Chapter 4

"You must be Vanlo."

If anything more was needed to convince Vanlo he had suffered ill effects of some badly-conceived potion, it was when he was startled by the voice behind him. His body jerked, causing the contents of a ladle to miss the intended vial and spill over the table. "Oh, goodness," Vanlo muttered as he hastily tried to wipe up the mess before it could drip over the floor.

"Here, allow me."

Vanlo was further startled when the rag he held was abruptly yanked out of his hand. He staggered back a bit and had to grasp the back of a chair for support as his eyes fell upon the fair-haired young man before him.

"No need for you to trouble yourself with such things now," said the young man as he flashed a grin at the older Healer. "Not that I'm finally here."

Vanlo paused a moment, quickly growing steadier on his feet. In a bemused voice he said, "Indeed? Have I been sent someone to handle menial tasks about the office?"

The young man laughed as he stood and glanced about for a moment, still holding the rag. He flashed another smile at Vanlo. "Well, I don't know about 'menial' tasks, but I certainly will do whatever comes along with the job."

Vanlo gave him a confused look. "Job?"

The man gave Vanlo a short bow. "Lanno G'sallan, from the Healer Guild, at your service." His grin widened as he folded his arms across his chest. "Or rather, to be your service from this point on, soon as you show me where everything is." He glanced at the rag for a moment and looked around again. "And introduce me to your assistants."

Understanding now came to Vanlo's face, as well as a twinkle to his eye. He smiled gently at Lanno. "Ah, yes, now I understand. You are here to replace me."

"Got it in one. But then I would expect nothing less from you."

"Oh? Has my reputation preceded me?"

"Oh yes, your name has been quite well-circulated at the Hall."

Vanlo smiled and stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Goodness. I do hope they have been keeping the insults about me to a minimum."

Lanno laughed again. "Your dry sense of humor was one of the things I was told about."

"You are quite sure that was not 'warned about' instead?"

Lanno smirked. "Do you wish to continue to regale me with your wit, or show me about so that I may get right to work? I am sure a Manor like this has many things that need to be done." He glanced at the large vat containing a recently made batch of Kaylaxxa salve, his smile widening. "Hmm, I appear to have arrived at just the right time."

Vanlo regarded the young man, a look of concern crossing his wrinkled face for a moment. Lanno appeared to notice this and raised a quizzical eyebrow. Vanlo immediately dismissed the look from his face and continued. "Yes, indeed, I was planning on beginning the Kaylaxxa distribution today. You are welcome to assist me. I can take the opportunity to show you where everything is."

"Assist?"

Vanlo noted both the confusion and wariness in Lanno's voice. "Hmm, apparently the Overlord was correct in his assessment of Imperial interference with commerce and communications in Oceanus."

"I am sure I do not understand a word of what you are saying, Vanlo," Lanno said with a wry grin.

Vanlo paused another moment, feeling somewhat put off by the young man's demeanor. He tried to disregard it for the time being. The young man was like most newly-minted masters of their craft; self-assured and overeager. "It is most regrettable that my latest missive had not reached the Guild Hall. You are likely still under the impression that you are here to replace me."

"Are you saying this has changed?" Lanno asked, his smile fading.

"Yes. I have decided to stay on as the lead Healer at the Manor."

There was a pause. "Lead Healer," Lanno said tonelessly. "Which would make me... the assistant Healer."

The tone of Lanno's voice was slightly cool. Vanlo did not take this as a good sign. "My apologies for this turn of events. There has been much happening at the Manor that is beyond the normal scope of..."

"With all due respect, Master Vanlo... I did not become a master-level Healer so that I may 'assist.'"

Vanlo caught the sneer in the undertone of Lanno's voice. He did not like it one bit. While he realized that it had been his fault that he had lost his Farviewing pearl some time ago and thus could not Farview the Guild Master to head off Lanno's departure, he did not care for Lanno's attitude. It was one thing to be disappointed; it was another to border on disrespect.

Vanlo was loathe to call him out on it. They were both Master level, even if Vanlo had far more seniority and experience.

And in truth, Vanlo had made the decision to remain in his position only recently. He actually had not expected his letter to reach the Hall in time. It had been a combination of his desire to continue to work on the matter of the illicit potion plus his lack of confidence that someone from the current generation of new Healers could handle the responsibility of the position.

He had hoped to be proven wrong on the second count, however.

"I understand your concern," Vanlo said evenly. "I do not like the situation either. And I do not intend to treat you as an apprentice. In fact, you will likely take on the bulk of day-to-day operations here."

Lanno nodded at this, but did not appear mollified. "And might I ask which of our names will appear as the Master Healer of the Manor?"

Now Vanlo wished the man were an apprentice, for he would receive a sound tongue-lashing on how a Healer does not care for prestige but the welfare of his patients regardless of his title. He had to wonder now what new breed of Healers they were producing at the Guild Hall these days. At first Vanlo was going to offer that both their names appear, but Lanno's confrontational attitude made him believe that the young man needed to know his place, master-level or no.

"My name will appear for the time being," Vanlo said pleasantly, though some of his smile was forced. "That does not have to be permanent."

"I simply must remain in your good graces, is that it?" Lanno asked mildly.

Vanlo shook his head. "It is mostly a formality. Few people will note who is the Master Healer of a Manor outside of our own circle. It should not be a concern to you for now, but I will make sure it is understood that you have equal standing with me."

Lanno nodded slowly. The implied lesson that Vanlo was attempting to impart was not lost on the young man. He simply did not like hearing it. Nevertheless, the smile returned to his face. "You are correct, Master Healer. I am likely focusing on details that need not concern me at the moment."

"I am quite glad you understand," said Vanlo, his smile a little more genuine now.

"So long as you understand that I am indeed intending to get right to work. I wish to perform my Healing duties now. As you said yourself... you do not intend to treat me as an apprentice."

Vanlo stroked his beard. "Hmm. You have a talent for turning words back upon someone. Interesting."

Lanno smiled at this.

Vanlo did as well, but his was more forced. It had not been intended as a compliment.

"Thus you shall perform them," Vanlo declared, gesturing at the vat. "Please commence with the task I was involved in, that of filling the glass vials with Kaylaxxa doses." He glanced at the rag that Lanno still held, and then back at the counter where the Kaylaxxa had already dripped onto the floor. "And in cleaning up this mess. We will need the vials for this afternoon soon after the midday meal."

Lanno looked askance at this.

Vanlo gave Lanno an even look. "It is the very same task I would be performing now, and you appeared ready to take up this task yourself when you arrived. Is there a problem?"

"I had assumed I would summon someone for this and merely supervise. Do you not have any of the Manor slaves for piddling tasks such as this?"

Vanlo nearly bristled at this question. While he would sometimes employ slaves to assist, he did not consider any task done in the performance of his duties to be "piddling" or worth less than his total and most skilled dedication. In as polite a voice as he could muster, Vanlo responded with his own question: "Would you consider the actual application of the salve to be too 'piddling' as well?"

Lanno did catch the intended sarcasm but chose to let it slide. Instead, he simply gave the older Healer a wry grin. "Oh, no, that is the most critical part. I fully intend to apply myself to that task with the utmost care and dedication."

"Ah. No doubt you will."

Lanno would not let that one slide, however. One corner of his mouth turned upwards. "Do you object to me enjoying my duties, Vanlo?"

"Not at all. I quite enjoy performing my Healer duties. All of them."

"Some tasks simply have a different type of enjoyment, my dear Master Vanlo."

Vanlo felt a small bit of resentment at this. It was the first time in a long while that he ever really missed not being able to partake of the more usual pleasures of the nubile slaves of the Manor, and he disliked Lanno for making him think about it in the first place. "I am quite sure you will find ample reward of that type after your duties are concluded for the day," Vanlo said crisply. "That is the standing policy for anyone who works in a Manor. On duty, I will expect nothing less than complete and unpretentious professionalism from you."

"And why would you doubt such a thing? Again, I thought you stated I would not be treated as your apprentice. You are telling me nothing I have not already learned several times over."

Vanlo had the urge to say "obviously a few more times were necessary" but refrained from doing so. He was rather taken aback by how quickly Lanno had begun to grate on him. He had a feeling that there would be some tension between himself and his supposed "replacement," especially if he were younger. Vanlo had no illusions about his own immunity to feelings of envy or jealousy. Indeed, the events of the past moon were more than enough reason to make him wish he were a young man again.

Instead, Vanlo conceded the battle of wits for the time being. "Perhaps a better approach would be a division of labor. We divide up the duties amongst the two of us, rather than attempting to decide who is above whom."

Lanno nodded at this. "Fair enough," he said, his voice a little more friendly now. "I assume I may still take on the Kaylaxxa treatments."

Vanlo did not say a word, but merely gestured to the vat and then to the empty vials.

"Yes, yes, I know, I will do that task as well. But you will forgive me if I do not enjoy it as much as delivering the treatment itself," he added with a small grin, the humor returning to his face.

Vanlo chose not to respond to this. "I wish to retain the more experimental and research-oriented parts of the Healer position here."

Lanno raised an eyebrow at this. "Research? Here?"

Vanlo smiled. "Research should never be confined to the Guild Hall, as they do not benefit from field experience. It is not as prestigious as what the Guild Hall may do, but it is important. And it is something I have already started and do not wish to transition to another."

"May I at least ask what this research pertains to?"

Vanlo was reluctant to answer, but had no basis in which to keep the information from Lanno. "I have two extant projects. One concerns a possible theft of ingredients from my stores to create a potion that affects one mentally."

Lanno looked genuinely shocked at this. "Why would someone wish to do that? And is that not something more for the Overlord to be concerned with?"

"He does not have the knowledge to determine what potion was created. Without that knowledge, it is hard to determine what crime may have been committed."

"Seems strange that someone would go to the trouble to do such a thing."

"The second project is dealing with removing a scar from one of the Overlord's slaves."

"A scar? I thought the Overlords prided themselves on picking slaves that were more or less physically perfect."

"She developed the scar as the result of an injury. I am having trouble making the last of the scar vanish."

Lanno smiled. "You may want me to help with that one."

Vanlo paused a moment. "Why is that?"

"I specialized in skin ailments at the Hall." His lips curled into a small smirk. "That and genital health. It was one of the reasons why I wanted to be assigned to a Manor."

Vanlo had trouble believing that the young man just happened to specialize in the exact skills that would be considered valuable at a Manor. It was more likely that he wished a posting to a Manor, thus he chose to specialize in those areas. Such a thing was generally frowned upon at the Guild Hall, or at least it had been when Vanlo had been there. That had admittedly been more than three decades ago.

This definitely did not bode well for the future of the Guild, in his opinion.

"I will keep that in mind," Vanlo said flatly. "In the meantime, I will continue solo in my research. I shall also wish you to perform emergency care if needed. This is the area I feel I am not up to par."

Vanlo watched Lanno for a reaction to this statement. Had Lanno looked the least bit smug at this admission of inadequacy on Vanlo's part, he would have dismissed Lanno on the spot and sent him away. Instead, Lanno did not alter his expression and looked attentively to the older Healer.

Still, Vanlo felt an inherent antipathy towards Lanno. He realized that some of this was his own failing. He was naturally reluctant to give up any part of his duties to someone else.

He had said he would not treat Lanno as an apprentice. Unfortunately, he could not shake the idea that this is precisely what Lanno was. There simply was no way that the young man could profess to have even the fraction of experience that Vanlo had.

"Is there anything else I need to know before I start?" Lanno finally prompted Vanlo.

Vanlo shook his head slowly. "No. Please go about your duties, then." He started to turn away, stopped, and returned his gaze to Lanno. "You will forgive me if I monitor your progress when you first start this afternoon. It has nothing to do with my impressions on your competence. I simply feel very protective of my patients here and wish to know that they are receiving the best care. I am sure you will not disappoint me."

Lanno simply bowed his head at this and smiled. Vanlo turned and retreated into the back room.

Some of Lanno's smile faded. This was the kind of prejudice he should have expected. He knew that the retiring -- correction: formerly retiring -- Healer was rather elderly and could give the younger man some trouble. It was why he had made it very clear from the start that he was ready to take on his duties immediately. He wanted to reduce the banter with the old man to a minimum. He would have to tolerate the prejudice only once.

Now he would be forced to work with the man every day. He did not like the situation any more than Vanlo did. He hated the idea of having to prove himself over and over. He had hoped that securing the master level would spare him from this once he went abroad and was free of the stogy atmosphere of the Guild Hall. Instead, it was as if Vanlo himself were a relic of this.

Lanno sighed as he began the task of measuring out the Kaylaxxa doses. One thing was very certain: he was going to hold the Overlord to the tradition of allowing the Manor staff free access to his slaves. He felt he was going to be earning that little reward every day of his time here.

When she first walked into the Healer office, Amanda faltered in her step, nearly coming to a stop. Her Mistress snapped her chain gently and prodded her forward.

What had stopped her cold just past the reception area was Roquan's presence in a corner of the room. She had not expected to see him here, and felt vaguely embarrassed at the thought that he might see her receiving her Kaylaxxa treatment. It was silly, she knew. She had had sex with the Overlord several times already, so he was already intimately familiar with her body.

It was only the fact that the Overlord appeared busy in conversation with Vanlo -- and thus taking no mind of her or Sirinna -- that allowed her to turn her eyes from him. However, the only other thing in the room to focus her attention on just made her feel even more awkward, despite the fact that she went through this ritual once every moon cycle.

There were four tables arranged in a row. Three of them were occupied by other slaves. Two had already been treated, as evident by the bright glistening of the Kaylaxxa salve on their nether regions. One was trembling and moaning, her legs spread almost uncomfortably far apart. As Amanda watched, the slave's moans grew more strident, her back arching. After several moments of straining at the edge of orgasm, she let go with a short cry.

Amanda swallowed, averting her gaze. The slave on the second table seemed in better shape. The glistening from her pussy was not as pronounced and she looked a little more relaxed. On the third table, a slave was actively receiving a treatment.

This time, Amanda came to a dead stop and did not respond to the snap of the chain as she stared.

It was unusual to see a stranger in the Manor unless it was another Overlord or a Merchant. This man looked like neither. He stood between the legs of a slave, his fingers deep inside her tunnel. The slave writhed and moaned on the table, uttering brief cries now and then as she came and then came again. Her body shuddered with the strength and speed of her orgasms.

The man himself wore an impish grin on his face. It was clear to Amanda that the man was quite enjoying herself. She felt herself bristle a bit as she recalled Yanna, the Imperial spy that had disguised herself as a slave. Yanna had used the Kaylaxxa on Amanda and had given her a concentrated dose of it. She believed that Yanna had enjoyed watching Amanda's predicament. That had irritated her more than the treatment itself had.

"Amanda, move along," Sirinna said urgently into her ear, giving Amanda another snap of the chain and a light swat to her rear.

Amanda finally moved toward the empty table, though her gaze continued to hover over the young man. She stopped by the side of the empty examination table and waited as Sirinna removed her cuffs.

Amanda continued watching the young man as he withdrew his fingers from the slave and gave the young woman a smarmy smile. "You make such lovely noises while being treated, my dear. It will be my pleasure to do this again for you next moon."

The young slave girl managed a small smile at him. She tried to close her legs, only to shudder and moan as it triggered another orgasm.

The man chuckled at her. "Now, now, take it easy. Your sweet little pussy is just a tad sensitive now. Best not disturb it for now. Unless you like having those additional orgasms." He winked at her.

"Amanda."

Amanda blinked. She finally tore her gaze away from him and turned it towards Sirinna.

"If you're wondering who that is, Master Vanlo had sent for an assistant. That is most likely him."

"I already don't like him," Amanda said without thinking.

"Amanda!" Sirinna whisper-shouted in both shock and reproof.

"I'm sorry, Mistress."

"You will treat him with the same respect that you show Master Vanlo."

"I will, Mistress... I really am sorry, I don't know what came over me."

Actually, she did know. While she had been watching the young Healer and forming a bad first impression of him, Roquan had begun scrutinizing her from across the room. There was a bit of a disapproving look on his face, as if he somehow already knew the opinion Amanda had formed of the man.

The way he can read me so well creeps me out sometimes, Amanda lamented to herself.

Sirinna removed the chain from her collar. Amanda turned and climbed up onto the examination table. She felt very nervous, as if this were her first time receiving the treatment. Since the time with Yanna, she had received her treatments from either a fellow slave in Vanlo's temporary employ, or Vanlo himself. In the latter case, he had approached the task with such academic aplomb that it had not made her nervous at all.

Amanda liked Vanlo. He was something of a grandfather-like figure to her. She never truly had a grandfather, so she was guessing as to what it was like. Suffice it to say, Vanlo was someone she trusted a great deal. She was supposed to be respectful towards everyone she met. Vanlo was one of the few that she felt had earned her respect.

As Amanda arranged herself on the examination table, she turned her head in time to see the Overlord walk out of the office. Amanda half-expected that he would be waiting for her outside the office to ream her over her behavior.

"Now who is this sweet young thing?"

Amanda gave a start as she felt a hand touching the inside of one thigh as the words were spoken. Her head jerked back and she just barely managed to avoid pulling her leg away from the touch. Instead, she tried to steady herself and smile up at the man as his fingers played lightly along the smooth flesh.

"This is my Trainee Amanda, Master," said Sirinna.

"Lanno G'sallan," he answered smoothly. He grinned at her. "And you must be the famous Sirinna."

Sirinna smiled at this. "You're most kind, Master Lanno. Thank you."

"Oh, but that is from the Overlord's mouth, not mine, my dear. He appears to think the world of you. You will forgive me if I do not do your treatment. Roquan asked that Vanlo do the honors."

Even Roquan doesn't like him, Amanda thought with a small degree of triumph.

"I understand, Master. I will take the first table that becomes available."

Lanno grinned and let his hand play along Amanda's thigh, drifting up towards her pussy. Amanda trembled slightly. Lanno turned his gaze towards her inquisitively as if he had picked up on this. Rather than back off, however, he gave her a wry grin, a wink, and draped his hand lightly over her mound, one finger idly prodding at her womanhood.

Amanda uttered a small gasp and swallowed. Her folds became damp after only a few moments, as conditioned now as she was to respond quickly to direct erotic stimuli. Very soon his finger slid over freshly slick flesh that was growing steadily more aroused from the touch.

Amanda moaned softly. Inwardly, she resented how her training had made her body betray her. When she had first started, she at least had to like her potential partner somewhat, or find something about him or her that aroused her. Now her body responded to simple touches or a few spoken soft words.

It was precisely how she was expected to react as a slave. This was precisely why she hated it, at least now with this man.

"She responds quite satisfactorily, yet she appears so young," Lanno commented to Sirinna. He eased two fingers into Amanda's tunnel and stroked her womanhood with the pad of his thumb. "She cannot be any more than fourteen."

"F-fifteen," Amanda immediately said, her voice slightly breathless. When Sirinna gave her a reproachful look, she added quickly and more respectfully, "At least I think I may have reached my fifteenth birthday, Master Lanno."

"A spirited one, too." He thrust his fingers in and out of her in a rapidly increasing rhythm.

Amanda started panting as the pleasure rose from her sex. The arousal he had sparked spread through her body, her skin flushing and her nipples rising to points. Not long after, Lanno's free hand cupped one of her orbs and flicked at the hard nipple. Amanda shuddered and moaned.

Gods, why is he doing this? Amanda thought. Just because he can?

"She's been taking to her training very quickly, Master Lanno," said Sirinna. "I'm rather proud of her."

"And well you should be, Sirinna. And she is quite pretty as well. Is she the only Trainee? I don't recall seeing anyone else collared."

"Yes, she's the only one."

Lanno chuckled as he squeezed Amanda's nipple between thumb and forefinger, rolling it back and forth and tugging at it. The fingers in her pussy sank deeper and thrusted harder. Amanda closed her eyes and moaned deeply, her body rocking in perfect time to his movements.

"At this rate, she won't be for much longer," Lanno said.

"That may well be true, Master."

Even as distracted as she was, Amanda could catch the bit of disappointment in Sirinna's voice. She did not want Amanda's training to end any more than Amanda did, since it meant they would be separated once Amanda was contracted to her first client. Even as much as Amanda wanted to gain the privileges that came with graduation from Trainee status, it was a day neither one of them was looking forward to, or tried to think about very much.

She felt Lanno's fingers suddenly twist inside of her and probe a bit harder into her. They touched her inside her tunnel at her most sensitive spot, making her gasp, her back arching sharply. She felt herself strain at the edge, uttering a high-pitched whimper, until she finally came crashing over the side. She cried out as she throbbed, her pussy pulsing hard around his fingers, squeezing them, her hips jerking slightly.

"Mmm, very well-developed muscles for someone so young as well," Lanno said with a grin as he thumbed her nub again, prolonging her orgasm as long as possible and making her pussy squeeze his fingers again. "I can only imagine what that would feel with something else in there instead of my fingers. Or perhaps I will have to find out one day."

After her orgasm had finally faded to where she could think coherently again, she opened her eyes in time to see Lanno wink at her.

"We only just started muscle control," Sirinna explained. "Though I did think that she would pick it up rather quickly."

Amanda was still panting lightly when Lanno finally withdrew his hands from her. Amanda shivered slightly. Despite the pleasure she experienced, she felt uneasy, as if he had violated her somehow. It was a silly notion; she was a slave, and Manor staff had the privilege to request pleasure from the slaves. If she had refused, she would have been severely punished. Transgressions like that were tolerated less and less with each passing day as her training progressed.

No one else had made her feel this way. Not when Roquan took her on occasion, or when she was offered to a merchant passing through the Manor. And certainly not with Jollis, though that may be considered a different story. She had not felt that way with the Overlords when she had serviced them during the Conclave, save for Freya, but that was again different circumstances.

She looked up at him. There was just an inherent wrongness to him that made her feel uneasy around him.

"As much as I would like to continue chatting with you two," Lanno said as he briefly stepped away from the table and fetched a vial of Kaylaxxa from a nearby shelf. "We do have a little procedure to take care of."

"Master Vanlo is calling me over for my own treatment, Master Lanno," said Sirinna. She looked down at Amanda. "Now, Amanda... I'll just be over here." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Behave yourself."

Amanda inwardly sighed but just nodded at Sirinna. Her eyes followed Sirinna towards the far table, where Vanlo was gesturing to her with a warm smile on his face. For a moment before he turned away, his gaze shifted to Lanno. Amanda wondered if that was a look of displeasure on Vanlo's face at that moment or if it had been wishful thinking on her part.

"Now, Amanda..."

Amanda's gaze snapped back to Lanno. Lanno was emptying the vial of the glistening salve into one hand.

Lanno grinned. "Spread your legs nice and wide for me. Just like you would for a Master or Mistress."

For a few moments, her old streak of defiance resurfaced, the same one that Roquan had hoped would be gone for good. It made her instead move her knees closer together and hold them there for a very brief moment before finally dropping them to either side of her, baring her pussy completely for him.

It was not lost on Lanno. He paused as well, his eyes flicking to hers. He gave her a knowing smirk. "You are indeed quite spirited, aren't you?" he repeated, but in a less amused voice this time.

Before Amanda could think of an answer or a reaction, Lanno abruptly slapped his hand against her pussy and began massaging her folds deeply. The Kaylaxxa salve made his fingers very slick, sliding over her flesh as if it had been bathed in oil.

Amanda gasped loudly. Her pussy rose like a rocket and exploded, throbbing so hard that she almost could not breathe for a few moments. When she finally did pull in air, she let it go as a sharp cry.

"You may be learning a great deal under your Trainer, but I imagine you are quite the handful for her. And for the Overlord."

Lanno's fingers squished up and down her slit, driving her quickly to another orgasm as her pussy grew hypersensitive from the Kaylaxxa that now coated it. It was like a constant and never ending stimulation from within, her nerves electrified and firing madly. Amanda could not speak a single coherent word, as much as she was moaning and whimpering from the constant orgasmic assault.