Curators of Knowledge
Posted on Wed May 14th, 2025 @ 11:12am by Kurt Wagner & Pietro Maximoff
3,540 words; about a 18 minute read
Mission:
Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: Sedlec Ossuary | Czechoslovakia
Timeline: January 1st, 1990
Kurt sat alone in the War Room, illuminated only by the soft glow of the monitor in front of him. The week spent in Genosha had been one of trials and tribulations that he wanted to put behind him. The rest of December had been life-changing as well, perhaps in ways he wasn't ready to admit. Developing real friendships had always been difficult, yet he found himself surrounded by them in just a matter of months. But after last night, Kurt realized he had been neglecting his true purpose. His mission to find and rescue Wanda had been his entire reason for leaving Winzeldorf. It was time for him to finish what he'd started.
Now his greatest obstacle was technology. It had taken a few tutorials from Connor, but at least Kurt had gotten the hang of this apparatus, at least for the purpose of search functions. His yellow eyes scanned the flickering display, taking in page after page of information that would have taken ages in the monastery’s archives.
The room felt too quiet, save for the hum of the computer as he scrolled through ancient texts, decrypting the details of the etching of the map that had guided him so far. His heart pounded with a nervous energy as he finally identified one of the locations: the Sedlec Ossuary.
“Sedlec…” Kurt murmured, leaning closer to the screen. "Ja, natürlich."
The constellation pattern matched the one etched into the cryptic map he'd been following. The stars, aligned in just the right way, pointing to a secret hidden among the bones of the Sedlec Ossuary. He could see it now: an ancient riddle buried beneath skulls and rib cages, waiting for him to uncover it. But this was no ordinary tomb. There was something darker, something more than just bones.
He blinked, shook his head, and whispered a quiet prayer and then said, “Vanda… I vill find you.” His heart tugged as he thought of her—her laughter, her smile, and the close bond they had shared. She was the reason he was here, after all, staying with the X-Men while following this cryptic trail, chasing after clues that would hopefully lead him to Kamar-Taj and, eventually, to her.
With the first location identified, Kurt knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed someone quick—someone who could handle the twists and turns of the crypt. Someone like Pietro.
The Baxter Building loomed tall as Kurt bamfed through its walls and into the X-Factor offices. A streak of silver zipped past him, coming to a halt just feet ahead.
“Pietro, mein freund!” Kurt called with a forced grin. “I hoped you vould be here.”
Pietro turned on his heels as his hand balled into a fist and with lightning fast speed he threw a punch at Kurt, but the violent action stopped short of making impact and he dropped his hand almost immediately. “Kurt.” He didn’t apologize for the incomplete attack that he had made. Whether the punch was a reflex to being surprised or an intentional gesture against Kurt remained unknown.
He glanced down the hall towards the bustling office space that housed X-Factor, the rest of the team busy working a short distance away. Kurt usually spoke to Scott or Jean when he needed something, their relationship and encounters remaining minimal, so as Pietro glanced back at Kurt, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What are you doing here?”
“I vill make it quick since I know zhat is how you like everysthingk.” Kurt chuckled at his pun about Pietro’s codename as he continued. His good humor briefly belied the intensity of his purpose. “Zhere is anosther clue in my search for Vanda. Ze road to Kamar-Taj passes through ze Sedlec Ossuary in Czechoslovakia. Do you know eet?”
“That bone filled church?” Pietro wrinkled his nose as he thought about the mountains of human bones, stacked and designed into decoration and furniture. The abbey and chapel were hundreds of years old and contained the remains of approximately 60,000 people thanks to the Black Death, in modern times it had become a macabre tourist trap. “I know of it but I’ve never been to it. What would that creepy place have to do with Wanda? She can’t even eat barbecue.”
Kurt shook his head. “She may never hef vent zhere, but it may contain ze next piece of ze puzzle to find vhere she vas headed. Nearly a zhousand years ago, ze region vas nosthingk more zhan a vlooded svamp. Church history records zhat a silver mine vas built in ze area, but ze map I found suggests a treasure trove of aurichalcum, or unknown metals. It vas over zhis ancient vault zhat ze original cemetery vas built. Attempts to loot ze basement led to ze abbey being burned to ze ground and—”
“Spare me this history lesson and get to the point,” Pietro grumbled.
“Ja, ja,” Kurt said, skipping ahead. “Ze ossuary is part of ze ancient vault. Vhesther or not zhere is any treasure left over is meaningless. I just vant to find anosther clue and be one step closer to finding Vanda.”
Pietro’s expression soured as Kurt spoke, he didn’t like the way he said his sister’s name, the touch of adoration that lingered on his lips. But Quicksilver wanted to find his twin more than anything, so with a conscious effort he returned his face to a neutral expression. “So we need to go to Czechoslovakia… When?”
“Now!” Kurt grabbed hold of Pietro and bamfed away.
The moon hung low over the quiet Czech countryside as Kurt and Pietro arrived at the Sedlec Ossuary. Its eerie silhouette was barely visible through the thin mist that curled around the small chapel. The ancient building stood stark against the midnight sky, its bones—literal and metaphorical—hidden just beneath the surface, waiting to be uncovered.
Kurt took a slow breath, his golden eyes narrowing as he studied the stone walls of the ossuary. The ancient records he had painstakingly deciphered revealed it was built upon the foundation of something far older, far more secret now sealed away beneath centuries of history, death, and decay. Now they had to pull back the centuries of cover and find what they sought.
"Ve are close, Pietro," Kurt whispered, his voice thick with anticipation. “But ve must tread lightly. Zhis is sacred ground.”
CRASH!
A stack of human skulls collapsed and toppled to the ground next to Pietro, his index finger still extended from poking the pile of bones. “What?! Come on, like you didn’t want to see if they had been glued together.”
“No!” Kurt gasped and made the sacrament of the cross over his chest. “Our Father who art in heaven…” He looked around at the shambles Pietro had caused. “Tradition states zhat a blind monk exhumed each skeleton and arranged ze pieces by hand!”
“Relax, I’ll fix it,” Pietro replied with a touch of panic in his voice. It did seem like an unlucky thing to do and leave behind, then he thought about his superstitious mother. So in a whirlwind of movement he mostly restacked the skulls. “Look, it’s okay.”
Shaking his head, Kurt turned his mind back to their purpose for being there. It may have been a mistake to bring Pietro here. He was acting like a bull in a china shop. “For Vanda…” Kurt whispered aloud.
Inside the ossuary was just as eerie as the rumors described—skulls and bones arranged in morbid displays, chandeliers and garlands of human remains hanging overhead like a grim reminder of the passage of time. The air smelled of dust and old death, the silence thick and oppressive. But Kurt’s focus wasn’t on the macabre artwork—it was on the floor beneath their feet, the hidden vault waiting just beyond reach.
"Zhis is vhere it must begin," Kurt whispered, kneeling to inspect the floor. "Ve need to find ze entrance to ze original mine. It vill be a false wall or perhaps zomethingk concealed among ze bones."
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to touch the bones?!” Pietro said with an exasperated sigh. “You and your double standards, Kurt! It’s only a good idea if it’s your idea!” Quicksilver’s response seemed a bit over the top, a long present resentment that was easily brought to the surface over minor events.
“Only touch ze bones I say to touch!” Kurt shot back. “Zhis is for Vanda or hef you forgotten?”
“Stop talking to me like I don’t know that this is about my sister!” Pietro’s voice rose along with his anger, “You always make it into some sort of damn contest about who loves Wanda more.” His whole body tensed and his shoulders squared as all those old memories came back to him, the perpetual wedge that existed between them. Pietro did not like the idea of Kurt wanting to fuck his sister.
The micro-twitch of Pietro’s muscles telegraphed his imminent movement, otherwise Kurt would have been sucker-punched. He bamfed away out of pure reflex. Pietro missed him by a jiffy with only millimeters to spare. His motion carried through the empty space where Kurt once stood and knocked a sconce clean off the wall.
“Look vhat you hef done now!” Kurt exclaimed from behind him.
“Me!?” Pietro was outraged by the accusation “You’re the one goading me with all your stupid romance over someone who left you years ago!”
There was a woven rug on the stone floor which caught on fire. As the fibers gave way to the licking flames that began to rise up from them, a rumble came from the wall. The broken sconce triggered a recessed wall to slide back and reveal a secret passage.
“God be praised,” Kurt whispered, “and forgive us our desecrations.”
“Whoa!” Pietro lowered his fist as the wall opened up to a hidden hallway, his eyes went wide over the vast dark expanse that had been revealed to them. His anger was immediately stifled by what they had uncovered. “Do you think it’s safe to go inside?”
“I zhink ve haf no osther choice.” Kurt picked up the wall sconce off the floor before it was extinguished before delving into the darkness.
The air inside the hidden hallway was thick and oppressive. The deeper they ventured, the more palpable the feeling of being watched became. Ancient carvings of skulls and bones adorned the walls, and faint whispers seemed to echo around them, though there was no one else in sight.
Kurt's instincts flared. Something was wrong. "Pietro," he said quietly, his tail flicking nervously. "Step carefully."
The warning came too late. Pietro’s next step triggered a subtle shift beneath his feet—a pressure plate hidden beneath the dust-covered floor. Kurt heard the faint click, and before he could react, a shimmering force field snapped into place behind them, sealing their exit.
“Look vhat you haf done now!” Kurt exclaimed as before, though his tone was more fretful than exasperated. He stepped carefully around the pressure plate that Pietro had tripped. “Vhy you cannot be more careful in a hallowed place is—”
“Now hold on one damn minute!” Pietro interjected as he roared at Kurt.
A second pressure plate clicked beneath Kurt’s feet. Rather than activate a force field, it snapped the left wall right into the right wall with a firm clap that resonated throughout the hallway. Now a black granite boulder blocked the corridor.
“Pietro!” Kurt’s voice was muffled from the other side. “Are you hurt? I am unharmed but ze vay is blocked!”
“No.” Pietro said with an exasperated sigh, “I’m fine.” In the darkness he ran his hands over the seams and sides of the boulder in an attempt to find a switch or latch but there was nothing to assist him. “So…ah… are you going to bamf your way in here and help me out?”
“Ja… stand back.” A few seconds later, a billowing brimstone cloud heralded Kurt’s appearance. “Come, and let us be more vatchful.”
Kurt clasped Pietro on the shoulder and bamfed them to the other side of the obstruction.
“I do know know if I cam get through ze energy barrier,” Kurt said, “but at least ve circumnavigated ze rock.”
They continued onward through the corridor and soon reached a forking branch. No sign or marking indicated the way, leaving them with a decision.
“Perhaps you go left and I go right,” Kurt suggested. “But only a few paces. If we see any sign of ze vault, zhen ve call each other.”
Splitting up at the same pace, as Pietro’s speed could spell doom for one or both of them, so they didn’t go far. Kurt stopped when he came to a corner. After peaking around it, he called back to Pietro.
“Zhere is a corner on my path. Vhat about yours?” Before he could face the corner again, the hallway groaned and shifted again, this time turning the corner straight. “Ah, perhaps I should turn back.”
As he did so, Kurt found the hallway behind him was different as well. In fact, it had become a brick wall. “Zhis is bad,” he groaned. “Pietro?!”
“The paths…” Pietro grumbled as he started to speed up. “The paths are changing as we walk.” Running at a remarkable speed Pietro found an open route that led him back to Kurt. “Well, that doesn’t seem fair at all. It’s not just a matter of finding the right way but finding it at the right time.” Pietro tapped his foot in the way he always did when he became impatient. “This could take all night.”
Kurt sat down crosslegged in order to think. At least if the hallways shifted again, they would still be in the same relative spot. “Let’s zhink about zhis for a moment. Zhese hallways are not floating in a void; zhey are connected. Zhat implies a… how you say… pivot point, ja?” He wriggled his chin with his oversized fingers. “It vould stand to reason ze center of ze vault and ze linking corridors are ze same. Zhat vould make a brilliant trap. No vay in or out or even to ze center.”
That wasn’t immediately helpful, so Kurt got up to pace as he continued thinking out loud. “If zhere is no true end to zhis maze, zhen ve need to zhink outside of it. Ve need to get outside it.”
Rapping on the wall with his knuckles, Kurt chewed his lip. “If ve could find a section of vall zhat had empty space behind it, zhen I could jump zhrough it and see vhat is truly happening out zhere.”
“You can’t just teleport to the middle?” Pietro asked the question, but he knew Kurt well enough that the answer was a resounding ‘no’. It was far too dangerous for him to blindly move into an unknown location especially with moving walls.
“I can run the maze as it is right now, map a path before it changes.” Pietro ran his hand across the nearest wall as if it would tell him its secrets. “I’ll find an area with an empty space on the other side and we’ll teleport to it together, okay?”
Kurt nodded. “Sounds like a plan. When you return, tell me left or right, and I vill bamf us zhtrough ze vall…” He chuckled at the lunacy of the plan, but they were desperate. “... and pray ve don’t die.”
“Yeah, I hadn’t planned on dying today,” Pietro grumbled before he examined the viable path before him. In a flash and blur of color, he disappeared and began to explore the current shape of the maze.
It took him several passes to map out the current layout of the maze as well as identifying the true and permanent dead ends. Kurt felt a whoosh of cool air move past him a few times as Pietro made his rounds through the maze. It was only when he was certain of the path and where they needed to go next that he finally returned to Kurt.
“Go to the left and then to the right, then it’s a blind jump into the middle,” Pietro instructed him and Kurt heard that forceful tone that had been so common during his time in the Brotherhood.
Kurt hesitated a moment, fingers flexing as he steadied himself, then teleported them both out of the hallway, briefly illuminating the space with a puff of violet smoke. Where they appeared was an open space defined by a central chamber below the shifting hallways around them. Its ceilingless walls were adorned with ancient sigils and even more bones arranged in macabre patterns.
But something caught Kurt's attention. An ornate pedestal, and resting upon it was a skull, pristine compared to the rest, its surface etched with constellations.
"Zhis is it," Kurt said breathlessly, stepping closer. "Ze pattern of ze stars... it must be anosther clue."
“So this is a skull that’s okay to touch?” Pietro couldn’t help but smirk at his own remark despite Kurt somber and intense focus.
Kurt ran his hands over the skull and traced the constellations with his fingers. "It is a map of ze heavens. Zhese stars... zhey match ze sky from an ancient time. I vonder..." He gently tipped the skull, revealing a hidden compartment in the pedestal beneath. Inside was a small, ancient relic—a piece of carved obsidian. “Vhat could zhis be?”
Picking it up made the corridors stop shifting. Somewhere in the distance, another snap similar to the erection of the force field echoed down to them. After a moment, everything fell deathly still as before when they had first opened the secret passage.
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I don’t know if we should run towards or away from it,” Pietro whispered his words as if he would trigger another trap if he spoke too loud, he looked in the direction where the echoing sound of a force field had come from then back at Kurt. “Is that piece of trash what you were looking for? Can we just leave?”
Looking around, Kurt couldn’t see any reason why not. “Ve can try. I doubt zhere is anysthingk else here.” Closing his eyes and concentrating on where they began, Kurt grabbed hold of Pietro and bamfed away.
They reappeared outside the secret passage. Wisps of brimstone wafted over the pile of skulls and bones that Pietro had cast aside. “I doubt ve can clean zhis up,” Kurt said, “but ve should at least try to close ze vault again.”
“We can make it look good enough.” Pietro said with a wave of his hands as if he was already envisioning how he would tidy up the messy bones once the vault had been closed. “Help me close the door and I’ll work some magic on this place.”
Working together, Pietro and Kurt leaned and pushed on the large stone until it slid back into place sealing the ancient maze, maybe forever. Once the vault had been sealed, Quicksilver went to work on resetting the scattered remains that had been damaged during their brief spat. Working in a blur of stacking and setting, the artistic display of humans was hobbled back together in a fashion that was less than ideal but much better than it had been.
“There!” Pietro said, “It’s like nothing happened at all.” His assessment was far from the truth but he smiled at himself and his efforts before wiping his hands on his pants. “My hands feel gross, like they’re boney.”
“Zhat’s because zhey are,” Kurt teased. At least Pietro had made an effort, though, and for that he was grateful. “It vill haf to do. At least ve found vhat ve came for.”
Pietro looked over at Kurt and the piece of black rock he held. “What is that thing anyways?”
“In truth I do not know,” Kurt confessed, “at least not for certain. It looks as if it is ein piece to a whole. For it to be protected as it vas inside zhat ancient vault, I zhink it may lead us to Kamar-Taj, and zhat means it vill help us find Vanda, eisther zhere or somevhere along ze vay.” Tucking it into the inner fold of his vest, Kurt said. “Let us go. Ve should not linger.”
After the numerous jumps that eventually brought them back to Manhattan, a plan was already forming in Kurt's mind. His months of studying the various hidden shrines of the world had been tedious but with this most recent discovery, he was already putting pieces together. They would need help. Lots of help. But that's why he came to America. Even Wanda's erstwhile enemies promised to help find her. Once he pieced it all together, Kurt would start making good on those promises.
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