At the first-floor dining hall of the Quesser.
Two Lizardfolk sat stiffly on narrow stools, surrounded by more than a dozen crew members.
The Lizardfolk shaman had originally not dared to come aboard, but upon seeing so many different races gathered on a single ship, the unease in his heart dissipated by more than half.
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Anser asked in surprise, looking at the Lizardfolk Giant Tail.
"Yes!" Giant Tail nodded heavily, the yellow pupils in his eyes carrying a hint of nervousness.
"Uh, aren't you the king of your tribe?" Anser found it hard to understand his line of thinking. "If you leave, what about your people?"
"There's the shaman." Giant Tail pointed to the elderly Lizardfolk beside him. "He's usually the one who makes the decisions. Now that our mortal enemy has been wiped out, whether I'm there or not doesn't make much difference."
"Oh." Anser signaled Bratt to pour the wine. His fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop as his gaze continuously assessed Giant Tail. "Can you tell me the reason? We've only just met."
Putting himself in the other's shoes, even if the green dragon queen came to recruit him, he might not necessarily be willing.
"Feeling." Giant Tail stared very seriously at the soft scales on Anser's face. "You're right. I can't keep hiding here anymore. I don't want to die in a daze when disaster comes."
"Mm, welcome aboard." Anser felt that this reason was relatively reliable.
"Then what should I call you… Great King?" Giant Tail suddenly became inexplicably excited.
"No, don't. My name is Anser. Just call me by my name." Anser raised a hand to stop him.
Salian listened as they rattled on for a while, but only understood a handful of words. He was proficient in Elvish, Common, and several other languages, but knew very little about Draconic.
"So he's the guide?" Salian asked.
"Yes. He's the Lizardfolk chieftain, Giant Tail. He can speak Primordial, Draconic, Abeir Common…" Anser explained.
"This…" Salian's mouth twitched, his expression turning strange. For a moment he didn't know what to say, and in the end could only give Anser a thumbs-up.
"This is the captain, Salian…" Anser only briefly introduced a few key people to Giant Tail; saying too much, and he probably wouldn't remember anyway.
He also pulled over that green dragonborn to serve as a temporary interpreter. On the ship, only the two of them understood both Draconic and Common.
"Mhm, mhm…" Giant Tail nodded repeatedly, his gaze gradually becoming vacant.
He was somewhat face-blind. Aside from that dragonborn, everyone else looked more or less the same to him—nothing like Lizardfolk, who were so distinctive.
The Lizardfolk shaman had been silently observing Anser the whole time, without interrupting. Seeing that the matter was already a done deal, he finally stood up, placed a light black waist pouch on the dining table in front of Anser, and bowed deeply to him.
"This is for you. Please."
Anser froze for a moment. After several seconds of contemplation, he did not make any promise. "Maybe we'll have a chance to meet again."
The old shaman bared a grin, revealing a mouthful of missing teeth. He lifted his staff and gave Giant Tail a knock on the head, then turned and left. "Let's go."
Giant Tail hurried to see him off, escorting the shaman all the way until he was handed over to the warriors waiting outside.
Taking advantage of this time, Salian informed everyone of the news that the ship now had one more powerful Lizardfolk companion, and reminded everyone to avoid conflicts as much as possible.
Most of the crew were basically welcoming. After all, having a Lizardfolk Great King as a companion sounded cool, and it also added a bit of a sense of security.
'He doesn't have some other motive, does he? It doesn't really seem like it.' Anser did not fully trust the other party, and decided to observe for a while first.
He picked up the black waist pouch. It was about a foot long and as thick as a palm, seamlessly connected to a belt four fingers wide. The inner layer was soft; the outer layer was covered in black scales and gave off a faint, almost imperceptible magical glimmer.
'A magic item.'
The dice turned slightly, quickly detecting its information.
...
[Magic Item: Avaricious Dragonhide Pouch]
Category: Wondrous Item
Rarity: Very Rare
This is a wondrous item refined from rare materials such as the hide of an adult black dragon. Inside is an extradimensional space, with a maximum capacity of a 3-meter cube.
No matter what is stored inside, its weight can be ignored.
The first time it is used, a personal magic imprint must be engraved. When opening it, activate it with Magic Power.
After the extradimensional space is closed, the air inside can allow a Medium creature to breathe normally for one hour.
Note: No other space-type items may be placed inside. Otherwise, both will be destroyed at the same time, and a portal to the Astral Plane will be opened. Any creature within a 3 meter radius around the portal will be sucked inside.
Curse Mark: The dragonhide pouch randomly connects to a certain dragon treasure vault that bears a curse. Every day at midnight, it will use the holder's aura to "steal" one item from the dragon vault. That item will definitely carry the vault's curse.
Vault Curse: A dragon's violent death can sometimes cause a hoard to bear a long-lasting curse!
A dying dragon—or a living dragon—may also inscribe dreadful curse-words upon the hoard: those who steal a dragon's treasure will be tainted by evil magic.
This curse usually affects not only those who steal from the treasure, but also anyone who possesses the treasure.
...
'This… a pouch that steals things?' Anser pinched the pouch; it felt cold to the touch, yet resilient.
He had heard of hoard curses before. Their effects varied widely, but they were generally extremely troublesome. The only way to truly end them was to return all draconic treasures to the dragon's lair—even a single gold coin.
The spells "Remove Curse" and "Greater Restoration" could only suppress such curses temporarily.
'This is deadly.'
Not only did it steal items in his name, but the items themselves also carried a dragon's curse. If it ever stole a spatial item, wouldn't that cause an explosion?
'I can't sleep with this thing on me.'
He poured Magic Power into the pouch, leaving behind a personal magical imprint, then carefully probed the extradimensional space inside.
Packed to the brim!
Coins, jewels, and all kinds of magic items—the magical radiance was almost overflowing.
At the very top lay an ordinary piece of parchment. After confirming there was no problem, Anser tried opening the dragonhide pouch.
Stimulated by Magic Power, one end of the dragonhide pouch gradually expanded, forming an opening roughly the same size as the parchment, with nothingness inside.
The parchment was gently tossed out, and then the pouch returned to its original shape.
'Pretty convenient.'
Anser caught the parchment and unfolded it. It was densely covered with Draconic script.
It was a warning letter written by the ancestors of the Green Marsh Tribe to their descendants, detailing the drawbacks of the dragonhide pouch and strictly forbidding tribe members from touching or using any item inside. If necessary, it could be offered as tribute to a dragon.
'If I don't take anything out, I won't be tainted by the hoard curse?'
Anser did not dare to take it out, instead using the dice to detect the information of the items inside.
...
[Magic Item: Elemental Orb (Fire)]
Category: Wondrous Item
Rarity: Rare (requires Sorcerer Attunement)
This is an arcane focus. Its outer layer is an openwork mithril sphere; within floats an elemental essence from the Plane of Fire.
After Attunement, it will orbit around you or hover above your head, automatically avoiding attacks or obstacles. In this state, it is treated as being held.
Fire: Your fire spells are cast faster, and their temperature is more intense.
When you use Metamagic to release fire spells, the flames cling to the target like a bone-deep affliction, continuing to burn for several seconds and dealing an additional 1d10 (1–10) fire damage.
Craftsmanship: When you collect the three elemental essences of air, water, and earth, the Elemental Orb will be upgraded to Very Rare quality and gain new properties.
Hoard Curse: The holder will fall into level 1 exhaustion, with reduced stamina and disadvantage on ability checks, until the curse is removed.
...
He took a quick look around and indeed found quite a few good items—this orb in particular made his fingers itch.
Unfortunately, all of the items were burdened with hoard curses, and the types differed as well.
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