The Serpent's Lair

The Serpent's Lair was a virtual representation of one of Kassandra's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2018 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.
==Description==
Kassandra sought out the lair of Cult of Kosmos and infiltrated their meeting.
==Dialogue==
With Elpenor successfully assassinated, Kassandra made her way back to Herodotos.
*Kassandra: So this is the "secret" chamber... They're not ones for subtlety, are they?
Herodotos awaited her outside the chamber, and together they walked to the entrance.
*Kassandra: So, this is it.
*Herodotos: Hidden chamber of the Cultists. Here, all along.
*Kassandra: I'm going inside. Keep my clothes for me?
*Herodotos: Best not to go in with your weapons either. I don't think they'll look too kindly on that.
Kassandra changed into the cultist's cloak and mask she had retrieved from Elpenor's hideout.
*Kassandra: How do I look?
*Herodotos: Terrifying.
*Kassandra: Good.
*Herodotos: Find me once you've found out the truth in there. Keep your wits about you. Try not to do anything rash.
*Kassandra: Me? Rash?
Kassandra pushed open the doors, leaving Herodotos behind to descend into the lair.
*Kassandra: Who thought these ridiculous costumes were a good idea?
Once at the doorway to the inner area, she was approached by another disguised cultist.
*Female Cultist 1: You're late, very late! It's a good thing Deimos hasn't arrived yet.
*Kassandra: Sorry. It's my, er—first time.
*Female Cultist 1: A new recruit? Welcome, welcome.
(If "Who are these people?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: There's a lot of people here.
*Female Cultist 1: All share our common mind.
*Kassandra: Good.
*Female Cultist 1: We're here to evaluate the strides taken by the Cult since the last meeting. We haven't met for some, some time.
*Kassandra: Where did they come from?
*Female Cultist 1: The land and across the seas. We assemble as a community. Here, there is no war—there are no sides.
(If "Who is Deimos?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: You mentioned someone. Deimos. Who is that?
*Female Cultist 1: You'll learn his name very, very quickly.
*Kassandra: He's our leader.
*Female Cultist 1: I'm sure he believes that, but no, he's our weapon. He's... difficult, but he does important work for us. I don't envy his position one bit.
*Kassandra: I'll go talk to the others. Thank you.
*Female Cultist 1: Yes, yes, before Deimos comes. Who knows if you'll get a word in after that.
Kassandra moved away to talk to other cultists.
*Male Cultist 1: Alright then, highest bidder gets an Olympic match thrown in their favor.
*Male Cultist 2 With what influence?
*Male Cultist 1: My post gets me sway in any event. Come now, name your bet... If you aren't a coward.
The Cultist from the doorway approached the pair.
*Female Cultist 1: A shipment of marble for the Athenians to take to the discus event.
*Male Cultist 2: Ha! If it'll be that easy, then 25 of my ship slaves for the Spartan side.
*Male Cultist 1: None of that! My pockets feel light.
*Female Cultist 1: Yes, yes, how could I forget. The Olympics bring a truce of war, but never a truce in the exchange of drachmae.
Kassandra continued walking and overheard an argument between two cult members.
*Male Cultist 3: You're not listening! Forget the mother—she's useless.
*Female Cultist 2: I hear you perfectly well—you're just wrong. We need to look for the father [sic] now.''
Kassandra approached the pair.
*Female Cultist 2: I'm still not convinced.
*Male Cultist 3: You. We need another opinion on this. Why split resources searching for a woman we can't find? If we narrow our focus, Athens will be ours. Immediate threats have to be destroyed. Perikles has to be destroyed.
*Female Cultist 2: Not without the mother. We aren't strong enough without the mother.
*Male Cultist 3: Don't let Deimos hear that. If anything, we should be hunting the father.
*Female Cultist 2: We know who the mother is. Looking for the father would be a waste of resources.
*Male Cultist 3: What do you think? Hunt the Champion's mother or his father?
<tabber>
|-|The father.=
*Kassandra: ...The father.
*Male Cultist 3: What did I tell you?
*Female Cultist 2: You're both wrong.
*Kassandra: Now if you'll excuse me.
|-|The mother.=
*Kassandra: ...The mother.
*Female Cultist 2: She's right.
*Male Cultist 3: Get your priorities straight. Before you know it, Perikles will shore up his defenses, and we will have lost our chance.
*Kassandra: Now if you'll excuse me.
|-|Neither.=
*Kassandra: Neither.
*Male Cultist 3: You have a better idea?
*Female Cultist 2: The sibling. Kassandra.
*Male Cultist 3: She's as good as ours already. We need to look to the future.
*Kassandra: No. Go after her. Now if you'll excuse me.
</tabber>
*Female Cultist 2: We can't have two minds about this. The Cult must decide.
Kassandra bowed and took her leave.
*Kassandra: I'll need much more information to identify who these Cultists are.
Entering a nearby side tunnel, she saw one cultist berate another kneeling member in a torture chamber.
*Male Cultist 4: Pull yourself together, maláka! You're a fucking pig before slaughter!
*Male Cultist 5: I'll do it, I swear! I'll kill him! Let me go!
The antagonizer noticed Kassandra watching.
*Male Cultist 4: You like to watch, you sick fuck? You're not just going to watch. You're going to teach this little insolent shit a lesson.
The cultist grabbed a hot iron from a lit brazier.
(If "What did he do?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: ...Does he deserve it?
*Male Cultist 4: Doesn't fucking matter, does it? What I say goes! No questions asked!
*Male Cultist 5: I-I couldn't do it! But I'm not scared! Not anymore!
*Male Cultist 4: If you can't kill a fucking artist, what are you gonna do when I tell you to kill a fucking archon?
*Cultist: I will, I will! I'll kill Phidias!
<tabber>
|-|I don't know.=
*Kassandra: I...
*Male Cultist 4: Show him what happens to cowards! They get fuckin' burned!
|-|I won't do it.=
*Kassandra: No. He's yours.
*Male Cultist 4: You don't know what the fuck fun is. More for me.
The kneeling Cultist screamed as his torturer burned his forearm.
*Male Cultist 4: Fuck with me, and there's plenty more where that came from!
The burned Cultist rose and left the chamber.
</tabber>
*Male Cultist 4: Fuck up like that again, and I'll draw blood.
(If Kassandra slew the guards at the Pythia's house, she is also present and the following scene will play out.)
The cultist addressed Kassandra.
*Male Cultist 4: Now get the fuck out of here, before I get this traitor's blood on your robes!
The cultist turned to the Pythia and began sharpening a knife on a whetstone.
*Male Cultist 4: You. Someone was spotted going into your house. Guards were found dead outside. Tell me who you talked to, or I'll break your pretty face.
*Pythia: Please! I beg you! She forced me, I thought she would kill me.
*Male Cultist 4: She? I will kill you! What did you tell her?
The Pythia began crying.
*Male Cultist 4: Speak! Before I really give you something to cry about.
The Pythia continued wailing.
*Kassandra: I wish I could do something, but if I reveal myself now this will all be for nothing.
Kassandra left the chamber and approached a cultist at the altar at the head of the chamber's circular dias. They ran a knife blade across the palm of their hand, allowing the blood to drip into a bowl on the altar.
*Male Cultist 6: It's only blood right now, but who knows. Deimos may ask for our hands next. Go on, go on, make your offering.
<tabber>
|-|I will make the offering.=
Kassandra took the blade and cut herself in the same manner.
|-|I won't make the offering.=
*Kassandra: I'll pass.
*Male Cultist 6: The blood is for the cause—not the boy. Make your sacrifice.
*Kassandra: Oh. Sorry.
Kassandra took the blade and cut herself in the same manner.
</tabber>
*Male Cultist 6: We just have to keep our sights on what the bloodline will do for us.
*Kassandra: The bloodline?
*Male Cultist 6: The mother, the father, the sister—you know, his kin. We need them. All of them.
*Kassandra: ...To use them.
*Male Cultist 6: That information is not for Deimos, of course. You know how volatile he is. He could rip through us easily.
*Kassandra: I'll be sure to keep it to myself.
*Male Cultist 6: As you should. Nor can he know we're about to capture his mother.
(If "What would we do with the mother?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: And do what with her?
*Male Cultist 6: I would lower my voice if I were you. Just know she will be put to... good use. Unless she's uncontrollable.
(If "Where is the mother?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: You know where she is?
*Male Cultist 6: No. But it won't be long until we do. I assure you. She's the Cult's next target.
(If "Who is Deimos?" is chosen)
*Kassandra: Tell me about Deimos.
*Male Cultist 6: He's shown us what we need to know. He's a machine, a weapon for the Cult. Someone that unstable can't be trusted with such... personal information.
*Kassandra: I have to go.
*Male Cultist 6: To our great ambition.
*Kassandra: ...To ambition.
She shook the cultist's hand. Before leaving, she heard two cultists behind a partially closed door past the altar.
*Male Cultist 7: I'm here. What else do you want from me?
*Male Cultist 8: We want you to cooperate. We want you to obey. That's not asking for too much, is it?
Crossing a stone pathway, Kassandra approached the door and eavesdropped on their conversation.
*Male Cultist 8: Why the face? So sad... Like the tragic mask of Melpomene. Your family is safe. For now.
*Male Cultist 7: Just... just don't touch them. Don't hurt them.
*Male Cultist 8: That is up to you. But I know you'll behave. Because you know their fates if you don't.
*Male Cultist 7: Please. Don't.
*Male Cultist 8: We will kill them. Your wife. Your child. And then what would you have to live for?
*Male Cultist 7: Nothing.
*Male Cultist 8: Exactly.
Kassandra left the door and entered another side tunnel, where she discovered a box full of cult letters.
*Kassandra: Letters to and from the Cult... Gods, they have a foothold in every part of the Greek world. We're in more danger than I thought.
Kassandra made her way back into the central chamber, where she felt a pull from the golden pyramid in the middle of the floor.
*Kassandra: It's strange... I feel something. Towards the pyramid. It's covered in shards... Like Elpenor's.
Kassandra placed the shard she had taken from Elpenor into the pyramid, drawing the attention of a nearby cultist.
*Female Cultist 3: Ah, you had the last piece. Now it is ready. Every time I see it, it calls to me and sings. Of power. Does it call to you like it calls to me?
<tabber>
|-|I want to touch it.=
*Kassandra: It does.
As she reached out her hand, the Cultist slapped it away.
*Female Cultist 3: What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?
*Kassandra: I—no.
*Female Cultist 3: My great warrior hasn't even arrived yet! Gather yourself and hold your tongue, fool. Show respect for the bloodline.
|-|I'll keep my distance.=
*Kassandra: It does. It's impressive.
*Female Cultist 3: Yes. Show your reverence. What we have now is everything. Hera has blessed me. My great warrior is leading our army to victory. Can you imagine the pride I feel?
</tabber>
At that moment, Deimos strode into the chamber with Elpenor's head. Enraged, he kicked over a flaming brazier and threw the head into the middle of the chamber.
*Deimos: Elpenor is dead! One of you is a traitor! The Artifact will expose them.
He took a Cultist by the collar, throwing him to the ground before the pyramid.
*Deimos: You!!! Everyone will be tested. You. First.
Forcing his hand on the pyramid did nothing to the cultist.
*Deimos: Go.
He pushed another cultist forward.
*Deimos: You.
The result was the same.
*Deimos: Go.
He then singled out Kassandra, motioning she approach.
*Deimos: You.
Undergoing the test, memories of her childhood played through her mind. Deimos slowly turned to her.
*Kassandra: Alexios.
*Deimos: Who are you? Go.
Deimos then continued the tests on other cultists as Kassandra walked away. The next cultist had his head smashed into the pyramid, then Deimos stood over him, punching him. A sliver of the pyramid landed at Kassandra's feet, and she scooped it up.
*Deimos: The traitor is dead!
She exited the lair, returning to a waiting Herodotos near the Kastalian Fountain outside of Delphi.
*Herodotos: You're alive!
<tabber>
|-|The Cult controls everything.=
*Kassandra: There were people in the temple. I couldn't see their faces. They... Herodotos, they control all of the Greek world. Everything.
|-|The Cult has an army.=
*Kassandra: I found them. They have an army. Not the Spartans or Delians—an army just to themselves. I can't fight an army, Herodotos.
|-|The Cult is after my mother.=
*Kassandra: They know me. My family. They want my mother dead.
</tabber>
*Herodotos: I see. It's worse than I thought.
*Kassandra: There's more. They have a weapon.
*Herodotos: What... kind?
*Kassandra: A soldier. Stronger and more ferocious than any I've ever seen. Herodotos, it's my brother.
*Herodotos: We need to get to Athens.
*Kassandra: Athens? We need to find my mother. My clothes. Spear.
*Herodotos: Of course.
*Kassandra: My spear!
After Kassandra dressed, she continued her conversation with Herodotos.
*Kassandra: The Cult of Kosmos call my brother Deimos. He used an artifact to see my memories.
*Herodotos: Kassandra, the man I serve. We must tell him what's happened before it's too late. You've heard the name Perikles before?
<tabber>
|-|Perikles is a great general.=
*Kassandra: Perikles is the great general leading the Delian League against the Spartans. They say he's ruthless.
*Herodotos: We aren't leading the League against anyone! Perikles is a man of peace. The war was thrust upon him... upon us all.
*Kassandra: A general who doesn't want war? Not likely.
|-|Perikles is the leader of democracy.=
*Kassandra: Perikles is the king of the free people of Athens.
*Herodotos: King!? Athens has no king. Perikles serves the people, not the other way around.
*Kassandra: Serves the people? You're right. He's not much of a king.
</tabber>
*Herodotos: Save your doubts. He is working to end this war. We all are. If there are forces colluding against him, he must be warned. We have to go.
<tabber>
|-|It's too late.=
*Kassandra: You weren't there, Herodotos. The Cult controls everything. There's no stopping them.
*Herodotos: Which is why you cannot turn away. They want to destroy all of the Greek world with this war.
*Kassandra: I won't be some pawn in your scheme, Herodotos.
*Herodotos: Don't do it for me, then. Do it for your mother.
|-|I'm only worried about my mother.=
*Kassandra: To Athens?! They're hunting my family. My mother. I have to find her.
*Herodotos: You carry the blade of Leonidas. Act like it! If Perikles doesn't put an end to this war, we're all as good as dead—including your mother.
*Kassandra: Fuck your war! The Cultists are exterminating my family!
*Herodotos: You have a duty to the Greek world. We both do. Perikles must be warned.
*Kassandra: She is my mother. What would you have me do?
</tabber>
*Herodotos: If there is one place where we can find information about your mother, it is in Athens.
*Kassandra: How?
*Herodotos: Perikles surrounds himself with the brightest minds in Athens, which is to say anywhere. In Athens you can fulfill your duty to your family. But before we go... I need you to meet me at the Lion of Leonidas, at Thermopylai.
*Kassandra: Leonidas... Why?
*Herodotos: There's something I need to know. Something that may help us take down this Cult, and save your mother.
*Kassandra: You've proven I can trust you, but let's make it quick, Herodotos. First Thermopylai, then we go to Athens.
==Outcome==
Kassandra infiltrated the meeting of the Cult of Kosmos, learning of their plans and their reach, and then decided to hunt them down, with the help of Herodotos.
==Behind the scenes==
While most of the clues to cultist identities come simply from completing the quest, two additional clues can also be obtained. However, as neither can be investigated without reaching the corresponding points in the main story, they are ultimately not required and purely cosmetic. The first clue is obtained by eavesdropping on the conversation behind the door across from the altar. It hints at a member of the Peloponnesian League branch whose family is being threatened by the cult, coercing him to go along with their agenda. The second clue comes from picking the correct dialogue choices ("I'll keep my distance," followed by "No, I can't") in the conversation with the woman at the pyramid, since it hints at her identity as a member of the Worshippers of the Bloodline branch who personally raised Deimos to be the cult's champion.
While the female cultist of the two arguing members initially states that the cult needs to focus on finding the father, her dialogue in the cutscene suddenly supports looking for the mother. This is likely a writing error, where either the line itself was given to the woman but intended for the man, or the writer intended to write "mother" instead of "father."
The mace carried by the torturing cultist is randomized, though when Kassandra later properly meets him in the memory "Monger Down", he prefers to wield the Kolossos Mace.
Although the cultists have separate mask styles for their male and female members, they accept Kassandra wearing Elpenor's attire without question, despite an obvious woman's voice coming from behind it.
==Gallery==
ACOd-SerpentsLair-guards.jpg|The guards
The Serpents Lair - Assassins Creed Odyssey.png|Kassandra and Herodotos at the door
ACOd-SerpentsLair-snake.jpg|The giant serpent coiled in the room
ACOd-SerpentsLair-artifactpedestal.jpg|The artifact on its pedestal
ACOd-SerpentsLair-floor.jpg|The central floor
ACOD The Serpent's Lair - Cultist Blood Offering.png|Kassandra observing as a cultist made a blood offering
ACOd-SerpentsLair-sidechamberL.jpg|The side chamber with the correspondence
ACOd-SerpentsLair-sidechamberR.jpg|The side torture chamber
ACOD The Serpent's Lair - Brison Before Torture.png|Brison about to be tortured
ACOd-SerpentsLair-Brison.jpg|The tortured cultist
The Serpents Lair - Deimos arrives - Assassins Creed Odyssey.png|Deimos arrives with Elpenor's head
ACOD Cult of Kosmos Meeting.png|Deimos inspecting the cultists
ACOD - The Serpent's Lair - murder.png|Deimos murdering Epiktetos
==References==
*Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Category:Memories of Kassandra
Category:Memories relived using the Animus HR-8.5
fr:L'antre du Serpent