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runes statue chest

A massive stone statue dominates the Chamber, its eyes glowing with arithmetic runes. It will not yield to a sword. Only correct calculations can break the enchantment — and wrong answers deal damage.

🕹️ Play This Chamber

This page is your walkthrough and strategy guide — play right here in the browser, then follow the steps below.

{% include bashcrawl-terminal.html room="Chamber" %}

🎯 Quest Objectives

  • Compute values using let, expr, and $(( ))
  • Assign arithmetic results to shell variables
  • Solve the statue's puzzle correctly on the first attempt
  • Run ./statue to trigger and win the boss encounter
  • Collect the Chamber's treasure and unlock the Rift path

🗺️ Quest Prerequisites

⚡ Command Cheatsheet

Syntax Example Result
let "var=expr" let "x=3*4" x=12
expr a op b expr 10 - 3 7 (printed)
$((expr)) echo $((2**8)) 256
$((var++)) echo $((n++)) value then increment

Arithmetic Operators

Operator Meaning
+ Addition
- Subtraction
* Multiplication
/ Integer division
% Modulo (remainder)
** Exponentiation

🗺️ Walkthrough

Step 1 — Enter the Chamber and read the runes

ls -F
# runes  statue*  chest
cat runes

The runes pose a riddle: "To defeat me, compute the Vault Code: multiply the number of doors in the Cellar by the number of exits in the Entrance, then add 7."

The numbers vary per game session. Example: 4 doors × 1 exit + 7 = 11.

Step 2 — Practice arithmetic first

# Method 1: let
let "vault_code = 4 * 1 + 7"
echo $vault_code     # 11

# Method 2: expr (each token must be a separate arg)
expr 4 \* 1 + 7     # 11  (escape * to avoid glob expansion)

# Method 3: arithmetic expansion (preferred modern style)
vault_code=$(( 4 * 1 + 7 ))
echo $vault_code     # 11

Recommendation: Use $(( )) — it is cleaner, handles operator precedence correctly, and does not require expr to be installed.

Step 3 — Compute your specific answer

Substitute the values from YOUR runes for the two example numbers below (the 3 and 4 are placeholders — swap in the door and exit counts you found):

# Template — replace 3 and 4 with the counts from YOUR runes:
answer=$(( 3 * 4 + 7 ))     # 19 in this example
echo "My answer is: $answer"

Step 4 — Face the statue

./statue
# The statue asks: "What is the Vault Code?"
# Enter your answer: 11
# CRACK! The statue crumbles. Victory!

Wrong answers reduce your HP. Make sure your math is right before running ./statue.

Step 5 — Loot the chest

cat chest
# Stone Key fragment obtained.
inventory

Note: inventory is a bashcrawl game command (provided by the dungeon), not a standard Unix command — it shows what you've picked up on your crawl.

The stone key fragment is part of the multi-piece key that opens the Rift.

💡 Arithmetic Gotchas

Problem Cause Fix
expr 4 * 1 → error * glob-expanded Escape: expr 4 \* 1
let "x=5/2" → 2 Integer division Use bc for floats (see below)
Variable not set Missing $ Use echo $var, not echo var
Wrong answer, took damage Calculation error Recalculate carefully before ./statue

Bash arithmetic is integer-only. For floating-point division, pipe the expression to bc -l:

echo "5/2" | bc -l     # 2.50000000000000000000

✅ Validation

  • You computed the vault code using all three methods (let, expr, $(( )))
  • You solved the statue puzzle without taking damage
  • The stone key fragment is in your inventory
  • The Rift path is now unlocked (visible in map)

➡️ Next Steps

The stone key fragment is needed for the Rift — but you still need pieces from the other branches first.

Continue exploring:

{% include bashcrawl-play-local.html %}

📚 External Resources

Continue your terminal adventure with these resources:

Stone dust settles. The Chamber is yours. Arithmetic — the ultimate weapon. 🐉

🕸️ Knowledge Graph

Structured wiki-links connect this quest to the IT-Journey knowledge graph. Open the Obsidian Graph View to explore connections.

Level hub: [[Level 0000 - Foundation & Init World]] Overworld: [[🏰 Overworld - Master Quest Map]] Prerequisites: [[Bashcrawl Armoury: File Permissions and Script Execution]] Unlocks: [[Bashcrawl Rift: Pipes, Redirection, and the Final Boss]] Sequel quests: [[Bashcrawl Rift: Pipes, Redirection, and the Final Boss]] Obsidian docs: [[Obsidian Knowledge Graph and Wiki Links]]