"Maybe I can get some advice going forward..."

4th Litordae, 25th day of the month of Semens (Sem), the 3672nd year of Salvation's Landing

Reglin stood up out of his chair and moved a couple of the books on the table out of the way. Then he withdrew the ornate scroll case that he had in his belt and began opening it up. Within no time he had the batons spread out and the vellum flat on the table.

He sat back down and motioned for Tabitha to scoot up next to him, “I’m curious to see if we can get you to actually see what it is that’s on the vellum.”

Tabitha smiled and moved her chair forward so close that their knees were touching. As was the theme of the night it seemed, her hand landed itself on his leg once more, “I don’t expect this to work, but we can try some things, I suppose.” And with that, she gazed intently on what looked like blank vellum to her.

The usual script appeared that Reglin was already familiar with as he began to read. He saw that he was now at… 314 streams?! “Gods!” He said before he knew it, startling both of them.

Tabitha looked at him in alarm, “What? What is it? You can’t just say things like that when you are looking at an arcane artifact to someone like me!” Panic growing her voice as her hand gripped Reglin’s thigh with vigor.

Reglin relaxed quickly and patted her hand, then took a moment to stroke it. Then he brought his hand back up to the scroll, “Sorry… Just the last time I looked at this thing, which was about four hours ago, I had 203 streams of mana. Or whatever you want to call them.” He said with a shrug, “And that was after I opened up two new channels.”

Patting Reglin’s hand, Tabitha commented, “Seems as good of a name as any, I suppose. Makes sense given our previous lesson. Ok, so you had 203 streams four hours ago. What do you have now?”

Reglin put his finger under the script he was reading, “Here, try looking here. This is what I’m reading. It says…”

“314!” she interrupted him, “But that’s all I can read. I just see Mana colon 314.” She sounded quite excited by that at least.

“That’s because that’s all that’s on that line. Ok. So, it seems like you may be able to read exactly what I’m reading. It will be awkward, and you will have to read at the snail’s pace that I read at, but maybe you can see what I can do for options?” Reglin tried not to sound too hopeful in that regard, but she was the wisest person that he knew. He would trust her reasoning on things.

Tabitha gave his thigh a squeeze, and looked at him, “Okay Reg. I have been thinking since you told me you opened two new channels that you thought would aid you in your work. And while the one I know about does appear to have some perks outside of work…” Her right arm came across her body and squeezed Reglin’s biceps, “I think that maybe you should do a one to one ratio of professional to personal. I can attest to the fact of how wonderful those lips of yours feel.” Her eyes drifted down to his mouth with her words.

Reglin gave a snicker, but she was right. She was the only person who could give witness to the potency of the artifact’s gifts, “I will definitely consider it. That’s why I am including you in this, Tabitha. For your words of wisdom to give me insight…”

She laughed then, “Plus I can only imagine how many streams I have provided you in the last half hour or so…” and that was NOT his imagination. Tabitha’s hand had moved up and gave his cock a glancing touch before moving back to his thigh. She was teasing him, but he didn’t know it she even knew it right now. She seemed to be acting very impulsively since he arrived this evening. “I will say this too. From what I recall and what you have said, this artifact can grant you some tremendous advantages. Do you think being a good guard will pull more streams your way? Or do you think turning young ladies’ smallclothes to swamps like you have mine tonight will fulfill it faster?” She gave a seductive smile to him and smiled at his reaction.

His reaction being his jaw dropping and hitting the floor is how he felt at least. The woman was randy indeed. Never could he have imagined Tabitha referring to her nether region as a swamp. It was pretty damned surreal. And exciting to know that he had that kind of effect on the woman. Going over all this with a turgid erection was not going to be easy if she kept throwing **** on the fire, “Ummm…” He gave his head a quick and vigorous shake, “So wait… Are you telling me that I might be better suited by flirting, kissing, and pleasuring various women in the hopes that I might gather more streams?” He thought for a moment, “While I like how that sounds initially, I do not like the implications of me seeing those possible women as a means to achieve greater power…”

The woman’s smile went from seductive to sweet in a flash, “I’ve read about and known men and women who did a lot worse things than pleasuring a lover to gain power. I think you would be pretty high up on the list of underhanded schemes. But I also knew that you were not set up mentally to do that kind of thing. That’s why I just encourage you to be you. Be honest with all. Let them know that you are not looking for marriage at this very moment, but that you need to grow and learn.” Her hand was fully on his throbbing erection now, just resting on it and applying very subtle pressure, “Speaking of growing…” and just like that, from sweet to seductive once more, “But we really should go over some things on the scroll.”

An exacerbated Reglin almost yelled in frustration, “Do you think?! Gods, woman, you know that I have never even kissed a woman before today, right? You are doing your best to put me through the meat grinder of torments, aren’t you?”

Knowing Tabitha, the way he did, and not the intimate way, she could not pull of the innocent girl look she tried to give him. He supposed an absolute stranger might have fallen for it, but Reglin knew she was no mere girl, despite looking like she was in her early-thirties, “I have no idea what you are talking about.” She then looked down at her hand and his crotch and gasped in such a feigned way that Reglin couldn’t help but laugh, “By mana, I have no idea how my delicate little hand came to rest in such a naughty place!” She began laughing herself… But the hand remained, “Let’s read, shall we?”

Shutting his eyes, Reglin counted to ten slowly and silently, trying to clear his head of all the tawdry things running through it. And didn’t know anything! He then opened his eyes, at least trying to fake that his exercise worked, “Ok, let’s do this. I won’t bore you with the amount of mana everyone is sending my way. But just so you know, I have received _Libidae _from three people today. One obviously being you.”

Tabitha responded with a snarky, “Is one of them Lim?” and smiled at the intended reaction that Reglin’s face provided. Utter shock and horror, “Ok, so maybe not him. Though, I will say, do not be surprised when that happens, because I guarantee it will, sooner or later.” She chuckled at his confused face, “Ok, will have to cross that bridge when we get there, I guess. But I assume that one of them is Asha… Now, who could be the third?” She put her far hand’s forefinger to her lips in thought.

“I won’t keep you in suspense any longer, and it’s not much mind you. But it is Wilmyna.” Reglin gave a lazy smile, waiting to judge Tabitha’s reaction to the Statuesque northwoman.

And the only visible reaction he got from her was a single raised, inquisitive brow, “Interesting… Though, I think I would recommend getting into the saddle first before trying your hand at that thoroughbred. She might be a bit much for you to handle with your current set of skills… Okay, Okay! Read! Maybe we can add to that set of skills so that you may climb that mountain sooner rather than later!” She seemed to gain in excitement quickly as she spoke of Reglin possibly taking the tall, busty blonde to bed. She actually had a grip on his cock, albeit lightly.

Reglin cleared his throat and turned back to scroll, putting his finger under where he was reading to cue Tabitha in as where to look. He glanced over real fast, “Ready?” She just nodded, her eyes boring a hole through the scroll, “OK…” He said.

He kept skimming his eyes down until he found the mana channels line on the vellum, “Ok, I will read them all. You tell me if you want me to stop on one so that you can analyze it or something.”

“That should work fine. Go ahead.” Those eyes of hers could not be peeled from the scroll if he tried, he thought.

He read on, finger providing where to look still for Tabitha. All in all, the number of channels he could achieve was mind-blowing. The amount of times that either one or both of them uttered something along the lines of ‘amazing’ or ‘astounding’ made the reading go even slower as they both tried to rationalize the capabilities and benefits of them all.

They went through the list finally, with so many so far out of reach, the choices were a good bit less. Tabitha finally gave her opinion, “Okay, I think with the amount on mana you have to call upon, I think you should take the ‘blissful touch’. If it’s anything like your ‘lips of passion’, it will make its mana’s worth. Plus, it is one that you should be able to use all the time. Some of them are definitely pretty niche.”

Nodding at her logic, Reglin could see that reasoning, for certain, “I get that. And what? Does the ability to make, ummm… my… cumtastegoodnotdoanythingforyou?” He realized he was trying to talk more sensually, and he gave up at the end, feeling the embarrassment.

Tabitha gave a loud giggle at that, “Reg, dear… You are going to have to work on that. Your words were fine. If you had delivered them with the confidence you have been showing earlier, I might have a puddle in this chair, given how I’m feeling.” Tabitha apparently had the vulgarity advantage over Reglin, and she seemed to be enjoying how her crass words made him squirm, “But to answer your question, I’m sure it would be nice to have a lover who’s seed was delicious as it pulsed into my mouth, coating it with his manly essence…” Her eyes were fixated on his face as she said this, but Reglin had to close his eyes and try to not think about her words to much. ‘She’s stroking it now?! She-devil!’. And she was indeed tugging his cock just the slightest bit, “But I do not suck a man off because I’m awaiting a tasty treat…” She leans in closer to Reglin’s ear and speaks softly, seductively even, “I do it because I want to please him… To hear his moans of desire and ecstasy. To know that there is nothing more that he wants than to explode inside me…” Reglin kept his eyes closed and just groaned again, trying to drown out the lush sensuality in her voice.

The Magistricia just as suddenly pulls away from him and starts to speak matter-of-factly, “Though, I will admit to being curious about the advanced tier of that channel. It speaks of being ‘both delicious and satisfying’… Does that mean that I, or any other woman could survive possibly by just having you shoot your seed into our waiting mouths and swallowing it? Remarkable, if true… But still, a luxury power to say the least.”

Tabitha knew that she was tormenting the poor boy, and she enjoyed it. It had been many decades since she had engaged in such debauchery, even if only is speak so far. She had forgot how fun it could be. But she had also forgotten what it did to her as well. She joked to make him uncomfortable, but she really had soaked her smallclothes through. She thought to herself ‘Gods, we just passed the second smallbell, didn’t we? Ok, I better slow down…’

With a burst of energy, Reglin opened his eyes wide, “Okay then! So, we got 'blissful touch' as a definite!” He was practically yelling, trying to take his mind off things, “After that I would have 214… err… 222 streams left.” He gave her a sidelong look.

She actually blushed at being told that she was send ever more streams to Reglin, she smiled shyly, “Okay, it is a bit embarrassing to know that you are have such an effect on me. I know you know, but to have this thing apply a numerical value to it is… I don’t know…” She sighed and was silent for a moment, “But seriously, how can you not be thinking that that ‘Bright Mind’ is an absolutely necessary channel to have?”

Happy to think about anything other than his throbbing cock or Tabitha swallowing his cum, Reglin nodded at her last thoughts. He had thought it was definitely a must to get pretty soon as well, “So that will increase my intellect… I feel like this is cheating somehow.”

“Oh, it is, trust me… I am quite jealous. But, in truth, what it’s doing is speeding things up. You are a smart man, Reglin. You have read manuscripts and essays that are not for the simpleminded.” At that, Tabitha leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek, “That was for realizing this for what it is and questioning it. It shows your humanity and it warms my heart to know that I had some small role in helping forge such a man…” She blushed again and Reglin heard no teasing in her. She was genuinely proud of him. For not being power-hungry?

“I’m just questioning it; it doesn’t mean I won’t do it though…” He said. Now he was blushing from the gratitude Tabitha had just heaped on him. He was coming to realize that interacting with this woman on more than a teacher/student relationship might prove to be a bit of a wild ride.

She nodded and raised a hand to stroke his coloring cheek. Reglin thought that she was trying to reduce the amount of carnal lust in the room, so she replaced it with tender caring, “Reglin, I know you will take these advantages. But I hope you continue to question the reasoning behind opening these channels. Some of them do indeed look as though they could be used for less than kind purposes. And you do not realize in your youth just how many people there are in this world that, given this gift, would turn tyrant in days. Just be honest with yourself, and hopefully, with me. I will always do my best to provide wise counsel…”

Reglin thought about that for more than a few moments, “I told myself that I would always try to be as honest as possible with you, and I meant it.”

Tabitha smiled more, “You say as much as possible, leaving yourself some maneuverability. But that also shows wisdom. To be so altruistic to think that you will always be able to tell me everything is naïve. As much as I’d like to think that you should, you never know what the future holds.” The smile slid into the sly kind as she expanded, “After all, I could fall madly in love with you and become a wholly bitch-terror of jealousy… Which leads me to what you may want to do after all this. You may want to save up mana so that you can open the ‘The normalcy of many loves’… If that loosens the emotional grip people might try to hold you with, it will help in the long run.”

That one caught Reglin offguard a little. But thinking about it through the lens that Tabitha showed, it did make some sense. He would be freer to pursue love interests with that one caveat removed. He could not see himself becoming a whore in the goal of gaining more mana, but it did seem that he may be destined for things that were not quite what the run-of-the-mill person would call ‘normal’, “I think the Magistricia does indeed provide wise counsel, and thank you…” His word choice was meant to be humorous, but he hoped she heard just how grateful he was for her in his tone.

She stroked his cheek and held that tender smile for him, letting him know that she had heard what he was trying to convey, “So, I have a request… I think you should open ‘Bright Mind’ immediately. But I am requesting that you do not open ‘blissful touch’ right away. I would like you to do so after the fourth smallbell…”

Reglin remembered that she would close up the library at that time. She wanted to run a before and after test again, like she did with his lips. He gave a slow, knowing smile but responded, “Sounds fair enough. After all, I have no one I plan on putting my hands all over tonight…”

Tabitha closed her eyes and shivered slightly enough that he almost missed it, “… Lucky me…” she opened her eyes and looked at him once again, “Now, open up your channel. It will help with the next lesson. After all, we have almost two hours to go… I can try to show you how to see auras. So, let’s go.”

And with that, Reglin nodded, “Let’s get moving, I suppose…”

~This is knowledge for the Reader~

The Affection Multiplier

~Mana: 314 (+174 - 100) 388~

~Mana Channels: ~Labiae Passionii (Lips of Passion) free, ~ Corpu Vigorii (Vigorous Body) 100, ~ Uirtau Proelium (Martial Prowess) 100, ~Mensu Lucidae (Bright Mind) 100

~Tabitha~ Affectionae: 96 (+4) 100 Erosii: 20 (+5) 25 Libidae: 45 (+15) 60
~Lim~ A: 26
~Boll~ A: 15
~Grahm~ A: 28
~Lina~ A: 29
~Asha~ A: 25 E: 2 L: 2
~Princess Katya~ A: -63
~Lady Wilmyna~ A: 1
~Princess Katya's Entourage~ A: (+11)

Achieved: Fire pulses in the loins! - You have experienced over fifty streams of libidae wind around you from Tabitha (+50 mana)
Achieved: With you to the grave - Your aura cannot take in any more affectionae from Tabitha (+100 mana)