EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha let out a sigh. She still kept an eye out on their surroundings, but the longer they went without being attacked, the more comfortable she felt lowering her guard at least slightly. She could still smell the Falmer, but in all likelihood, they were too intimidated by the size of their warband to attack. "Well...I was not lying when I mentioned giving you extra training. I know you have never been skilled in magic, and it's not something everyone can do, but you at least need to understand what mages are capable of. Even if you can't use it yourself, I think we need to teach you what your allies are capable of, and what your enemies can do to you. You need to learn to think like a mage so you can make better decisions around them."

Kaleeth, overall, felt uncomfortable for multiple reasons. For one, she could smell the prey in the air, but she could do nothing to hunt it down. The fact that she had fed not long ago was certainly helpful, but it was not normal for her to stay in her beast form for this long while doing nothing with it. At the very least, the fact that she could still smell prey kept her from reverting back to her Argonian form. She had an even more difficult time than Janius forming words, but she was still mostly intelligible. "I'm not...bleeding anymore. But I'm sore. The top of...my head hurts if I touch it."

Meanwhile, Saras tended to be more focused on his surroundings than the people around him, but Sabine, or rather the crystal she was holding, had caught his attention. He was motivated to learn of this cavern, and he knew her to be a mage, so she could have gained some insight. "Have you learned anything of that crystal?" he asked, looking to Sabine.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think the sheer size of the warband would probably discourage most Falmer attacks, though they might have light skirmishes with automatons that don't know the meaning of the word "outnumbered." In any case, do you think a few hours would be reasonable for them to reach that large structure with the glowing orb in Blackreach?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It is possible that it has been disabled, but, well, I am not going to make that assumption." Meesei commented as she observed the centurion from a safe distance. "It looks like it is dormant within some kind of arch, though I do not know what kind of purpose it serves. There is a lever next to it, though I certainly am not going to pull it. Provided we are able to make a home down here, perhaps our scholars will be able to study these machines."

Meesei elected to keep the group within sight of the centurion so they would be able to warn their reinforcements not to wander too close. Besides which, there were no signs of Falmer in the immediate area, so it seemed to be an adequate location to regroup. Meesei was beginning to wonder if it was no coincidence that the Falmer were nowhere to be seen around the massive automaton.

Moving the warband down the stairway was an even longer process than moving them down the lift, but fortunately, there was no pressure for them to regroup quickly. Keen eyes could spot a few hints of movement in the distance as they waited, but if it was Falmer, they were keeping their distance. After about half an hour, the warband finally managed to regroup in the clearing, a fair distance away from the dormant centurion. Unlike in Raldbthar above, there was plenty of space along the paths in the cavern for the warband to spread out into wider formations. If they were attacked again, more of their formation would be able to bear down on their enemy at once.

Meesei decided that their destination would be the Dwemer lights in the far distance. Even if they did not face significant delays, it would still take hours for them to march to its source. For some, it was a discouragingly long walk through unknown territory, but Meesei showed no signs of hesitation as they set out.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

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."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

I think it's pretty deep underground. Maybe an ancient magma chamber? Or maybe the Dwemer just carved the whole thing out themselves. They did build their own Tower/machine god. It does have quite a few unique resources, though. I have some ideas of what they can do in the place, and if you think of anything, feel free to add it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

With the sight they were witnessing, even the normally-stoic Saras was showing his amazement. "We could fit every lycan in Tamriel in here, and still have plenty of space. In all my centuries, I have not witnessed a place like this. Even the Deadlands do not compare."

It was Janius' growl that brought most of them back into reality. There were distinctive, foul scents in the air which were unmistakable. Just like Raldbthar above, this cavern was home to the Falmer. Their eyes had adjusted to the lighting of the place, so they could see clearly enough to know that there were none in the immediate area, but they were still not safe.

Lorag had been just as impressed as anyone else, but it did not take long for him to start to look frustrated. "Look, as amazin' as this place is, how in Oblivion is some giant cavern full of murderous Elves gonna help us? This place is gigantic, and if we try to set up down here, we're goin' to be sharing the place with the Falmer. There's no way we're going to be clearing out this whole place."

"We would not have been sent here if it did not have some redeeming quality." Meesei answered confidently. "It is certainly large enough that the soul-tearing gas could not possibly fill it like in other caverns. We may as well be outside, in that respect. And I would be willing to bet that there are other exits to this place. There must be somewhere we will be safe, or some way to make it safe. Perhaps...do you see that yellow glow in the distance? It is too far away to see the source clearly, but it is obviously a Dwemer source of light. And quite a large one, if we can see it from here. If you recall in Raldbthar, the Falmer and the automatons did not co-exist. There were no Falmer in the upper ruins, where the automatons were still active, and they had locked away the centurion. Perhaps if there are still automatons down here, we can find a place without Falmer? Regardless, I see a spot across that river, on the other side of those bridges, that is open enough for the warband to form up. Lorag, head back up and tell Hjergir to bring everyone down. The rest of us will head across the river and make sure there are no Falmer to ambush us."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, and if you're taking a more realistic interpretation of scale, the place is massive. It connects to ruins far apart across Winterhold and the Pale.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei’s looked down the stairway contemplatively. “I cannot say. The Falmer we have encountered in this ruin would certainly not have been able to access whatever lies below without one of these spheres, but we do not know what we are stepping into. The Dwemer name refers to it as the ‘Blackest Kingdom Reaches’, but whatever that means, we will not know until we see it for ourselves. Needless to say, we should be cautious. Let us form up and get moving. Ri’vashi, you have the lead.”

Although there was some reluctance in Ri’vashi’s eyes, there was no hesitation in her actions. With her size, armor, and shield, she was the best candidate to protect those behind her, the first of which was Meesei to provide magical protection. Although they had to move in single-file, they still kept up a reasonable sort of formation for when they emerged from the stairway. Kaleeth showed just as much uncertainty towards the stairway as Janius, as they both had the same thoughts on the matter. However, it was quite a distance for her to double back for her equipment, and she did not want to move forward unprotected. So, she decided to attempt to follow in her current form. Her beast alone would not have been able to make it down, but in a rational mindset, she could maneuver herself to squeeze through, albeit just barely. She had to walk sideways to compress herself as much as possible, but while slow and uncomfortable, it allowed her to join the rest of her pack.

It took a while to maneuver down, deeper into the ruin, but when they finally reached their destination, it was clear they were no longer in Raldbthar. Instead, the tight, closed in ruin opened up into an absolutely massive chamber. As they stepped out of a door and onto a metal platform, even Meesei stopped to stare out into the expanse before them in awe. To call it a cavern would be a monumental understatement; it was more like another world hidden underneath Skyrim. Just from what they could see, it was filled with gigantic mushrooms similar to those in Morrowind, but glowing bright blue. The roof of the cavern far above them was dotted with the glowing fungus as well, though it was much too distant for them to see clearly. There were several Dwemer structures within view, including one nearby built in the middle of a surprisingly large, flowing underground river. Everything around them was lit mostly by the fungus, so the entirety of the cavern had a blue tinge to it, except for an area in the far distance. The cavern’s size was such that they could not even see a hint of the other side from where they were standing, but there did appear to be a faint, yellowish glow in the distance. Something closer to Dwemer lights.

“Where…do we even start?” Ahnasha commented.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Meesei looked at the sphere, considering her options. "Mora said that this sphere would give us access to our new home. I may not trust him, but our lord Hircine has not led us astray thusfar."

Meanwhile, Lorag had partially opened the door to the right to peer inside. Fortunately, there were no traps or automatons on the other side to ambush him. "Hmm, looks like it's a dead end over here. I see some kind of weird glowing disk thing, but it doesn't look like there's anywhere to go in here."

Meesei nodded. If the right path led nowhere, then that left only the lift and the device. The shaft for the lift opened up above it, so it seemed like the lift might lead back up closer to the surface. Although, it was possible that it could head down as well. Regardless, she had made her decision. "Just stand back. We do not know what this device does."

The moment that Meesei slotted the sphere into the pedestal, the metal rings on the device began to spin around one another, and the floor beneath Meesei began to shift. She stepped back reflexively, but she quickly realized that it was not a danger. Rather, the floor descended to form stairs leading down deeper into the ruin. They were somewhat narrow, so the warband would have to move down in single-file.

"Hmm...it would probably be best for us to scout ahead, rather than to try to have everyone file down at once." Meesei commented.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

At first, the centurion appeared to be suffering enough damage that it wouldn't even reach the front line. However, the pack's concern increased with every step it took. It wouldn't die. The huge weapons that protruded from each of its arms looked like they could cut swathes through their formation. By the time it closed in, no one exactly expected for the blast of steam.

Sabine covered her head in her hands and closed her eyes, trying to charge her own ward. When she opened her eyes and realised that Meesei was single-handedly deflecting blocking the scalding cloud, she leapt into action. Sabine layered her ward with Meesei's in an attempt to assist her.

The warband behind began to back off a pace. They were disciplined enough to keep their formation, but they didn't know how to handle this huge creation. Fendros took the opportunity to line up a shot. He had noticed that some armour plates had flipped open to reveal the steam valves that were blasting them. It was hard to see them, but he believed he could fire an arrow into them. He held his arrow drawn back, waiting for the blast to stop, and then released.

The much-needed assistance from Sabine helped Meesei to maintain her ward against the centurion’s attack, and once they realized they were safe, the warband responded in turn. Fendros’ arrow was followed by another volley, though it was his arrow that found the greatest effect. It was difficult to tell through the steam what exactly it hit, but the steam flow stopped immediately and it gave off another, high-pitched sound. Spellfire followed once more, bathing the machine in a mix of lightning and fire, which was finally enough to bring it to its end. A loud explosion sounded out through the chamber as one of the major pipes within the machine burst, blowing open its torso and sending scrap metal flying out in all directions. A few found their way into the warband, the most damage they caused was bruising.

As the now-destroyed centurion was collapsing to the ground in front of them, the remaining Falmer in the room tried to flee across the drawbridge. However, without any cover or room to maneuver, arrows and spells cut them down quickly and efficiently. Unless there were more farther in, it seemed as if they had killed the last of the creatures.

Despite the surprise of facing a Dwemer centurion, Meesei did not wish to delay. She did not want to assume that they had slain the last of the Falmer, and given that the warband was now going to have to cross a narrow drawbridge, she wanted to allow as little time as possible for a counterattack. Meesei’s pack, along with Hjergir and a few of his warriors, took the lead across the bridge. There was a Dwemer chest near where the centurion had been waiting, but there were more important matters than their curiosity for the moment.

In the next room, there were two, easily-dispatched Dwemer spiders, another lift to their left, and a door to their right. There were a set of shelves running most of the way around the room, on which were various chests, ruined books, old potions, broken Dwemer spiders and other pieces of Dwemer metal, a complete Dwemer helmet, and even a solid gold ingot. However, what caught Meesei’s interest the most was the strange device at the center of the room. It was on a square slab elevated from the floor, with a pedestal that contained a familiar-looking slot. Reaching into one of her pouches, Meesei produced the attunement sphere given to them by the Hermeus Mora cultists. By appearances, it looked to be the exact same size as the slot.