Our story begins...
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:19, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

I will defeat you, shell, Vydi thought to herself, bathed in the red light and the safe warmth of her egg. She had wanted to get out of it for so long, now. So long. And now she had felt a new urgency: She no longer felt Mother. There had been a heat, a great beast and its subtle noises as scales shifted or it had walked around the clutch, the occasional whispered word, and Vydi had known the heat, vibrations, and muffled words to be Mother.

But, for some time now, those had been gone. Vydi was concerned, and the bubbling feeling of dread only made her angry.

The hatchling coiled infant muscles, and pressed small, dull claws to the shell. Her claws dragged, and the shell flexed. Vydi's face did not exactly smile, but it did have a savage pleasure to it.

Now you are mine!

Vydi's small neck uncoiled and she used her nose, with its great reinforced axeblade shape, to punch the first crack. The swell of victory filled the hatchling, as she coiled and smashed again and again with her natural ram. There was faint light, orange light, fire! Fire like mother! Now she dug her claws in and pulled at it, and the shell gave way more. In a matter of seconds, the red hatchling ripped it to crunchy bits and tore herself into the world.

A proud little roar sounded around the cave, and Vydi waited for the answer. And waited. She set her feet to roar again, and heard a tinkling-- Scales! Vydi rounded on the noise... But saw only a few small golden rocks piled up, flat and round, very alike to each other. Her feet had shifted them, and her egg sat alone in pieces on the pile.

Vydi scowled. Foolish rocks, trying to trick me. You are very shiny, though... I will have my revenge later.

But then another sound, voices, weak and small, not like Mother's had been. They were not Mother. They should not be here. As Vydi turned from the direction they came from, she saw the cavern stretching down and forth, to the light she had glimpsed. Fire, yes, heat, but not her mother's. No. This was being carried.

The Hatchling scratched at the ground and lowered her head like a bull, ready to defend herself...

The cavern Vydirexi found herself in was obscured by darkness, the only source of light being the distant flicker of a flame that was slowly approaching.

Four figures illuminated by the torch light deliberately crept forwards, with wariness warn like a thick winter cloak. They finally paused when the torch shed light on the cavern floor.  Vydirexi had been mistaken.  There were not just a few tiny mounds of gold piled up.  Instead she and her egg had been nestled atop a veritable mountain of treasure.

The lead figure let out a shrill whistle in amazement.  He was much shorter and stockier than the rest of the party, wearing dark leathers and a multitude of weapons strapped to his body.  His twin braided beard swung wildly as he gestured with the torch and began babbling with excitement to his compatriots.

The next in line was a hulking woman in form fitting plate.  Her massive tower shield had been slightly lowered as she gaped in amazement at the hoard in front of her.  The deadly mace in her hand was still at the ready, as her training didn't permit her to lose all semblance of discipline.

The third was the least reserved of the bunch. This thin man's immaculate red robes fluttered wildly as he dashed up to the treasure hoard.  The blue tint of his skin and two rams horns protruding from his forehead gave away his otherworldly origin.

In stark contrast, the final member of the party remained cautiously in the back.  A young woman in fine chain held aloft a silver star, displaying it firmly in her stretched out hand.  Her dark brown hair waved side to side as she tried to pierce the darkness further out in the cave.

It seemed that Vydirexi had not yet been spotted.  Her small form and the limited range of the torch light had granted her a momentary protection from inquisitive eyes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:30, Sat 22 Jan 2022.

Vydi did not understand all of what was happening. She only knew that she was afraid, and that these creatures were not her mother. And to look up at those grand, towering mountains of gold... It stirred a dark and awful greed in her belly. If this was not the place she should not be, if this was indeed the cave of her mother, then the gold there was not. Theirs.

"Not yours!" She snarled from the darkness in the tongue that worked in her mind, the language of the dragons. Her small voice was coarse and, frankly, quite cute. Vydi snarled and leapt forward, and exhaled a burst of glorious flame quite harmlessly into the air between the eager stranger and the hoard. A warning, a threat display, for she was as big as they and only one of their number had real scales. Another did have a respectable coloring, though, that she found herself approving of.

"Leave! Leave or Mother will come!" It was as much a hope as a bluff. Mother, please come.

The small bout of fire had briefly illuminated the entire cave.  The four intruders were startled by the unexpected appearance- the robed tiefling even tumbled onto his backside.

The other three gave a more practiced response.  The fully armored woman surged to the front, with her tower shield providing a veritable wall against any future breath attack.  She issued a few short incomprehensible commands to the others, which caused the the dwarf to let out several harsh curses. He quickly drew his two long daggers and darted to the side in an attempt to encircle the young wyrmling.  All the while, the young priest began chanting, causing Vydirexi's scales to tingle as she sensed the power of the magic being channeled by the prayers.

It seemed that Vydirexi words had either not been understood or not heeded.