Mutants Misplaced
Chapter 13
Into the Deeps
"Uhm.. what's that?" Mikey asked, pointing at a large object that stood in the middle of the cave room they just entered.
Standing on a carved stone pedestal that was one meter tall and very broad, was a four meters tall humanoid figure, made out of a bronze-goldish metal. It was held up by an arch, made of the same metal, that had six clamp-like extensions that attached to the arms. Instead of hands, the arms had an axe and a hammer that were so big that if they were to be used as weapons by people, you would have to use both hands to swing them. The head was shaped almost like an old Roman helmet, complete with a metal plume. Underneath the helmet, you could see a bearded human-like face, a part of the headpiece.
"Is it a statue, or a set of armor?" Sephie asked.
"Actually, I think it's an ancient robot. Just look at it, you can see cogs and pistons. But I didn't think there was such advanced technology in this world. I wonder what kind of fuel it uses, and how you control it." Donnie said, almost mesmerized by the giant construct.
"I'm more interested in what is behind it." said Tyroth, pointing past the arch. The wall was carved into large symmetrical squares with a set of large doors, easily five meters tall and two meters wide, made from the same metal as the arch and construct. The doors had sharp lines forming almost rune-like patterns while the corners of the wall and stone door frame were engraved with smoother and rounder patterns.
"A door. Wonder who, or what, that lives down here?" said Leo.
"I'm more concerned with if they are friendly." said Mona.
"If their tech is anything to go on, then at least they're intelligent." Donnie commented. "We should be able to talk with them."
"Either way, it's the only way and it might lead out, so what do you say about knocking and see if anyone's home?" Tyroth said. Hearing no arguments, he walked up to the doors and knocked. The sound echoed, both in the cave and on the other side of the door. Waiting for an answer, fifteen minutes passed without any response, despite additional knocking. Tired of waiting, Tyroth decided to open the doors himself and searched for a handle. Finding an indention, he slowly pulled the heavy door open.
Behind the doors was a corridor that ran forty meters before ending with another set of doors, these were just over two meters tall. In addition, there were two single doors right before it, one on each side. Just like the walls outside, the inside were carved in the same symmetrical style with the same rounded rune-like patterns around the doors. Metal tubes or pipes, easily a meter in diameter, ran across the ceiling, as well as some parts of the walls. On some of the pipes, there were vents that occasionally released puffs of steam.
Evenly spaced out on the walls, were half-cylindrical metal grate with green glass cylinders that worked like light bulbs, giving of a clear light. You could hear the subtle sounds of machinery working in the distance. Donnie was very excited, hoping to get hold on some this place's tech to study, if possible.
"Looks safe enough." Sephie commented.
"Looks can be deceiving, if there's a robot outside the gate, what kind of traps are then inside?" said Leo.
"Guys, is that... bones over there?" Raph said, pointing further down the hall.
Laying against the walls were the skeletal remains of what seemed to three humans, or at least humanoids, together with some metal objects. As the team got closer, they saw that the metal were pieces of weapons and armor that, together with the bones, had been cut up by something very sharp.
"What could have done this?" Mona asked, shuddering at the thought.
"I'm not sure, but I think I see what could be the trigger." said Tyroth. "See that floor tile in the middle, just a meter past the remains, the one with a small metal square? There's also some kind of narrow indenture right behind it."
"Alright, step back everyone and be prepared for anything. I'm gonna spring it." said Donnie.
Once they all were at a safe distance, Donnie took a small rock from outside the hall and tossed it at the supposed pressure plate. Hitting it, a pair of large blades shot up from the narrow hole, both attached to a center pivot. The blades rapidly tilted so that they were horizontally, four inches above the floor. The pivot started spinning at a very high speed, making the blades act like a lawnmower. Several pieces of bones moved a bit from the wind generated from the spinning blades. After a few seconds, they stopped spinning and folded up, retracting back into the floor.
"Brutal. Whoever got caught in that wouldn't survive." said Raph.
Carefully avoiding the trap, the mutants walked farther down the hall until they reached the doors. Checking the two on the sides first, they found that both rooms were identical, having eight stone slabs with old hides on and a table with a few chairs in the far back, also made out of stone. Searching the rooms more closely, they also found some plates and cups made out of the same metal as the doors and pipes. In one of the rooms, Mikey was able to find a metal helmet, looking very similar to the head of the construct outside, carved face and all, but it was in scale with average humanoids, and still quite heavy.
"What kind of place did this use to be?" Raph asked.
"Maybe some form of barracks or guard post." said Mona. "Considering the trap in the hallway, it would be very easy to defend."
"I think you're right, Mona." said Tyroth. "It's shaped like a bottleneck, and the active guards probably stayed in these rooms."
"But what could they have needed it for? There wasn't any other paths from the cave where we washed up and we never found any other paths along the way." said Sephie.
"True, but who knows how old this is. Way back, there could have been numerous tunnels leading here that have collapsed over time or by hand." said Donnie. "And everything's still working, so whatever they protected could still be here."
"And yet it looks abandoned, which makes me wonder; if the defense' are still working, where are the people?" Leo asked.
"Celebrating Christmas?" said Mikey.
"Not likely. The answers, and maybe a way out, are probably further in." said Tyroth, nodding towards the last two doors. Walking over to them, he found the same kind of handle as on the others and pulled the doors open. Behind was another hallway, looking just like the one they were in, but it led downwards, deeper into the underground. With no other way to go, the reptiles walked down into the unknown depths, vary of any traps that might be waiting for them.
What they didn't know was that they were being observed by something, hidden in the strange complex.
I don't even think I have to tell you what they have stumbled upon, anyone who has played Skyrim knows a Dwemer ruin when they see one, and we all know what skulks around in those places. But is that what our heroes will encounter, or is it something worse?