Great Treasure

Moving alone through the abandoned caverns, you feel fear coursing through you like it hadn't in some time. Braun had given you a potion to help you see in the dark, but the narrow pathways and unfamiliar terrain didn't help you. The dwarves had in fact not cleared the rubble from the earthquake, but opted instead to mine and blast around it. What was cleared with ample headroom for them caused you to crouch through; the fear of hitting your head while trying to fight off an enemy was constantly running through your mind. Sword and shield, you were at least protected against whatever came across. You rely heavily on your hearing to help you anticipate something coming from outside your limited view. After what seems like an agonizing long wait, you start to detect something; the sound of a multitude of steps on the ground. You move forward slowly, vigilantly, thinking you might be about to encounter a small troop of goblins who had claimed the halls as their own. The path takes a sudden and severe turn to the left, and are shocked by what you want; not a group of enemies, but one. An ant, the size of your prized horse, black and shiny, as well as hostile. Had you been fortunate enough to sneak up behind it, your luck may have been different, but now you have to deal with this thing at the business end. It's massive pincer mandibles try to pierce and strip you of your shield, taking all of your strength to hold on. You make a few wild swings with your sword to bat it away, with mild success. You're able to connect enough to severe one of its antennae; likely valuable or even essential to do it's job but still a hollow victory right now.

It charges at you with an increased ferocity, causing you to backtrack to keep yourself. You stumble on an uneven rock sticking up, and fall flat on your back. The giant ant continues to rush, moving too far and in fact towers over you. Adrenaline takes over, and you take your sword, driving it upwards into its midsection. The monstrous ant reels in the sudden pain. Your stabs become frantic and frequent, even as the ants gross innards spill out on top of you. Growing weak, its legs start to give out. Fearing being crushed by this beast, you do your best to roll to the side, narrowly missing it.

"Gods!" You shout into the cavernous depths as you get yourself back on your feet. It would be impossible to clean yourself of this disgusting bile right now, so you don't even try. You make your best attempt to clear your sword and keep going on your way. As you move, you find yourself at a fork. Going left would point you back in the direction of the dwarven hold, you think, and the right would be further away. The right way also seems to be a larger expanse, so you take it, if only to give your back some rest and allow yourself to stand more easily. As you do, you quickly find that your sense of direction had gotten mixed up, or there was something here that the dwarves had forgotten about or not told you. You overlooked a religious temple of some sort; the ceiling of which had collapsed. There were symbols along the walls as you had seen in the city before that seemed to tell of a definite story. Pulling a sturdy rope out, you tie it off a sturdy boulder, and slowly descend down into the lower chamber.

Pulling your sack out, you set a torch and light it, allowing your natural eyesight to see what was here. The way into this space was blocked in by rocks, meaning you'll have to haul yourself back up. Through the symbols, you see a Dragon, golden in color, flying over a series of mountains. Dwarves fought, and seem to have fallen in battle; a glorious but foolish ****. Another panel shows something peculiar. If you could read Dwarvish, you would be sure you could make out the intent more clear, but the dragon, seemingly injured, transforms in a person; a human person. The disguised dragon goes to the base of the mountains and lives with them. A settlement grows. Humans and Dwarves meet; the dragon reveals itself. Some form of celebration or treaty ensues. The settlement grows into a Kingdom. A kingdom with a Diamond at the high point.

You let out an audible gasp as you put things together, as you see who your beloved Queen truly is. On this last panel is a panel written both in Dwarvish and in Common.

For so long as the Dragon's Blood ruled Agito, the Dwarves of Hammerdeep would be forever committed to its propserity and security. Just as Xargus learned to love and respect others, so too must we live in it's divine guidance. As we benefited from his immense knowledge and guidance, we all benefit from cooperation and soliderity.

We all are of the Dragon's Blood.

"Holy..." You let out. This is an incredibly different understanding, not just of the Queen's line, but the entire origins of your ethnic roots and the Dwarvish partnerships. You look around again, seeing if there's any more earth-shattering information in this narrow space. You find nothing large, but something small is. A decorative bowl was toppled off its stand. There were a few items in there, golden jewelry offered to the golden dragon Xargus, whoever that was. One catches your eye, and you gently retrieve it. A golden ring, affixed with one of the most enormous diamonds you've seen, with smaller blue and red stones embedded along the rest. You stuff the ring in your pocket for now, unsure of your own actions. You have no use for it, and nobody you would consider giving it to. And yet, putting it back seems wrong somehow.

You wouldn't have possibly seen yourself in this darkened cave a few months ago, so clearly there's no knowing what the future may bring. You leave the torch on the ground and hoist yourself back up with the rope. There's still the mission to be had, but the Queen and Braun must both be told of what you found...