The rusted doors to the old showroom groaned as Brynhild opened them. The metal screeched against the floor before opening the noise echoed outside into the ruined city streets behind them. The dust that bellowed choked Brynhild and covered the dim light outside.
Brynhild coughed once, then waved her hand, and grinned as she stepped inside.
The air smelled of rust and mildew, that is heavy with decay. The building must once have been impressive — wide glass panels, polished steel floors, display cases showing off the future of household life. Now, the showroom was as quiet as a graveyard.
There a broken mannequins littered all over the place. Half finished robot frames hanged on the walls, with their torsos gutted out seems they where abandoned when production was mid way.
Brynhild looked at their eyes and could'nt help but feel like they are corpses looking back at her.
"It looks like a nice place" Brynhild says as she wipes dust of a broken countertop. "I dare say romantic even."
Behind her, quick footsteps pounded across the cracked stone.
"Idiot," Runs says angrily as she opens the door wider and runs after her. "What part of 'we need to leave' did you not understand? "
Brynhild turned around and, leans against a counter with her arms crossed and says "Rúna calm down. That frown of yours is going to rust your beautiful face."
Rúna looked at her. "Do not turn my face into one of your jokes." She keeps quiet looking more serious. "The signal is strongest here, and it is coming from directly under where we stand."
"Oh really. " Brynhild says while smiling. "That means we should really check this out."
Runa grabbed her wrist with surprising strength. "No. Which means it is the most dangerous place in this city. We retreat. Now, we do not want to repeat what happed in the pass."
Brynhild twisted her wrist free with casual ease. "And that is why we must check this before we leave so that the others can come prepared. "
"You're insufferable," Runa snapped.
"And you're adorable when you're angry."Brynhild winked and started walking deeper into the showroom, her boots crunching over shattered glass.
Runa followed close behind, muttering a stream of words in Skjolduric that Brynhild was fairly sure were curses.
The showroom's far wall was black with what looks like was caused by fire, the ceiling was half-collapsed.
Brynhild brushed dust off a fallen beam as she picked her way through the wreckage. Then she noticed something.
In the corner stood a pair of massive steel elevator doors. But ulike the rest of the building, they were intact. Scorched and dented, yes, but they looked like they were still operational, which speaks a lot given the state of the entire building.
Brynhild's grin spread. "Well, well. Will you look at that."
The elevator panel beside the doors still flickered howbeit faintly. A red light blinked on and off, weak but alive. It must have been powered by some hidden power source which is most likely from the ground because Rúna could feel it humming from the ground.
"Perfect," Brynhild said, stepping toward it.
"No," Runa said sharply, blocking her path. "Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"Because that elevator leads to the source of the signal. If we go down, we walk directly into their nest."
Brynhild's eyes glinted. "If that is where it leads then that is where we will go. She jabbed the button with her finger.
The elevator shook, its gears groaned, before the doors opened noisily. The air that that came out was cold, and smelt like ozone.
Runa's voice dropped to a harsh whisper. "Fuck this is suicide."
"Language. " Brynhild says.
Brynhild stepped inside and stretched her arms wide. "Then at least we'll die together, sweetheart."
Runa stared at her flatly. "I am a robot."
Brynhild blew her a kiss.
Grinding her teeth, Runa followed her in.
The elevator slammed shut and traveled downward. Its old motor rarttled, as it carried them into the dark.
Runa folded her arms tightly across her chest. "You are reckless, selfish, and insufferably perverted. Who are you anyway and why do you act like a piece of shit."
Brynhild leaned casually against the wall, one boot crossed over the other. "And you're the cutest bodyguard I've ever had."
"I am not your bodyguard. I am here because someone has to keep you from doing something stupid. "
"Same difference. Plus if that really is your job you are not really good at it." Brynhild pushed off the wall and leaned closer, her grin wide. "Admit it — you like me. Even if I'm a shameless piece if shit. Like who else is going to take you on an adventure like this one."
Runa's brow twitched. "I am not programmed for such… ridiculous affections."
"Programmed?" Brynhild chuckled, brushing a strand of hair from Runa's cheek just to see her reaction. "Honey, you're already more human than half the men I've ever met. And twice as pretty."
Runa jerked her head away, glaring. "Stop it. I do not blush."
Brynhild smirked. "Sure. That's why you look ready to melt down."
"I said stop!" Runa snapped, fists clenched.
The elevator jolts suddenly, cutting their argument short. The bulb above flickered violently, then steadied. Both fell silent, listening to the grinding echo of gears as the cab carried them deeper.
Brynhild's grin returned slowly. "See? Even the elevator's jealous."
Runa groaned and pressed her palm to her forehead.
The elevator shuddered to a halt. With a screech of metal, the doors slid open.
Brynhild and Runa stepped out onto a steel platform — and froze.
Before them stretched a cavern the size of a city district. It was a factory, but it was not like any human factory.
Conveyor belts moved across the ground like snakes, sparks fell from welding arms. There were towering machines stamping out armor plating. Assembly racks spread out as far as the eye can see, they were lined thousands of Draugr in various stages of development.
Some were in skeletal frames, with ribs of steel that are without plating. Others have been plated with shinie new armor although their, their eyes are still dark. Others seems to have been completed and are waiting for activation.
The air vibrated with the constant thrum of machinery.
Brynhild's smile slipped as she took it in. "Well. That's… a lot."
Runa's face was pale with reflected light. Her voice was almost a whisper. "This makes no sense. Draugr conserve their resources. They will never mass-produce on this scale. To build this many… it is beyond reason."
Brynhild raised an eyebrow. "Maybe they just like big families."
Runa shook her head hard. Her processors whirred audibly as her eyes darted across the assembly lines. "What purpose could—"
Then a voice interrupted that though process, a voice they hear clearly even through the sound of the machines.
"Oh, we have bigger ambitions."
The words echoed through the chamber, smooth and resonant. Mocking, cultured. They carried intelligence in every syllable — and disdain
Brynhild turned around quickly, ready for anything.
Then from the shadows of a towering assembly rig, a figure emerged.
It was taller than any Draugr they had seen, although not like that monster they encountered at the pass, its frame was sleek and lethal. Black armor gleamed under the factory lights, etched with crimson lines. Its eyes burned a deep, searing orange.
Runa's voice came out sharp, trembling with disbelief. "A… Grade Nine. That is a Grade Nine Draugr."
Brynhild glanced at her. "And that's bad, I'm guessing."
Brynhild asks this because all the time she has spent in the obsidian dawn she has nevert heard of A grade nine Draugr.
Runa didn't take her eyes off the machine. "Grades measure autonomy. Power. Intelligence. A Grade Nine is… it is an overlord unit. There should not be one here. Not in this city. Not anywhere near us."
The Draugr stopped a few paces from them, head tilting slightly as if amused.
Then, with a voice almost polite, it said:
"The name is Brimscythe."