Lunrik hauled himself onto the narrow metal gantry, the sounds of the chaotic battle raging below echoing upwards. The air here hummed with residual energy from the hunters' weapons and the faint, nauseating scent of Lurker ichor. Twenty yards away, two hunters stood with their backs mostly towards him, focused intently on firing down at Borgrum and the beleaguered Iron Guard, their energy rifles spitting precise blue bolts into the melee. The third hunter remained further down the gantry, still interacting with a wall panel.
This was it. Close range. Element of surprise. He gripped the Resonance Key emitter, the grip sensor recognizing his Banehallow signature, the device feeling strangely alive, almost eager, in his hand. Borgrum's warnings about instability warred with the desperate need to act, to save Kaelith (wherever she was), to survive this nightmare.
He focused his intent, recalling the agonizing 'scream' ripped from him during Borgrum's calibration, channeling that feeling of violation, that defensive fury, into the emitter. He aimed it squarely at the backs of the two nearby hunters and squeezed the trigger mechanism.
The Key responded instantly. A wave of invisible, dissonant energy surged outwards, focused this time, not the wide, uncontrolled burst from the workshop overload. It hit the two hunters like a physical blow.
Their sleek armour flickered violently. Their energy rifles instantly sputtered and died, lights blinking erratically. Both hunters cried out – not in pain, exactly, but sharp, metallic gasps of surprise and system shock – staggering forward, clutching their helmets as if suffering intense vertigo or sensory overload. Their internal systems, including weapons and likely personal shielding and comms, were momentarily scrambled by the targeted harmonic disruption keyed to their technology's antagonistic frequency.
It worked. Better than Lunrik dared hope.
He didn't waste the opening. Dropping the now-hot emitter to let it hang from its belt cable, he drew the heavy dwarven axe and charged. He closed the distance in seconds, adrenaline singing in his veins.
The first hunter, still disoriented, turned sluggishly. Lunrik swung the Boar's Tooth axe in a vicious horizontal arc. The heavy dwarven steel, forged for cleaving rock and subterranean beasts, sheared through the hunter's advanced composite armour near the shoulder joint with a sickening crunch of metal and whatever lay beneath. The hunter collapsed, its arm nearly severed, dark, oily fluid seeping from the wound.
The second hunter reacted faster, recovering from the initial shock, dropping its inert rifle and drawing a wicked-looking serrated combat knife. It lunged at Lunrik with inhuman speed. Lunrik barely managed to parry the thrust with the haft of his axe, the impact jarring his already bruised ribs. He kicked out, catching the hunter off balance, then brought the axe down again in a powerful overhead chop aimed at its helmet.
The axe head glanced off the helmet's reinforced plating with a loud clang, but the sheer force of the blow staggered the hunter, sending it stumbling backwards towards the gantry railing. Before it could recover, Lunrik surged forward, slamming his shoulder into its chest, sending it toppling over the edge with a surprised cry, plummeting into the chaotic darkness below. Whether the fall or the Lurkers finished it, Lunrik didn't know or care.
Two down. One remaining.
He spun around, axe held ready, heart pounding, searching for the third hunter further down the gantry. The hunter who had been working on the wall panel had turned, witnessing the swift, brutal dispatch of his comrades. He held his energy rifle, which seemed unaffected by the Resonance Key's pulse at this slightly greater distance, aimed directly at Lunrik.
For a moment, they stood frozen, predator facing predator across the narrow metal walkway, the sounds of the battle below a distant backdrop to their focused standoff. Lunrik could see the hunter's helmet visor reflecting the dim emergency lights, hiding whatever alien or augmented features lay beneath.
Then, instead of firing, the hunter did something unexpected. He lowered his rifle slightly and spoke, his voice amplified by his helmet speaker, crisp, cold, and chillingly resonant with the same antagonistic frequency Lunrik felt from the Resonance Key.
"Anomaly Designation: Alaric-Prime-Resurgent," the hunter stated, the words precise, devoid of emotion. "Confirmation of lineage imperative. Survival probability: Negligible. Compliance advised for data acquisition."
Lunrik froze. Alaric-Prime-Resurgent. They didn't just suspect; they knew. They had a designation for him. And they wanted… data acquisition? Compliance? Was this an offer of surrender? Or a prelude to dissection?
"Who are you?" Lunrik demanded, gripping his axe, trying to buy time, trying to understand. "Why are you hunting us? Why Grimfang Deep?"
The hunter remained motionless, rifle still lowered but ready. "Classification: [Redacted - Security Protocol Omega]. Objective: Containment and analysis of destabilizing resonance signatures threatening multi-dimensional harmonic stability. Your lineage is identified catalyst. Grimfang Deep geothermal core identified potential amplifier. Compliance ensures minimal collateral damage during resonance neutralization."
Multi-dimensional harmonic stability? Resonance neutralization? It sounded like techno-magical fanaticism, chillingly similar to the 'Resonant Purifiers' mentioned in Thrain's ancient texts. Were they truly trying to 'cleanse' the world of energies they deemed dangerous, starting with the Banehallows?
"Neutralization means eradication," Lunrik stated flatly, recalling Borgrum's grim theory.
"Precise termination of aberrant harmonic frequency is the optimal outcome," the hunter replied calmly. "Biological host termination is secondary, but acceptable if compliance is denied."
There was no room for negotiation, no possibility of alliance. Their goal was his destruction, cold and calculated.
Lunrik glanced quickly back towards the ladder access. Could he retreat? Fendril and Borgrum were still engaged below. He was alone up here with this hunter. He looked at the Resonance Key emitter hanging at his belt. It felt cool now, its unstable energy seemingly spent after the last discharge. Would it even fire again?
The hunter seemed to sense his thoughts. "Resonance disruption weapon recognized. Prototype designation: Coghand-Gamma-Key. Threat level: Moderate but unstable. Countermeasures engaged." The hunter raised his rifle again, aiming carefully. "Final compliance request, Alaric-Prime-Resurgent."
Lunrik knew he had no choice but to fight. He braced himself, preparing to dodge the incoming energy bolt, axe held ready for a desperate charge.
But before the hunter could fire, a new sound echoed from the service tunnel Lunrik had just emerged from – a heavy clanking, scraping sound, accompanied by rhythmic hissing. Something was coming up the ladder access behind him. Fast.
Lunrik risked a glance back. Emerging onto the gantry, moving with surprising speed despite its bulk and previous damage, was the Dwarven Watcher automaton from the ice cave. Its clamp arm snapped menacingly, its drill arm was still locked at an angle, but its red optical sensors burned with focused intent, fixed squarely on the hunter standing further down the gantry.
Had it tracked Lunrik here? Or was it drawn by the energy discharges, programmed to neutralize any non-dwarven energy signatures within its patrol zone?
The hunter whirled around, surprised by the automaton's sudden appearance. He immediately fired his rifle at the advancing construct. The blue energy bolt slammed into the Watcher's chest plate, leaving a deep scorch mark but failing to stop its relentless advance. Ancient dwarven plating, designed to withstand subterranean pressures and perhaps even Lurker attacks, proved more resilient than modern hunter armour.
The automaton let out a burst of metallic whistles and clicks, raised its functional clamp arm, and charged the hunter. The hunter fired again, scoring another hit, but the Watcher kept coming, seemingly unfazed.
Lunrik saw his chance. While the hunter was distracted, locked in a sudden, unexpected battle with the relentless dwarven automaton, Lunrik acted. He didn't charge forward. He turned and scrambled back towards the access ladder he'd climbed, back towards the relative chaos of the cavern floor below. His priority wasn't defeating the hunter; it was survival, regrouping with Borgrum and Fendril, and finding Kaelith.
He half-slid, half-climbed down the ladder, ignoring the shouts and energy blasts echoing from the gantry above as hunter and automaton clashed. He hit the cavern floor near the Iron Guard barricade just as Borgrum smashed a Lurker skull with his warhammer.
"Lunrik!" Borgrum roared, surprised to see him return so soon, and alone. "Report! The hunters?"
"Engaged!" Lunrik gasped, pointing upwards towards the gantry where sounds of heavy impact and grinding metal could now be heard. "With… an automaton! The one from the ice cave!"
Borgrum stared upwards, bewildered. "The old Sentinel? It's active down here?" He shook his head. "Blast it all, this mountain keeps its secrets." He turned back to the immediate fight. "Never mind! Hunters occupied means breathing room for us! Iron Guard! Focus fire on the Lurkers! Push them back towards the side tunnels! Secure this junction!"
The battle surged again, dwarves pressing their advantage against the remaining Lurkers now that the hunter sniper fire had ceased. Lunrik joined the line again, axe swinging, fighting alongside Borgrum, the strange battle on the gantry above temporarily forgotten in the desperate struggle for control of the cavern below. He had survived another encounter, learned more about his deadly enemy, but Kaelith was still missing, and the chaos within Grimfang Deep was only escalating.