Being a little boy was no fun - just going to the bathroom was struggle, and he had to stand on the toilet seat to look in the mirror and use the sink. Mike scowled at the homely child reflected back at him. Growing up would be a lot different this time. He had been handsome and smart and athletic. Well, he might still grow up strong, but the rest was a lost cause. Damn Tye! Why had he sent Mike back like this?
"So you'd take the game more seriously." Mike nearly fell off the toilet as Tye's voice came from behind him, and a second later large hands steadied him. He spun to see Tye grinning down at him. "I told you the game was real and had real consequences. This is one of the consequences. You're a little kid and have to grow up again. This time ugly and not so smart."
"But I didn't die! I coulda still played the game!" Mike stamped his foot in anger. "It's not fair!"
"No, you didn't die. But you would have grown up to be a common laborer, facing a short, hard life toiling in the fields. I figured you would prefer to have a shot at a mostly normal life." Tye shrugged. "I can still put you back in the mud puddle, or I can give you some other choices to rejoin the others in the adventure."
Mike brightened. "Can I be the centaur again?"
Tye shook his head. "You blew that. Aaron is the party centaur now. Besides, all you did as a centaur was try to become a horse. So I'll give you a few choices. You can stay here as you are and grow up again. You can go back and be an intelligent warhorse, which will at least satisfy your weird craving to be an animal, but could mean you come back here as a horse when we are done. You can be a grown-up version of the boy you are now and become a barbarian fighter. Or you can take Llandros' place in the stables mucking stalls and taking care of horses as a teenage stable boy so he can join us."