In a word, Tressa was worried.
How could she not be? Ophilia had shifted so suddenly when they were on the way to what would have been Saintsbridge, and even after she returned to normal, Tressa couldn't get the image out of her head of Ophilia staring at her lantern in that strange daze of almost not even being there. She could barely focus on anything that was going on as far as Tressa was concerned, always glancing back to the Ember as if she expected it to do something out of the ordinary. Tressa didn't know what she anticipated, but she felt as if something was wrong. Nothing about this could at all be normal, but that only posed the curiosity of what was taking place that could cause everything to skew so far from what it should have been.
Bolderfall brought an abrupt end to Tressa's wonderings though. Bolderfall was a loud city, definitely the noisiest that they had visited thus far. Not even the clatter of Sunshade in the nighttime had been enough to even come close to comparing to what Bolderfall had to offer. It was the largest city in the immediate area, and the mountain that it thrived on seemed to always be alive with some type of activity.
"Wow," was all Tressa could bring herself to say at first. She took an experimental step forward as she looked around the city. There were people everywhere, and it made her home of Rippletide seem so small and insignificant by comparison. She didn't think that she had ever seen quite so many people gathered in one area, and she didn't know what to think about it. There were a few merchants among the crowd, though there were just as many people who were clearly trying not to be seen by the common eye. If Tressa had to guess, Bolderfall had a darker side than one would have expected at a first glance.
"We're looking for a young man with white hair," Ophilia told the rest of the group. She hadn't elaborated on the strange event that had claimed her attention earlier in their journey, but Tressa had the sneaking suspicion that the Ember had told her something out of the ordinary. The Ember had pushed Ophilia to reach out to other members of the group in the past, and it wouldn't be out of the question to say that it was responsible for this series of events as well.
"Let's go deeper into town. I doubt that we're going to find anything staying on the outskirts of the city this way," Primrose suggested. Olberic nodded his agreement. Cyrus, on the other hand, was still watching Ophilia in notable curiosity over what she had said a few moments prior. It seemed that Tressa wasn't the only one seeking answers for Ophilia's sudden bout of odd behavior, though she had a gut feeling saying that it wouldn't be quite so easy to glean answers from Ophilia's recent actions. She had to wonder if even Ophilia understood what happened when her eyes glazed over with silver and she began to change.
"It looks like that path over there leads somewhere special," Alfyn commented. The group had gotten deeper into Bolderfall, and Alfyn was pointing in the direction of a set of stairs that seemed to lead elsewhere within the city. The path was much fancier than anything else that Tressa had seen previously in Bolderfall, and she hoped that it would take them somewhere of note. She was desperate to hear something about this mysterious white-haired figure that Ophilia was drawn to all of a sudden.
However, it quickly became apparent that this path wasn't going to be taking them anywhere. Standing directly in front of the stairway was a man wearing dark purple clothing. He was looking out at the other occupants of the town with a critical eye, almost as if he was searching for something. He didn't seem to notice the group approaching him, and Tressa was glad for that. After all, it meant that he wasn't looking in her direction when she let out a gasp.
His hair was white.
"He has to be the one!" Tressa hissed to the rest of the group, though she was admittedly doing a rather poor job of whispering. She had never been the best at such a thing in the first place, and she saw no reason to be too quiet given the situation. The man with white hair was too far away to hear her as far as she could tell, and she had to be at least somewhat loud if she was going to communicate with the rest of her team.
"He is," Ophilia confirmed. She cleared her throat before steeling her resolve and starting to walk toward him. She missed the way that Primrose's eyes went wide with shock. The dancer was examining the white-haired man with a surprised gaze, and she reached out one hand in an attempt to grab onto Ophilia's wrist.
However, she was a hair too late, and Ophilia wound up standing right in front of the white-haired man soon afterward. "Um... Excuse me," she began to say. She didn't seem to know what she was meant to say from there though, and she wound up closing her lips before she could bring herself to say anything else from there.
The white-haired man pulled away from his thoughts of looking over Bolderfall, and he looked in Ophilia's direction with a frown. "Can I help you?" he asked of her. Everything about his posture was tense and guarded. His mouth was hidden from sight thanks to his scarf, but his voice was still clear above the cacophony of the town around them.
"I... I was just wondering if we could do anything to help you," Ophilia responded with a smile. Tressa could tell that she had been pushed onward by the Ember and hadn't given herself the chance to think about what she wanted to say in detail. The recent events with the Ember were certainly changing Ophilia for better or worse; Tressa never would have imagined Ophilia capable of doing something like this without thinking in advance and preparing what she had to say, but the Ember was pushing her to do things out of her comfort zone already.
"Sorry, I..." the man began to say, though he cut himself short when he looked over the rest of the group. His eyes fell on Tressa in particular, and the intrigue that played across his expression made Tressa stare at him in confusion. She hadn't ever had anyone look at her that way, and she wouldn't even know how she would describe it. In a way, it was as if all of the pieces of the puzzle had come together in his head, though she didn't know at all what picture he was thinking of to begin with.
"Is something the matter?" Primrose questioned, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him intensely. There was something about her that could only be described as protective, and Tressa was left to wonder if there was more going on in Primrose's mind than initially met the eye.
The man shook his head and smiled in Ophilia's direction, though there was an undertone of severity to his grin. "We can help each other out, as a matter of fact," he said simply, ignoring Primrose's question entirely. "You can call me Therion. I'm in seek of a few... Unique services right now, and you all could be just what I need." His gaze lingered over to Tressa once again, and she questioned him with her eyes. He refused to offer any answers, instead just looking away and not leaving behind even the smallest traces of a clue for Tressa to find.
"Are we sure that this is a good idea?" Tressa questioned, turning back to face the rest of the group while still keeping one eye poised on Therion where she had the chance. All he did was stare at the group at large, his expression unreadable. Tressa felt a shudder run up her spine. "We don't know what it is that he wants, and I don't think that we should get into trouble at a time like this."
"I'm sure that we can trust him," Ophilia assured her, a gentle smile on her face as she looked to where the Ember was fastened against her hip once again. Tressa stared at the white fire and wondered if she would be able to see whatever it was that had prompted Ophilia to send everyone in this direction in the first place. No matter how long she stared, she was unable to glean anything that could at all be helpful to her cause, and Tressa resisted the urge to let out a heavy sigh of disappointment.
"You had best explain what's going on when we arrive in the next town," Primrose told Ophilia, still clearly not sold on the idea of having Therion travel with them. Tressa couldn't tell what was going through Primrose's head either, though this wasn't exactly anything out of the ordinary given how hard it was to decipher Primrose's behavior on a regular basis. Tressa hoped that one of these days, she would be able to figure out what she had to do in order to understand her teammates, though part of her feared that it would be a while before she came at all close to reaching this point.
Ophilia nodded to Primrose before she shifted her attention back to Therion. "We'll help you, Therion," she smiled. "Allow me to introduce you to everyone. My name is Ophilia, and this is Cyrus, Tressa, Olberic, Primrose, and Alfyn. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Therion stared at her as if she was out of her mind, and while Tressa had to admit that she agreed that Ophilia was acting strange, she found herself getting defensive when Therion pointed such a thing out, even if he didn't say it out loud. "Good to know," was all Therion said in response. He turned on his heel before gesturing for everyone to follow him. "Come with me."
Tressa stayed a few paces behind Therion as they moved into another part of Bolderfall that was much fancier than anything that the rest of the town had displayed up to that point. If she was traveling with any other person as her guide, Tressa would have focused on staring at her surroundings in wonder, but instead, all she could do was watch Therion with caution on her mind. Tressa had been taught to not assume the worst of people, but there was something about the way that he carried himself that bothered her deep down. She was a friendly person, but Therion bothered her in a way that she struggled to articulate openly. She wasn't going to say anything about it as long as Ophilia trusted him since she had faith in the cleric's judgement, but it remained a lingering whisper at the back of her mind.
The gates and matching manor that came into view caught Tressa by surprise, and she almost stumbled backward from pure surprise. She hadn't ever seen a building quite so large. As far as she could tell, this was someone's home. There were people that lived in the lap of luxury this way. Tressa blinked a few times just to make sure that she was actually seeing what she thought she was, but even then, her mind was still left struggling to process it all.
"Good day, sirs," Therion suddenly said, and Tressa found herself crashing back into reality abruptly upon hearing the words. He was behaving much more personably all of a sudden, and Tressa glanced around for a moment before her gaze fell on the guards that he was addressing. "I've come to call on the Ravuses. Would you kindly announce my arrival?"
The guard on the left glared at Therion and the rest of the group mercilessly. Tressa shuddered under his intensity. "They're not seeing anyone today! Begone with you at once! Begone, I say!" he exclaimed, making a shooing motion with his hands to show that he wasn't going to be backing down.
Therion shook his head. "Allow me to introduce myself: you see, I am a merchant of some repute-"
"A merchant?" the guard cut in before Tressa had the chance. "And 'of repute,' you say? Don't make me laugh!" Tressa found herself biting her tongue to make sure that she didn't say something to a similar effect. She never would have taken Therion for anything at all similar to a merchant. If anything, he seemed more like a thief with his shadowy demeanor and shaded gaze. He was far from being anything like the merchants that Tressa had encountered in the past, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. She blinked at him, doing her best to stay quiet since she didn't think that speaking up would help their case much.
"You ought not judge a man by his robes," Therion cautioned deliberately. When the other guard stepped forward, Therion continued. "As a matter of fact, I was personally summoned by the lady of the house, and I doubt she would react kindly to hearing I was turned away. I, and the other members of my caravan, for that matter, must speak with the lady of the house as per her request."
The guard on the left staggered backward by a step or two. "Summoned? You?" he echoed, eyes wide in shock.
Therion nodded, but neither one of the guards was buying it. "You think we're going to believe that codswallop?" the guard on the right asked loudly.
"If we had a leaf for every rotten thief who gave us that story, we'd be as rich as the Ravuses!" the guard on the left cried out, placing his hands on his hips in a show of drama. Tressa's fingers gripped tightly at the straps of her bag at the mention of thieves. She couldn't help but think back to the pirates that had ransacked Rippletide and left the people to suffer. She remembered the brigands that had stormed through Cobbleston and took a hostage in the form of a small boy along the way. She absolutely detested thieves, and if Therion was one, then she was going to have to make sure that she kept her distance. Preferably, a revelation like that would end with him being ousted from the group entirely, but Tressa was trying her best to keep her biases from getting in the way. Maybe she was wrong about Therion. She certainly hoped that was the case.
"But since we aren't, we're here protecting their fortune from would-be swindlers like you," the guard on the right continued, entirely ignorant to Tressa's internalized plight. He gestured to the rest of the party, and Alfyn shot him a look of pure offense at the mere implication that he was here as a thief.
"Thought you could outsmart us, didn't you?" the guard on the left questioned, his tone slipping into something mocking and condescending.
"The next time you're 'summoned,' remember to bring your letter," the guard on the right scoffed with a shake of his head.
Therion nodded, producing a piece of white paper from beneath the dark recesses of his cloak. "Would you be referring to this letter, perchance?" he questioned casually. His tone made it clear that he knew exactly what the guards were looking for, and he undoubtedly had it pressed between his fingers.
The guards staggered back in surprise, examining the page again and again in an attempt to determine its authenticity. "How did you get that?! It must be a fake!" the guard on the left cried out in poorly-veiled shock.
Therion sighed and shook his head. "If you still aren't convinced, I fear there's not much else I can do," he said simply, disappointment seeping in at the edges of his words. He began to step away, the rest of the group watching him in concern. "I'll take my leave, but I will give Lady Ravus a full report on what happened today. I wonder how she will see fit to deal with this affront to my good name..."
Those words earned immediate shock from both of the guards. The man on the left looked almost desperate as he stepped toward Therion. "W-Wait, sir! We were only doing our jobs," he attempted to explain, his voice starting to edge on something pleading. The other man nodded his agreement as the guard gestured to the gate. "You may pass."
Therion turned back in the direction of the gate with a light smile, though Tressa could see it clear as could be that he was still hiding something. "Why, thank you, gentlemen," Therion told the two guards. The two men nodded before scattering in either direction to open the gates. The wires at the top fell slack as the gates were parted to make way for Therion and his companions to go through.
Tressa remained silent until after the gates had closed behind them. In part, this was because she could barely bring herself to speak. Somehow, Ravus Manor was even more impressive up close, and it seemed to be a lot bigger with the building looming over all of them. Tressa felt like little more than an ant. The fact that just one family lived in such a massive building was ridiculous to her. Back home in Rippletide, she and her parents had lived in their simple shop, and that was all there was to it. Others lived simple lives as well, and she didn't think that she had ever seen anything as ornate as this. Even Sunshade's magnificent tavern seemed to pale in comparison to the ever-present beauty that was Ravus Manor.
"Let's go on inside," Therion suddenly cut in, not waiting for anyone to agree or disagree with his words. He walked to the front door, and from there, all he had to do was show off the letter to the guards stationed outside the entrance. The grand brown doors were pushed open for the seven travelers, and they all filed inside before they were left alone in the shaded space of the entryway.
The manor was mostly white on the inside, and Tressa's jaw dropped as she tried to convince herself that she was actually in such a luxurious space. The walls, floors, and ceilings were all adorned with ornate silver designs, and red curtains hung from the windows. Rugs of the same velvety scarlet covered the room.
"We should move to the back end of the building if we wish to speak with the lady of the house," Cyrus suggested. Tressa nodded her agreement. She hadn't realized that they were given directions on where to find Lady Ravus to begin with, but she assumed that it had happened while she was caught up in her surprise over being near the manor while they were still outside. Either way, she supposed that it didn't matter all that much. As long as they were able to accomplish their goal, everything was going to be fine.
For a moment, Tressa was willing to have confidence in Therion. She wondered if perhaps she had been too quick to judge him and believe that there was something amiss with his behavior. After all, if not for him, they wouldn't have been able to get into the mansion to begin with. Granted, he was the reason that they were there to begin with, but the fact still stood. Ravus Manor had some of the strictest security that Tressa had ever heard of, and he had played an important role in getting the team into the building. She was being ridiculous in believing that he had some ulterior motive to all of this. Everything was going to be fine.
As soon as she thought this though, reality came crashing down. Therion didn't shake his head at Cyrus, but everything about his posture was dismissive of the idea that they were going to be heading in the direction of the lady's space. Tressa's chest grew tight, and she realized that Therion intended on exploring the building before even thinking of approaching their destination. He gestured for everyone to follow him as he started to move in a different direction from what Tressa would have expected.
Tressa swallowed dryly, once again trying to convince herself in vain that everything was fine. She knew better though, and she was only fooling herself to try and dull her panic. Therion was doing something that she wasn't going to approve of, and he was fully aware of such a fact. He knew that nobody would want to go along with his plans if he explained what he was doing in detail, and that was why he was remaining quiet as they continued their journey.
Once again, Tressa had an awful feeling about all of this.
It had been all too easy, Therion thought.
In all honesty, the supposedly incredible security system of House Ravus wound up coming up pathetically short compared to his expectations. All he had to do was play the guards at the gates like instruments, and before he knew it, they were all walking around inside the manor as if nothing had happened to begin with. The other guards that were patrolling the inside of the building for intruders left them alone. Therion kept the letter of introduction in one hand as a way of fending off all potential obstacles. The note was more than enough to fend off the guards from engaging them in combat or attempting to throw them out, and for that much, Therion was thankful.
Therion didn't know why it was that this group of travelers had decided to approach him all of a sudden, but he certainly wasn't complaining about it. He worked alone, but they had been a convenient solution to a complicated problem. He wasn't going to be passing for a merchant given his regular attire, but the rest of the party was certainly personable and had reputable enough appearances to pass for being part of a group of traveling sellers. All Therion had to do was stand around with them for a while, and everything would fall into place. He doubted that he would have been able to get into the mansion if he hadn't taken advantage of their outward appearances of reputation. In that way, Therion was grateful to them for everything that they had done. He would never say this outwardly of course given that he had a reputation to uphold as well, but that was the fact of the matter regardless.
His plan was to carry out the theft, and when the group recognized just how reviled they were with him, then they would leave. Therion was an expert in terms of escaping, and all he had to do was slide under the radar using the methods that he had learned how to utilize over his many years on the streets. For the time being though, he was concentrated on seeming as reputable as possible, and being part of a merchant caravan was the best way to accomplish such a thing.
Therion found himself looking at them out of the corner of his eye. He would have been lying if he said that he didn't think that they seemed to be at least somewhat decent people. In fact, he was confident that they were better than most others that he had associated with. He could read at least the surface level information about them at just a first glance, and he fully intended to take care of that information if he had to. There was something deep inside of him, like a gut feeling of some kind, that was pulling him in their direction for one reason or another. Therion knew better than to be swayed by petty laws of interaction and emotion when logic and hard facts ruled his life. Leaving a weakness in his armor was asking for someone to take a knife and drive it straight into his chest. He refused to allow anyone the chance to do such a thing.
Therion could sense it when the group arrived at their destination. The grand room was located at the bottom of a set of stairs, and four pedestals of pearly white stood at the back of the room, tall and proud. Each of the podiums was empty save for one, the second from the left. A blue gemstone gleamed brightly atop a small stand of deep obsidian, and Therion took a few steps closer. He could tell that there was something special about the stone as soon as he got anywhere near it. Every part of his body seemed to stand to attention in the presence of the jewel, and Therion knew without having to guess that this was the famed treasure of Ravus Manor. Nothing else could even dream of comparing to the sheer splendor of this gem.
"So this is the amazing 'treasure' everyone is talking about," Therion murmured under his breath. He heard the other travelers come to a stop behind him, but he didn't turn to face them. Unwilling to convey the truth of the stone's value to the rest of the group, he scoffed. "It looks like an ordinary gemstone to me. Can't imagine it's worth all that much."
"The jewel before you is worth more than your mind could hope to fathom."
Nobody had the chance to speak before shock swept through the group at the sound of a voice that seemingly belonged to an older man. The owner of the voice, a man with white hair, dark brown clothing, and a sword at his hip, entered the room carefully. His gaze latched onto Therion instantly. Therion, meanwhile, found himself overwhelmed with something akin to humiliated shock at the fact that the man had snuck up on him at all, though he hid it to the best of his ability. "Your inability to discern as much is disconcerting, to say the least," the man continued all too casually.
"Who the hell are you?" Therion asked, seemingly the only one with the confidence to speak to the man. "Not just anyone can sneak up on me like that."
"I should be the one asking you that question," the man returned. "Not just anyone could have made it this far into the manor, after all."
"You won't get answers by stroking my ego," Therion snapped back.
The older man simply shook his head. "I meant it as nothing but genuine praise. Allow me to congratulate you on being the first thief to make it here."
A small growl rose up from the crowd. "I knew it," Tressa muttered, her voice strained with dissatisfaction. Ophilia held out one hand before Tressa to keep her from getting any closer to Therion. The entire group was only holding back because of her, and Therion knew it. He would have been lying if he said that he wasn't at least somewhat grateful for her naivete helping him to get this far.
"You say it as if you wanted this to happen," Therion commented to the older man.
"Just so. We tightened security for that very purpose," the man replied, not at all seeming to mind that he was confirming Therion's suspicions regarding the theft. "We figured no thief worth his salt would be able to turn down such a challenge."
"Go on," Therion prompted as he reached for his dagger beneath his cloak with a subtle hand.
"To this end, we even asked the barkeep for help," the man explained. "His job: find promising thieves and spin tales about this manor."
"In other words, you tricked thieves into trying to rob this place," Therion muttered as all the pieces came clicking together in his head. This was a trap from the start, albeit not the one anybody anticipated.
"Think of it more as appealing to their inner nature," the man said with a chuckle. "'The great treasure of Ravus Manor, guarded by a veritable army!' What thief could pass up such glory, such riches? We had such high hopes, but we were constantly met with disappointment. But finally, one has proven himself worthy."
Therion shook his head to himself. The man knew that he was the only thief in the group, the one liar in a crowd full of honesty. "I should have seen this coming..." he muttered, hating how easy it was for him to slip into something that seemed so blatantly falsified in hindsight.
"And yet you did not, and I find myself most grateful for your lack of foresight," the man continued, not at all caring about the way he was insulting the very subject of his praise.
"So what's your angle?" Therion questioned. He could see the rest of the group preparing for combat behind Ophilia's restrictive arm, and as much as he hated to admit it, they had a point in reaching for their weapons. His grip tightened on his dagger.
"I need not explain that to you," the man suddenly stated, his jubilant voice suddenly falling flat. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Heathcote. I am a butler in the service of House Ravus."
"You expect me to believe an ordinary butler snuck up on me?" Therion asked, making his disbelief clear in every sarcastic word. He slipped into a defensive stance. "Anyway, who you are won't matter once I'm out of here. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"I assure you, you won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Heathcote replied, drawing his sword from the sheath at his hip. He leveled it in Therion's direction, and the thief's eyes narrowed as guards suddenly slipped into the doorway. The danger of this trap was becoming notably clear, but if that was the case, he was just going to have to fight his way out.
He just hoped that the rest of his temporary allies would be willing to listen to Ophilia long enough to finish the battle with him.
This chapter was supposed to go up yesterday, but I wound up being away from internet for a long time, and when I came back to wifi, I passed the hell out due to being incredibly tired. However, it is here now, so allow me to present you with this gift, everybody!
This chapter is a sort of unorthodox way for the cast to meet up with Therion in Bolderfall, huh? He was trying to solve the issue of making his appearance match the reputation named in the letter, but then the group showed up as just the group for him to use to his advantage. In other words, he's lucky that Ophilia is here because she wants to speak with him, because if not for that, he would have had a lot less luck in figuring out what to do from here.
There's not much else to say about this chapter, but I will say that there will be more dialogue with the rest of the team and Heathcote in the next chapter. I hope that you guys are all looking forward to that, because it's going to be tons of fun to get into in my opinion. Aside from that though, this chapter mostly speaks for itself.
Because of that, I'm going to leave things off here. Next time, we'll round off Therion's chapter one! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed! Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital