As the group crossed the bridges, Saras was looking intently around the massive cavern, though this time, his eyes were searching for threats rather than scenery. Still, despite the scent of Falmer flowing through the air, there was still no indication that there were an in the immediate area. "I believe the secrets to constructing automatons were lost with the Dwener." Saras commented to Fendros. "But as for controlling them...that could be possible. I have heard of control rods that can command the machines, though I think they are bound to specific automatons. I do also recall this intelligent, but foolish Imperial who created a sort of fighting arena with captured automatons in Mournhold. He must have had a way to control them to compel them to fight, and he did know how to repair them as long as they were not completely destroyed. I say he was a fool because something went wrong and the machines eventually turned on him. He survived only because the Nerevarine himself happened to be in the city at the time, and he destroyed them."

Meesei, meanwhile, examined the crystal Sabine had discovered. It was still covered in bits of rock and minerals, as it had been pulled roughly from the stone, it only took a cursory magical examination to confirm Sabine's suspicions. "Yes, it...appears so. It would need some refinement, but this is a soul gem. And you say you simply found it in the rocks? That would mean this cavern contains naturally occurring deposits of soul gem geodes. Or perhaps the Dwemer found a way to place them here? In any case, this is an interesting find. A steady supply of free soul gems could be of great benefit to us."

Intrigued, Meesei looked around until she spotted another geode vein in a rock formation just off of the path, among a group of glowing mushrooms. She approached to get a closer look, and fortunately, she managed to spot the danger she was walking into before it was too late. She noticed that there were a number of strands of the fungus that seemed to be draped over something, and once she was close enough, she realized that they were obscuring an entire dormant Dwemer centurion inside some kind of arch. Immediately, she stopped and looked to her pack. "Wait, stay back! There is another centurion here. We should keep our distance; it is dormant, but it is possible that proximity could awaken it."