Earthen Erection

With all four Aetherium Shards gathered and the pieces of the Aetherium Crest gathered, Michael grabs his friends and heads directly to the Ruins of Bthalft, where the Aetherium Forge was supposedly hidden.

There was a small group of bandits squatting there, but a few Laguna Blades shows them Michael's opinion on that.

"So, where is the forge then? There's nothing here..." Megumin remarks as she looks around the area, her eyes skimming along the moss-covered stones and other fragments that gave a taste of what had once stood here.

"Well, we could probably start with that gyro-looking thing sat atop that dais that looks remarkably Dwemer in design..." Michael sarcastically says while gesturing over to it.

"But maybe that's what the Dwemer want you to think! It's probably a trap, rigged to the brim with-... Actually, you should probably check it out." Megumin finishes with a thumbs up.

"Uh huh..." Michael hums as he walks up to the dais, his eyes staring dully at the circular indentation that just so happened to perfectly fit the Aetherium Crest into. "Any objections to shoving the crest into this? Cuz if it gets stuck or something then we'll be up shit creek with a leaky boat and cotton-candle paddle."

"Well, there's isn't anywhere else you could put it, might as well, right?" Saya says, everyone, noting her taking a few steps backwards as she gives her assent.

Michael shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders before shoving the fragmented crest into the indentation, all while muttering "Whatever". Only to be forced to back away as the Dwemer dais trembles as gears become active for the first time in who knows how long.

The gyro twists in on itself as machinery begins manoeuvring the Aetherium Crest around, eventually flashing with some kind of magic that fuses the shards back together... After that, nothing else happens... Until Michael retrieves the Crest, causing the whole platform the group was standing on to shoot up into the sky as a huge tower sprouts from the ground.

Saya was the only one saved from being carried into the sky, with Megumin almost tumbling off backwards had Michael not caught her in time.

"Huh, I didn't expect that to happen." Michael mutters while looking down at the distant floor. "Saya! Everything all good down there!?"

"Yeah! And there's an elevator here too! How are you going to get down!?"

...

Michael looks around at the girls present, inwardly realising that he needed to get more male friends... Or at least, friends he could comfortably bring along on adventures like this. "I'll fly everyone done one by one, cool?" he asks and they nod easily.

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Five minutes later, Michael and his companions had gone through the elevator and stepped out into a huge cavern that felt far hotter than it should by how it looked. There was a thin paved path going over a large underground river that led up to some beautifully designed Dwemer ruins, looking almost completely untouched by the ravages of time.

There was even a tree somehow still growing here, aided by an artificial sun-thing positioned directly above it. Behind that, was another gate with a spinning target placed above it, a puzzle that looks identical to where he'd found the first Aetherium Shard.

He easily completes it, causing the bars protecting the door to slide out of view, but once Michael pushes open the door, he's assaulted with a wave of uncomfortably hot air. It felt like he'd stepped into a broken sauna that'd also been lit on fire.

Not only that, but he could see the eerie orange glow of lava down the staircase, along with the Aetherium Forge standing proudly at the end of the next room, over grates which were positioned over-literal lava. "Guess we found the Forge..."

Saya crosses her arms with an unsure expression, "Were the Dwemer immune to heat? Because lava is usually around one thousand degrees celsius... If this is even lava, if it's magma then we need to leave immediately... Going anywhere in its vicinity would cause your skin to start melting off of you..." she states, causing a few to shiver in fright at the thought of it.

Michael shrugs, "I'll take a look, if it gets too hot then we'll have to enchant some gear with fire resistance to even survive it. Whether or not that'll be tolerable is another matter entirely." he says, cautiously walking down the steps as the others watch him.

He had limited resistance to heat due to his Lina Spirit granting him an Affinity to fire. He wasn't sure how that'd translate when bathed in magma, however... Actually, he knew exactly how that'd turn out. Instant death.

Halfway down the steps and Michael could tell that they'd need to make specialised equipment to, the girls wouldn't last ten minutes at his current temperature, and he wasn't even in the room yet...

Even further down, and Michael had to stop as he could feel his skin start to burn, any closer and he'd start getting blisters and third-degree burns... yeah, who'd have thought having a room with no ventilation filled with magma would be stupidly fucking hot! The Dwemer probably hoped this to be the last defence to prevent outsiders from accessing the Aetherium Forge... A good one, but annoying all the same.

He treks back up the stairs and wipes the sweat from his brow once the doors were shut behind him, "Yeah, we're going to need some serious gear to go in there. Felt like I was stepping out of a frying pan and into a volcano." he states.

"Is no there magic you could use?" Megumin asks, unknowledgeable in things not relating directly to explosions and destruction.

Michael shakes his head, "I don't know any, and even if I did, I'd not risk my life on a heat resistance spell that may or may not be dispelled when I'm down there. There's still probably a boss we need to fight once we get down there..."