Kane's Jewels, by TimeMinder

Chapter 1
Kane's Jewels

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Chapter Description: by TimeMinder

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by TimeMinder

In the early 1800’s, shipping was in full swing on the East Coast of the New World. On the docks were a collection of thieves, scoundrels, and what some like to call the ’Retched Refuse’.

Into one of these ports sailed a merchant vessel from the mother country, England. Among her barrels of spice, fine woven clothes, was a special box that contained a rare and valuable collection of Jewels.

This is where our hapless wanderer, Kane, comes in. Kane was a sailor on the ship and knew about the treasure. As soon as the boat reached dock, Kane grabbed a burlap bag, threw the jewels into it and made his way ashore.

His theft was soon discovered. The Captain was not the kind of person to cross and Kane knew that it would be sure death if he were caught. The Captain dispatched his first mate, known only as Bruno, a 6’5’, 250lb hulk of a man, and his assistant, Stevens to recapture the valuables.

They caught up with Kane in a Bordeau. Not able to slip out the back, He raced upstairs to the Prostitutes chambers. Frantic, Kane tried every door he could until finally one opened. He rushed in, closed the door, panting heavily.

"What is the meaning of this?" he heard from behind.

Turning, he gazed upon a dourly matronly ’Lady of the Evening’. Haggard looking and graying, Kane wondered how such an old hag could make a living as a whore.

"Please," he began, some men are chasing me. "Hide me and I’ll pay you well. I have money. "

The Prostitute hesitated while she thought about it. "Okay, she said, but if I am to help you, you must do exactly as I say." "Yes" he said, "anything you want ".

The thought of what that statement might mean made him shiver. But how could she help him. He could hear the men coming, opening every door as they went. They would be here soon. And in her small room there was not place to hide.

The Prostitute pulled a divider open and revealed a bathtub behind it. It was full of water. "Quick, remove your clothing and get into the tub."

"What are you talking about, woman, are you daft?" He said.

She looked angry "Do as I say, right now, or leave my room at once."

Kane didn’t hesitate, there was no time left. He would have to trust her. The banging in the hall was getting closer. He got out of his clothes as quickly as possible and jumped in with a splash. The woman pulled the divider between the tub and the door.

From behind him, she produced a small bottle of liquid and poured all of its contents into the tub. "I have placed my life in the hands of a mad woman" he thought.

He looked down at his body. He was in his late thirties, but years at sea made him look much older. Pot bellied, sporting a thick beard and mustache. His frame spoke of years of neglect. His chest was covered with a mat of thick, gray streaked hair.

He waited; his eyes now fixed on the divider and the door beyond. He heard footsteps and then Boom, as the door was forced open. The woman went in front of the divider and approached the men.

"How dare you invade my room like this." She yelled.

"Shut up woman." came a booming voice, "I am looking for a scoundrel of a sailor named Kane. He stole from the Captain of a merchant vessel. We are here to search for him. "

"Why, there is no one here by that name. It is only I and my son, to whom I am giving a bath. You may leave now. »

Kane held his breath. ’Son?’ Was that woman insane? Yes she was older than he was, surely in her early Fifties, but to claim to be his mother, that would not pass muster.

He was in great danger. He reached over the tub where he had his dagger within handy reach. Strange, he could reach over and touch it a few moments ago, but now it seemed inches away from his grasp.

Kane desperately stretched out his arm, but could not reach it. The divider was thrown away. The two men stood there staring at him. His heart raced. He was done for. Why did he trust that stupid woman? But the men did not move. Eventually, the woman moved over behind Kane, produced a sponge, and began rubbing his back with it.

’Why aren’t they attacking?’ he thought. Finally Bruno looked at the woman, then at him, then at Stevens and said. "My God, woman, don’t you think your son’s a little old to be giving him a bath?" They laughed and left the room.

Kane was dumbstruck. He looked up at the woman, who was still sponging his shoulders, and said: "Why didn’t they recognize me?" But, something was wrong with his voice. His deep baritone was gone, and replaced with a much higher alto.

Kane finally had a chance to look at himself, and what he saw frightened him. His body had shriveled. His one time, barrel chest, was slimmed to the point of almost no muscle at all. His gut was also gone, as was most of the hair on his body. A small patch of black hair raced down the middle of his smaller chest and met his pubic region, which he had not seen in a long time.

He got out of the tub as quickly as possible, grabbed a towel, and started drying himself off. "My God, woman, what have you done to me?" he said, and could not get used to his new voice. "Are you some kind of Sorcerer? "

The old woman laughed. "A young man like you should have more respect for his elders." Then she explained to him that the water in the bottle that she had poured was special. It came from a cave not far from there. The woman didn’t know what caused it to work, but if someone immersed himself or herself in it, it would make them younger.

As she explained, Kane was transfixed on a hand mirror in the corner of the room. A young man of about 18 stared back at him. His beard was mostly gone. What was left behind was a small mustache and the beginnings of a goatee. He was not old enough, anymore, to grow a decent beard!

The woman continued: "I had planned on using that on myself tonight" she said while removing her clothes, "But now you’ve diluted it, and it probably won’t take me all the way back to my youth."

She stripped as Kane watched, flabby stomach, droopy C cup breasts, and cellulite. Not a pretty site.

"But surely woman"..he began. "If you had the power all along to make yourself young again, why did you wait so long to use it?"

The answer was simple. The woman was married to a man for 20 years. All of that time she kept it a secret, wanting one day to supprise him with eternal youth. But the man had died unexpectedly, never giving her a chance to reveal her secret to him.

"I mourned," she said, "for two years, and finally am ready to enjoy life again."

As she talked, Kane watched in fascination as she was transformed from an old woman into a middle-aged woman. Magically, the gray in her hair was replaced by auburn, pounds melted away, her face grew thinner, and her breasts lost most of their droop.

Soon, she climbed out of the tub, no longer a woman in her fifties, but now a very good-looking woman in her late thirties. Water droplets glistened off of her naked body. Her womanly shape had returned, along with a fine patch of dark black pubic hair.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Humph", she grunted, "I am still an old woman, but I guess it will have to do until I make a trip back to the cave."

She took a small cup and walked over to the tub. Kane was mortified when she dipped the cup in the dirty bath water and drank it.

"My God, woman, have you gone mad, drinking from dirty water?"

She finished and turned to look at the 18-year-old boy, who had now covered himself with a blanket. He looked so innocent, and nothing like the dregg that had invaded her home. She smiled at him.

"Don’t be so quick to judge, young man. You see, the magic water will make you young for a short time, but only by drinking it will you remain that way. "

A sense of relief washed over Kane. He imagined that he would remain a youth from now on, and no longer a grown man full of swagger and strength. "Saints be praised" he said.

The woman laughed and re-dipped the cup into the water. She approached and held it out to him. "How about it?" she said, "Drink from this cup, and you become a lad that all the little lassies would do things to make you kiss their supple, firm nipples."

Kane drew back. "Away with that woman. I am a man, and I plan to stay that way." And then "How long will I remain this way?"

"Only for the night", she said, "then you will slowly return to normal." She sat the cup down and stood in front of him. Normally he would be at least a half a foot taller than she would. But at his new age, it was she who was slightly taller than he was. It was disconcerting to be looking up at a woman!

The woman took the blanket that covered him and pulled it away. There he stood, in all his glory, a massive hard on for the naked woman that stood before him. "Well, well," she said, "It looks like our young man wants to be satisfied."

Kane was embarrassed to be acting like such a young colt. Normally, he could control himself, but his new body was rebelling. She moved him over to the bed. They made love several times that night. It was as good as Kane had ever had.

In the morning, when Kane woke, he noticed that he was, indeed, getting older again. Once again, he had a fat belly and matted hair on his chest, although still black. ’Could I have been dreaming?’ He asked himself, until he noticed that the prostitute was still middle aged, and had not returned to her older state.

’Then it is true’, he thought, surely this cave would be worth all of the jewels in England. Kane decided that he wanted in on it.

As the woman cooked breakfast for him, Kane dug among his clothing of the floor, and produced the burlap. He opened it and displayed the fortune. The woman’s eyes widened. "My Lord man, there is enough treasure to live out the rest of your life without a care."

Kane looked at her "Madam, I will give you fully one half of my bounty if you will share the secret of your magic water with me."

The woman glanced at him, then at the jewels, then finally at him. "Surely, I would be able to leave this place for good and live in style. "I say yes. Get dressed, we will leave at once."

Kane divided up the loot and gave the woman her half, which she hid in a dresser. They traveled by horseback to the outskirts of town. In a thicket, they came to the mouth of a cave. It was well hidden, so there was no wonder that no one else had found it. Inside the tunnel opened up to a large room. There was a flat rock about 8’x10’. It was surrounded by water on three sides. Farther out, the water entered another tunnel that disappeared around a corner.

To the left of the rock they stood on was a small dingy. "Sometimes I take the boat down the tunnel to see if I can find the end, but never have." She explained.

The woman turned to Kane, "Sir, I have enjoyed your company immensely and we are both rich. "I would like you to stay with me and enjoy our wealth together".

Kane didn’t know what to say. It would certainly be better than the life he had. With the water, he could remove some hard years off of him, shave his beard, and no one would ever recognize him. He could live the life of a gentleman, young and rich forever.

He bowed, "My lady, I am flattered. I accept your offer." I also wish to make myself a younger man permanently. "What should I do?"

"Just like the tub. Get in, swim around and it will happen. Just remember, don’t drink any of the water unless you want to remain that age.  You go ahead, I must attend to the horses, then I will join you.

She left, while Kane pondered the pool. He was a little afraid of it. It seemed to be too much power in the hands of mere mortals. Finally, he shrugged and took off his clothes. Naked, he dipped a cautious toe into the water. It was surprisingly warm.

’In for a penny, in for a pound’ he thought, and leapt feet first into the pool.

It was only about 3 feet deep, but Kane relaxed and began to enjoy himself. Unlike the bath, a pleasant tingling sensation swept over him. It was a feeling of euphoria. He splashed back and forth in the small area and finally noticed the changes once again coming over him. Again, his hair and beard turned black. His flabby middle flattened. Looking at his reflection, he now saw what he had missed the night before, for his reflection showed a man in his mid-twenties, handsome and hard muscled. A true stallion. He was about to get out when the woman returned.

"My my, but you do look handsome" she said as she took off her clothes and jumped in.

Kane moved to the edge of the pool, intending to get out. "Wait, kind sir, swim with me for a while, it will be fun."

"But", he began, his body already showing signs that he was returning to his early twenties, "I do not wish to return to the young state I was last night."

She smiled and embraced him, "But you are such a lovely man. I must hug you. Stay in with me. You don’t have to change permanently right now. We can come back tomorrow and do it again."

Kane did not want to do this, but it was already too late, his body had slipped to his late teens, which was definitely younger than he wanted to stay. He would have to wait anyway. Besides, he was having fun.

"All right" he said, "But only because you are so persuasive."

She laughed and they swam and frolicked. Her squeals of delight echoed off of the cave as they played tag. Out of breath, they stood shivering in the center of the water.

The woman had passed through her thirties and was now in full bloom. Her body was perfect. Her breasts had none of the sag from last night. She was radiant.

Kane had also slipped in years. Back beyond full manhood. Now a boy of 16, he looked nothing like the stout man of a few moments ago. His facial hair was now completely gone. His body had lost most of its muscle, leaving a skinny teen of a boy.

Kane was happy. He had never felt this delightful before. Swimming with this naked woman was the best time he had had in ages.

Even now as his height and girth diminished, he felt safe and secure with her. He smiled as he stared up at her. "Surely, you are a beautiful woman" he said in his high alto voice, and kissed her standing on his tiptoes.

"And you", she said, "even as a young pup look delicious. I want to eat you up" She reached down into the water and grabbed his small penis. Kane yelped with supprise and pulled away. As he slipped to a boy of 15 years, he giggled "you have to catch me first" and swam away. The woman dove after him.

Kane was always a fast swimmer, even as a child, and was far ahead. He turned to see if she was catching up. When he turned back he felt his head hit the rock on the far end. Light exploded as he lost consciousness and sank below the surface. Confusing thoughts ran through his mind. He couldn’t breath. Something was clouding his lungs, and then he was being pulled up to the surface and toward the shore. His eyes rolled back and he felt as if he were drunk, drunker than he’d ever been.

When his head cleared, he was laying on the big rock with a blanket over him. "Kane, Kane are you all right?"

"I-I’m all right", he said, and marveled at the highness of his voice. "Thank you for getting me out".

"Kane", she said, "a terrible thing has happened. You swallowed the water, a lot of it."

Kane sat up with a start. "Oh no", he said, and pulled the blanket off of him. His body was thin and pale, no longer resembling an adult. All the hair was gone from him, except for a fine patch of light colored pubic hair. "I am no longer a man"

"Yes" she said looking disappointed. "You only look to be in your thirteenth year. You are now, truly, permanently, a young boy." She hesitated, "But that’s not the worst. You drank a lot of water, more than I ever have. You may still be getting younger."

"Oh my God" shouted Kane, he stood up, and gained very little height on her.

He was now eye level with her collarbone. She seemed so big to him. As he watched, his viewpoint lowered. He shrank to just eye level with her breasts. He looked down at him self, a wisp of a man-child. "No please, lord," he said in a cracked soprano. "Stop while I am still a man". But it didn’t stop.

He shrank again, to just below eye level of her huge, massive looking breasts. He stared down in horror as he watched his pubic hair thin out, shorten and finally disappear. He was no longer a man of strength, no longer a teen of vitality, no longer even in puberty. He had become just a boy. A boy just shy of 11 years old.

Tears filled his eyes. "Why did this happen to me?" he sobbed.

The woman looked at him in pity, then her face reddened with anger. "Why, indeed" she said, "If you had listened to me, and not swallowed the water, you would not be in this predicament."

Through his tears, Kane looked at the woman. Now just barely twenty herself, she looked like a mother scolding her young son.

"But-but I didn’t mean for this to happen" he said in his child’s voice.

The woman stood up, towering over him. "But it has happened. You are no longer a man and will have to grow up all over again. I don’t have time for this nonsense."

Kane thought hard, then his face brightened, "Wait, he said, how about if you make yourself younger too. We have enough wealth to enjoy it for hundreds of years."

She stopped him short "What, me, turn myself into a lass on purpose?"

"No" she said. From her saddlebags, she produced a cup and walked over to the water. She dipped it in, and took a long drink. "I am at the age I want to be, and intend to stay that way." She went back over to him and began to dress. "A while ago, when you were a man, I fancied becoming a Society lady with a handsome husband and money galore, and now you do this to me?"

Kane could only stare as she dressed and picked up the saddlebags. "That would have been nice, but now I have changed my mind. I want to enjoy life, travel, and I have no need for a ’Son’ tagging along after me. I withdraw my offer. Goodbye."

Without another word, the beauty turned and walked out of the cave. Kane could only watch after her. Even if he wanted to stop her, she was probably now stronger than he was.

He put his clothes on. They fit terribly and made him feel worse. They hung on him like a sack. He could no longer wear a man’s clothes.

Kane sat in the cave for hours. He had no plan. Nowhere to go. No family to take him in. Finally he got hungry, and decided he would have to go back to the village. He had his share of the jewels with him, still in the burlap sack.

He carefully climbed into the dinghy with the sack and rowed over to the flooded tunnel. The oars felt huge and heavy to him. He rowed into the tunnel about fifty yards and found a ledge on the embankment. He placed the bag there and returned to the entrance. Once back ashore, Kane hid the boat and gathered up his things. He almost couldn’t lift his saddlebags. Trudging toward the mouth of the cave, Kane had his head down looking at the floor. Then he noticed a shadow fall across his path. He looked up and almost died.

There stood Bruno, along with Stevens and at least 10 more men.

Bruno stared down at the boy. If the woman had looked big to him, Bruno resembled a mountain. Kane had to strain his neck to look up at him.

Kane shook with fear then remembered that he was not the same as when they had last met. Maybe he could fool him. "May I help you kind sir?" he said, and cringed at his childish voice.

Bruno looked at him in disgust. "What are you doing here, waif? I am looking for a poor excuse of a man that calls himself Kane.

Kane tried to look innocent. "I have met no such man in my travels. If you please sir, my mother is waiting with supper at home."

He tried to brush passed the giant, but Bruno blocked his path. "Hold on, boy. What is your name?"

Kane thought furiously, then said: "My name is David sir. Now, please, I must be going."

Once again he tried to get past the man. This time Burno picked him up off his feet with one hand and held him up to his face. His breath stank.

"David, eh? Well, I just came from a dwelling where a woman said that you would be the Kane we are looking for."

’Oh no’ Kane thought, he found the woman. "I know of no Kane" he said and struggled to get free. Bruno snapped his fingers and his always-present sidekick; Stevens approached with a bag. He opened it and showed it to Kane.

There they were the half of the booty that belonged to the woman. His face sunk in surrender. Bruno continued. "The woman wouldn’t answer at first, but soon I had her pleading for her life. Soon enough, she produced the jewels and told me the whole story. If it makes you feel better, Kane, in her last breath, she begged that I spare you."

Kane felt sorrow for the woman as Bruno continued, "She told me that you had accidentally been changed into a child, although she wouldn’t tell me how. I will leave that up to you. For now, I want the rest of the jewels or you will die right now."

Kane was defeated. There was no way he would get out of this alive and he was too small to put up a fight. He pointed to the flooded tunnel. "in there"... he said "...about fifty yards in."

Bruno looked at him, a smile of satisfaction spread across his face. "Surely you are not the Man you once were. Maybe I’ll have the Captain make you my boy when we get back."

Bruno sat Kane down and ordered the rest of the men into the cave. He ordered a man to guard the entrance and then, with Stevens and the rest of the men in tow, entered the water and disappeared into the tunnel. Kane watched after them. A smile crossed his face.

After the soldiers waded for a few minutes, Bruno and Stevens heard a shout from behind. They turned and were shocked to see that where Watts had been was a wild-eyed 12 year old boy. Not only that, but the rest of their troops had been changed into children or young teens. Bruno turned to Stevens "We’ve been tricked by the boy. This water is how he got so young. "

Stevens looked at Bruno. He did look different. "What should we do, sir?"

"We don’t have any choice", said Bruno, "there are no banks to climb up on. We’ll have to go back."

"Come on, ah, men, hurry! You big kids help the smaller ones."

They turned and started sloshing back towards the entrance. All of the kids had to abandon their swords and most of their clothes in order to keep walking.

Bruno, who was leading, turned around and was astonished to see that he and Stevens were the only adults left. "Wait until I get my hands on that kid" he said, "I’ll make him pay for this. "

"Don’t worry about that now," said an ever younger Stevens, "if we don’t hurry, we may never make it back at all. Right now, I’d say you and I are in our early twenties."

There were only three of them left when Harper spotted a ridge sticking out of the wall. With one graceful swoop, he was up out of the water, balancing himself precariously by holding onto an overhang with one hand and the bag of jewels with the other. "I’ve got them !", he said.

"Well, come on then, man." Said Bruno. "No, you go ahead" said Harper "I am too out of breath. I should be okay, if I don’t shrink too much. You come back for me."

Stevens and Bruno had no time left to argue. Even though they now had the jewels, they had to race to shore in order to save their lives.

There was look of sheer horror when Kane saw Bruno and Stevens emerge from the tunnel and stumble ashore. They stood there for a moment, catching their breath. Now in their mid-teens, Bruno was smaller, but still massive at just under six feet tall. Stevens showed the most change, now resembling a skinny teenager.

Bruno looked over at Kane, and there was a fire in his eyes. Kane turned quickly and made a move for the cave entrance, but Bruno was on him in an instant. He crashed a punch across Kane’s jaw that sent him to the cave floor. Bruno stomped over, lifted Kane off of the floor and once again, raised him off of his feet.

Although now only a teen, Bruno handled Kane like a rag doll, shaking him severely. "The whore said that there was a boat" he said in a cracked alto voice "Tell me where it is or I will kill you right now!"

Kane was frozen in fear. He dared not tell them. Bruno would kill him for sure. It would take a miracle to get out of this alive. And that’s exactly what happened.

They heard a splashing sound behind them. Harper appeared at the flooded tunnel’s entrance. Now a little kid, he could go no farther. His head barely above the three-foot water. He just stood there, the bag of jewels in his outstretched hand.

"It’s Harper !" said Stevens "He’s not going to make it ! And look. He’s got the treasure"

"We’ll have to go in and get them", said Bruno before grabbing Stevens by the arm. "What? Are you crazy ?", said Stevens.

"Come on," said Bruno, "I am not going to lose the treasure now, after all we’ve been through! We’re going back in."

Bruno threw Kane to the ground so hard it rattled his teeth. He pushed Stevens off of the ledge and jumped in after him.

Harper’s head went under the water. All they could see of him now was a tiny hand clutching tightly to the bag.

By the time they got to him, he was gone completely. The two boys sloshed up to the area, using their hands to probe the floor of the pool. "Where are they?", shouted Bruno, his voice higher and cracking. "I don’t know", said a very puny looking Stevens. "I-I want to get out now."

"Not until we find them !", said Bruno his voice ever higher pitched, "Check over there".

Kane lay there watching in utter fascination. He had never seen such greed before. Eventually Bruno and Stevens found the bag, but it took an additional two minutes to do so. They struggled over and finally climbed ashore.

Kane looked at them. This time their greed had cost them dearly. They were shrunk down to kids. Both had lost their trousers and were wearing their shirts like nightgowns.

Stevens was, by now, a very frightened seven-year-old. Bruno had fared better, but not by much. Most of his impressive size was now gone, and in its place was a chubby, barely nine year old boy.

The shock was wearing off of Kane by now, and for the first time, a glint of humour reached his eyes. He stood up.

Bruno seemed unaware of what had happened and was elated that they had saved the treasure. "I got it, I got it"he said and turned to face Stevens.

The sight of the young boy hit him like a blow to the belly. Bruno looked at himself for the first time, and as the realization of what he had done to them settled in, he could feel a presence near him. He turned around slowly and stared up in disbelief.

The eleven-year-old boy that he had manhandled just moments before, stood towering over him. And for the first time in many years, Bruno felt fear creeping over him. Kane reached over and knocked the jewels from his hand.

"Hey" said Bruno in a squeaky voice; "You better watch it" But before he could say another word, Kane slapped him hard across the face. He fell backwards to the ground. This time it was Kane who grabbed Bruno up and raised him off of the ground.

"I better watch what ?"said Kane "You’re just a kid now, even younger than me. So, there is nothing you can do to me. But, there is something I can do to you. I’m going to tear you apart."

Bruno was afraid, but still determined. He rose up and kicked Kane squarely between the legs. Kane left go of him and doubled over in pain.

Bruno rushed over to the inside cave entrance and hollered "Guard, guard!" Soon, the soldier appeared into the room. He looked around and saw two small kids and an older one, but no soldiers.

Bruno walked over to the guard, surprised to see how high up he stood. He looked up and said "Soldier, I am your leader, Bruno. I want you to kill that boy right now."

Bruno turned around towards Kane with a smug look of satisfaction on his face.

The soldier stepped past Bruno and over to Kane. "What’s going on here?" he said. Without hesitation, Kane said "It’s Bruno, him and his men went into that tunnel over there". He pointed. "Then we heard cries for help. Go, they need help right away !" Kane knew he would not return.

As Bruno stared after the soldier in terror, Kane strode up behind him. Bruno realised just too late that Kane was making a move, and his short child’s legs could not outrun Kane. Kane chased him into a corner of the cave. Bruno looked around feverishly, but there was nowhere to go. "Stevens, help me" he cried. But Stevens just stood and stared. He was just a useless little boy.

Bruno watched helplessly as Kane walked over and slapped him viciously to the ground. The young boy saw stars. His cheek was puffy and his right eye was swelling shut. Kane was in a rage. "So, you still you’re some kind of soldier, do you?", he said as he picked him up. "I’ll show you what you are" he bellowed. And with that, Kane grabbed at Bruno’s shirt with both hands and, with one quick tearing motion stripped him of his remaining clothes.

Bruno stood there, red and embarrassed. "Take a good look at yourself," shouted Kane, "Your nothing but a bare- assed little baby!"

Bruno was desperate. He had to try something. "That’s not true!" he squeaked, and launched himself at the bigger boy, flailing his arms wildly.

Kane laughed at him. "Oh, so you still got a little fight left in you, do you? Well, I can fix that." He grabbed Bruno by one arm and one leg and spun him up over the bank and into the water. Bruno was out in an instant, but Kane threw him back in again. This process continued again and again, until at last Bruno crawled ashore. Now barely six years old, little Bruno looked at Kane, as tears welled up in his eyes, he lay down on the cave floor and threw a tantrum. Kane had won!

Epilogue:

Kane was a thief, but not a killer. He knew that once Bruno returned to normal, he would never stop until he captured Kane. So, Kane made both Stevens and Bruno drink the water. Then he held their feet in the water until they were shrunk down to infancy and made them drink again.

He took them to a monastery and left baby Bruno and baby Stevens with a Padre.

He asked the Padre to recommend him a poor, but honest woman with a room to rent. Then, he moved in and stayed with her until he could grow up again.

The End

 

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