"Oh, miss, how can we ever repay you?"

Those were the first words Alfyn managed to hear after he broke through the crowd, and he let out a heavy sigh as he looked to the woman who had spoken. She was wearing an elaborate red dress that looked more expensive than anything Alfyn could have ever imagined back in Clearbrook. He gaped at her before realizing that most of the others at the center of the crowd were dressed just as fancily, and he could feel himself growing cheaper just being in the presence of such impressive figures.

"Thanks to your tincture, my husband is out of bed for the first time in weeks!" another woman exclaimed as she clapped her hands together.

"My word, it worked like a miracle!" came the voice of a third woman as she nodded her agreement.

The first woman nodded as well. "And for such a modest fee, no less! You could charge tenfold and it would still be a steal!" she cried out.

There was one person in the crowd who didn't look anywhere near as fancy as the others. It was a young woman with purple hair tied into a ponytail while a small segment fell over one eye. She smiled and pressed a hand to her chest humbly. "Oh, you are far too kind. I was just doing my job," she said simply. "Seeing your hale and hearty smiles is payment enough for me. After all, we apothecaries have a sworn duty to ease suffering wherever we go, do we not?"

It didn't take long for the gears in Alfyn's head to start turning as he took a step out into the center of attention, ignoring the feeling of the eyes of the rich boring into him. "Fine words, those," he told the purple-haired woman. "You must be the apothecary everyone's been talking about."

The woman nodded as her gaze dropped to his bag. "Indeed. Judging by that satchel of yours, I trust I am speaking to a colleague?"

Alfyn nodded as well, a grin on his face. "You bet-though I've only started my journey. I'm Alfyn," he introduced, sticking one hand out to shake hers.

"Vanessa. Vanessa Hysel," the woman replied, returning the gesture and shaking Alfyn's hand with a smile of her own, though her grin was much smaller than Alfyn's was. It made sense; after all, few people could ever hope to match the brightness Alfyn exuded merely by existing.

Alfyn pulled his hand back and gripped at the handle of his satchel. "'A sworn duty to ease suffering,' eh? I like the sound of that," he said. "And I couldn't agree more-it's not about the coin we make. So long as I can keep myself fed, the joy of knowing I've eased someone's pain is all the payment I need."

"But of course. It is for that very purpose that I seek to ever hone my skills," Vanessa replied with a kindred smile.

"Great minds think alike, eh?" Alfyn beamed. Around them, the aristocrats of Goldshore had started focusing on other conversations amongst themselves, and the crowd of people hoping to speak with Vanessa started to disperse at the realization that she would be talking with Alfyn for quite some time. Alfyn barely noticed despite his previous nerves, instead simply allowing his excitement to carry him through the next part of the conversation. "Hey, would it be too much to ask to take a look at your pharmaceutics?" Vanessa went tense and took a step back, but Alfyn continued regardless. "Just hearing about you, it's clear you're out of my league. The ingredients, the preparation-anything you could teach me, I'm all ears!"

Vanessa was quiet for a long moment, and something unreadable flashed across her face before she shook her head. Alfyn's smile started to fade away, and he wondered just what was going on in her head to make her seem so hesitant and nervous all of a sudden. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't share trade secrets with those in the business..."

Alfyn was quick to recover to make sure he didn't look too disappointed at her refusal or too confused about the brief look of something like anxiety on her face. "Ah, beg pardon. I understand-we do need to put food on the table, after all," he said apologetically.

"No need for apologies," Vanessa insisted, slipping right back into her previous demeanor almost immediately. "You're quite the diligent one, aren't you?"

Alfyn laughed at that with a grand smile. "Oh, you bet! I'm still new to this, after all. Every day, I'm learning something new," he explained. He paused for a moment as his laughter started to trail off and then vanish from his lips. "At any rate, I'm glad to know this town is in good hands. See ya around."

"You flatter me, friend. Fare thee well," Vanessa smiled as she waved to him. Alfyn turned on his heel and started to walk away, waving in return to Vanessa. She watched him retreat to the other members of his group before her smile started to slip away from her face, replaced by something much more stoic. She turned on her heel and retreated from the area, off to take care of more work.

From the shadows, Therion watched, and his eyes narrowed as he tracked Vanessa's retreat. A moment later, he was slipping after her, his hands shoved in his pockets as he allowed the shadows to reclaim him the way he always did when it was time for a heist.

Though he could already tell this theft wasn't going to have anything to do with physical goods.

Nearby, Alfyn came to a stop beside H'aanit and Olberic, a grin on his face. "You seem much happier now," Olberic remarked with a small smile of his own.

Alfyn nodded. "You bet! No reason to get all down when I know it's all fine. Besides, that was nice," he admitted. "We haven't seen any apothecaries since Zeph back in Clearbrook, and..." He trailed off, working his thumb across the strap of his satchel. "A lot has happened since then."

"You are devoted to your studies. It's most admirable," Cyrus remarked with a smile on his face.

Alfyn just shrugged as he glanced back to the spot where he had spoken with Vanessa a few moments prior. "I've got lots to learn still, that's why," he explained simply. "Even if I spent my every free moment with my nose in the books, it's never enough. Not if I want to treat every injury or illness I come across."

"With your passion, I do not doubt you will one day achieve that," Cyrus assured him. "More than knowledge itself, it is drive and dedication that make someone the best they can be. You already have the most important thing you need for learning.

Alfyn had already been practically glowing from his conversation with Vanessa, but he was as bright as the sun by this point, all of his previous worry having melted away in the face of joy. "You think so? Can't say it ever felt that way to me," he admitted. For Alfyn, passion had always come so naturally. He didn't even need to think about that part; actually committing things to memory was much harder for him, though he supposed everyone learned differently.

"Keep it up, and you will become the apothecary you always wanted to be," Cyrus smiled.

Alfyn felt himself flush, and his ears seemed to catch fire from his embarrassment. "I can't help but feel you're being overly generous here, Professor," he said softly. "But if you have that much faith in me, maybe I should too!"

"Thou shouldst," H'aanit assured him with a nod, and Alfyn couldn't help the way his cheeks started to hurt from pride. "Thou skills remain impressive regardless of how many times I layen eyes on them. Thou has much to be proude of."

Somehow, Alfyn's blushing only became more aggressive at that, and he looked down at his feet so that nobody else would have to see how overwhelmingly red his cheeks had become. "Shucks..." he stammered out. He hadn't realized the others had so much faith in him, he had to admit, and it was enough to make him feel like maybe everything was going to be alright in a way that he couldn't even hope to describe. Unfortunately for him, it came with a healthy dose of embarrassment, and he had no idea how he was supposed to get past that.

Luckily, Olberic seemed to notice that Alfyn needed a few moments to calm down from the sudden onslaught of praise, and he cleared his throat before starting to direct the group back in the direction of the town's front area. "Perhaps we should move to the inn next," he suggested. "Now that Cyrus is back with the information we were looking for, we should be able to drop off our things and then continue looking around town without too many issues."

"That sounds like a splendid idea," Cyrus agreed with a nod as he followed after Olberic. He spared a brief glance to Alfyn along the way. "You look flushed, Alfyn. Perhaps you should get some air away from the crowd."

Alfyn couldn't help but laugh inwardly at how Cyrus was the one who had embarrassed him so thoroughly and was now clueless about everything that he had done. Sure, H'aanit had held a part in it as well, but Alfyn knew that H'aanit wasn't going to be quite so unaware of the reasoning behind Alfyn's shift in behavior. It was perfectly on brand for Cyrus if nothing else; he knew everything a person could ever dream of when it came to books, but when it came to socializing with others, he certainly had a few areas that could use improvement. It was part of his charm.

"Perhaps thou couldst taken a walke by the beach," H'aanit suggested. "That shoulde help thou to feel better." She reached one hand down to stroke at Linde's head along the way, and the snow leopard nuzzled against her touch with a small purr.

Alfyn nodded. That did sound like a good idea, especially given that he had been planning on heading to the beach before he met up with H'aanit and Ellen. "I'll see you guys at the inn soon then," he smiled as the stairway leading to the beach came into view. He jogged off while the others turned to look at the inn so that they could reserve their rooms.

Alfyn started down the stairwell, but he stopped halfway when he saw a figure standing in the sand near the ocean. It was a young girl, and upon closer examination, Alfyn realized that it was none other than Ellen. She was humming a song to herself as she looked over the area, searching for something in a way that only a child with a whimsical and endless imagination would be able to. She eventually gasped when she found what she was looking for, and she leaned down to pick up a small object. She looked at it with eyes so bright that her whole face lit up, and all the innocence and wonder in the world seemed to converge on a single point as a result of her joy. Ellen beamed at the item before pressing it against her chest and slipping it into her bag.

Alfyn finally found the courage to traverse the remainder of the stairs and arrive on the sand below. He pressed his hands to his hips as he looked to the young girl with a grin. "Well, lookee here," he said casually.

Ellen waved to him. "Hello again, Alfyn," she grinned. She reached into her bag before pulling out the small object that she had found on the sand, stretching her hand out in his direction. "This is for you! Do you like it?"

Alfyn's eyes went wide at the sight of a small white shell. It was a shark's eye, he realized on closer examination, and gentle streaks of tan marked the side. It was pressed perfectly at the center of her palm, and a few flecks of sand could be seen on the shell. He picked it up gingerly and held it up to his face it with a grin that could never be restrained. "A seashell?" he asked. "Thanks! It's a beaut." He tucked it away in a small compartment of his satchel that had gone unused ever since he left Clearbrook. He wanted to keep track of it and make sure he didn't lose it no matter what. Alfyn was prone to being a bit messy sometimes, but the last thing he wanted was to let that get the better of him now.

"Thank you for helping me," Ellen corrected him.

Alfyn chuckled a bit at that. "I didn't do much, but consider your payment accepted," he told her. A warm sensation was starting to spread through his chest, and he knew that this was a moment he wasn't going to forget for quite some time.

"I give the prettiest ones to Flynn. She likes them too," Ellen went on.

Alfyn's eyes dropped to her bag, and he realized that a few shells were peeking out from pockets on the side. He let out a small laugh at how her bag seemed to resemble his in a strange way, though hers held only seashells and other childhood treasures as opposed to herbs and concoctions. "You're really raking them in. I bet you could sell them at markets for a small fortune!"

Ellen giggled at that, though her expression went somewhat serious a few moments later. "I know... That's why I give most of them to Mother," she explained. That was enough to pique Alfyn's attention, and he tilted his head to the side slightly to prompt her to continue. Ellen did, but she refused to meet his gaze as she fiddled with the strap on her bag with absentminded fingers. "She cries sometimes because we don't have any money."

"You don't say..." Alfyn murmured as he looked at the sand below. He knew the feeling all too well; his mother had once worried about the same things, and his chest felt a pull of guilt and a desire to help. He had been there more times than he wanted to admit, and he wished there was more he could do to ease Marlene's suffering, but he doubted that she would allow it given their previous interaction.

"How about you, Alfyn? Do you have money?" Ellen asked as she looked up to him with wide, curious eyes.

Alfyn did his best to keep his shoulders from locking up. The last thing he wanted to tell Ellen was that all the money he and his traveling party was using to get by had been stolen from Stillsnow when they dismantled Rufus' brothel. It was all thanks to Therion taking every little piece of Rufus' fortune that they had been able to get through the money sink that was Noblecourt, and while they still had more than enough leaves to press on, Alfyn knew they were going to have to start replenishing their supply soon, especially given that they were buying weapons while in town. That was bound to put a dent in the leaves that they had stockpiled as of late.

But he couldn't have Ellen knowing any of that, so he simply nodded instead. "I think you got me beat with all those shells, but I get by," he told her with a small yet comforting smile.

Ellen's eyes went wide as she took a step back, and Alfyn could tell that she had seen more than any child should ever have to because of her family's poverty. "Are you sure? I can give you some if you need them..."

Alfyn shook his head with a small chuckle. "Money makes the world go 'round, this much is true," he began. "But you know what, Ellen?" She tilted her head to the side, and he smiled as he went on. "You, Flynn, and your mother have each other, and that's more valuable than all the money in the world."

Alfyn pretended he didn't feel the way his stomach churned at those words, knowing that he wished he had something like that on his side these days. Even after so much time had passed since his mother's death, he missed her with everything he had. Some days were better than others, but if there was something he could do to help others make the most of every moment so they didn't have to feel the way he did quite yet... How could he not take advantage of it?

Ellen thought about it for a long moment before she tilted her head to the side. "It is?"

Alfyn simply nodded as he placed one hand on her shoulder. "You can bet on it."

Ellen began to work the fabric of her bag's strap back and forth between her fingers once again as she continued to contemplate Alfyn's words. "Mother says Flynn still needs to rest..." she murmured. "But when she feels better, we're going to come back and collect seashells together."

Alfyn crouched beside Ellen, sensing the young girl's mounting worry. "Don't you worry about that!" he assured her. "That Vanessa knows her stuff. Flynn'll be doing cartwheels in no time."

Ellen beamed at that and nodded. "I can't wait!" she cried in excitement, and Alfyn had to admit that it was beautiful to be able to see the way she was able to bounce back so easily. It was a special skill that only children possessed as far as he could tell, and it was sweet to witness for Alfyn. Childhood truly was a gift.

Ellen picked up another shell that had fallen on the sand beside her, brought in by the gentle whisper of the tide nearby. She examined it before tucking it away into her bag. "I'm going to give these shells to Flynn and Mother! I bet they're going to love them!" she cried out. She dashed off towards the stairs at that, waving to Alfyn along the way. "I'll see you later, Alfyn!"

The apothecary waved to her with a fond smile as she left, and he reached his fingers into his bag to pull out the shell that she had given him. He brushed the pad of his pointer finger over the surface, loving the sensation of the shell's smooth surface beneath his grasp. It was incredible how children could find magic in even the smallest things. Growing up took away a lot of the wonder from the world, and Alfyn found himself wondering what it would be like to be able to go back to that, even if it was just for a little while.

Seeing Ellen able to look at the universe with such hope in her eyes made him sure that there was good out there. Even after dealing with the corrupting power of the ruby dragonstone or the ruthless cruelty of Rufus, it was nice to know that there was some kindness to be found. He committed everything he could about the encounter with Ellen to memory as he started towards the stairs, unable to keep a fond smile off his face as he moved back in the direction of the inn.

"Hey there, Alfyn!"

The apothecary let out a scream of surprise as Tressa appeared in his path, and he clamped the hand with the shell against his chest to try and stabilize himself before he fell over. He breathed heavily for a few seconds before he sighed and managed to get a grip on himself once again. "Tress! Where did you come from?"

"I've been here for the last few minutes. I didn't want to interrupt your moment with that little girl," Tressa explained. "Ophilia's back with the others getting everything set up at the inn. I decided I'd come and see you while they were working on that though."

Alfyn nodded his understanding as silence fell between them, though it didn't take long for Tressa to break the quiet once again. "It's beautiful, that shell," she commented.

Alfyn pulled the small shell away from his chest so that both of them could look at it. He couldn't help smiling at the sight of it despite how much Tressa had terrified him a few moments prior. "Ain't it, though? Ellen's got a heart of gold."

"I'll say!" Tressa agreed. "Mind if I get a closer look?" She held out her hand to take the shell, and after a moment, Alfyn nodded and passed it over to her. After a few seconds of looking, she hummed, and Alfyn figured that it was only natural she knew a thing or two about shells. After all, she had grown up in a Coastlands town near the sea too.

"This shell..." Tressa murmured under her breath.

Alfyn paused as he examined the gleam in her eyes. It reminded him all too much of what she looked like when she struck gold on a deal while in the market, and from there, it was easy enough to put the pieces together. "You're thinking it might be something rare? Valuable, even?"

"Let's see now..." Tressa continued to mutter. "Why, yes, I'm sure of it! This shell... Is utterly ordinary." Alfyn stared at her for a long moment at the fact that she had tricked him in such a way, but Tressa's previous expression of examination faded away as she smiled with so much genuine love that it melted Alfyn's heart. "In terms of monetary value, at least. But Ellen gave it to you with all the gratitude in her heart... And that means there's no treasure like it in all the world!"

Alfyn chuckled as he took the shell back from her, continuing to drag one finger across its surface again a moment later. "I see what you did there..." He paused as he clutched the shell tightly to his chest and smiled to her with everything he could. "But thank you, Tress."

"The most important treasures are the ones with personal value to us," Tressa told him next. "So don't lose it now, you hear?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Alfyn assured her with a grin as he tucked the shell away into his satchel pocket once again. "What do you say we go to help out the others now? I'm sure they're wondering where you got off to."

"Sounds good to me!" Tressa agreed as she started to march off towards the inn. Alfyn smiled at the sight of her joy before following in her footsteps. Tressa certainly knew a thing or two about what was really important, and he was glad that even a merchant would agree that his words hadn't led Ellen astray.

The world truly was a great place, wasn't it?

All things considered, following the mysterious apothecary woman around town was probably not a good idea, but it wasn't as if Therion really had a lot of those these days.

It was all based on pure instinct, really. Something just told him that he had to follow her for some reason he couldn't exactly define with words. He had earned a fortune or two on trusting his gut since he first became a thief, and he wasn't going to stop after how far he had come. Something was going on with that woman, and he was determined to figure out what it was.

Most people wouldn't have been suspicious of her at all because they didn't have much of a reason to be. Therion, on the other hand, knew better than to let outward appearances tell him if a person was innocent or guilty. He had figured out that there was something going on with her based on a few lucky guesses, and he was determined to pursue it to the end to figure out just what was going on. It had only been a flicker of something strange on her face when she was talking with Alfyn that tipped Therion off about something being wrong, but he wasn't going to let that small clue slip away from him when it could turn out to be important.

Therion knew what he was doing deep down; he was assuming the worst in people because he was afraid of trusting them. He had declared rather loud and clear back in Bolderfall that he didn't want to trust anybody because they would just wind up hurting him. If he said the words enough, then maybe they would start to ring true. He knew it wasn't going to be that easy, but he still found himself believing it in some twisted way. It was irritating that he couldn't bring himself to just recognize that other people were going to hurt him, but at the same time, it was annoying that he couldn't let them help him. That was what they were there for, right? Alfyn had made that much clear back in Noblecourt, and so had everyone else in their own special ways.

He wouldn't have gotten wrapped up in all of this if not for Ophilia reaching out to him, and while he was tempted to say that he wished she had never tried to find him, he knew that would be a lie from the start. Of course he was happy that she had reached out and let him join their group. He never thought it would be that easy, and yet, there he was, feeling better than ever despite never seeing it coming. He hadn't felt this on top of the world since-

No. This wasn't the time. He had to stay focused.

Following Vanessa was perhaps the most ridiculous thing he could have done in that moment. A normal person would have found the rest of the group and tried to make it all up to them after he had said such terrible things despite knowing it would hurt them. His casual displays of self-sabotage must have struck a nerve for at least some of them, and he should have been trying to fix that instead of chasing some random apothecary as she wandered through Goldshore. Alfyn seemed to trust her, and he had good taste in people who were trustworthy, right?

Therion had once thought the same thing, but he had been stabbed in the back too.

Maybe that was the real reason he was doing all of this. He was shrinking through the shadows because if something really was going on with Vanessa, he wanted to know about it before she could raise a knife to them. Part of him knew that he was probably just being paranoid and that a moment of uncertainty and a refusal to share trade secrets was normal, but he found himself terrified of not doing anything at the same time. He was trying to make it up to the others for betraying their care and faith in him by trying to find somebody else who could do it worse. What kind of friend was he?

Therion did his best to shove the self-loathing thoughts as far back into his mind as possible as he walked after her to the edge of the merchant quarter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground to seem as inconspicuous as possible as Vanessa started to walk back to the entrance of town. She couldn't be leaving quite yet, right? She would have no reason to as long as she was doing so much for the townspeople. If that was the case, then why was she heading to the front of town? Under any other circumstances, Therion wouldn't have bothered to wonder, but he couldn't help feeling like there was something else going on here.

Much to Therion's surprise, Vanessa completely ignored the inn and tavern nearby, instead shifting her attention to a small path that would take her to the wilds outside the town. She glanced over her shoulder with worry in her eyes to make sure nobody was following her, and Therion pressed himself against a sandy crag to get out of view just in time. It was only by a stroke of a miracle that she didn't see him, and Vanessa sighed her relief before starting to walk off in the direction of the nearby area.

Therion wouldn't be able to follow her any farther. If she got an inkling that he was following her, then he was probably going to find himself in a world of trouble. He sighed in frustration and looked at her silhouette as it faded against the path. He had no reason to not trust her, but he found himself feeling as if there was still something wrong just beneath the surface.

It was impossible for Therion to put a finger on everything that was rushing through his mind when it came to her, but he could tell that there was something else going on behind those eyes of hers. Therion had learned how to identify the suspicious sort over his many years as a thief, and he could tell that there was something she didn't want anybody to know about. Secrets were normal though, so why was he getting so upset about something like this?

Therion's mind was cast back to her conversation with Alfyn, and he frowned at the thought. Vanessa claimed to be doing this for the good of everyone rather than a profit, but she wasn't willing to share her antidote tincture with him. Wouldn't telling him be better for the people of Goldshore so they could heal people at double the pace? That seemed like a contradiction in and of itself, and it was enough to make Therion glare at the place where she had dashed off towards the wilds.

He didn't know what was going through her head, but something told him she was nowhere near as noble as Alfyn wanted to believe. Therion wondered if that made her better or worse than him, and his stomach did flips all over again.

Complex character motivations! Yay!

This chapter was a fun one to work on, and I really forgot how much I love Alfyn's story as a whole. It's written so well... In the most twisted way possible, but it's still written well. I adore it start to finish, and this is just the beginning of Alfyn asking questions as we get the aftermath of Therion's chapter two. Therion is still high on his own self-sabotage, and let's just say it's probably going to be a while before he starts to cool it on that front.

Tressa's travel banter with Alfyn was probably my favorite part of the chapter honestly. There's something about all of this that just feels perfect for Tressa as a character to interact with the story, and let's just say that we're going to be seeing more of her reactions to what comes next throughout the rest of our first adventure in Goldshore. She's earned the screen time, I think.

Next time around, we're going to press forward with the next chunk of Alfyn's chapter two. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital