"Yes, of course." Brenann answered quickly, nodding to Darahil. "We can activate or deactivate the animonculory at will. We don't know if any of the other ruins connected to Blackreach have active animonculory, as we have only been able to study Raldbthar. I know the entrance to Alftand is to the northeast of the Silent City, and I have translated references to the city of Mzinchaleft as well. If those ruins are secured, we may be able to tell you more."

"This one believes her scouts have found the entrances of the ruins you speak of as they mapped Blackreach, but this one has not sent any force into the ruins themselves. The one to the northeast, Alftand, is likely home to more Falmer, according to the reports. However, if it would be useful to us, this one could organize a warband to clear the ruins, but that would also mean having to guard new pathways between the Silent City and these ruins. The more locations we secure in this cavern, the more spread thin our warriors become." Ri'vashi explained. 

Given the progress made so far, Meesei was cautiously optimistic about what their scholars might achieve. "If it becomes necessary, I can call for more warriors to join us from other clans, but there may be another option. Our scouts have noticed that the Falmer tend to avoid the automatons by habit, or perhaps superstition. If the ruins are still producing the machines, it makes sense. If we could learn to command the automatons ourselves, assign them to patrol the paths between the entrances and the Silent City, then that would relieve us of most of our problems with manpower. Automatons do not require food, or sleep, and do not become bored. I am sure there is something needed to power them, but with how long they have remained active, we can likely keep them working for much longer at once than a person. Unless any other projects are more appealing, I recommend putting the Aetherium project on hold and focusing our resources on learning how to control the automatons."