Life as a Test Subject
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 115336
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Poor Fred was beginning to become overwhelmed by the brain chemistry of the six-year-old brain which he found himself inhabiting, and the blubbering would not stop, and in fact worsened with each new piece of information she was handed. "Please," she attempted, but her voice wobbled and she was soon caught in spasmic sobbing. She resisted when Belboz attempted to pick her up, but he cast a simple spell which quickly made her very sleepy, such that she slipped into unconsciousness in a matter of seconds. When she awoke, she found herself in a stony, torchlit room, with no doors or windows. She was in a simple bed with a pink quilt, a wardrobe in one corner, and a chamberbot in another. She sat there for a long moment, taking it in, panicking for a moment that she would be trapped here forever, even if she knew that panic was irrational considering Belboz's mastery of magic and future plans for her. She was still in the checked dress she had been wearing since her transformed, and slipped out of bed to cross the room and check out the wardrobe. It was so huge compared to her! She was quivering constantly in fear and trepidation, despite being alone. Even pulling it open was something of a trial, with her tiny, weak arms, but she managed it after a few tries, and beheld a wide selection of dresses, mostly in shades of pink and white. At least they were fairly simple, she thought miserably, and selected a pale gray one with pink bows on the shoulders which appeared more comfortable than the one she had on. On the inside of one of the wardrobe's doors was a full-length mirror, and for several minutes she stood staring at her reflection. She was... adorable. Golden hair to her shoulders, huge blue eyes, skin so pale it might have never seen the sun at all. Less than half the height she'd previously been. It was horribly disorienting, but to her horror, she found she was already beginning to become used to it. Suddenly a sound like rocks sliding against each other came from behind her, and she whirled around. A large hole had appeared in the stony wall, and Belboz stood on the other side. "Ah, I see you've found your wardrobe," he said. "I tried to go practical, but also cater to your tastes." "What would you know of my tastes?" muttered Fred, though it was certainly not the most pressing question she could have asked. Belboz shrugged. "I took some safe guesses. Won't you come with me? I'm sure you're hungry." As if on cue, Fred's stomach growled, and reluctantly she accompanied Belboz. He led her down the hall and into a nearby room that was clearly a kitchen, with a pot boiling over the fire and a nice table set up. She took a seat hesitantly, and he brought the pot over, ladling soup into her bowl. It occurred to her to fear that it was dosed up with something, so she waited for him to take the first bite before beginning. "Now, Hannah, be aware that this is a special treat," Belboz told her. "For the most part I will be transporting food into your chambers, onto a small teleportation circle in the corner that you may not have noticed. Only if I am feeling generous and you have been very good will I treat you to a meal at table." Fred swallowed, downing both a fraction of her trepidation and a mouthful of soup. "Hannah?" "Oh, yes, your old name just won't do anymore. I hope you like this one. Actually, I don't much care. Either way you shall answer it or face the consequences." Fred stared into her soup, searching desperately for some course of action that bore even the slightest hope of success. She was trapped, in both this tunnel system and this body, and Belboz was powerful beyond imagining. She couldn't even threaten him with promises that other knights would come to her aid; who would ever recognize her like this? What on earth could she do? She looked up at last, and tried, "I'm sure that my family will gladly pay whatever you ask for my release." "Probably," he agreed. "Do you like the soup?" She looked down, and said nothing. "No matter, I know it's delicious," he said cheerfully. "Perhaps when you're a bit older I'll teach you to cook. Save me some energy casting spells to do it." "How long do you plan to keep me here?" she asked, feeling tears gathering in her eyes, and cursing herself for it. "Indefinitely, of course. Oh! I almost forgot dessert!" He waved his hand, and a small chocolate cake drifted down from one of the cupboards. Fred's appetite was gone, and she simply watched, crying quietly, while Belboz ate his cake. When he was done, he wiped his mouth, burped rather loudly, and asked, "So, any questions?" She could think of nothing to say. Belboz led her back to her room, and this time she didn't resist. She was pushed in gently, and the door vanished behind her. The torches were obviously magical, as they never went out. She slept when she was tired, and ate when food appeared, but could not begin to track the passage of time. She quickly became stir crazy, and began to fear she may go "real" crazy, with the lack of stimulus. It wasn't long before she began to wish for some toys, dolls or puzzles maybe. What? Dolls? Toys? But... but she wasn't really a little girl, she was a knight... wasn't she? It was many meals later that she was finally let out again - in fact, very shortly after eating some mashed potatoes, pork, and spinach - and was ecstatic to see something apart from the inside of that room. She had been starting to notice a terrible headache develop in the last few minutes, and wondered if a bit of comparatively fresh air might help. Belboz took her to what she could only assume to be his workshop, as it was filled with stacks of cauldrons, shelves of elixirs, and desks full of notes and thick tomes. She stood in the center, nervously awaiting an explanation. He said, "So, first things first - how do you like your accommodations? Any requests?" She stared at the ground, trying to stop herself from saying it. "Come now, don't be shy. I'm sure it's rather boring in there." "Perhaps... perhaps some dollies," she said quietly, and was startled by the word "dollies," but barreled on: "Or other toys. Just... stuff to do." Belboz smiled. "My dear Hannah, I would be delighted. Anything to return the favor of what you've done for me. And speaking of that, the potion you've ingested should be setting in any minute now, if I prepared it correctly." She looked up at him, startled. He, clearly anticipating this reaction, smiled and said, "It was in your potatoes. I'd tell you what it's meant to do, but I think it'd be more fun for you to be surprised, don't you? Any moment now..." Fred's heart was beating very fast and she found she could not breathe as she waited for... for something to happen. Presently her headache blossomed into terrible pain, and she held her head in her hands, gasping and grunting. Belboz watched in excitement as her eyes began to merge together into one huge one in the center of her head, and she began to grow! Her proportions began to change a bit, her arms becoming longer, but the process halted prematurely, and he appeared disappointed. Fred, for her part, continued to grunt in pain, but the headache was now receding rapidly. However, she did feel... slower than before? She opened her eyes (eye, actually, but she hadn't realized it yet), and found that her depth perception was horribly lacking. She blinked, a bit dizzy. Was the ground a little farther away than before? "Well," said Belboz, "that was a bit disappointing. It was meant to change you into a cyclops - you see, spells to turn mundane creatures into more fantastic ones are often unreliable, so I was hoping for a potion to do the same job - but it doesn't appear to have quite worked. The good news is, you've got the trademark feature of a cyclops! But they're more than just one-eyed, they're ugly, muscular brutes. You should be almost as tall as I am. How do you feel, Hannah?" "Uhh," she said. "Well, it could be worse. I'll get it next time though! For now, let's get you back to your home. I'll acquire some lovely dollies for you soon, and once I've got this thing right, I'll work on a reversal. Don't worry, I'll be observing you in case anything changes." And thus it was. Belboz would occasionally sneak potions into her food and drink, and other times he'd bring her to his workshop to practice a spell. Some affected her body, some her mind, and some both. Most effects he eventually reversed; some he didn't, or couldn't. In the meantime, she played with the toys he supplied her with, and tried to deal with the changes it seemed she was constantly going through. It wasn't long before she began to talk to herself. With the amount of time she spent alone, it was inevitable, really. She often thought she saw her old knightly friends, or members of her family, standing in her chamber. She didn't even really mind the hallucinations. Having them was better than not having them. Time passed - though how much time, she couldn't say. Eventually she noticed she was growing. Strangely, it was a bit of a relief, really, to know that all this magic hadn't completely stunted her growth. It had, however, given her grey skin, a crippling fear of most types of fruit, and a tendency to lie impulsively. Hannah was about eight years old - though she didn't realize it - when the routine was shaken up for the first time...
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9/12/2020 3:08:20 AM
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