Seek out the ultimate armor

You step past the door and its satisfied prick and enter a large chamber with vaulted ceilings. It is lit by a single glowing crystal of white, but the light takes on a golden quality as it bounces off of the many treasures. There are huge piles of gold, jewels, unimaginable riches, artifacts, suits of armor, and weapons of ornate design.

You ignore them all in favor of the cheap tin box. You blow a layer of dust from its gray surface and open the box to find a small black key. Pushing aside a heap of musty scrolls, you indeed reveal a trapdoor in the floor sealed with heavy locks and marked with ancient carvings. Your past trivails are only a memory as you fall to your knees and excitedly begin unlocking the trapdoor. With a last click of locking mechanisms you are able to lift the door by a ring and heave it open. It is very heavy and reveals a chamber lined with time-worn velvet. A single dress mannequin stands within and upon it a majestic suit of glittering scale armor, seemingly made from the scales of an actual beast.

You climb down into the chamber and run your fingers over the armor. What Kurgus has told you is true: this suit clearly holds great power. You strip off the last clinging remains of your clothing and clean off as best you can. The pieces of the armor, though sturdy, weigh almost nothing, and as you hang the pieces over your shoulders or pull them up your thighs they each cinch tight against your skin. When you are finished you are dressed, toe to neck, in the form-fitting scale armor. It accentuates your curves and a diamond-shaped cutout reveals your substantial cleavage packed tight into the armored cuirass. You feel stronger and faster, more confident, but that is only a small bit of the armor's power.

With a thought you become invisible. With another thought - and a bit of a scare - you grow to twice your size, the armor and your other hastily-looted equipment growing along with you. The armor itself moves and shifts, crawling over your body at your will to reveal more or less of your flesh. It is as if the armor and all of its powers have become an extension of your body. Truly a prize indeed.

You ascend the drafty staircase and through the door to the surface. You travel for a few hours and cross a treacherous mountain bridge over a deep valley. You travel through a sunlit pine forest. When you emerge you stand before a massive mountain capped with snow.

This is the heart of the Dragon's Spine known as Great Peak. High atop it, at the limit of the tree line, the druids make their home. It will take you a day to climb. At the base of the mountain, alongside a clear stream and a narrow mountain road, you see a modest inn with a turning water wheel. A few horses are hitched outside. The sign marks the inn as the Wayward Lass and depicts a bawdy young lady sitting and holding two mugs of ale.

The armor has sustained you so that your are not tired, but you are thirsty and hungry for some warm food. After all you've been through perhaps a bit of human company would be nice as well. You lost track of time in the gnome tunnels, but it seems early afternoon. If you started climbing now you could perhaps reach the druids by tomorrow morning. But what harm would it be to spend the night here?