Belial felt the intensity of their terror as well as the dragon’s presence ease off, but they still have enough wit to be fearful of the great dragon before her.<br/>Not allowed to keep their small respite, the sight of Velzanth deshelling the remaining top half of the halfling deeply unnerves Belial, and it was a trial to keep from vomiting. Swallowing back the bile, Belial’s attention snapped back to Verzanth when she spoke once more.<br/>Verzanth, in all her glory as she laid like a cat in the sun, shone more strikingly than the jewels amongst her hoard. Even with the displays of her terrible might, her magnificence and beauty remain undeniable and unignorable.<br/>As the morning light filtered into the burrow, the ring glinted in the light as the dragon fidgeted with it, and Belial’s eyes flick to it, recognizing it as what they came here for. Belial nervously wets their lips, the smile they put back on a bit tighter now after seeing the halfling being eaten.<br/><br/>“Mighty dragon,” Belial begins again, their tone a bit soft, trying to ride the line of buttering the dragon up without being too obvious or excessive “if I may?” slowly lowering their hands to their pack, watching the dragon for any signs of displeasure or aggression. When nothing seems to happen, Belial pulls a large beautiful stone out of their pack. It glows a soft blue, smooth and beautifully tumbled, the sunlight revealing the stone’s true colors and gorgeous lines.<br/>“I bring you a moonstone from my family’s vaults; we trace our bloodline back to the original nobles of my race, and have had much time since then to collect trinkets that would make excellent additions to your hoard”<br/>Belial kneels and offers it with both hands flat palmed with outstretched arms, and hesitates a moment before continuing<br/>“May I ask your name, great dragon?”