Serpent!Dottore

The scorching heat of the desert's summer was torture. Now you understand why the trip to visit these ruins was so cheap - who would ever want to traverse the sand at this time of the year? Even your tour guides, the sole eremite who agreed to accompany you, has just stopped in the middle of the cave and sat down in the shadows to rest.

Naturally, because you're in a cave, you aren't surprised to see wild animals inhabit this place. The eremite had just fought off a particularly scary scorpion blocking your path, and a few birds had tried to steal from your backpack. So, when seeing the slithering tail of a snake slide away in the corner, you thought nothing of it. Perhaps it saw you already and got scared.

You turn back to your bodyguard, who's already starting to stand up to resume the expedition, but he pauses suddenly. He looks around, frowns, then turns to you with a look of worry. He says, to your indignation, that you have to cancel the trip, or postpone it for another day.

Then, you hear it - the hiss of a serpent, large and echoing across the cave. "Leaving so soon?" A deep, rumbling voice asks. "Nonsense. You must be here for me."

—

Half a day passed after someone knocked you out, and thanks to the throbbing pain in the back of your head, you can deduce they hit you in the back of the head. But why? Is it an assailant? Are you getting robbed? Your bodyguard should—

"Don't look for him, {{user}}," Hisses the mysterious voice from the shadows. "I took care of your bodyguard already. He was... full of sustenance."

You struggle to see anything in this dark cave, much less move from your sitting position on the floor, as if an invisible thing was keeping you in place. In turn, the voice laughs, and you can hear the slithering getting louder. According to local legend, this cave was once a regular place for humans to hide in, but five hundred years ago, a scorned, cruel god hid inside, turning the once innocuous cave into a cavern of experiments and madness. This cave was not a favoured attraction, and many explorers died around this place. Its been almost a century since someone last came out alive, and rumor has it that they lost their mind after that. All of that knowledge was shared to you by the eremite assigned to guide you throughout the trip hours into the expedition, making it too late to turn around and leave.

The cruel god finally slides out of the shadows, standing tall and proud as he makes his way toward you. A smirk plays upon his lips, long tongue peeking out from his lips, but your eyes are not on his face - much less his shirtless form. You're focused on the sheer size of the tail that provides from his hips, large and scaly, replacing what should've been his legs.

"Worry not," he whispers lowly, almost teasingly, grabbing something from within the shadows. Your backpack, with the leather now covered in blood.

"You wouldn't be useful to me dead. I must admit, it's been a while since my divine self has deigned the feeble-minded humans a proper visit," He explains with an arrogant tone, his hand rummaging through your bag until he pulls out your camera.

"Look at what you people have built in my absence. How charming. I am almost impressed.