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Description
The Dwemer were ages gone from Tamriel. Maybe to dust, maybe someplace else.

What they left behind has stood for ages, and the secrets of those bronze halls are jealously guarded by the children of the Dwemer. These scions are not flesh and blood, only metal men and creatures remain the stewards and heirs of the deep places.

Ko'Taahni, the small Khajiit, had gone into Dwemer ruins before, deftly dodging traps and sneaking past centurions and spheres. Ko'Taahni sometimes went alone to search for artifacts, usually when it required a tricky climb into a small space or squeeze through the rubble of a collapsed tunnel.

This mission felt different. The old Telvanni wizard insisted on sending Ko'Taahni with two other adventurers. One was a stately Redguard swordsman hired from the fighters guild. He would rarely speak but others at the excavation base camp called him Rook. The other adventurer was a local Dunmer, a guar herder named Turil paid for information on the surrounding areas but hired as part of the team after he insisted on demonstrating his skill with a bow.

Dunmer cultural memory was long lived and stories of the local Dwemer ruins occupied an implacable dark corner of the local psyche. Many ruins had been explored already but Turil told a tale of a ruin not marked on any map by man or mer. A place, feared by locals but completely untouched. The old Telvanni mage was skeptical but the promise of a new discovery was enough of a temptation.

It was a two days journey over rough terrain but Turil eventually led Ko'Taahni and Rook through to the end of a narrow canyon where a single Dwemer tower stood. Rook looked thoroughly unimpressed as his eyes silently scanned the structure. The trio approached the mechanical doors of the entrance. Ko'Taahni and Rook spotted writing above the door.

"I wish I could read this," Rook muttered "Could probably save a lot of trouble."

"I can read it," Ko'Taahni said with some hesitation.

Turil cocked an eyebrow and looked at the Khajiit, "How can YOU read that?"

"I read books." She said, oversimplifying how much research she has done on her own before becoming an acrobat for hire.

Rook gestured towards the writing, a stern but calm expression on his face "What does it say, Khajiit?"

"Mzin Duabcharn... Against our machines... thunch dua Mzual... fear our mercy."

"What does that mean?" Turil squeaked, a trace of panic in his voice.

"Ominous" Rook said flatly.

Ko'Taahni turned a crank near the entrance and with a hiss of steam and metal clanking, the double doors slowly slid open.

The above ground tower was fairly barren and empty except for stairs leading down below the ground, giving the impression that the tower was merely a facade intended to give the wrong impression. The descent down the stairs took some time but eventually opened up into a massive foyer and pillared gallery, lined with brass and dust from the ages swirling in the lights. Many of the side halls led to mostly empty barracks and workshops.

The end of the main gallery was the obvious target with a large door that appeared to be a vault. Ko'Taahni and Rook were expecting to find a complex lock, something that would take all day to puzzle through. Rook touched the metal door and it easily gave way inward. Rook and Ko'Taahni exchange worried looks... Unlocked?

Expecting a trap, they stepped into a large vault space, pools of light revealing a wide variety of esoteric objects on display. Lined along the wall were several Dwemer centurion automatons, the metal protectors of this gallery. Hissing steam and the clanking of gears told Ko'Taahni that they are functional but idle. Sleeping.

At the back of the vault, suspended from the ceiling, was something different. It looked humanoid like the top half of a centurion automaton but with less bulk, long arms ending with sharp fingers. In a mockery of life, the crafted and molded face scowled down on its domain with intense severity.

"Don't touch anything... Not yet." Ko'Taahni hisses at Turil, who was reaching out to touch the face of a centurion.

As Turil snapped his hand back and swung around to face the other two, his bow strapped to his back knocked over a pedestal and the small metal object it held.

The pedestal fell with a loud stone thud and the object bounced a couple times with a metallic clang that rang for what seemed like an eternity. The silence afterward was unbearable as all three adventurers tensed, waiting.

Then the eyes of the centurions began to glow.

Description
The Dwemer were ages gone from Tamriel. Maybe to dust, maybe someplace else.

What they left behind has stood for ages, and the secrets of those bronze halls are jealously guarded by the children of the Dwemer. These scions are not flesh and blood, only metal men and creatures remain the stewards and heirs of the deep places.

Ko'Taahni, the small Khajiit, had gone into Dwemer ruins before, deftly dodging traps and sneaking past centurions and spheres. Ko'Taahni sometimes went alone to search for artifacts, usually when it required a tricky climb into a small space or squeeze through the rubble of a collapsed tunnel.

This mission felt different. The old Telvanni wizard insisted on sending Ko'Taahni with two other adventurers. One was a stately Redguard swordsman hired from the fighters guild. He would rarely speak but others at the excavation base camp called him Rook. The other adventurer was a local Dunmer, a guar herder named Turil paid for information on the surrounding areas but hired as part of the team after he insisted on demonstrating his skill with a bow.

Dunmer cultural memory was long lived and stories of the local Dwemer ruins occupied an implacable dark corner of the local psyche. Many ruins had been explored already but Turil told a tale of a ruin not marked on any map by man or mer. A place, feared by locals but completely untouched. The old Telvanni mage was skeptical but the promise of a new discovery was enough of a temptation.

It was a two days journey over rough terrain but Turil eventually led Ko'Taahni and Rook through to the end of a narrow canyon where a single Dwemer tower stood. Rook looked thoroughly unimpressed as his eyes silently scanned the structure. The trio approached the mechanical doors of the entrance. Ko'Taahni and Rook spotted writing above the door.

"I wish I could read this," Rook muttered "Could probably save a lot of trouble."

"I can read it," Ko'Taahni said with some hesitation.

Turil cocked an eyebrow and looked at the Khajiit, "How can YOU read that?"

"I read books." She said, oversimplifying how much research she has done on her own before becoming an acrobat for hire.

Rook gestured towards the writing, a stern but calm expression on his face "What does it say, Khajiit?"

"Mzin Duabcharn... Against our machines... thunch dua Mzual... fear our mercy."

"What does that mean?" Turil squeaked, a trace of panic in his voice.

"Ominous" Rook said flatly.

Ko'Taahni turned a crank near the entrance and with a hiss of steam and metal clanking, the double doors slowly slid open.

The above ground tower was fairly barren and empty except for stairs leading down below the ground, giving the impression that the tower was merely a facade intended to give the wrong impression. The descent down the stairs took some time but eventually opened up into a massive foyer and pillared gallery, lined with brass and dust from the ages swirling in the lights. Many of the side halls led to mostly empty barracks and workshops.

The end of the main gallery was the obvious target with a large door that appeared to be a vault. Ko'Taahni and Rook were expecting to find a complex lock, something that would take all day to puzzle through. Rook touched the metal door and it easily gave way inward. Rook and Ko'Taahni exchange worried looks... Unlocked?

Expecting a trap, they stepped into a large vault space, pools of light revealing a wide variety of esoteric objects on display. Lined along the wall were several Dwemer centurion automatons, the metal protectors of this gallery. Hissing steam and the clanking of gears told Ko'Taahni that they are functional but idle. Sleeping.

At the back of the vault, suspended from the ceiling, was something different. It looked humanoid like the top half of a centurion automaton but with less bulk, long arms ending with sharp fingers. In a mockery of life, the crafted and molded face scowled down on its domain with intense severity.

"Don't touch anything... Not yet." Ko'Taahni hisses at Turil, who was reaching out to touch the face of a centurion.

As Turil snapped his hand back and swung around to face the other two, his bow strapped to his back knocked over a pedestal and the small metal object it held.

The pedestal fell with a loud stone thud and the object bounced a couple times with a metallic clang that rang for what seemed like an eternity. The silence afterward was unbearable as all three adventurers tensed, waiting.

Then the eyes of the centurions began to glow.