The Kobolds had dug out a massive chunk in the ground. Revealing the entire bunker like structure below the barn. They had long disassembled the most of the farm and took the salvageable parts. Several sorted piles were collected around.
A pile of usable wood, and non-salvageable wood. Along with bits of metal that could be melted down, while another pile consisted of the dirt they had moved. Stepping past the piles I briefly stopped to tell them to start transporting the piles, except the dirt to the Orc Fort.
I found HM waiting just before the bunker and the trench dug around it. "So is there anything below it?"
She shook her head, "No, Sir. Its all made out of a this strange stone. While remaining a complete cube."
I pointed, "This is the door?"
I stared at a Ornate stone door. Looking it over it had a really crazy looking locking mechanism. Rubbing my chin I thought how to open the lock. I nearly gasped as I figured it out. It was a rotatory dial, like that on a old phone from my past life.
I guess the concept isn't that strange, but it essentially was more built to confuse or trick the person trying to get in. I pointed at the hole on the roof. "Have any Kobolds entered?"
HM shook her head, "I-I don't think any of us can."
I raised an eyebrow, and she explained. "It made everyone nauseous and refused to enter. I am the only one that wasn't effected. Though..."
I nodded understanding. She was a tad to big to fit, HM had a bigger waste line than the other kobolds. So she couldn't fit like me or Merli. I pointed at the hole, "What do you think made it?"
She hummed, "I have no clue, Sir. We tried everything to even scratch the stone. So cutting through it seemed a little... impossible."
Staring at the hole I climbed onto the bunker and looked a little more closely. When me and Merli were here we hadn't noticed how cut out it was. Since someone built a secondary hatch over the bunker. Covering up the hole, but looking at it I nodded.
The hole was a circle cut into the stone, with 32 knots cut into the side of it. Each knot was separated perfectly and each were pushed into the stone. Looking over each knot, 6 were different. Nodding I understood the function of the hole in the ceiling.
I jumped down, looking at the dial. The dial was 32 digits, figuring out which was the first and the 32nd was a tad difficult. I did get it though, I found the corresponding knots in the dial. The catch to this was obvious something triggered the knots at the ceiling to reveal the sequence, but whoever made this bunker also made it so the dial could be entered randomly.
Which meant you could try random combinations, but with so many combos and the strangeness of the bunker it was likely a bad idea to crack it open through the random combos. HM tugged on one of my fingers, "Sir! I think I understand."
"What?"
She pointed at the dial, "There is 32 hours in a day, right? while the dial has 32 digits! Maybe the hole in the top takes in sunlight or moonlight to reveal the code?"
I nodded, That was a good guess. Though she didn't know about the knots, so her guess was based on the idea light shines through the hole. Except shouldn't one of the kobolds have seen something?
I looked into the sky and then at the bunker. "Hmmm, I wonder." The bunker itself isn't magic. Merli would've sense it, and if it uses the day cycle as the dial. It was mostly likely a red herring.
I rubbed my chin and looked at the 6 digits. In order it was 3, 7, 11, 17, 23, and 31. Was there some kind of pattern? At first it looks like it goes up by 4 for the first three, but then 17, 23 and 31 makes no sense. I raised an eyebrow and then sighed.
I grabbed the dial and spun it to the 23, turned it to 3, then to 31, back to 11 spun it to 17 and ended on 7. The Door shook as I landed on the 7 with a loud click. They really made the password just ordered numbers. I grabbed the door and pulled it open.
Every Kobold around me gasped in shock. HM spoke in reverie, "H-How did you figure it out, sir?"
"The hole on the roof has notches that match the dial. Six of the notches are emphasized by a dowel. From their I did some math..." I grabbed HM's shoulder and nodded. "Maybe you can do the same when you learn more complex math."
She nodded, Gnar had started to teach the kobolds and goblins math. I was surprised that the orcs knew math up to algebra. None the less, Gnar taught it and the kobolds might treat it with more importance.
Grabbing the stone door I pulled it open all the way. In many ways I thought I would be hit by some kind of stench or stall air. However since the roof was open, nothing changed.
In fact even the stone door opened without much effort. I gestured to HM to stand back just in case and I stepped in. Looking at the room, it had only three things inside. Two statues and an Axe. One statue stood over the other, on hand was gripped onto the axe while the other was pointing at the other statue.
The second statue had the axe buried into its stomach while its arms were displayed in pain trying to remove the axe. Both statue however, had faces contorted in horror. Both statues looked like they were betrayed, staring into each other.
I moved my eyes to the axe, it looked oxidized. It had a rusted Green to it and it felt heavy. Yet I have yet to hold it, or even touch it. Before grabbing the axe and inspecting it I touched the one of the statues. It's stone crumbled under my touch. It felt like baby power in my hand as it crumbled. It seemed it was not the safe stone that made the walls.
Grabbing the hilt of the axe I tried to move it, but instead the statue under it crumbled. The hand of the first statue that gripped it fell apart as well. I held the axe in my hands now, its weight seemed infiinte yet it felt like I was lifting up something made of foam liek a movie prop.
"How odd..."
My hands tingled, I barely noticed the two statue becoming powder. It was just the axe in the bunker now. Just me and the axe... Why would anyone leave behind such a pow-
<_________ Achievement, you have picked up the ________ of _______. What a feat you have made. This tool is a _______ bound object. Its many uses are up to you, however know this weapon was made to kill ______ and Gods. You may face godly or worldly interference when wielding this weapon.>
I dropped the axe in shock, but as it fell it vanished. I stumbled back and fell on my back in even more surprise. I blinked speaking out-loud. "D-did... Did I pick up a cursed weapon?"
I shook my head, no, no. It wasn't cursed, just powerful to the point of dislike right? It was also different from the other notifications I got in the past. It read like other notifications, but the text was green. The same rusted green of the axe. It felt, no I knew it was connected.
I summoned the axe to my hand. It seemed I simply knew what related to the axe now. It didn't give me the information, but it was as if I was complete certain if it was the correct information. That's why I knew it wasn't cursed. With me summoning to my hand I thought it was soul bound, but... yet again I knew that wasn't what it was connected to.
"I-I may regret picking this axe up."