Jacob (A Field in England)

Jacob

Background

Jacob is a soldier in England. He has multiple health ailments.

During the events of A Field in England (2013) played by Peter Ferdinando

During a battle of the English Civil War in Monmouthshire, Whitehead stumbles towards Jacob who is going through a supposedly dead Friend's stuff. Jacob starts attacking Whitehead and Cutler when he thinks they are members of the opposing forces and Cutler tells him that they are no longer a part of any army. He tells the others that he knows of an ale house not far away and Friend suddenly gets up. They start to walk towards where the ale house is supposed to be and Whitehead contemplates going back to the battle. Cutler notices the sounds of battle have faded and they continue on their way. They arrive at Cutler's camp and he goes to gather mushrooms for a soup. He offers the soup to the others and Friend and Jacob eat it, but Whitehead says he is fasting.

Whitehead asks the others to help him and takes them to a fairy circle where they find a rope tied to a rune covered wooden post. Cutler then convinces them to pull on the rope and they pull O'Neil from the ground. Whitehead recognizes him as the man he was ordered by his master to find. Jacob and Friend start to feel the effects of the hallucinogenic mushrooms Cutler fed them and Whitehead tries to get them to help him detain O'Neil. Cutler hands Friend and Jacob shovels and orders them to follow him. O'Neil brings them to his camp and then tortures Whitehead in his tent. He ties a rope around Whitehead and Whitehead, in a trance runs to a certain spot in the field. O'Neil then has Jacob and Friend dig a hole. Friend, Jacob and Whitehead continue to dig the hole and eventually have to put in shoring.

Jacob starts to scream in pain and Whitehead examines him and tells him that he has a venereal disease, gout, bloody flux, apostem of the mouth, the pissing disease, St. Anthony's Fire, Illiac Passion, hemorrhoids and palsy brought on by consumption of alcohol. Friend and Jacob start to fight and Cutler pees on them to get them to stop. Jacob charges at Cutler and Cutler fires at him, but shoots Friend in the chest. Friend tells Jacob and Whitehead that he never had friends like them and asks that they send a message to his wife that he hated her, burned her father's barn down and that he loved her sister who he had sex with often. Friend's body is dragged out of the hole and Cutler is forced to take his place and dig. Jacob then wanders off. Jacob goes back to save Whitehead. O'Neil shoots Cutler dead.

After O'Neil walks away, Jacob runs to Cutler's body and takes one of his pistols and gives it to Whitehead. Jacob and Whitehead go to O'Neil's tent and Jacob takes a rifle that was left behind. Friend appears behind them alive and with no wound and calls to O'Neil. O'Neil fires his pistol and shoots Jacob in the stomach and Jacob shoots O'Neil in the ankle, which collapses under him. Whitehead tells Jacob that the treasure was the friendship they had. Jacob then dies.