Saturday, May 24, 1941
In Bruz
The only inn in Bruz was called the Abbey Arms. Laurent and Norris approached the bartender. Raymond approached from the other side in order to eavesdrop on four tipsy Luftwaffe officers sitting at a table.
Laurent inquired about a room and was informed. The bartender informed him that the single rooms were all occupied by German officers, and that the double rooms were currently occupied by other borders, but he said there were available beds in the common room because the German enlisted men were all sent away today. Currently there was only one other guest in that room. Laurent accepted space in the common room for the three of them and bought a cognac for the bartender.
Laurent examined the taproom. Aside from the officers and the bartender, there were only two Frenchmen sitting a table in the corner looking at the Germans reproachfully. The bartender explained that the men had the room off the taproom and would not be able to sleep until the Germans ceased their celebrations.
Laurent asked about going to the abbey. The bartender said that they did not want to got there because it was haunted. The inhabitants were burned alive and a fallen avenges any who disturb the site.
Laurent then offered to buy the Germans another round, which inspired them to invite him to join them. He nodded to the men in the corner, but they were unmoved, as he was enabling the revelry to continue. Vincent remained at the bar and spoke to the bartender. Raymond approached the men in the corner. They were unfriendly at first, but warmed up when he bought them a round of drinks.
Laurent asked the men how they came to be flyers. One them explained that anyone with technical ability was drafted, and those with mathematical aptitude were sent to learn to fly gliders, and then transports, and over time the number of passengers decreased until they were flying Stukas. Laurent asked about that, but the Germans did not want to talk shop.
One of the officers asked Laurent why he was in town. He told them that they were sent to investigate the abbey for some German officers in Rennes. The conversation quickly changes to women. They were not too enthused about the prospects where they were going.
Laurent wormed out that they were being sent to Klausenburg in Romania. They joked about the vampires in Transylvania and did Bela Lugosi impressions. The officers were drinking because their tour in France was ending. Their entire Kampfgeschwader (approximately 50 bombers) was being transferred east. They were shipping out in two days.
They added that it appeared that Germany had given up on invading England for now. They had been bombing allied shipping for the past three months. Now there were being sent into the mountains. Laurent kept up his unsophisticated pretense to keep the Germans talking.
While this was going on, Raymond engaged with the locals. He inquired about the abbey. They related stories they had heard about ghost sightings around the abbey ruins, but they believed that they were fairy tales. The stories said that the fallen angel tickled its victims to death. They told them that the more superstitious folk in the area believed that the ruins were cursed and did not like people going out there.
Vincent learned from the bartender that there had been no deaths recently, but there had been sightings of the fallen angel in recent years, though the last was before the war.
At one point, all three recognized a young man observing them through a window, but as soon as they noticed him, he ran off.
The merriment continued for a few more hours. Around 9PM, two of the Germans passed out, and the others took them to their rooms. The French were relieved.
Raymond proposed going the abbey that night. If there was a sighting to be had, it would probably be at night. Laurent was concerned about the curfew and advised against taking the risk. They decided to spend the night at the inn and visit the abbey in the morning.
They were taken to their room, where they found a young man asleep on a bed, who awoke when they entered. He introduced himself as Olivier Pichette. He asked what brought them to Bruz. Raymond told him that they were investigating the possibility of stolen art being cached at the abbey ruins.
Olivier said that he was the local telephone repairman. He complained about the German authorities and their requirements to telephone operation and maintenance. However, he also confirmed the stories of the men in the taproom and provided directions to the abbey. He mentioned a farmer named Avenell Artois, who was the leader of the superstitious farmers, whose land was located on the other side of the hill that the abbey was on.
Sunday, May 24, 1941
At the Abbey de Saint Pol Outside Bruz
The next morning, as the church bell sounded for early mass, the team headed for the abbey ruins. As they headed up the road, there were no signs of anything unusual. They passed locals heading in the opposite direction, probably heading for mass.
They left town down the road, which degraded into a dirt road, then a cart path, and finally became impassible for their car. Laurent turned the vehicle around for their return and scanned the area for anyone following them. The open landscape they had traversed revealed that they were alone.
Laurent inquired about what the team knew about ghosts. Norris provided a detailed explanation. He said that ghosts were the disembodied spirits of people who died under inappropriate circumstances. They were said to haunt the site of their deaths or places closely related to the circumstances of their death, such as a criminal haunting a courthouse or police station. Ghosts were generally believed to be incorporeal, and therefore unable to harm the living. Victims were usually said to have “died from fright”, or “were so shaken as to be unable to speak of the events.” This led, of course, to questions of how the stories arose in the first place.
The abbey was burned down during the revolution. Nothing remained of the site except a few burnt bricks in an overgrown field at the edge of the village. As they approached the remains of the foundation, Laurent and Raymond were overcome by a feeling of dread. They searched the ruins for anything of note, but did not see anything.
Suddenly, a humanoid creature flew at Laurent from beyond the hilltop. The creature had long talons instead of hands, a mouth that opened in three sections, antennae that roughly resembled horns, and ragged, featherlike wings. It clawed Laurent in the abdomen and he fell to the ground.
Laurent struck back with the tire iron and hit the thing slightly. Raymond threw a rock at it, but missed. Norris shot the creature. The creature maintained its grasp on Laurent but was unable to take hold with the other claw. Laurent missed with his attack. Raymond threw a rock at it, but missed again.
Hearing the shots, a group of farmers appeared with rifles. Most of them were shocked and stupefied by the sight of the fallen angel, but three kept their wits and shot it. The creature exploded and when the smoke cleared, there was nothing left of it.
The horrified peasants ran off, but the other three approached. They were hesitant to enter the ruins, but overcame their reservations and came to Laurent’s aid. Raymond skillfully bandaged Laurent’s wounds. Then they carried Laurent to the car.
When they arrived there, a kubelwagen was approaching. A Leutnant and two soldiers accosted them. Raymond told them that Laurent had been gored by a bull. At first they were skeptical, but the farmers corroborated the story, and the Germans were mollified. After that they returned to the Abbey Arms.
In Bruz
The farmers asked what they were doing at the ruins. Raymond told them that they were investigating the possibility of stolen art being cached at the abbey ruins. They did not find anything to verify the anonymous tip that had been following.
While they were talking, one of the farmers left and came back a little while later with a drawing of the statue of the fallen angel that was once housed at the abbey. Raymond and Vincent examined the drawing and determined that it was of human origin. Norris surmised that the statue had been of marble, was probably about two meters tall, and estimated that it would weight about a ton.
While Laurent rested in his room and Norris minded him, Raymond filed his report to the law firm and his expenses, writing it in such a manner as to lend authenticity to his investigation in the eyes of the German authorities.