After drying off and cleaning up, Ean returned to the castle. He made a quick stop with the royal herbalist to purchase one of the plants on Aria's list. His next stop was the Ministry of Trade to provide an update on building his network of wildlife surveyors. The trade minister wasn't in his office. Instead, Ean briefed the Deputy Secretary who had deputized him, about his success.

The Deputy Secretary's face and demeanor were inscrutable, although Ean suspected the man was not fond of him. In a flat tone, the deputy stated, "The minister finds your survey important, so I find it important too. However, none of my wardens will be assisting you. Is that clear?"

Ean nodded. "That is only fair since I'm not doing anything to contribute to their quests either."

He dismissed himself and walked to the market square. A florist had the last two flowers he needed from Argonia Central and one from Argonia North. With nothing more to gather, he went to the bookstore to prepare for his trip to Argonia North.

At the gate leaving the city, Ean joined a group of miners and gemsmiths returning to Riverside. They discussed working in the Ironstone Mountains. Ean talked about his work as a game warden. He convinced two of them to be wildlife surveyors by the time they reached the city limits.

It was late-afternoon and Ean worried the market sellers might call it an early day. He rushed to the herbalist and florist stalls half-winded and looking flush. An herbalist had three of the plants on the list. He was short one flower to complete the entire list when he spotted a florist packing up for the day.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a Blue Trumpet Iris, but I don't know what they look like." Ean showed the woman his list.

"You're in luck. It's the end of their flowering phase. I have six left and then no more until next year."

"Excellent. I only need five though."

"Most people buy them in threes. Surely you won't leave me with a single flower."

The irises were extraordinarily beautiful, with a powerful fragrance. Not buying all of them would be a crime. "I suppose… how much are they?"

"Tell you what, I notice the handwriting is a woman's and by the sparkle in your eyes, she's someone special. You buy all six and I'll give you half of my last dozen pink carnations."

Ean checked the list. "Pink carnations aren't on the list."

"Oh, you sweet dear boy. Don't you know pink carnations possess a power over women's hearts? You give your lady fair carnations and she's guaranteed to be sweet on you."

Ean purchased the six irises and all dozen carnations. He pulled out two and gave them to the middle-aged vendor, causing her to blush. "What are these for?"

"I wanted to verify they work."

"Looks and charm,' she said while appraising him. "If she doesn't fall for you, send her to me to straighten her out."

He thanked her and walked to the herbal supply shop. Using his reflection in the door window, he straightened his hair and smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt.

The door swung open, and Aria gave him a look. "If you're done preening, come inside." She pointed to the wrapped bundle he was carrying. "Are those my plants?"

"Is Lily here?"

"She's out running errands and then going home. Don't count on her to rescue you if I find out you brought the wrong plants."

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"Do you really need the plants or was running me all over the kingdom a practical joke?" he asked, while handing the bundle to her.

"They'll all have a purpose when I'm finished with them." She peeled back one side of the bundle wrapping. "Looks like you managed to acquire everything." She pointed at the pink carnations. "What are these doing in here?"

"I was told they have the power to warm a pretty girl's heart."

Aria's demeanor softened, and her cheeks flushed pink. She was rendered speechless for a couple of seconds before asking, "Why are there ten when I only asked for five of the other plants?"

"I don't know what your intentions are for those plants. I do know my intentions for the carnations. Someone as spirited as you won't be easily won over with five carnations, so I doubled them. "

His reply elicited the first genuine smile he'd seen, and it made his heart do backflips. She met his gaze for a few seconds before her emotional wall went back up. "I acknowledge the attempt by awarding you +1 to Flirting. Fleming. Ean Fleming," she mocked.

He'd clearly knocked some holes in her wall.

QUEST COMPLETED: SQ-03 Acquire five of each plant on Aria's list

SKILL UPGRADED: Flirting +1

STAT INCREASE: Charisma +1

She rewrapped all the plants and took three steps down the hallway. She looked over her shoulder, arching one eyebrow. "Well? Don't you want to find out what the plants are for?"

Ean followed her into her office. It was twice the size of Lily's, with only half the space. A crowded bookshelf covered one wall. Most of the left side was taken up by an alchemist's workbench. A paper screen barely concealed a small bed and wardrobe in the back corner.

Aria placed the bundle on the alchemy bench and unwrapped the plants. She pulled out the carnations, smelled them, and handed them to Ean. With the back of her hand, she gave his cheek a light caress. "Be a dear and put those in some water while I get to work."

Although his eyes watched her work, his mind was elsewhere for the next half hour. When she finished, there were four corked bottles of assorted colors, and a soft leather pouch on the alchemy bench.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and scrubbed her hands. "The clear bottle," she said while pointing, "is invisible ink. Dip anything that will write into it and write a message. Exposure to a high heat, like a flame, makes the message visible."

"That's ingenious. I assumed these were purely medicinal plants."

"Some are," Aria said and pointed to a green bottle. "Poison antidote. It takes twenty-five to thirty seconds to act. If you can stay alive that long, it will neutralize all poisons."

Ean looked at her with new wonderment. "Where did you learn how to do this?"

Her eyes clouded with pain as she said, "Mom was an herbalist and father was an alchemist in Northold. I learned both skills from them…" She swallowed hard. "Before the previous Emperor had them, and every other alchemist and herbalist, put to death."

"I am so sorry to hear they died. Now I understand your desire to become a spy even after the assassination attempt on Lily and her husband."

"Being a spy is the most effective way I can make the empire sorry they were taken from me." She wiped away a tear that had rolled down her cheek before pointing at the vials. "The red one contains an atomizer. Be very careful because it's wolf repellent. Within a second of exposure to air, the spray smells something awful and makes any skin it comes into contact with feel like it's on fire."

"I will be extra careful with that one. What's in the blue bottle?"

"Knockout gas. Wave it under someone's nose or apply to a cloth and put it over their mouth. Puts them to sleep in two seconds."

Half-joking, he took a step back. "Remind me not to make you angry."

"You haven't seen the best one," she replied as she picked up the leather pouch and a lit candle. "Hold this candle out at arm's length."

He took the candle, spread his feet shoulder width apart, and held his right arm forward.

"To demonstrate properly, I need to lean against you." She pressed her back to his chest. "Don't move!" she commanded.

With her face between his head and right shoulder so she was looking down his arm, she stuck two fingers into the pouch. She pulled out a pinch of fine brown powder, put it next to her lips, and gave it a hard puff.

The powder flew toward the candle, expanding into a cloud. When the cloud reached the flame, it exploded into a brilliant, but brief, fireball.

"Dried mushroom spores. Magicians mix them with dried and ground up moss to make their puffs of smoke for their final magic trick."

"I see purple spots."

"Sorry. I forgot to mention to look away. The spots go away in ten or fifteen minutes." She placed the bottles and pouch of powder into his satchel. "Go wait in Lily's office while I wash up. I'll come get you before we head out."

"Ok." Ean stumbled with his arms sticking out as he felt his way to the door. "Wait. Where are we going?"

"You're taking me on a dinner date. Some place nice."

As he felt his way down the hallway, he couldn't stop grinning. The florist was right, the carnations worked.