The plan the next morning was rather easy to put into effect, something Therion was beyond thankful for. The group packed everything they had and left it in their rooms to be picked up as soon as they were finished in Bolderfall. They were planning on dropping off the ruby dragonstone before returning to Noblecourt to pick up where they had left off in their journey. Their next destination had been decided on as Goldshore, and while it was somewhat out of the way, it was decided to be worth it for the sake of the Kindling. They might as well go there and take another shrine off the list as long as they were in the area, and after that, they could make for Stonegard and see what Hägen was trying to lead H'aanit to.
Cyrus had managed to do good work over the course of the last day, something that surprised even Therion when they sat down for breakfast the following morning. He had managed to narrow down most of the sites of immense magical power through his own research elsewhere in town, and he had a rather firm idea of where he thought the remaining shrines were. There were a few other sources of magical strength, but he had managed to eliminate them with a bit of logical deduction.
Cyrus had described his process of thinking when they were eating, saying that he was able to cross off the sites where the Sacred Flame's different homes could be found in Flamesgrace, Saintsbridge, and Goldshore as not being the shrines since there were other explanations for what was happening there. Duskbarrow had multiple sources of magic near it, and Cyrus decided that only one of them was likely to be a shrine given that the shrines appeared to be rather spread out across the map. There was something strange in Wispermill, though Therion didn't know what that could be. It had a question mark next to it, though Therion supposed they would simply have to see how that unfolded in the weeks to come of their journey. Therion was glad that they at least had a vague idea of where they were supposed to be going in terms of the shrine, and he was going to keep it in the back of his mind as they pressed forward to Bolderfall and then Goldshore.
Speaking of Bolderfall, it was yet another location that had been crossed off on the map. Therion could already assume why without Cyrus needing to explain it; Bolderfall was likely a false positive because the dragonstones were there most of the time. The map was outdated and had been put together at least a decade and a half ago, presumably before the dragonstones were stolen. That meant the group had less than fifteen locations left to investigate with ten more shrines to find, and Therion couldn't help but think that was a great place for them to start given how daunting the task of the map had seemed at first.
Ophilia wound up leaving breakfast early the following morning to conduct a quick sweep of their things to make sure they were packed. Therion went off to grab the dragonstone, glad that its powers hadn't done too much to influence him or Alfyn overnight. It was dangerous for them to be in such close quarters with the stone, but at least that wouldn't be a concern anymore. Therion didn't know how anybody was able to spend time in House Ravus as long as the dragonstones were all together given how toxic they seemed to be on one's mind, but he decided to not dwell on it. All that mattered then was getting the ruby stone back to Bolderfall so that they could continue their quest.
Once all was finished the following morning in terms of food, the travelers left the inn behind and started for the outskirts of the town. Primrose had even decided to come along this time, seemingly having had enough of the suffocating sensation that came with being in Noblecourt without her father. Once Ophilia had joined them from her final sweep of their rooms, she nodded to Cyrus, and that was all the prompting the scholar needed in order to pull the staff from his bag.
The Warp Staff was just as impressive as Therion remembered it being, and he stared at it carefully as he tried to figure out how Cyrus was going to use it. After all, it wasn't as if Alephan had been kind enough to give them a tutorial on how to utilize the staff to travel even though it was supposedly the godsend item that would save them from backtracking countless times across the continent. Cyrus was a sharp person at the very least, so he would be able to figure it out eventually... Or so Therion hoped.
Luckily, it didn't take long for Cyrus to flick his wrist as the environment around the group changed. Light spread from the top of the staff, and Therion's vision immediately began to dance with overpowering shapes brought on by the sudden burst of illumination. He attempted to blink against the light before deciding it was a pointless effort, prompting him to press his eyes shut with as much force as he could stand. The world seemed to tilt around him, like he was falling through the air with no one there to catch him. This realization was almost enough to send Therion into a panic, and his chest went tight with the promise of his body starting to tear itself apart from paranoia.
Before Therion could allow his fear to consume him though, the ground rushed up to meet his feet all too soon, and he glanced down to see that just as he had expected, they had touched down in the Cliftlands. They were in the wilderness not far from the entrance of Bolderfall, the crags and rocks forming the familiar outlines of cliffs in every direction. Therion blinked once again in an attempt to get a grasp of what had just happened, but the reality around him didn't change beyond what had already been shown. He was most certainly in the Cliftlands, and Bolderfall was a stone's throw away.
"Wow...!" Tressa murmured, her hands clapping together in front of her chest. "That was amazing, Cyrus! How did you figure it out?!"
"I did a bit of testing last night just before settling down for the evening," Cyrus explained. That certainly made sense; Cyrus' insatiable curiosity wouldn't allow him to wait on testing the Warp Staff until the following morning. As long as the opportunity was there for him to learn more, he was going to take advantage of it. It was in his nature. Therion couldn't bring himself to complain though; it had no doubt saved them a lot of trouble in shortening their journey to Bolderfall.
He ultimately shook it off and decided to start walking in the direction of the nearby town. As much as he would have liked to talk more about the strange powers of the Warp Staff, he knew that wasn't a good choice for any of them to make as long as the ruby dragonstone was still tucked away beneath Therion's cloak. The other members of the group seemed to realize this, and it didn't take long for them to gather their own bearings and trail after him.
It was almost impressive just how little had changed about Bolderfall. In fact, it was almost like everything was the same as it had been before Therion left. He blinked a few times, still trying to make sure that he was seeing everything properly, before he shoved his concerns aside and started walking in the direction of Ravus Manor. He couldn't afford to get distracted. After all, they had a job to do, and Therion wasn't going to hold back on it. The sooner he could get rid of the ruby dragonstone, the better.
Walking the familiar path to Ravus Manor felt strange given all that had happened since Therion was last going through these motions. Since he had last entered Ravus Manor, he had been roped into gathering the dragonstones, met H'aanit in S'warkii, fought against two of the gods of Orsterra, and traveled to Stillsnow to be met with what may have been his greatest existential crisis yet. That didn't even factor in the fact that he may or may not have been starting to care about people since his arrival in Noblecourt.
There was a lot Therion was pretending to not think about.
Much to Therion's surprise, it didn't take long for him to be let into the manor once he was in the area. In fact, the guards outside the building didn't even bother to give him trouble. The gates were opened easily, and Therion and the other members of his group were ushered into the manor. Therion was glad for the change of pace where sneaking into a place wasn't necessary, but at the same time, he was almost dreading seeing Heathcote and Cordelia again. It wasn't as if their last interaction had been particularly pleasant, and the two of them hadn't been given the chance to grow on Therion the way the others had been.
The inside of the manor was just as massive as Therion remembered, but a few guards not far from the entrance went to grab Heathcote and Cordelia so the group could talk. Therion tapped his foot as he waited for them to arrive. He didn't like doing something like this away from the room where the dragonstones were being kept. He was still silently worried about being caught by someone who would find this affair strange, and Therion didn't want to deal with that any more than he absolutely had to.
Eventually though, Cordelia and Heathcote did come into view, and they waved for the guards to leave the group be. Therion watched as the men all scattered to take care of other matters, though some of them seemed suspicious of Cordelia suddenly seeming so willing to talk to people without escorts. Cordelia, for her part, either didn't notice their strange stares or was choosing to not acknowledge it as she pushed a few strands of hair out of her face and watched Therion with worry etched clearly across her features.
"I'm back," Therion began simply, though he supposed that was obvious enough by the fact that he was there at all.
Cordelia, much to Therion's surprise, smiled as she took a small step closer to him. "I'm so glad to see you safe, Mr. Therion," she said simply. Her eternal politeness continued to catch Therion off guard given the fact that his world was filled to the brim with swears and snide remarks, but he did his best to stow his reaction, never one to attract unnecessary attention.
Therion chose to not respond to what Cordelia was saying as he reached for the pocket containing the dragonstone. He pulled it out and held it out for both of them to see. "I brought the dragonstone," he told them bluntly. Both Cordelia and Heathcote's faces were immediately cast in the general scarlet glow. The dragonstone seemed to be giving off a bit of light because it had entered the manor, almost as if it could feel the presence of its sister and was aching for it in the silence.
Heathcote took the dragonstone into his hands carefully, examining it with a small smile on his face. "This is indeed the ruby stone, without a doubt," he murmured.
Cordelia bowed her head as a small smile spread across her features once more. "You have my gratitude."
"He is simply upholding his half of the deal, m'lady. He deserves no such thanks," Heathcote pointed out. Therion didn't know why that bothered him, but it felt like he was being stabbed in the chest by those words regardless of how true they were. "After all, he has yet to return the two remaining stones."
Cordelia's expression shifted to concern as she glanced over in Heathcote's direction with the barest traces of a frown on her face. "I think he's earned the removal of the band-"
"Stop and think about what you're saying," Therion cut in before he could stop himself. Speaking the words felt like betrayal for some reason, but he wasn't quite sure what it could possibly be. It felt as if he was hollowing out the inside of his body as he continued to insist on the bangle remaining. After all, this was what he wanted, wasn't it? No, that wasn't true. He didn't know what he wanted anymore. He had insisted for so long that he work along without anyone to get in his way, and yet, there he was, traveling the continent with seven others who he cared about in a way he didn't know how to describe. He was a different person than he had been when he was last in Bolderfall, and the idea of cheating Cordelia into removing the band felt... Wrong. Where the hell had this increased moral compass come from, and where could he return it?
There's no undoing this. You know that, don't you?
Cordelia's face reflected the same betrayal as the white-hot heat in Therion's chest. "I beg your pardon?"
"You can't guarantee I'll fulfill my promise if you remove this now," Therion told her as he held up the bangle. It jingled in the overhead sunlight, and Therion could feel the critical stares of his comrades at his side. They weren't saying anything about it, but they all knew he was lying. Hell, even Therion knew there was some degree of mistruth to what he was saying, not that he wanted to admit it. The cloud of something foreign yet so familiar hung over the conversation, and Therion was desperate to break through it even though he didn't know how.
Deep down, he knew there was no way to do it, but he hoped for it regardless for a reason he didn't truly understand.
Cordelia's face went tight as she shook her head. "I believe you would."
Just like that, the cloud shattered like glass, and Cordelia's words echoed in Therion's mind as they slashed ruthlessly at his skin. He didn't let it show though, instead allowing one hand to slide onto his hip. "And why's that?"
Cordelia stepped closer to him. Therion instinctively stepped back. "You don't strike me as someone who would abandon responsibility," she said. Therion didn't miss the way her eyes drifted in the direction of the other travelers who were watching the conversation dutifully and quietly.
Therion refused to look over and see their striking expressions. "And you strike me as someone with way too much faith in people."
You're talking about yourself.
Therion had no reason to have faith in any of them. He was just working with them as per a business agreement with Cordelia and Heathcote. He shouldn't have cared about them, and yet... He did. They were different from the people Therion had connected with in the past, though he couldn't quite put a finger on why. A voice in the back of his head said that he was able to trust them because they were worth it unlike a certain someone from his past. It was dangerous to put faith in anyone, and Therion had learned that all too well ages ago. Despite this, he found himself falling too hard and trusting too much on a mission he knew he couldn't afford it.
The worst part was that he couldn't bring himself to stop. He didn't think he even wanted to.
Therion couldn't help the fact that he was still talking even though each word only seemed to put him through more silent pain. "Take it from me: no matter how much you trust someone, they will betray you. So do yourself a favor and build your walls up higher before you get hurt," he said softly, feeling like he was being speared through the chest as the other travelers continued to watch him. None of them commented on it openly, but Therion could tell they were thinking about it regardless. He didn't know why he was saying something so harsh right in front of them especially since he didn't think he wanted to, but he couldn't restrain the words once they started to push their way free of his lips.
Cordelia looked as if she was the one he was talking about even though everyone in the area seemed to know better. Heathcote was glaring at Therion with a detached gaze, and the thief could tell that the butler could see right through every word he was saying. Cordelia took a step forward regardless, reaching one hand out toward him. "Mr. Therion-"
"Please, m'lady. That's quite enough," Heathcote interrupted, and Therion's chest went tight as the older man approached him carefully. He took a step back in surprise, feeling like he was falling all over again before the ground rushed up to meet his feet, just barely managing to cushion him before he broke on the rocks below. "Though I hate to admit it, he's right. It's best to not remove the band just yet."
Cordelia's expression was tight with concern, but she pressed her eyes closed regardless even when faced with such stress. "If you insist."
Therion pulled away from Heathcote, turning around so his back was facing the other occupants of the room. He didn't think he could bear to look at their disappointed faces any longer than he absolutely had to. "So where's the next stone?" he asked carefully, desperate to get back to the mission if it meant his emotions would stop fighting with the words he was speaking against his will.
Heathcote took a few steps away, seeming to sense that Therion needed the space. "After a bit of digging, I found it to be in Wellspring," he replied simply.
Therion's eyes hardened into a glare directed at the ground. "Any idea where in Wellspring?"
"That town is home to a black market," Heathcote went on. "The emerald dragonstone is being sold there in a few weeks' time... Or so my sources say."
"I'll be on my way then," Therion muttered. He was halfway tempted to make a comment about how he knew Heathcote was no ordinary butler since no plain old servant would know so much about the black market operating just beneath the surface of Orsterra. Heathcote was much more than just a regular butler, and Therion now had more tangible proof than just the fact that Heathcote had been able to slip the band around his wrist to begin with. He would have called the man out on it if he at all had the energy, but his chest still felt hollow from speaking in such a way that betrayed everything he had ever felt or known since he was last in Bolderfall. He didn't understand anything about his emotions or why he was acting the way he was anymore, but he wished he would figure out the answers soon. It was already starting to bother him for reasons he couldn't quite figure out how to describe.
Therion was starting toward the door, the other travelers continuing to watch him silently as he did so. None of them wanted to start an argument in front of Cordelia or Heathcote as far as Therion could tell, but he could tell that it was just a matter of time before they started to talk to him about it. As soon as they were on the open road, all bets were off, and Therion hated that he was going to have to deal with the consequences of something he hadn't even wanted to say in the first place.
"Good luck out there, Mr. Therion," came Cordelia's soft voice. Something about her was still unreadable after her brief spat with Therion, but the kindness had not melted away from her words even as her walls started to come up. She was taking Therion's advice to heart, it seemed, but he didn't want that. Deep down, he was tired of all the lies and hiding, but he knew he wasn't going to be able to break free of that for quite some time. After all, it seemed like all he wanted to do was sabotage himself whenever he came close to breaking free of his own sense of internalized duplicity.
"You don't need to see me off. It's a waste of time for both of us," Therion muttered, once again hating himself for even daring to speak in such a blunt tone. All of a sudden, he yearned for the pain that had come when the ghisarma had thrown him around like a rag doll. It had hurt, yes, but it was nothing compared to how much damage Therion felt like he was doing as long as he was left unattended with his own thoughts.
Cordelia's protests to his behavior weren't over yet though, and she took another step toward him. "But-"
Therion didn't give her the chance to say anything else, instead simply walking out of the room and vanishing through the entrance of the manor. Cordelia frowned at his retreating back, her hands clasped against one another tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. "Farewell."
The other travelers had stayed behind as well, and they turned to look at Heathcote and Cordelia in the silence. Nobody seemed to know what to say about the conversation that had just unfolded, and the travelers looked to one another uncertainly as they tried to get a feel for what the others were thinking. It was clear what they were trying to communicate, but they tested the waters regardless, almost as if they were afraid of what they might find.
Heathcote stepped up and placed one hand on Cordelia's shoulder. She glanced up in his direction, a frown still prominent across her features. "Please don't burden yourself with him, Miss Ravus. Even that man has dignity to uphold," he told her simply. He had seen right through Therion's words, recognizing that it was all out of a matter of defensive pride that Therion didn't even seem to understand himself.
"Dignity?" Cordelia echoed as she turned to face him in full. It was a strange word to apply to the situation, and she certainly seemed to have her own thoughts on Therion's blatant attempts to push away those around him.
Heathcote nodded. "Though he may live an unscrupulous life, his skills as a thief keep him alive," he continued to say. "Naturally, he has pride and confidence in these skills, but we used them against him..." He glanced over to the nearby travelers, all of whom simply stared back at him with vague detachment, none of them sure how to phrase a response to the events that had just unfolded. "And I can imagine he feels great frustration when shown compassion and consideration by the very ones who deceived him." He shook his head. "If he did not feel such, I would not think him suitable for the job."
"I... I see..." Cordelia whispered, though she was still clearly lost in her own thoughts as she looked over to the doors Therion had vanished through. "He's a man with a lot of pride."
Heathcote seemed to sense something in her voice, a note of slight tension, and he turned to face her. "M'lady?"
"My apologies, Heathcote... But I can't help thinking of that lonesome look on his face," Cordelia murmured, her expression suddenly tainted with overwhelming amounts of guilt. "It reminded me of myself back then..."
Heathcote went tense. "Is that so?"
"Yes. His words may have been harsh, but I could tell his true feelings were different..." Cordelia said softly. She looked to the door once more, and Heathcote followed suit. A moment later, their attention shifted to the group of travelers Therion had entered with. Cordelia sighed in their direction before turning on her heel. "Excuse me."
The group of seven fell silent as Cordelia retreated from the room, Heathcote hot on her heels the entire way. Ophilia was the first one to move, and she was quick to dash out of the building, off to do what she could to talk to Therion. The others followed after her at a much slower pace, seeming to sense that approaching Therion all at once wasn't going to help them in the slightest with their newfound problem of demeanor. Ophilia would be able to handle it, and they simply had to have faith in that.
Therion was able to snag an apple from someone on his way out of the manor, and he leaned against the side of a building as he took a bite. His body was shrouded in shadow, and most people who passed by completely missed him. Ophilia, however, was much too smart for that, too aware of his habits to allow his attempts at escape to pass her by. She stood at the head of the alleyway and looked at him carefully, sympathy spreading across her features as soon as she saw him.
Therion didn't look up at her, not wanting to do anything that could potentially rub the situation the wrong way. He simply took another bite of the apple. Ophilia sighed silently before she moved to stand just beside him, staring up at the sky as it peered between the buildings in tiny slivers of cerulean. "You don't have to do any of this alone," Ophilia murmured softly.
Therion still refused to turn in her direction, and Ophilia took that as her cue to continue. "I know it seems like being alone is easier sometimes, but... I can say that it's not like that. You deserve to be able to rely on others the same way everyone else does. I know you don't want to recognize it, but... It's the truth," she went on. "It's not easy to have your entire world shifted beneath your feet. The rest of us though... We're all here for you no matter what happens. You're not in this alone no matter what meets us in Wellspring, Goldshore, or anywhere beyond that."
Therion finally peered over at Ophilia, a frown heavy on his features. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said softly, hating the fact that he was still talking when he didn't want to be saying anything like this in the first place. "I'm not... I'm not the person you want to be traveling with. I don't even want to be here."
"That's not true," Ophilia told him quickly, not even waiting for him to explain his thoughts. "Every person is deserving of connections with others, and that includes you. I don't know what happened before to make you trust people so little, but you're out of that situation. It's hard to convince yourself that you're safe, but... Trust me when I say that you are. The rest of us aren't going to let anything like that happen to you."
Therion's posture shifted ever so slightly in response to Ophilia's words. He didn't know how she could have figured out something like that, but he hated just how close to home she was hitting without even trying. No, that wasn't true. She was trying, and she almost seemed to be a bit too familiar with the unfortunate situation Therion had dealt with in the past. He never would have expected that at a first glance, but he could tell that she was dealing with a lot more than he could have ever imagined.
"I could tell that you had trust issues back when we first met," Ophilia admitted carefully. "Something about you just... It told me that you were struggling with a lot, and I knew that you didn't want to reach out to us. I'm not going to force you before you're ready to talk to us about what's going on, but... As long as you understand that we're all here for you, we should be alright. The instant you're ready to talk, all you have to do is find us. You're not in this alone. All of us are here because we want to be."
Therion rose to his full height, and he tossed aside the core of the apple he had been eating throughout their conversation. "Yeah," he said bluntly, not sure about how else he was supposed to respond to her words. "I guess so." He wanted to believe her, and deep down, Therion was sure that he did believe her. At the same time though, that primal fear of trust, the horror that came with reaching out and potentially getting burned for it, still lingered in the back of his mind. It was never far from his focus no matter what he tried to do. That had been the case for years, and he somehow doubted it was going to change that easily.
Ophilia reached out one hand in his direction, her smile so perfect in the minimal sunlight of the alleyway. "Let's go," she told him carefully. "We're all here for you as long as you're willing to have us. Self-sabotage is difficult to push through, but... You don't have to do this on your own. As long as you know that we're here... It's going to be alright."
Therion once again wondered how she was able to guess that it had anything to do with self-sabotage, but he decided that he wasn't going to ask her about it. Instead, he simply nodded and allowed himself to push out of the alleyway. Ophilia's presence was as warm as the sun beside him all the way, and Therion's stomach twisted. He was so tempted to let her in, to explain everything that had ever happened to him, but he couldn't do it yet, not with Ophilia, and not with anyone else either.
He would get there one day. His sabotage wouldn't last forever, and when it did end... Maybe he would finally find peace.
Guess who's back! Woohoo!
I was originally planning on introducing Lyblac this chapter and starting off the next part of the plot developing in the background, but I didn't wind up having time for it. I'm glad I decided to slow things down and emphasize Therion's internal struggle that will set the stage for his character development throughout the rest of the story though. Lyblac's portion would have just been rushed, and I don't want to hamper the quality of that chunk by pushing it in somewhere like this. She's going to show up next chapter though, let me promise you, so we'll get the next part of the main plot then.
On another note, I changed the travel banter with Ophilia at the end of the chapter. I didn't think the talk of the dragonstones was fitting given the way Therion kind of ran off during his discussion with Heathcote and Cordelia, and since Ophilia is so emotionally active, I figured she would be the perfect person to talk to him about it. Therion still has a long way to go, and what he said is going to drive a bit of a rift between him and everyone else for a little bit, but he's making progress, and Ophilia is going to make sure he's not in it alone. The others will be there for him too. Oh, I love found family.
Next time around, we're going to introduce Lyblac and start the transition to the next segment of the story: Goldshore for Alfyn's chapter two! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital