Switch to Adam's POV

Adam watched the two girls laugh as they walked off together and smiled contentedly as he saw things were getting back to normal. Sister Margaret didn't seem aware of the tension that he had created by his inability to restrain himself with Winlay, but he was acutely aware of how much pain he had caused.

"Adam, take off your shirt please." If she felt any embarrassment about asking Adam to strip nearly naked, Sister Margaret didn't show it. With a resigned shrug Adam peeled the linen shirt from his muscled torso, it was damp with sweat and he felt slightly more comfortable in the warm room as he stood bare-chested.

"Turn around now and sit on this couch." Margaret had selected a different vial from the low table and he craned his neck trying to see what she was doing. "Keep still." She said curtly "I'm going to raise some welts on your back to make it look like you've been whipped many times in your miserable life." The Sister explained, "So don't move, unless you'd prefer to get them the old-fashioned way." Adam felt the cool swipe of a wet brush cross his back almost a dozen times and smelled the distinctive scent of its **** base as the liquid quickly evaporate. The drying fluid provided a small amount of relief from the heat and at first Adam wished she had used even more.

"You may feel some discomfort soon Adam." Margaret warned "The solution is a skin irritant; it should cause a slight swelling and reddening on the skin." No sooner had Sister Margaret mentioned the discomfort than Adam began to feel an annoying tingling across his back. "I accidently discovered the effect a dozen years ago when I was looking for a better antiseptic. My arm had a series of welts that looked just like I had taken a crop to myself." She laughed softly as she soaked a towel in the sink. "Never thought I'd use it purposefully for that effect." By now the tingling on his back was a burning that was getting worse and worse, Adam wondered if raising the welts the 'old-fashioned way' might have been less painful.

"That should do nicely." Margaret said and Adam felt a the wet towel wash away any of the irritant that still remained. "It will hurt for a little longer, but it should be better in a few minutes." She turned from him and helped the Oracle lace up the back of his dress.

"You look beautiful my dear Wanda." She said adjusting the head scarf around his head and draping it over his shoulders. Adam was surprised at how much the Oracle did look like an aged matron. If his welts looked that good it would be worth the discomfort.

"I'll cut your hair too, Adam." She said cheerfully "It may not help much, too many of the searchers have seen you as a first year crop-head." Adam grimaced as he thought back to that first year. "But every little piece adds to the overall effect."

Margaret was just finishing trimming his hair when Mika and Winlay came back into the room. The raised welts on his back must have looked pretty realistic because he heard Winlay gasp in sympathy as she saw his exposed back. His soul warmed when he heard her obvious concern - she cared for him, at least that much was still true.

Adam gasped as well when he saw what Winlay was wearing, her dress was a brightly flowered saronge reminiscent of what the islanders sometimes wore. But she wore it in an a manner befitting her vocation in the harbor brothels, cut low in front exposing the round tops of her breasts. The fabric was cinched tightly around her narrow waist and it hugged her hips before swirling around her legs ending well above her knees. With her darkened skin, exotic dress and lush curves Winlay would be one of the more popular girls in the Hook. Crews he was certainly responding, the fire that now burned in his groin matched the burning of his back.

Winlay figitted nervously in response to his poorly hidden desire, and Adam **** himself to turn away before he embarrassed her any more.

Mika was as unrecognizable as Winlay but thankfully not in the same way. She wore a dirty shirt and shorts that must have been two sizes too big held up only by a length of hemp rope that looked like it had been salvaged from a ship's refuse heap. Her hair was only slightly longer than his but not cut anywhere as evenly. Mika looked just like a hundred other boys that filled the streets of Telnon. Sometimes these youths ran errands and did odd jobs, but most would also help themselves to any of the small odds and ends that sat out on display if they got a chance.

Sister Margaret was briskly gathering the remains of the supplies as she spoke to Adam.

"The last part of your disguise we'll add in the morning, it is another little trick of mine that will cause your face and lips to swell." She shrugged in a gentle apology "It will also cause some slurring of speech and probably some drooling as well; trust me no one will recognize you tomorrow, not even one of your shield mates."

With her bag now filled with the work shirts instead of their costumes, Margaret led them into the hallway.

"Meet me in the basement tomorrow morning a little after nine." Her voice was as confident as always Adam noticed with respect. "The streets should be busy enough by then that we won't attract any more attention than we need to." Adam wondered how Sister Margaret hoped to avoid attention as long as they had Winlay walking with them, although maybe that was part of the plan too. Any man within ten paces of them would have eyes for no one but her, not such a bad plan after all.

He hoped.