You see a path that shimmers in the starlight. You are amazed at how well you can see the stars and how much light they are producing, considering the park was in the middle of a large city. Or, at least, you thought it was in the middle of the city. You couldn't see any of the skyscrapers towering above the opening that you had seen at the beginning of the path. It's almost as if you had been teleported to another world.
Upon closer examination, you see that the path is littered with countless gold nuggets varying in size from boulders to pebbles to little more than dust. You realize you could become very rich by taking this treasure back with you, but also wonder how no one else had found it before you.
"They must have been too scared to come down that dark path," you reasoned, completely forgetting the fact that the buildings had disappeared and it was suddenly night time. Somehow, this place was making you forget how strange it actually was. "Oh well, their loss is my gain."
You gather as much gold as possible in your pockets and backpack, even taking off and tying your undershirt to make a bag to carry more. You then turn around to head back down the path you had come in. When you got to the clearing, however, you didn't see any of the other paths that had been there before. There was only the clearing and the path of gold.
"I guess I can't see it in the dark. I'll take this path for a bit and find a place to wait until morning," you plan and start heading back down the path.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, the path turns sharply to the right and leads up a steep hill. You continue following it as it takes you to a large gully in the hillside. A small stream flows off a cliffside in a thin waterfall about the width of a man. The cascade empties into a pool about 7 meters across both ways before escaping the dam and returning to its former size downhill.
In the twilight, you can see that the gold path continues into the pool and goes under the waterfall. You guess the pool to be about five feet deep, shallow enough that you could wade through it with your head above water, though you aren't sure why you thought of that. It wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, getting wet at night when you didn't know how cold it would get, where the nearest civilization was, or even what was in that water, but some unseen force was compelling you to do just that. You were overcome by the notion to strip to your skin, leaving your clothes and gold behind at the edge of the pool, and enter the water. You expect it to be freezing as you entering, since it was only late spring and the night air was still chilly, but the water was warmer than most showers you took. This could mean either a natural hot spring or a factory's waste dump. You guessed it probably wasn't the latter or else someone would have already found all this gold.
As you soak in the warmth, you find yourself unconsciously moving towards the waterfall. You can't seem to stop yourself, although you don't even really want to. You make your way to the waterfall and lower your head before walking underneath the downpour and through to the other side. You lift your head and push your sopping brown hair out of your eyes. You are in a cave behind the waterfall.
The tunnel travels straight back into the hillside and you see a faint light coming from deeper in. You wade forward and notice that the tunnel floor slowly rises and brings you out of the water. It is not cold in the cave, though it is still damp. The floor of the path is still speckled with gold, but it is worn completely smooth and is slightly slimy. You push your hands against the walls to keep yourself from slipping and continue forward towards the light.
The path goes on for a good hundred meters before opening out into an expansive cave. It is a perfect dome supported by four solid gold columns arranged in a square amongst vast piles of treasure. The loot is mostly gold, but also contains jewels and items like swords and suits of armor. Something that sticks out, however, is a huge black figure in the center of the room. You approach quietly and find that it is a completely black dragon, asleep amongst his horde.
You are surprisingly unafraid of the creature and, as if in a trance, walk up to it and begin caressing its silky wings furled up at its sides. You look up and see that it is awake and looking at you with slitted amber eyes.
"Greetings, human," it says in a smooth baritone, not at all rough or frightening like you expected. "I've been expecting you. I suppose you're wondering what this place is. Tell me, did you happen to enter through the park?" You answer that you did. "Ah, yes, that would be the work of my brother. You see, he is a magician who delights in all manners of mischief. That park is his system of various portals that he uses to screw with people. When I tried to stop his tricks, he turned me into a dragon and trapped me here in this cave. Then he made a path of gold leading here and placed various curses on it. That is why you could not find your way back, why you entered the pool outside, traveled down this cave, and approached me with no fear. You are under a curse, human, and I'm afraid you might not like what comes next."