20 Chapter 20

[Dwemer Automaton]

[Model: Spider]

「Durability: 23/100 Energy: 12/100」

Ready to swing the Falmer sword he still held, Athias regarded the dwarven spider curiously. Windows had popped up when those other automatons activated but he didn't exactly have time to sit around and read them.

Durability and energy were its only stats. As machines of a lost race it was a fitting change from other creatures; these things didn't just run off of magicka given that they often utilized a combination of steam and soul gems for power.

Remiel darted for the spider and began messing with its parts, any sensibilities gone the instant she laid eyes on it.

"Hmmm, something is definitely wrong with this little one." She muttered. She flipped open her satchel, tools and old dwemer parts pulled out. "If I replace this and move that there-"

"Is that safe?" Auri asked. She still stood in the doorway to the control room with an uncertain frown, an arrow aimed at the spider.

"Not at all." Athias said. Repairing an automaton, undoubtedly placed here to protect Nchuand-Zel's controls from intruders, was about as stupid as stupid got when you were the intruder. "You know we won't be able to stop that thing from attacking you when you're that close to it, right?"

"Don't worry, I've been preparing for this moment for a long time. I'm pretty sure I know how to adjust it's attack parameters."

"Pretty sure?" Athias asked.

"I've never worked on a functioning one before, so I can't say for certain what my adjustments will do. It can't be that different." Remiel adjusted the positioning of some of the rings revolving around the soul gem the spider housed. "By Akatosh, this one is a real piece of crap. I wonder what happened to him."

"Who knows." Athias shrugged.

Despite its durability rising point by point, the spider showed no signs of aggression, neither shocking nor cutting Remiel. He decided to trust in her prior experience and focused on all the table of switches, pipes, and gears.

Much of it was inactive. Like the rest of Nchuand-Zel only a handful of the smaller pipes connected to this room hummed with life and many of the gears were motionless. A single pull of a switch could change that.

Which one would get the automatons out and about?

"Alright, little one, how's that? Good? Good." During his contemplation, Remiel finished up her work, tools back in her bag as she twisted the spider around. The automaton complied with the handling, it's many legs far more stable after her tinkering. "Alright! A success. Look you two, I got him up and working. Can I can keep him?"

"Why are you asking me? You're the boss." Athias said.

Remiel blinked as she stood up. "Oh, good point. Well then, meet Scrap."

"Scrap?" Auri asked. Now that Remiel wasn't face to face with the spider she lowered her bow but still didn't look confident about having the automaton around.

"He's a barely functioning bunch of scrap metal bolted together. So Scrap." Remiel said. "But I think he has potential. If I did everything right, he should protect me from now on. Maybe he'll do an even better job than the two of you?"

"Assuming it even functions outside of these ruins, it'll probably shut down when you try to leave Markarth. You do realize that right?" Athias asked, a bit lost about what she intended to do with the thing.

"I've made adjustments with that in mind. Will those adjustments work? I'll find out once we get out of here. Speaking of which-" Remiel walked up to the switches and grabbed hold of the second one. The spider followed, staying close to her heels. "Are you both ready?"

"How do you know that switch will activate the automatons?" Athias asked, not of paranoia but curiosity. There weren't any inscriptions from what he could tell.

"Technically speaking, I don't actually know, but the Dwemer were very logical and most of their creations follow certain patterns. The first switch in these rooms typically has something to do with the ventilation, the second is automaton related, and-"

"Just how many of these ruins have you been in?"

"I've been exploring places like this since I was thirteen so quite a few. I'm honestly surprised I haven't died in one yet."

At least she was aware of how dangerous a child venturing into these places sounded.

Athias dropped the falmer sword in favor of one of his elven ones and adjusted the heavy shield around his left arm. He'd ditch it if he needed to but it could come in handy through the chaos they were about to unleash. Auri, still keeping an eye on their new metal companion, nodded her confirmation.

"Let's make sure this isn't the one you die in." Athias said with a nod.

Remiel returned it and pulled the switch, no rust to impede it despite the thousands of years that have passed. Dwemer metal really was something else.

The faint hum that was always present in the place grew stronger and not even a minute later, the distant sounds of rolling metal and the Falmer's pained screeches filled the dark hallways.

The automatons had been unleashed.

x-X-x

The main chamber was in chaos.

From the water flooded base to the stone pathways of the topmost levels, the Falmer and Automatons engaged each other in combat. For every dwemer sphere the Falmer managed to destroy, the swing of a centurion's arm sent two broken bodies flying. The spiders weren't as effective against them, their guerilla style hit-and-run tactics nullified by the creatures' superior hearing.

It was far from an even fight, the scattered Falmer soon to lose their numbers advantage, but it was still a fight.

Athias spearheaded their sprint up the chamber, whipping the occasional Falmer aside with his shield and sending them plummeting into the waters below. Auri and Remiel followed close behind, the spider at the latter's heels. Maybe they had that thing to thank for their smooth progress; it could be the other automatons marked them as low priority targets if they saw another already giving chase.

They made it halfway up, stopping at a larger platform where spheres and a centurion were fighting Falmer back into a nearby room.

The spheres were smart enough to realize that a single centurion was more than enough for that group of Falmer and turned to pursue the group up the chamber the moment they crossed the platform.

They kept going, Athias barreling past those in their way, the spheres hounding them. Some spiders attempted to jump at them, but arcs of electricity struck out from Scrap. It didn't stop them but that split second disruption ruined their leaps and they joined the chaos below.

The ground around them shook.

Athias reached the top floor, a lumbering centurion on the side pathway to the very first door they had snuck into.

It faced their direction, chest shifting.

Athias slowed, Auri sprinting past him just in time to avoid the cloud of steam the gaint machine released.

Remiel wasn't so lucky, a leg and arm caught in the sudden rush of intense heat. A scream ripped its way out of her. Athias dropped his sword and caught her before she could hit the ground, blocking the hot bolts that came through the cloud with his shield. Scrap emerged from the steam, none the worse for wear, following Athias across the bridge.

Auri had set up with her bow but bone against metal? Her shots were all ineffective, unable to slow the approaching automatons let alone disable them.

From here it was almost a straight shot back to Frostbite spider nest and as luck would have, no automatons or Falmer blocked the way.

They'd been able to avoid all the bolts due to the twisting pathways of the chamber but that wouldn't be the case anymore. They might make it out. They might not. It all depended on their luck.

He considered himself to be lucky but Athias wasn't about to leave something up to chance if he didn't have to.

"Sorry." Was all the warning he offered before chucking Remiel the rest of the way. Better burns and bruises than death by bolts.

He spun back towards the spheres, now joined by a centurion, and dropped to a knee, shield raised.

Athias laid a hand on the stone bridge.

He called on his magicka. It responded sluggishly, as if roused from a deep slumber, and moved according to his will. He forced it to flow into the bridge and crawl across it, shattering through every wall of resistance that met him to form a intricate system of energy.

This bridge was dust.

Bolts collided with the shield and he buckled under the force but remained rooted in place, hand glued to stone.

It would crumble.

The spheres rolled over the magicka filled stone, webs of shallow crack extending out from his hand.

It had to crumble.

One sphere closed in, swinging its sword. The strength of the blow, beyond that of most of these Falmer, forced his shield aside. The lagging sphere lined up a loaded bolt as a bone arrow hit its chest and snapped, unable to do anything against the Dwemer's advanced technology. The shot was aimed for his neck.

The centurion behind them stepped on the cracked stone.

The aged bridge gave out under the automatons combined weight and the cracks ruptured, the entire section of stone crumbling away.

Blurry eyed and fighting a sudden case of lethargy, Athias might've fallen right along with them, his hand already following, but that bolt left the sphere's arm, skewering his upper shoulder blade, just shy of the intended target.

He hit the ground behind him, the agony of the freshly bleeding wound immediately dulled by the vast emptiness within.

It didn't feel hot. It didn't feel cold. It didn't feel like anything. It was there, beneath his skin where his magicka should've been. Or maybe this emptiness wasn't there and his mind was so desperately looking for his magicka that it created something to fill the void.

The emptiness weighed so heavily upon his body and mind that he could barely bring himself to move.

Mustering up the little strength he had, Athias ignored the alerts popping up and freed his arm from the shield, reaching for his potions.

They had survived.

x-X-x

We're wrapping it up people. Enjoyed my first long term dungeon writing experience. Got significant items, still managed to etched out a character moment or two, and show off just how useful magic is. All in all, some solid work if I do say so myself. Let me know what you all thought.

Star wars the clones war. SWTOR(Star wars). Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

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