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DOCTOR WHO
THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA

Written by
Louis Marks

Part Three

(Overlap from 'Death to Giuliano!')

[INT. Catacombs]

SARAH: (as the MONKS drag her back) Doctor! Doctor!

[EXT. San Martino ruins]

(The noise subsides, and the DOCTOR lowers his hands. As he makes to leave the room, semi-solid-looking walls appear in front of him wherever he moves along the periphery. We hear inhuman laughter. The DOCTOR exits via the secret door.
Outside, Federico's men attack GIULIANO one at a time, and he is holding them back somewhat.
The DOCTOR hears shouting as he leaves the building.)
GIULIANO: Go on, for you'll need an army to do your work.
FEDERICO: Oh, you craven-gutted curs. He's but one man.
(The DOCTOR emerges, holding his sword.)
DOCTOR: You can't count, Count.
FEDERICO: Take the sorcerer too. A gold piece to the first that splits him.
(The DOCTOR enters the fray. Showing his skills alongside those of the able GIULIANO, he repels the men, though GIULIANO suffers a shoulder wound. The pitched battle is interrupted as Brothers of Demnos emerge from the depths, holding quarterstaffs. Meaning business, they engage Federico's men.)
FEDERICO: Brethren.
ROSSINI: They're coming out of the ground like rats, Sire. (He flees.)
FEDERICO: Back! Back to the palace!
(As they retreat, the DOCTOR rapidly assists the injured GIULIANO, ushering him into the catacombs.
Meanwhile, the MONKS push back those of the soldiers who haven't yet made themselves scarce.)

[INT. Catacombs]

DOCTOR: That was lucky.
GIULIANO: Hmm?
DOCTOR: The Brethren ran right past. Where's Sarah?
GIULIANO: She came down here. You mean you've not seen her?
DOCTOR: What? You mean she's wandering around in these catacombs? Let's have a look at this shoulder.
GIULIANO: You've not spent all your life at books, Doctor. You just saved my life.
DOCTOR: This should staunch the blood. (removing a handkerchief from a pocket) You know, the finest swordsman I ever saw was a captain in Cleopatra's bodyguard. He showed me a few points. (getting to work on the arm) I don't know that Florence Nightingale would approve this little lash-up.
GIULIANO: Did you find the temple, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. Helix energy is still there, all right. Played some very nasty tricks.

[INT. Temple]

(Masked figures walk about. One of them is holding SARAH.)
PRIEST: It is an omen. The mighty Demnos has returned his victim to us, she who is the chosen sacrifice.
HIERONYMOUS: (beside SARAH) This one assists the foreign sorcerer. She may yet assist him to his death before her hour of glory.
PRIEST: Master, the great blade of our god thirsts for blood.
HIERONYMOUS: Patience! Before this night ends, priest, there will be blood in plenty. That I promise.
PRIEST: We of the Brethren bow to your command, Master.
HIERONYMOUS: Then mind her well so that she may not struggle and cry out. Bring her to my chamber.

[INT. Federico's chamber]

(FEDERICO is being tended as he holds a cloth to his cheek, where he has suffered a slight wound.)
ROSSINI: (as a fanfare sounds) The duke of Milan, Sire.
FEDERICO: I heard. Get that muck out of here. Bring me clean linen. Hurry, you oaf! (to ROSSINI) That fox-faced old blowhard the doge will be here within the hour. His advance riders are carousing in the taverns even now.
ROSSINI: What's to be done? He must be greeted.
FEDERICO: That fat clown of a chancellor can do it. Say I've been stricken by an ague. Before night comes, Rossini, you and I have work to do.
ROSSINI: I have a score of men searching for the duke. He's not returned to the palace.
FEDERICO: We must search the city. He's skulking in some stinking hovel. Oh, no. I've gone too far now. Before sunrise, I want to see Giuliano's liver fed to the dogs.

[INT. Catacombs]

DOCTOR: All right?
GIULIANO: Yes. Thank you, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Good. Let's go and see what happened to Sarah.
GIULIANO: Oh, not through there.
DOCTOR: What?
GIULIANO: Those catacombs are endless.
DOCTOR: Giuliano, you're not afraid, are you?
GIULIANO: Afraid? Oh, no.
DOCTOR: That's funny. Most people would be. Come on.
(They head through the door.)

[INT. Hieronymous's chamber]

(SARAH lies unconscious with a cloth over her mouth. We hear bubbling and soon see HIERONYMOUS, in his daywear, concocting a potion as the PRIEST, unmasked, approaches him.)
PRIEST: Why did you allow our brethren to save the young prince, Master?
HIERONYMOUS: His life may yet have value.
PRIEST: But he is no more in the eye of Demnos than any other unbeliever.
HIERONYMOUS: Giuliano's appointment with death is already written. Not Count Federico nor any other mortal must anticipate the mighty Demnos.
PRIEST: Even so, I fear the count will now bring all his soldiers against us.
HIERONYMOUS: Faith, Brother. You have seen the sign of Demnos.
PRIEST: The miracle, as it is written in the prophecies.
HIERONYMOUS: Then let the word be spread throughout the city. Guard the sacred temple. The great god's dwelling place must not be defiled by unbelievers in this last hours. Now go, hurry.
(The PRIEST bows and turns to leave. HIERONYMOUS inserts a stopper in the small bottle he holds and, after contemplating it with a flourish, carries it to SARAH, who is fitfully awakening.)
HIERONYMOUS: Do not resist, child. The aroma is sweet.
(He lets a few drops fall from the bottle onto the cloth over her mouth.)

[INT. Catacombs]

(The DOCTOR lights a torch from a candle near the secret entrance and then beckons GIULIANO inside.)
DOCTOR: This way.
GIULIANO: (hearing something) Doctor!
DOCTOR: (stepping back and brandishing his sword) The ancients who built this place knew a thing or two. Come on.
(GIULIANO is left carrying the torch as they resume their quest.)

[INT. Hieronymous's chamber]

(At the end of a chain, a star-like solid spins one way and then the other, hypnotising SARAH.)
HIERONYMOUS: Now, child, whom do you serve?
SARAH: I serve you.
HIERONYMOUS: And the Doctor?
SARAH: The Doctor is a sorcerer.
HIERONYMOUS: And?
SARAH: The Doctor is evil.
HIERONYMOUS: And?
SARAH: And must be destroyed.
HIERONYMOUS: All this you will forget, all but your purpose. (lifting the chain) When you stand close and the Doctor suspects nothing, you will strike him down. One scratch will be sufficient. The hand of a friend is a subtle but certain weapon.
(He has handed her a long needle with a grey head vaguely reminiscent of the monks' masks.)
HIERONYMOUS: Now, we must return you to the Doctor's side. How glad he will be to see his young companion.
(SARAH smiles slightly.)

[INT. Federico's chamber]

FEDERICO: (as a kneeling SERVANT puts his boots on him) Well?
ROSSINI: (stepping forward) Nothing, Sire.
FEDERICO: Inept clod. What were my orders?
ROSSINI: We have searched everywhere.
FEDERICO: Get out.
(He kicks the SERVANT, who falls back.)
FEDERICO: I warn you, Rossini, fail me and you will breakfast on burning coals.
ROSSINI: Sire, we can only think that he has taken to the catacombs.
FEDERICO: Catacombs.
ROSSINI: A thousand men might search those galleries for a month, Sire, and still find nothing. They say there are places where the bat droppings are twice the height of a man.
FEDERICO: (rising) They say, they say! The truth of the matter, Rossini, is that you have no stomach for the task.
ROSSINI: If it is your wish, Sire, I will take the entire guard down there and begin the search immediately.
FEDERICO: No. No, it is true. If he's gone down into the warren, he'll be harder to find than a flea in a beggar's robes. But he must come out or die like a sewer rat.
ROSSINI: And when he does, we must be ready for him.
FEDERICO: Of course you will, dunghead. But, more than that, we are going to prove that the duke Giuliano is a secret devotee of the cult of Demnos.

[INT. Catacombs]

(The DOCTOR comes upon SARAH, who is sitting slumped against one of the walls.)
DOCTOR: Sarah! Oh, Sarah.
GIULIANO: Is she all right?
SARAH: Where am I?
DOCTOR: I think so.
GIULIANO: Her eyes, they're very strange.
DOCTOR: What happened?
SARAH: The Brethren, two of them. I can't remember.
GIULIANO: Why would they leave her here?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Perhaps they're planning to come back for her. You know, this leads under the palace.
GIULIANO: How do you know that, Doctor?
DOCTOR: Well, the first time I saw the leader of the cult, he was walking this way. He probably comes this way regularly. You know something? I don't think the Mandragora intelligence hijacked the TARDIS and brought us here by accident. There must already be someone here who's sympathetic to its influence. Possibly there's been some tenuous influence for centuries.
SARAH: Doctor, give me a hand.
DOCTOR: What?
(GIULIANO helps SARAH to stand.)
DOCTOR: Salvatore ambulando.
SARAH: What?
GIULIANO: It's Latin. 'The question is solved by walking.'
SARAH: Latin? I don't even speak Italian. Hmm. I never thought of that before. How is it I can understand you?
DOCTOR: Don't you worry about it. I'll explain it later. Come on.
SARAH: All right.

[INT. Giuliano's chamber]

(MARCO throws a book down onto the table impatiently and sits.)
GUARD [OC]: (knocking on the door) Open. Open in the name of the duke Giuliano.
(MARCO has his sword out when he goes to the door. Opening it, he is quickly overpowered by the second wave of FEDERICO's men as they enter.)

[INT. Dungeons]

(The DOCTOR stops at an archway, ahead of which are GUARDS. The other two stop too. He blows out the torch.)
DOCTOR: Anywhere we know?
GIULIANO: Yes. We're in the palace dungeons.
DOCTOR: Oh, excellent.
GIULIANO: My father once spoke of a secret passage.
DOCTOR: Let's go.

[INT. Federico's chamber]

FEDERICO: Hieronymous.
HIERONYMOUS: You will forgive me for not rising, Count.
FEDERICO: Only the dead fail to stand in my presence. However, your lack of courtesy is easily corrected. (He pulls a dagger from his belt.)
HIERONYMOUS: (standing) My Lord, spare an old servant. It is only out of my love for you. I am numb with fear for your life.
FEDERICO: But your numbness has passed, I see. (the other man nods) You're a fake, Hieronymous. A fraud, a charlatan, a marketplace soothsayer. You and I both know the truth of this, so just remember your place, Court Astrologer. That way you may also keep your head.
HIERONYMOUS: But, my Lord, I bring you a warning.
FEDERICO: Go on.
HIERONYMOUS: Intrigues are brewing. Plots are being prepared. You are in great danger.
FEDERICO: The only plots, Hieronymous, are mine, and they are going well.
HIERONYMOUS: It is written that a blow will be struck against you here in the palace. You must bring your guards here to protect your noble person.
FEDERICO: You try my patience, Hieronymous. You can no more tell the stars than you can tell my chamber pot. Go. Get out of my sight!
HIERONYMOUS: Very well, Sire. But before Mars sinks to rest, the blow will fall and your life will be forfeit. So it is written.

[INT. Giuliano's chamber]

DOCTOR: I'd say you've had visitors.
GIULIANO: Marco. My uncle's men must have taken him. (He makes haste to leave.)
DOCTOR: There's nothing you can do on your own, Giuliano.
GIULIANO: But he's my friend, my loyal friend.
DOCTOR: Listen, listen, there are other considerations besides your uncle and his petty ambitions.
GIULIANO: Petty? They are far from petty, Doctor. I've called a gathering of scholars here to celebrate my accession to the dukedom. My uncle will do everything in his power to stop our meeting.
DOCTOR: Who's coming?
GIULIANO: The most learned men of all Italy. Scholars, artists, men of the new sciences.
DOCTOR: Is Leonardo da Vinci coming?
GIULIANO: And his patron, the duke of Milan.
DOCTOR: If anything should happen to those men, they'd be thrown back into a new dark age.
(SARAH has approached the DOCTOR, who heads for the door.)
DOCTOR: You two stay here.
SARAH: Where are you going?
DOCTOR: I have an idea who the leader of the Brethren is.
GIULIANO: Be careful, Doctor. The soldiers are everywhere.
DOCTOR: Don't worry about me. I'm not likely to miss Leonardo da Vinci.

[INT. Dungeons]

(We hear cries of pain emanating from a cell. ROSSINI steps out into the corridor.)
FEDERICO: Scarlatti is enjoying his work?
ROSSINI: He's a craftsman.
FEDERICO: Nonetheless, these cries. I would prefer not to rouse the entire palace. Has he weakened yet?
ROSSINI: He is a stubborn ape, Sire.
FEDERICO: I'll have a word with him myself. Sometimes the voice of reason is more effective than the burning iron. I have a task for you, Rossini.
ROSSINI: My Lord?
FEDERICO: The astrologer, Hieronymous. It appears he's moving against me. He's forecast my death.
ROSSINI: My Lord!
FEDERICO: Don't be alarmed. He plucks these lies out of the sky. But I want the old spider out of the city tonight.
ROSSINI: Banished, Sire?
FEDERICO: Throw him out! And all his rubbish with him.
(He steps into the cell, where we see MARCO shackled to the wall.
The DOCTOR creeps through the corridors. SARAH follows a few paces behind, needle in hand. The DOCTOR is marking her progress.)

[INT. Cell]

FEDERICO: A simple confession, my young friend.
MARCO: (whispering) Never.
FEDERICO: Come, Marco. You're of noble birth, a man of intelligence. Use your intelligence and save yourself pain.
MARCO: I shall not lie against the duke. You can kill me first.
FEDERICO: No, but we may kill you afterwards. Scarlatti's enthusiasm is such that not all survive his attentions.
MARCO: You devils!
FEDERICO: Come now, Marco. Confess that Giuliano is a follower of Demnos and I will reward you well. Come, man, what is your answer?
(His answer comes in the form of spittle.)
FEDERICO: You insolent fool. Now you will truly learn what suffering is. (He leaves the cell.)

[INT. Hieronymous's chamber]

(HIERONYMOUS stands before a cauldron. He throws something into it, and a flash and smoke result.)
DOCTOR: (from within the smoke) Good evening.
HIERONYMOUS: You! What are you?
DOCTOR: It's time you and I had a little talk, Hieronymous.
HIERONYMOUS: Keep back. Keep away from me!
DOCTOR: Not sure of yourself? Influence comes and goes? I suppose that must be very worrying.
(SARAH creeps in from behind him. HIERONYMOUS backs away from the DOCTOR.)
HIERONYMOUS: Were you sent from the stars?
DOCTOR: (speaking through Hieronymous's mask, which he has picked up from a table) Oh, you could say that, yes.
HIERONYMOUS: They told me, the voices, that I would be joined by another. Give me the proof that you are the one.
DOCTOR: (examining the mask as SARAH draws closer with the needle) Fascinating. Predeluvian sandstone with a complex circuit of base metal fused into it.
HIERONYMOUS: You defile the sacred image of Demnos! Destroy him now!
DOCTOR: (turning to face a smiling SARAH) Hello, Sarah. Poisoned needle? (whispering) Drop it.
HIERONYMOUS: Strike him down!
DOCTOR: (grabbing her arm as she leaps forward) Oh, you don't want to hurt me, Sarah. I'm your friend, remember? Your best friend. Drop it.
(SARAH drops the needle. HIERONYMOUS lets out a roar and advances on the pair.)
SARAH: Doctor!
HIERONYMOUS: (striking out with a dagger) The curse of Demnos on you, sorcerer!
DOCTOR: You're getting a bit old for this, Hieronymous.
(With a flying kick, the DOCTOR removes the dagger from contention. Then, ROSSINI and GUARDS enter the room and grab his arms.)
SARAH: No!
ROSSINI: Stop him! Don't let him get away!
(GUARDS go after HIERONYMOUS.)
SARAH: Aggh! Doctor!
(Meanwhile, GIULIANO grabs his sword and leaves his rooms. Entering the hallway, he too is seized by GUARDS.)

[INT. Throne room]

FEDERICO: Giuliano. Is he dead?
ROSSINI: No, Sire. He's in the dungeons with the other prisoners.
FEDERICO: Then it is finished, Rossini. The duke and his troublemakers will be dead and buried before cock crow.
ROSSINI: There is only Hieronymous, but he won't evade capture for long.
FEDERICO: There is nothing now that will stop me. (He is seated on the throne now.)

[INT. Cell]

(MARCO is unconscious. Two GUARDS monitor the area as the other prisoners, also chained to the wall, speak.)
SARAH: I'm trying to remember what happened to me, but I can't. There's just nothing.
DOCTOR: Drug-induced hypnosis. Hieronymous is an old slyboots.
SARAH: And I really tried to kill you?
DOCTOR: You only did what you were ordered, what I expected.
SARAH: But how did you know I'd been drugged?
DOCTOR: Well, I've taken you to some strange places before, and you've never asked how you understood the local language. It's a Time Lord's gift I allow you to share. But tonight when you asked me how you understood Italian, I realised your mind had been taken over.
SARAH: Poor Marco.
(GIULIANO is thrown in to join them. He sees the others and rises to his feet.)
GIULIANO: Doctor! Sarah!
DOCTOR: See to Marco.
GIULIANO: Marco, what have they done to you?
MARCO: They made me speak against you. They forced me to say-
GIULIANO: Say what?
FEDERICO: That you, dear nephew, and this dog of a sorcerer are in league to revive the blasphemous cult of Demnos.
GIULIANO: You stinking butcher!
ROSSINI: My Lord! All over the city, they're coming out of every street.
FEDERICO: What are you gabbling about?
ROSSINI: The Brethren. They're moving towards the temple.

[INT. Temple]

(In the crypt, the MONKS gather beside the altar, with HIERONYMOUS at their head. The lights dim, and the air is suffused with a red hue.)
HIERONYMOUS: Great god Demnos, we are ready to receive you into ourselves. (the column of light appears once he is in his designated position) If we are worthy of your mighty presence, show yourself.
(Strokes of light are cast upward into his extended hands, and the light expands. His form glows faintly. He turns his palms upward, and we see his gloves smoking. Turning from the light, he motions to the PRIEST, who approaches the altar. Across from each other, they join hands through the light, and again darts of energy are cast upward, into the joined hands. He glows yellow for a moment. The PRIEST's gloves too smoke.)

[INT. Cell]

FEDERICO: I've waited a long time for this moment, sorcerer. There is nothing now that will stop me from becoming duke.
DOCTOR: Count Federico, can't you understand? I'm not interested in your political ambitions. Your enemies are not here in this dungeon. They're in the temple. It isn't Giuliano you have to fear, it's Hieronymous.
FEDERICO: Ha! That fake.
DOCTOR: That fake is the leader of the Brethren.
FEDERICO: What?
DOCTOR: Yes. And he's possessed of extraordinary powers. helix energy.
ROSSINI: It's a trick, Sire.
FEDERICO: How do I know you're telling the truth?
DOCTOR: You don't. But if Hieronymous isn't stopped, I promise you, there'll be no dukedom for you or anyone else to rule over after tonight.
FEDERICO: I'll see for myself, and you will come with me. Unchain him.
ROSSINI: Don't trust him, my Lord!
FEDERICO: I don't have to trust him! Keep these three here as hostages. If I'm not back within the hour, you know what to do. I'll take two of your best men.

[INT. Temple]

(The BRETHREN are, one after another, taking turns taking the hands of HIERONYMOUS in the column of light. We see the helix energy enter another of them.
Wearing black robes, FEDERICO and the DOCTOR enter, with GUARDS in the background.)
DOCTOR: Whatever you do, Count, don't go near him.
FEDERICO: Do I need your advice? When I give the signal, seize him.
(The final monk in the queue has received his gift from Mandragora.)
FEDERICO: (stepping forward) Hieronymous!
(Turning from where he remains bathed in red light, HIERONYMOUS faces the approaching FEDERICO.)
FEDERICO: You traitor!
(FEDERICO tears the mask from the other's face. He is taken aback.
We then see what he has seen - beneath the hood is only bright golden light. HIERONYMOUS has been consumed. FEDERICO backs away from his ex-astrologer, who reclaims the mask. Lightning from his fingertips sends FEDERICO to the ground with a cry of pain.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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