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A straight-up retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula, though it could go off the rails...

I swear there's secret state-tracking going on under the hood.
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JONATHAN - 3. May
Location
Thailand
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He/Him
(Kept in shorthand.)

3 May. Bistritz
— Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late. The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the most western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish rule.

We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh. Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem., get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called "paprika hendl," and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians. I found my smattering of German very useful here; indeed, I don't know how I should be able to get on without it.

  1. [ ] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had spent it wholly in visiting the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania...
  2. [ ] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had telegrammed to an old friend situated in the Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, detailing my curiosity regarding my client, a nobleman from Transylvania, and my hope to call upon him when I arrived at Buda-Pesth. Though this would perhaps grant me more current information than the British Museum's archives, the work on coordinating our meeting would preclude further research...
  3. [ ] Write-In
 
[X] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had spent it wholly in visiting the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania...
 
[X] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had telegrammed to an old friend situated in the Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, detailing my curiosity regarding my client, a nobleman from Transylvania, and my hope to call upon him when I arrived at Buda-Pesth. Though this would perhaps grant me more current information than the British Museum's archives, the work on coordinating our meeting would preclude further research...
 
[X] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had telegrammed to an old friend situated in the Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, detailing my curiosity regarding my client, a nobleman from Transylvania, and my hope to call upon him when I arrived at Buda-Pesth. Though this would perhaps grant me more current information than the British Museum's archives, the work on coordinating our meeting would preclude further research...

Nothing "current" about our client, but we are not sure when exactly did he decide to settle in Transylvania and portray himself as a Szekely nobleman.
 
JONATHAN - 4. May
[X] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had telegrammed to an old friend situated in the Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem, detailing my curiosity regarding my client, a nobleman from Transylvania, and my hope to call upon him when I arrived at Buda-Pesth. It had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country. Though this may have perhaps granted me more current information than the British Museum's archives, the work on coordinating our meeting had precluded further research.

Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets. We had arrived late, and so I had less time than expected to visit my former schoolmate. We found that the district Count Dracula named is in the extreme east of the country, just on the borders of three states, Transylvania, Moldavia and Bukovina, in the midst of the Carpathian mountains; one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe.

My friend, Max Windshoeffel, was not able to light on any map or work giving the exact locality of the Castle Dracula, but we did find that Bistritz, the post town named by Count Dracula, is a fairly well-known place. Not to be undone by unfortunate scheduling, Max had elected to forgo geography and instead share what he could find of my client's family name. I shall enter here some of my notes, as they may refresh my memory when I talk over my travels with Mina.

Max had happened upon the name "Dracula" in relation to the descendants of Vlad Dracul, a prince of Wallachia, a country bordering my client's residence. It would seem that the Dracula family had ruled Wallachia from the late 14th century to the 17th century, and briefly Transylvania. That the name Dracul, meaning Dragon, is not common, had made him theorize a familial relation between Count Dracula and his supposed ancestor. (Mem., Perhaps I ask the Count about his family?)

Speaking of Klausenburgh, I did not sleep well, though my bed was comfortable enough, for I had all sorts of queer dreams. There was a cat yowling all night under my window, which may have had something to do with it; or it may have been the paprika, for I had to drink up all the water in my carafe, and was still thirsty. Towards morning I slept and was wakened by the continuous knocking at my door, so I guess I must have been sleeping soundly then.

I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of porridge of maize flour which they said was "mamaliga," and sour cabbage rolls stuffed with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they call "sarmale." (Mem., get recipe for this also.) I had to hurry breakfast, for the train started a little before eight.

All day long we seemed to dawdle through a country which was full of beauty of every kind. Sometimes we saw little towns or castles on the top of steep hills such as we see in old missals; sometimes we ran by rivers and streams which seemed from the wide stony margin on each side of them to be subject to great floods. It takes a lot of water, and running strong, to sweep the outside edge of a river clear. At every station there were groups of people, sometimes crowds, and in all sorts of attire. Some of them were just like the peasants at home or those I saw coming through France and Germany, with short jackets and round hats and home-made trousers; but others were very picturesque. The women bore homely features, and had all full white sleeves of some kind or other, and most of them had big belts with a lot of strips of something fluttering from them like the dresses in a ballet, but of course there were petticoats under them. The strangest figures we saw were the Slovaks, with their big cow-boy hats, great baggy dirty-white trousers, white linen shirts, and enormous heavy leather belts, nearly a foot wide, all studded over with brass nails. They wore high boots, with their trousers tucked into them, and had long black hair and heavy black moustaches.

It was on the dark side of twilight when we got to Bistritz, which is a very interesting old place. Being practically on the frontier--for the Borgo Pass leads from it into Bukovina--it has had a very turbulent existence, and it certainly shows marks of it. Fifty years ago a series of great fires took place, which made terrible havoc on five separate occasions. At the very beginning of the seventeenth century it underwent a siege of three weeks and lost 13,000 people, the casualties of war proper being assisted by famine and disease.

Count Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel, which I found, to my great delight, to be thoroughly old-fashioned, for of course I wanted to see all I could of the ways of the country. I was evidently expected, for when I got near the door I faced a cheery-looking elderly woman in the usual peasant dress--white undergarment with long double apron, front, and back, of coloured stuff fitting almost too tight for modesty.

When I came close she bowed and said, "The Herr Englishman?"

"Yes," I said, "Jonathan Harker."

She smiled, and gave some message to an elderly man in white shirt-sleeves, who had followed her to the door. He went, but immediately returned with a letter:

"My Friend.--Welcome to the Carpathians. I am anxiously expecting you. Sleep well to-night. At three to-morrow the diligence will start for Bukovina; a place on it is kept for you. At the Borgo Pass my carriage will await you and will bring you to me. I trust that your journey from London has been a happy one, and that you will enjoy your stay in my beautiful land.

Your friend,
DRACULA.

4 May.—
I found that my landlord had got a letter from the Count, directing him to secure the best place on the coach for me; but on making inquiries as to details he seemed somewhat reticent, and pretended that he could not understand my German. This could not be true, because up to then he had understood it perfectly; at least, he answered my questions exactly as if he did. He and his wife, the old lady who had received me, looked at each other in a frightened sort of way. He mumbled out that the money had been sent in a letter, and that was all he knew. When I asked him if he knew Count Dracula, and could tell me anything of his castle, both he and his wife crossed themselves, and, saying that they knew nothing at all, simply refused to speak further. It was so near the time of starting that I had no time to ask any one else, for it was all very mysterious and not by any means comforting.

Just before I was leaving, the old lady came up to my room and said in a very hysterical way:

"Must you go? Oh! young Herr, must you go?" She was in such an excited state that she seemed to have lost her grip of what German she knew, and mixed it all up with some other language which I did not know at all. I was just able to follow her by asking many questions. When I told her that I must go at once, and that I was engaged on important business, she asked again:

"Do you know what day it is?" I answered that it was the fourth of May. She shook her head as she said again:

"Oh, yes! I know that! I know that, but do you know what day it is?"

On my saying that I did not understand, she went on:

"It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?" She was in such evident distress that I tried to comfort her, but without effect. Finally she went down on her knees and implored me not to go; at least to wait a day or two before starting. It was all very ridiculous but I did not feel comfortable. However, there was business to be done, and I could allow nothing to interfere with it. I therefore tried to raise her up, and said, as gravely as I could, that I thanked her, but my duty was imperative, and that I must go. She then rose and dried her eyes, and taking a crucifix from her neck offered it to me. I did not know what to do, for, as an English Churchman, I have been taught to regard such things as in some measure idolatrous.

[ ] Yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind. She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said, "For your mother's sake," and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix is still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady's fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.

[ ] She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she tried to put the rosary round my neck, leading to an awkward period of struggle as I tried the best I could to not encourage her overactive imagination, warding her off gingerly, until at last she gave up, muttering "Oh, may the Lord protect you!" and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; Finding my patience already wearing thin at the delay, or perhaps the many ghostly traditions of this place, I steadied my nerves with a short walk round the hotel and found myself much refreshed.

If this book should ever reach Mina before I do, let it bring my good-bye. Here comes the coach!
 
Yummy, hope it was with extra cheese.

[X] Yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind. She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said, "For your mother's sake," and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix is still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady's fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.
 
[X] Yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind. She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said, "For your mother's sake," and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix is still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady's fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.
 
[X] Yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind. She saw, I suppose, the doubt in my face, for she put the rosary round my neck, and said, "For your mother's sake," and went out of the room. I am writing up this part of the diary whilst I am waiting for the coach, which is, of course, late; and the crucifix is still round my neck. Whether it is the old lady's fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.
 
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