It was sunny. Inside one of the infinite Realms, there was the most prosperous kingdom of its continent. The Alethani Kingdom was nearing the end of the summer. At the northern side of the Kingdom, there stood a town called Rihona. There, the nights were starting to get chilly, and the trees of the Malargo Forest, which the town borders, were showing early signs of fall. The very forest that was famous for its monsters.
It was a dangerous place, attracting the people who love danger. Adventurers from all over the world were coming for the hunt to prevent those monsters from coming down to the flatlands. Of course, all were being funded by the Kingdom's Adventurers Guild. Adventurers get to raise their glory and money by hunting those foul creatures.
Therefore, the southern gate of its wooden walls was always full of travelers who came with their equipment and supplies. There were all kinds of people. Strange ones were not unusual, as long as they didn't cause any trouble. And today, two of those travelers stood out, but no one cared about them.
First, a hooded figure passed the gates. The young woman had the posture of someone who knew how to handle themselves in a fight. Her armor and sword seemed to be high-quality but not well-maintained. She was clearly trying not to be recognized, covering her body with a cloak and constantly wearing the hood of it, only the Gods of the Realm knew why. Her hand never released the grip on her longsword. Most people thought she was a rookie to be this tense inside the town, so no one cared about her.
A couple of hours later, a middle-aged man with strange clothing appeared. Strips of white cloths, layer on layer, were covering his body, looking like he was wearing rags from afar. Some were loose, hanging from various places, especially on the legs, and some were tight, showing his weak body. He did not seem to carry equipment or weapons, not even a pair of shoes, which was considered strange in this part of the North. The area was not the safest for traveling without any measures. He could have been robbed on the road, or maybe a bagger who came to take advantage of the recently growing Rihona town. His long, brown hair was tied loosely, and his beard was messy but clean, confusing the people who tried to understand which one he was.
People looked at them and turned their heads. They didn't think of those two as threats or competitors for their hunt. The rooky was alone, so she would probably die or injure herself in the forest. The other one was not even carrying a weapon.
The adventurers kept preparing for their own hunts; this forest was not somewhere to be taken lightly. But there were always the young and inexperienced ones. A group of them had gone into the forest the day before and passed the outskirts of the Malargo Forest to go deep inside a cave they had recently discovered.
The Malargo Forest was surrounded by valleys and ridges, so encountering a cave was common, but this one was not on the map the Guild provided. Meaning no one had discovered it yet. More to that, the entrance resembled a broken stone door. It even had some weird engravings on it, which the young adventurers who passed right through it did not even understand. Who knew what riches might have been waiting for them inside? Not that they needed money, it was all for the fame and glory.
Their group consisted of four young men. A tall and muscular tanker of the party with a heavy, fully plated armor and shield. A lightweight archer to support him from the back. A half-armored longsword wielder, who seemed to be the leader of the group. And lastly, a swift, short sword and dagger user to support the leader in the battle.
They were calling themselves the Band of Steel.
A magician was not common in these lands, but a party could recruit one if they were willing to pay enough. This party could surely have one, considering they were all sons of the noble families. But they were friends since childhood, and like they always said, an arrogant know-it-all magician was the last thing they wanted at their party.
They went deep inside the cave system. The light from the outside had long gone, and they were only depending on their torches and the glowing mushrooms growing in unusual corners of this cave.
The cave looked like it was natural despite the broken stone door at its entrance. Only some remnants of a settlement, like rotten wooden doors or stone tables and seats. They saw the same engravings on the walls here and there. There were even some drawings of various lizards next to them. Other than those, the place looked abandoned.
Maybe by people, but not by the other residents. It didn't take much time for them to encounter the lizards mentioned in those drawings. The party just wished their sizes were more accurate.
The monsters varied in size from about a leg's length to human height, measured from head to ground. In these dark and narrow tunnels, they were moving with speed despite their armor-like thick skins.
They were not easy to kill, but even though their party was young, they were well-trained and had great teamwork. They were no different than the monsters inside the forest they were accustomed to. They kept moving deeper into the tunnels while hunting down the giant lizards they encountered on the way.
And their efforts got rewarded at the end. At the deepest part of the mountain, they found a huge opening. A ray of moonlight was falling and lighting the place dimly, probably from an opening at the peak of the mountain. And under that dim light, they saw where all the riches in the caves went to.
All kinds of wares made of silver and gold were piled in the middle of the ground. Coins to cups, plates to trinkets. All were lying there waiting to be collected. And in the middle of all of them, a giant egg glowing like a shiny metal was sitting on top.
The Band of Steel made a quick check around the giant opening, but there seemed to be no threats around. They had assumed this was the lizards' nest, but it was surprisingly empty. Maybe they had killed all of them on the way here. They started to loot what they could.
But the most important thing was the egg. If they could bring it back to the town, everyone would be envious of them. They could say it was a dragon egg, based on its size. A stone dragon, in fact. They fought and chased off the dragon and took its egg as a trophy. What glorious story that was.
The only one who could carry that egg was the tanker of the party. Even though the egg was almost reaching his chest, he was Blessed with strength.
One could only be born Blessed, so it was rare, and the Blessing could vary. In this Realm, it was the way the Gods showed their favor toward humanity. They loaded the egg carefully onto the tanker's back and tied it up just in case.
They left the cave, planning to come back occasionally to take the remaining treasures in time. The pile was probably enough to sustain a large province for a year, after all. It would be a shame to leave behind.
Hours later, the owner of the giant cave came back only to find that its one and only baby was gone. Instead, there was a trace of smell left behind.
The smell of the thieves that were already far away to hear the trembling roar of an angry mother.