You force your fingers to close around the cursed coin without flinching, slipping it smoothly into your money pouch as if it were any ordinary piece of currency. 'No problem at all, Your Scaled Excellency,' you say with practiced calmness, though your throat feels lined with ash. The abacus's frantic clicking seems to grow louder in your ears, each rapid-fire calculation like a hammer striking an anvil.

Valthorix exhales a slow, satisfied plume of smoke that curls around his obsidian desk. 'Excellent. We shall commence with this... diversification experiment immediately.' His barbed tail twitches, sending another cascade of rubies tumbling down the treasure slopes. 'Bring me reports thrice daily on the condition of my investment.' The way he emphasizes 'investment' makes your stomach clench.

As you bow and retreat toward the cavern entrance, the temperature drops abruptly. Glancing back, you see the great dragon has already submerged himself back into the golden sea, only his glowing eyes visible above a drift of sapphires. Then those too disappear, leaving you alone with the echoing drips of molten stone from the ceiling and the impossible weight of that single copper coin burning a hole through your pouch.

The winding tunnel back to the surface seems longer than you remember. Just as you reach the carved archway leading outside, a shadow detaches itself from the wall - the dragon's kobold scribe, his beady eyes gleaming with something between pity and amusement. 'First time getting cursed by the master's treasure?' he croaks, holding out a clawed hand. 'Five silver says you don't last the week.'