The Snake Pit Seth Estlow -Part 1It was the year 1188 AD and Joachim von Wolfen

had received a message from the Pope to come to Rome quickly. He was a knight of the Holy Roman Empire, and this meant whatever the Pope willed of him, he must do. The knight had just entered Rome and dismounted, leading his horse to the Popes palace. The guards allowed the knight entry and the stable boy took his horse away as the knight ascended the stairway to the palace. After he entered, he was led to the Popes throne room. The Pope sat patiently in his throne as the knight entered and asked why he had been sent for. You see, my son, the Pope began, there is a great relic hidden in the tomb of Pharaoh Apepi, in the land of Egypt. It was stolen from Rome and taken there by heathens. I want you to go to Egypt and search the tomb of Apepi until you find that relic, and then bring it back to its rightful place in Rome. What is this relic, Father? the knight asked. It is none other than the Spear of Destiny which pierced Our Lords side after he died on the cross for the sins of man. I have arranged for a ship to take you to Egypt. I will have one of my men escort you to the dock where it waits for you. Thank you, Holy Father, the knight said with a bow. A guard came and introduced himself as Gunther, palace guard of the Pope. Gunther escorted Joachim out of the throne room and out of the palace, to the steps. The knights horse, along with Gunthers horse, was waiting at the bottom of the steps. Joachim and the Gunther mounted their steeds, and the knight followed the guard out of Rome and to the western shore where a large ship was waiting, bearing the Papal seal of two crossed keys upon its sail. The knight said goodbye to the guard who had led him there, and Gunther turned to ride back to Rome as Joachim boarded the ship. On the ship a short, portly man in priests vestments approached the young knight. The man had a look of solemnity upon his round face, and the knight addressed him as Father, asking why there would be a priest on the ship. The stout priest responded by saying, His Holiness requested there be at least one priest on the ship Santa Barbara. You see, the Pope wished that you be shriven before your quest so that if you die, you would not do so with sin weighing heavily on your heart. Die? Joachim asked. I thought I was just searching an Egyptian tomb to find the Spear of Destiny. Yes, the priest said, but there may be worse things in that tomb than just dead bodies. That is why I am here. By the way, my named is Father Matteo. If you need any kind of blessings or guidance while you are on this ship, please ask. Thank you, Father, the knight said. As the priest walked away, Joachim turned to lean against the ships rail, gazing at Rome as it grew smaller and smaller. What did Father Matteo mean by worse things? What could possibly be awaiting him in the tomb of Pharaoh Apepi? On the way across the Mediterranean Joachim got to know the whole crew of the ship. After several days at sea, the ship entered the Nile delta and traveled down the length of the Nile. At last the ship came to rest at the docks of the city of Nubt, which the

Saracens call Naqada. The crew left the ship, heading to the nearest town, but Joachim followed Father Matteo to an ancient building of stone. The ancient Egyptian city of Nubt was the site if the temple of the God called Set, who was a God of evil and foe of the other Gods, Matteo explained. The tomb of the Pharaoh Apepi is within the Temple of Set, which lies ahead. The Pope instructed me to follow you to the temple, that you may be shriven and receive the Eucharist one last time before you enter the tomb. The knight agreed to this, and confessed his sins to the priest, saying his Ave Marias and Pater Nosters to absolve himself, and then the priest reached into his robe, drawing out a box of wafers, a small flask of wine and a small chalice. The knight received the Eucharist, and then he said goodbye to Father Matteo, entering the Temple of Set, which had lain in ruin for hundreds of years. The knight passed between two colossal statues of the bestial God Set, entering the tall stone archway. It was as if he had entered another world. He coughed, overcome by thick clouds of dust, and then he lit his lantern. As he looked around, he saw monstrous statues of serpents with jeweled eyes that seemed to gaze hungrily at him. He even imagined that he heard snakes hissing in the darkness. He had certainly entered a den of evil a nest of foul serpentine wickedness intent on devouring his soul

-Part 2As the knight Joachim von Wolfen searched the temple, trying to find the entrance to Pharaoh Apepis tomb, a chill ran down his spine. He definitely heard serpentine hissing coming from somewhere, though he dreaded to find out where. After a long period of searching, the knight found a small trapdoor in the stone floor, behind an altar which bore the hideous remains of some creature he could not identify. He opened the trapdoor and descended the long stairway. At the bottom of the stairs he could detect torchlight, and there was a strange chanting from at least a dozen voices: "A'a Ssset, it ne Apepi, A'a Ssset, ii ini a'nekh en Per-a'a Apepi..." As he went down the stairs the chanting changed and grew louder: "A'a Ssset, kheftey ne Netjer, kheftey ne Asar, debehen iiek a'q Apepi..." The knight put out his lantern as he descended the stairs. The light had grown very bright, and he no longer needed the lantern to light his way. The hissing of the serpents grew ever louder, and as the knight peered out of the shadows, he saw where the chanting and the hissing were coming from. There was a vast ritual chamber where men in ancient Egyptian garb, wearing monstrous masks, recited the chants in a ghastly torch-lit chamber amidst hundreds of writing serpents. Upon a dais at the head of the chamber was a high priest in white robes. He also wore a strange, bestial mask and stood over a mummy adorned with gold and jewels. The priest stood prepared to drive a spear into the mummy. The spear appeared to be the object of the knight's search: the legendary Spear of Destiny! He recognized it from drawings he had been shown by the Pope! The knight sat there listening. He did not recognize the language the cult had been chanting in before, but it seemed now that the priest spoke in Arabic, which Joachim had learned while crusading in the Holy Land. It seemed the serpent-cult was composed of Saracens who worshipped the unholy trinity of Apollo, Muhammad and Termagant by day (or so most of Christendom believed), and by night, they gathered in the tomb of Pharaoh Apepi to worship the Serpent-God Set. The high priest spoke: Great Serpent-God Set, we have come here tonight to honor you. We have gathered here to use this relic, the legendary Wand of Fire, to channel your power into the mummy of Pharaoh Apepi, the great lord of Egypt who enslaved the sons of Yishrael, who brought forth the plagues! We are here to awaken Apepi to wreak his vengeance upon the sons of Yishrael! Pharaoh Apepi, awaken!! The high priest drove the spear into the mummy. There was a burst of flame, and the mummy sat up, groaning monstrously. Yes, Pharaoh Apepi! the high priest shouted. Awaken, by the power of the spear that pierced the side of Asar when Sutekh sacrificed him! Awaken, by the Wand of Fire, and seek out the foes of the Serpent! The mummy stood up and groaned once more, and then began shuffling toward the stairs. The mummy knew Joachim was there! The mummy knew Joachim was a foe of the demonic Serpent God! To Joachim, Set, the Serpent was no other than the Devil himself! Apepi knew that Joachim was a vassal of Christ, and that he was here to retrieve the Spear of Destiny. Though the cult called it the Wand of Fire, and they said that the spear had pierced the side of Asar, Joachim knew it to be the holy spear which pierced the side of Christ, redeemer of the world. He had to somehow sidestep the mummy and take the spear, returning it safely to Rome.

As the mummy of Pharaoh Apepi drew ever closer, the panicked knight fought his fears, emerging from the stairwell and drawing his sword. He tried to deftly circumnavigate the ancient corpse. Though his heavy suit of clinking chainmail weighed him down, the knight outpaced the lumbering, centuries-old corpse and rushed toward the high priest who stood there, still clutching the legendary spear. The knight thrust his longsword into its scabbard once more. With both hands free, he now grasped the spear that the high priest held, tearing it from his hands. With a closer look, he now saw that the long wooden shaft of the spear was covered in strange runes, likely some kind of angelic script. Now that he held it, the iron head of the spear burst into flames. A collective gasp arose from the priest and his congregation. The priest spoke loudly in Arabic, The spear goes ablaze in his hands! He is of the line of the Wolf! We must slay him before he destroys us all! The congregation drew their ancient sickle-swords and rushed toward the knight. Kill the Wulfing! they shouted, Kill the Wulfing! The knight drew the spear back, preparing to defend himself. The butt-end of the spear struck the wooden mask of the high priest, knocking it off of his face. The true face of the high priest was revealed. He was no normal Saracen. His face was covered in dullgreen scales. He had huge amber-colored eyes with narrow slit pupils. His wide mouth bore long, sharp fangs that continuously dripped venom, and his tongue, slender and forked, flickered in and out of his widening mouth. His jaws stretched wider and wider, as if to swallow Joachim whole. The knight shrank back in fright. Now do you sssee what sssnake pit youve crawled into, ssson of wolvesss?! the high priest hissed. Wretched abomination, Joachim shouted, face the Lords holy wrath! The knight drove the spear into the mouth of the high priest, piercing his skull, but the cultists and the mummy drew ever closer to him. Foul demons, God will punish you! the knight cried out. Joachim raised his spear, but the cultists and the mummy drew closer, ever closer. In that moment, the holy knight was assailed by dark doubt, as the servants of Satan fell upon their solitary prey

-Part 3The knight, in a moment of fearful desperation, realized his destiny. For years his forefathers had suppressed the true nature of the von Wolfen line, but in mortal danger the knight had uncovered something bestial and primal which had been a fundamental part of his and his forefathers being since the very beginnings of his people. His heart beat faster and faster, triggering a response that altered his very physiognomy. Somehow, in times of extreme stress, some members of his line were capable of taking on a newer, more feral form. Grey fur sprouted all over his body. His fingernails and toenails became sharp claws. His ears grew to points, and his nose and mouth grew to a long fanged snout, enhancing his senses. His eyes became wild and yellow, and a bushy tail spouted from his backside. His muscles grew dense and powerful, like a monstrous beast. The werewolfs form stretched the iron rings of his chainmail, and in his paw he still clutched the Spear of Destiny. The creature howled fiercely and all of the cultists drew back. They threw their wooden masks off of their faces, revealing their serpentine visages. They hissed loudly as their wolfish foe gazed back at them with fierce eyes. For a long, silent moment they stood there and stared at each other, but at last, the mummy shuffled toward the knight, grasping his throat with iron-strong bandaged hands. The werewolf drove the spear again and again into the mummy, but every time he did so, the mummy grew stronger. He dimly realized the spear which had given life to the mummy could not harm it. Without the time or awareness to draw his sword, he simply threw the spear behind him and wrapped his clawed hands around the mummys throat. The serpent-faced cultists clambered around the mummy and the werewolf, and one of them grasped the spear. Victoriously that single cultist raised the spear aloft, and all the other cultists burst into a hissing laughter. The cultists turned, facing the werewolf. The mummy and the werewolf were clenched in a deadlock, with the claws of each of them around the other's throat. Suddenly something snapped. The dry, crushed neck of the mummy was severed, and his hollow skull fell to the floor. Serpents emerged from his empty eye sockets to writhe on the floor with their scaly kin. The mummy's stiff, dry body fell to the floor and the cultists drew back in terror. Suddenly they began to race for the stairs. The werewolf fell upon them as they fled and his lips drew back in perverse glee. The situation changed to a massacre -- an orgy of teeth, claws and blood! Their tortured screams were music to his ears! Now he was the stuff of their nightmares! He chased them down one by one, rending their flesh, ripping their throats, and reveling in their sheer terror! Shrieking in primal fear, they clumsily climbed the stone steps, vainly hoping to survive the werewolfs brutal onslaught. He had already slain four of the creatures by the time the first one, the holder of the spear, reached the foot of the stairs. As they struggled to climb the stairs all at once, the scaly creatures jostled one another, and as six took the stairs, two-by-two, the werewolf shredded through the throats of the two that lagged behind. He leapt over the corpses, thrilled by the hunt, and took down the next pair of snake-men who ascended the stairs. As the werewolf tore into the next pair of snake-men, the pair in the lead emerged from the trapdoor, entering the temple of Set. The werewolf emerged from the trapdoor, and the snake-man who held the Spear of Destiny shoved the other remaining snake-man at the werewolf in an effort to slow him down. The werewolf tore the one snake-man in half as the other snake-man, the one holding the spear, rushed out of the front door of the temple. In the darkness of night, under

the full moon, the werewolf chased his quarry across the sands. The werewolf pounced upon the snake-man, who raised the spear, hoping to impale the werewolf. With perfect timing, the werewolf swung his clawed hand, batting the spear onto the sand too far for the reptilian creature to reach it. Pinned beneath the weight of the werewolf, the snake-man shrieked in terror, and the sharp fangs of the werewolf sank into the snake-man's neck, tightening on his throat and at last, in one fluid motion, tearing it out. Crimson blood spilled across the sand...

-Part 4The light of the sun stung Joachim's eyes. Dry, rust-colored blood was caked around his mouth, and spilt on his neck and his chainmail, which seemed to have been somehow warped. His head pounded with a terrific pain. Once his vision cleared, he saw the figure of Father Matteo standing over him. "F... Father?" he groaned. "Stand up, my boy," the priest said. "You've served the Church well." The knight sat up. "The... spear?" he whispered. The priest raised up the spear. "I have it, boy. The Church is indebted to you." The knight stood up and looked at his hands. They were covered in blood. "W-What... have I...?" "There was a strange corpse here, boy," the priest explained. "It had the body of a man, but the face of a snake. I had to hide it in the temple. We wouldn't want to startle the locals." Suddenly all of the previous night's memories came flooding back -- the strange, bestial hunger he felt, the joy he took in the slaughter, the transformation, drawn from the pagan horrors and witchcraft of the past... Weeping, trembling, he fell to his knees before the priest. "My sins, Father," he cried. "My sins... Such a brutal hunger! I cannot free myself from such a curse... I am damned, father, forever damned..." "Worry not, my boy," the priest said comfortingly, placing his hand upon the knight's head. "There are certain things the Church is better off not knowing. Regardless of the methods... what you have accomplished here is a great favor to the Church. These acts... can be both the sin and the penance..." The knight stood to his feet once more. "We must return to Rome, Father Matteo," he said. "For good or ill, I have accomplished what I was sent here to accomplish. Let us leave." The priest and the knight walked back to the city of Naqada where they gathered up the crew, who had been staying there comfortably for the past night. The crew, the priest and the knight returned to the Santa Barbara. They sailed back up the Nile and out of the delta. As they sailed over the Mediterranean the knight sat on the deck, gazing vacantly at the floor. The priest stood next to him. I had not realized, Father, the knight said. The legends the curse of my family, the legacy of the house of von Wolfen Surely I and all my line are damned. No, Joachim, the priest said. I knew your father, Ernst von Wolfen. The von Wolfen line is a race of very noble men. Whatever demons you and your forebears dealt with was not of their choosing. Still, the von Wolfen line has ever borne their burden with the utmost virtue and courage. Surely, for men whose life can be such hell the hereafter should only be eternal peace and rest. If Our Lord is truly just, then such men will receive great succor for the curse that has been placed on their lineage since time immemorial. With those words of consolation in his mind, the tortured knight smiled briefly as he gazed up, into the calm red sky. The peaceful shining sun set below the horizon, closing this chapter in the young knights life. Still, there were many more adventures ahead, but those are tales for another time