Meanwhile, the sidekicks.

Under the azure light of fluorescent growths, the assembly gathered. A table was set. Soon, a paper barrier split the domain of the master from that of the pawns, a symbolic one, yet inviolable.

 

White paws adjusted the barrier, then a malevolent crimson glare rose above the artificial separation, cold and reptilian. A haughty voice pierced the silence. The sound came from everywhere at once like an intruding thought.

 

Welcome to this session of Mortals and Portals, fellow superior beings.

 

It is I, She-who-Feasts-on-many-and-gets-much-gold.

 

Your host.

 

I hope you have read your notes.

 

“Meow.”

 

Excellent.

 

Then let us begin.

 

The dragon looked at every participant in turn. The plushie looked just as innocuous as before, deceptively adorable with its white fur and elegant blue ribbon. Auri bounced in place and threatened to set her character sheet on fire. Flames coursed along her tiny wings with every step. As for Orange, she was grooming herself. Like the tabby cat she was.

 

After many ordeals, you finally face the monumental door leading to the final cavern.

 

Due to its intimidating size, it towers over your pathetic bipedal forms in all its gothic glory.

 

Silvery engraving snake along panes of sheer black stone.

 

In the pattern of a many-headed lizard.

 

It is most decidedly closed.

 

“Meow.”

 

You use your human hand to pat the door.

 

No one comes to open it.

 

You do, however, notice keyholes thanks to your rogue perception.

 

“BRRRRPT!”

 

Yes, yes, Auri, well done.

 

You search your backpack for the key you found in the mummy cave.

 

The key glows ominously in the dim light of nearby torches.

 

“Safety is the number one priority!”

 

The dragon looked at the Plushie, eyes narrowing.

 

If I catch you manipulating the strands of fate again, I will give your character psychic damage.

 

“Let’s all be friends!”

 

So you say.

 

Roll for perception.

 

You too, Orange.

 

The tabby placed a paw on her dice and, maintaining eye contact, tossed it off the table. The dragon sighed while it clicked on the ground. The air shook a bit and the dice lifted from the ground to show a resplendent 16.

 

No need for another throw.

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Yes, you notice a trap, however it deactivates the moment the key enters the lock.

 

“BRPPT!”

 

You enter the cavern. It is vast, incredibly so, with stalagmites covered in lichen providing a pleasant glow.

 

“Mrrrrrow.”

 

No, Orange, you may not open the door then stay outside.

 

Stick with the group.

 

What attracts your attention the most is what awaits in the center of the cave.

 

It is a pile of gold!

 

The dragon’s eyes turned dreamy.

 

A pile of gold as tall as I am. shimmering like the sun as if bathed from within by a soft radiance, beautiful, mesmerizing, a welcome nest just waiting for someone to turn it into a portfolio of assets befitting their risk profile…

 

“Meow!”

 

What?

 

Oh, hmm, yes roll for stealth.

 

Could you stop throwing things off the table, just once?

“Meow.”

 

Oh, very well.

 

Alright.

 

Using your leather-covered back limbs, you manage a stealthy approach.

 

“I love all of you!” the Plushie added.

 

You prepare for battle, and not a moment too soon.

 

As you arrive at the edge of the pile, a ripple shakes its heavy surface.

 

Coins roll in a clinky cascade to your feet.

 

One head, then two, then three appear from beneath the glimmering surface like krakens surfacing from the depths, each of a different color.

 

It is… a pathetic cousin to glorious true dragonkind.

 

A flightless and witless but still extremely dangerous existence to you humanoids.

 

A hydra!

 

One head is red, another blue, and the last one yellow.

 

You notice that the yellow head’s throat starts shining.

 

They blink.

 

Thanks to your silent approach, it has not detected you yet and only just woke up!

 

You get a surprise round.

 

Roll for initiative!

 

Clickety-clack.