Coffee for four

Mary looked at the items on display at the stall from Dermes. It took her a while to realise that she was actually looking for something. Like with Kazoor’s stall, it looked like the vendor from Dermes had bought items from different artisans and was reselling them.

What Mary was looking for was bone items, she would recognise items that Erik or his father had made. But non was on display.

“Is the lady looking for something in particular? Maybe I can be of assistance?” the vendor asked her. Mary felt Tenac moving closer to her.

“Yes, I was looking for items made out of bone” Mary told the vendor with a shy smile.

“I’m sorry to say that I don’t carry any such items” the vendor shook his head.

“It’s okay, it was a long shot. Have a nice day” Mary told him and started moving away. Tenac followed her.

“If you want to look at bone items, we can head to the artisan quarters” he offered.

“No need but thank you” she said. “But I think we should be heading towards the entrance, it’s almost time to meet up with your friends” she added. He nodded, they were almost there so he just guided her through the last couple of stalls.

As they walked up to the entrance Mary had no problem spotting the two riders as they stood to the side talking to each other. As Sinhera spotted Mary and Tenac she raised her hand as a greeting.

“There you are. Ready to get to know the best places in the market Mary?” Sinhera asked smiling as they got closer.

“That sounds like fun” Mary replied.

“Hello Mary, you look as beautiful as ever” Jontak greeted her with a smile and twinkling eyes.

“Hello, thank you” Mary said shifting a bit as she was not comfortable with his flattery. Tenac gave him an irritated look, which Jontak didn’t seem to notice or ignored.

“Where to Sinhera?” Tenac asked.

“I was thinking we should head to the perfumery, I know Tenac hasn’t shown you that. After all he’s a man and they have no clue what we find interesting. Stick with me for the afternoon and it will be fun” Sinhera said, hooking arms with Mary and started leading her away.

Tenac and Jontak had no other choice than to follow. Mary was surprised at first but soon found her pace with Sinhera.

When Mary walked in the marketplace with Tenac they often walked in silence or commented on what they saw. But walking with Sinhera was completely different.

Sinhera talked almost nonstop. She talked to Mary about the latest gossip in the barracks. As Mary didn’t know any of the people Sinhera talked about, she didn’t have much to add. But she found she liked listening to the cheerful explanations from Sinhera.

Soon Mary knew all about the latest romances between different riders, who had played pranks on who and who had gotten in trouble.

As they arrived at their destination, Mary was laughing together with Sinhera while the men followed behind them in silence.

“Here we are, it’s always worth coming by when you are at the marketplace” Sinhera told Mary as she ushered her inside a small shop at the edge of the market.

The fragrant sent that was permeating the air was nice and Mary looked at the shelfs behind the counter that were full of small bottles of different sizes and shapes.

“Ah miss Sinhera, how lovely to see you again” the man behind the counter greeted them. He was a tall, slender man in his 50’s. He had thin brown hair and piercing dark blue eyes.

“Master Allan, I had to show my friend your lovely shop. She is new to the city and I’m showing her all the must go to places. Your shop was top of the list” Sinhera told him.

“You flatter me”

“Mary, this is master Allan, he is a genius when it comes to perfumes. He has some already made, if you tell him what you like, he will find something that suits you. But the best thing to do is to ask him to mix one that is perfectly made for you.” Sinhera introduced Mary.

“Nice to meet you” Mary greeted him.

“The pleasure is all mine” master Allan said with a small bow.

They spent some time in the shop. Mary got to smell some of his perfumes, they were all lovely, and some of his base notes. Mary was curious about how you extracted the base notes, master Allan had told her that they were derived from both flora and fauna. But didn’t go into details. Mary would ask Bettina if she knew.

“Did you have fun?” Sinhera sked as they were back out in the market again.

“Yes, it was very interesting” Mary honestly said.

“Good, now it’s time to go over to where one of the fabric importers usually set up shop. They have the most fabulous fabrics that will make you drool.”

When Sinhera said that a loud groan came from Jontak. Mary turned and looked at him, he looked like he was in pain. Mary looked at Tenac with worry.

“Don’t mind him” Tenac told her.

“Are you okay?” Mary asked Jontak.

“No, the prospect of looking at fabrics after spending almost an hour smelling things, is making my brain melt” he whined.

Mary felt self-conscious at once, she hadn’t considered that while she was having a good time, the others might not.

“What do you want to do?” she therefore asked him.

“We can go to where they have the weapon stalls” he said, giving her a bright smile.

“I thought weapons weren’t allowed?” she asked.

“They aren’t, but they can sell them. But if you buy any, you won’t be able to take them away, but will pick them up at an entrance when you leave” Tenac explained. Mary wasn’t sure that made sense but nodded anyway.

“But we won’t be going there” Tenac added.

“Why?” Jontak whined.

“Because we are here for Mary to get to know the place and she isn’t interested in weapons”

“I don’t mind” Mary said, she didn’t feel comfortable to be the one to decide for all of them.

“There you go” Jontak said happily.

“But I do” Sinhera told him. “I’m going to the fabric stalls and I’m taking Mary with me” she added.

“I’ll tag along. Sir Teeran would kill me if I left Mary” Tenac said. Mary was starting to feel anxious, something Tenac seemed to notice.

“Let’s take a break. We’ll grab some coffee and talk about it while enjoying the sun. My treat” he said.

Everyone agreed to the suggestion and Mary felt better. She sent a grateful smile to Tenac, he just shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. Once they had their cups of coffee and had settled down in the sun, the mood of the group was much better.