Cryptic Canticles presents Dracula Cryptic Canticles

Episode Synopsis: Mina and Van Helsing start eastward on foot, carrying provisions and means of keeping warm. Mina is tired after a steep descent, and Van Helsing finds a sort of sheltered spot that he picks to rest. Mina is still unable to take food. Van Helsing starts at the sight of the Szgany driving their wagon at top speed, upon which is the box containing the Count. Van Helsing quickly draws another holy circle protecting their location from the Count. As they watch the wagon, they catch sight of Seward and Quincey racing from the south and Jonathan and Arthur racing from the north, all on horseback converging on the team carrying the Count and hurrying to catch him before the imminent sunset. Another survey revealed clusters of wolves gathering.
Just as the team approaches their rock, Mina and Van Helsing bear their weapons as both groups of pursuers command the team to stop. Jonathan and Quincey break through the fight of attackers and manage to prise the lid of the box, despite Quincey having been wounded in the act. The Count’s body disintegrates almost immediately, frightening the Szgany, who run frightened. Attention turns immediately to Quincey, who is collapsing under the strain of his wound. Quincey attests, however, that it was worth giving his life, for the scar has disappeared from Mina’s forehead, symbolizing the eradication of her vampire affliction. Surrounded by his friends, Quincey Morris quietly passes away.
Seven years later, Jonathan recalls the horrific events of the past. He and Mina journey to Transylvania to retrace their old steps. Arthur and Seward are both married, and life has healed around their traumatic past. Mina and Jonathan have a son which they call “Quincey”. Van Helsing remarks that some day their child, who shares a birthday with the day Quincey died, will learn that his mother, Mina, is a most loved and most remarkable woman.

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Episode Synopsis: Mina continues to sleep solidly during the daylight hours. Van Helsing commits himself to remain awake at night while Mina is awake, but finds himself dozing during the day while driving the carriage, and when he awakes, is overjoyed to see the Castle Dracula looming in the distance. As they settle down for the night, Van Helsing creates a circle surrounding Mina, using the holy Eucharist broken into a fine dust. Mina admits that she is unable to leave the circle, which Van Helsing is pleased to hear, as it means she can not leave in the night. When Van Helsing gets up to feed the fire, Mina stops him, and he discovers that the swirling snow has materialized into the three Vampire Women from Jonathan’s diary. They beckon to Mina, but are unable to enter the circle. In the morning, Van Helsing discovers that the horses, who had been outside the circle, are dead. He is unable to awaken Mina to hypnotize her.
While resting the horses, Seward and Quincey catch sight of the Szgany hurrying along with their wagonload as though being chased. They are aware of the presence of wolves in the woods around them.
Van Helsing leaves Mina sleeping in the holy circle, and attends to the gristly business of sanctifying the Count’s castle against him. He is momentarily delayed by the realization that Mina might be in danger from wolves, but presses on with his work. He starts by removing the great front doors, so no spell might trap him inside the castle. He quickly finds the chapel and the three brides who sleep in their coffins. He falters in his task if dispatching them, as he begins to fall under a trance, but is awakened by the sound of Mina’s voice calling from afar. He drives his stake through each of the brides and cuts off their heads, upon which act their bodies crumble to dust. Van Helsing sanctifies the Count’s grave and meets Mina who awakens and tells him that Jonathan is coming in their direction and the end is nigh.

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Episode Synopsis: Seward and Quincey hear from the locals that Jonathan and Arthur had encountered trouble navigating some of the rapids in their steamer and need some help righting their vessel.
Van Helsing and Mina reach the Borgo Pass at sunrise. Mina made her same report at sunrise while under hypnosis. When she awakes, she recognizes the way to the Count’s castle from Jonathan’ description in his diary. Mina sleeps all day, and Van Helsing is unable to hypnotize her at sunset. Mina makes Van Helsing’s diner, but tells him that she has eaten hers already, which makes him nervous. Mina is awake and alert all night, but in the morning, Van Helsing is unable to hypnotize her before sunrise, but she falls into such a deep sleep, he has to lift her into the carriage. Van Helsing worries about the acceleration of Mina’s affliction.
Jonathan agonizes over the accident that he and Arthur had encountered earlier, surmising that had it not occurred, he believes that they could have overtaken the Count already. He prepares his arms for the possible combat ahead, and writes a preemptive goodbye to Mina should he be unable to write again.

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Episode Synopsis: Seward worries about the impending snow as he and Quincey continue to follow the Count. They hear from the local people that Jonathan and Arthur’s boat had recently passed by and is en route to Bistritza.

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Episode Synopsis: Jonathan is surprised to see that instead of waking him for his watch, Arthur had let his sleep through the night so that he might recover his strength. Jonathan wonders if Mina and Van Helsing have reached he Borgo Pass yet, and how Seward and Quincey are getting along.
Despite only pausing long enough to rest the horses, Seward and Quincey feel surprisingly alert under the circumstances, which Seward attributes to habit from their previous hunting experience.
Mina convinces Van Helsing to let her share the driving, as his strength will be more critical later. The day is bright, but cold and somehow oppressive. Van Helsing’s hypnosis reveals that the water is changing somewhat, but the Count continues to rest aboard the boat.
Van Helsing purchases two additional horses when he exchanges the last ones for the final leg of their journey. They expect to reach the Borgo Pass the following day. Mina wishes that God will watch over Jonathan, with the understanding that she herself is still unclean in his eyes.

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Episode Synopsis: Jonathan and Arthur continue to follow their presumed path of the Count up the river, searching the boats they come across. Struck with an idea, they fly a Romanian flag over their boat so the other boats that they search will think they are a government craft and give them no trouble.
Mina and Van Helsing travel over the countryside, exchanging their tired horses for fresh ones through the good nature of kindly farmers who feed them along the way. Once, Mina removes her hat, and a woman starts at the sight of the red scar on her forehead. Mina carefully keeps her scar hidden from the townsfolk henceforth. Van Helsing’s hypnosis report is unchanged.

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