Your fingers tremble slightly as you hold the copper coin up to the flickering torchlight. The inscription's ancient script seems to pulse with ominous energy. Taking a steadying breath, you meet Valthorix's burning gaze directly. 'Your Scaled Excellency... might you explain this curious inscription about inheriting debts?'

The dragon's massive wings rustle like sheets of burning parchment. 'Ahhh,' he exhales, sending a swirl of smoke rings curling toward the cavern ceiling. 'That would be my great-great-grandsire's idea of humor.' He leans down until his snout hovers mere inches from your face, the heat making your eyes water. 'Every coin in this mountain bears that mark. Consider it... ancestral wisdom about the true nature of wealth.'

As you process this, the abacus suddenly explodes in a shower of molten beads. Valthorix chuckles as they rain down around you. 'You see, little financier, gold is just molten rock we've agreed has value. And agreements...' His tail flicks toward a towering pile of scrolls bound in what looks suspiciously like human skin. 'Have a way of outliving empires.'

The mountain gives another ominous tremor. From the shadows, dozens of identical copper coins begin rolling toward you from every direction, forming a slowly tightening circle around your feet. Each bears the same cursed inscription, their edges glowing faintly red.