The dragon was dead.
The cave, however, looked very much alive—gold, jewels, and weapons gleamed in the dim light, spilling from toppled chests and shattered urns. Mountains of wealth surrounded them, glittering as if mocking the three dirt-poor adventurers who had stumbled into it.
Sari gasped, her eyes sparkling brighter than the gems. "Oh... ohhh, baby. We're rich!"
She dove forward without hesitation, scooping coins into her sleeves, her cloak, her boots—anything that could hold them. Her pockets sagged immediately, jingling with every frantic handful.
Arlo blinked. "We just survived a dragon and your first instinct is... looting?"
"Uh, duh." Sari didn't even look up. "That lizard tried to barbecue me. Consider this my emotional damage compensation package."
Tessa, however, looked horrified. "We... we can't just take everything. These belonged to fallen adventurers, great warriors who—"
"—are dead," Sari cut in. "And very bad at spending money. I, however, am still alive and very good at it."
Arlo smirked. "She's got a point."
"Arlo!" Tessa snapped, aghast.
But her voice faltered when her eyes drifted toward a golden chalice, encrusted with sapphires, half-buried beneath broken chainmail. Her fingers twitched. She shook her head violently and turned away.
"Focus," she muttered. "We must find the heirloom first—the Duke's family ring."
"Easy for you to say," Arlo muttered, crouching beside a pile of dented shields. "You don't have to worry about rent. Or food. Or boots that aren't falling apart."
He brushed aside some coins, only for his hand to strike something cold and smooth. Pulling it free, he held up a necklace—thin silver chain, with a small blue gem dangling from it. The gem pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
Tessa's head snapped toward him immediately. "Wait—!" She rushed closer, eyes narrowing at the jewel. "That necklace... it's radiating magic."
Sari stopped mid-pocket-stuffing and stared. "Is it the Duke's ring?"
"It's... a necklace," Arlo deadpanned.
"Well, maybe the ring shape-shifted!" Sari shot back, stuffing two more fistfuls of gold into her cloak.
Tessa frowned. "That's not how heirlooms work. This is something else entirely..."
Arlo dangled it around his neck and puffed his chest out. "How do I look?"
"Like an idiot," Sari said instantly.
Tessa reached out to snatch it, but Arlo leaned back just in time, grinning. "Hey, I found it. Mine."
"This isn't a game!" Tessa barked, tugging at his collar. "We have no idea what enchantments that carries—it could be cursed!"
Sari tilted her head, still half-buried in a pile of coins. "Oh no, a cursed necklace. Guess we'll just have to watch him choke to death slowly while I swim in treasure."
Arlo rolled his eyes. "Nice concern, but I'm keeping it, thanks."
For a while, the three of them scrambled among the piles like children in a sandbox—bickering, snatching coins from each other's hands, tripping over helmets and bones. Every so often, one of them would pause, scanning the treasure.
Still no ring.
Finally, Tessa straightened, clutching her satchel that she secretly stuffed with gold. "Enough. The heirloom is what matters. We cannot leave until we find it."
"Agreed," Arlo said, fiddling with the glowing necklace. "But with all this junk, it could take forever."
Sari shoved another handful of coins into her hood, making her head tilt sideways from the weight. "Oh, don't worry. I've got all night."
Arlo groaned. "Of course you do."
But even he couldn't deny it—every glittering thing in this cave could change their lives. And somewhere, buried among it all, was the one object they needed most.
The Duke's ring.
And until they found it, none of them were leaving.