Danae of Stravos normally was no stranger to the Athenian harbor. As the youngest daughter of a family who had built their massive fortune on the back of mercantile affairs, these ships had been her playground when she was little. She could even still vaguely recall some of those days as a young child, barely even four, where she would run wildly around the decks of her father’s ships, laughing just as loudly as her father had whenever the rocking motion became too much for her little legs to handle. She would tumble down and jump right back up again without a care in the world.
The memory tugged a small smile out of the corner of her lips as she hurried down the docks with her bodyguard, and appointed chaperone for the day, keeping pace. It had been a valuable lesson at the time, one she tried to not forget. However, there would be no time for such merriment today. Not for the girl dressed in one of her many pastel red chitons accented with gold detailing.
Today was strictly about business.
Danae wasn’t entirely sure where she had first heard of this mysterious man who seemed to be the de facto expert on all things tonic and tincture related. After all, he hardly seemed to be the kind of man who would find steady business in the social circles Danae was expected to confine herself to; or if he did, his area of expertise was hardly something the delicate ladies of the nobility would openly discuss. However, she believed how she had learned of the man hardly mattered anymore given that she was now briskly walking down the docks to meet the man. All that truly mattered to her at this moment was completing the business they had set out to do and both of them quickly parting ways. She didn’t need anyone asking questions as to why the littlest Stravos was at the docks without any of her family members.
This was a bit too sensitive for them to know about anyways.
With every creak of boards beneath her bodyguard’s feet, Danae couldn’t help, but look nervously at the small sack securely tied around his waist. Inside that rough cloth bag was the reason that the young noblewoman was reaching out to Kreios. There would be no containing her fury if she had managed to take all these precautions and conduct this entire meeting right under the nose of her family to only have the tiny vial with pink liquid break mere moments before she met the man. She had gone through too much trouble to sneak the bejeweled box away from Lyncestia (where she had found it) and safely to Athenia where she had managed to keep it a secret for nearly two months. It was clearly far too important to have all of this effort go to waste. Especially not when she was so close to learning the truth about what that sealed vial contained.
Of course, she could have easily saved herself the trouble and just asked her father and brother what it was. She had found it in the Stravos ancestral manor, surely they would know what it contained. However, there was that nagging fear of doubt that they would take it back from her and the same voice in her head told her that she shouldn’t let that happen. That gut feeling had not led her astray in the past so she was keen on continuing to trust it for now. Though, it would be a lot easier to know who she could trust with it.
Her mind was so lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed that they had now passed all the ships maintained by the royal and noble families of the kingdom. Realizing that she now needed to pay close attention to where she was going, Danae focused all of her attention on the smaller and not as well maintained ships she was passing by. None of them seem to be the one and truthfully, none of them seem to stick out too greatly to her besides one ship called the Aceton and she only remembers that one because some of the sailors aboard that one had the audacity to wolf whistle at her as she passed by. Clearly, these were the ruffians that the other members of the nobility seemed to fear so much. Luckily for her though, her bodyguard was quick at moving Danae to the other side of him so that there would be a physical barrier between them and her. The whole incident did nothing, but quietly light her fiery temper as she mentally cursed every member of that blasted ship. She didn’t let any of her frustration show though, all the years of working with her father had hardened her to such insults. Plenty of men had taken issue with her being in the room before, but all had quickly been shut down by a man who was not keen on wasting his daughter’s talent on account of her gender.
When she fixed her gaze ahead of her, though, a rather tall and brooding man with dark hair standing at the end of the dock caught her attention. She didn’t need to be told twice that this was the man she was looking for. After all, he certainly looked the part of a potions merchant. With a small motion of her hand, she alerted the burly man at her side to the man. He nodded, already understanding what Danae was saying without either of them uttering a single word. They both quickened their pace until they were close enough for Danae to approach Kreios while the other man held back.
“You must be Sir Kreios.” She said simply as she regarded the man who was about to put a two-month query of hers to rest. Something about him put her on guard, though she couldn’t tell what it was. It was just that unnerving feeling creeping within her that reminded her that should not feel comfortable with his man, given the nature of his job. However, she knew well enough to not ignore it.
Best get on with it then, she silently thought to herself as she extended her hand to him, already eager to have this meeting over and done with as quickly as possible.
Secrecy was a part of his job. Kreios was no tattletale, especially in the products he dabbles in. With death and illness coming almost hand in hand with whatever he worked with, it was no surprise that many missives that found him required him to meet them at secret rendevous points, or needed the merchant to be covert about his actions and acquaintences.
And the male met the expectations at every turn. Not one to ask questions, he would simply do as the client asks, and arrive with the wares, as long as he received his handsome payment. That was, afterall, what he was seeking for. To Kreios, nothing offered him greater security then a large amount of money, especially when he's seen how his parents suffered due to their lack thereof. Not willing to allow himself to follow their fate, Kreios now charges highly for his services - and knowingly so.
Having received a mysterious missive not so long ago, his eventual arrival in Athenia saw Kreios sending Descat out on an errand to find the owner of the missive he had received. She had requested to meet him, although with no timeframe. Instead, she had simply stipulated for him to contact her once he arrived in Athenia, and he did promptly that. Descat returned after they had docked and unloaded, informing the dark haired merchant that the lady would be coming to meet him instead.
Kreios had raised a brow - it was rare for those of noble bred classes to come meet him, for the docks was a location where they would not step foot in. But it was her decision to make, and instead the male simply went to swap his clothing out for a more respectable one of black tunic and a pair of gray pants, before strolling out on deck and down the gangplank to await the arrival of the mysterious noblewoman.
She was not far back at all, it seems. Or was she simply eager to see him? Whichever it was, Kreios did not need to wait long before a young girl who looked nowhere close to twenty approached him, a fact that Descat alerted him to, from where the cabin boy had been watching on deck. Kreios managed to turn on his heel just before she came into speaking distance, and unlike many others, did not even bother acknowledging her with a tilt of his head. Instead, the merchant's onyxian eyes simply glittered as she spoke, and gave a simple nod in answer to her question.
The hand he took was not a firm grip. Instead, it was almost as if Kreios merely brushed passed her offered hand, before he retracted his limb, and asked in a tone as flat as the ground itself. "What is it you seek me for?"
Even from a distance, Danae could tell who the potions master was just by his clear penchant for the color black. It was almost unnerving how dark Kreios appeared to be with no other shades anywhere on him. His hair was just as black as his tunic, which only stood out more against his pale, almost paper-white skin. If that wasn’t bad enough, as Danae approached she could also see that his irises were almost the same shade as his pupil, creating the illusion that they were one and the same. It was almost frightening to the young girl, who hardly expected to meet someone who was blatantly obvious about the unspoken nature of his profession as Danae only saw such color coordination at a funeral or during a mourning period. His outfit practically screamed that he was a harbinger of death if you could pay the price for the nicer fabrics he wore, of course.
So, it was hardly a surprise that Danae did not take the offense to heart when Kreios didn’t take her extended hand in a form of greeting. She didn’t want this man touching her. Not with the unsettling vibe, he was giving her between his silence and the odd way he regarded her. Most folks wouldn’t dare risk offending a noblewoman with her by ignoring the proper way of saying hello, but then again did it really matter if he was the kind of man that Danae would never admit to meeting with, even though her intentions were far more innocent than others that would seek out Kreios’s skills.
“I have something that may be of your expertise,” Danae said simply, echoing her missive, as she waved forward the bodyguard that was standing a bit further back, giving the pair some privacy. He didn’t even start moving yet before he was already reaching for the small pouch at his waist that contained one of Danae’s most treasured possessions. She turned to take it from him, the gold detailing on her red dress glittering in the sunlight as she moved. The man didn’t linger once she had taken the burlap sack and instead moved back to not further intrude on the two of them.
As he did this, Danae turned her attention to untying the knots on the bag. Within a few moments, the bag was open and after glancing up to make sure that Kreios was paying attention, she carefully pulled the box she had found in the manor of Lyncestia. Similar to her dress just a few moments prior, the gold detailing of the dark wooden container glimmered in the sunlight. Surely Kreios would have also noticed the imagery that covered the box, clearly Egyptian in origin, was made out of hundreds of tiny little gemstones. The whole thing practically screamed about its own wealth and importance, something that would be just as clear to the man before her as the sense of mystery that surrounded it.
Once she was sure Kreios had a good look at the box itself, she carefully put it back into the sack, not willing to let any of the grimy sailors on the ships surrounding them to catch a glimpse. “I found this box not too long ago and the item I have brought for your inspection is inside,” Danae said as she lightly tied one knot around the top of the bag so there would be no chance of it falling out.
“However,” She started to say as if her suggestion wasn’t already clear enough when she put the box back, “I hardly think this is the kind of thing to discuss in the open.” Her eyes glanced at the ship, her desire for somewhere private to discuss this was not thinly veiled in the slightest, along with the clear hope in her voice that Kreios would be able to shed some light on her recent discovery.
It was about time she learned what that little pink vial was.
It was an odd line he walked, Kreios. His dark clothing meant he did not blend in with many others, easy to pick out in daylight, and obvious amongst many. Yet in the dark, he blended in like shadows, not sticking out like a sore thumb, and it was that kind of life that Kreios led, ironically. One that barely fit the normal societal constructs of life, but also was of him walking the outskirts of the society, not really fitting in.
The young lady that had supposedly wrote to him seemed hardly the age to be seeking out the wares he sold, but Kreios did not bat an eyelash. He had clients of all walks of life, so who was he to judge on what they would need his services for? He only did what he needed in terms of money, and as such, if she could pay, he was happy to be of service, so long as his coffers were filled. Noble or not, status did not matter to Kreios, for all he cared for was your ability and manner.
There was a faint glimmer of curiosity in his dark irises as the young lady pulled out the bag, and then, its contents. How interesting. She was not looking for him to purchase a vial or concoction? Interest flared in his head, but for mere moments, until Danae pulled open the box. He had noticed the detailing on the box of course, and while they would help in identifying whatever it was within, he needed to know its contents first before he could pull strings together.
So one could imagine his disappointment when the young lady, instead, put the box back within the grimy sack it had came from. Irritation immediately set upon his face, a frown marring his otherwise smooth features as he casted a look of irritation at the young noble. A man of few words however, he allowed her to finish, and in a way, saw the sense of her words, if for how it applied to her. Kreios himself had no sense for safety, for he was too overconfident in his ability for self protecton, but he guessed it wasn't the case for anyone else.
Nodding wordlessly, he turned on his heel, and gestured at the entourage to follow him. "Your guards remain off deck. My ship has no space." he murmured as they neared the gangplank. His heavy boots made hollowed sounds as they ascended, one flick of his wrist enough for him to signal at Descat to ensure that the remainder of the entourage remained where Kreios said they were to. Only one was allowed to escort the young noble, and both lady and guard were led by Kreios to belowdeck, to his cabin.
His quarters were not grand by any means, for one could never get overly grand on a cargo ship. But they were spacious, and certainly not suffocating, for Kreios enjoyed large spaces. It was clear for any to see though, that the room he had brought them to, was one to work in, for a large square table was screwed to its middle. The walls of the room was lined with small pigeon-hole like boxes, its front closed and locked to prevent items from falling out should heavy weather hit. As the Azazel rocked on gentle waves, the clink of glass vials could be heard from within, and the room itself had the smell of a myriad of herbs and concoctions. In a corner, was where he kept potted plants that could withstand travels, whilst the other held his items for his craft.
Ignoring all of it however, the moment the door closed behind the two visitors, he was quick to turn on his heel, and asked in a sharp tone. "What is it you wish to discuss, then? I'm certain this is private enough for you."
In truth, Danae was not aware that she did not fit within the image of Kreios’s usual clientele and that made her seem a little odd in the potion peddler’s eyes. Then again, she barely knew anything about the man and the true nature of his trade, to begin with. She wasn’t a fool, she knew that many of those within her circle of society called upon this man when they wanted to sicken an enemy or remove someone from an inheritance line. That was how she had discovered his talents in the first place as she had overheard two very foolish courtiers not-exactly-whispering about how they suspected a jealous cousin had called upon Kreios. (They were very lucky that Danae had some use in this information, otherwise, such a public accusation could have landed them into quite a bit of trouble.) However, she didn’t think it would be that out of the ordinary for him to be called upon to identify other mixtures as well. After all, wouldn’t it mean that there was double the business if he could sell the poison to a would-be murderer and then later identify it to the victim?
If Danae were him, she would certainly market that skill as well in order to make the largest amount of profit possible. Though, that also ran the risk of the concoction being traced back to him. That possibility alone was probably what scared him off from doing such a thing… no matter how silly it may seem to her. A drachma was a drachma, regardless of how dirty it’s source may be. That was her philosophy at least, given her family’s reputation and her own experience working under everyone’s nose. There was no room for morals when there is money to be made.
Surely that was something that both the young noblewoman and the merchant could certainly agree upon.
Danae had to bite her lip to hide a small grin of satisfaction when she saw an irritated look cross the merchant’s face as she took the bag back. It was a stark contrast to the way his eyes lit up in wonder just a moment ago when he saw the rich detailing on the box for the first time. It was a clear indication to her that he had his interest, though whether it was for the coins in her pocket or for the mystery of it all, she didn’t care. All it told her was that she now had something that he wanted, giving her an unneeded upper hand in their dealing right now. As silly and childish as it was, knowing that she publicly had something that he desired brought her a small sense of joy. She was so used to being the one who didn’t hold the power, being on the bottom of the pecking order in her family and not being taken as seriously by other members of the nobility due to her age and her less than pleasant demeanor. Even other merchants usually held more power whenever she was out and about as they were the ones who set the prices for goods and were not above raising it when the daughter of the richest man in all of Greece showed particular interest in it.
The prospect of being the one with the power, the one with the object that was desired… it thrilled her. To her, it was just a taste of how things should have been if she had been born as a boy rather than her cursed gender. She would have had plenty of more opportunities to have a bit of power like this outside of anonymous missives if she could only partake in the family business more publicly, a right that was only afforded to her brother. Making Elias the only son of the Stravos family was probably the most foolish decision the gods have ever made if you asked her.
But that was all set aside along with her grin when Kreios invited her to board his ship, on the condition that her guard stays behind. Instantly that power was taken away from Danae and sense of panic gripped her chest. There was no way in seven Hades that she was going to go on this ship alone without some sort of reassurance that she would not be cheated, or gods forbid, harmed while she was a guest of Kreios. She did not believe that he would do anything, of course. As offputting as he was in his darkened outfit and with his silent demeanor, he had truly been nothing, but a gentleman thus far. A professional who was here to do a job with someone who ranked above her. Already she trusted him more than others she had met, but his slightly unnerving aura was enough to keep her intuition from allowing her to follow him blindly.
“My guard will remain with me. If there is space for me, there is space for him.” She said forcefully in a tone that had been mastered by every member of the nobility. It was clear that what she had said was not to be disregarded. The young girl did not care if his ship supposedly did not have space for one large man. Danae had no interest in allowing herself to be put into a rather dangerous situation. Not after she had been told for years that as much as her name empowered her, it could also harm her. Not to mention her status as a woman, and a noble one at that made her naturally suspicious of any man who tried to isolate her, regardless of the reason.
She couldn’t hold back her sigh of relief when Kreios seemingly accepted her demand and led the way up the gangplank, wordlessly ordering his men to keep their distance. Most of the men on deck went about their business as normal, but she noticed how a few of them glanced her direction once or twice. Some had the same hungry look in their eyes as the men aboard the Aceton had earlier, not surprising her in the slightest. Her father had warned her before of how “starved” a man could become at sea. A pretty looking girl in rich fabrics certainly had to be a welcome sight to them, but unlike the pirate’s vessel, they knew well enough to not do anything stupid. Her silent respect for Kreios grew as each man glanced away when they noticed that Danae saw them. They were clearly well-disciplined and that was not an easy feat to accomplish, perhaps that rugged pirate ship’s captain should take a lesson or two from this Taengean.
Once below decks though, Danae did not see another soul. It was almost eerily empty as the young Stravos followed Kreios to a rather spacious room practically overflowing with different plants and premade mixtures. Various candles on the wall cast the room in a warm glow that only added to the coziness of the space when the scent of the flora overwhelmed her senses. It was almost disarming how homely the place appeared to be and how at ease Danae instantly was. Perhaps this effect was intentional, to allow his clients to let their guard down and be more willing to purchase the more expensive poison.
Kreios, of course, didn’t seem to be affected by any of it as he directed her guard to stand on the inside of the doorway, putting Danae at further ease knowing that her hired protection would be able to instantly react if anything happened… not that it would. In the meantime, Danae took a seat in one of the chairs facing the desk as she waited for Kreios to do the same. There was no rush and there was certainly no need for them to remain on their feet while doing so. Once he was settled, Danae responded to his question by handing over the rough cloth sack with the box within, allowing him to take it out this time. She didn’t have to worry about him doing anything with it now that they were in this enclosed space. “Yes, this will do quite nicely.” She said simply, affirming her need for somewhere private.
She was silent for a few moments as Kreios took the box out of the bag again, inspecting it as she had done countless times. By this point, the imagery had been practically burned into her brain, but still made just as much sense as it did on the day she found it. Danae silently hoped that what she saw in his onyxian eyes as he regarded the box was a glimmer of recognition. Certainly, his travels would make the Egyptian imagery a bit easier to understand. Though, if it didn’t, she would certainly be none the wiser.
Once she was sure that he had a good look at the box, she spoke again, “Inside is what I have summoned you for.” Her matter of fact tone was accompanied with a small nod of her head, motioning towards the latch. She didn’t speak again until he had lifted the lid and pulled out the clear vial with the pink liquid, sealed so firmly that there was no chance of any of it leaking out, which was reassuring as there was barely enough for one swallow. All of it told Danae that this was important, but perhaps it would say something different to the man across from her.
“I do not know what it is and no one I have consulted thus far can identify it either. That,” She said, motioning to the vial, “[/b]Is why I am seeking your counsel. Tell me what it is and I’ll be sure to reward you for your troubles.[/b]” Money, of course, was no concern. Danae was a Stravos. The whole lot of them were dripping in coins and if Kreios knew anything about the royal families, he would know this as well. Though, it was worth noting that it wouldn’t be her father’s coin that Danae would provide him with at the end of all of this. After all, this potion was something she had stole and she had no intention of leaving any trace for her family to find and question her on. So, it would be her own coin she would pay him with… not that it would matter to him. The prize for his troubles just may not be as large as he would be expecting with a family like hers.
As she settled back in her seat, allowing the man to set to work on the task she provided him with, her eyes glanced about the room. Maybe, if he wasn’t satisfied with what she provided, she could easily make it up to him by becoming one of the clients that he normally dealt with. After all, the Stravos family had many enemies and Danae, in particular, had ambitions that pesky brothers stood in the way of.
Either way, Danae was going to get what she wanted and Kreios would have his pockets filled. That was certainly good news for both of them.
His tone bore finality, and with it, no space for argument. Kreios was not dumb, and he knew how the circles of nobility worked. They would go nowhere without protection, least of all on a stranger's ship behind closed doors, but that did not mean he was eager to have all her dozen guards crowding up his deck and getting in the way of his crew. He couldn't care less of the noble young lady was panicked - on his ship, they followed his rules. Not that he wished to do anything to the girl, for despite the things Kreios dabbled in, he was no man of loose morals.
He simply had to make a living.
In his own private quarters, only there did Kreios pause in his panther-like movements, turning to the young lady as he tried to surmise who she was. There was no doubt she was of noble blood, and one of the royal families in Athenia, but Kreios did not make it his business to know the faces of every royal members in Athenia, or any of the other kingdoms really. He was familiar with those who often called upon him for his services, but otherwise Kreios did not turn himself into a dog at their beck and call, not like the other merchants who grovelled at their feet. Unlike the peddlers of silks and gold, what Kreios sold was of a niche market, and he knew his value. The man would readily walk away if his services rendered was not paid in its weight in gold.
Picking up the box the young lady set in between them, his obsidian eyes studied the inscriptions, finding them somewhat familiar, yet not entirely so. While he did travel to Africa on a regular basis, Kreios did not make it his business to know their ins and outs as thoroughly as he did of those in Greece. Yet what he knew was enough to make his brows furrow as he opened the box, peering in and lifting the clear vial, the pink liquid almost taunting him from the way it swirled within. At that point, Danae almost ceased to exist as his mind worked, catching only briefly, her spoken words.
Moving away wordlessly from the lady to pick up an old, ancient looking tome from his bookshelf, Kreios briefly flicked open a page, consulting from it. Bringing the vial to his nose, he unplugged it just a bit to take a whiff, before replacing its lid as tightly as it was before.
His eyes could recognize what gave it the pink tinge, but Kreios needed the mix of smells that came from the liquid to tell him what he guessed. He had his suspicions from the inscriptions that briefly depicted the Egyptian god, Min. While people often used his female counterpart Qetesh on inscriptions and scroll, the fact that only Min was depicted was more telling to Kreios then anything, and that was further surmounted by the scents he had gained from that brief whiff.
The spanish fly held a distinct scent to it, and was known in certain realms to be a powerful aphrodisiac, along with hints of mandragora, a plant he had long studied, and intended to gain one on his next trip to Egypt. Kreios had also detected a faint hint of satyrion, a plant many witch doctors would use throughout the three kingdoms for those seeking to make people fall passionately in love with them. Almond, honey and hearts of artichoke were more that Kreios could pick up on, but what stood out to the poison master the most, was actually a strong hint of marapuama. The tree that was indigenous to places far from Greece, was something that Kreios had only encountered once in all his years, and the fact that it existed in this particular vial of liquid, could only mean one thing.
"This is an aphrodisiac. A potion of love, in layman terms." He finally spoke, his voice echoing in the empty chamber. Taking his tome, he pushed the musty book towards Danae, and let his fingers linger upon a rough sketch of the marapuama tree, something he was sure the young royal lady had never before seen in her life, especially not when Kreios had never seen it himself in its tree form, only its bark and extract. "The marapuama tree grows in lands far from here, but it is known for its capability to bring out sexual urgers, especially those of the male gender in particular. Combined with a host of other aphrodisiacs on your hand, I have to say, you have a strong mixture to get any guy to fall in bed with you if you so wish, my lady."
Despite the fact that Danae thought herself to be utterly forgettable within the courts, she truly would have been insulted if she learned that Kreios couldn’t identify who she was at first glance. After all, she was a member of one of the greatest houses in all of Greece. Seven hades, they were easily the richest one in Greece too and he should surely be able to see that in the finery Danae wore. Her Stravos name was quite plain to see in the elegant red chiton with gold detailing she normally wore whenever she left the comfort of the Archontiko.
All thoughts of her importance were clearly pushed out of Kreios’s mind as he examined the treasure before him. Danae watched intently, not letting a single movement escape her attention. She was secretly impressed by how quickly he worked and how he seemed to forget everything else, even the presence of the young girl in the cabin of his ship.
In fact, he was so seemingly unaware of the fact that she was here, he was almost startled when he did turn his gaze back to her and place the ancient tome he was examining in front of her. She peered forward and managed to catch a glimpse of the tree depicted before the man explained what exactly she had found.
Apparently, the small vial was basically a love potion.
“It’s a what--?” She stuttered out, clearly shocked that something like this would come into her possession. Granted, this was never meant to be hers, to begin with, but at the same time, it rather startling to learn that something she thought to be a poison or some other useful concoction was really an aphrodisiac. Truly that had to be the last thing she had considered it to be despite the fact that the liquid was a bright pink color.
The disappointment in the mundaneness of this discovery was clear in Danae’s tone when she spoke again, “Are you certain?” She did not mean to truly question the man’s findings, but instead, it was just the mere grumblings of a teenager. It was quite plain for her to see that the man was correct, the book he had put in front of her told her as much, but there was still a tiny part of her that wanted to cast doubt. Doing so was quite easy too as she knew nothing about his line of work or this so-called marapuama plant that she had never heard of before. Neither did she have the travel experience that he did as she had only been away from Athenia once or twice in her entire life and those were hardly trips based on botany. She had no choice, but to believe his words. Wasn’t this what he was paying him for?
Quietly accepting the fact that this wasn’t quite what she’d hoped it would it be, her mind began churning with countless questions about the potion before them. “How long would it last?” Danae asked rather matter-of-factly, with no traces of the blush that might have marred the faces of other noblewomen when confronted with the promise of being able to get any man they wanted underneath them. In fact, she was rather oddly nonchalant about the whole notion and although Kreios wouldn’t know it, it was solely thanks to her parents. Thirty years married and the two of them could barely keep their hands off of each other. Marital unions were not that shy of a topic in her household. Especially when the oldest child was nearly ten years Danae’s senior. There was no use in shielding the children from natural urges. Just as long as the girls didn’t actually partake in them, it was treated as something that was normal.
But still, it was a bit different for Danae. At the moment, she chalked up her unabashed outlook on her parents' openness with the nature of their relationship. Little did she realize that part of her indifference was due to her general disinterest in men. Yes, she was aware that the gaze of an Adonis in the flesh didn’t affect her like her sister, but she thought that it was normal. Just like how she got hot under the collar when in the company of a pretty girl. As open as her family was about sexuality, it was assumed that the children were only interested in the opposite gender to themselves. Straying from this was so outlandish that even the child who was not attracted to men in any way rationalized in ways other than her just simply liking girls. So, the prospect of tempting a man to bed wasn’t that embarrassing for her as it would be for others. Not when she already only thought about relations with men in a political context.
However, that slight possibility tugged at her mind. Kreios seemed to imply that this was a powerful love potion without the addition of this marapuama plant that seemingly increased a man’s libido. “Does it only work on men or would it work on women too?” She asked just a bit too nonchalantly for a noblewoman of her stature. This combined with the lack of blush on her face would probably confuse Kreios as Danae was clearly not like other people of her class when it came to this sort of subject. Though, if he would comment on it or muse further on it was yet to be seen.
After all, she was not paying him to question her relationship with sexuality. No, instead he was hired to answer her questions and Danae managed to hold her tongue for a moment to allow him to do just that.
The man was flippant, really not bothering with the faces and names of the nobility unless they were repeated clients. The thing with Kreios was that he saw no blue in their blood. To him, all humankind, noble or not, blood was red and everyone was equal. Each and everyone was judged merely based on what they did in their lifetime, and at the end of the day, everyone ended up buried six feet underground, their souls taken by Hermes, lives taken by Thanatos, afterlife decided by Hades. At the end of the day.... everyone was the same.
Ruled by this outlook of life had made Kreios turn into a very jaded man who cared very little for titles or rank, and only bothered with how everyone treated each other.
His eyes merely regarded the young lady he now spoke to within his cabin as he would regard anyone else, and he gave her a dry look when she clearly could not wrap her head around the idea. Not gracing her with an answer when she actually questioned the validity of his judgement, the male slid the vial back to the girl, before heading towards a further end of the cabin to grab another old, musty tome.
There, he opened the tome, a book with dosages and strength of plants and their capabilities written within it. It took a moment for Kreios to find what he needed, and as he wandered back to Danae just in time to hear her question, Kreios remained silent as he regarded the vial for a moment's longer, and then frowned a little. "I can't be certain on how long it would last. It is entirely dependent on the amount of different aphrodisiacs mixed into it, but it mayhaps depend on the man you give it to. One gulp of it may last longer on a slight, smaller man, but shorter on a man whose been trained in the arcus all day and night." It was a sound judgement, for when he doled out his potions and poisons, he also had to get the measurements of the intended person the poison would go to, for too little would not kill a muscular man as his client intended.
Closing the last, leather bound book he had picked up, he turned his head to level Danae a glance at the last question he asked. Silence followed it momentarily, for Kreios found himself raising a brow at such a question. Yet, it was not his place to question.
As such, he instead headed to pick up the box the vial had came in again, turning it in his hands before holding a finger at a figure depicted on the sides of the box, a rather... lewd picture, if one knew what they were looking at. But for the clueless, it may simply look like odd symbols. Kreios had travelled far and wide however, and the imagery jumped out at him as clear as day.
"This is the Egyptian god, Min. He and his counterpart Qetesh are often used to symbolize fertility and virility. The fact that Qetesh is suspiciously missing from the box suggests that the concoction would work most strongly on men. It may work on women as well, but my guess would be that it would be less effective on the fairer gender." Pushing the box towards Danae, he took a few steps back, and then leaned against the table that took up a majority of the space in his cabin. Crossing his arms in front of him, Kreios finally raised a brow, and extended an upturned palm. "I think I have answered your question as per your wishes?"