Noblecourt was exactly as Therion remembered it.
The people in the town square were bustling around and bumping into one another as they did their best to reach the richest of stalls selling wares. The people who were immediately perceived as having less wealth were ultimately pushed aside and shoved without any hesitation. The richer people had so much gold rolling off them that it practically made Therion nauseous, and given that he made his living as a thief, it was impressive that people were able to have so much money that it was difficult for him to bear. He wasn't sure how all of them made their livings, but it was easy enough to say that the people here lived in excess for the same reason that so many people in Stillsnow were forced into such an unfortunate lifestyle under the influence of Rufus just so that they were able to survive. The system was sickening, and Noblecourt was just another symptom of the problem as far as Therion was concerned.
Noblecourt was exactly as Therion remembered it. He meant that in the worst way possible.
Olberic and H'aanit were the iron walls of grit and determination that allowed the group to make it through Noblecourt's merchant quarter without running into anybody who wanted to pick a fight with them. Most people, even the filthy rich who had more than they knew what to do with and just as much foolishness to match, knew well enough to stay as far away from the two of them as possible. Therion was both glad for this and upset that this was how it had to play out. On one hand, it meant that he wasn't pushed around like he was worth less than a piece of trash. On the other, it drew all too much attention to their party, and that was the last thing Therion wanted as a thief.
It seemed as if Therion wasn't the only one who was averse to the idea of having to make herself known in Noblecourt. Primrose had been practically gluing herself to H'aanit's shadow ever since they arrived, using both Linde and Hägen as a way of making sure nobody bumped into her. She was wearing a cloak she had seemingly bought while they were in Stillsnow to hide her face from anyone who may have wanted to get close enough to the point that they would have been able to see her face. Therion understood why she was acting this way; Noblecourt was her hometown, and that meant it posed a threat for her as a noble. Therion hadn't ever been to Noblecourt before the fall of House Azelhart, but he could imagine that this wasn't going to help her much, so it was only natural that she would want to mask herself as much as possible.
Therion was glad that he and Primrose were able to foster as strong of a working relationship as they had, because under any other circumstances, he imagined he was bound to hate her. She was rich and lived in the upper segments of society until her noble house collapsed, though he supposed he wasn't able to really push back against her when she had turned to his same lifestyle after going through so much. Therion never expected he would find himself allied with a former noble in such a way, but he supposed that he never saw any of this coming. He would have preferred to stay as far away from Noblecourt as possible because of how obnoxious the people there were, but he knew he didn't have much of a choice but to stalk into the eye of the storm if he wanted to preserve what little pride he had left. As much as he liked the idea of making Cordelia and Heathcote beg him for forgiveness after what they had done, he knew that wasn't going to happen, and his best course of action was to just find the damn dragonstones so that he could be freed from the worst contract he had ever found himself at the heart of.
It was only by some stroke of a miracle that the group managed to arrive at the inn, though Therion noticed that Alfyn had strayed away from them. He was likely off to try and find as much information as possible about getting a discount at the inn for the night. They were going to be there for at least two or three days as far as Therion could tell, and while he knew they had more than enough money to look after the costs of staying in Noblecourt thanks to his thefts from the Obsidian Parlor, he preferred to preserve their leaves as much as possible. There was nothing wrong with a discount, and hopefully Alfyn would be able to secure one before night fell.
"For now, we should split up and see what we can do about finding out more about all that's going on around here," Tressa suggested. "We have to find out more about the shrines, and we need to do what we can to search for the dragonstone too. I think we can accomplish both goals at once if we split up."
"We should all split up," Therion cut in, not wanting to admit that he wanted some time to himself. "We need to get a lay of the land before we do anything else. Noblecourt is a big city, and if we want to find anything, we have to know what's going on." Therion did have a point in saying this since he was fully aware of just how obnoxiously huge Noblecourt was as an environment, but at the same time, he just needed a break from the crowds. He had enough of a headache after the way the last few days had been going, and he was desperate for some time to himself to just think over everything he had to put up with thanks to Cordelia and Heathcote's damn habits of blackmail.
The other members of the group glanced to one another before Cyrus offered a smile that was all too charming for someone who should have driven Therion up a wall simply by existing. "Alfyn seems to have already set off on his own," he remarked. "I agree that it would be best for us to learn as much as possible about this town before we settle down. If we find any new information, we can talk about it when we meet up later tonight for dinner. How does that sound?"
There was a general consensus of agreement at those words, and Therion took that as his cue to disappear into the shadows and get ready for a moment of peace. He knew relaxation didn't exist in Noblecourt except for the richest people who ran the entire city, but he needed something similar to peace for a few scarce moments. He had to iron out his thoughts, and he knew he wasn't going to be able to do any of that as long as he was overwhelmed by all the noise of the merchant district of the city.
Therion slunk to the outskirts of the city, and he let out a sigh once the cacophony of the city had faded into distant white noise. He tossed a small apple into the air before catching it and taking a bite. He had managed to snag it off a merchant with too much pride and spite for any one person, though Therion supposed he was a hypocrite for making comments of that nature. He ultimately shrugged it off though, knowing that getting caught up in thoughts about the upper class would only distract him from what he actually had to get off his chest as soon as possible.
Therion knew realistically that he should have shoved Rufus out of his mind as soon as they left his body there to rot in the Obsidian Parlor, and yet, he wasn't able to stop thinking about the monster who ran Stillsnow from the shadows. Therion didn't even want to know how many people Rufus had wronged over his many years working at the heart of such a twisted operation, and he also chose to not ask any questions about how long it had been going on. As far as he could tell, it had been in existence for well over a decade, but an operation like that could have easily been around much longer. There was no way to say for sure, but Therion knew he hated it more than words could ever express.
The worst part of it all was the way that Rufus' face was structured, angular and sharp as it was. Therion couldn't help but find it all strikingly familiar in the worst way possible, and he did his best to not think about it even though he had no way of escaping it. How could he get away from everything that had been building up in the back of his mind for as long as he could remember? There were some questions that had lingered in Therion's head for ages, and he didn't know how he was supposed to get rid of them. He had given up on trying, but Rufus only added an extra layer of complication to the equation.
Therion knew little about his family. He remembered his mother vaguely, but she passed away in poverty before Therion could reach his ninth birthday. She was doing everything she could for the sake of them both, but in the end, she wasn't able to handle all the pressure that came with stretching herself so thin. She was a maid in the house of some noble Therion had long since forgotten the name of, and the work had been long and difficult in a way that her body hadn't been able to handle. She perished exhausted and starving, and Therion could still remember holding her hand until it went cold.
Therion never had the chance to meet any other blood relatives of his either. He simply hadn't ever been granted that opportunity; his mother claimed that she had run away from an awful life that she wouldn't allow her child to be wrapped up in. Therion assumed that was why he didn't know anything about his father, but that didn't do much to lessen his curiosity. He respected his mother's space, but at the same time, he had always been curious as a child. How could he not wonder what she had gone through before settling down with him? It was like asking for him to come up with some theory or another and hope it struck close to the truth when he shared it with her.
In the end, Therion was never able to hear the truth behind what happened in his past. His mother simply said that it wasn't something he should concern himself with, and Therion had allowed that to be enough so he didn't push her too far by accident. He took a bite of his apple with a frown on his face, bitterly thinking about how her trying to keep him away from the truth hadn't been worth much in the long run.
Therion had recognized something strangely familiar the moment he looked over to Rufus. The man hadn't even bothered with giving him a second glance, and Therion was more than fine with that. The longer they looked at one another, the more Therion realized just how alike they looked. Rufus' darker skin tone seemed to match Therion's all too well, and the sharp look in Rufus' eyes was too similar to the eyes that met Therion's gaze when he looked into a mirror. He knew he was probably jumping to conclusions, but Therion's mind couldn't stop racing once he recognized the similarities that he shared with the man at the heart of Stillsnow's tragedy.
His mother had left behind a dark life, one that harmed her more than she was ever willing to admit to her young son. It was too much for her to talk about, and so, she kept it as quiet as possible. Therion had learned in recent years that this was likely her way of protecting him from the world that she had escaped from, fulfilling the duty of a mother by caring for the one who kept her put together in the heat of her greatest struggles. She refused to allow Therion to be sucked of the life she had left behind, and so, her silence was her greatest weapon to combat the truth.
But that didn't change the fact that when Therion combined her pale hair and green eyes with the facial structure and dark skin of Rufus, he almost saw himself.
Therion took another bite of his apple, spitting out a seed that managed to work its way between his teeth.
That was the reason he had done so much to help the women of Stillsnow. The longer he thought about it, the more it made sense; his mother had escaped a life where she was nothing more than a pawn under the thumb of a twisted man with too much luxury for any one person, hell, for any one town. She kept Therion as far away from the northern regions of the continent because she was trying to avoid all that was found there as well. She never spoke about her past because there was no way someone so young would be able to understand the truth about all she had gone through, all that had caused Therion to exist in the first place.
He had distributed Rufus' money among the women of Stillsnow's brothel because that was all he felt he could do. His mother had seemingly left a life of that twisted nature behind, and even if he wasn't going to be able to find any conclusive evidence that this was his history, her history, he was going to do what he could to help those who were hurting. He would have wanted someone else to do the same for his mother had she been working there in the Obsidian Parlor.
Before Therion knew it, the apple in his hand had been reduced to the core, and he stared at it for a long moment. In a way, he could relate; he also felt as if he had been stripped of everything that could have defended him from the world. Seeing Rufus had done more to his mental state than he was willing to admit, and he couldn't seem to bring himself back to the land of the living no matter how much he pushed against the currents of time. There was just too much screaming in the back of his mind.
But perhaps he was jumping to conclusions. Even if Therion's curiosity had dulled over the years, he found himself wanting to do something to learn more about his origins, and perhaps Rufus had simply been an easy excuse for him to remember his mother all over again. Rufus didn't seem to notice any similarities between them, but then again, what did that count for? Rufus was nothing short of a complete monster who deserved every injury that he had been given in their final battle and more. Therion didn't have a way to figure out the truth behind his past, as even if his suspicions about Rufus were correct, who the hell would be able to confirm something like that? Rufus was dead and rotting away in hell, and his mother... She was gone too.
Therion shook his head and pulled himself back to his full height. He couldn't keep sulking when there was work to be done. He would have all the time in the world to think if a dead man was his father after he was finished collecting the dragonstones to get Cordelia and Heathcote to stop bothering him when it came to the fool's bangle. For the time being, he had a mission, and he wasn't going to falter in it now.
He started to walk back to town soon afterward, his fingers sticky and itching for the leaves that filled the pockets of the rich in Noblecourt. The city was the same as always, and luckily for Therion, that meant he would not be leaving empty-handed.
Describing her thoughts on being back in Noblecourt was... Difficult, to say the least.
Primrose had taken to pulling her hood up over her face to make sure nobody was able to see who she was. She didn't think she was going to find up finding anybody that she used to know, but at the same time, she knew it would be best if she was safe rather than sorry. The last time she was in Noblecourt, she was facing the fallout that came with the death of her father. He had been buried in the graveyard of the city, and after that, Primrose was forced on the run to escape the threat that had ultimately claimed his life.
Primrose knew she was going to have to come back to Noblecourt sooner or later. That was a fact of life whether she like dit or not. She simply didn't think she was going to be told to return by Rufus when their battle drew to a conclusion, and Primrose quietly decided that she hated being back on terms like that. One of her father's killers was within Noblecourt. She should have been out there tracking him down, and yet, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
An unknown emptiness had started to fill Primrose's body and mind after she killed Rufus. She knew she should have been glad one of her enemies was gone after all the trouble he had caused for her, and yet... She just wasn't relieved the way she thought she would be. Her stomach was still twisted in a knot, and eating was such an unappealing idea that even thinking about it made her feel like she was going to be sick. Her anxiety on the matter was worse than she thought, it seemed.
Primrose should have been glad to be back home, to be able to visit the grave of her father again after all this time. Instead, she was only left wondering if this was the path she truly believed in. She had told herself it was back in Stillsnow, but she couldn't help her doubts when she was back home and forced to confront the past she had spent so much time running from. She had decided briefly that she was satisfied looking after the other members of her traveling party, but who could say how long that was going to last? She was going to have to kill the other two crows soon as per her mission, and she was going to have to crawl to the dark underbelly of Noblecourt in order to do so.
Truth be told, Primrose wanted Alfyn to find out the information they needed about saving money at the inn as soon as possible. She was hoping to be able to hide herself away in her room until the group left Noblecourt behind, but she doubted it was going to be quite so simple. Nothing ever was these days. She was just going to have to be content with hiding her face from the world around her until she was able to worm into a hotel room out of sight of most others who may have been able to recognize her. She didn't think anybody would know her face after all her time spent away, but as far as Primrose was concerned, it was best to be safe rather than sorry.
Primrose found herself drifting aimlessly through the streets, the chatter of the people around her reduced to little more than white noise in the back of her mind. She wondered how many of these people had been present when House Azelhart fell to ruin ten years prior. The destruction of her home had ultimately led to chaos making its way through the roots of Noblecourt as far as Primrose had heard. She had been told that the people were doing their best to seem composed on the surface so they didn't have to face the dark truth of their situation, and somehow, that only made her feel worse than she would have otherwise.
As far as Primrose could tell though, Noblecourt had managed to pull itself together at least somewhat. The people were smiling and laughing, and if there was something dark going on, they were doing a great job of hiding it. Primrose was confident there was some figure slinking around in the shadows, but she couldn't bring herself to face it. They would be able to return to Noblecourt at a later date without any issues; the Warp Staff Alephan had given Cyrus would make sure of that. Primrose would be able to tell them about her mission and its next steps in Noblecourt when she was ready to face what was waiting for her. She had no idea when that was going to be, but she would figure it out when the time came. What other choice did she have?
Primrose eventually stopped her wandering when she came upon a familiar path that led up to the Azelhart estate, or to be more accurate, what was left of it. As far as Primrose could tell, the area had been left almost completely abandoned. She would have expected someone with enough leaves to move in and make the place their own, but it seemed as if the estate was just as desolate as it had been when she left. She swallowed dryly, wondering if she would ever have the courage to go inside. She knew there were ghosts of the past waiting for her inside, and Primrose didn't know if the strength to face them existed in her body, past, present, or future.
Primrose reached one hand out in the direction of the main gate, but she ultimately pulled her fingers back and pressed her palm down to her side. She was tired of having to think about this all the time, but she knew it wasn't going to be that simple. She couldn't wish it away no matter how desperate she was to get away from the past. She would have to wait until the time was right even though she barely knew what that meant. Then again, she didn't know what she believed in anymore either. Why not add one more existential crisis to the pile? It would certainly fit the pattern she had been making for herself ever since she left behind Sunshade, though if she was being honest, it was a track record that extended much further into the past than she was willing to admit to anyone, herself included.
Primrose turned away from the Azelhart estate-or, to be more accurate, what was left of it-and glanced in the opposite direction. A small stairway could be seen peeking out from the activity of the town, and Primrose felt her stomach churn. She knew exactly what that path led to, and she felt her body moving her in that direction before she could stop herself.
Primrose descended the stairwell, one hand brushing gently against the railing as she arrived at her destination. She did her best to internalize every sensation coursing through her mind when she took a few steps forward, her body pushing back against her in her moment of anxiety. She knew she shouldn't come here, but she couldn't hold herself back even as her mind was screaming. A dull sense of peace overcame her, and Primrose did her best to let it sink in and eventually become real even though she knew it wasn't going to be that easy.
The graveyard of Noblecourt was a place Primrose had been a few times, most notably in the aftermath of her father's murder. She had come to visit him the day his body was lowered into the earth, and in the weeks that followed before her depart from Noblecourt, she visited him often, asking what she was meant to do next. A child of less than thirteen years was hardly able to take over an entire noble household without guidance, and Primrose doubted she would be able to trust anyone with something so sacred after she had been stabbed in the back the same way Geoffrey was skewered in the chest the day of his death. She couldn't put her faith in anyone, and so, she counted only on herself as she packed her things and left.
Primrose could see the gravestone that marked where Geoffrey was buried, but she didn't approach it. She didn't have the strength to do such a thing yet; she wouldn't be able to come back until she had a random burst of confidence or her mission was completed, and Primrose didn't know if she would be able to count on either one of those things happening in the near future. She didn't deserve to see her father until after his murder had been avenged, and she was the one slated to act as the agent of the reaper as the duty was carried out.
Primrose sighed, her mind shifting back to Yusufa's death from a few weeks prior. It felt like she had known Yusufa for an eternity and only a few seconds at the same time, and Primrose felt a deep aching sensation in the pit of her stomach that she knew was grief without even having to think about it. How could she avoid it? She missed Yusufa the same way she missed her father and everyone else who she had ever been forced to leave behind by continuing to live the way she was. Nothing was easy, and it seemed as if she was more alone than ever before these days even though she was surrounded by others.
The other seven travelers in Primrose's party had found a place in her heart before she could do anything to protest it, and before she knew it, she found herself getting attached. She noticed the little things, like the way Tressa sang words when she got excited or how Therion always flicked his apples in the same direction when he was playing with them in the silence. H'aanit's voice always lowered to a gentle rumble when she spoke to Linde and Hägen, and Cyrus talked to himself under his breath no matter what he was doing, narrating every action for both his own sake and the understanding of some higher power Primrose never understood. They weren't perfect, but they were hers, and to Primrose, that was more than enough.
Primrose didn't want to have to bury anybody else she cared about. She had seen too many people suffer and die in her short lifetime, and the last thing she wanted was for her grief to tear an even larger hole inside of her. She was going to do everything she could to protect those she cared about. The travelers were more than just mere companions for her journey; they were her family, and she would do anything to make sure they stayed safe. Fighting the men of the crow was dangerous, but Primrose would defend them regardless of what dangers tried to stop her along the way.
Primrose hesitantly pulled away from the graveyard with a sigh, starting her walk back up to the rest of town. She couldn't wait for their inn rooms to be secured so she could hide herself away until after their mission was completed. She didn't know who the man of the crow was, but it wouldn't surprise her if he managed to find a way to know if she was in Noblecourt. Rufus wouldn't have told Primrose the truth as to the location of his comrade if he didn't have a plan. He likely did it because he was sure it would lead Primrose to her death even though he was going to be incorrect. Primrose wasn't going to let a man of the crow defeat her after all she had been through, and she was going to find a way to shatter Rufus' plan as soon as it manifested.
But that didn't mean she wasn't going to be careful until the time did come for a full confrontation. It was quite the opposite, as a matter of fact; she was going to look after everything she could in order to make sure she didn't find danger along the way. Noblecourt was not the same place Primrose remembered it as being, instead having been overcome with darkness and shadows in the ten years since she was last there. There was something going on in the spaces between the bustling crowds and the exchange of leaves, and Primrose was going to stay as far away from it as possible until the time was right.
Primrose continued to move through the crowd as she made her way back to the inn on the desperate hope that Alfyn had found out how to get them a discount. She saw a flash of lavender hair in the bustling space, and a gasp pushed its way from her lips. She turned to try and catch another glimpse of the person with pastel purple hair, but by the time she was looking in the right direction, they were gone.
Primrose let out a sigh. She knew she shouldn't ahve expected to find other people who would have been loyal to her and House Azelhart. Too much time had passed. Arianna was a stroke of luck, but she wasn't going to get so lucky a second time, she was sure. For the time being, she was on her own, and she was simply going to have to deal with that and its related consequences.
No. She wasn't alone, not anymore, and hopefully, she never would be again.
Woohoo! Update time!
This chapter is coming out a bit earlier than most other chapters of this story because I'm typing it when I would normally have a class, so... Oops. I really do like how it turned out though, and the character growth is already turning out to be something great. I love working with stuff like this, and Primrose and Therion really are great contrasts in terms of character growth. To Therion, Noblecourt is the same as always while it's changed so much for Primrose.
As for Therion... Interesting take, huh? I thought it would be nice to go a bit more into stuff not contained in the game, so here we are. Is this going to wind up being confirmed later on? Maybe. You'll just have to see. For now though, you can sit there with the lovely little bit of information I left for you. If I'm going above and beyond to connect the universe and its characters together, I might as well take advantage of it, right?
Then there's Primrose. Her chunk definitely has some good foreshadowing, especially with the mention of Simeon there near the end. It'll be a while before we actually see Simeon given that we're still only on chapter two for everyone, but there's a little nugget of foreshadowing if anybody is looking forward to the later segments of this story.
Next time, we'll get geared for Therion's chapter two to start properly. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital