>>5575414>>5575481>>5575703"Thank you Ao Shan. At the risk of saying something wrong or asking too much, I wish fo the permission to break said taboo."
You find it hard to look at the man. You keep having to force your eyes not to look at the dragon.
"Explain your reasoning." the dragon asks through the man.
You remember Sam telling you how much he hates Math class asking him to "explain his reasoning" on certain questions and you almost want to laugh.
"There might come a day when I'll need to copy your son's powers so I can save myself or others. And while I can copy someone's power, I can not copy their skills, so I would need to train to be of help in that situation, instead of making things worse...It that's not possible, then I apologize."
"Your motives are pure. But the taboo is set in stone. I am the king of the northern waters, made king of all waters by my own hand. I, above all my vassals, am responsible for the preservation of the lineage of dragons and its purity. A mortal cannot and will not take of the power."
"Then...does Monster have any embarrassing childhood stories? Something I can use to stop him if he tries to pull another prank?"
"There is a way to satisfy this request and part of the former." the man holds out his hand and slowly opens it. "Izzy Skenazy, you may approach and take what is in my hand."
You do so, very carefully and very slowly. You don't even see what's in his hand until you're right next to it--a small silver stick, about the size of a toothpick.
You take it. It feels strange. It's slick and smooth like glass, but there's a force alongside the smooth body that feels very strange, like you're holding something that conforms to your fingers and surrounds them at odds with the evidence of your eyes.
It's an egonomic magical whatsit, you figure. It'll be hard to pull an Edith and accidentally drop it.
"Thank you, Ao Shun, but I do not understand what this is."
"It is a mercurial bit of matter. I believe that is how the wisemen of your world would describe it. I cannot give you the power to change yourself, but I can give you something that changes. Think of an object, and if you know the object well, it shall become the object. It is cousin to a staff wielded by a certain cunning rogue who inadvertently performed a great favor for me by defeating my rival Ao Guang. I designed this weapon, this tool, as a gift for this rogue in the hopes of brokering an alliance. But it was not to be. The Buddha had his own plans for him. And so here it has sat in my treasury, useless to dragons, but not useless to you."
"How does this help me with Monster?"
"There is a certain sound that he cannot stand. It is the sound of his mother's roar, and it may be replicated by those who know how."
Ah, so that's what Steel Dolly did!
Suddenly, in the man's hand, is a large, ornate, golden bell.
"Here. Take this bell. Study it intently. Learn it to the smallest detail. Then copy it with your staff."
