Chapter 260

He pursued the aroma to one of the townlet's tiny market stalls, where his old friend Leo, a lesser vendor, had set out a scant collection of essences on the narrow board of his stall. It was the labour of a period to the outstanding leisure of Leo himself to deduce which of the aromas on request was the one he investigated, which the old vendor simply thought planned as a souvenir for a woman. Questioning its purchase, Knight Ambrose almost choked at the price of even the tiniest vial, describing the expense of feeding the orphan for a month and finding little variation. The vendor chuckled at his surprised tone and leaned in close, slipping the small vial of the fragrance into a pocket of the knight's tunic with a dramatic wink.