More Lessons (MT Samheen 30)

[Andolin]

Having seen to it that Sezja received clean clothing and was unchained, Andolin marched back down into the dungeon, trailed by his ever-present bodyguard.

He had also brought some fruit and brandy for his new instructor. Step by step she would win her release and come into his service. Step by step me would come to learn the ability to polymorph. As muc as becoming Caesar was important to him, the ability to assume other identities and shapes were even more thrilling. Imagine a Caesar having that kind of power? He would be able tpo elude assassins by appearing to be someone else.

[Grey Wolf]

The Gaoler was there as ever, jumping up at the sight of Major Domos and saluting awkwardly. "Good morning, sir. What can I do to help you?" He was fairly certain that he knew why Major Domos was there, but did not want to assume. He glanced down to his belt and fished the keychain from the hook upon his belt and waited for instructions.

Sezja was still in her room, though she was not as bedraggled as she was the last time he visited her. The dress they sent her was simple, covering her body from the neck, all the way down to bellow her knees. The fabric was homespun and perhaps a bit rough, but sturdy and of certain quality. The fabric was strained around her bosom and hips, the dress hugging her form nicely and revealing quite a bit despite its modest cut. She sat with her back against the wall, eyes closed, and hummed a soft tune under breath.

OOC: Did a slight assumption to get this moving forward. Feel free to chat up the Gaoler if you feel the need, and carry two lines of conversation at the same time.

[Andolin]

Making idle banter with the jailor while he opened the door to the cell, Andolin left his two bodyguards to keep the man company so that no one could overhear him with Sezja. Walking into the cell, he offered the fruit and brandy to his captive instructor.

"Is that the best they could do for dress?" he asked in surprise. "I shall have to see that you get better. Soon, I shall have you out of here completely," he promised.

Admiring her curves, Andolin was left to wonder how much she had modified her own appearance with the talent she was teaching him. Isis was likewise so perfect that he wondered whether she might had some of this skill as well.

He did not need to tell her why he had come. It had been arranged after all. "So, what shall we work on today? A bit more exercise on controlling changes in one's body parts?" he asked in an interested fashion.

[Grey Wolf]

A small smile formed on Sezja's lips when Andolin walked in, a mixture of gratitude and still retrained happiness evident in it. "No. This is fine. At least while I am here. Save the better dress for when I go out." She was still uncertain what to think of him, but he had been true to his word and had delivered all she had ask him for. "Though I would not mind a more wholesome meals and maybe a softer bed. That would be nice. If you can arrange it , of course" She added the last bit in a hurried tone, seemingly offering him a chance to refuse.

She slid aside on the bed, giving him a room to sit next to her and sighed. "First try to do the reverse of what you did yesterday. Make your fingers thicker. And then I will explain why you did it and what is the danger behind it." She waited for him to sit before placing her hand on his. "Concentrate now, and I will help you if you find it too difficult."

[Andolin]

Andolin was happy to provide her with whatever luxuries she might request. He was certain that she would prove very useful to him in the future.

So it was that he sat beside Sezja and did as she instructed. After achieving the right level of focus on the anatomy of his hand, rather than try and elongate the fat in his fingers, he attempted to cause the mass of fat and tendon to thicken. He knew it would hurt, but the reward was worth a great deal of pain. One day, with proper instruction, Andolin would be able to change his face so that he could assume another identity. He would be the first chameleon Caesar in history.

[Grey Wolf]

When he did not acknowledge her request, Sezja assumed that he would at least consider it. She did not like feeling so vulnerable, but for now there was no choice and she would have to bid her time till she was free and then try to advance her goals a bit further. Andolin had proven he was not lying to her, but she needed to be free. "Now, it is important that you pace yourself. Draw the fat from your entire body. Not just that arm." Her hand touched Andolin's foot and slid up his leg as she spoke, over his knee and thigh, up his side and down the arm to the hand he was enlarging. "Remember. You do not have to change your entire body. Only the visible parts. The rest can be concealed by clothing." Then she fell silent and watched as he worked his magick, her hands running over his skin, helping guide his thoughts to gather the fat from his body and bring it to the hand. It hurt, though the pain was nothing compared to what he felt the day before, most of it coming from the areas where he took the flesh from. It was a while before her hand came to his shoulder to urge him to stop. "Stop and look." Should he choose to do so his hand would not be his anymore, but bulkier and admittedly misshapen.

[Andolin]

It seemed to be not that dissimilar to molding clay. It was much easier when you could find more clay, when you wanted to bulk up.

So, rather than looking for just fat in his fingers, he tried to increase the awareness of fat elsewhere in his body -- such as his legs, stomach, and arms. It would be a wonderful diet device one day. Imagine women pushing excess fat to their breasts and men pushing it to their ... place that women wanted them bigger. That was a thought for another day.

Attempting to slowly move the fat to his finger, much as one might roll paste to the end of a tube, Andolin tried to increase the mass and size of his hand.

In the end, even a misshapened hand was welcome to his eyes. It meant that it had worked. He turned a pleased gaze to Sezja and added, "what about altering facial features? It sounds easy, but how hard is it to have the fat go back to where it was, so that the normal features would return?' Then, he thought of a more important question. "Can you make the effect permanent?"

[Grey Wolf]

Even as he spoke Andolin’s hand slowly remolded itself, the bumps of fat that hade made it look almost hideous growing softer, the fat flowing into the space under his skin. Half a burn later his hand was still noticeably thicker, but it no longer looked monstrous. As it happened Sezja explained the process further. “Face can be molded as well. A mirror or an assistant is recommended then. I dare say an assistant is better, since he or she can guide you even through the process itself, while you reshape your features. Were you to do so now I could guide you trough the process.”

Her hand went to his cheek, fingertips touching it gently. “A touch of my hand and a few words could direct your efforts better. I could watch it as it happens.” For a flicker or two more her hand lingered there and then fell away. “And it can be made permanent. But for that to happen you would have to learn how to control the rest of your body. Fat is just one layer. And it tends to spread. But, if you look at your body carefully there are small barriers that keep it grouped up. Allow me to demonstrate.” She took his hand and placed it on her breast, fingertips touching the edge where it started to rise from her chest. “Close your eyes and feel the structure of my body. First the skin and then deeper. And tell me what you see.”

[Andolin]

Andolin did not trust Sezja. Of course, he didn't trust anyone. Still, if he was to learn anything useful, he would need to trust her to some extent. If she killed him, she would be killed. If he caught her trying to morph into his shape, he would need to threaten to kill her as well, since it might be her plan to escape.

He was happy to allow her to demonstarte, and equally pleased to place his hand on the rise of the bosom. It made him wonder whether her dosom was sculpted. Most likely yes. It also made him wonder what she really looked like before she learned to morph herself. He could only assume that it was a body and face far less attractive.

"Show me," he urged. It would be interesting to study her body more closely.

[Grey Wolf]

Perhaps if he read her mind, Andolin would have been able to see what Sezja's plans were, but as it were he could only guess and worry and fret. She pressed his hand against her breast more firmly and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, her flesh swelling under his touch. "Close your eyes and extend you sight into my body. Like you did with yours." She pulled the bindings of her dress open and slipped Major Domos' hand in, so it rested against her naked skin.

Should he do as she asked, a bit of effort would be required to reach beyond the physical touch and feel the underlying structure underneath. She probed his mind, but not invasively, simply prodding him towards areas she wished him to pay attention to. "Feel, the fat underneath the skin. Let your mind soar through it. Do you feel the barrier. Muscles and bit of flesh knotted on the very edge. Strings of tendons giving it shape? I made those. They shape it. They make it the way it is now. You would have to do the same. Stop the fat from flowing away. Ensure it stays the way you want it. You can even shape the bones."

[Andolin]

And so, Andolin allowed himself to be led by Sezja. He was only too happy to place his hands on her body, especially where she placed it. He allowed her to guide him with her thoughts and mental proddings, and he was sure to try and remember every little thing she showed him. It was clear that he would need many more lessons and would need to spend long hours with her to learn what she could bestow.

After they were done with the day's lesson, Andolin revealed, "I am thinking of bringing in a female orphan that is of your height and hair color. I think you should alter her face to look like you, and you should alter your face to look like her. We will then send her to the bluecloaks so that, as far as anyone knows, Sezja is no more. Can you do this?"

[Grey Wolf]

It was as much a lesson in human anatomy as it was in magick and shapeshifting. One needed to know ones own body in order to be able to mold it into different shapes, and even change its girth and size. Sezja had been working on it for quite a while and she proved that by explaining to her patron and protector of how permanent changes to ones body required changes in diet depending on what was shaped by the magick. She was not able to explain why milk and dairy products lessened the pains caused by changes to bone structure or why bacon and meat helped after extensive muscle shifts, but there were ways for a person to prepare and to lessen the side-effects of bodily changes.

Her brows furrowed when Andolin revealed to her his plan "I can shape my own body, but I can not force a change to hers. Not unless she allows it and even then the pain would probably make her change her mind." She hummed for a moment and then offered an alternate solution. "Get someone who is similar to me. You could claim she attacked you and kill her and I will alter my body to look like her. And walk out with you after that. If you stab her in the face with a sword she won't be easily recognizable."

[Andolin]

Andolin made note of all of her suggestions. As Caesar, he could have any types of food served that he wanted. So that would be no problem. He continued to practice with her throughout the tide until it was time to go.

As for her other plan, Andolin found it too ... messy. "No. I think the best way is to have you brought up to my office for questioning, you change your face and Sezja is no more. I will report to the Marshal that you escaped using sorcerous powers and that we will search for you," he laughed. "No one will recall what you looked like anyway, so with new clothes and a somewhat different face, you should be fine," he offered.

[Grey Wolf]

Sezja nodded when Andolin offered a simpler plan, and one that could work quite nicely provided the circumstances were right. The change to her facial features would be rather easy to accomplish, though without a reference it would be dangerous too. "Can you have a bust of a woman brought to your office before you call me there? Someone pretty, but with different features? I will need something to base my new look upon. Something nobody will miss when we break it afterwards." She paused a flicker before adding. "And how will I leave your office? With changed face someone might still ask how this other woman got there."

[Andolin]

"I am sure there is a bust of some some pretty female somewhere in the palace. I am the Major Domus after all," he replied confidently.

"I shall have a fresh dress awaiting you in a designated room in the palace. It will be a room with a window. I shall ask the guards to escort you there to wait for me. In that room will be the bust we spoke of. I will ask the guards to give you privacy."

"Once alone, you will change dresses and your face. Leave the old empty dress by the open window. Hide the bust once you are done with it. When I arrive, we will find that Sezja has fled ... obviously using sorcery to turn herself into a bird and fly away," he laughed.

"As for you, you will hide under the bed. If the guards find you, I will tell them that your name is ... "Nimla perhaps. I will say I know you as a person that I wanted to interrogate Sezja. Sadly, she overpowered you with a spell and forced you under the bed while she flew away."

"It is a fantastic tale, but those are the one's most believable these days," he laughed. "With me to attest for you, you will be safe. The City Watch will look for Sezja and ... sadly, she will never be found. Instead, Nimla will stay on as one of my advisers. You will need to concoct a history for you and share it with me. You will become that person." He paused to see if she liked the idea.

[Grey Wolf]

Sezja did not interrupt Andolin's plan, though a few times her forehead creased in a frown, the woman obviously disapproving of some things he had suggested, but in the end those concerns were left unsaid. She was his now, and he had full control of her freedom, and Sezja did not want to test the limits of his patience, so she merely nodded. "Nimla. Alright. Once the search begins in earnest, Nimla could resign her position and go away and I will assume a new identity altogether, so you can hire me officially. Nimla will be a loose end and I would rather be someone else. Someone not related to the incident of Sezja's... My escape." She chuckled at the ease with which she had already assumed another guise. Then the smile was gone and her hand touched Andolin's forearm. "Thank you. I know you will make me pay my freedom back, but still I am grateful. Were it not for you I would probably burn. Not a fate I desire I assure you."

[Andolin]

"The plan sounds fair," he remarked as she expressed a preference for Nimla to disappear. It was a pity that he did not have a painting of Isabella, or he could have Sezja change her facial features to look like his lost love.

So it was that the two conspired to have Sezja escape, never to be found, and a new advisor come to work for him. Let the bluecloaks worry about finding Sezja, but they would soon forget her.

OOC~ We can end things and go on to the recess.

[Grey Wolf]

A quick smile Sezja flashed him, showed that she was happy with the plan as well, the woman rising to see Andolin out of her cell, though she was quick to return to her bed before the door was opened so as not to give rise to suspicion. The plans was in place, and only time will tell how it worked.

OOC: Yes, let us end it here. We shall assume initial success though future may hold some surprises.

~Fin~

[Vanadius]

Skilled and archived.