With Elsweyr saved from the Dominion, and the Mane was free to continue leading her people, Amaryllis stared out of Torval and focused on the direction that the Quin'rawl Peninsula, because in that area rested something that might turn the tide of this war, before any of their enemies knew what they had discovered. With the potential discovery of the Numidium's resting place, a place she thought would have been under lock and key somewhere near the Summerset isles, she knew that Za'kera, Ma'jera, and Zoravoir would want to come see if she was right or if she was being paranoid. If her thoughts were right, and the brass giant was somewhere in the Halls of the Colossus, it would be a game changer, as they would be able to destroy the Dominion's trump card without them even knowing that it had happened, ruining all their efforts and securing a solid victory for their side. If her thoughts were wrong, well, then that meant the Numidium had been moved somewhere else and they were going to have to take a loss, a pretty massive one given what it was capable of, and she was hoping that she was right, that it was somewhere in the Halls and all they had to do was find it.
All of that was why she had asked the Alfig to try and magically link up with the Imperial City, with either the Demiprince of Hermaeus Mora or the new Daedric Prince, to inform them that she might be able to stop the Warp from happening, and all she could do right now was stare out at the city and what laid beyond it.
"What's wrong?" a voice asked, where Amaryllis found that Sakaia, as she expected, was remaining near her and must have figured out that she was deeply thinking about something, or maybe worried was the correct word to use in this situation, to which the monk came to a stop nearby and glanced out at the city as well, "As Elsweyr's savior you should be celebrating with the rest of our allies, instead of standing out here, staring off into the distance like there's more to do."
"Well, you aren't wrong about that, we still have to liberate Valenwood and take back the Summerset Isles," Amaryllis said, because she knew that there was more to do and that she couldn't get too involved in whatever celebrations were going on right now, before she focused on the direction she was interested in, "Tell me, do you know about the Warp in the West?"
"Yes. Supposedly multiple parties activated the Numidium, distorting time and space... or something to that effect, if my memory is correct." Sakaia answered, where she tilted her head for a moment as she considered the information that was being given to her right now, despite the fact that, for the time being, she was failing to see the connection between that and why Elsweyr's savior was staring off into the distance, "Why do you ask?"
"You see, the Halls of the Colossus are in the Quin'rawl Peninsula, where the Numidium was built," Amaryllis replied, going over the connection she had made in her mind by just listening to the name of the location, where she found see that her companion was trying to connect the dots herself and might have an idea as to what she was getting at, "my allies back in Cyrodiil have reliable information that the Dominion has been working on a brand new Numidium, no doubt salvaging the parts from what happened during the Warp in the West and using old schematics left by the Dwarves... we're afraid that it might be activated in the near future and used against the world."
"So... you're hoping that it's... inside the Halls of the Colossus?" Sakaia inquired, though Amaryllis could tell that she was afraid of her answer, knowing of the potential danger that the Numidium posed to all of creation and that they couldn't allow it to be activated or even completed, if the Dominion hadn't finished it yet.
"I am. Destroying it will help save our world, and cripple our enemies hopes of winning." Amaryllis said, where she knew this was the reason they weren't telling anyone about the Numidium, as those that knew about it would be afraid and the rest would be afraid if the mages or ruling officials were suddenly afraid, before she sighed as she thought about what might be in the Halls, "Hence why I'm trying to contact the city... some of my allies will be interested in hearing about this and should come running, no doubt by portal if I'm right about whose coming... if not, well, then I'm getting some rest and heading out to confirm my suspicions on my own. We have some powerful allies, some capable of amazing magical feats, hence the reason I'm sure they'll teleport here, instead of riding like normal people would."
Sakaia barely had time to say anything else as a ripple of energy passed through the area and an oval shaped portal tore itself open nearby, where Amaryllis watched for a few seconds as Za'kera, in all her glory, stepped through it, along with Lydia, her ever vigilant knight, Ma'jera, and Zoravoir.
"We got your message and came as quickly as we could." Za'kera said, meaning that someone must have held them up in the Imperial City, no doubt Neloth petitioning for the right to come with them so he could see the Numidium with his own eyes, though Amaryllis didn't trust that elf, not after what happened in his tower, "So, the Halls of the Colossus... do you really believe the Dominion left the Numidium behind, after all the work they poured into making it?"
"They're arrogant, and I'm hoping they made a critical error," Amaryllis replied, showing them that she was hoping that the massive brass construct was somewhere inside the Halls, given the name of the place, all while letting the others come to the conclusion that she had waited for their arrival before heading out to see if it was there, before she waved her right hand towards Sakaia, "Oh, and allow me to introduce Sakaia, a Tojay-raht monk whose been helping me and our allies in taking Elsweyr back from the Dominion."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, friends of the Savior of Elsweyr." Sakaia stated, taking a moment to bow a little, as she knew that Za'kera was an Empress now and that one had to be careful when dealing with people like her, even though part of her was sure that the Mane would want to chat with her at some point.
"While this is nice and all, we have work to do and not a lot of time to do it in." Ma'jera cut in, showing them that she didn't use her magic to bring them here for a discussion, hence why she was already turning and floating off in the direction that the Quin'rawl Peninsula was in.
Za'kera, on the other hand, was more than happy to talk with Sakaia as they headed off in the direction of the structure Amaryllis had learned about earlier, though since they had been forced to come without their steeds Zoravoir lifted them into the air so they could follow after Ma'jera and not fall behind. Of course their new friend was surprised by what was going on, meaning she must not have seen magic like this before or didn't believe that such a thing was possible, but she kept quiet as they moved above the ground, out of reach of anyone who might want to bring them down. Amaryllis was focused on whatever might be inside the Halls of the Colossus, because there was a fifty-fifty chance that the Numidium would either be there or it would be missing, just like she thought about earlier, and each item they passed by brought all of them one step closer to finding out which idea was right. Zoravoir remained silent, no doubt recalling the tales about the Numidium and the danger it posed to the world as a whole, so she had to be hoping that it was resting inside the Halls of the Colossus, just to relieve some of the pressure that the upper ranks of their army was facing.
They found that Ma'jera, true to their thoughts, knew exactly where to go, bringing the group to a massive set of doors, no doubt made of some sort of metal the Dwarves discovered and used before their disappearance, that was down in what looked like a giant ravine. By Amaryllis' estimates the Numidium had to be about half as tall as the White-Gold Tower, or maybe two-thirds at the max, and the metallic doors reflected that, though Ma'jera informed them that there had been a side passage into this structure at one point, back when some dragons were imprisoned inside the Halls. Of course they were no longer down there, having been released at some point during the Second Era and killed in battle, so no one had to worry about running into an evil dragon while they were exploring this place, before the Demiprince set them down in front of the doors. In that moment, as the group was staring up at the door, Amaryllis found all sorts of carvings that she was sure came from the time of the Dwarves, depicting a giant made of brass that held incredible power, which told her that the ancient race knew what they were playing at and did so anyway, regardless of the potential consequences that it might bring upon them.
"The Halls of the Colossus... quite an elegant entrance, for a race that didn't believe in the Divines or the Daedric Princes," Ma'jera commented, reminding them of the fact that the Dwemer had their own pantheon, whatever it was Amaryllis had no idea and she really didn't care enough to find out, before she raised her staff and loosed her magic, the doors glowing for a few moments before opening to some degree, "Come. Let us see if the Numidium is here."
As it turned out the opening she had created was wide enough for them to pass through and small enough so nothing else could slip through, be it dragons or a giant mechanical monster, allowing them to see that the path in front of them was wide, enough for workers on either side and a walkway for the giant, before connecting to a long diagonal shaft that went deep into the earth. This time around Zoravoir used her magic to lift them into the air so they could float alongside her and Ma'jera, allowing Amaryllis to focus on the walls and the path they were following, while Za'kera kept her eyes on the end of the path and Sakaia was just glancing around with interest in her eyes. One thing Amaryllis discovered as she and the others floated down into the depths were several areas where large sections of brass, components for the Numidium no doubt, were just resting all over the ground, though the lack of cobwebs told her all she needed to know, the forces of the Dominion had been here at some point, working on their terrible trump card. Many of the pieces looked like plating, as in what went over the insides of the terrible machine, though it was hard to tell if they were leftovers or if these were pieces that were supposed to be added at some point in time, leading her to guess that she and the others would find out when they reached the bottom of the passage.
When she and the others passed a certain point, however, she felt a slight change in the air and could see that Za'kera and their companions were feeling the same thing, meaning they had to be getting closer to their destination, though she had to hope that this meant the Numidium was down here.
"My fur feels like it's charged... just what were the Dominion doing down here?" Sakaia asked, though it was easy for them to tell that she really didn't want an answer to that particular question, not when she could imagine what it meant all by herself, a thought they all shared.
"They were gathering mana, no doubt to awaken the Numidium," Zoravoir answered, as she couldn't help herself, she had to talk about what they were feeling and what it meant for their plans if either truth happened to be right, and while most of the group remained silent she could tell that her former mentor was listening, "my guess, based on what we're feeling, is that the Dominion tried to create a power source for the giant, like how the first one was supposedly powered by the Heart of Lorkhan and the second was fueled by the Mantella... they might have been attempting to make something that did what those two objects did."
"The mages that were stationed here were probably drained of their mana everyday, to break their limits and create the immense power source the Numidium needed to function," Ma'jera added, where Amaryllis found that it was rare for her to add her own thoughts to the conversation, as usually she just listened and told people off when they said something that was wrong in her eyes, before they neared what had to be the end of the passage, likely twenty to thirty minutes after starting their descent.
Resting in front of them, after the group came to a stop at the bottom of the diagonal passage, was a massive platform, a ring shaped one to be exact, with a hollowed center that was truly massive, though they walked off to the right since there was more to the path that still went diagonal, right down into the center, the path that the Numidium would use once the Dominion brought it to life. In the center of the massive underground chamber, resting in the center of the open pit that the platform was resting around, was a massive and imposing looking Dwarven machine that, at a glance, could resemble one of the centurion that protected all the Dwarven ruins, but that was where the similarities ended. The construct was two-thirds the size of the White-Gold Tower, as Amaryllis had to look over the railing to see how far down it's legs went, it certainly looked like a machine built to resemble a humanoid creature, with arms that ended in hands and had five fingers on each one, and, based on what she was seeing, it was complete. By that she meant that there were no holes, no pieces that had to be added or replaced, meaning the Dominion had done a great job rebuilding the terrible machine from all the parts that were left behind, or just the schematics if they were unlucky, and it meant that the Numidium was slumbering, waiting to be activated.
What made things somewhat better was when the group reached what appeared to be a control center, no doubt made to awaken the massive construct at the builder's command, and there were all sorts of dead bodies, Altmer mages who wore the same attire that the Dominion wore, only there was a glowing bronze stone, about the size of one's head, floating just an inch or two above the commander's open hand.
"They were using themselves as batteries, their souls and mana being used to create this stone," Amaryllis said, because she knew enough from listening to Ma'jera and Zoravoir to guess such a thing on her own, though in the next few seconds the Demiprince lifted her hand and the gem floated over to her, where she studied it as the others glanced at the control area they were in.
"I'm going to guess that they assumed this would power the Numidium... instead it killed them all." Za'kera added, as that was what it looked like, all of the Altmer had been killed with no wounds to their bodies, in fact some looked like they had a smile on their faces, like victory was theirs or something, but instead this was their victory, a massive win that their foes wouldn't know about until later on.
"And all their souls are inside this... a Soulstone, if you will." Ma'jera commented, where she stepped out onto the ring and let her magic roll over the entire area, something that caused Amaryllis to notice that other magical energies were slowly gathering at certain points around the chamber, "Given the power of a Numidium, we need the gods to aid us... you'll see what I mean soon enough."
Amaryllis was unable to say anything as Zoravoir joined Ma'jera as they spread out, where the other gods, both Divine and Daedric, teleported into the chamber and stared at the machine that was in front of them, some disgusted, some looking indifferent, and some glad that they were getting a chance to deal with it. In the following moments more magic washed over the chamber that they were standing in, where she, Za'kera, and Sakaia stood still as they watched what the gods had planned for the dangerous machine that could bring an end to the world if the Dominion had their way. As they watched she noticed something interesting, the components of the Numidium were starting to melt, the sheer magical power that was in the air seemed to be breaking down whatever magical defenses the machine had and was tearing the machine to pieces, or molten metal as the case was. Ma'jera opened a portal in the ceiling and sent the molten mass into it, where all of the observers were able to see that it lead to part of Elsweyr, the northern half anyway, and the material was hardening into a new form, the foundation of a structure that was as wide as the White-Gold Tower.
In that instant Amaryllis understood what they were doing, not only were they destroying the Numidium, tearing apart the Dominion's trump card, they were using all of the materials that went into it to build a brand new Tower in Elsweyr, which would stabilize Nirn even more than before and cripple the Dominion's efforts, causing her to smile as she watched them work, as this was the best outcome and she couldn't wait to see what happened when the Dominion realized what they had done to the Numidium.