The molten gold pooling around Valthorix's claws began to solidify into intricate fractal patterns as he considered your proposition. His massive head tilted, sending shadows dancing across the cavern walls like a living constellation of his thoughts. 'A... wizard's college,' he rumbled, the words dripping with both skepticism and intrigued calculation. 'You suggest I exchange gold for... knowledge?'

You nodded eagerly, unrolling a fresh scroll with trembling hands. 'Not just knowledge, Your Scaled Excellency - eternal prestige. The Valthorix Arcane Athenaeum would echo your name through centuries of spellcraft. Imagine the mightiest sorcerers owing their power to your generosity!' A tiny flame of hope flickered in your chest as you watched the dragon's pupils dilate slightly.

Valthorix exhaled a slow, measured stream of smoke that formed miniature towers in the air. 'And these wizards,' he mused, 'would they swear blood oaths? Compose epic sagas of my magnificence?' His tail twitched, sending a diamond-studded goblet clattering across the stone floor. 'Would their spells bear my sigil when they smote my enemies?'

The abacus whirred violently, its ivory beads transforming into tiny dragons that rearranged themselves into a new calculation: PRESTIGE-TO-GOLD CONVERSION RATE - ACCEPTABLE. You barely suppressed a relieved grin as you saw the volcanic tremors subside. 'Naturally, every graduate would be bound by enchanted contract to—'

'STOP.' The dragon's sudden command froze the very air in your lungs. Valthorix's nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. 'I smell... parchment ink... and...' His massive head swung toward a previously unnoticed alcove where a single scorched scroll lay glowing faintly blue. 'That's Elder Blackwing's investment portfolio.' The temperature in the chamber dropped twenty degrees.