THE HISTORY
Caesar's riches
Welcome explorers, you are in the catacombs of Rome, the eternal city. You've been digging through the ruins of the Coliseum for days. Through countless layers of story and grief, you've found your way into an unknown chamber.
You spot them between dust and bones. A chest made of old wood. Carefully you loosen the corroded metal lock. The lid is heavy and the smell of smoke and tar tickles your nostrils as you inspect the contents. She lies between the half-rotted fabric of a tunic and the remains of a wooden lyre.
The Last Sorrow of Nero. Struck on a stone slab, held for infinity. The Immortal Last Lines of a Mad Emperor. Sung in the last moments of the city of Rome, ere he surrendered himself to inexorable infinity:
In my bloody toga I stand on the tower, dancing conflagrations blaze before me, in all their glory they shine again in the sound of my lyre, dedicated to immortality, Rome, you mother of all riches, Rome, the she-wolf in my blood, makes me bow my bow forever, and the world's dominion bloody flourishes. But in your bowels lies a treasure, deep hidden in the core of your power, golden shines the emperor's splendor it is only found with coin and suffering so you sail away over the mortal towards eternity and its infinite table setting.
But what do these words want to tell you? You know there's treasure buried in the deep catacombs. Infinite riches of the old emperors and kings of an empire that still keeps so many secrets from us. Next to the stone tablet, after a long moment of perplexity digging, you'll find a wooden box. Numbers are burned into this, letters can be vaguely guessed at. With trembling hands you take the box, feel it, feel the mechanisms and realize that the last riddle of the confused emperor is not the song he left the world, but the rotten wood that is in your fingers. But can you solve the riddle? Remember the old words. And they will show you the way...