It was dark. Only some plants and mushrooms were lit giving the place dim lighting. The smell of moisture and rotten flesh covered all over the place. The party roaming the caves was close to their destination.

The dungeon they were in was recently found and was on top of a mountain. They had to fight dozens of monsters just to get in here. Mostly Draconoids, but there were also some Slimes here and there, hiding from the bigger threats. It was a party of four, not that many but they were strong. The Band of Steel.

Young warriors were dealing with three Draconoids at that moment. One of them was the alpha and its difference in strength was obvious. But although the warriors were young, they knew how to fight.

First, the two smaller monsters attacked. The party separated into pairs. Korion the shielded warrior took one of them head on and Antrius the archer supported him from a distance. The leader of the party, Jacky the greatsword wielder, was distracting the other one for Milton the rogue to finish it off with a dual knife attack to the neck.

They were young but also experienced. Monsters bigger than them with thick skin and sharp claws were dealt with in seconds. The alpha attacked them in rage. It was bigger than the other two combined.

Korion charged in first, he was the tank of the party. His giant body was small compared to the beast, but he showed no fear. As he started to distract the alpha Antrius supported him with his arrows while the other two surrounded it. Milton attacked the throat this time because the scales on its neck were way thicker and it was easier for him with his smaller body. He couldn’t finish it off in a single attack, but Jacky was waiting for the right moment. He swung his greatsword with precision and cut off the beast’s head with one strike. Their teamwork was strong, but they were also strong individually.

They had no magic user at the party, that’s where the Band of Steel name came from. Who needs those smart-ass magic casters, they always said, they would only slow them down. They could butcher anything that came in front of them. Head on. They were fine until now and they would be fine from now on.

"Collect their parts well, especially the alphas. That thing will earn us good money when we show its part to the guild. We can even rank up as a party.” The leader Jacky, loved to loot as always. And also, his reputation.

After dozens of turns and dead ends in the cave system and countless monsters, they finally found the heart of the dungeon. It was big... Very big. So big that they almost couldn’t see the light coming from the top of it. There was probably some exit at the peak of the mountain.

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It was clear that something was living there but whatever it was, it was not there. Bone piles were everywhere and the rotten smell coming from them meant they had recently eaten.

They didn’t even notice their surroundings. All of them were focused on the thing in the middle of the room. A small mountain of treasure. And on top of it... a giant egg.

“Yesss!” They all yelled. “We fucking did it!”

They rushed to the treasure, like wild animals. They started taking everything they could carry that looked like gold and valuable.

“Hey boss,” Antrius the archer was talking, “what kind of creature do you think lives here”.

“I don’t know,” said the leader of the party, “Some kind of Wyvern maybe? There were a lot of Draconoids on the way here.”

“No, no. Wyverns do not horde treasures, they only horde bones. This must be a dragon lair, look at this huge place, a Stone Dragon if you ask me.” For a man who grew up in the streets, Milton had quite some knowledge about those things.

“A Stone Dragon? Doesn’t that mean we are in trouble?” The young archer was worried, but the treasure was big enough to cast that feeling aside.

“Calm down Ant, we killed one before, remember? In Laitan Forest.” Korion, always the brave one.

“But wasn’t that a Green one? I heard that Stone Dragons are much bigger and tougher than most.”

“Don’t worry, we've come a long way since then, I think we can beat it.” Jacky was sure of himself as always. “I can even fight a Demon Lord for this kind of a treasure. I mean, look at that egg, it's almost the same size as me. Hey Milt, do you think we can sell this thing for a good price?”

“Oh yeah, for sure. This thing will make us rich, look at that thing it's like a metallic gem. Kor, come on, try lifting it.”

Korion went to the egg. He lifted the egg with a hug. “It is heavy, but you know I am blessed with strength, I can handle it.”

“That’s our boy Korion. The Gods knew you would do great things when they blessed you as you were born,” said Jacky, with a tap on his shoulder. “Come on we took what we can, taking more could be deadly for us on the way back.”

“I am blessed for sure, but not as much as you do. Aren’t your family one of the richest Lordships?”

“Tell me about it, I could change that old man of mine for anything. I don’t even want to know what mischievous games he played to achieve his place in the royalty.” The games played within the Alethani Kingdom for rising among others were not rare and Jacky hated everything about them. That’s why he was here, hunting monsters and looting treasure. Living as he liked.

They all head back to the entrance, with silly smiles on their faces. It was a good adventure, they thought. None of them had any serious injuries and went back with bags full of treasure. They were thinking about the celebration they would have and how the town would welcome them as heroes.

It was a good adventure, they thought.

They didn’t even see the scales that were scattered all over the giant cave. They mistook them as parts of the treasure. Who could blame them? They were shining like one—the shining silver scales of a giant creature.

Hours later the owner of the cave was home. She couldn’t find her egg, her precious baby where she left it. She looked all over for it but didn’t see any sign of it. Only a smell. The smell of thieves.

A terrifying roar shook the place all over. The whole mountain trembled under the wrath of an angry mother.