Argentarius lied in the cool, dark water of the underwater cave, feeling the strength slowly returning to his battered body. As he watched the fish swimming around him, he couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.
"Well, I must say, this is a bit of an unexpected turn of events," he mused aloud to himself. "One moment, I'm fighting for my life against a horde of mind flayers, and the next, I'm lounging in an underwater cave, munching on some tasty fish. Life certainly does have a way of keeping you on your toes."
He caught a particularly plump fish in his jaws and chomped down on it with satisfaction. "Mmm, this is really quite delicious. Who knew that being stuck in a cave could be so...refreshing?"
As he continued to munch on his meal, he could feel his energy returning, and he began to think about what his next move should be. But for now, he was content to simply relax and enjoy the peace and quiet of the wildlife around him. After all, he thought to himself, it's not often that a dragon gets to take a little break from all the chaos and drama of the outside world.
But his peace was soon to be interrupted. Argentarius emerged from the underwater cave and stretched his wings, relishing the freedom of not being a scrumpled up apple any more.
He had taken a deep breath of the dry dessert air and glanced down at the water below. A school of fish had been swimming lazily by, and his stomach had rumbled at the thought of a fresh catch. Without hesitation, he dove down and plunged into the water, emerging a few moments later with a wriggling fish in his jaws. As he chewed contentedly, he suddenly sensed a disturbance in the air. He looked up to see a group of small, metallic creatures flying towards him.
"Modrons," he muttered, recognizing the peculiar beings. "What are they up to? Is it one of the famous marches?" The modrons were small, metallic creatures with bodies resembling geometric shapes. Their heads cube-shaped and their limbs thin and segmented, giving them a robotic appearance. They were composed of shiny metal, with no distinguishing features or markings. As they flew towards Argentarius, their movements precise and mechanical, their wings beat in perfect synchronization. Their human like eyes, which were in stark contrast to their appearance, were really creeping him out. Fearing for the worst, he looked around to find his children, as they had run of for some errands. They had torched the aberration lair and were now killing the stray ones that escaped. Just as he was about to fly out in search of them, he saw them turning the corner down the canyon. He watched as the modrons turned and swarmed around his knights, who were soon struggling against their grasp. "Hey, put them down!" he roared, spitting out the remains of his fish.
The modrons ignored him and continued to carry and drag the knights away. Argentarius shook his head in disbelief. "Great, just what I needed. More trouble." With fierce determination, he had launched himself into the air and gave chase, his wings beating against the wind. The modrons were flying swiftly, but Argentarius was faster. He caught up to them tried to snatch one of the knights out of the modrons' grasp with a mighty swoop. "Gotcha!" he had said triumphantly, but his celebration was cut short as he noticed that the had grabbed a modron, and the others had turned their attention to him. Argentarius gritted his teeth and prepared for battle, gravitational force gathering in his throat. "Alright, you metallic pests. Let's see what you've got."
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As Argentarius brazed himself to fight the creatures, his head snapped to side at the appearance of a new figure. A towering construct, clad in shining metal, had materialized out of thin air. "Cease your actions at once," the construct boomed in a metallic voice. "These golems are the property of the Modron Hierarch and are not to be interfered with." Argentarius paused, taken aback by the construct's sudden appearance. "Who are you?" he demanded. "I am a marut, an enforcer of the laws of the universe," the construct replied. "And you, dragon, are in violation of those laws by interfering with the property of another entity." Argentarius snorted in disbelief. "These 'golems' are my knights, not anyones property." "Your knights are constructs illegally made and unregistered in the Plane of Mechanus. As such, they are subject to confiscation," the marut countered. Argentarius bristled at the marut's words. "Do you think I am scarred because you are an inevitable?" He charged the thing and unleashed this gravity breath. The inevitable stopped moving and parts of its body bended inwards, sparks flying outwards. Being assured of his victory, Argentarius lounged forwards to bite the insolent machine.
"No, Father! Get away from it!" Arthur just managed to wrench himself free from all the modrons clinging to him, to screamed at him, but the warning came to late. The inevitable swung his fist in an unerring slam, hitting his head. Another hit his chest, making him spit out blood. Force damage, the dragon thought to himself as he was pummeled. These two strikes would have killed my old wizard body in an instant, luckily his dragon body was resistant towards force and psychic damage. He bit and clawed at the thing, yet besides a few scratches nothing much happened. Then the chest of the marut glowed in an arcane light and a stream of radiant energy hit him in the face, searing and stunning him. Again it hit him twice with its enormous fists, right in the stomach. He could feel his ribs cracking and organs tearing. With a scream of agony, he fell to the ground.
"You may come to the Plane of Law and file a complaint," the marut offered. "Or you may face further repercussions for your actions, right here and now." Argentarius lay bleeding on the ground weighed his options while he heard his knights screaming for him to just run. He couldn't pull something like last time again, or he could really die this time. What did the Supreme Modron, Primus, want from him? He was sure that these guys were just using his golems to bait him to the Plane of Mechanus, some law was preventing them from just kidnapping himself directly. That was the extreme form of law they abided, they followed it to the letter but did not have any morals whatsoever. Blackmail, violence, coercion or even murder were on the table if you stood in their way. The marut nodded in satisfaction and gestured at the modrons, who still held on to his companions. Together, they disappeared in a flash of blinding light, leaving the bandit wastes and Argentarius far behind.