His cigar emits smoke in the ashtray. Captain takes it and smokes
CAPTAIN WRIGHT
Village tales are like the village beer thorn apples.
EXT-WITCHES VALLEY SUMMER NIGHT OF THE SAME DAY
Mist twists above the lake. White nenufare opens its petals, swaying gently. It rises above the water, its stem is no longer the stem, but a slim body of a woman. It is the LAKE MAIDEN (aka Maria, 23 years old)
She has a pale face with big blue eyes, and there are white nenufares in her loose golden hair.
Her body is translucent as if woven from silver threads.
The air over the lake is filled with inaudible sounds, female laughter is heard.
The Lake Maiden as if floats on air and whispers something with her lips.
White snowstorm of petals of white nenufares rises over the lake, following her.
INT-ROOM IN THE VILLAGE INN NIGHT OF THE SAME DAY
Harry, Captain Wright, James and Georges slouch in the living room.
Karl Ivanovich lays a notebook in front of him
KARL IVANOVICH
(puts on the glasses)
I will read you the teachers diary.
JAMES
Quiet, gentlemen, quiet.
KARL IVANOVICH
(reads the teachers diary)
None of the villagers has seen him from that night. My suspicion that there was something fatal linking the incidents, left me.
INT STUDY IN THE TEACHERS COUNTRY HOUSE-DAYTIME, THE TEACHERS MEMORIES
BEGINNING OF THE MEMORIES
The TEACHER (28 years old) sits at the table in his study and writes. A pen in his hand slides on the paper.
TITLE: 1852
TEACHERS VOICE
(behind the scenes)
Yesterday my doubts came back. Heinrich the hunter had disappeared.
INT LIVING ROOM IN THE TEACHERS HOUSE SAME DAY
Heinrichs sister, MARIA (25 years old) cries in the teachers house. The teacher and his sister MINA (30 years old) comfort her
MARIA
(wipes her tears)
My brother is missing! He went hunting early on Friday morning, promising to return in time for the evening service.
TEACHER
(walks about the room)
Dont cry, we will find Heinrich.
MARIA
(knits a sock)
The rumor in the village says that the only place where we should look for him is the Witches Valley.
Mina crosses herself after Marias words
TEACHER
(stands still, looking at them)
So lets go to the valley. But why should he be there?
MINA
(knitting)
Even though Michel, the ironsmith, was found in the Witches Valley, it was only because he was dead drunk.
TEACHER
(scratching his head)
Thats right. His hunting field is on the opposite side, in the mountains.
MINA
(puts knitting on her knees)
The brother is right, they wont find your Heinrich in the Valley.
The teacher looks reproachfully at his sister. She understands that she is saying the wrong thing and becomes silent. Maria cries again
END OF THE TEACHERS MEMORIES
INT ROOM IN THE VILLAGE INN SAME NIGHT
Karl Ivanovich pauses and puts the notebook down
TITLE: 1912
HARRY
(claps his hands)
Tomorrow we are spending the night at the Hunting House. Its just near the Valley.
CAPTAIN WRIGHT
(yawns in the armchair)
Right now I dont understand anything.
HARRY
(smokes his cigar)
You will understand once a witch gets hold of you.
CAPTAIN WRIGHT
(lazily)
What is it, the Witches Valley?
JAMES
(takes whisky off the table)
I thought you knew.
HARRY
(blows smoke rings)
The Valley is located at the foot of a mountain, on top of which the castle stands. In the valleys centre there is a lake. The lakeshore is very swampy and at sunsets mists rise from its water.
He breathes out another portion of smoke
JAMES
(holds the glass of whisky in his hand)
It was this very mist that gave rise to all the legends.
HARRY
(gesticulating with his cigar in the air)
In the moonlight the mist takes on forms of beautiful women.
CAPTAIN WRIGHT
Not bad.
HARRY
Everyone who ended up in the Witches Valley on full moon was found dead.
JAMES
The lake women drink a mans life with their kisses.
Drinks his glass of whisky at a draught
VILLAGE DOCTOR (48 years old) enters the living room
VILLAGE DOCTOR
Of course he will die, the lake water is stagnant and rotten.
Everyone looks at him
HARRY
(makes a hand gesture in his direction)
Doctor, you may pay for your lack of belief.
VILLAGE DOCTOR
(sits down in a spare chair)
If a drunk makes his way to the swamp, he will either drown or catch a fever.
The front door claps on the ground floor (sound behind the scenes).
EXT VILLAGE INN SAME SUMMER NIGHT
It is dark outside. Crickets sing.
INT ROOM IN THE VILLAGE INN SAME NIGHT
Harry and his guests sit in a room with a fireplace.
Georges sleeps. Karl Ivanovich looks into the notebook
KARL IVANOVICH
(rearranges his glasses and reads)
It was only after he regained consciousness that we were able to pry open his fingers. There was the medallion of Holy Virgin.
HARRY
I guess we have missed something, havent we?
KARL IVANOVICH
Yes, there is a gap in the records.
EXT WITCHES VALLEY SUMMER EVENING, HEINRICHS MEMORIES
BEGINNING OF THE MEMORIES
TITLE: 1852
HEINRICH the hunter (20 years old) sits on the ledge of one of the rocks near a hawthorn bush.
The moon is bright. Mist rises from the lake.
Heinrich leans towards the hawthorn bush, smells the fragrance of its flowers and yawns.
Suddenly a gust of wind shakes the bush and a hawthorn branch strikes Heinrich on his chest in an instant, white flowers cover him.
A white veil covers Heinrich. The veil shines and in the middle of it a beautiful female face appears, pale and wondrous, with huge greenish eyes and pink lips (Countess Marias face).
She moves closer to him. Heinrich is unable to take his eyes off her. He tries to reach for his medallion but there is no holy picture and lace on his neck.
The LAKE MAIDEN (26 years old) moves closer to Heinrich and kisses his lips. Everything around Heinrich starts to spin. He falls down unconscious.
END OF HEINRICHS MEMORIES
EXT WITCHES VALLEY SUMMER DAY, THE TEACHERS MEMORIES
BEGINNING OF THE MEMORIES
The teacher passes by the lake back to the village. He sees a white nenufare underfoot, stops, picks it up from the ground, examines. The flower is little wilted