A/N: And here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dungeons and Dragons. I only own my original ideas.
Chapter 97: The Relentless Hunter
We made it out of the tower without any trouble, and passed bsck through the gardens outside as well. just as we were passing through the town outside, I noticed something felt off. There was a strange energy in the air. Suddenly, a swirling portal appeared in the air, and a shape resembling a large beast a large beat leapt out, and landed gracefully with a metallic clank. This strange construct somewhat resembled a drake formed of polished metal and moving with the grace of the thing. It turned its head to look at Eric, and I could hear the cogs within it spinning up as it charged into motion.
"Oh no," said Eric, "They sent a Steel Predator! Please keep it away from me, I'm out of spells!"
Lydratir quickly drew his bow, and put two arrows into the construct, his shots finding gaps in its armor plating. Krisyra summoned mystical energy around herself, and morphed into an earth elemental. She stomped over to the construct and slammed it with her stony fists. Her first strike glanced off its armored exterior, but her second attack left a noticeable dent. I slashed at the construct with my claws, but I couldn't penetrate its armor. Charles joined in on the assault against the construct, his greatsword tearing through the armored shell of our foe with ease and sending it reeling as cogs and oil went flying. As it recovered, we could see the complex, finely tuned machinery within struggling, and watched as the gears shifted and reconnected, and the surrounding armored plate spread out to cover the gouge, supported by a combation of a metal lattice and crackling magic. Uxarix dashed in, his rapier flaring with radiant energy, and drove it right into the construct's flank. The light expanded, pouring out from between each plate of the construct's body, and out of its mouth. The light blazed even brighter, and as it faded, there was nothing left of our foe but a bit of smoke rising from the ground.
"What even was that thing?" I asked.
"It was a specialized construct," explained Eric, "If I recall what I've read about stories of them, their built by a corrupted Modron residing in the fabled City of Doors. Someone, most likely the master the Shadow Triad follows, had to have commissioned its construction. These things are supposed to be built for the purpose of assassination, and each is built to take down one specific target before returning to its creator to be dismantled".
"Well, it's gone now," said Charles, "let's hurry back to the academy".
Luckily, the return journey to the academy was free of any further difficulties. After camping for the night along the way, we arrived at our destination. Verrax quickly flew over to greet us.
"Ah, you're made it back in one piece, excellent!" said Verrax, "and Eric, how are you fairing?"
"Well enough, Master Verrax," Eric replied, "sorry for getting mixed up in this".
"Come now, it's no problem," said Verrax, "I'm used to having to pull your tail out of the fire".
"True, but many of those cases I was the one who caused the trouble in the first place, like that time in Silversp…"
"As I was saying," interrupted Verrax, "I'm glad you're safe. I'm sure you'd appreciate the chance to sleep in a real bed. We can discuss the information you have in the morning".
Eric nodded in agreement, and headed off to bed. Verrax however glanced at me and sighed.
"I know you're going to so ask away," said Verrax.
"What exactly is your history with Eric?" I asked.
"That's a long story," explained Verrax, "My role in the tale began when I had an encounter with a Goblin with unusual magical abilities. It kidnapped me and teleported be to a distant land, one I now believe may have been a different material plane. That's when I met Eric and the others he was travelling with. Apparently, Eric was accidentally partially responsable for the destruction of a moderately large town called Greyburgh. When he learned I was a professor of the arcance arts, he immendiately took an interest in me. Long story short, we eventually arrived in a large city called Silverspring, which was ruled over of a powerful Green dragoness. She was using powerful, horrific magic to enslave other dragons to her service. Eventually it all came to a fierce battle, and… well Silverspring burned that day. We ended up fleeing together, along with the survivors who'd escaped through the kobold warrens under the city. Eventually, I managed to work out the proper runic sequence to find my way back home to Toril, and Eirc decided to come with me. We made the decision not bring up these events if it could be avoided".
"And what happened to that other world?" I asked.
"Just before we departed, we heard the first stirrings of a new conflict," said Verrax, "Most likely, the land erupted into all out war. Sure, Faerûn has plenty of conflicts as well, but at least there's a reasonable amount of stability. Now that I think of it again, these events are part of what led me to take a greater interest in planar magic and the defense of the realm from outside threats. This cult we now face, its actions trouble me to no end. Even with all the evidence we've collected, and everything we've done, even with the most powerful divination spells I know, we still have no idea who or what the Shadow Triad actually serves… and that frightens me".
I glanced up to the skies above, thinking on all that I'd been through. There was nothing for it but to keep moving forwards. The answer would become evident if we just kept searching.
A/N: And there We go! Next time, Eric will get a chance to share what he's learned, bringing our heroes one step closer to stopping the Shadow Triad. See you then!