SB: Chapter 261 – My Father And His Toys (Patreon)

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“All internal systems are active. Scanning area. No identification detected. No connection to repository. State your identity and purpose,” the golem said in a scratchy voice that was just off. Thankfully it wasn’t overly loud.

“I am Justin Burnstock, an adventurer from the Eldarin continent. I am trying to figure out how to turn on a machine to destroy an item that is cursed. One of my divination skills directed me to you for more information. There is a very powerful monster somewhere in this complex.”

“Greetings Adventurer Justin Burnstock from the Eldarin continent. The machines of this facility are restricted under Access Level 3 of the Eldarin Empire. While your entry is improper, this facility has been abandoned. Please depart, secure the necessary permissions from the Eldarin Empire, and then return,” the golem stated.

Father, couldn’t you have given me some token proving that I could access all your old toys, I mentally said with a sigh. “I might already have permission at Access Level 3, but your recognition of such permissions might have changed over the centuries,” I replied. The golem was silent for over a minute, and I let it work through whatever it needed to work through.

“All permissions and machines of this facility are restricted under Access Level 3 of the Eldarin Empire.”

Time to go for broke. “My father is the Eternal Emperor, if that helps,” I said.

“Unable to verify. All permissions and machines of this facility are restricted under Access Level 3 of the Eldarin Empire.”

“What can you do to help me or is there a work around, since the Eldarin Empire has collapsed for a thousand years?” The golem was silent for a long stretch of time.

“My core functions are restricted. There is no way you could bypass them unless you had the appropriate permissions,” the golem finally said.

“Command execute, shut down,” I ordered and its eyes dimmed. I let out a long sigh. Time to put everything I knew about golems and runes to the test. At least the common code phrase worked to turn it off. I doubted it would let me poke around on its insides while it was active.

I walked to the golem and pulled it out of the alcove. It was heavy, but I could still move it. I then laid it on the ground, which was surprisingly dust free. I then unscrewed the cover on top of the golem’s head.

There were 40 thin sheets of metallic runic paper made of a high grade alloy. Each of these sheets contained an incredibly complex runic array, which allowed the golem to function as it did. Each runic array translated the text in the center into function that the golem would use.

The truly complex ones might have up to 100. The most basic might have 10 to 20. Golem Inscription was a skill to encode commands as complex and compressed as possible. Most golems were larger and used less complex materials that were thicker.

That was another reason why the War Mech was such a revolutionary breakthrough, it didn’t use Golem Inscription, at least for its core processes and had a status of its own.

I pulled out a pair of tweezers and pulled out each thin metal sheet one by one. While I didn’t have the skill Golem Inscription, there were a lot of similarities to various runic languages, especially Demonic Runes where the art of golem creation came from.

“There, this is the one,” I muttered to myself quietly as I triple checked the metallic sheet I had pulled out. There were runes detailing both control and restriction. I checked the remaining thin metallic sheets and that seemed like the best guess. I carefully put the panel on the golem’s head back on and put it back in its alcove.

It might not have been necessary to put it back, but I didn’t want anything unexpected to happen. I then pushed a button on its side, to turn it back on. After doing that, I stepped back as the golem’s eyes lit up red once more.

“All internal systems are active. Scanning area. No identification detected. No connection to repository. State your identity and purpose,” the golem said. Time for round two.

“I am Justin Burnstock, an adventurer from the Eldarin continent. I am trying to figure out how to turn on a machine to destroy an item that is cursed. One of my divination skills directed me to you for more information. There is a very powerful monster somewhere in this complex.”

“Authorization granted, no access restrictions in place.” I smiled at that. What was now common knowledge was cutting edge and highly restricted over a millennium ago. “Please escort me to the device in question and I will assess why it is shut down.”

“Command execute, follow me,” I ordered. The golem stepped out of the alcove and followed me back to the large device the Seraphim Quest was pointing at.

“Analyzing and assessing current situation. Primary facility motivator is no longer providing power to secondary and tertiary equipment.” I felt a sinking feeling.

“Do you know how this facility was disabled or the monster inside of it?” I asked.

“No access to repository. Working off local knowledge and information. Analysis suggests a high probability that monster is near primary facility motivator. Turning on primary motivator while facility is occupied is not recommended. Please ensure adequate defenses before attempting use of this facility,” the golem stated.

“What should this device do? And is there any way to turn it on without access to this primary motivator, like using monster cores?” I asked.

“The device is an Eldarin Soul And Physicality Annihilator, designed to erase things that could not be destroyed with the usual destruction methods, while containing any blowback that might occur. Once power is restored I am happy to operate the device at your command.”

“And using an alternative power source?” I asked again.

“It is highly unlikely to work. All equipment is integrated into this facility and the primary motivator to ensure that consumption of key resources remains at acceptable levels. If you wish to install a Mana bypass, I recommend you contact a Certified Mana Device Technician with the appropriate access or the Chief Soul Scientist of this facility.”

“What is this facility called?” I asked.

“This restricted facility is called the Eldarin Soul Forge. The primary purpose is to repurpose materials into functional products to assist in the war.” Really father, you just like to leave things laying about?

I asked the Compass Of Desire where I could get information to bypass the primary motivator of this facility and wasn’t able to lock onto anything. The only option to complete the quest was to restart this facility, which meant defeating an insanely powerful monster.

“Weapons? What is your most powerful weapon?” I asked.

“Three weapons are listed in the top category. The Lost Blade, The Sevenfold Staff Of Elementalism, and the Artec Aegis Shield.”

“Are any of them here?” I asked.

“I currently have no access to the repository, and cannot confirm or deny their presence.”

“Where would they be kept?” I asked.

“In the main vault, which is next to the primary motivator.” Of course, the vault was near the monster and even then there was no guarantee that they were there.

“Do you have any combat ability?” I asked.

“Negligible combat ability. My function is to assist with the operation and care of the Soul Forge,” the golem said.

“Where is this repository?”

“The repository is the linked archive for all Soul Golems under the control of the Eldarin Empire. Without access, my ability to assist you is limited.”

“Is it located in this facility?”

“No.” So there was no chance of making the golem more knowledgeable. A clever workaround when the metal sheets were limited. The College did something similar with their IDs, probably where they got the idea. Unfortunately, that was no help here.

“I have paper and pen, can you draw a map of this facility and list the function of various rooms and possible items in each room?” I asked.

“Yes, I have local facility information to perform my duties even if access to the repository is lost,” the golem said. I got out a folding table, sheets of paper, and a pen. The golem picked up the pen and quickly began sketching out the entire complex.

There were three sketches. The first showed the overall facility. There was the Grand Entry Hall, which I had come in. There used to be a port, which had collapsed into the ocean. But it was the official entryway used to receive important guests.

I was in one of the various workshops which contained a range of soul devices and other pieces of equipment. There were dormitories, food storage, and other basic areas tucked away into the volcanic mountain.

Then there was the Ashen Plaza, which was where prisoners were brought in and housed in slave pens. They climbed up the side staircase I hadn’t seen before. No privileges for slaves. At the center of the complex was the Crucible Spire that contained the main rooms for the Soul Forge at the bottom, which one could access via staircase or through a lift.

The Heartforge Bastion was the key location where the Magma Atrium, the Soulforge Array, and the Forgeworks all fed into to create soul based weapons. Past that was the experimental area dealing with monsters and researching souls. It was also where the dungeon entrance was located.

The dungeon fortress was built into the rock in the lower left corner of the map across a bridge of magma.

“Next to the Heartforge Bastion is the control room that operates all runic arrays across the entire complex. The primary motivator can be accessed from there. It is buried next to the dungeon entrance and under the magma of the volcano itself and requires specialized training and equipment to access,” the golem explained.

“And these lesser forges in the area?”

“Testing work stations for various Soul Mages and others with the appropriate level of access to conduct research and experiments outside of the Heartforge Bastion.”

The monster was definitely in either the Heartforge Bastion or above the primary motivator for the Soul Forge. “Is there any reason why the primary motivator would turn off? I saw smoke and ash coming out of the Crucible Spire?” I asked.

“The primary motivator was designed to be an eternal source of energy and Mana tapping into both the volcano and dungeon. Its location was carefully chosen. A new primary access conduit would need to be connected in order for the primary motivator to be directly accessed. It is currently operating, but no power is flowing to the rest of the facility,” the golem explained.

The monster was sucking on it and blocking this entire place from functioning properly. “Is there any way to remotely check what is happening in the Heartforge Bastion?” I asked.

“I can only access the general status of the facility. There is no power, but the primary motivator is still operational. The location is heavily shielded as well to protect against attempts at divination or theft of knowledge. Anything inside would not be able to check the outside and vice versa, except through special communication channels, like the one I possess to check on the status of the primary motivator,” the golem explained.

That meant I didn’t have to really worry unless I went down below or into the Crucible Spire. “Lead me through everywhere but the Crucible Spire,” I told the golem. The tour was long and boring.

Anything with Mana no longer had Mana. Anything that could have broken down over the last millennia had broken down and turned to dust. The various machines were still there, with only a few of them damaged, but everything was linked to the primary motivator.

It was clear that whoever built this place figured that if the primary motivator was compromised the entire facility was compromised. No need for alternative power sources. There were no traces of demons either as far as I could tell. If they had been here, it had been centuries ago.

I did find several wrecked golems and put them away in my spatial storage. The equipment was too bulky to store away and connected to the facility, but the golems were things that could be sold for a handful of gold coins once I returned to the Eldarin continent.

After touring the top of the Soul Forge, I went and got Boris and Ozy. I had us set up our base camp at the top of the Grand Entry Hall where the person in charge of this complex would have stayed. Unfortunately, there were no books or anything else that could be scavenged. Even the furniture had been taken.

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