Serith being transformed into an otter!

Art by FatalSyndrome

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On a trip to the Great Draconic Heritage Caves, Serith got bored and wandered away from the tour group. What did he need the tour group for anyway? Dragons built these caves centuries ago, maybe there was some old leftover treasure that wasn't on the tour, or some kind of markings or cave art, anything was more exciting than the tour, which focused on interesting rock formations.

The dragon used his orb as a light source, but saw nothing interesting, rocks and scratches in the rocks, a few symbols here and there. He walked for what seemed like miles, getting ready to turn back when he saw what looked like the opening to a temple, with flat surfaces and statues and even what looked like water. That looked interesting! He started to wander in and looked around, seeing benches, places for torches and a bonfire, and what looked like old drapery. This was interesting, and he wondered if anyone had bothered to come here, though the numerous cobwebs and piles of dust indicated it was relatively untouched.

Then he saw what looked like a glow coming from the back of the temple, behind some piled stones and what looked like wooden boards. Maybe it was a tunnel back outside? The dragon pulled at the boards, pushing aside the rocks until there was a space he could get through. But instead of seeing an exit he just saw statues. All of the ancient Dragon Gods were there, Sharan, the dragon Sun God and bringer of fire, in what looked to be red and yellow rock. The moon goddess Ilvia, a white bat. Alpharone, the Gryphon god of the air and storms in a cool blue rock. Thoron, the horse god of strength and beauty in what looked like silver. Yes, they were all there, all as his history books and studies on religion had told him they should be, 14 in all, in various types of rock and various species that relcted their attributes as dragons saw them. All except the God of the Sea, Relkaa, an otter who was supposed to be a dark blue, but instead seemed to be made of solid gold, and glowing. Neither of these two were normal. Since Relkaa was said to be a playful jester type of God when he wasn't sinking ships, fools gold would fit the bill if he were in a jesters hat instead of the trident the state had.

Of course, being a dragon, the idea that he had found gold excited Serith, and he immediately looked for a way to take the golden otter with him. It would be a major archaeological find! And if not, it was gold, and gold was shiny, and with his pleased, serene expression Serith thought the otter god looked cute. Serith pocketed his orb, the glow from the statue seeming to be enough to light his surroundings, though he had no idea where the glow was coming form int he windowless room. But upon picking it up, the dragon was struck with two things, one was how heavy the otter statue was, and the second was the tingling in his face.

The dragon couldn't lift the statue, even an inch off the platform. Usually when the dragon wanted to move something, it would move, especially a little two foot tall statue. And it didn't help that his face itched like crazy and it felt like was going to sneeze and his hands and feet were tarting to cramp. The dragon muttered and cursed, maybe if he had a crowbar he could get the otter loose. But he was distracted by the itching spreading across his face. His nose seemed weird and his head felt less heavy, almost like hsi horns were missing, and his head seemed smaller too. He reached up to feel his face, only to immediately notice his hands were now covered in fur, and had webbing in between his fingers! "What the hell is this?" the dragon stammers, only to notice his voice sounded weird, a bit more nasal, not as deep. He blinks, before feeling over his neck, then up and over his snout, which ws shorter and furrier than he remembered it, and his whiskers ha become more mammalian. He feels hs hears, which have now become rounded , like an otters, then over his head, where he felt no horns, all the while his arms and chest were rapidly being covered in short, thick fur, his body likewise getting shorter and thicker . His tail didn't have to change much, his legs shortening a bit as well as his body, taking around 3 feet off or his normal size, his clothes becoming loose around his body.

The now otter panted a bit, the changes seeming to have subsided, Serith looking over himself. "How did this happen?" he asked aloud, before frowning, his voice sounded like he had been inhaling helium for hours straight. "I can't talk like this!" he says, though it at least sounds a bit deeper to himself that time. Maybe he just needed time to adjust tot his new form. But he didn't want to be an otter, he was supposed to be a dragon! A dragon with an orb! Yes, that was it! He dug through the pants that had pooled around his feet, before pulling out the sphere. It felt larger than he was used to, and heavier. he also noticed it was dim, sighing as he tapped on it, only to get the excuse that the orb can't work in caves on the surface of the orb. "Come on, you aren't a cell phone" he snorts, before it informs him he had been cursed and it cannot undo any such spells or changes, only the one casting it can do so. "Well how am I supposed to get this reversed then!?" The statue would now seem to have a smirk, and some writing appearing on it that simply said "To return to normal you must take me to the beach and offer me a sacrifice of fish". The otter sighed, the nearest ocean was 400 miles away! "Well I can...do that, can you at least make my clothes fit first?" he asked, and to his surprise the clothes would start to shrink on him, but also change, becoming a white tanktop, blue and white Hawaiian shirt and a black and red speedo. " Well thats not what I meant, but least i won't be naked, now how to get you to a beach" the otter puzzles, if the statue had been too hard to lift as a dragon, it would be harder as a smaller otter! He figured he would try anyway, pulling hard at the statue and falling over on his back, as the statue was now incredibly light! The otter mutters some four letter words before muttering and getting up, putting the orb in a shirt pocket and starting his long trek to the sea. I mean its not like carrying a golden statue around would attract attention, and no one would ever think to steal it, thus possibly trapping Serith as an otter forever, right?