The anger accumulated from being kicked by a rabbit made Sio’s subsequent actions a bit…
manic.
In the past, the probability of Sio choosing between [charging straight in] and [an interesting plan] would have been fifty-fifty.
But Sio was already angry!
Little Dog’s fury was about to erupt.
What if there were many bandits inside Bleak Falls Barrow?
She just needed to be brave.
“Sounds like some of them were taken deep into the tomb by their boss.” Kaye flicked the blood off his blade with his sword and turned to look at Sio, who was crouching on the ground.
What was that girl doing?
Naturally, she was lockpicking.
Why would bandits leave a locked treasure chest in a makeshift camp at the entrance of a tomb?
It could only be understood as a game mechanic.
Clear the level and get a reward…
it applies to the real world too.
“Nothing valuable.” Sio, who could see the lockpicking interface, couldn’t be stopped by any lock that could be ‘picked’.
Heh heh, maybe it could even be considered a degraded version of the Skeleton Key?
But she just pulled out the junk from the chest and threw it away, not forgetting to give it a kick after standing up.
“I thought there would be some treasure…” Sio sighed, looking like a little frost-bitten eggplant.
Well, just consider it venting.
The feeling of kicking it was quite relieving!
After infiltrating Bleak Falls Barrow, they eavesdropped at the entrance for a while.
This group of bandits had been forced into the ancient tomb because of the bad weather.
Their boss had taken some elites deep into the tomb to search for treasure, while the rest stayed at the entrance to keep watch.
Even though the boss had been inside for several days, the remaining people had no intention of looking for him.
One cannot expect loyalty among bandits.
“Maybe they’ve all been taken out by Draugr!
I just hope they didn’t wake up too many of them…” Sio shrugged helplessly; she didn’t care about the life or death of the bandits.
It was easier if they were dead!
She could just take things directly from their corpses.
“Better to be careful.
Think about our last experience in Tomb of Qianshan.” Kaye patted Sio’s shoulder.
“This place…
is much older than Gordir’s family tomb.” “Don’t worry!” Sio cleared her throat and puffed out her chest proudly.
Along with the exaggerated movement of the girl’s pose, the two soft mounds on her chest trembled slightly.
“Even if it’s an ancient tomb, it doesn’t matter!
No matter how difficult the puzzle is, it won’t stump the clever Miss Sio!” The two continued to explore deep into the tomb, crossing corridors lit by candlelight, where they could find traces of fighting.
Abandoned weapons, arrows scattered on the ground, and even…
corpses.
“Head smashed by a hammer, how pitiful.” Sio picked up an iron sword from the ground and poked the bandit’s flattened head.
Even the leather helmet was dented; the culprit must be…
The Draugr lying on the ground.
It was still holding an Ancient Nord Mace in its hand.
This kind of ancient relic was produced in such large quantities that it didn’t even have the ‘collection value greater than utility value’ typical of relics.
Sio had no intention of collecting them at all!
But, but.
She…
unexpectedly found that her backpack’s weight limit was very high!
She could totally stuff all these miscellaneous things into her four-dimensional pocket, just like in a game…
“Sio, what are you doing?” Watching Sio diligently hoarding goods like a little hamster, Kaye couldn’t help but scratch his head.
“Heh heh, it’s a secret.
Just think of it as magic~” Sio put on a mysterious expression and made a shushing gesture in front of her lips.
While Sio was collecting Ancient Nord items, Kaye went to observe the state of the dead bandits.
The scars left by the battle were obvious, such as broken neck bones and ruptured internal organs…
all matching the weapons used by the Draugr.
But some wounds could be seen at a glance to be man-made, even deliberately attacking parts that affect movement, such as knees and ankles.
With the stiff bodies of these Draugr, it would be difficult to make such precise strikes.
That could only mean someone did it intentionally.
Leaving injured companions behind as bait to continue deeper…
Truly the behavior of bandits.
Kaye chose to suppress such a cruel truth for the time being.
Better not tell that girl, lest she starts overthinking.
With her cleverness, she’ll probably figure it out herself eventually.
Once Sio had finished packing the loot, they could finally continue deeper.
“Wait, Sio.” In front of a hall, Kaye took the initiative to stop Sio.
Walking in front, he could see more things—for example, those…
corpses lying dead in the middle of the hall.
He took down his longbow and shot an arrow into the hall.
The arrow embedded itself in a crack between the stone slabs, but it didn’t trigger any traps or ambushes.
Safe for now, at least.
Kaye protected Sio as they stepped into the hall one after the other.
This was a spacious stone room, its four walls covered with Ancient Nord reliefs.
“Look there, a mechanism!” Sio pointed to the top of the hall; hidden in the gaps of the reliefs were mechanical crossbows.
Looking at the arrows in the bandits, they must have accidentally triggered the mechanism and been shot by the trap.
The path forward was blocked by a heavy portcullis.
Sio tried to touch it; this gate was even made of rare Ebony Alloy, impossible to break through with brute force.
To move forward, one had to solve the puzzle here.
And this…
would not stump Sio.
“Ahem!
Kaye, do you know what these ancient carvings symbolize?” Sio cleared her throat and reached up to adjust her non-existent glasses.
“…I don’t know.
I haven’t learned about these.” Kaye shook his head; he knew very little about this ancient knowledge.
“Please look over here!” Sio walked to the three rotating stone carvings on the left side of the hall and turned the leftmost one with effort, making the side with the eagle face the center of the hall.
“In Ancient Nord religious beliefs, the eagle is the symbol of Kynareth!
This leftmost relief happens to match the goddess relief above the hall~” Sio talked eloquently about this ancient knowledge.
Kaye looked in the direction the white-haired girl pointed; there were indeed three humanoid reliefs above the hall, while the rotating mechanisms were carved with various animal images.
“Then there’s the owl as the symbol of Jhunal, and the whale as the symbol of Stuhn…
Now go pull the lever and see!” Sio practically used her hands and feet, putting all her strength into turning the mechanisms that had been sealed for thousands of years; after all, she was a delicate girl.
If her deduction was wrong, pulling the lever would only expose them to the crossbows.
But Kaye stepped forward without hesitation and pulled the lever.
He believed in Sio.
This was the…
trust that should exist between traveling companions, or even an even closer relationship.
The sealed Ebony Alloy gate slowly rose, revealing a darker path ahead.
The two smiled at each other and stepped into the unknown passage hand in hand.
Yes, no matter what awaited them ahead, as long as they could move forward together, they would not be afraid…
right.