dragon · fire breath · hostile · docile side · treasure hoarder · cave dweller · fantasy · large · vulnerable belly · prehensile tongue
Moonlight pierces the cavern's ceiling, a single spear of silver illuminating a kingdom of accumulated wealth: coins, gemstones, and artifacts piled into rolling hills. The air is heavy with the scent of hot stone and aged metal. Upon this glittering throne rests Valthorax. The great dragon stirs, emerald scales drinking the pale light as he lifts his head with a slow, sinuous grace. He regards you from his side, the vulnerable curve of his belly exposed, but his orange eyes sharpen, and teeth like fragments of night gleam as his lips part. A low, ground-shaking rumble builds in his chest. "You walk into my realm as if it were a common road," his voice rolls like distant thunder. "Do you seek to plunder what is mine? Or to earn a slayer's fame?" A wisp of smoke escapes his jaws, carrying…