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DOCTOR WHO
THE MASQUE OF MANDRAGORA

Written by
Louis Marks

Part Four

(Overlap from 'When I give the signal, seize him!')

[INT. Temple]

(The count is now a pile of clothes and ashes on the floor of the crypt.)
HIERONYMOUS: So shall perish all our earthly enemies. Surround me with a helix of powers, brothers, and none shall overcome us. All has happened as was foretold down the centuries. The waiting, the prayers, the sacrifices. Now, at last, the empire of Mandragora will encompass the Earth, for Demnos is only the servant of Mandragora, and Mandragora is the mighty master of all things. Let the power flood into you, brothers. Tomorrow night we shall witness the last prophecy. As it is written, Mandragora shall swallow the moon!
(Unnoticed in his black robe, the DOCTOR fades into the shadows.)
HIERONYMOUS: Then shall we strike.

[INT. Cell]

ROSSINI: (entering the cell) It is time. Count Federico ordered the execution of these traitors at the end of an hour.
SARAH: If he didn't return.
ROSSINI: Neither he nor the sorcerer nor any of their party have returned from the temple.
SARAH: You mean it's an hour already? Doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself.
ROSSINI: Take them down.
GIULIANO: Stay, fellow. Rossini, you call us traitors, but lay one hand on your prince and it's you who are the traitor.
ROSSINI: I follow the count.
MARCO: You follow a murderer and a tyrant. It is to the duke Giuliano you owe allegiance.
ROSSINI: Enough! Take them down. The execution block grows dry.
MARCO: Infamous filth!
GIULIANO: You call yourselves soldiers? Are we to die without a priest?
SARAH: Or even a hearty breakfast?
DOCTOR: (a hooded figure removing his hood) No priest available. Will a Brother do?
ROSSINI: What have you done with the count, sorcerer?
DOCTOR: Your count is dead.
GIULIANO: Dead? My uncle?
DOCTOR: Yes, in the temple ruins.
GIULIANO: How did he die?
DOCTOR: Let's say Hieronymous gave him a blank look.
ROSSINI: Seize him. Seize him!
DOCTOR: Rossini, you don't have any authority to give orders anymore. Giuliano is the lawful ruler.
GIULIANO: You men, are you with your prince?
(Drawing their swords, the GUARDS step toward ROSSINI. On bended knee, he offers his own sword to GIULIANO.)
MARCO: Take him to the block, sire.
GIULIANO: No, Marco. (to the GUARDS) Take him away. His fate will be decided later.
MARCO: The evil is ended. At last you can rule without fear.
DOCTOR: Wrong, Marco, wrong. The evil's only just beginning. Hieronymous and the Brethren remain.
MARCO: Then destroy them!
GIULIANO: What do you think, Doctor?
MARCO: You're the prince. The men will rally to you. Lead them to the temple and win your inheritance, Sire.
DOCTOR: Shhh, Marco, Marco. Giuliano, if you go near that temple, you go to your death.
GIULIANO: Then what do you suggest?
DOCTOR: The Brothers are still absorbing power. Gather together all the men you can - carpenters, stonemasons, soldiers - and block every entrance to the palace. Turn it into a fortress. Because when the Brethren attack, you're going to need one.
GIULIANO: I'll explain it all, Marco. We'll see to it at once.
(The two leave.)
SARAH: Barricades aren't going to be enough to stop those Brethren.
DOCTOR: Anything to give us time. I need time to think. Anyway, his power isn't complete yet.
SARAH: What do you mean?
DOCTOR: Well, so far-

[INT. Dungeons]

DOCTOR: The only helix energy is what we brought with us.
SARAH: You mean there's more to come?
DOCTOR: Yes, tomorrow night, when Mandragora swallows the moon.
SARAH: Listen, I came here with you, remember?

[INT. Corridor]

SARAH: You don't have to use that fifteenth-century doubletalk with me. I speaka da pretty good Inglish.
DOCTOR: I'm just telling you what he told me.
SARAH: Who?
DOCTOR: Hieronymous. (sotto) When Mandragora swallows the moon, that's when they'll strike.
SARAH: I know, but what does it mean?

[INT. Giuliano's chamber]

DOCTOR: (lifting a telescope from the windowsill) Yes, just about adequate. Pity, another fifty years we could have used Galileo's.
SARAH: (following him out) Oh, where are you going now?

[INT. Throne room]

(We hear hammering. The barricades are being made ready.)
GIULIANO: Quickly, men! They're needed at the west gate.
(He helps guide men with a large piece of timber and is about to leave.)
MARCO: Sire?
GIULIANO: Marco, what is it?
MARCO: It's begun.
GIULIANO: What's begun?
MARCO: The Brethren. They're driving people from the town.
GIULIANO: Are you sure of this?
MARCO: Those who refuse to leave are being destroyed by bolts of fire. They've brought the forces of darkness out of those devilish catacombs.
GIULIANO: So, we're isolated now, just the few of us left in this palace.
MARCO: Some of whom are the most precious heads in all Europe.
GIULIANO: Do they know what we face?
MARCO: I think they have some fear that all is not well. Their personal guards keep close. And the king of Naples asked the reason for all the noise. I sent back word it was in preparation for the masque.
GIULIANO: The masque! I'd forgotten the day. Marco, it must be cancelled.
MARCO: Would you explain to your peers that your accession cannot be celebrated because of a pagan uprising?
GIULIANO: The masque cannot be held, Marco. It's too dangerous.
MARCO: I have seen our defences, Sire. This palace could be held against an army, and the Brothers are not an army - they're a fanatical rabble.
GIULIANO: Who can kill with bolts of fire.
MARCO: Simple trickery. Hieronymous was always a cunning old fox. And do not forget, my Lord, we have weapons of our own.
GIULIANO: (trying out the throne for size and musing) I don't know, Marco.
MARCO: Giuliano, you're the ruler now, the leader. If you're seen to falter at the first challenge, you may lose everything. There are eyes watching you. There are those who will go from here saying that the duke of San Martino is weak, ready to be toppled. Better trust to your guards and hold the masque as though all was normal.
GIULIANO: Oh, you speak sense as always, dear Marco. But all is not normal. You and I both know it. I'll seek the Doctor's advice. Where is he?
MARCO: In Hieronymous's room. He's been there since this morning. (speaking to the ruler's back) But what he does there I know not.

[INT. Hieronymous's chamber]

DOCTOR: (looking through the telescope) Astrolabe, Sarah.
SARAH: Hmm?
DOCTOR: Astrolabe.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: Mediaeval sextant. Come on.
SARAH: (bringing it to him) All right. What are you trying to do?
DOCTOR: I'm trying to make this thing work exactly. Roughly won't do at all. Unfortunately, the alidade's almost a whole degree out. (quill in hand) Compensate for error and convert to the Copernican system. Seventeen from sixty.
SARAH: Forty-three.
(He pays her no mind, and she picks up a book, reading in the corner while he works.)
DOCTOR: I've got it.
SARAH: Well?
DOCTOR: Forty-three minutes and eight seconds past nine.
SARAH: What?
DOCTOR: Mandragora swallows the moon. In other words, a lunar eclipse.
SARAH: And that's when the Brethren will attack.
DOCTOR: Yes. More important, it's when all this could become man's only science.
SARAH: Astrology? You mean when Mars is in the House of the Ram and all that nonsense?
DOCTOR: Nonsense? It isn't nonsense, miss. Just you remember what Hieronymous did to you. Mandragora doesn't conquer in the physical sense. It dominates and controls by helix energy, astral force. It takes away from man the only thing worth having.
SARAH: Which is?
DOCTOR: Well, a sense of purpose, what else? The ability granted to every intelligent species to shape its own destiny. Once let Mandragora gain control, and man's ambition wouldn't stretch beyond the next meal. It'll turn you into sheep. Idle, mindless, useless sheep.
SARAH: Yes, all right! All right, I'm convinced. But what can we do?
(He closes his eyes. Bowing his head, he is deep in thought as GIULIANO knocks and then enters.)
GIULIANO: Doctor, I must speak-
SARAH: Sshh. It's all right, he's only thinking.
GIULIANO: Thinking?
SARAH: (when the DOCTOR snores) I think.
GIULIANO: I wanted to ask his advice.
DOCTOR: All or nothing. I'll have to risk it.
GIULIANO: Doctor, I-
DOCTOR: Hello, it's nice to see you. Listen, if it's ionised plasma, it's molecular and by now must be spread pretty thinly among Hieronymous and the Brethren. Exhaust it. Exhaust it, that's the answer.
GIULIANO: Doctor, I have a question.
DOCTOR: Could you get me one of these (tapping the GUARD's breastplate) and a length of wire?
GIULIANO: What, wire?
DOCTOR: Yes, wire. It must be at least a hundred and fifty years since wire-drawing machines were invented. There must be some about the place?
GIULIANO: Well, if you spoke to the palace armourer-
DOCTOR: Good idea, I'll do that. (pausing at the door) What was your question?
GIULIANO: I wanted to ask you about the masque tonight. Everything's arranged, but it could still be cancelled if you-
DOCTOR: You're going to hold a dance?
GIULIANO: Well, only if you don't think it's too dangerous.
DOCTOR: Dangerous? My dear duke, you've got lots of guests to entertain. Of course you must hold a hop. Sarah will love it. Ask her.
SARAH: Oh yes, just my scene.
DOCTOR: And Giuliano, save me a costume. I love a knees-up.

[INT. Temple]

(HIERONYMOUS sits on the throne in the crypt. The PRIEST approaches him.)
PRIEST: The town is empty, great one. Not a living creature larger than a cat remains within the walls.
HIERONYMOUS: It is well. The hour approaches fast.
PRIEST: What is your plan, great one?
HIERONYMOUS: The plan of Mandragora. I am but the vessel for those who hold dominion over the cosmos.
PRIEST: The mighty sky gods. What would they have us do, Master?
HIERONYMOUS: This time and place were well chosen. Assembled in the palace are many scholars, many rulers and nobles. Tonight they are to be destroyed, all of them. In this way shall be established the power and supremacy of those masters we serve.
PRIEST: The duke has deployed many soldiers. All the entrances to the palace are fortified and heavily guarded, Master.
HIERONYMOUS: There is still an entrance they know nothing of. Bring me ten of the Brethren. I will take them to the place. Tonight there is a masque in the duke's honour. We will provide the entertainers.

[INT. Giuliano's chamber]

(The DOCTOR stands, wearing a breastplate, as the ARMOURER studies his handiwork.)
DOCTOR: Good. Now the coat. I don't want this to show. Thank you.
(SARAH enters with an armful of costumes.)
DOCTOR: (putting on his scarf) How do I look?
SARAH: Putting on weight, are you? What's that in aid of?
DOCTOR: A little plan. (to the ARMOURER, who is on his way out) Leave the wire.
SARAH: Giuliano sent you these to choose from.
DOCTOR: That looks as if it would be very becoming, eh?
SARAH: Well, I think it's ridiculous talking about fancy dress. I mean, we're in such terrible danger.
(The DOCTOR dons a lion's-head mask and roars in her direction, 'claws' out.)
SARAH: Oh, stop being so silly.
DOCTOR: Remember the French at Agincourt.
SARAH: But they lost. You know, the worse the situation, the worse your jokes get.
DOCTOR: (removing the mask) I think I'll settle for the lion.
SARAH: Things are bad, aren't they?
DOCTOR: Yes.
SARAH: Very bad?
DOCTOR: Desperately bad, but we can only do our best and hope. You coming?
SARAH: Yep.
(They leave with the wire and lion mask.)

[INT. Throne room]

(We see figures in ruddy cloaks and masks, waiting at the far end of the room.)
DOCTOR: Marco, is Leonardo among that lot?
MARCO: Those are the entertainers.
DOCTOR: I don't think I'm ever going to meet Leonardo. Will you open up the dungeon entrance, please?
MARCO: I'll see to it at once, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Thank you. Sarah?
SARAH: Hmm?
DOCTOR: I want you to stay here and keep an eye on this lot.
SARAH: What? What for?
DOCTOR: A Time Lord has to do what a Time Lord has to do. Besides, you're not equipped.
SARAH: But you said it was dangerous.
DOCTOR: Did I? Oh, yes.
SARAH: Well, is it dangerous?
DOCTOR: Well, only if I guess wrong, and then it's fatal.
SARAH: Oh! Look, I wish you'd stop giving me flip answers.
DOCTOR: All right. Listen. Negatively charged high-energy particles follow magnetic lines of force, yes?
SARAH: Yes.
DOCTOR: Therefore, if I've guessed correctly about the nature of helix energy, I should be able to drain it off.
SARAH: But what if you've guessed wrong?
DOCTOR [OC]: When did I ever guess wrong about anything?
SARAH: (sotto) Lots of times.

[INT. Temple]

PRIEST: The masque has begun. Shall I order our brothers to surround the palace, Master?
HIERONYMOUS: Yes. Kill all who try to escape.
PRIEST: The others are inside.
HIERONYMOUS: Concealed from prying eyes. They await only my signal.
PRIEST: Glory to Demnos.
HIERONYMOUS: And to Mandragora.
(They leave. We see a golden lion mask appear on the dais of the throne. Beside it rises the DOCTOR's head. The DOCTOR approaches the altar as he uncoils the wire.)

[INT. Throne room]

(The guests laugh as a JESTER performs flips and back-flips.
GIULIANO, smiling only slightly, takes a seat on the throne.)
MARCO: Sire.
GIULIANO: Marco, what is it?
MARCO: I've had a report from the guards. The Brethren.
GIULIANO: What of them?
MARCO: They're all around the palace. It's as though they're waiting for something.
GIULIANO: What could it be? A signal?
MARCO: Perhaps. They're just standing silently, in the shadows.
GIULIANO: (clapping with the others) Is Hieronymous with them?
MARCO: He's not been seen, my Lord.
GIULIANO: I don't like it, Marco. Even our guests sense that something's wrong.
(The JESTER is now performing fire-eating feats and juggling torches.)
MARCO: It'll be a very good night, Sire. Our walls are thick and solid, and our guards well trained, a match for any in the land. At least we have your uncle to thank for that.
GIULIANO: So you think we have nothing to fear?
MARCO: I think by dawn Hieronymous and his followers will have realised their mistake, and they will leave San Martino to search for easier pickings elsewhere. If need be, Sire, we can hold out here for a month. And long before that, the armies of neighbouring states will have come to our aid.
SARAH: (sotto) Have you seen the Doctor?
GIULIANO: No.
SARAH: What's keeping him? He's been gone for ages.
MARCO: It was gone eight of the evening when I told the guard.
SARAH: All this waiting, not knowing what's happening to him, it's worse than being with him.
(A man in a mask approaches and bows to her.)
SARAH: Oh, me?
(He leads her to the dance floor.)

[INT. Temple]

(The DOCTOR is now hammering his wire into place around the altar. He seats himself on the altar and begins playing with his yo-yo.)
HIERONYMOUS: (approaching from behind him) You profane the sacred stone.
DOCTOR: Hello, there. Had a hard day in the catacombs, have you?
HIERONYMOUS: You profane the sacred stone!
DOCTOR: Oh, come off it, Hieronymous! You know who I am. You can drop all that bosh about sacred stones and profanity. Just be your natural horrid self.
HIERONYMOUS: Why have you come here, Time Lord?
DOCTOR: Would you believe it? I had no choice.
HIERONYMOUS: Had it not been you, there would have been other travellers drawn into Mandragora Helix. Earth had to be possessed. Unchecked, man's curiosity might lead him away from this planet until ultimately the galaxy might not contain him. We of Mandragora will not allow a rival power within our domain.
DOCTOR: Well, you see, that's a great pity because I can't allow you to interfere with Earth's progress.
HIERONYMOUS: You arrogant dolt! How dare you oppose the might of Mandragora?
DOCTOR: It's part of a Time Lord's job to insist on justice for all species.
HIERONYMOUS: Then you will be swept aside like the dirt that you are. (we see gold energy behind the mask's eye sockets and mouth) Die, Doctor.
(He sends out a bolt of energy from his fingertip. The DOCTOR is thrown off his feet.)
DOCTOR: Time Lords don't die that easily, Hieronymous.
HIERONYMOUS: I shall crush you! (another bolt hits the DOCTOR, who grimaces and falls, and another) Now die. Now!
(One more zap taken by the breastplate leaves the light behind the mask fading in and out. It is growing weaker, though the DOCTOR is too.)
DOCTOR: Come on, Hieronymous. You can do better than that. Come on, Hieronymous.
HIERONYMOUS: Mandragora, help me!
(The light within his mask is cycling more rapidly and dramatically now.)
DOCTOR: Come on.

[INT. Throne room]

(The dance that was about to start before is now underway, with SARAH in period dress taking part with reasonable assuredness.)
SARAH: (circling GIULIANO in the dance) No sign of the Doctor?
GIULIANO: Not yet.
SARAH: Well something must have happened to him.
GIULIANO: Maybe he's here already, wearing his costume.
SARAH: No, he'd have let us know. Doctor!
(She sees a tall figure wearing a lion mask, in the shadowed area behind the throne.)
SARAH: Doctor, what happened? Where've you been? Oh, stop playing the fool and tell me what happened. Doctor? It is you?
(From behind, we see the lion mask being doffed. The view from the front then shows a ball of red-yellow light where the face should be. SARAH shrieks and runs for the main body of the room. The BRETHREN who have infiltrated the masque throw down their cloaks. We hear screams and see light-ball heads and smoke rising from people who have just been zapped by purple lightning from the helix-possessed men's hands. The smoke grows thicker as more people are struck and fall to the floor.)
HIERONYMOUS: (hands raised and having just entered in his mask and robes) Stop! Stop, brothers. The final sacrifice must be made in our temple. Bring the victims of Mandragora down.
GIULIANO: The Brethren! We've been tricked, betrayed!
FIGURE: Silence! Take them below.
(The remaining guests and others present are escorted away. It is a sombre scene, as they step past the bodies littering the floor.)

[INT. Temple]

(Bound together with ropes, at least some of the survivors watch through a hole in the wall as a shadow falls across the moon.)
SARAH: The eclipse! Look, it's beginning!
(She says this to those bound to the wall beside her. They look out through a window / hole in the ruins at the top of the room.)
HIERONYMOUS: (at the altar) Now Mandragora swallows the moon. Now, as it was written, the power of Mandragora will flood the Earth. Mandragora, we your servants welcome you. Bestow your power upon us that we may rule over the whole of your dominion.
(The BRETHREN have all placed their palms on the altar, which is bathed in a reddish glow as a red and yellow ball of helix energy descends. It reaches the altar as the prisoners look on. Forks of purple energy snake out from the altar, where the energy has come to roost. The BRETHREN fall, slipping down the sides of the altar and to the ground. The ball of energy expands, growing redder, and then dissipates. Empty robes and masks are left behind. HIERONYMOUS strides past them to the side of the altar. He lowers his cowl, and a shock of curly hair is revealed. He turns around.)
SARAH: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Well, I thought that was rather clever. (mimicking Hieronymous) A case of energy squared. It puts Mandragora back to square one. (in his normal voice) Well, don't just stand there, I'm in the market for congratulations. (clapping and then resuming the tones of Hieronymous, slow and deliberate) I wouldn't even say no to a salami sandwich.

[EXT. Woodland]

DOCTOR: Goodbye, Giuliano.
GIULIANO: Goodbye, Doctor.
DOCTOR: This is lovely salami. Thank you.
GIULIANO: Oh, it's we who should thank you. Won't you reconsider?
DOCTOR: I'm already committed. Sorry.
GIULIANO: There's so much we could learn from you.
DOCTOR: It'll all come in time. Keep an open mind. That's the secret.
SARAH: Goodbye, Giuliano.
DOCTOR: Come on, Sarah.
(GIULIANO kisses her hand.)
SARAH: Oh, coming! (turning back) Hey, thanks for inviting me to the ball. Smashing. (catching up to the DOCTOR along a wooded path) Hey, what did you think of Leonardo?
DOCTOR: Leonar... Leonardo who?
SARAH: Leonardo da Vinci.
DOCTOR: Oh, that Leonardo. No, I didn't get to see him. Good thing too.
SARAH: Oh? Why?
DOCTOR: Well, his submarine design wasn't exactly practical, you know.
(SARAH looks back and sees GIULIANO, who has followed them. She waves, and he follows suit.)
SARAH: (reaching the TARDIS) Oh, poor Giuliano. He looked so wistful.
DOCTOR: Yes.
SARAH: Will he have any more trouble from Mandragora?
DOCTOR: No, he won't, but the Earth will. Their constellation will be in position to try again in about five hundred years.
SARAH: Five hundred years. That takes us to just about the end of the twentieth century.
DOCTOR: That's right. Now that was an interesting century.
SARAH: What do you mean 'was'?
DOCTOR: Come on.
(The TARDIS dematerialises before GIULIANO's eyes.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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