Time passed, but nothing changed. The core had only just awoken, and there was not a single living creature near it, not even an ant. The core had no motivations or desires beyond its innate need to “protect,” but given the complete absence of any sort of threat, the instinct remained dormant for the time being.

Weeks went by with nothing changing. The core remained within the depths of the hoard, its presence and domain not changing or expanding the slightest bit. It was located a bit away from the dead dragon, though just the tip of the dragon’s snout was within the core’s range of perception.

After a full month, something finally changed. Something entered the dragon’s lair, or rather, somethings. At first, the core was only able to notice vibrations that traveled through the air, but after so much time existing without any changes at all to its environment, even these tiniest of changes felt massive.

A group of people had entered the lair. They had been in pursuit of the dying dragon, hoping to harvest its corpse and raid its lair. It was well known that dragons were greedy and gathered vast piles of treasure, though no one in living memory had ever managed to kill or even harm any of the powerful creatures. The value of the beast’s body could only be imagined.

These people were not the ones who had caused the creature’s death, but they had seen it fly by, horribly wounded and looking as though it was about to collapse at any moment. They had spent the last month making their way towards the dragon’s lair, and then monitoring it before finally entering to see if the beast still moved. After waiting outside the lair for three weeks, they had finally gathered the courage to enter.

Upon entering, they were greeted by the massive corpse. Seeing it up close instead of flying overhead through the sky, they were finally able to comprehend the sheer size of the creature. Each claw and tooth they saw was larger than any individual member of the small group of opportunists.

Despite being dead, the dragon still radiated an oppressive aura that nearly sent them scrambling back out in fear, but after a few minutes, they forced themselves further into the cavern. The corpse seemed to fill almost the entire space, but once they slowly worked their way around the body and further in, they realized how deep the space extended.

Just past the corpse, they discovered a literal hill of treasure that stretched up high enough that it nearly touched the ceiling of the cave.

However, the moment the people caught sight of the dragon’s hoard, they were struck by a blast of heat so intense that they nearly feared they had entered some unseen fire.

They stumbled back in fright and fled the lair, but soon slowly made their way back into the cave and sneaked past the dragon’s corpse yet again in order to search for the source of the heatwave that had frightened them so badly.

Right beside the pile of treasure, sitting atop a cooling pool of lava, they saw an enormous, shiny black egg. While the egg was proportionate to the dragon, that made it as tall as two people standing on top of each other. However, it was also spherical like a turtle egg instead of oblong like a bird’s egg. Dark flames flickered over the egg, though they seemed to be sputtering out.

The small group inched their way closer, each of them warily examining every inch of the cave as they moved forward. Every single one of them was terrified they might miss some monster or trap that would instantly kill them all.

Despite their caution, they encountered nothing at all. Unbeknownst to other sapient beings, dragons were largely solitary and highly territorial. Their rare encounters with others of the same species were typically to fight or to mate, though there were also a few variants capable of self-reproduction. Dragons encountering each other usually meant a calamity for other species, as regardless of the purpose behind such a meeting, things were always violent for any of the lesser beings. Even a flirty mating gesture was enough to stir up a tornado that could wipe out a village. People rarely survived witnessing a single dragon, let alone two who had run into each other.

As the six individuals drew closer, the flames on the egg flickered out and died completely. Their presence alone had disrupted the delicate equilibrium that had remained after the eldar dragon had perished. The egg quickly grew dull and lifeless.

The lava similarly cooled rapidly in the absence of the flames, for it had been the heat of the flames that had produced the lava, and not the reverse. Seeing this, nearly everyone in the cavern relaxed. The sole exception was the newly awakened core. Its perception did not extend to where the six people were standing, nor to where the egg sat, but its mana sense was able to pick up the sudden change in temperature, as well as the vibrations it had been sensing for some time. The core had become quite panicked and terrified, though it lacked any means of taking action.

Thus, it sat where it was, stifled by its fear, though also completely incapable of any movement.

The group of people moved forward, and they soon approached the dragon’s head. Each individual trembled as they passed the creature’s snout, and not one of them could tear their eyes away from the dragon’s teeth. Still, they soon forced themselves to scan the cavern.

Once they passed the dragon’s snout, they finally entered the core’s range of perception.

The core had already been frightened, but at this moment, its innate instincts to protect erupted in full force. This was what it was supposed to protect itself from! This was what it was supposed to protect everything from!

Unfortunately, the core’s only ability at the moment was its mana sense, as it was not even able to move itself, let alone take any sort of actions against the invaders. It was utterly passive and completely helpless.

The six people slowly made their way closer to the egg, and they each heaved sighs of relief when they discovered the egg had become inert and felt completely lifeless. The creature that had been growing within was no longer anything they would need to fear.

They then quickly moved on and began to explore the entire cavern, but all they found was the corpse, the egg, and the dragon’s massive hoard.

“Um, Beth. Do you think we should go back and get some more folks from the village to give us a hand with this? We won’t never be able to move all o’ this, and we’ll prob’ly get knocked off the moment we try to sell anything from that dragon or the egg.” The largest male spoke up, addressing the wariest person in their entire group. She had not once stopped looking around and studying the walls and ceiling of the cave, hoping to be ready for any sort of surprise. This was the first time that any of the six had spoken, and the change in the vibrations in the air stunned the small core.

“I think we should only try to carry as much as we need to get what we can from what’s here. The more people we get involved, the more dangerous,” a second woman spoke up. She carried a few knives, bags, and traps about herself. These people were not warriors, but hunters and gatherers from a small village. They had been out in the forest gathering food when the dragon had flown overhead, wounded, and they had all scurried back to the village to gather a few supplies before heading out in their makeshift team. There were no swords, spears, or battle axes carried by any of them, but rather a couple of hunting bows, a few lumber axes, and an assortment of knives, traps, and other tools.

At this moment, Beth, who seemed to be in charge, said, “There’s no way we can handle all of this, and we need to be real careful. There’s more than enough here to get our whole village trampled if we don’t do things right, and I know that none of us know anyone who can help us try to move more than a few of these pieces of gold. We need to get the chief involved and hear what he has to say about all this. This dragon was richer than the entire kingdom.”

“Still, can’t we just keep a few pieces? Just look at how much is here! There’s no way a few things will be missed!” A red-headed man spoke up at this point. He held a bow and was a bit fidgety.

“Though nothing would be noticed missing from here, any one of us will get noticed as soon as we try to sell anything, and that would be just as dangerous. Let’s just grab a few pieces to show the chief, but not taking anything for ourselves until we have a plan on how to handle this.” Beth was again the one to respond, and she still took the most cautious path.

While it was clear the red-headed archer and several other people did not like this choice, none of them tried to argue with Beth. She had been orphaned rather young, and her years of caring for her younger siblings had given her an authoritative attitude that caused most of the people her age from the village to follow her lead.

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With this decided, Beth sent Marcy, the huntress, to pick up a few items while the rest of the group held back and kept watch. They were still all feeling exceptionally nervous, both from the massive dragon corpse next to them, as well as a strange and disturbing feeling of being watched that none of them could shake. Marcy just grabbed a handful of the smallest, but most eye-catching items from the hoard, and the group made a quick exit, albeit with more than a few backwards glances to all that they left behind.

While they had taken a full month to travel to the dragon’s lair, the truth was that their village lay just two days’ travel from the cave. The group had taken a week to reach the cave only because they had first needed to return to the village, then they had traveled exceptionally slowly to reach the cave due to fear and caution. In fact, most of that time had been spent creeping up the side of the mountain while keeping an eye out for the dragon or any other potential dangers.

Thus, the people arrived in their village at the end of the second day after they had left the dragon’s cave. They had left about midday, so the journey was not very far at all.

Upon their return, Beth led the other five straight to the chief’s hut to deliver a report and show the treasures they had collected.

Their village was small, and was home to less than a hundred people, so they were able to almost immediately meet with the chief. Beth shared the details of the last weeks, starting with how all six people had seen the wounded dragon fly overhead.

The chief listened in silence as Beth spoke, and listened to the extra, largely unnecessary, details that were added by the red-headed archer. Finally, Marcy brought out the loot they had recovered for the chief to examine. He looked at the items carefully, but made a deliberate point to not touch anything. After an extended silence, the older man finally spoke, “Did anyone other than Marcy come into contact with any of these items, or did any of you touch anything at all in that cave?”

The six young adults glanced at each other before shaking their heads. The chief’s expression grew sharp, and he demanded, “Are you absolutely certain? Not one of you stepped on a stray coin, brushed up against the dragon, or examined one of the gems Marcy brought back?”

Again, everyone shook their heads, though this time they were a bit nervous. The archer had started to sweat, as he had tried to do exactly what the chief was suggesting, but had never had the opportunity due to their mad rush to return to the village.

Beth spoke up, “Chief, what’s wrong? Why would any of that matter?”

“While the dragon may be dead now, the beasts are known to mark everything they take for their own, just to ensure that no one can ever steal from them. There are some who are skilled enough to tap into that mark and locate anything from the same hoard, provided they have but a single piece of the treasure. As soon as anyone learns that any of this came from a dragon’s lair, magical trackers will set out to find the rest of the hoard. Anyone who gets in their way will be dealt with. Forget the six of you, our entire village would be simply erased by those treasure hunters. I don’t think any of you understand the risk you took just by entering that cave. Unless you can be cleansed, Marcy, you cannot remain in the village, and I would go so far as to suggest you never remain in one location for very long. As for the rest of you, I would suggest that you all attempt to get cleansed as well, as there’s no telling how strong or pervasive this particular dragon’s tracking spell might be.”

All six of the would-be treasure hunters grew pale, and Marcy’s knees even grew weak at the chief’s pronouncement. They all made to speak, but the chief quickly silenced them so that he could continue, “While I can’t enforce my orders once you leave the village, I STRONGLY recommend you follow as you are told. First, I need you all to understand that you cannot stay here, not even tonight. Second, you will need to find help, both to be cleansed, and for dealing with the dragon’s lair itself. Our village won’t be able to survive this close to that cave without support, and very powerful support at that. Thus, I suggest that you make your way to Guilone, as your best bet is to gain the support of a kingdom.

“You might not know this, but that dragon is the reason this area has never been taken by either of the bordering countries. Any time soldiers gathered close by, the dragon regarded it as a personal attack and would eliminate whatever forces were present. While we may be between two nations, we have had more dealings with Farun and Guilone, and I even have some acquaintances there, though I’m not sure they’ll be of much help to you.

“I believe you should go to Guilone and deliver a letter that I will write to an old friend of mine who used to occasionally trade with our village. He just might be able to put you in touch with another who can truly help you, but I can’t make any promises. Regardless, you need to speak with someone from Farun for you to be able to receive the help you need, though you also need to understand that you won’t be able to hang onto a single gold coin from that cave. The best you can hope for is to be offered some bit of compensation, protection, or possibly a job for your efforts.

“I pray you survive, but you must understand just how dangerous your path is right now.

“For the moment, I want all of you to gather your belongings while you think about what I’ve just said. You need to understand what you are facing. Once you finish, return here and I will have the letter ready for you, as well as some further instructions.

“One last thing: speak of this to absolutely no one. If anyone learns of this, you may doom our entire village. Now go.”

The six young people stumbled out the door, dazed by the danger they had just found themselves in. Far from returning to congratulations and a cautious celebration like they had been expecting, they had just been exiled from their home and ruthlessly sent into the unknown in order to save their friends and families. It was too much to process so quickly.

Beth quickly regained her senses, and she shook herself. “Alright, all of us heard him. We need to do this, and we do it together to be safer. Marcy, you’ve got it worst, but I’ll still go with you. As for the rest of you, this is your choice. Let’s first gather our things and get back here right quick. It’ll be dark in an hour, and I, for one, don’t want to be hiking under the moons.”

Four of the other five people nodded and started for their homes. Jason, the red-headed archer, remained standing where he was, still lost in a daze until Beth gave him a little shove. “Go, Jason. We need to get back here as soon as we can. Get some fresh supplies and some extra bowstrings. There’s no telling how long our journey will be.”

Jason stumbled away without even glancing at Beth.

About thirty minutes later, everyone had gathered back together outside the chief’s hut. There had been a bit of curiosity as to what they were all doing getting ready to leave again, but given the lateness of the day, most people were more preoccupied with getting their own dinner than why a few people were preparing to leave after already being gone for weeks.

Beth nodded when she saw Marcy arrive last. It was clear the woman had been crying while packing, and she carried a somewhat larger bundle than anyone else.

They knocked on the chief’s door again, and he immediately called them in. They entered to see the older man rolling a piece or parchment and sealing it. He handed the letter to Marcy. “Deliver this to Baldwin. He’s a merchant in Guilone who deals in hides and leather. He’s the most influential person I know of there, so hopefully he will be able to help you or put you in touch with someone trustworthy who can help you. I know Paton has made the trip to the capital before with his father, and he can guide you there.

“You should leave at once, as it already grows late. Gods’ speed, and be careful.”

The six people were instantly ushered back out of the hut before they could speak a word. The chief guided them straight to the entrance to the village, and practically pushed them down the trail.

The six companions were an entire kilometer from home before any of them recovered enough to even speak.

“Gods’ damnation, what is happening?” Jason shouted. In the space of less than an hour, he had been told his life was in danger, kicked out of his home, and banished from his village. Needless to say, he was slightly overwhelmed.

The others twitched from the sudden noise, as Paton shot Jason a dirty look.

The village was about two weeks’ travel from the capital, if one moved quickly. Traders or people with wagons would take about twice that long, while a quick horse could make the trip in less than ten days. The group of six knew they had a good bit of walking ahead of them, and everyone had become lost in their own thoughts when Jason had erupted.

Beth immediately took charge once again. “Alright, let’s be quick about things now. We’ll stay on foot until the sun’s down, and then make camp. That should get us a bit from the village, which is what the chief wants. After we settle in for the night, we can talk more. For now, let's just focus on not tripping over our own feet as the sun’s setting.”

Everyone grumpily agreed. They had enough respect for the chief to at least do that much for him.

Almost an hour went by before they saw the sun fall and they started making camp. They quickly gathered some firewood for the night, while also setting up some sleeping rolls and preparing a bit of food.

As they all settled in with a bit of dry bread and simple stew, they finally started discussing everything that had happened.

It ended up not being a discussion so much as a whining session. They were all rather young, and with everything that they had just gone through, they felt the need to vent a bit. Finally, after a good bit of time complaining about their horrible luck, Beth again spoke up, “Alright, we’ll stop here for the night. We should get as early a start as possible, as we need to hurry to the capital to get things settled.”

They had a decent fire, and were still close enough to the village that the larger predators did not roam the area, so there was no need for anyone to keep watch for the night.

The next two days followed a similar pattern: walking, grumbling, and resting.

On the third day, the group saw some people heading towards them on the trail. Their village was quite remote, and the trail was essentially only used to reach their village or to travel to the neighboring country, so it was not very common to encounter other travelers on the road.

As the travelers on horseback drew closer to the six villagers, they could see that the travelers were all armed and moving quickly.

The horseman in the front drew his sword, and the others followed suit. They urged their horses into a canter, though not a word was spoken, much less a shout let loose.

A few short screams rang out, but soon silence once again reigned in the remote forest.