The transfer was swift, efficient, and devoid of ceremony. Shortly after the unsettling audience with High Loremaster Thrain and Master Artificer Gyra, two heavily armoured Vault Sentinels arrived at Lunrik's cell on level eighty-six. Not the usual wardens, but the obsidian-clad guardians of Grimfang's deepest secrets, signifying the heightened security protocols surrounding him now. They carried heavy energy dampers that thrummed faintly, likely designed to suppress any uncontrolled resonance flares during transit.
There was no opportunity to speak further with Borgrum or Flint. Lunrik caught only a brief glimpse of the old Artificer standing grimly in his workshop doorway as the Sentinels escorted Lunrik past, Borgrum's expression a mixture of frustration, worry, and perhaps a silent, impotent warning. Flint looked genuinely distressed, wringing his greasy hands, clearly unhappy about the transfer and the potential danger to Lunrik. But neither dwarf made any move to interfere; Thrain's orders, backed by the Guild Council and enforced by Vault Sentinels, were absolute.
Lunrik offered Flint a small, almost imperceptible nod – a silent acknowledgment of their brief, strange collaboration – before turning to follow the Sentinels towards the lifts. He felt a profound sense of isolation settle over him. Borgrum, for all his gruffness, had become a known quantity, his chaotic workshop a strangely familiar environment. Gyra's clinical labs and Thrain's calculating presence felt far more threatening. And the thought of being separated from any potential news Flint might glean about Kaelith or Fendril was a heavy blow.
The lift descended. Past level eighty-six, past the Deep Forge levels, past the sealed entrances to Sector eighty-nine and the Lower Deeps, plunging deeper and deeper into the mountain than Lunrik had ever been. The glowing level indicators displayed designations he didn't recognize, hinting at sectors rarely mentioned even in the archives Thrain had provided – 'Primary Geothermal Conduits', 'Sealed Schism Archives', 'Resonance Containment'. The pressure increased, a physical weight pressing on his ears, the silence absolute save for the hum of the lift.
Finally, the lift slowed and stopped at level one-twenty. The doors opened onto a corridor starkly different from any other. The walls, floor, and ceiling were seamless, polished white material that seemed to absorb sound, lit by recessed panels emitting a cold, blue-white light. The air was filtered, sterile, smelling faintly of ozone and unknown chemicals. There were no junctions, no side passages visible, only heavy blast doors at intervals, marked with complex hazard warnings and resonance field symbols. This level felt less like a part of the city and more like a high-security scientific containment facility.
The Sentinels marched Lunrik down the silent white corridor, their obsidian armour a stark contrast to the surroundings. They stopped before a particularly heavy blast door labeled 'Resonance Lab Omega'. One Sentinel interfaced with a complex biometric scanner and rune-lock system. After a series of clicks and soft chimes, the door hissed open.
Master Artificer Gyra stood waiting just inside, clad in a pristine white lab coat over her Guild attire. Her sharp eyes scanned Lunrik critically as he entered, assessing his condition, perhaps checking for any lingering effects from Borgrum's 'crude' methods. The lab beyond was large, circular, and meticulously organized, the polar opposite of Borgrum's workshop. Gleaming consoles lined the walls, displaying stable energy readings. In the center stood a single, highly advanced calibration chair, surrounded by sophisticated, precisely positioned sensor arrays and emitters far more complex than Gyra's previous setup or Borgrum's rig. The entire chamber hummed with barely contained power, focused and controlled.
"Subject Gamma-Three," Gyra greeted him coolly. "Welcome to Resonance Lab Omega. Your new primary location for the duration of Project Disruptor's final phase." She gestured around the lab. "This facility is specifically designed for the analysis and manipulation of high-energy resonance fields, incorporating multi-layered shielding and containment protocols exceeding even Vault Sector standards." She indicated the calibration chair. "Your sessions here will allow for far more precise mapping and safer amplification testing than was possible under Master Coghand's… improvised setup."
Safer for whom? Lunrik wondered grimly. Safer for Grimfang, certainly. Whether it was safer for him remained to be seen.
"My previous quarters?" Lunrik asked, testing the boundaries.
"Decommissioned," Gyra stated flatly. "Your rest cycles, nutritional intake, and all necessary biological functions will be managed within this facility's integrated support module." She pointed towards an adjoining alcove containing a simple sleeping pallet, a nutrient dispenser, and sanitation facilities. "Isolation is necessary to maintain field integrity and prevent external resonance contamination."
Complete isolation. No contact with Flint, Borgrum, or anyone else. No chance of receiving unauthorized news about Kaelith or Fendril. Thrain's cage was complete.
"The Resonance Key prototype developed by Master Coghand is being transferred here under armed guard," Gyra continued, consulting her data slate. "My technicians will integrate it into our primary diagnostic array for final tuning and replication studies." She looked up, her expression purely clinical. "Your role remains unchanged: provide the necessary Banehallow resonance template for calibration and testing."
"And Kaelith? Fendril?" Lunrik asked, unable to keep the edge from his voice. "Any news?"
Gyra's expression didn't flicker. "Operational updates regarding unrelated personnel or sectors are outside your designated access parameters, Subject Gamma-Three. Your focus is required here." The dismissal was cold, absolute. Information would be controlled as tightly as his physical confinement.
Lunrik felt a surge of helpless anger, quickly suppressed. Arguing, protesting – it was useless here. He was a specimen in Gyra's lab, valued only for the unique, dangerous energy humming in his blood. His only hope lay in cooperation, in enduring the tests, in hoping the Resonance Key project yielded results quickly, perhaps shifting his value or creating an unforeseen opportunity.
"When do we begin?" he asked, his voice carefully neutral.
"Immediately," Gyra replied, gesturing towards the advanced calibration chair. "Preliminary baseline recalibration is required to compensate for residual harmonic distortions from Coghand's methods." She picked up a complex sensor node attached to a thin cable. "Prepare for neural interface connection."
Lunrik sighed inwardly and moved towards the chair, submitting once more to the role of test subject. As Gyra began attaching the cold, metallic sensors to his temples, he felt the full weight of his situation settle upon him. He was deeper within the mountain than ever before, cut off from his allies, under the control of a scientist who viewed him as data, while the fate of the person he cared for most remained terrifyingly unknown. The hunters were still out there, Magdra's forces likely still probed the surface, and ancient dwarven secrets festered below. He was the key, trapped in the cage, his only path forward seemingly paved with painful resonance tests and the cold calculations of his captors. The gloom of Grimfang Deep felt absolute.