It wasn't long before they were entered Alik'r desert. It was as the thief described. Rolling sand dunes spread as far as the eye could see, only broken up by the towering monolithic rocks. Indy fumbled through his satchel to pull out the book he took from Dust's. Tava looked over at Indy.

"Do you have that map? We could drive these horses in a straight line and never find the ruins." Indy pulled the tattered map from the pages of the book and handed them off. He kept his nose in the book. After a quick glance at the map, Tava drove the horses onward. Silence ensued as Indy engaged in his book. Then after an hour of reading Indy looked up.

"These Dwemer were quite interesting. All their dedication to the sciences and logic. If half of what's in this book is true these ruins will be masterpieces, and dangerous. To bad they vanished, there's a mystery there."

"You're starting to sound like Dust, it's not very becoming of you." Indy smugged at that remark, she continued, "Here take the reins for awhile, just head that way." Indy stuffed the book back into his satchel and took the reins. Tava climbed over to the wagon bed. Indy didn't know what she was doing, but he gave up asking. She appeared a few minutes later, trading in her black, hooded cloak for a deep red vest over a simple black tunic. Indy looked over the thief.

"What? Outfits for any occasion, mark of a good thief. Besides, you should worry about the sandstorm we're about to ride into." Tava got to crack the half smile this time as Indy turned forward to see a massive 100 ft wall of sand.

"Do you guys ever have good weather?" Indy joked. When they hit the storm the sand cut into the skin. Indy pulled his hat down and tied a bandanna around his nose and mouth. Tava pulled a rag over her face. The whirling sands blinded the duo, and their horses. The animals were nervously running blind and Indy could feel their tensions in the reigns. He tried to keep them steady as they ran on. They kept running hard and scared until they reared up on their hind legs. Indy tried to drive them on, but the horses wouldn't budge. "What's wrong with them?" Indy asked. They jumped from their seats and pulled on the horses' bridles. No amount of effort could force the steeds to take a step. Tava stepped away from the horses and pulled the scimitar from her belt, her other hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun and sand. Indy saw Tava's defensive position, "What is it?"

"Only one thing will cause horses to freeze like that. Lord Scorpions."

"What?" Indy yelled in confusion across the sand.

"Lord Scorpions, masters of the desert. Scourge of men and mer." Tava sounded like an old poet. Indy followed her lead though and unhitched his bull whip. He kept vigilant as he could straining his eyes through the sand particles, waiting for these Lord Scorpions. Suddenly towers of sand shot high up and when they dissipated Indy saw they were surrounded by several giant scorpions; tails as long as a man, pincers the size of a jeep tire.

"Big, damn scorpions! You could've just said big, damn scorpions." Indy yelled in anger as they creeped in. One struck towards Tava, her scimitar deflected it's stinger.

"Fine! They are big, damn scorpions!" A pincer clasped close to Indy causing the professor to jump back. Indy cracked his whip, causing a hiss from the scorpion. It struck the ground multiple times, blasting sand up with each strike. The massive creature faded in and out of the sandstorm, making fighting them that much worse. Another crack of his whip and Indy latched around the beast's tail. Indy pulled all his might down on his whip against the muscular tail. Winning the struggle of brawn, Indy pulled the scorpion's tail down and sank it's stinger into it's own hide. The scorpion frenzied off into the sandstorm. Indy hectically looked around but Tava and the scorpions were hidden in the sandstorm. He ran forward until the tail end of a scorpion came into view. He grabbed his machete in his off hand and slowly backed up. He felt himself bump into something. He turned sharply with blade raised. His dinky machete locked steel with Tava's scimitar.

"Christ, it's just you." The two put their backs together and stared out into the coarse storm. Indy could hear the hiss of the scorpions out in the sand. "On my left." Indy yelled as a huge beast charged into view. Tava swung around and fired a mass arc of lightning from her fingers. The beast laid paralyzed in the dune. Indy ran up to the immobilized beast and preyed his machete deep in it's head. Two more came up from the storm behind Indy. Tava fought the pincers off with her scimitar, gracefully moving in between the attacks of the beast. Jumping over wide pincer swings, swinging around it's tail. She led the scorpion into it's partner. One stray pincer smacked against the other scorpion. A puff of smoke moved Tava away as the two scorpions started fighting each other. She whisked across the sands through the storm. Indy, had lost Tava again, he heard hissing behind him. He readied his whip expecting a scorpion to reveal itself from the sand. He saw the sand raise around him, as if something was crawling under the skin of the dunes. He followed the bump until the monster behind it raised out of the sand. Before Indy stood a large serpent, it's narrow eyes focused on the frozen archaeologist. Indy dropped his machete in the sand.

"Tava! Tava, get over here! NOW!" Tava was able to find Indy by following the fear in his voice. Just as the snake lunged at Indy Tava's scimitar lodged the snake's jaw open. In cool calm, Tava pulled Indy's Smith & Wesson from it's holster.

"How doe this magic item work?" Tava asked casually, as the snake wiggled around, trying to loosen the scimitar from his jaw. Indy moved his eyes only towards Tava's direction.

"Just, just click the lever on the back. Then, ah, then pull that lever on the bottom." Tava followed his instructions, drawing back the hammer, then steadily aiming at the snake's agape jaw. She pulled the trigger, the bullet was true striking the roof of the serpent's mouth. The recoil caught the thief by surprise knocking her on the ground, Indy stayed frozen for several minutes. Tava picked herself up and stuck the revolver back in Indiana's holster, he still didn't move. She moved over to the dead snake and grabbed her scimitar from the bloody jaw. Finally, after wiping her blade clean and tightening the rag around her nose, she headed back to Indy again. Picking up his machete, she slipped it back in his belt.

"You ready to go?" Her voice echoed with sarcasm. Indy shook his head yes, and let out a whispered "Yeah." He slowly followed after her, keeping an eye for any more snakes. "Indy. The map." Tava waved her hand in front of his face.

"Oh right." Indy snapped out of his shock and pulled the map from his satchel, "Alright where are we at?" Tava looked over his shoulder, pointing to their location. "Okay, we aren't too far from the Dwemer ruins. Be a lot nicer if this sandstorm subsided." Indy complained.

"Don't worry if we're that close I can get us there, even through this storm. Redguards take pride in taming sandstorms." Tava gloated. Indy pulled his hat down snugger as her rolled his eyes. She grabbed the horses by the bridle and they all started walking away from the scene of deceased animals and deeper into the storm's heart.

It was only a few minutes of following the map before they reached the 'X'. There was a large rock wall reaching high into the sky.

"Well. This is where it is." Indy twisted his head around looking for any signs of a lost civilization. The sand was still being swept vigorously across the desert.

"Hey, Indy. Look at these." Tava pointed out etchings carved the length of the rock wall. Indy ran to her side. Had these been the remnants of old Bedouin, Zulu, or Ming scrawled on these walls Indy could've figured it out, but he was still a freshman grad student in Tamrielic historical writings. He looked through the sand at Tava and shrugged.

"Can you make out what these say?" He asked her.

"Do I look like I read ancient Dwemer?" She witted back at him. Indy was quick on the backslide though.

"Figured that was a mark of a good thief." This caused Tava to stick her tongue out at the professor. Indy pulled out the old book from his satchel, "Maybe there's something to guide us in here?" Indy held the book close and examined each page as he flipped through it. The rock wall created a natural buffer against the whipping sandstorm. Indy would periodically look up at the wall writings and referenced them against the book. Tava stared at Indy irritated, as he wandered around the massive rock trying to decipher the writings.

"You want to fill me in?" she asked.

"If I'm reading this right, that section over there," he pointed towards the far left of the rock, "Mentions something about the Dwemer that lived here. This part," motioning to another section of rock, "has to do with the Gauntlet of Akatosh. So we're in the right spot." He moved over to the right side of the rock, "This is just a warning of the 'dangers that lurk under the earth, the perils of the gauntlet' typical warnings trying to scare you off the trail. I always found the Olmec were best at this oogey boogey stuff." Indy laughed at his little joke alone, "And this part is the important one. Says to start digging," Indy took some measured steps in the shifting sands, "right here." Tava pulled a shovel from the wagon bed and tossed it to Indy,

"So dig." she ordered Indiana. He scooped the shovel deep into the sand and started throwing the sand up to be swept away in the wind.

"Aren't you going to help?" Indy stared up at Tava.

"Please, this isn't work fit for a thief." she had a smug look across her face.

"Ha. That's not how things work in the desert, sweetheart." Indy let a chuckle out with that retort. "You're just as capable of digging."

Tava ended up helping dig up the ruins. They dug down 3 ft. when they the shovels made the clank of hitting metal. Indy dropped to his knees and started brushing away the sand to reveal a metal door hidden under all the sand. Indy looked over the delicate metalwork on the door in amazement. Tava grabbed the handle and lifted the heavy hatch while Indy admired the craftsmanship.

"It's just the door. Plenty more down there, out of this sand and wind." Tava started down the spiraling metal stairs into the dark ruins. Indy followed behind.

"Good research means taking in all the notes you can on everything about the culture." Indy lectured like a university professor. Tava pulled a damp torch off the wall and, using her lightning, ignited the torch to illuminate the ruins.

"And good thieving means taking in all you can carry in your pockets and finding a fool to pay top dollar for it. When we start running into the smaller artifacts I'll be more interested." Indy shook his head.

"Most of this stuff belongs in a museum." The stairs descended into a massive, 12 story chamber. The light of the torch stretched far across the room and never reached a wall. They finally reached the stone floor of the city ruins. Indy took lead as he slowly walked forward. He came up on an unusual control panel. Indy pulled a lever on there not sure of what it would do. It caused lights to ignite across the whole ruin. Indy went towards one. "What is that in the light?"

"Soul gems. The Dwemer found a way to use them as a light source." Tava spouted the random fact. A devious grin spread on Indy's face.

"So, you do know more history than you let on."

"Well, sometimes I hear things on the road." her caramel cheeks reddening. Tava saw another button on the panel. She pushed it in. Noise filled the chamber.

"What did you just do?" Indy asked. Sounds of steam engines whistled and hydraulic cylinders clashed across the hall. "This is amazing. Steam power, hydraulic jacks and pumps. This technology is eras ahead of it's time. How did they master this all and then disappear? They were in a bubble of enlightened learning, and yet it didn't spread to the other primitive areas." Tava cleared her throat purposely to show her disapproval. "Ah, not that you guys aren't uncivilized. You've got the whole magic thing going for you." More gears started clicking and steam pressure busted some of the aged pipes. The sudden jolt of life had the unmaintained equipment tumbling and the building crumbling around them. "Move!" Indy grabbed Tava's wrist and moved across the ruins as they fell down around them. Large chunk of stone crashed sending gravel and dust that coated the sweaty archaeologist. A tall metal column snapped from it's base and landed in front of them. Tava somersaulted over the thick beam while Indy climbed up and rolled off it.

"Hurry up!" Tava yelled as she gained a lead. Indy stumbled behind her. A major pipe burst spraying steam across the floor.

"Watch out." Indy ran up to shield Tava under himself from the spewing steam. He could feel the heat on the water condensating on the back of his shirt. Indy spotted a door leading to another section of the ruins and out of the crumbling chamber. A large, decorative metalworking was about to crash down and block the door. Tava dived into the door while Indy dug in his heel and baseball slide across the doorway. His hat fell off behind him. He quickly reached back and snatched it up before the large decoration crashed down and blocked them into the new room. This one had a lower roof, but it was just as long. Tava walked forward to examine the room. Her third step caused a sink in the floor. She froze in her spot, until darts shot from the nearby wall. She weaved around the darts and rolled out from the line of fire. Indy picked up one of the expended darts and touched it to his tongue tip. He quickly spit, "Yep, poison tipped. Seems you guys and the Hovitos shared some trap details. Watch your steps in here." They proceeded slowly across the trap room. "Stepping on a pressure plate. Looks like you aren't as good as a thief as you let on." As Indy cracked that joke at Tava's expense his foot grazed a tripwire that he didn't catch. Two spinning saw blades shot out from the wall traveling across the room. Tava quickly tackled Indy to the ground as the whizzing blades flew over head and disappeared into the other side of the walls. Indy pulled himself off the floor and dusted off his front. He extended a hand and pulled up Tava, "You don't need to say anything." Indy could see the sarcastic look on her face. They continued on, stepping precariously over more pressure plates and tripwires, Tava doing it more gracefully than Indiana. She was the first to reach the other side of the room.

"Hey, Indy. The door's shut up here. There's a couple of levers up here. Which should I pull?" Indy was still clumsily hopping around the booby trapped floor. He raised his index finger in patience as he stumbled farther. Indy's slow and steady approach made Tava impatient. "Oblivion will get here before you do." she dogged sarcastically. Indy ignored the crack and finally reached the wall. He examined the four levers. Using Dust's book, Indy did more cross referencing. Closely comparing the symbols above each lever and the door to similar ones in the book. Tava went over to the far left one, "Let's try this one." she slammed the lever down. Indy looked up terrified,

"Wait!" He was too late to stop her. Flames shot down in a stream covering the the entrance. Indy jumped back yelling, "Hot. Hot! Hot!" he threw down his book on ancient Dwemer as it turned to ash. He grabbed his fedora to swat out the fire on his satchel. Tava smacked her hand against the burning tails of her red vest. Indy looked over to her and in an exhausted tone, "Don't do that again." His voice hinted anger. Tava stood in the corner with arms crossed. Indy ran his fingers through his hair in contemplation before snugging his hat back on. It was a little tougher for him without his book. He rubbed his hands against the stone symbols trying to notice any subtle clues as he studies them. After several minutes of staring at each choice Indy spoke, "See that marking there. I think the book said it was the Dwemer sign of enlightenment." he picked the lever and gave it a tug. Gears started to click, and the door opened leading to a new room. They wandered into the circular room. In the center of the room stood a pedestal and perched on it was the Gauntlet of Akatosh. It's dark green metal reflected the light of the Dwemer lanterns. Both adventures approached it slowly, keeping an eye out for more traps. They reached the gauntlet.

"Wow. Just look at it. So, shiny." Tava started to brush the delicately carved gauntlet. Indy tensed up in fear,

"Wait! Wait. Don't touch it. It's got to be booby trapped." he scolded as he slapped her hand down. Tava grabbed her palm,

"But look at that artwork. It's amazing." Indy squatted down to eye level with the gauntlet.

"Stand back. I've got to find a way to disarm the trigger." Indy waved the thief back. He kept a steady eye on the pedestal, looking for where the trigger might be. "Ha, a weight trigger, classic." Indy turned back to Tava, "let me see that bracelet." Indy held his hand out while Tava unlatched the long, decorative gold bracelet from her wrist. When she laid it in his hand Indy tossled it around a bit to get a feel for it's weight. "This should work just fine." Indiana leaned over the pedestal and quickly switched the bracelet out for the gauntlet. With the powerful glove in hand, Indy stepped back from the center of the room and looked around, waiting for something bad to happen. Seconds past with nothing. Indy laughed hesitantly as he pulled his hat off to wipe his brow with his shirt sleeve. Indy pulled the gauntlet up to his face to study it. "Well. We've got it. Now how to get out." As they started to inspect the room for a secret exit, the bracelet slipped off the pedestal. The whole apparatus started to sink into the ground with a rumble. Indy looked around, "Sonnuvabitch". More gears and steam sounds filled the room and the decorative Dwemer walls jumped to life into robotic spiders. "Machines that move like animals. The Nazis don't even have technology this advance."

"That's nice! More fighting less admiring." Tava ordered as she drew her scimitar. Indy stowed the gauntlet in his satchel and pulled out his whip. He cracked it over his head, but the robotic spiders didn't stumble.

"Right. Machines, they don't get scared." Indy cracked his whip again latching against one of the spiders' legs. The machine pulled hard against Indy. A quick wrist flip in the right motion and the spider leg detached from itself spewing gears and oil. Another spider jumped onto Indy's back, knocking the archaeologist down. Tava took a running swing at the machine and cut in clean in half. It's oil spilling on Indy. "Ah, yuck." Indy blew his lips to dispel the oil on his mouth. As he wiped the grease from his eyes he saw another spider tinkering towards him. Indy let out a wild punch to repel the robot. It connected and the metal of the spider won against Indy's flesh. He yelped in pain as he shook his damaged hand. Tava appeared from nowhere to destroy this spider too. Indy blindly swung his whip around his feet in a sweeping circle, his eyes still burning with oil. The end of the kangaroo hide caught Tava's leg and tripping her up.

"Pay attention!" Tava yelled and followed it up with some swear words in native language. A spider crawled over top the downed thief. Indy finally gained his sight back and clenched his whip tighter. Another crack extended the whip around the spider's body and with a heavy tug sent it flying off Tava and back across the room. The last robotic spider leaped up into the air towards Indy. He quickly pulled his machete out of his gun belt and held it above him. The spider landed on it, effectively spearing it on the short sword, it's oil started to leak down. Indy slipped it off his blade and went over to Tava. "There. A door out." Indy pointed to a newly opened passage. They carefully climbed over the stone rubble and towards the light of day. The desert finally laid before them again. Their wagon, and point of entry, was 2 miles to their south. The sandstorm had subsided, so the trip back wasn't as perilous.

They rolled back into the town of Elinhir has the sun started to set. Indy pulled the horses to a stop, in front of Shazem's blacksmith shop, which had been abandoned for the day. Tava climbed into the back and loudly whispered,

"What are you doing? Trying to get us killed." Indy ignored her as he pulled the shovels and picks from the wagon and laid them near the giant fire pit. Tava continued to peek around just above the wagon, nervously looking for guards. Indy left a note that simply said 'Thanks'. He got back into the wagon and started down the main street. The two helped themselves into Dust's house. The lizard man was in the middle of practicing his flute when they startled him.

"I didn't take you for a musician." Indy was pleasantly surprised.

"Ah, I find the simple rhythmic nuances of music a nice rest from the vigorous reading." Dust explained in his speedy tongue. "Did you find the gauntlet? I assume you must of since you came back to me, alive. Let me see it." Indy smiled at the Argonian's enthusiasm. He pulled the powerful gauntlet from his satchel and handed it to Dust. The lizard readily snatched it up and began pouring over all the details. "Oh, this reminds me. I have pinpointed what the 'heart of stone' is and with this gauntlet I can use the inscribing on it to give you all the details." Dust scurried back over to his desk with the gauntlet. Using a roll of paper and charcoal he started to scratch out a rubbing of the markings. As he got halfway through the rubbing he looked back to the professor. "My book you borrowed?" Indy looked around with an ashamed look,

"Ah. Let me help you with this decryption." Indy went over and started to examine the sketching.

"Hmm. I see. Lost it in the ruins. That will be hard to replace." Dust's nostrils tightened with displeasure.

"Don't worry bookworm. I'm sure plenty of rich kings have a copy of that old book laying on their bookshelf collecting dust. Next time I give them a visit I'll borrow a copy for you." Tava comforted the jittery lizard. She started up the creaky stairs again. "You two scholars have fun with your little glove. I'm going to sleep." Indy waved her off and set his hat up on a shelf, prepared for a long night of research.