On the Hunt | Tales of the Knights - Pt. 2

 The main hall was in even worse a state than it appeared from outside. Even through his helmet's filters, the stench of mechanical fluids and burning was unavoidable and Gideon could spot the discomfort of the knights behind him out of the corner of his eye. If they could be grateful of one thing, it was that their quarry had left an easy trail to follow. The flooring was marred by the same tracks that they had seen on their approach - but now that they were undisturbed by the elements, Gideon was able to make inferences which had not been possible outdoors. The pattern of splintering in the floorboards indicated that the creature moved on four legs and was at least one and a half times his height, if it was as dense as the lumbering metal beasts he had fought in the past. The oil droplets corroborated this, but still did not explain what had happened here.
 Battles against creatures such as these were ordinarily set territorial struggles. The border regions where they lurked had long been mapped out as places to avoid, so when the kingdoms had set out on their campaign of expansion their knights had purely been on the offensive. It was only once the first castles had been raised within the newly claimed lands that the creatures began to pick fights actively, in an effort to reclaim the territories for themselves. Gideon had earned his rank as Castellan during the defence of Wyldurplace, atop the eastern gates, where he coordinated an engagement that saw a horde of the lesser beasts slain and their assault blunted. But Frudeit, a town only a few days travel from the capital and well within the old border, was no such place and a solitary beast away from its pack was not something he had encountered before.
 The knights continued through the hall, then along a passageway at the rear of the building that eventually led them to a large, gloomy stairway, made from slabs of stone, into a basement. It was perhaps wide enough to fit their Citadrell, but fractured footprints heading down were evidence enough that the steps would not support it. Towards the bottom, the gloom began to recede into the warm glow of firelight and, at point, Gideon took the first steps into the underground chamber. It was as grand in scale as the main hall, though the walls and floor here were made of the same tough stone as the way down. It may have been used to store produce or goods at one point, and imprints in the dust marked out the placement of crates and shelving units, but the floor and walls were bare now and a rough, cavernous passage had been carved into the back of the room, but anything beyond the entrance was lost to shadow. A flight of steps on each side of the chamber's rear third led up to a wooden balcony which had been left undisturbed, like a refuge amidst the chaos that had befallen the mansion, lit by braziers placed at the bannister. It was here that they found the first of their targets: a dishevelled man sitting at a desk, stacked with books and loose paper, facing the wall. Each step in their armour echoed off the walls, yet the man appeared unconcerned and turned leisurely in his seat to appraise them. Gideon was about to demand an explanation, but the nobleman called out before he could speak.
    "Deal with these interlopers!"

 The knights heard a rumble, then the tremors of the heavy footfalls of a singular entity larger than any human. Before he had time for any questions, the source of the noise barged out of the darkness at the far end - a massive, squat creature whose angular, metallic hide now gleamed in the light. Its narrow, crocodilian head was lined either side by jutting, bladed teeth that stuck out from its jaws, and it seemlingly pulled itself forwards in ape-like motions with front limbs like tree trunks which reached all the way to the floor ending in taloned hands. Instinct screamed against the act, but all of the knights held their ground and let fly a stream of fire. Their projectile-slinging casters showered it with a hail of bolts that drove into its corded musculature like nails, but although a few shots pierced into the brute's body, the majority just scattered off its own plated armour. The rearmost warrior took careful aim with their flare lance, then fired a single, blazing shot which left a phosphorscent trail in the air as it seared straight into the monster's torso, but even this barely staggered its rampage. It did, however, give the squad their brief chance to evade, and this is where the real test began: with no obstacles for cover, the group scattered and headed to preallocated positions where they would surround the foe. Gideon dived forwards as a wide, inward swing from one of the beast's mighty arms passed just above him, and rolled to take aim behind it. The knight behind him was less fortunate and was caught by a reverse swing which backhanded them across the room. They slammed into the wall and slumped to the floor, but Gideon had no time to spare more than a glance as it snatched up another in its claws, and he fired another salvo into the monster's flank. One shot struck the smoldering wound left by the lance, and it let out a dissonant roar that sounded more industrial than animal. It threw the figure in its claws at the knight on its right, smashing both of them to the ground, then it turned its full attention on Gideon and began to charge again. He, on the other hand, looked past the beast to check on his last remaining squadmate; their flare lance was the best hope for ending this struggle, but such a potent weapon took time to ready and he could see its wielder focused on loading the next charge as swiftly as possible. Bracing himself, Gideon fired one more burst into the enraged creature's open maw, then swung the weapon's bulk in as it struck him.
 The impact pitched him along the floor and sparks flew from his armour as he scraped the surface. That one strike had almost knocked him unconscious and he mustered all the willpower he could to hold on. A shadow flew into his blurred vision, and he rolled to one side as the crushing, metal mass struck the ground where he had just been. As his vision cleared, its head loomed forwards to tear into him with its gnashing teeth. With the strength he had left, and the willpower he had gathered, he grabbed its jaws and fought to keep them back. The motors in his armour whined as they rapidly reached their tolerances, and Gideons muscles felt as though they were burning with the strain. The time was now: he had drawn its full strength, now it would face theirs. With a mighty effort, he tilted its head just enough and let it slam face first into the stone, then held it in place as the beast struggled to shake off the daze.
    "Now!" He shouted.
 A white-hot blast bored through its body in a path of white-hot ruin that stretched up its spine and out through the top of its head.
 With all resistance ceased, Gideon slowly pushed himself up and let the monster collapse with a crash that resonated around the room. On the other side of the chamber, the last knight upright stood with the barrel of their flare lance smoking its signature gaseous trail.