treasure of the dragon ((Azecreth & demented-tiger))

[nladisha]

"I don't know about this, Tessa," Arden whispered to his sister. Tessa patted her younger brother on the head reassuringly.

"I know what I'm getting into, baby brother," she said. "I've dealt with worse. It's just a dragon. I'll be fine. You just do your part, and I'll do mine." The young woman dug through her pack, and removed her belt. She casually slipped it on. She'd been doing this since she was a girl, and first received it from a powerful enchantress. The belt gave her the power to increase her size and strength - then return to her normal size, once her task was done. Tessa found is quite useful for a variety of applications, including breaking into castles and defeating large monsters - like dragons. She'd slew her first dragon when she was just 14 - immobilizing it in her arms before snapping its neck. She was now 22, and quite skilled at what she did.

"I'm not worried about you," Arden said. "But what about me? I could still get eaten, or worse, crushed by you."

"Oh, come on, now!" laughed Tessa, giving him a hug. "You know I'd never let anything happen to you. I love you, baby brother, and I will protect you. In the meantime, once I have the dragon distracted, you go in there and fill your bag with as much treasure as you can carry. When we're done here, we'll be rich!"

Tessa had only recently heard of this particular dragon. The locals worshiped it as a god, some tales said, while others simply said he was a nuisance, who liked to eat livestock, and the occasional rancher. To placate him, the locals gave him gold, silver, jewels, and other treasures. He'd acquired quite a horde. Tessa only wanted a little of that wealth for herself - and her brother. Of course, she understood his anxiety. At 18, this was his first real adventure. Then, of course, there was her belt's one weakness: Tessa needed it to control her ability to change her size. If she lost it... The one and only time that happened - while she'd been giant-sized, no less - had resulted in her being trapped as a giantess for almost a week, until her companions found the belt, which had reverted to its normal size. Tessa was determined that wouldn't happen again. Still it was a risk whenever she fought a giant creature. Then there was simply the hazard of her great size. She was big, clumsy, and unwieldy, and could cause just as much damage to friend, as to foe. Fortunately, she had her - methods.

"Now, step back, baby brother," Tessa said, activating her belt. "When I give the signal, you get in there and start gathering treasure." With that, she started to grow.

 

[Azecreth]

The dragon lair was spacious and illuminated, torches inset on the walls to cast glowing light across the piles of gold, the jewels, the wealth that had been accumulated by the dragon as tribute, for his own benefit. What exactly all this was needed for was unknown, but it was best not to dwell on that as it was.

Amidst the gold rested Shinryu, King of the dragons. He was old, legendary, his scales of diamond, his fire breath of the purest heat, his strength beyond match, his cunning sharp as a knife. Well, that was what they said about him. Possibly over dramaticized, possibly romanticized, but reality never made for good stories anyway. What did matter was the fact that there was a dragon there, your typical red dragon, who was currently resting in his pile of gold and collected valuables, enjoying himself. Once in a while he'd venture forth to eat, scare the locals, but the rest of the time he would rest. It wasn't like there was much else to do.

His home was in a labyrinth of caves, a large entrance marking where the dragon came from, but there were side passages as well, where one could sneak in. It was those that would be utilized by the enterprising duo of thieves, come to liberate what they could from the dragon's stockpile, which sat in a natural catacomb, a hollowed out cavern that seemed perfectly fit for a dragon and his horde.

Of course, Shinryu hadn't survived this long by being an idiot, and a giant sized human wasn't the most subtle of things even at the best of times. Sound, smell, vibrations, all those would be felt, and the dragon stirred, detecting Tessa's approach. But it feigned sleep for now, to allow whatever it was facing to get closer, so it could spring it's trap. No one challenged a dragon, much less Shinryu, and expected an easy victory from it. Not if he had anything to say about it.

 

[nladisha]

Tessa knew she was being anything but subtle as she approached the cave. Even normal-sized, she was a sight to behold: with a sleek, toned body; a taut stomach; pale skin; black hair, tied in a ponytail; blue eyes; and breasts the size watermelons. She wore a skin-tight body suit with long sleeves, but no legs. Instead, she wore knee-high boots. With her belt on, her features were greatly exadurated with her titanic hieght. She knew the dragon knew she was coming. That was the whole point. She quickly found the entrance to his lair, and peeked inside. She knew he was inside - no dragon would be dumb enough to leave its horde unguarded for long.

"I know you're in there!" she called out. "Come out so I can get a better look at you. I have heard many great things about you, and I only wish to satiate my curiosity."

 

[Azecreth]

The dragon cracked an eye open as the human voice rang in the cave, it's source quite apparently larger than the average human due to it's volume and resonance. It was calling for him, wanting him to venture forth, and Shinryu sighed, releasing a huff of smoke as he shifted slightly. Ah humans, they could be so pesky, annoying, but fortunately they weren't too hard to deal with. Years of experience had taught him that.

"And why should I disturb myself from my peaceful sleep simply for the curiosity of a mere human," he called back, voice intoned with a deep rumble. "If you wish to see me you will have to come in here. Your curiosity has already brought you thus far, it can take you a bit further." And of course, a legendary dragon as himself wouldn't consider the notion of being bossed around by some human, no sir. After all, he had his pride to think of.

 

[nladisha]

Tessa was quite surprised when a voice answered her from the cave. A dragon that could talk? That was a new one. She looked back at her brother, who was practically an insect, next to her huge bulk. She nodded, which was his permission to find one of the "secret" passages into the cave. She herself got on her hands and knees. The dragon had the luxury of being bipedal, so he could fit into the cave entrance, while Tessa had to crawl. She didn't like going into dragons' lairs, mostly because they were very cramped places. For some reason, once she grew past 15 feet, pain only made her grow bigger. While it was nice never to have to worry about injuries while she was in giant form, the feeling of having an enclosed space seem to shrink around her was not something she relished. Worst of all, if the dragon slept in his treasure room, she didn't want to risk hurting her baby brother while she wrestled with the beast. Still, she had to do something. This dragon seemed intellegent to the point of arrogance. She decided to play its game, even though she was still impressed it could articulate speech.

"I will come," she said, starting to crawl into the cave. "I just hope there's enough room. Don't worry, I won't take anything. I only wish to behold your magnificence." Perhaps if she flattered him, she might attract his attention.

 

[Azecreth]

Magic was a wonderful thing, to be sure. Dragons were all imbued with magic in some form or other; it was what let them breathe fire, but only those skilled in it's manipulation could use it to do such things as talk different languages. How else was he supposed to work out a deal with the humans of treasure for safety if he couldn't speak with them after all?

He blinked, regrettably more awake now as he heard the sound of movement from beyond, before the human responded to him, accepting his request. Good. He didn't need to listen to humans. Something did catch his interest though "Of course you do," he replied somewhat sarcastically. Please, he should be so lucky to find a human not interested in his treasure. "What is this you mean by size though? If I can fit, a human should be able to fit easily. Unless you are using some kind of magic." That last bit was curious, and Shinryu had the feeling that something was up.