Chapter 29: Keening
A moment later, the door slowly slid open, and we were instantly hit with the brunt force of a powerful wind that felt as hot as an oven. Ash flew into our eyes, temporarily blinding us. Wiping out eyes clean, we press forward into the unknown. The ash storms were intense, limiting our visual range to only about fifty yards, turning the skies above us a crimson red. I called out to the troops "Continue North" and so we did.
A single clear trail lead directly North up the side of Red Mountain. The farther we went North, the more steep the incline grew. After an hour of drudging through the blistering winds, the path inclined to the point where we were practically crawled up the side of the volcano.
After another fifteen minutes, we came across a fork in the road. After memorizing the map provided to me by heart, I ordered my men to turn right. The trail lead to a rocky bend, where we seemed dwarfed by steep cliffs to our left. Suddenly, we could hear the fast approaching sound of roaring fires overhead. A volley of powerful fire spells crashed into the Cliffside above us, sending giant boulders cascading down upon us. While most were able to escape the boulders, some were not as fortunate, and they were crushed by the falling rocks.
"Where in Oblivion did that fire come from?!" yelled one of the soldiers. Looking to our right, we scanned the landscape fruitlessly for the fire's source. The storms made identifying the origin of the volley impossible. Just then, another volley of over thirty fireballs streaked overhead and struck the cliffside once more, sending down more boulders that killed more of my men.
I took aim toward where the fire seemed to eminate. Strapping Blunderbuss onto my back, and then pooling a vast amount of mana into my arms, I released a great collum of fire from each arm, sending it into the valley below. A few seconds after the fire disappeared behind the storm winds, a massive explosion of heat and flames erupted before us. The force of the blast was so great that my men and I were knocked flat upon our backs. Returning to our feet, a scene strait out of the Imperial depiction of hell was laid out before us: flames reached over two hundred feet in the air, the ground literally turned to glass. There was no way they survived that.
Pressing forward against the winds once more, we followed the trail down even further. Suddenly, strange buildings seemed to appear from the fog of the storm. Walking North toward the alleged buildings, our thoughts were confirmed. Built into the mountain side was the Dwemer ruin, Odrosal. Tall smoke stacks belched thick, black smoke into the wind, meaning that something was within. The best part of it was that the mountain side shielded us from the intense winds.
Ordering the men to rest, one of them approached me, presumably the commanding officer. "Sir," he said, "we have a new head count."
"What be it?" I replied.
"Unfortunately, we lost thirty-seven to the boulders, Sir… Shall we enter Odrosal now?"
I shook my head. "No," I replied.
"Sir?"
"As I have said, I shall go alone. You men wait here, and if I do not return in an hour's time, send a squad to come in after me."
The armor clad orc nodded. "Yes, sir," he said.
With that, I unslung Blunderbuss from my back once more. Cocking a fresh shell into the chamber and flipping the safety off, I mentally prepared myself for whatever was to be on the other side. After all, the Dwemer have been dead for thousands of years. What could possibly lie within?
o0o
This was the first time I had ever seen a Dwemer ruin, let alone set foot within one. Needless to say, I was breathless. The Dwemer's technologically advancement became evident to me as I stepped in. My previous assumption was incorrect. Even thousands of years after their disappearance, the Dwemer's machinery was still running. The walls or the fortress were covered with turning gears and cogs of all sizes and shapes. The walls, floor, and ceiling were constructed of the same orange-copper metal that the mile long bridge was made from. In place of torches, strange bulbs of glass hung from the ceiling, housing super heated coils of metal, which dimly bathed the interior with light. The hallway was bombarded with the constant loud clanging of metal machinery, so creeping through undetectable became quite easy. The air was sweltering, in part to the constant stream of steam that emitted from the machinery that had been running for centuries.
Stealthily walking through the metal hallways, Blunderbuss grasped tightly in my hands, I was cautious of everything about me. Looking around a corner to the right, a double set of Dwemer metal doors lay before me. Walking toward it, I saw that it was without door knobs, handles, or locks. "How in Oblivion do I open this?" I asked myself. Then, taking a step within a few feet of the door itself, the doors swung open automatically, revealing a "welcoming party" on the other side.
In the next room were three Dwemer centurions. Two of them were Centurion Spheres: diamond shaped heads, a single, electronic right eye, a round shield in its left hand. There top body magnetically hovered above an independently moving metal ball, which was used for movement by rolling atop it. The other centurion was a Steam Centurion. It looked more similar to an armor clad warrior, standing over eight feet tall, a single spiked mace was its right arm.
The Centurion Sphere on the right charged me first, accelerating rapidly upon the metal ball. Suddenly, a metal sword protruded from its right arm. Barely dodging the blade, I unloaded a shell of daedric buckshot into its head. A shower of sparks flew from the wound and the robotic being fell limp to the ground with a loud clang. The second Centurion Sphere attacked, protruding its blade and raising it high over its head, preparing for an overhead chop. Before it had the chance to follow through on its attack, I cocked a new shell into the chamber and shot the blade itself, removing it at the hilt, rendering the centruion's right arm useless. After firing another round into that centurion's head, I charged an electrical spell in my left hand and fired it at the Steam Centurion. The electricity surged through the centurion's metal body, frying its internal workings from the inside, causing it to explode in a shower of flames and sparks, sending metal fragments flying across the room.
Walking into the next room, doors automatically opened and then closed behind me. I found this room to be completely empty: nothing to see except four support beams. Then, as I looked toward the ceiling, an incredible sight met my eyes. Attached to the ceiling were over a thousand Spider Centurions: small, oval shaped spider-like robots, walking upon six spider like legs. They all hung from the ceiling by their legs, cold and motionless. They seemed to be not activated. I decided then to contact Hui.
"Hui," I said, "can you hear me?"
"Perfectly," Hui replied. "Have you found anything?"
"I am within the first of the Dwemer ruins. Above me hangs a multitude of Spider Centurions. I believe Keening to be in the next room, so how do I proceed?"
"Hmm… I have heard stories of these constructs. If I remember correctly, the account of a Dwemer ruin excavator said that the Spider Centurions are activated by an external device. Beware of traps, Zaden."
With that, I moved ever more cautiously toward the opposite side of the room, where another set of doors awaited. Crouching toward the floor, with Blunderbuss in hand, I snuck across the room as silent as a mouse. After what seemed an eternity, I made it to the center of the room without incident. Suddenly, as I took a step forward, I felt something tug at my ankle. Looking down, I saw as my foot touched a near invisible trip wire and broke the strand.
Shit.
A winding noise sounded above me. Looking toward the ceiling, the Spider Centurions began to activate. The "metal flesh" sac on their backs began to inflated and what looked like a raging inferno of flame glowed from inside it. The centurions unlocked their legs from the ceiling and, with cat like agility, landed upon their feet. In an instant, I found myself surrounded by thousands of robotic arachnids.
They approached me from all sides; they jumped at me, scratching at my flesh with their hinged legs. I attempted to defend myself, firing rounds randomly into the swarms of metal beings, but their numbers were too great. Soon, I found myself completely covered by the mechanized creatures. They were heavy, and they soon pinned me down to the floor. I needed to get them off of me, but I could not lift my arms nor my legs. Somehow, I needed to get these things off me.
Then, it hit me. Using the mana within, I surrounded myself in a swirling orb of flames, incinerating the centurions still attached to me. Returning to my feet, I intensified the flames, causing them to become hotter, causing them to swirl faster and faster about me. Then, releasing the energy, the flames spread outward like a shock wave in all directions, engulfing the entire room in searing heat. When the flames finally dissipated, all but one of the Spider Centurions were killed, the rest charred into smouldering piles of slag. The last centurion was crushed under the sole of my shoe.
Entering the next room, I was awe struck once again. This room, in stark contrast to the congested corridors of the main ruin, was a extraordinary cavern. A single, long metal bridge spanned the length of it, built over an ocean of magma located two hundred feet below. At the other end of the bridge, placed atop a metal alter, was the dagger, Keening.
Taking my first step onto the bridge, a whistle, like that of an arrow, approached from my right. A single, spear like weapon, made from Dwemer metal, sunk into the metal bridge I stood atop, landing within inches of my foot. Looking to my right, to the projectile's origin, I noticed a ridge against the cavern wall. On said ridge stood forty Centurion Archers. They appeared similar to the Centurion Spheres; their right arm, in place of a protruding sword, was a spring- loaded weapon that shot the long, slender projectiles at tremendous speed. Looking to my left, the same number of archers adorned another ledge.
All at once, the eighty Centurion Archers fired their razor sharp projectiles in my direction, whizzing through the air like a hot knife through butter. In an instant, I cast a protective, purple energy shield about me and the projectiles merely bounced off, as if harmless rain drops. Letting the shield down, I charged a powerful electrical attack through both hands. Firing at the ledge to my right and upon contact, the bolt exploded with a thunderous crack, destroying all the centurions in an instant. Turning to the left ledge, I fired a spectacular ball of fire toward that ledge. Like a comet streaking through the sky, it engulfed the Centurion Archers. I could hear from afar their internal mechanisms exploding from the inside out.
With all opposition out of the way, I sprinted across the entire length of the bridge, only stopping at the foot of the alter. Keening itself was an amazing dagger: the grip was made of golden metal, the blade itself was a glowing crystal, sharper than any material. The lightest of cuts from this dagger could have easily cut through diamond.
Before I grasped my hand around the grip of Keening, I remembered back to the words of Vivec. In order to wield Keening and Sunder, Wraithguard must be word. So, reaching into my messenger bag, I retrieved the golden gauntlet Wraithguard. Slipping upon my right arm, a surge of energy and power overcame me.
Picking up the dagger and placing it into a loop on my gun belt, then quickly slipping Wraithguard off and placing back into my bag, the room suddenly began to shake wildly, as if I was in the very epicenter of an earthquake. Looking over the edge of the bridge, the magma began to rise rapidly. Given but a minute or so, it would surely engulf me. I sprinted back across the bridge using all the strength in my body. The magma raised higher and higher, the air around me becoming increasingly hotter and hotter. Sweat began to drip down my entire body. Reaching the doors, they automatically swung open, then once I passed through the archway, slammed behind me, effectivlybhalting the oncoming waves of molten rock.
"Thank Azura," I exclaimed out loud to myself, looking down at the magnificent dagger Keening that hung from my belt. "Now to leave this deathtrap." With that, I traversed back through the Dwemer ruin of Odrosal, stepping over the bodies of the mechanized guardians I previously killed.
