr the Prince Bishop of Würzburg. This is the High Jusice of Hanover Sabine Schnarrenberger. Together we will see if the case we are now calling the Babelin case will go to trial. Do you have any thing you wish to say before we advance this investigation?' I remind you this is not a formal trial, this for lack of a better term pretrial discovery?"

Now that she was clothed again - even if she was hungry, dirty and worried - she had gained enough confidence to banish her fear. Finally! Finally, someone who would talk to her and they could sort this out. She smiled at the men. It was a small smile, one of relief that, after the humiliation of the night before, they were finally treating her as they should - an innocent woman caught in a misunderstanding.

In a polite, soft voice she answered: "I can only say that I am innocent. Never have I committed a crime, let alone the horrible crime of witchcraft..." her voice trailed off; she was intimidated by the presence of these high-ranking men, and the memory of what had happened in the cell. She just stood there, waiting for what would happen.

witchcraft?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hans Shuenfelt/Julius Echter von Mespelbr/Sabine Schnarrenberger

The High Justice looks at the woman. "Gobel Babelin, you stand accussed of consorting and desiring to cosort with the devil. The charge of witch craft was never made against you. " It is further my understanding that you have a mark on your back the shape of a tear drop. I will need to see that. Please turn around and raise your skirt so we can all see the mark."

Under normal circumstances, nothing would have compelled her to lift up her skirt in a room with men - but she was scared, worried and really wanted this to be done as soon as possible. Without hesitation, her long, slender fingers went to the fabric and pulled it up, showing the "mark" they had talked about. She did not say a word, but unexpectedly, unusual thoughts started to enter her mind: Were these people mad? Why were they about to make such a terrible mistake as accusing an innocent girl, over a birthmark?

Julius Echter von Mespelbr/Sabine Schnarrenberger

Julius Echter von Mespelbr/Sabine Schnarrenberger

The High Justice of Hanover moves forward toward Gobel Babelin. The rear of her skirt held high. He notes her modest appearance and the fact that she is modestly and properly dressed. "I will be touching you only to see the mark clearly." He feels her stiffness as his fingers brushes against her skin and he lowers were undrer wear ever so slightly.

Shortly he is joined by the Prince Bishop who also looks at the mark. "Well?" He askes. Sabine Schnarrenberger the High Jusice of Hanover shakes his head. "I'm sorry Julius. While I agree that the mark could be a devil mark there is no other marks that could be found or reported. No witch marks, no dimpling no scaring. A tear shape mark on her back is not enough for a full blown trial. " he steps away from the woman and leads the Pince Bishop to the side. "You may lower your dress girl." he says as he moves back to the table.

"This is a perlimanry hearing. Oh I believe that she may wish to consort with the devil. And I grant you that is a crime into itself. The mark is not enough. The burden of proof falls on the accuser not the accused. He is my ruling. Yes there is a mark there is no denying that. So, I would advise town arrest for her pending further investigation. Get her friends in here and build a solid case. Then we can try her the right way and burn her with due cause not because she has a mark on her back."

The Prince Bishop nods his head. "A solid case, I see." He looks back at the Judge and smile slightly. "A solid case." The Prince Bishop moves to his throne like chair. "Turn around girl!" he waits for her to face him.

"Gobel Babelin, you stand accussed of consorting and desiring to cosort with the devil. You are to consider your self under village arrest. You are not permitted to leave the village area. If you are found by the guard or other lawfull authorities out side the village. You will be returned to the dungon under shackle and chain. Where you will beheld till the completion of any or all investigations of this case are determined"

He stands and walks toward Gobel Babelin. "You are free to leave the castle. You will remember the parole you are under. If you violate it, you will be punished."

It took a moment for her to comprehend - and another moment not to break out in joyful laughter right in front of these men. She held herself back, though. Do not do anything to provoke these men, she told herself. Who knows what they will use as an excuse to have me rearrested? So she bade them farewell as politely as possible, her heart pounding in her chest, always fearing they may yet reverse their decision.

Only when she was out of her place of imprisonment and back in the town, she allowed herself to sigh with relief and even to whistle a little. It was over! If everything went right - and if there was any justice in the world - she would never have to go back into that dark, moldy hole where she had spent the worst night in her life. The order not to leave town was a mere formality - daughters of honest citizens had no business leaving anyway - and she would of course comply with it. Justice had won! She was so happy, and, even now, the whole episode had begun to turn from horror to an interesting adventure she could tell the other girls. With a spring in her step, she made her way to her family home, eager to see her parents' joy at seeing their daughter return from that terrible place.