An Artifact for Duplication

Story by Serathin on SoFurry

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This is a patreon exclusive that was voted on by those that are nice enough to support my writing, a strange artifact ends up at the door of an elf and he tries to figure out what it is. When he can't figure it out he enlists the knowledge of his friend, but by that time it's meaning has already started to manifest itself.

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Drayniel stopped just as he was about to enter the front door of his artificer's shop, looking down to see an octagonal box with a number of runes burned into the wood panels. While it wasn't unusual for people to drop things off for him to sell usually they stuck around to get the money that came from it. He dutifully picked up the package and decided to take a look inside, unlocking his door and opening it before taking the box with him. When he came in he found all manner of trinkets and other items on the shelves that he had either built himself or were brought to his shop just like the container in his hands.

It was rare that Drayniel had any customers right away in the morning; even though the elven village was rather large it was still considered a village by most other standards, not to mention out of the way. He wasn't much of an entrepreneur anyway and was out there to create his inventions, the only reason he had the shop was to sell what he created in order to keep his lifestyle. With him and a few other talented arcanists their town was a big mark for adventurers to equip before going into harsher wildernesses, or come back to sell whatever exotic treasures they found. This box would probably end up on one of his shelves once he had taken a look at whatever it was.

Runes were one of his specialties and as he looked down between all of sides of the wooden box he saw a lot of protective ones that were engraved. Someone wanted whatever was inside it to remain safe, the elf thought to himself as he took the bronze clasps off that kept the bottom of the box to the sides. He carefully slid it up and looked inside to find a small pillow with a jade egg sitting on top of it. While it was a beautiful, perfectly smooth stone this was not his expertise, the magic radiating off of it obviously some sort of enchantment. Fortunately his shop was next to someone who was an expert not only in enchantment but alchemy as well in case this was some sort of component of a rare or magical creature.

After a few minutes of attempting to get the lid back on the box Drayniel found himself unable to do so, sighing and looking around for his gloves in order to use them to handle the egg directly. He didn't want to risk it rolling off the pillow but knew enough to keep from just grabbing it bare-handed. Fortunately he had a pair of special gloves that kept any magical energy from suffusing through when handling unknown items, though at the moment he couldn't locate them. It was hard for him to even remember where they were... and all the while he found himself still looking at that egg, the glint that it had on its shiny surface practically sparkled and made him hope that if it was an alchemical component he could use it himself.

Finally he found the purple gloves and put them on the table, then looked out his window to see if his friend was in his shop yet. Vikan had moved in a few months after he did after the elf had finished with his arcana training at one of the premier mage academies on the coast. The two had exchanged quite a bit of discourse on the subject over helping one another's shops, dinners they shared, and the occasional pillow talk. Drayniel felt himself smiling as he remembered their latest round under the sheets after Vikan had made a particularly novel discovery, the elf licking his lips slightly as those memories came back in increasingly vivid detail...

When Drayniel realized he was getting himself excited he quickly shook his head and went back to the counter, grabbing the egg before heading over to the other shop that was open. Even though the sign on the other shop said closed he went in anyway since he knew that Vikan liked to have a few hours to himself before he fully opened. "Oh, hey Drayniel," the other elf said as he looked up from the gemstone he had been looking at. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah, business call this time Vikan," Drayniel said as he went over to the counter. "Someone left a strange box at my shop and it had this jade egg in it. I think they had meant to leave in front of your place since it wasn't technically an artifact but I'm not sure."

"Someone left an exotic item at your door?" Vikan said in slight surprise. "Unusual... especially since I haven't heard of any adventuring groups in the village. So... where is it?"

Drayniel looked down at his hands and was surprised not only that it appeared the egg was gone but that the gloves he had put on were also not on his hands. He had been so distracted with his thoughts that he thought he had put them on... did the egg somehow dissolve them? "I... just had it..." Drayniel admitted. "With... my gloves..."

"Well that's not good," Vikan replied, his slight smirk turning into a frown. "I think you might want to close up your shop Drayniel and come back here, I have a few books that might help identify what it was. One thing that I do know is that when an artifact suddenly disappears and potentially takes magically nullifying gloves with them its usually not for a good reason."

The artificer nodded and went back to his own shop in order to close it down, and when he did he was surprised to find that the gloves were sitting right next to the box. He began to wonder if those runes weren't to protect whatever was inside... it was possible that it was to make it so the artifact couldn't get out. It would explain how it would have slipped past the guards if it was a dangerous object, though as he began to itch his palms his concern grew deeper. His best chance of finding out what he had just touched was the other elf that came out of his shop the same time he did. The two nodded with one another and walked back to Vikan's workshop situated behind the building where he also contained his library, not realizing that the skin on his hands had thickened and his nails were turning black...

A few minutes later Vikan sat on the chair in his workshop flipping through the book, turning the pages as Drayniel sat on a nearby stool. The other elf's leg was bouncing and it was clear that the artificer was in distress, but without knowing what the item was there was nothing he could do to treat it. It seemed that other than general anxiety he was still feeling fine, in fact he was more energetic than ever. The only thing that was causing him distress was the waiting and he knew there was nothing that could be done about that except for distracting himself, which he decided to do by sneaking off into the kitchen to get himself something to eat as Vikan continued to pour through his tomes in search of information.

It wouldn't be the first time that he had helped himself, Drayniel thought to himself as he quickly opened the pantry that served to hold Vikan's food. It was mostly fresh fruits and vegetables that were bought before he had opened shop or possibly yesterday, and while it would have normally tempted the elf he found the idea of eating such things unpalatable. The same was for the dried stuff that he had as well and it wasn't until he got to a magically sealed portion of the pantry did he finally find something that made his mouth water. He opened the box to find a small amount of meat that was being arcanely preserved and the second that he saw it Drayniel grabbed the raw product and shoved it into his mouth.

The second the meat touched his tongue it caused a shiver to go all the way down the elf's spine... and then beyond. Without Drayniel being aware as he continued to consume his meal a bulge had formed just above his rear end, his tunic pushing up slightly to allow the growing appendage to snake its way out. As soon as it was a few inches in length is began to sway in the air, wagging in eagerness as the elf finished up the paltry amount of meat he had found. As he licked his scaly fingers clean the euphoria of the moment quickly became replaced by panic as he felt claws pressing against his tongue. When he pulled them back his eyes widened at the scaly black digits that his fingers had become, though they quickly went back to his face when he began to feel his juice-stained lips go numb. Whatever magic had been transferred to him from the missing egg was reacting to what he had eaten, feeling his stomach gurgle before the skin down there felt like it was stretching.

When Drayniel lifted up his tunic he once more gasped, though it slowly turned into a hiss as the air went through his sharpening teeth while he saw his belly shift and ripple. While he wasn't overweight by any measure most of his time had been spent in front of his workbench and often he would just eat whenever he could. That had given him a bit of softness, but the pads of fat that had accumulated over the years were melting away and giving rise to a set of washboard abs that would rival some of the warriors in the village. Cream colored scales also began to spread out from the spot and as his claws pressed gently against them he felt a shiver of delight.

No... Drayniel thought to himself as he shook his head, this is not a body to be envied as he tried to get his focus back to the fact that he was transforming into some sort of monster. The movement only seemed to serve to stretch the growing muzzle that was forming even more as hair fell in front of his face, and while he had kept it somewhat long he could see it was lengthening even more as the blonde strands turned to a deep black save for a few streaks. He huffed as his entire body began to pop and stretch, the magic growing his body and corrupting his mind as his eyes went from his stomach down towards his leather breeches. The transforming creature's eyes widened as he realized that the material had started to tent, forming into a bulge that was only growing bigger until the tightening was causing discomfort.

With a soft growl Drayniel ripped away the offending leather with his new claws, allowing his cock to flop out before rapidly hardening. Unlike his elven member this new maleness was almost twice the length and when he wrapped his fingers around it he almost couldn't touch the tips. As he stared down in awe his irises began to spread, turning from blue to green while his pupils stretched into slits as new instincts came over him. There was a loud pop as the shoes the former elf wore split at the seams to allow the growing, merged digits of his expanding feet to scrape into the wood. The second he felt the throbbing member against his palm the elf that had been standing there evaporated away, replaced with the raw power and instinct of a lizardman as his new tongue slowly licked along his new reptilian muzzle.

After a few last cracks Drayniel took his hands and pulled away the last of his clothes to reveal his new muscular, scaly body. There were a few last ripples and swells as the creature flexed his biceps, his corrupted mind processing new sights and smells from his upgraded senses that caused him to turn towards the door right as it opened. "Hey Vikan, are you-" the voice of the male elf said as he poked his head inside, his sentence being cut short at the hulking male that was staring hungrily at him with one hand still wrapped around his dick. "I... uh... oh..."

Meanwhile Vikan sat up when he finally saw what he was looking for, seeing a picture of a bunch of humanoid reptiles moving through a village while others fled from them. "I think I might have found what you came in contact with!" the elf said. "There was once a species of creatures called locust lizards; they used to be a huge problem back in the day before the kingdom here was established, a few of these creatures were said to infiltrate and rapidly reproduce while consuming the townsfolk before spreading to the next civilization. While it appears that they've been rendered extinct by the scourge campaign it's said that a single egg can decimate an entire village, and if that's the case we need to neutralize... it as soon... as possible..."

It took Vikan looking up from his book to realize that Drayniel wasn't in the room with him and that he had been essentially talking to himself. Suddenly finding himself alone had taken the elf slightly by surprise, but as he got up from his chair he heard something drop to the floor in his kitchen. He took the book with him so that he could show his friend what he had found but when he got to the open door it ended up tumbling out of his hands and to the floor. The sudden sound caused the creature that occupied his kitchen to snap his head up and growl slightly at him, though what was even more surprising then the monstrous male standing there was an elf Vikan identified as his neighbor on his knees with the creature's throbbing maleness so far into his mouth it was stretching out his throat.

Vikan didn't know what to do and before his brain could make up its mind Drayniel had already made his decision, pulling out of the elf that was blowing him and charging forward. The enchanter tried to flee but had only just managed to get turned around before the full weight of the bigger male pounced on top of him. "Vikan..." the creature hissed, feeling the hot breath of the lizardman against his neck. "I want you... want to be inside you..."

Though the voice was much deeper than before Vikan knew that the male on top of him was his friend, but as the elf could feel his friend's length sliding against his inner thigh it was clear that he wasn't thinking clearly. From what he had read of the passage on locust lizards he had found it strange that such creatures were able to infiltrate villages without anyone fighting back, now it was becoming more clear by the second as he continued to see his neighbor kneeling there in a daze with his mouth open before his jaw began to stretch. These lizards didn't kill the villagers, the elf realized as he saw a thickening tongue push its way out past the other male's swelling lips, they transformed them!

A sudden prick on his shoulder brought Vikan's attention back to the present as Drayniel sank his new fangs into the flesh of the elf. The momentary sensation of pain was immediately replaced with a sensation of heat and pleasure that quickly cascaded through his body, Vikan feeling his muscles go limp as the lizardman flipped him over onto his back. Though the face that he found himself staring at was completely alien to him the smug grin that he saw on the muzzle of the reptilian creature reminded him of Drayniel, his hands trembling as he reached up and caressed the scales of his cheek. It wasn't the first time that he looked up at him this way, but he knew this encounter would be like no other as his body shuddered from the sensations of hard claws pressing against his soft flesh.

There was a loud tearing noise as the elf's body quickly became exposed, though the venom of the locust lizard made sure that he could do little more than that as Vikan felt himself panting. Though he knew he should be afraid for what this monster was going to do to him the fact that the scaled creature was built better than most of the warriors and guards in the entire village was... very handsome. Whether it was whatever magic that still permeated Drayniel's body seeping into him or the venom in his veins the fear he had gotten from this creature tackling into him was being replaced with lust as he found himself licking his lips. While before the two elves had been close in size and stature Drayniel's new body was all muscle as it pressed against Vikan, their eyes locking onto one another before they both leaned in for a kiss.

As the two shared their embrace Vikan felt the lizardman shift against his naked body, feeling the slightly ridged member that had been pulsating against his stomach slide past his own cock before moving between his legs. Drayniel had never been this assertive before, Vikan thought as the tongue of the creature slithered around his mouth, and once more he found himself liking it as the drooling head pushed against his pucker. As reality began to peek in through the haze of lust he felt a pang of anxiety on whether or not he was going to fit, but as soon as the head popped past the ring of muscle he found his hole stretching to accommodate. He had never felt so full in his entire life and it was just the first inch or so... but as Drayniel began to penetrate him the lizardman broke the kiss and Vikan saw a pair of black-scaled feet on either side of his head.

When Vikan looked up he gasped to see that there was another black-scaled lizardman standing there with a grin on his face and his dick in his hand. Looking back over in the kitchen he found his neighbor no longer kneeling there, and what surprised the enchanter more than having another naked male hovering over him was that he looked exactly like the one that was continuing to slide into him. "D... Drayniel?" Vikan asked as he watched the other lizardman kneel down in front of him. "Wha-what's... going on herrrrrurrrr..."

The last words of the elf left his mouth garbled as he found his lips growing thicker, his voice deepening as he began to feel the flesh of his face starting to harden. It was clear he was not immune to whatever caused the locust lizards to transform their prey and when he looked down between him and Drayniel he saw that his own cock was starting to grow thicker and stretch past its normal erection. As cream scales crept up his chest he saw his stomach becoming more defined, bulging only when the entirety of the other lizardman's cock had fully slid inside of him. It was becoming harder to think with the pleasure coming from being so thoroughly reamed by the other male, succumbing to his own increasing desire to spread the lust as a hiss escaped from his growing muzzle...

The other identical lizardman wasn't going to let such a thing go to waist and had pulled Vikan's head back and slid his cock into the transforming elf's throat. Vikan's growing claws drew furrows into the floor as he was penetrated from both ends, his body warping and growing to match those that were thrusting into him. The venom had long since left his body and his hips pushed up in the air not only from the lizardman thrusting into him but from his new tail stretching outwards while the rest of his body filled with muscle. With two locust lizards corrupting the elf it wasn't long until the creature between them was an identical copy to the two, all three males grunting and growling as they enjoyed their new forms.

For Drayniel it made the corrupted lizardman smile seeing his friend squirming and writhing in pure pleasure, especially with seeing the outline of his copy's cock stretching out his throat. Locust lizards... he had heard Vikan talking about it before he had seen what he was doing to his neighbor, and seeing the three of them enjoying the pleasure of one another's bodies he realized it wasn't enough. The desires and instincts of this new body had so thoroughly ingrained themselves into his new mind that he couldn't think of anything better than to continue to share this new gift, to seed others and make them into the same. He knew exactly where to start too, they just needed to wait for the sun to set.

As day turned to night the rest of the elven village was unaware of what was happening into the house, the lizardmen continuing to share their bodies with one another. Drayniel, Vikan, and the other elf that had gotten caught up in the curse of the egg artifact had continued to evolve during their rutting to the point where they could no longer identify each other individually but also were able to sense one another's thoughts. It was a weak link but one they knew would grow stronger as their hive continued to expand. When the moon began to rise over the woods that was exactly what they were going to do, the three of them modifying the clothing that Vikan had in his house before heading out.

The inn of the village was never very full; aside from the bartender and his wife there was usually only a few weary travelers that were off to bigger cities or the wildlands for adventure. In this particular instance there was a catfolk bard that was playing in the corner while a half-orc and tiefling sat on the bench of the bar, the wood of the stool creaking underneath his weight. Considering how late it was it took the bartender, the elf also owning the inn, by surprise when the doors opened and three men walked in. What was also a bit shocking was the three looked like lizardfolk, but the closest tribe of them were in the marshes at the south of the kingdom. The three were also dressed in only leather loincloths that left little to the imagination as they went up to the bar and sat down.

"What brings you three all the way up here?" the bartender asked. "If you need a room for the night you'll all have to share, though it seems like you're all, what, brothers or something?"

"Or something," one of the lizardmen said. "I do not think a room will be necessary, but if it's possible we need to speak to the two that are sitting here for a possible job opportunity."

The sudden offer to the half-orc and tiefling caused them to look up from their drinks in interest. "A job you say," the tiefling said. "We're not planning on staying here very long but if it's a relatively simple task I don't think we'll say no to that."

"I think you'll find the task easy and enjoyable," another lizardman said, the two doing a double-take since he sounded exactly the same as the other one next to them. "But I don't think the innkeeper would like us discussing it here, can we go to your room and talk?"

The tiefling and half-orc just shrugged and got up, motioning for the three to follow them as they walked towards their room. As soon as they got inside the half-orc closed the door behind him while his tiefling companion went over to a nearby chair to sit. "Alright then," the half-orc stated. "What seems to be the- ow!"

The half-orc felt a sudden pinch against his arms and looked down to see that the two lizardmen had bit him, one on each bicep. When he looked over at the tiefling he saw that the other male was holding his neck, gasping slightly as the lizardman which had sank his fangs into him had already started to undress his body. Before the half-orc could say anything he could feel himself getting weak in the knees, the heavily muscled man falling forward slightly before the two caught him and began to lead him towards the bed. He tried to say something but found his lips going numb, followed quickly by the rest of him as he was led to the bed before he collapsed onto it.

As the mercenary felt himself getting undressed the locust lizards had positioned him so that he could see what was happening to his tiefling counterpart, the red skin of the lithe male completely exposed as his body was lowered onto the cock of the lizardman beneath him. Already the corruptive magic had started to soak into the demonic body, the half-orc's eyes widening as he saw the ropy tail of the smaller male growing thicker as the ridged member sank between his cheeks. As soon as it pushed inside of him the black and cream scales of the lizardmen spread over his flesh, causing the one sitting beneath him to shudder as he continued to thrust upwards.

It wasn't long before the burly male felt his own hole get penetrated, letting out a grunt as the lizardman in front of him began to guide his own cock between the half-orc's tusks. As soon as the head of the throbbing cock spread open his lips he could feel his teeth shrinking and reshaping, his already pushed out maw lengthening even more. From the view of the tiefling he could see that the already muscular body of the other male was shrinking slightly, becoming more streamlined while his own form had begun to bulk up as his frame stretched to accommodate it.

The lizardman with the transforming tiefling bouncing on his lap stroked the growing pectorals of the newest addition to the hive as the half-orc's body mutated quickly, his tail growing out and his mohawk turning into an identical mane. The sound of fabric tearing could also be heard as the new claws of the male shredded the bed beneath them, straw kicking into the air as the two locust lizards continued to stretch the tailhole and throat of the third between them. It wasn't long before the corruption was complete and a pair of reptilian green eyes stared up at the ones looking down at him. With the tiefling still shifting, his horns receding into his head as his feet finally hit the floor while blowing up into huge reptilian paws, he continued to sit there with his cock fully hilted into the mostly lizardman body on top of him while the others silently got up from the bed and exited.

A few minutes later two locust lizards finished their climax, the former tiefling letting out a loud hiss as his new muzzle finished stretching while his own reptilian seed spilled out of his cock while he was filled from behind. From what he sensed as he pulled out of their newest hive member the others had already gotten busy, hurrying out to help in any way they could. When they got to the inn they found that the situation was already handled; the bartender was bent over with one of their cocks shoved inside of him while his clawed hands scraped against the polished surface while the bard was on the floor whipping around his new black-scaled tail as he was being fucked in his new muzzle. The greatest change was happening to the wife of the bartender however, with her naked body in display they saw that the locust lizard changing her had a hand wrapped around the cock growing between her legs as her breasts deflated into firm pectorals.

The other two quickly joined in the orgy with one taking the mouth of the bartender while the other took the newly scaled tailhole of the bard, and it wasn't long before the three locust lizards had turned to eight. With their initial transformations sealed they soon began to trade around and pleasure one another until no one knew who was who anymore aside from the knowledge that they kept in their heads, but even that became muddy as their strengthening bond allowed their experiences to muddle together. It didn't really matter much to the identical creatures anyway, as far as their corrupted minds were concerned such things were not for them. They were stronger as they were, and it wouldn't be long until the entire village was filled with horny locust lizards.

As the sun rose the next day a group of travelers walking down the road stopped as they looked at their map, turning the parchment around several times. "I told you we shouldn't have taken that shortcut," the elven mage said with a sigh. "Now we're nowhere near a road that leads to the capital."

"Just relax already!" the dwarf replied before pointing down the road. "It says there's an elven village near her, I think we just need to ask them if there's any way to get to the main road and we should be back on track in no time!"

"Might not even need to wait that long," the armored human in the group said as he spotted someone coming over the hill, hopping on top of their cart and waving while the other three watched. "Hey, over here! We need some help!"

At first it looked like just the one lizardman, but as the four continued to watch they saw another identical one appear... and another... and soon nearly a dozen were heading straight towards them. They didn't stop for long at the cart however and soon the group moved on down the road, this time with four new lizardmen in tow. The cart sat there abandoned as they all moved with singular purpose towards the next village on the map, ready to grow their numbers even more.