“
One of the most intriguing aspects of the [ inner crust ] mystery is connected
with reports of unexplainable cave entities. People who have been trapped or
lost in caves or subterranean caverns have been led out of the underworld by
these beings. Until recently, most researchers assumed these entities were
bodiless, perhaps a spiritual projection of a higher intelligence. However, when
we inspect ancient reports on caves we find the cave-dwellers may be flesh and
blood.
Perhaps the first written report on an encounter with one of the cave people
took place in the Trier section of Prussia in 1138 A D. Pepin the Short, the
father of emperor Charlemagne, had founded the Brunia
Monastery in that area.
The brothers farmed, raised livestock and tended the vineyards where a
particularly fragrant grape was grown. The grape was made into an excellent wine,
so good that the monastery became known through ancient Prussia for producing
these spirits.
Trouble occurred when the wine began to disappear during the night from the
cellar. The wine steward finally approached the abbot and voiced his suspicions.
“My Lord, our wine has been vanishing at an alarming rate,” said the
steward. “ One of the brothers must be slipping into the cellar at night,
tapping a barrel and carrying the wine away.”
“How much wine is lost at night?“ inquired the abbot.
“At least a gallon each night.”
“Do you have proof of this?” asked the abbot.
“We have been missing wine for some time, but always in small quantities,”
the wine steward went on. “Lately, the culprit has turned into a vandal. Last
night, the thief tapped the bunghole on a barrel and the contents of the entire
cask ran out on the floor.”
The abbot reflected on the value of the missing wine. A cask of wine could be
bartered for a pair of fine plow horses. “ We’ll secure the bungholes this
afternoon,” he informed the wine steward. “We’ll anoint each one with
holy water and then change the lock on the door.”
News of the missing wine swept through the colony of monks who lived at the
monastery. Several of the group watched as the monastery blacksmith hammered out
a new chain for the cellar door. “I’d like to see the thieving scoundrel
who can slip through this chain,” said the blacksmith, hammering hot iron into
links of chain.
The wine cellar was secured late that same afternoon. The next morning, a large
gathering of monks gathered around the door when the abbot appeared to open the
door. The door was opened and the abbot stepped across the flagstone steps
beyond the thick, wooden door. As he headed down the steps into the cellar, the
abbot placed the only key into the pocket of his robe.
As they stepped into the cellar, the monks were alarmed to see a stream of rich
wine flowing out on the cellar floor. The wine splashed onto their ankles as the
monks rushed into the flooded cellar. As a group of curious monks gathered
around, the sleepy-eyed abbot discovered that another cask of wine had been
tapped; the floor was covered with the precious, red liquid.
Suddenly, the abbot noticed a movement in the dark shadows n the far corner of
the cellar. “There’s the thief!” the abbot shouted.
"Grab the
transgressor! Prepare the thief for punishment.” Two burly monks dashed
forward and grabbed a shadowy figure. The struggling thief was carried out of
the cellar toward the light. The abbot and his monks stared with astonishment at
a dark-skinned dwarf, who glared back with impassive silence.
“Are you a Nubian?” inquired the abbot. “ Tell me, child, how did you get
into our wine cellar?”
The strange little man refused to speak.
“Here! Here! Cried another of the monks. “The thief came through the wall!”
“That’s impossible,” snapped the abbot.
The monks grabbed a torch and walked through the flooded wine cellar to where
the dwarf had been captured. They saw that a stone had been removed from the
lower wall. Beyond the displaced stone was a tunnel leading down into the Earth.
The bewildered monks gathered around the secret tunnel. A novice peered down
into the seemingly endless hole. “ It must be a devil’s lair,” said the
novice in a quivering voice.
“I have heard of these creatures,” said another monk, an older man with a
white beard.“ There are stories of subterranean demons who try to tempt those
who have taken vows to serve God.”
Despite his crimes and the fears of many of the monks, the dwarf was accepted by
the society of holy brothers.
“He appears to be a human and not a demon,” declared the abbot. “The
least we can do is keep the poor creature here with us until he receives a good
Christian education.”
Accordingly, the abbot and the brothers treated the monk with kindness. The
dwarf refused to break his silence. He sat impassively on a bed in a cross
legged
position, staring silently at a wall. He refused all food and drink, which
caused the abbot much confusion as the weeks passed.
"Has he eaten?” inquired a monk after several weeks had passed.
“Nothing,” said the abbot.
“How does he live?” inquired the monk. “No food. No water. A human would
be dead from starvation or thirst.”
“I think he is a creature of the night,“
he related. “While we are
sleeping, I am certain the Nubian slips into the kitchen for food or water.”
“Do you know for sure?”
The abbot only shook his head. “Only my belief that the Nubian would be dead
if he wasn’t prowling around at night.”
After more time had passed, the brothers at the monastery became concerned about
the health of their captive. A bishop was traveling through that region of
Prussia and the brothers asked the holy man to visit with them. While the bishop
and the abbot sipped a cup of wine, the story of the dwarf was told to the
visitor.
“Bring the creature to us,” said the bishop.
The dwarf was brought into the study. The visiting bishop got up from his chair
and walked slowly around the creature.
“My God!” snapped the bishop. This fellow is not what you think. He’s the
child of the devil. He must be expelled from the monastery at once!”
The abbot protested. “Do we want to throw a demon out and allow him to
terrorize the countryside?”
“He’s clearly a tool of the Devil,” insisted the Bishop. “ Bring a
cross to me and I’ll prove that he cannot stand before it.”
The strange visitor to the monastery suddenly leapt from the monk’s arms. One
old manuscript claims he vanished in a puff of devilish smoke. Gervase, a Monk
at Christ Church, Canterbury, later inscribed this unusual ending to his
narration. “... The demon ran from the holy words with great alarm. He went
back to the cellar and returned to his underworld tribe.”
Besides Gervase, several others of the monastic scholars of the era described
this visitation by the unusual being.
