Compass of the Nymphs Read Free Page B

when I
    found her today she was just catching her
breath after a chase from all the queen’s men!”
    Taisiya blushed as Ammon gasped and then
applauded. “Well, Miss Taisiya,” he said more solemnly, “do be
careful. Now, let’s find those schematics.”
    Off they went as Ammon led the way, touching
and running his fingers over the books on all the shelves, trying
to remember exactly where the castle blueprints were. Along the
aisles and aisles of books they passed many strange titles such as Pertinent Potions: Volume X , which Ammon explained was
banned because the queen feared the townsfolk would use the recipes
to poison her, and others such as Terrible Tomes of the
Titans, an extremely large and dilapidated book that had been
banned because it contained fantasy stories that would fill the
citizens heads with dreams instead of desires to work.
    At last, Ammon stopped suddenly and grabbed a
tiny folder from one of the bottom shelves. Old and yellow
parchment was inside, and Ammon quickly scanned through them until
he found the right one and plucked it out. He handed it to Taisiya
and said, “Here you are, my dear. I must warn you though; these
designs are from the original plans for the castle. The queen may
have renovated to her heart’s content, and every entrance may now
be blockaded for all I know.”
    “It’s certainly better than having no idea at
all, Ammon. Thank you!” Taisiya said gratefully, carefully tucking
the drafts in her jacket pocket.
    Ammon then led them back to his cozy library
where Melitta and Taisiya stayed and chatted with him for a while
over a cup of tea. Once the cups were empty, Melitta and Taisiya
gave Ammon a hug goodbye and went back up the steps and back out
into the harsh sunlight of the city. They squinted, trying to
adjust their eyes back to the normal daylight from the hazy
candle’s glow they were enjoying at Ammon’s. They worked their way
back to Melitta’s house, eager to map out a plan and go over the
blueprints.
    “It’s so hot today,” Melitta said as they
arrived at her home. “I think I’ll pour us some nice, cold water
and open up the windows to hopefully let in a little breeze.”
    “Good idea,” Taisiya said, sitting down at
the table, “I’m going to get out the designs and take a look.”
    Melitta opened the windows, grabbed two
glasses of water and then joined Taisiya at the table. The castle
designs were very complex, and neither Taisiya nor Melitta had a
clue where to even begin. The parchment was divided into six
different sections with a different part of the castle marked on
each. The first section appeared to contain the structure of the
castle, with the main entrance marked clearly. The second, third,
fourth and fifth sections all showed the different levels and the
rooms inside them of the four story castle. The last section marked
the top of the castle and the watchmen’s posts at all four
ends.
    “This seems to be useless,” Taisiya remarked.
“The only entrance marked is the main one, and the queen will
definitely notice if I just waltz in through it.”
    “Taisiya, dear,” Melitta said, “what was your
plan all the other times you’ve tried to break into the
castle?”
    “Well,” Taisiya said, “I didn’t have one.
I’ll tell you something that these drawings won’t: there’s a huge
wall all around the castle she must have had built. Judging by what
these papers say, after the wall there is a large moat, and only
after passing it do you reach anywhere near the castle.”
    “I think you’re lucky you’ve never managed to
succeed in getting over that wall, sweetie.” Melitta said. “This is
going to be quite the herculean task.”
    Taisiya ran her fingers through her hair in
frustration. “How can I get into the castle undetected?” Her eyes
darted to and fro over the blueprints.
    “You know,” Melitta said, “the queen has to
import a lot of her fine goods. As a matter of fact,
    she has a shipment of crops sent up