The Raven: Whip, Fire, and the Medallion's Burn
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Indy intervenes dramatically, using his whip and gun to rescue Marion, initiating a chaotic fight.
A fierce battle ensues, with Marion and Indy fighting off the attackers amidst a growing fire in the bar.
Belzig discovers the medallion but is burned by its heat, forcing him to flee as the bar's destruction continues.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Controlled urgency — outwardly composed and precise while urgently focused on rescuing Marion and neutralizing the Nazi threat.
Bursts in through the front door with bullwhip and .45, disarms Belzig by snapping the whip around the glowing poker, fires his .45 at threats, and wrestles on the floor with the Giant Sherpa for control of his pistol while exploiting the chaos to protect Marion.
- • Prevent Belzig and his men from torturing Marion and seizing the medallion.
- • Recover and retain his .45 sidearm to neutralize attackers and enable escape.
- • Physical intervention is necessary to stop the interrogation immediately.
- • The medallion is dangerous and must not fall into Nazi hands.
Fearful and cornered at first, then fiercely determined and enraged, channeling terror into blunt, effective violence to survive.
Initially captive and terrified as Belzig threatens her with a glowing poker; when Indy intervenes she scrambles behind the bar, grabs Mahdlo's axe handle, strikes the Mongolian, and later seizes a submachine gun to fire back while the bar erupts into flames.
- • Survive the interrogation and rescue her own life and property.
- • Keep the medallion's location and any leverage away from the Nazis.
- • Direct resistance is necessary when threatened with torture.
- • Money and artifacts are bargaining chips she must protect to maintain leverage.
Cruel satisfaction that flips to acute agony and panic the instant the medallion sears him — his composure collapses into frantic flight.
Leads the interrogation, brandishes a poker heated in the fireplace to coerce Marion, seeks the medallion amid the ensuing inferno, snatches it with triumphant greed, and is instantly burned; he screams and bolts through the glass window to escape the pain.
- • Extract the medallion and any intelligence about Indiana Jones' involvement.
- • Demonstrate dominance and intimidate Marion into compliance.
- • Torture and intimidation are effective tools to extract information.
- • Possessing the artifact will secure power and advantage for his superiors.
Alert and eager to follow orders; quickly transitions to shock and death upon being shot.
Initially stands guard near the medallion, drinks from a bottle exposing the artifact, then rises with a submachine gun on Belzig's command; he is surprised when Indy and the Giant Sherpa turn and shoot him dead.
- • Follow Belzig's orders and secure the interrogation.
- • Detain or kill threats (Indy and the Sherpa) to maintain control.
- • Obedience and brute force will accomplish the squad's aims.
- • The Nazi leaders' commands are to be executed without question.
Gleeful cruelty that turns instantly into surprise and fatal shock from Indy's shot.
Flanks Marion and watches the glowing poker approach with sadistic pleasure; when the firefight begins he draws a Luger and is immediately shot by Indy, dropping dead against the bar.
- • Participate in Marion's intimidation and ensure compliance.
- • Use personal violence to augment Belzig's interrogation.
- • The group has absolute advantage and can brutalize her with impunity.
- • Quick violence will produce the answers Belzig wants.
Overconfident and predatory until abruptly incapacitated and stunned by Marion's blow.
Moves behind the bar menacingly, aims a submachine gun at Indy and others, and is knocked unconscious when Marion bashes him with the axe handle; his threat is neutralized quickly by her improvised strike.
- • Intimidate and control Marion to force disclosure of the medallion.
- • Support Belzig's violent objectives by using firepower to suppress resistance.
- • Force and weapons guarantee compliance.
- • Marion is an easy target to be subdued physically.
Protective and reactive — initially aggressive then cooperative toward Indy when the common threat reveals itself.
Bursts through the door, tackles Indy from behind, wrestles on the floor for the .45, exchanges alarmed looks with Indy, then fights alongside him to shoot the Second Nazi before being upended by Indy with a spittoon and later overturned onto a table.
- • Exploit the brawl for whatever advantage (loot, fighting chance).
- • Survive the sudden firefight and escape the burning bar.
- • Physical might is the most reliable means of control in a tavern brawl.
- • Allies can be temporary and chosen by circumstance rather than loyalty.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Indy's .45 is used actively: he raises it upon entry, fires decisive shots (killing the Nepalese), and later loses it in a grapple with the Giant Sherpa before recovering in the scuffle. It serves as both protection and an object of violent contest.
Mahdlo's big axe handle is seized by Marion during the fight; she uses it as an improvised bludgeon to knock the Mongolian unconscious, turning a defensive prop into an offensive survival tool.
Indy's pile of American money is present on the bar as a concealed bargaining chip and motivator; it contextualizes Marion's leverage and the Nazis' interest even though it does not change hands during the firefight.
Marion's small wooden cash box held Indy's bills and sat on the bar; it is part of the setup that explains why the medallion is exposed and why Belzig expects monetary leverage, even as the firefight overtakes the location.
Marion's Baretta is hidden behind the stuffed raven and nearly accessed earlier; during the firefight it remains un-drawn but its concealment influences Marion's choices and the scene's tension about whether she can access a secret weapon.
Second Nazi's submachine gun is the squad's primary automatic weapon; he takes it up to fire on Indy and the Sherpa on Belzig's order, but it is turned against him as the two blast him dead in self-defense.
The Nepalese henchman's Luger is drawn to threaten Indy and Marion during the melee, but is used briefly before he is shot by Indy's .45; the pistol's appearance raises the immediate lethal stakes.
Belzig's poker — heated in the fireplace — is the immediate torture instrument; it threatens Marion's face until Indy's whip disarms him. Once flung into the curtains it ignites the blaze; later it is incidental as attention shifts to the medallion and the fire.
A brass spittoon is seized by Indy and used as an improvised bludgeon against the Giant Sherpa's wrist to free the .45 — a resourceful weaponization of bar fixtures that underscores Indy's improvisational combat style.
Whiskey bottles and assorted spirits on the bar explode when the burning fragment drops onto the alcohol-soaked top, acting as accelerants and turning small flames into bottle explosions that further the chaos and create 'Molotov' like blasts.
The stuffed raven conceals Marion's Baretta and is struck by stray bullets during Belzig's firing; it acts as both prop and near-miss concealment for a potential weapon, reinforcing the bar's layered defenses.
Yak skin bunting on the ceiling acts as a flammable decorative that carries the fire rapidly across the room once the curtains ignite, accelerating the blaze and making the environment deadly and unpredictable.
The Mongolian's (and other henchmen's) submachine guns provide suppressing fire that escalates the gunfight; one such gun is seized by Marion who fires it wildly into the ceiling, contributing to the fire and shifting battlefield control.
Indy's bullwhip is the immediate catalyst: he cracks it around Belzig's glowing poker, yanking the poker free and sending it into the curtains. The whip's precise use triggers the conflagration that turns interrogation into chaotic combat and forces all parties to react.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Raven Saloon functions as the crucible for this confrontation: a cramped, alcohol-saturated tavern where power (money, artifact, and weapons) meets personal history. Its layout — bar, fireplace, window — shapes tactics, provides concealments and improvised weapons, and channels escape routes as fire and bullets rip through the space.
The fireplace corner serves as the origin point for Belzig's torture tool and as a staging area where Belzig theatrically positions himself; its proximity to the poker and heat makes it narratively responsible for the ignition sequence.
The front window and its glass become an exit and final tableau: Belzig dives through the glass to escape searing pain, shattering the boundary and marking a humiliating, frantic retreat for the interrogator.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Nazi organization is the operant antagonist: its officers and henchmen execute a coercive raid to recover the artifact and intimidate locals. In this event the organization's violent methods — torture, armed intimidation, and squad discipline — directly produce the confrontation and casualties, exposing both its ruthlessness and vulnerability to the artifact’s supernatural properties.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
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Key Dialogue
"BELZIG: "Good evening, Fraulein.""
"MARION: "The bar’s closed.""
"INDY: "Hello.""