209TH DAY OF THE 472ND YEAR OF CIVILIZATION

I awoke once more to a silent sunrise, entirely devoid of signs of animal life. All that seemed to live in this part of the desert was the hearty sagebrush. Before falling asleep the previous night I’d resolved to attempt to excavate as much of the area below the disk as I could. The warning against digging carved into it indicated that whatever was being protected at this site was most likely directly underneath.

After another breakfast of protein paste (this time beef flavored!) I pulled out my shovel and began to dig. The first two hands of the soil were soft and easy to remove, but I quickly hit a harder portion which slowed my progress nearly to a stop. After struggling with it for countless hours, I decided to refocus my efforts on removing the metal disk from the concrete below it. Originally I’d assumed that the concrete was simply a foundation to stop the disk from moving, but I now believe it is an access shaft of some kind, as after digging down nearly ten hands it still continued. The edges of the disk were rusted, which allowed me to pry it off somewhat easily with my crowbar. I carefully placed it to the side, preserving it mostly intact for the horde of my colleagues who would come rushing in once I reported back. As an exploratory archeologist, I don’t do much of the careful studying of artifacts. I simply locate Ancient sites and determine their value before contacting the research archeologists for the tedious task of cataloging everything.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Removing the disk revealed that my assumption was correct. The concrete tube continued further into the ground than the light from my lamp could reach, although the way it glinted off the walls further down indicated that the tube was not entirely concrete. Thankfully, I could also see steps carved into one side. I hadn’t brought nearly enough rope for a descent of this depth. My fruitless digging had taken up the majority of the daylight hours, so I determined the best course of action was to start the exploration of the shaft the next morning, after a good night of rest.