Compass of the Nymphs Read Online Free Page A

at the vendor that Taisiya had planned
to visit. The old merchant, named Tomas, sold various potions and
unguents, all of which he received in large crates. Tomas
    had always been kind to Taisiya, and she knew
he would happily give her one of them if he had any to spare, which
is exactly why her heart sank as she eavesdropped on the
conversation Tomas was having with Zara.
    “Perhaps you could place my custom in that
large box you have out back? I assure you I will pay you in kind
for your consideration,” Zara said, charmingly. For such an
intimidating looking figure, his voice was soft and sweet.
    Tomas nodded, “One moment,” he said before
disappearing to get the crate. In his absence, Zara walked around
surveying the various potions. He picked one up that was in a red
bottle marked ‘Love Potion’ and sniffed it before tossing it back
on the shelf and rolling his eyes.
    In the next stall over, Taisiya pretended to
be interested in a variety of different scarves for sale while she
kept her eyes and ears on Tomas and Zara. Tomas had returned with a
large crate, and was loading the items Zara wanted into it. When
the crate was about halfway full, Zara motioned Tomas to stop.
“That’s all,” he said, “and if you don’t mind, I’d like to use the
crate to haul some food back up to the castle as well.”
    “Certainly,” Tomas said, peering down into
the box to make sure he had written down the totals of everything
Zara had ordered. “Your total, sir, is…”
    Zara shook his head. “Your reputation as the
best in your business precedes you. Nothing you charge would be
enough for your services.” He reached into his coin sack and pulled
out a handful of gold drachma and tossed them to Tomas.
    Scrambling to pick up the coins, Tomas
exclaimed in delight. “Thank you, thank you so much!” Zara smiled
and walked off to buy the food and bring it back to the crate
before leaving. He soon came back with a sack of greens that he
casually slung into the crate before thanking Tomas again.
    “The pleasure is all mine!” Tomas assured
him. “Here, let me accompany you back to the castle; it’s the least
that I can do, Zara.”
    “That won’t be necessary,” Zara grinned. “I
can handle myself. If you don’t mind, I’ll be back down to pick it
up tomorrow? There have been more attempts to break into the
queen’s castle, and she is planning on having a…thorough
investigation tomorrow. The other men and I could more easily carry
it back up than just me alone.”
    Tomas wanted to know more, and so did
Taisiya. She listened with baited breath as Zara went on, “Well,
the queen isn’t too happy, I’m afraid. There will probably be the
usual…a few houses overturned, you know. The usual scare tactics.
Don’t worry, though, I’ll make sure you and your family are
safe.”
    Tomas went and hugged Zara, and then the
queen’s spy left to return to the castle. Taisiya knew that the
potion master would soon be closing up his shop, especially after
receiving such a generous payment. She ran over and walked in,
smiling at Tomas before taking a good look at the large crate by
the counter.
    Pretending she had no idea what the box was
doing there, Taisiya innocently asked, “What’s that?”
    “A customer with a very large order,” Tomas
said. “He’s coming to retrieve it tomorrow. I’ll move it out of
your way, dear.”
    “Oh, do let me help you!” Taisiya smiled. “We
can move it to the back where he can get it easily tomorrow,
no?”
    “That’s a great idea,” Tomas said, grinning
back.
    Working together, they quickly had the crate
behind the shop in no time. It would sit there where no one could
see it, but anyone that knew it was there could easily take it.
That night, Taisiya snuck behind the potion shop and pried open the
lid of the box. Inside was an abundance of ointments and creams
along with a few love potions and the sack of food that Zara had
bought.
    When Taisiya tried moving the crate on