I think this is all too mysterious to wait...

4th Litordae of the month of Semens (Sem), the 3672nd year of Salvation's Landing

Reglin didn't think he had the fortitude to resist this temptation. He felt a need to at least lay eyes on his mysterious parchment, "I... I think I should give it a look now. Perhaps it is important after all..." He knew his argument for this was weak and all it was was his curiosity.

The smile on Tabitha's face showed him that she knew that was precisely his motivations and seemed to find amusement in it. With that, she spread her arms wide and bowed her head, still smiling, "I will assist you in whatever way that I can. I will admit to a great deal of curiosity myself."

With the scroll tube in his hands, Reglin walked toward the front of Tabitha's desk, leaving her slightly behind him. Gazing at the ornately carved tube, most of the carvings were symbols of some sort with a large heart in the center. His thumb traced around the heart as he scrutinized it. "... So strange..." and with that, his left hand went to the stopper on the end of the case and pulled it open. Nothing extraordinary happened like a genie out of a lamp like fantasies tell of. Nothing that flashy apparently. And so, he went ahead and tipped the case over into his left hand and felt some sort of metallic caps to two batons that the scroll was bound to. Reglin slowly lifted the tube as his left hand grabbed hold of the scroll until it was cleared out.

Turning what appeared to be vellum over in his hands, it looked to be extremely old by the coloration, but was in incredible shape otherwise. The scroll was held closed by and satiny red ribbon that wrapped around it at the center. It was bound to two apparently bronzed batons, making the thing substantial in his grasp. He glanced back at Tabitha as she had crept her way forward to see. When he looked at her, the response was a quick raise of her eyebrows, as if to say, 'go on'. All he could do was give a small shrug to her and turn his attention back to the scroll and took the ribbon in-between his fingers and unwrapped it. After that, he laid it down on the desktop.

Taking an audible breath, Reglin held the top baton loosely while pulling toward himself slowly with the bottom baton. Once again, the vellum was in outstanding condition, but as it opened Reglin did not see any script. But as he opened it a bit farther the script began to appear on the vellum. Not from being unwound off the baton, but from out of thin air! Not used to seeing such acts of magic in his direct vicinity, he turned in astonishment to look at Tabitha. She only smiled and said, "Go on, what does it say?"

Reglin shook his head, realizing that he must look quite a fool to a woman who was herself a practitioner of the arcane arts. He collected himself and looked back to the elaborate script. The very top line read:

“This is a gift. Please enjoy it.”

As Reglin read the words, he mumbled them aloud.

Behind him, Reglin heard Tabitha give a barely audible, “oooooh…” as if his words might have answered some question of hers. It was time to see what this gift was, so he read on…

“Welcome. The Gift of the Affection Multiplier allows your relationships with people to build five times faster. It is an always-present gift, and will affect every aspect of your social life from now on. The Affection Multiplier Scroll is a useful resource to check the progress of your relationships with people through the use of an intuitive scoring measurement using the units ‘Affecteia’.”

What in the Gods was this? An Affection multiplier? It sounded like magic alright…

“Collecting manifested mana around your aura at this time…”

Reglin pulled his head back up and shook it quickly, trying to get his bearings, “Ok, what in the hells does that mean? Collecting manifest mana? Aura?” He asked it aloud, but not directly at Tabitha.

Tabitha sidled up next to Reglin and tried to look over the should of his hunched back, “ooooh indeed! It is collecting mana directed to you, is it? Interesting…”

Reglin just furrowed his brow and looked back at her, catching her trying to peek. He gave her a cheeky smile at her antics, “You say that like it means something. Perhaps to you, but it means nothing to me. You covered the existence of auras and mana with me, but I’m a man. What would mana directed at me matter?”

Tabitha just patted his shoulder and smiled, “We can discuss these things later. For now, I think you should read on.”

And so Reglin did read on. The scroll then described that the 'affecteia' were on a scale of -100 to 100, with -100 being a mortal enemy and 100 being a resolute friend. It even said that a score 50 would be one of a very good friend.

He looked back to her again, seeing her looking at the vellum, “You see this, right? What do you make of all of this? It’s unlike any kind of magic I have heard of.”

Another small smile and slight shake of her head, Tabitha responded, “I am sorry, dear Reg. Whatever it is you are reading, it is nothing to me. It appears to be some sort of script, but I believe it is only for convincing others that it may contain some sort of alphabet.”

Reglin had noticed that her hand had remained on his shoulder. ‘Not the time for childhood fancies…’ He looked back to the vellum and read it back to her. Up to that point.

Tabitha puffed up a bit, looking almost offended, “Really? It trivializes human emotion into a tally of some sort? As if emotion was just a score? I must say, I don not immediately like the sounds of this. But I suppose we should find out more before making a snap decision… Go on.”

Under the introduction Reglin saw in bold brush strokes what read “Palace Polivander”. Once his eyes read the words, more words appeared below it. The first he saw was “Polivander House Guard”. When he read that, another list of names appeared. A few he recognized immediately. Namely those of Master Sergeant Grahm, Lim, and Boll. But beside all their names was a number, with the highest amount being surprisingly held by the Sergeant-of-the-Watch with a score of 26. That seemed relatively high for a new acquaintance. Lim wasn’t too far behind with a score of 22. They seem to be a welcoming tandem of guards. Good to know. The rest of the guards beside Boll were in the low single digits.

Once Reglin’s eyes moved on to below the names listed, they disappeared and he saw the next words that said “Polivander House Staff” and it opened up to include a few names that he knew from his time here before. Like the Mistress of the Kitchens, Jolanna. She had a pretty low score of just 7. He had always gotten along well with her in the past. He wondered if maybe it was just his absence that had dropped it down. And there was the House Steward, Govren. He had never really take to Reglin when he was here previously, having been responsible for his discipling, and it showed with a score of -9. But there, right at the top of this group, was Magistricia Tabitha Fulton with an amazing score of 66. Seeing that made Reglin a tiny bit emotional and he could not help but turn to her and smile warmly.

The confused look that she gave him was comical to him. It looked like she was worried that something happened. Maybe some kind of charm triggered, he thought, “What? What is it Reg? Please say you are still Reg! Oh, dear gods, this was irresponsible of me!” She grew more flustered by the moment.

Reglin turned toward her, her hand coming off his shoulder at the movement, “Relax Tabitha… It’s me. I just saw the tallies and I saw you-“

“No! No! NO! I do not want to hear whatever score this artifact of yours thinks to ascribe to me, mister!” Tabitha waved her arms frantically and seemed to want to drown out hi words with her own yelling.

So instead Reglin just laughed and initiated a hug once more, squeezing her to his chest with true affection. Not just for the score that seemed to be reflect a genuine caring for him, but for the greatly amusing act she just performed. When she started to squeeze back her own hug, Reglin just said, “As you wish. I will not tell you what your Affecteia is. Let me see what else it says. I really should get back to work real soon on my first day. I do NOT want to be seen or referred to as a slacker…” and he let go of her to turn back around.

While Reglin had turned around, the words had disappeared once again, but they came back just as quick as putting his eyes to the script. He chose to bypass the “Polivander Royal Family” for now to see if there was anything below these groups and sure enough, there was. Below the groups there were the words:

“Mana Channels: When so much mana is directed your way, you will be able to direct the mana to do feats of varying magnitude for you… Speak the words into the open Affection Multiplier scroll and it becomes yours…”

Compiling mana…. Mana tally of 137…

Reglin’s bottom lip pursed out in thought at this, “This might be interesting…” as he read over it. Below the tally it read:

“~Labiae Passionii (Lips of Passion)~ - You are able to intuitively give your partner the kiss they desire most, even if they do not know that is what they desire themselves… 50 mana~”

Startled back at the paragraph he just read, “Oh… Oh wow! I think this thing might be some sort of arcane practical joke…”

Tabitha had finally given up all pretenses and now stood next to Reglin and gave him an inquisitive look, “Oh? And why would you say that. The color in your cheeks seem to intimate something a bit on the embarrassing side.” She smiled widely seeing the red in his face.

Lowering his face away from Tabitha’s to give himself a moment to gain some composure, Reglin spoke of what he read, “It says I can channel mana to do things for me through this… And the first thing it offered was a way to… well… kiss good? I guess?” he looked back up at her, a sheepish smile on his face to go along with the color that hadn’t had a chance to leave his cheeks.

The full-bellied laugh that came from Tabitha immediately startled Reglin, “Oh gods! Truly? This artifact seems to have some naughty ideas… How truly interesting!” with that, her laughter died down to a wide smile that gave off a bit of coyness when she asked, “Are you interested in taking that?”

Reglin furrowed his brow once more and scratched the back of his head, a bit of embarrassment had come charging back into him, "I-I'm not sure... really. I don't know if I am in need or not. Can't say I have had any feedback in regards to me having or lacking that particular skill..." His words were murmurs, as if that would sooth the shame he was feeling.

At those words, Tabitha's hands shot up and clasped each other above her breasts and her face looked as though she had just seen the cutest puppy to ever have lived, "Oh gods, Reg! I did not know! I would never have poked at your in such a callous manner if I had known! I promise you I would not have!"

All of this was so incredibly disorientating. The Scroll, these feats, and now Tabitha. With how she was acting currently, Reglin could easily have imagined her being of an age with himself. She herself was as adorable at least in comparison to what she was seeing. Reglin tried to smile and wave it off, "No, it's ok... It's just like I said, the last 5 years or so have not really allowed me to approach many ladies to share what I seem to hold in too high of regard..." He berated himself a bit for attaching such emotional string to a simple act. He shut up as he looked down at his feet, scratching the back of his head once more. There was a long silence after that and Reglin was worried he truly had made an ass of himself. When he looked up finally, he saw Tabitha looking at him. Or rather, it looked as though she may be looking through him. Her eyes lacked focus and looked like those of someone lost in thought.

When Tabitha's eyes came back to focus on Reglin, there was a slight bit of coloring in her own cheeks. She hesitantly spoke, uncharacteristic of her, "I know I am not some young maiden for you to woo, Reg. I know I am just an old lady you see as more of mentor than a woman, but I am also not some stranger... If you would like to experience such a thing, I would be willing... to aid..." Her words faded at the end and her own eyes dropped to the floor.

Everything was on its head in Reglin's mind. Who was this woman who seemed to be lacking in confidence? The Tabitha he had always known exuded confidence in every facet of her being. He was shocked at this revelation and wanted to fix it. He quickly approached his former mentor that seemed to be having a crisis of confidence and wrapped an arm round her waist without even thinking just how personal of a gesture this was, and he wasn't even finished. With his right arm around her hip and waist, his left hand came up and cupped her chin, raising it to look at him. Reglin had no idea where any of this was coming from, he just wanted his Tabitha back, "Tabitha... I'm sorry to tell you this, for the sake of our past and possible future, but I have thought of you as a woman for quite some time. In all those years I was gone, I always thought of you as a woman. It was that ever-so-light kiss that ran through my head so many nights..." Looking into Tabitha's eyes, Reglin saw something that he never had seen before. Such vulnerability... And so he dipped his head down to hers and watched her eyes close as his lips approached hers.

Softly, he pressed his lips to hers, still unsure if this was the biggest mistake of his young life? He could be destroying a friendship over a decade old out of what is more than likely some childish infatuation. All this flashed in his head the moment their lips touched, but it was too late now. So, he tried to feel it out, pressing his lips a bit more eagerly and finding her doing so in kind. Her own left arm came up and pressed his shoulder as his right arm pulled her into him with a little more strength. He opened his lips slightly as she did and then was pleasantly shocked when he felt the briefest touch by her tongue. Well, he had always learned so much from her before, why would he stop now? He responded in kind, gently probing her lips with his tongue. And when her lips parted further, he found his tongue in a dance with her own. His breathing was deep in response, not realizing just how exhilarating things like this could be. After and indeterminable amount of time, Tabitha withdrew and laid her head on his shoulder. Reglin was happy to see that he was not the only one who's breathing was labored, "Wow..." was all that he was able to muster.

Tabitha was surprisingly quick to regain her composure, and her confidence came back into full bloom as well. "I knew I was a great teacher. But what is a great teacher without eager pupils? If I were to judge the necessity, I do not think you need that particular power. What was it called again?"

Reglin just smiled at the about face that Tabitha had done but tried to think, "I think it was called Labiae Passionii?... I think..." feeling odd to still be holding her in his arms, but not wanting to let go just yet.

At his words though, a small flash occurred in the corner of his eye. Was that the scroll? "Ut-oh... What just happened?" he had to let go of Tabitha to do a quarter-turn and look at the scroll. As he looked at it he came to the Mana Channels and saw the words Labiae Passionii present under it without having to open it and saw that his total mana was now 97. That was 40 less than it was. It looks like he accidentally bought his first channel... "Oops. I did mean to do that! That was an honest mistake!" And as he said that his mana score disappeared and reappeared as 147 and then words followed.

"This will be allowed this one time. If it were a more mana intensive channel this would not occur. Consider this your last warning and a gift..."

'Oh wow' Reglin thought. 'It didn't go away. It seems that the scroll took mercy on me and gave me the mana back. Interesting.'

Tabitha touched Reglin's upper arm and asked, "Reg, what is going on? Your face went through quite a few different emotions there in the briefest of moments."

'She has touched me more today than I think she had ever in the past. Sure, she would give me a quick hug as reinforcement to a child that had solved a very difficult problem. But this is different.' These thoughts jumped through Reglin's head as he turned to regard Tabitha with a smile, "Oh, I just about accidentally bought my first mana channel by naming it to you. Forgot that the scroll was open... Can't name the channel in the weird language while it's open. But it gave me the mana back and somehow allowed me to keep the 'lips of passion'.

"It's called Arcanis, not 'weird language'." Tabitha said with a chuckle, her hand still on Reglin's arm, he noticed, "It's the language we use for casting spells that require a vocal component..." the paused and Reglin just nodded, taking in that nugget of information. Then her grip on his arm tightened ever so slightly, "Did you say that you are now channeling mana into 'lips of passion' now?" She couldn't help but snicker a little bit at the name.

The name and her snicker were contagious to Reglin. He could not help but chuckle, "Yes, I did. I guess I got away with a free ability somehow. Not sure how that works exactly. Oh, and I got 10 more mana for some reason." At that, he then noticed the color in Tabitha's cheeks deepen. "ohhhh..." he said as it dawned on him, "I really must have been your worst pupil..."

The honey-haired woman took a deep breath in regaining herself ans then gave Reglin another playful slap on the arm again, "I might have had 1 or 2 that were worse. But not many." She paused again, looking as though that confidence took another hit for just a split second before that coy smile returned, "Speaking of teaching. I wonder what wisdom this scroll has imparted on you in these past moments. Would you like to test it? You know, for research purposes?" That smile grew wider at the end.

Reglin's smile was irrepressible at that point as he chuckled and turned to her, his right arm shooting out and grabbing the much smaller woman around the waist and pulling her to him. This time his left hand went to her upper back near he neck as he bent down for the kiss, "Well, if it's in the name of research, who am I stand in the way of progress?" and with that, their lips touched once more.

It was much like the first time in a lot of ways, but with very subtle differences. It was like his lips and tongue were in such awareness of Tabitha that the slightest of her hints was met immediately. And then there were the times that he became more forceful with her, pulling her closer, feeling her breasts beneath her dress press into him. Before long, Reglin's former mentor was making these peculiar whimpering sounds as her own hand that were around his neck had to come down to his chest and push him away, "Okay! Okay! That's enough of that!" She was more than a little flustered and Reglin had to admit that he enjoyed causing this reaction.

Suddenly, a different spark of confidence entered him and his arm went back to it's place around her back and pulled slightly, "Are you sure I don't need any more lessons, Magistricia?" She fact that she allowed herself to pulled back into his grasp and closed her eyes for yet another kiss before she collected herself said volumes to Reglin, but he let go of her as she pulled back, "No! I think that is more than enough lessons for the morning! Whew!" She really was flustered, but Reglin would leave at that. It might be the first and last time, but he did not want to do anything stupid. Well, any more stupid than kissing your former teacher could have been.

Tabitha's breathing was still heavier than normal, that was for certain as she smoothed her dress out. He could hear her mutter something about, "Oaf thinks he can manhandle me however he wants...." But after that, there was a not-so-angry sigh. Reglin just watched this woman whom he had held a candle for so long act in such an alien way. All he could do was smile. When she finally turned her head back up to him, she was business once more, "Okay... Reg. So, you need to get back to work. Why don't you gather up your scroll and perhaps you can come back in evening after dinner. There is so much I have to show yo- Errrgh! So much you have to learn about the ways of mana and what I think this means for you..." She paused, looking rather introspective. She took another deep breath, "Look, Reg... This was pleasant... Okay, I will be honest. It was exhilarating. You reminded me of things I thought I had forgotten about. And for that, I don't know if I should thank you or damn you. But regardless, I want to be completely open always, going forward. I will tell you more about this scroll's origin later, but for now, know that I will once again be taking up the mantle of your teacher. Now, the lessons we just had are far afield from our usual lessons, but that is what it was... Know that I am NOT your betrothed. I am NOT your girlfriend. I am your teacher, and maybe... at times... research partner. Promise me, you understand this? Promise me you will find someone who is from your time." He words held such vehemence for most of her speech until the very end. That part almost seemed like a plea.

This was not what Reglin was expecting so shortly after such a fiery exchange. At least he thought it was fiery. And she acted like it was... Well, there was little he could do if these were her feelings. He would have to accept it... For now. Perhaps, with a bit more 'research' in the future, he would be able to convince her otherwise. But for now, Reglin just nodded, "I understand." He could not hide the bit of disappointment in those 2 words, but he kept on, "But I will admit that I very much look forward to our future lessons, and even more interested in our 'research'. " He gave her a smile that spoke of nothing more than what they were just involved in, "Perhaps we will have some lab work?"

Tabitha's green eyes narrowed at him in a squint before she erupted and charged him, "Gaah! Incorrigible!" And she gave him another playful slap on the arm before suddenly latching onto him in a hug, "I am glad to see you once again though, Reg. Know that. I may have tasks for you from time to time around the palace if it is at all possible. And no, it's not that kind of task! Get your head on right, mister! You have to work. So go!" And with that she pushed away from him and turned to head out into the library proper, removing herself from any further temptation to Reglin and yelled back over her shoulder.

~This is knowledge for the Reader~

The Affection Multiplier

~Mana: 281~

~Mana Channels: ~Labiae Passionii (Lips of Passion)

~Tabitha~ Affectionae: 78 Erosii: 12 Libidae: 10
~Lim~ A: 22
~Boll~ A: 12
~Grahm~ A:26

Achieved: The Roots of Love take Hold - You have felt the first loving touch on Erosii mana on your aura (+50 mana)
Achieved: The First Flame of Desire is Lit - The fiery passion of Libidae mana have lit your aura (+50 mana)