Prospective Position
The caravan stops at the outskirts of the village. Even from far outside you see that the settlement's squat structures are primitive and out of step with the city-states that divide up the continent. As you step out of the caravan's space, its leader looks down at you.
"Are you sure you want to leave us, traveler?" she asks. "There's not much there. I don't even bother bartering with them anymore. You can stay with us. We could use an extra hand and you could use our protection."
You nod, your gaze returning to the village.
"Ah well," the leader laughs. "I thought I might get a few words out of you before you left. I don't understand why you want to visit such a strange people, but your business is your business. Be warned, traveler, I won't be back for another fortnight at the least, so if you change your mind you've got a wait. Come with us, traveler."
You shake your head, the hand in your right pocket clutching the rolled up piece of parchment that brought you here.
The caravan leader sighs. "Fine. Farewell, traveler, and take care. Hi-ya!"
The caravan slowly rolls off to the west without you. A few of the caravan goers say farewell to you as they pass by. You don't speak, only waving a hand here or there when you recognize a familiar face. Otherwise you are silent as the caravan leaves. Only when it is out of sight do you take the map out of your pocket and unroll it. While you had been with the caravan you had kept it hidden, only sometimes looking during the late night or early morning. You had feared that anyone who could read and write would recognize it for what it was--a Kril map. You had only ever shown it to one person by the coastal city-state you had found it near to prove its authenticity. Once declared so, you had immediately began to search for a caravan to take you to the marked spot on the map. You actually hadn't know about the village until the caravan leader you described the mountains to mentioned that she knew of the city she thought you meant to visit.
The map itself is outdated. It neither has note of the village or the fact that the marked volcanoes had long since become inactive. Despite its age, however, you still trust it. You've possessed a similar map before and it had lead you to riches. That your roguish accomplices had taken those riches at the time is the reason you took no one with you for this treasure hunt.
You fold the map up and head towards the village. If the map is as correct as you believe it to be then the treasure is located to the north on a mountain just as the village is. So, you decide it's not a bad idea to head to the village since its on the way anyhow. Perhaps you can find some clues on what lies ahead from the populace.
As you near the village you quickly figure out why the caravan didn't waste any time at the village. The first inhabitant you spot is short, squat, and not at all human. That's not entirely true--it is humanlike in the way it stands and is built, but it's scaled hide, twin tails, and gecko-like head is just as inhuman. It stares at you with its blue pupiless eyes and when it notices you staring at it, it scampers off on all fours towards the village. You pick up your pace as you follow it, but it reaches the village long before you do. Before you get there, you see more of the reptilians scurrying about the village of all shapes and sizes, though none come close to reaching your height.
By the time you set foot in the village several of the creatures have set up stands of sorts with odd wares on display. Many of them loiter about the village pretending not to notice you but you are all too aware of the many, many inhuman eyes on you. Although their reptilian faces display nothing but curiosity you know all to well that there is danger in curiosity. You keep one hand on one of your two flintlock pistols as you move to the nearest stand.
The reptilian standing behind the counter is fairly tall and looks more like a snake save that it has limbs. It hisses in a manner you can only guess is welcoming and motions to its wares. It's mostly junk to you. There's a rusted curved sword that the barbarians from across the sea favor, a set of bones carved into dice, and a pair of gloves made up of what you guess is scales. You are about to walk away when you spot a golden disk amongst the bunch of miscellaneous objects. You squint and see it has a Kril marking. You point to it.
"Where did you find that?" you ask, pointing to the disk.
The snake nods excitedly and holds up the disk. You squint at it and then point to the north.
"I don't want to buy it," you say firmly. "But I'll pay for information."
The snake looks confused. You sigh as it hisses in a language you don't understand. You consider how you might come to understand each other when you suddenly feel a slight tug at your pockets. You immediately whirl around, pistol drawn and pointed. You find yourself facing the first reptilian you saw on your way to the village. Recognizing what you're pointing as a weapon, it squeaks and raises its clawed hands, one of which clutches the map. You stare at the map. Between that and the weapon, the gecko figures out what you want. The map falls out of its raised hands to the ground. The village is eerily quite as you stoop down and grab the map, stuffing it back into your pocket. You stare the motionless gecko in the yes and then you lower your pistol. The gecko relaxes until you suddenly discharge your pistol into the ground. The ensuing deafening noise leaves the gecko and other villages fleeing. You shake your head and holster your pistol. There's no need to reload it. They've learned their lesson and you have a second one and your blade just in case.
The snake behind the stand cowers as you turn to it. You smile and flick it the least valuable coin you own. Even if you hadn't communicated it owning the disk was enough to convince you that coming on this trip wasn't folly.
You walk through the village, now intent on leaving. You'll be back, of course, but only until you've retrieved some of the treasure. You take note of what other stands sell and you're happy to see at least a few of them have some edible food. Even if they didn't, you figured you could survive out here until the next caravan arrives. It doesn't take you long to finish your tour of the small village. When you are out of its small confines, you look over your shoulder briefly. A mass of the small reptile humanoids stare at you, but none of them follow. Good.
The mountain range that had seemed small from your view in the caravan now looms over you. You take out your map and orient yourself so that you face the tallest of the mountains, huge and black, its otherwise gray sides covered by black slag here and there. Even on the map it is marked as inactive, its fire burned out long ago. You stare at its high heights for a moment and wonder which of its few visible caves contains riches. The map only helps a little here, indicating that the trove is found midway up the mountain.
You reach the mountain and begin your ascent. It's as difficult as you suspected it would be. The climb is steep, rocky, and confusing. You oftentimes have to switch your path due to the slag and other such obstacles. Still, you persevere, taking a few breaks here and there to eat, drink, and refill your water at a small stream that runs down the mountain.
After many hours you make it to the first fissure that might house your treasures. You wish yourself luck as you enter, leaving just as quickly when you find a pair of sleeping bears. The second contains only a dark pond in which ghastly white fish swim about. The third is large but hold sonly a smashed mirror and clawed tricks that vanish into nowhere. The fourth is empty and so is the fifth. The sixth cave has a few golden coins that raise your hopes. You are subsequently disheartened when the next five caves have nothing else of interest. It is nearly night by the time you reach the twelfth cave. Immediately upon entering it you detect promise. This one leads deeper than any one before it and off its walls something glows. You excitedly travel down its long winding corridors, not needing a torch thanks to the golden glow. When you reach the end you find yourself in a large chamber. At the center of the chamber sits a large trove of gleaming gold riches piled around an obsidian pillar. You've found it!
Still, you don't let your excitement overwhelm you. You glance around the chamber first, looking for any sort of traps or signs of anyone else. When you see nothing, you cautiously approach the trove. The gleaming riches entice you with each glance you send their way until you can only focus on them. Among the riches are gold coins, jeweled goblets, ornamental weapons, jewels of varying shapes and sizes, and idols of Kril deities. You begin to think on how you might be able get it out of here. There's so much here that you can't possibly take it all even if you made dozens and dozens of trips. You momentarily consider hiring some of the reptilians from the village, but no, you cannot allow it. The treasure is yours, all yours!
Visions of avarice dance in front of your eyes. With wealth like this you wouldn't have to go on foolish treasure hunting adventures any more. A plan forms in your mind. You can take a portion now, stash it somewhere, and come back for more. Since the caravan doesn't come for a while, you can hide it around and take some with you back to the nearest city-state. There you can sell and then make a trip back. But what should you take first?
Treasures clink and clatter as you step onto the pile. You look down first but then your gaze is drawn up to the pillar. You hadn't noticed until now, but atop it is a glossy black statue of some sort of reptile with lines of gold, bronze and silver running through its surface. It's fairly small in size but high in value as far as you can tell. You recklessly run up the hoard, kicking priceless coins and jewels here and there in your mad dash for the idol. You nearly trip as you reach the pillar, but quickly regain your footing. You reach for the idol and as your hand wraps around it something springs from the pillar.
You cower for a second at the sight of a black-scaled dragon looming over you. Then you reach for your pistols and fire them both wildly at the creature. Though nearly deafened by the sound, you keep your eyes focused on the floating reptile. Your bullets do nothing and only when you notice it's translucency do you realize that the creature is not really there--it's an echo or phantom. You can no more harm than it can harm you. For this reason you watch as it flits around the chamber, circling you. You keep your eyes on it, but when it makes no motion towards you, you return your eyes to the idol. You grab for it again and when you do the dragon dives down at you.
The force of the collision knocks you down. You fall down the hoard and land at the bottom on your back, dazed. When you lift your head to look for the dragon, it's gone. You look down at yourself and see what's left of the dragon's shadow seep into you. You shudder as you feel it move about inside you, something there yet not there at the same time. You roll onto your hands and knees, intending to get up to your feet when the dragon's shadow bursts out of you. It mimics your stance as it stands in the same space as you, its legs near about the same position as your arms and legs. You are partially blinded by its shadowy head that stretches out in front of you.
As you wonder what the shadow intends to do, you suddenly feel an unseen force grip your entire form, pulling intensely. The pain is so intense that you fear that these moments are your last, your fate to be ripped apart by Kril artifice. However, you are not torn into lifeless hunks of flesh. Instead, your body responds different that might be expected to the force as your moves along with the intent of the many different pulls.
You scream as your body grows out, your form putting on pounds of mass and muscle that just weren't there before which utterly destroys your clothes. Your hair dissolves and skin sears as it bakes into a hard hide of dark scales. Your head pushes forward from a thickening neck, cranium rearranging into a wholly inhuman configuration bereft of external ears or visible nose. Your tongue twists into a thin, forked form while your teeth multiply and extend into sharper shapes. Your differently positioned eyes blink rapidly, color changing to green and pupils shrinking into slits. Two white horns push out from your changed cranium. You open your muzzle to scream again as your torso hastily broadens and what comes out is a reptilian screech. Wings burst out from your shoulders and your spade tipped tail pushes out from your elongating spine simultaneously. Your arms and legs lengthen and thicken, digits growing out into cruel claws that scratch helplessly against the ground as you endure the painful transformation. For the next few moments you can only endure as your altered form continues to grow until you match the shadow's silhouette, your claws where its are, head hanging low as its, and your tail lying curled on the ground behind you. The force holds you up for a moment more and then the shadow vanishes. You collapse, exhausted and distraught.
After a few minutes of getting just used to breathing with your altered form, you roll a little bit onto your side and look over yourself. Once thing is for sure--you are human no longer. What are you? You already know the answer yet you still ponder the question. Your form is strangely scaled and you do possess oddly batlike wings. You are much larger than before, but your form isn't ponderous by any means. You can see how your streamlined body could allow for flight and yet your natural weapons make you just as capable for fight. There's no denying what you are now: dragon. But what does that mean?
You place your claws on the ground and push yourself up. You are wobbly for a moment yet you manage to stand. Your wings lift a little bit, and it brings you some exhilaration to feel the air on their thin membrane. Catching sight of something glinting, you turn your head, still unused to your long neck, and stare at the hoard. Somehow it looks even more beautiful now. You take a tentative step towards the pile and immediately fall a little bit to the side. There's a sudden increase in weight in your belly that hadn't been there before. You open your front legs and look between them past your gray underscales and to your belly. A moment ago your belly had been relatively thin. Now there is some definite paunch to it, though the outline of shapes pushing against your stomach disproves what you thought might have been you putting on some fat. Instead, your womb is becoming heavy with eggs and your belly is widening and drooping down to account for them.
You mean to swear but all that comes out is a roar. You lost your speech along with your humanity when you became a dragoness, you realize. You hiss and groan as more weight is added to your womb, the eggs materializing seemingly out of nowhere. This isn't fair! You haven't even mated!
Though it's becoming increasingly difficult to move, you step onto the hoard and start making your way up it to obsidian pillar. The cool treasure feels good on your swollen, still expanding belly. With your increase size, it doesn't take long to reach the top. You stare down at the black idol, although it is black no longer. The black and other rich colors have drained out of it, leaving it white and faded. Now that you have time to examine it close, you see it is a carving of a dragon sitting up with an egg held between its foreclaws. Looking at your burgeoning belly, you think you hold way more than one egg. How many are in there anyways? Six? Eight? Twelve? Are they even fertilized?
Finally your womb is fully filled. This brings you not only some relief, but sends a wave of exhaustion over your form. You shudder and lay down on the pile, your gravid belly billowing out. You try to count each of the bumps, but they all poke at different angles that make counting their exact number impossible. Your reptilian snout opens and you yawn like a cat for a moment, your eyes closing for a second. You force them open, wanting very much to stay awake. You look to the hoard you lay upon. If there was something here that could change you into a pregnant dragoness, then surely there is something that can reverse it as well. As you examine individual treasures, you eyes slowly begin to shut. You unconsciously relax, tail curling around the pillar and wings tucking into. After you've looked at the hundredth similar coin, the fifty-third ruby, and the seventeenth jeweled dagger, you fall asleep.
You awake from your dreamless sleep thanks to the sound of scurrying feet echoing throughout the cave. You blink your weariness away and move to get to your feet. This immediately reminds you of two facts: first is that you are a dragoness, the second is that you are a heavily gravid dragoness. Thus, all you manage to do is shift your ponderous belly a bit.
Growling in annoyance at your state, you lift your head and look about at what might be causing the noise. Your gaze falls on a procession of the reptilians from the village. There are four of them and they carry something delicious smelling above their heads. They move slowly, causing the smell to grow only more enticing and your stomach to growl. You look at your belly and wonder how you can be so hungry when you are already so filled. Of course you know it's two separate chambers but that doesn't help your impatience. Smoke starts to pour from your nostrils and you hiss at the reptilians. One of them squeaks and they all hurry up. They lay the meat in front of you and then hastily back away as your head darts out to snatch it. You devour it hungrily. For such a small portion it leaves you sated.
One of the reptilians hisses. You squint your eyes at it and recognize it as the snake one who ran the stand back in the village. It holds something up to you and you see it is the marked golden disk. The snake seems to smile and for this reason you are unsure if it is mocking you. Does it know that you are the human that stopped by its stand the day before? Have other humans met the same fate you have here? What really is your fate?
The snake hisses again and gestures with the disk towards the hoard. You peer at the snake and decide it doesn't think of you as anything but a superior creature. It means to make tribute. Now that is something you can get behind. You were already the superior creature before, but now it seems these reptilians treat you like some sort of what--? God? Protector? Whatever the case, you nod towards the hoard. The snake hisses happily and rushes towards the trove. It climbs up the pile and tosses the coin in front of you. Then before you can stop it, it reaches forward and rubs your gravid belly lovingly. Instincts take over and you rear up faster than you thought you could thanks to your belly. Smoke pours out of your nostrils and fire fills your throat as you tower over the snake. The snake cowers and looks away. Your anger dies down when you see that it too has a belly of some sort. Apparently between now and last time you saw her she had been impregnated. That or you could not have noticed, not being a reptile yourself at the time. Whatever the case, you lower yourself and lie down, your body aching from having to do even that much with your heavy belly. You look to the snake and a purr, an actual purr, comes out of your snout as you poke her abdomen with a claw. The snake hisses and she's no longer afraid. She gives you a look of gratitude and then rushes away to the other reptilians that stare up at you in a mixture of fear and awe. You snort and lay your head down. Even after that small bit of activity you feel a bit tired, and why not? Like the snake you are going to be a mother sooner or later. The thought is a little strange but your body only verifies its truth. These eggs are going to come out and you truly hope it is sooner rather than later.
As you close your eyes and try to go to sleep, you consider your predicament. You are not as you were before and you have a strong feeling you never will revert. Whether you like it or not, you are a dragoness. So do you like it or not? And if you don't, then what are you going to do about it? You don't really know. Still, you don't drift into unconsciousness hopeless. The warmth in your womb promises new life and not just for your children.
You dream this time. You dream of the skies and you dream of flight. You something flitting amongst the cloud with you, but before you can make out what it is you wake up.
You growl and lifted your head. You look back to your wings and give them a gentle flap. Your eyes fall on your heavy belly. You certainly won't be flying anytime soon.
You look around the cavern and see some things have changed. There are more reptilians in the chamber. Some of them stand before you with their backs turned and weapons held in their hands. It takes you a second to realize that they're guarding you. Other reptilians work at the far corner of the chamber working on hewing chunks of meat into portable portions. A few stand at the entrance to the chamber, staring you from afar with wonder. A scurrying form to your left catches your eyes. You see the gecko reptilian that had tried to steal from you earlier running away with something in his small hands. You growl and get to your feet. All motion in the room cease as you ponderously make your way to the gecko. He looks up with that familiar fear, holding his hands up like he did before. In his hands are scraps of your torn clothing as well as your pistols. You consider them for a second before turning your attention to the butchers in the corner. The pistols mean nothing to you now. You can operate them no longer and they pose no threat. The only danger you fear they'll bring is to the gecko, but you are sure he'll be cautious with them especially since you've fired one near him.
The butchers lay out an arrangement of meat before you. Some of it you recognize as deer, but the others are of more questionable origin. You briefly wonder if they harvested some of the mountain's bears. Whatever the case is, you truly don't care. It's meat and it's food. You bend down and eat some deer. It's delicious. When you lower your head to grab another scrap, you suddenly stop. A painful pressure and wetness at your hindquarters draws your immediate attention. You lower yourself slowly and lay on your side. You lift one leg and look to where the pressure is coming from. Your gaze comes to rest on your sex, which is stretched and wet. You whimper as your passage contracts and you feel something enter it from your womb. Your passage contracts again and you push as hard as you can to get to object out. It moves slowly and painfully with some difficulty. With a groan, you instinctively get up on your hind claws and spread your back legs and you move your wings tightly again your sides. Your tail lifts high as another contraction pulses through your body.
You realize you are on your way to laying your eggs. It's not a thought you ever though you would have. It doesn't disturb you as much as you'd think. In fact, despite the pain, you feel a little happy. You are doing what your newfound form is meant to do. What more could you ask for?
Around you the reptilians chatter and scatter around as they move to gather around you. They actually cheer you on as you roar and give another forceful push. Their encouragement keeps you going and fills you with a sense of pride. You're still not exactly sure what you are to them; perhaps a symbol of ascended fertility? You hope not for as much fun as it was to be filled with eggs--that is, not too much--it did limit your freedom. As you push again, you think of the skies and also the other flying among the clouds. Finally, you push again and your first egg plops out.
You glance behind you as it rolls out, its slightly blue shell still wet and sticky. A reptilian runs up to you and points at it excitedly. The others cheer again in their odd chorus of hisses and croaks and you can't but help feel uplifted. This feeling only remains for a moment for then the second egg moves into your passage and it all starts over again. You grunt and roar as you push and this one comes out easier than the last. Not so easy and not much less painful, but it's at least one less. One less of how many? You don't know.
It's on the fourth egg that you begin to think only of laying your eggs, anything else blocked out of your mind. You push and struggle one after another, each one easier than the last until finally the fourteen and final egg plops out of your quivering cunt. Although you want to immediately collapse and fall asleep from your efforts, you instead turn to the eggs and gather them up with your foreclaws into a close pile. You growl at the reptilians that come too close to your unhatched children, wrapping your tail around your eggs. You then lied down, huffing happily because your belly is no longer ridiculously expanded. You lay your head down and extend a wing to cover your eggs before you fall asleep.
You dream of brighter skies this time, skies clear of clouds. You soar amongst the azure heavens looking for the one that you had seen flitting amongst the expanse earlier. You see nothing among the empty skies, not even a single bird. You feel empty up there alone and it is this feeling you awake to.
Emptiness. You come to consciousness feeling empty in more ways than one. You extricate yourself from your eggs and rise to all fours, stretching yourself like a cat. You had expected to feel soar and exhausted; instead, you are energized, alert, and yet empty. A glance to your eggs reminds you that you are without a mate and a growing need in your sex reminds you that you have not been recently mated. Though you have just recently laid, you have want for both.
You leave your eggs behind as you make your way to the cave's exit. Though you are fain to leave them behind so early, you will not find your mate or mating in this cave. The reptilian guards notice this and move from guarding your hoard to watching your eggs. You trust their vigil and their genuine devotion. You recognize you are a mix of guardian and goddess to these creatures and thus serve them in more way than one. They do the same.
You take your fill from the meats laid out by the butchers and then leave the cave. Your wings lift as you look to the clear skies. With a beat of your mighty wings you take to the sky--
And almost immediately fall to ground. You groan as you painfully land. While you move to lift yourself up, you hear a snort from behind you. You snarl and whip around, wings raised high and fire in your throat. Your rage fades away as you see who it is. It's him--a male dragon, a handsome dark drake who regards you with amusement with his golden eyes. He raises his wings and jumps into the air, landing perfectly in front of you. He looks over you, sniffs once, and then gives you a lick across your snout. Surprised by the sudden contact, you move your head back and sneeze. The drake snorts again and turns his back to you. Again he lifts his wings though much more slowly this time. You watch his technique as he launches into the air before soaring down the mountain. Nervously you arrange yourself as he did, hoping you're following his steps correctly. You hesitate for a moment, your courage wavering until you see his lithe gliding form. With a huff you launch into the air.
For a moment you feel like you're falling, but you catch yourself with a beat of your wings and soon enough you're accelerating down the mountain after the drake. He looks up and belches fire in congratulations. You reply with your own burst of flame and follow him as he pulls up onto a small crag. This time it's you who give him a lick across his snout. He looks surprised for a moment and then his draconic visage twists into a toothy smile. A moment later, he launches off the crag and you tail behind him, watching and learning from him with each passing moment.
This continues for the rest of the day as the drake teaches you how to fly with jumps and flights of various heights and angles building up your proficiency through practice and instinct. Your skill in flight isn't the only thing that grows during the day, though. Your sex becomes more and more heated and flush as time goes by and your admiration for the drake grows likewise. By the time it's night you two soar together amongst the dark skies. It's hard not to keep your gaze solely focused on the drake as you fly back to the cave. It's for this reason that he spots the deer close by the cave. You follow him as he dives down and together you two quickly dispatch the deer.
He carries your dinner in his maw when you two enter the cave. You and him make your way to the hoard where he drops the deer and lets you take the first bite. You growl appreciatively as you feed first and then you give him a chance. You stare at him dreamily as he takes his fill and when he looks up with you curiously with some blood still staining his muzzle you think only for a short time about what you're going to do next.
You climb up the hoard with your rear turned to the drake and place your foreclaws upon the pillar. You look back at him and let your tongue hang loose lewdly as you raise your tail and give him a good view of your wet and welcoming slit. His reptilian eyes widen for a moment. Then he pounces upon you, knocking you off the pillar and down the pile of riches. Treasure sprays across the cave as you two roll down together. He ends up on top and he quickly takes the initiative.
Before actually doing anything, however, he sprays fire above you. The reptilians remaining in the chamber get the signal and head out, emptying the cave save for you two. It is only then that he plunges into your sex, causing you to roar in surprise in pleasure. He's a little rough as he turns you over and clambers atop of you to get a better position, but you don't care. You scrabble at the ground with each thrust of his member, panting and occasionally shooting out jets of fire as your arousal builds and builds. You would've thought your passage would be sore especially since you laid a clutch just yesterday, but your folds accommodate him without harming you, only bringing you pleasure. Your mating is short and sweet, ending several minutes later with twin roars and a gush of seed into your womb. You collapse, your partner and your heat satisfied. You too are satisfied, happy that you found a mate so quickly and happy that your warm womb was already at work developing your next clutch. Exhausted from today's lessons, you curl up next to the drake. You fall asleep to the soft purr of your mate, your tails intertwined.
You awake with no one next to you. Panic strikes you. You look frantically around for the drake and find your fear unfounded when you see him standing over your original clutch. You get to your feet and feel a little heavier than when you had fallen asleep. Your belly is big again, though the eggs have only just began to grow. You doubt you'll have as many in this clutch as your last unnatural one, but that doesn't bother you. Your mate seems to have decided to stick around so there'll be plenty more chances to breed.
You walk over to the drake and stare down at the egg his gaze is intensely focused on. It shivers as you watch, rocking back and forth as something moves inside. Soon after, a side cracks open and the small head of a whelp pops out. It looks at you with its tiny little eyes and you are instantly filled with affection. You give your first hatchling of many a lick, causing it to hiss in surprise. It pulls back and afterwards focuses on getting itself out of the rest of its shell. You snort and lean against your mate, chortling as the hatching knocks the egg down. It futilely rolls around for a bit until the drake props it up and cracks open the egg. The whelp comes spilling out. It lies there for a moment, eyes wide as it takes in its first glance of the world outside the egg. You pick it up gingerly with a foreclaw and place it on your snout. It holds on for dear life as you turn to your mate, a toothy grin gracing your draconic visage. He smiles back and picks up the hatchling in his maw, gently laying it down on the ground next to another trembling egg. In that moment of perfection you are truly happy. There is life in front of you and inside of you, love next to you, and the skies outside. You are not foolish enough to that your life will be perfect from here on out. For now, though, it is good and that is all that matters.