"... if you drank the Dragon’s blood!”
It was disgusting, but that indeed was what the vial contained. Even knowing this, Marceline’s trembling hand reached out for it, looking even paler in the light, skin like snow as she clutched the hot bottle.
“Marceline, put it down!” Nicolai called out, finally seeing his comrade making, to his logical mind, a terrible mistake.
Nicolai didn’t even make it halfway to the healer before she popped the lid, tipped her head back, and drank the thick, viscous lifeblood, feeling its warmth spread throughout her body.
“Aaah!”
Marcline sighed contentedly, tossing the bottle behind her. It hadn’t actually tasted that bad, but if you asked the flavour all she could say was it tasted like red with a bit of a metallic tang. Oddly enjoyable, not that she’d ever purposefully seek it out, knowing both how dangerous it was to get and how poorly the dragons viewed those who sought to steal their blood. Already, she could feel its potent powers flowing through her, filling her arteries and veins with hot, magical lava! Metaphorically of course, but it was starting to feel literal.
“A-Ah! Hot! Hot!”
Nicolai stopped several feet from the white mage, no longer certain what to do. Given how this dungeon had gone so far, it was safe to say some sort of curse was overtaking Marceline. But given the trigger this time, who knew how powerful it would be?
Marceline fanned herself, hoping in vain that it could help soothe the fire in her blood.
It didn’t.
But she did start to grow used to it, the burning no longer hurting as it began to feel normal to her, just a bit hot. The heat spread out, filling the frail girl with incredible strength. So much that her robes were beginning to grow tight against her body. Her pale skin glowed from within, first with an orange heat like that from a forge, but rather soon a pale blue tint that shone in the light.
If he hadn’t already seen his dark sorceress become a rat, his rogue become a blueberry goblin, and his apprentice wizard goopify into slime Nicolai would never have believed that he was seeing scales start to form on the healer.
“Hahaha! Looking good Marceline!” Dylan called out, arm falling off and splooshing at his feet as he briefly lost concentration.
There is nothing wrong with her becoming a dragon, he thought. He himself was a monster; why shouldn’t his friends be so, too?
The warrior looked at the purple goo in dismay, feeling betrayed. This wasn’t supposed to happen! They were adventurers ... heroes ... not monsters!
“Fight it, Marceline! You’re stronger than this!” the knight called out.
But he only received a mocking laugh in reply from the previously timid healer.
“I’ve never been stronger than I am now!” she called out triumphantly, spreading her arms wide to reveal just how thick her body was becoming, large muscles forming under her rapidly thickening sapphire scales.
Dylan recognized, approximately, the shape of the muscles, their thickness and distribution. He could be wrong, but given the context clues and his wizard training, he was pretty damn sure those muscles belonged on a dragon, not a human. He’d never seen a dragon up close before. The prospect thrilled and terrified him; they were revered beasts of legends, the tales of their monstrous prowess the kinds of things that made little kids and even some adults scared to look to the sky. Not even kings and princesses were safe from them! Just the thought that his friend was becoming one was awe-inspiring.
A loud tearing sounded throughout the cavern. Marceline’s robes tore back and away as bat-like wings quickly expanded to the size of the still-mostly human Marceline behind her back. Her clothes were flung away, modesty kept safe by her fine coat of scales; scales thicker than plate mail and worth more than a king’s ransom apiece.
A mad light flickered in Marceline’s deep blue eyes as her laugh grew in both volume and deepness. Her nails lengthened. Not wickedly curved like Kit’s had been, rather they were long and sharp like lethal knives attached to her growing fingers. Her hands became strong enough to crush boulders alone. And with the protection of her scales what could stop her from tearing a mountain to pieces?
The very thought excited Marceline. She stretched out her fingers, clenching them into a fist, trying them out, before slamming them into the ground as she groaned. Her spine stretched her out longer, her ribs expanding to give her a great barrel chest. It was subtle, but looking at her chest one could still see the flickering light held within her, a dragon’s fire always at the ready already having been birthed in her heart and soul.
Nicolai backed away slowly, a hand slowly drifting down to his sword and clutching the hilt protectively. He couldn’t draw his blade on his friend. But at the same time he couldn’t find himself defenseless against a dragon! And judging by how googly-eyed Dylan was getting over the beautiful form of the changing dragoness, he knew if he had to fight it, he would have to do it alone.
The laughter from the healer couldn’t be stopped. The sheer thrill of finally having the strength she’d always craved, as well as becoming a dragon which she’d also always wanted in secret, was too much! She could feel it happening, but was too overjoyed to care as the glee started to cloud her mind, fuddling her thoughts. She puffed thick clouds of dark smoke from her nose, already stretching forwards out like a crocodile’s jaw, albeit far stronger. She could snap a knight in half with a bite! Or consume an entire deer!
The thought made her salivate, tongue slipping out and showing itself forking before her friend’s very eyes. Rather snakelike for a more lizardy dragon, but Nicolai had no time to deal with dragon subspecies and Marceline couldn’t tell!
Marcline couldn’t think much at all really. She was reduced to just simple thoughts. The unknown taste of deer, the alluring glow of gold, the desire to kidnap princesses (for even female dragons favoured princesses! Or perhaps that was just Marceline) and the desire to protect that which was hers.
Her eyes flicked from Nicolai to Dylan.