《A Small Hoard》


 Pretty Stones

    Luke had been walking across Colorado for three days now and was glad for having good boots. If anything he was too well prepared for the summer''s hiking; his backpack was a workout to carry. He''d made over fifty miles through scenic mountainous country, taking photos and sketching rocks and trees. He had to pick a major in the fall semester and was leaning toward chemistry, but geology was tempting him on this trip.


    In the late afternoon, stormclouds loomed. Luke was about to pull out his tent, but looked toward a cliff a hundred yards away. There was an overhang that''d be good shelter from the rain. He headed for it just in time. The storm began lashing the ground as he got close. He darted under cover, looked around for snakes or bears or something, and relaxed. He sat down against his backpack and watched the rain for a little while.


    When he''d eaten a protein bar and fiddled with his phone and the rain was still going, he shrugged. Might as well camp here tonight. He reached for his pack again, then spotted the cave.


    It wasn''t just a rocky overhang he''d found; it was the shaded entrance to a crack in the hillside. The slanted sunlight had just reached the right angle to show it. Luke crept through the gap, barely wide enough to walk through without turning sideways. Beyond it and a winding passage, he saw something glitter. He took out his phone and shined it into the gloom.


    Crystals! They were all over this little cave. Luke excitedly tried to classify them. Watery clear blue slabs of aquamarine grew amid pinkish... what was it... rhodochrosite? Or maybe rose quartz. These weren''t valuable gems, but wow, shiny! He had fun shining the light around and watching everything gleam.


    One rock stood out. He crouched beside it. It was about the size of a bowling ball, oblong, blue and shot through with jagged white streaks and silver speckles like stylized lightning. "How''d this get here?" he said, poking the thing. It didn''t match the stone formations nearby, and it wobbled, loose. He took lots of photos.


    He frowned, recalling the weight of food and camping gadgets that he''d been carrying around. He couldn''t just stuff his backpack with crystals to put on eBay. Wouldn''t be right, anyway, to wreck this place. He did want a souvenir, though. He chipped off a few bits of the rosy gems from unobtrusive spots; he could give his friends some. He was about to turn and leave to set up his tent, when his gaze fell on the round rock again.


    It was oddly warm to the touch and had a rough texture that made him think of a giant egg. He laughed at the thought. He''d seen videos of people making decorative "eggs" out of wood and sparkly resin. He didn''t really want one of those, but they were cool and he could find someone who did. He tried hefting the stone; lighter than he''d expected. "Eh..." He picked it up and began walking out of the cave, juggling it in his hands. Maybe he could find room for it.


    The rain was worse than even minutes ago, so he tossed the rocks aside and set up the tent. He could start early tomorrow.


    #


    In the morning, the rain had stopped but a thick mist hid everything. He stretched and got dressed. When he tried to heft his backpack he frowned; something seemed off. His shirt hung loosely around his shoulders, stretched out from all that hiking, and the straps didn''t fit right. He adjusted them; it was important to be comfortable on the trail.


    Around noon, a highway crossing with a truck stop drew near. Luke was glad for it; his feet felt swollen. Inside, he bought a sub as an excuse to sit around relaxing, but then he found he was hungrier than he''d thought, and went back for a footlong sandwich he could snack on later. Meanwhile his number got called for access to the showers. He left his backpack behind. He stopped on the way, though. What if somebody stole it? Luke set the pack down just outside the shower and felt better about that.


    When he caught sight of himself in the mirror while undressing, he stared. His neck felt... long. Maybe it was just the mirror''s angle or that he needed a haircut. But his jeans were hanging lower than they should, too. He washed up, puzzled, and peeked out a few times to check on his stuff. It''d be a shame to lose the cool rocks.


    He dressed and frowned. None of his clean clothes fit right, and his jeans settled low around his hips. Weird. He went back to the restaurant and checked through his stuff, sorting it on two tables. There was no detergent or anything that could''ve shrunken or stretched his outfit.


    "Excuse me; is this table taken?" said a tired trucker, pointing to the one where he''d put the "egg" rock and a book.


    Luke startled. "Yes! I mean, no, but let me grab my stuff." He snatched it back and began repacking. He stuffed the rock into the bottom of his pack but thought better of it; he didn''t want to break the thing. Instead he repacked his dirty clothes and camping tools under it.


    He set out again for another long walk, leaving the highway and its noise behind. Between the clothes and the extra souvenirs he was carrying, hiking felt weird all afternoon, as though he were wiggling faintly and bobbing his head with each step. He could quit doing both, but only until he got distracted, and then it started again. By sunset he''d made good distance but wasn''t sure of his position. His phone was acting up, resetting whenever he tried using its map software. Luke scowled at it, then at the looming clouds ahead. Time to camp again. This time he picked a spot beside some pine trees. The tent went up quickly, and it didn''t rain after all, so it was a nice night. He practiced making a fire, more for fun than for cooking. He bedded down in his tent with his backpack just outside it.


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    In the night, he heard screeching and rustling. Luke opened the tent flap. Three raccoons were sniffing around the backpack, one of them working a zipper. "Hey! Shoo!" Luke scrambled out and kicked at them, scattering the bandits. They watched him from the trees, and he glared back. Luke dragged his backpack into the tent with him and zipped it back up. Had they gotten into his stuff? No, the zippers were still mostly closed. Still, Luke looked through everything again. He was kind of worried about the stone egg, as though the critters would gnaw on it. Ha; if they''d tried they''d have broken some teeth. He felt vaguely proud of that. Still, yeesh, he didn''t need to kick them. He''d overreacted.


    He set up a metal pan as a noisemaker by the tent flap, tried going back to sleep, and couldn''t. His whole spine and back itched, and he was chilly. Maybe... maybe the egg was still warm? He took it out; it was. He lay down beside it and felt its presence like a heater. "Why am I so fascinated with this thing?"


    He fell asleep next to it, and woke up cuddling it like a pillow. It was still warm. Luke frowned and sat up, surprised at himself. Then he winced, since he''d sat on his tail. "Ow, what?" He turned and grabbed a snakelike thing anchored to his spine, covered in many shades of blue scales and tipped with a sort of horizontal fin. It took him ten seconds to process this before he panicked, flailed around, and ended up in a heap of collapsed tent.


    Luke yelped and untangled himself from the fabric. "How, what?" He crawled out in his underwear and t-shirt, then reached back in to make sure the egg was okay. It was fine, and he sighed in relief. So was the rest of his stuff. But the tail! It wiggled behind him and tickled his legs. He''d bulked up around the thing, too, and there were more scales all over his hips and lower back.


    He paced. He was seeing things. Time to get to a doctor and find out what crazy mushrooms he''d eaten and forgotten about. Luke pulled on his jeans again and got stuck. They were caught under his tail... could it be real? And they were just too tight around his hips to even pull up. Luke stared down and realized how strained his underwear was around the sides and back. Something was really wrong, here! He glanced back toward the egg for reassurance; at least that was safe.


    "Okay. Cleaning up, then doctor." He recalled a town that ought to be maybe five miles away, so he''d stop there. What about clothes, though? Luke blushed. He had a pair of jogging shorts, so he switched to those. They stretched tight, too, feeling skintight against his scales. "Except I don''t have scales," he insisted. He shook his head and packed up, starting with the egg. He wrapped it up carefully in laundry, muttering, "Sorry you have to share space with dirty jeans," and set off again.


    He tried to ignore the changes, even though his tail wiggled with each step. After a few miles, the finny tip brushed against his knees. Longer? He caught sight of the town ahead and hurried onward to look for a doctor. A rock caught his foot. Luke crashed down, hearing a ripping noise. He sat up and wriggled his ankles. His boots had torn, despite being made of leather. Claws peeked out from them, and blue scales.


    Luke removed the wrecked boots with his shaking hands. His entire feet had changed to match his tail, and even as he watched, the smallest two toes on each were sticking together, their nails joining as they became one clawed digit. A jab of pain from his ankles revealed a new pair of toes starting to grow out backwards like a bird''s. Scales covered everything and the claws were shiny off-white like pearls. He wiggled his toes. Scale-less flaps of skin slowly grew in between his front toes.


    Luke tried to stand on his changed feet, rocking back and forward to find his balance between the front- and back-facing toeclaws. His shorts'' elastic band snapped as he moved, and they fell away.


    He might be seeing things. But feeling them too, and having even leather boots break on him? He couldn''t dismiss that as a fever dream. He took out his phone... and got no signal. How small was this town he''d reached? He rummaged for any other pants, but had none. All he had left was a towel to tie around his waist. He hoped there was at least a clothing shop! Grumbling, he set out again.


    The village didn''t impress him. It was... rustic, like his trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and the streets were cobblestone. There wasn''t even a Wal-Mart. He did find a shop with a needle-and-thread sign, though, and went in.


    A bell jingled. A shopkeeper peered suspiciously from behind the counter of an all-wooden room with just bolts of cloth on display. Luke''s tail wriggled free of his towel, and he startled and tried to hide it.


    The shopkeeper said, "What do you want?"


    "Pants!" said Luke, facing straight toward the man and keeping his tail still. "I''ll be right back." He backed out of the store, feeling like a fool, and hid the thing again. He re-entered. "Pants. A large size; I don''t care about the style. And is there a doctor?"


    "No doc around here; you''ll have to go to Highdelve a few miles out north. As for clothes, hmm." He brought out a pair of brown linen pants that looked like something from a Renaissance Faire. "I''ll give you these for three."


    Luke hadn''t seen any town by that name on the map. "Three dollars?"


    "What?"


    Luke shuddered, and his tail slipped free and flicked nervously. The shopkeeper spotted it and hopped back. "One of you! Look, I don''t want any trouble. Just take them." He tossed the pants toward Luke and fled into a back room.

 Dragon Lair

    Luke looked around quietly. There was no electric lighting, no cash register. He took his phone out of his backpack and the screen showed nothing but glitchy static. Shivering, he fished out his wallet too and left a five on the counter before putting the pants on. They had a simple drawstring and looked hand-stitched. No pockets.


    Luke put his stuff away again including the towel, and caught sight of the egg. Ever since he''d found the cave, things had gotten weird. "Could you be responsible for this tail?" he asked it, turning the warm, rough surface over in his hands. He should get rid of it, maybe leave it for the shopkeeper to deal with. He put it down on the counter and made for the door.


    He glanced back, though. It looked harmless, innocent. He couldn''t just abandon the thing. He could sell it, or... or keep it close where he could keep an eye on it. He took it back and walked out with it in his arms.


    He walked through the town and the only people in sight were peeking fearfully from behind doors and windows. "I''m leaving!" he called out. "Sheesh!" His ears flicked downward in annoyance as he wondered whether everybody was spooked by the tail.


    Still no phone service as he left town. Sure, it was a small settlement, but now the phone wasn''t even showing a proper home screen. Some mineral in the egg, maybe, that interfered with phones? Back in the wilderness he tried setting the egg down and walking away to check for a signal, but within a minute''s walk he whimpered and ran back to it. "What''s wrong with me?" he said, stowing it back safely in his pack.


    He hadn''t found a bathroom in town, so he made sure he was alone and found a spot to take care of that. It was then that he found he had just a scaly slit between his legs. The mottled blue scales formed a mosaic all along his groin and belly, and partway along his back and nearly all the way down to his bare, clawed feet. "I... I''m turning into a lizard?" Lizards had all-internal equipment, didn''t they?


    He found out pretty quickly that either reptile biology was weirder than he''d thought, or he''d just turned into a girl, too.


    In shock, he hardly noticed as the scales on his legs completed their pattern, giving him a wide-hipped and long-legged body from the waist down and a little above. His tail reached to the ground and its fin dusted the trail behind him when he didn''t will it to curl at the end. What was he supposed to do?!


    Luke tried to calm down. He had to keep sane for the sake of his egg. He took the thing out again and cradled it, feeling reassured just by having it close. "Are you doing this to me?" he asked. "You little troublemaker!"


    What if it really were an egg, he wondered? One that''d grow up to be a big lizard with brilliant scales like his. What would it be like taking care of the little guy?


    He was calmer now, but through a haze of daydreams he reared his head back on his long neck and remembered there was a problem. He was near a town that didn''t seem to belong in this century, and in serious need of a doctor or at this rate maybe an exorcist. He''d relied on his phone for navigation and now it was flickering uselessly. He could follow the shopkeeper''s vague advice to find some town to the north, or rely on his recollection that the next major road should be a few miles east. He stood in the middle of nowhere considering his options.


    While he was dithering, his tail grew slowly heavier until he became aware of it forcing his new pants down in back, making him lean a little forward to compensate. "Oh come on, can''t a girl get one pair of pants that fits?" He rummaged for his knife and awkwardly cut a slit in the back to make room for his tail, but it just wasn''t comfortable. He sighed and decided to bear with it for now. Wasn''t like he''d be traveling much soon, anyway.


    He hiked east toward where the highway should be, but there was no sign of civilization. No trail markers.


    Hours later he spotted a cluster of six high-roofed cabins with gardens outside. He was getting desperate for information, now, and running low on food. "Hello?" he called out. Maybe someone here would be friendlier than the last town.


    "Who''s there?" called a lady from a window. She was staring at him, but hadn''t balked at his scales.


    "Just a lost hiker with something really weird going on. I feel like I''ve been saddled with taking care of a dragon egg or something."


    He''d meant it as a joke, but he didn''t know any species of lizard as big as him, or able to talk.


    "Then come in. We have food."


    Luke walked to the front door, which opened to reveal that the woman was a centaur. Luke gibbered. She shuffled her forehooves and said, "I haven''t seen a dragonkin before. You look surprised too; do you live just with your own kind?"


    "I... uh... did."


    "Oh." The half-horse looked sympathetic. "Come in. We don''t have chairs for you, but we can provide a meal and a place to rest."


    The house had piles of blankets and a low table where bread and salad were laid out. A stallion-man was cooking. The mare-woman said, "Dear, look who I found!"


    He startled. "It''s been a long while since I''ve seen one of you!" he said, swishing his tail. "No offense. What brings you this far north?"


    The mare said, "I''m not sure she wants to talk about it."


    Luke blushed.


    "You said you have an egg?"


    Luke took his egg out of the pack and showed it off, with a mix of pride and worry. "Pretty, isn''t it?" His voice had shifted higher at some point.


    The mare said, "It certainly is. I expect when the time comes for foals of my own, they won''t come so easily. Although it is big..."


    Luke winced at the thought of having to lay such an egg. "Worth it, I suppose."


    "I''m sure. Don''t worry about whatever troubles you, for tonight."


    How could Luke tell them he''d stepped into some other world, where "dragonkin" and centaurs weren''t shocking? "Thank you. I''m not sure what happened, but some food and rest would help."


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    He ate his fill of simple food, and offered the couple his collection of cave crystals. They accepted but said, "I thought dragons kept gems as a hoard?"


    "I just care about the one shiny thing here," he said, holding his egg close and nosing at it. The wife giggled. Luke thought it was a silly thing to do, rubbing his nose against the shell, but it felt natural too and filled his nose with a scent like the sea. He tried it again and smiled bashfully.


    "Where will you go from here?" asked the man.


    Luke sighed at that. "I was hoping to reach the highway, the nearest road I mean, but I don''t think I''m in Colorado anymore." What if he went back the way he''d come; would that reverse any of this strangeness? He asked, "What''s to the west?"


    "A human village, and then you get to Goblin Mountain. I''d advise against going there."


    "Actual goblins?" said Luke.


    "In the nasty green flesh."


    It wouldn''t be at all safe to try heading back, then, and seeing which version of reality would be there. "I might try going, if I could get a sword and armor or something, but... I''ve got responsibilities."


    "Can you farm at all? Or hunt?"


    "I can try. I know more about rocks."


    The centaur man said, "Hmm. We''d have to consult our neighbors, but it might be good to have a dragoness around. If you can earn your keep, we can help you get set up here."


    "There''s even that cave," his wife said. "Dragons live in caves, right?"


    "They don''t have to. But we could help her make it comfortable."


    Luke held up his hands. "Whoa! I didn''t say I wanted to move in. I left behind college, and everything."


    The husband said, "Do you have anywhere else to go? It sounds like you''ve been traveling far for a new mother."


    Was that what he was? Luke looked down from his long neck to his blue scaly body, slender and curvy. Shouldn''t he have wings, if he was part dragon? But the centaurs were apparently normal, and they thought he was normal, and his thoughts spun confusedly until he caught side of his egg again. He took a deep breath. He couldn''t carry the thing into danger; he needed to stay somewhere safe with it for now. "Could you show me that cave, please?"


    On a rocky hill overlooking the tiny village was a pile of boulders exposing a natural cave of dirt and stone. It wasn''t much, and it smelled of moss, but it''d be shelter while he figured out what to do in this new world. It''d be better to have some sort of riverside lair, or a lake, he thought. Still, Luke set up his tent inside and unpacked his other belongings, drawing wide-eyed stares from the mare.


    "What is all that?" she asked. "I''ve never seen metal like that pot. And that flameless lantern!"


    "They''re both aluminum, and the lantern is solar-powered. I brought a little solar panel for charging... uh." They''d probably never heard of electricity. "I''m not a witch, if that''s what you''re thinking."


    She laughed nervously. "No, no, I want to learn to make things like these."


    Luke tried turning his phone on again. It lit up the cave and didn''t glitch anymore, but not surprisingly it said "no signal". Physics worked, then, after whatever distortion he''d passed through on the way here. There just wasn''t much technology. Luke showed off a flashlight and a folding knife. He said, "I don''t know how to recreate much of it, since it''s pretty fancy, but I can explain the parts I do understand."


    For now, the mare left him with food and a promise to come back tomorrow and start putting Luke to work. "Wait," Luke said as she was going. "Why do you want a dragon around? Your husband said something about that."


    The mare sidestepped, saying, "We''ve had some trouble lately between the humans and the goblins, and... well, dragons and dragonkin have a reputation for being fiercely protective of their young. If bandits or worse come again, you might help."


    Luke imagined a bunch of cloaked, knife-wielding thugs coming to the cave... and promptly pictured himself tearing them apart and, breathing on them somehow. He put his hands over his mouth as though he''d really just blasted somebody with magical fire. No, fire didn''t sound right. "I... would help in a fight, if I needed to."


    She left Luke alone for the evening, to think about all that had happened. Luke babbled about his worries, to his egg. "And I''m talking to this thing as though I''m supposed to be the mother of some cute little dragon. Is that even possible?" He paced, feeling his tail brush against the walls. "I''ll have to meet you, to find out."


    #


    He slept curled up around his warm egg, nuzzling it with a slowly growing scaly snout and holding it with blue, clawed hands. When he woke up and discovered the changes, he wasn''t upset; he felt flexible and strong despite his slender frame.


    He was about to use a heating coil to brew the last of his coffee, maybe ever, when his fin-like ears caught a noise. The egg! He dived to the cave floor to protect it from whatever was wrong, then saw that it was cracking on its own. "Hatching!" He stared in fascination as the cracks spread. "Come on, you can do it."


    He pulled away tiny pieces of eggshell as the creature inside moved slowly to break free. Luke cooed encouragingly. Then a tiny blue-scaled head peeked out with beady eyes, and Luke leaned forward to nose at it. What did one say to a new-hatched dragon? "Hello! I''m... I''m your mama."


    The new dragon wriggled out, and Luke could think of nothing else but drying it off and cuddling it. She spent hours just laying there beside the critter, holding on and talking. She wasn''t qualified to take care of the little one, but nobody else could do it.


    When the first shock of seeing the hatchling had worn off, Luke was still fascinated, glancing back every few seconds to admire the tiny scales, the twitching tail. There was a lot to learn, and a lot to do. But she had a new home and a family to take care of, and neighbors to help her. For now, the new dragoness was content in her lair.