Eight Intertwined

47 - Mansion

Therion had done his best to shove his previous thought processes as far out of his mind as possible as he made his way to the front end of Noblecourt once again. He was going to have to start his search somewhere, and as far as he was concerned, the best place to kick it off would be the entrance of the town. If only it was that easy though; Therion could already tell this was going to be a pain in the ass. 

"'A scholar in Noblecourt.' Thanks, Heathcote. Those are like a leaf a dozen here..." Therion muttered bitterly with a shake of his head. "I need something more to go on than that..." He began to wander around the stalls in the entrance square of Noblecourt, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for anything that could turn out to be a lead. He couldn't say for sure what was going to help him in the heat of the moment, but he at least had to start somewhere. Cursing Heathcote for the thousandth time wasn't going to do him any good, so he began to look at the wares of a fruit stand, itching for an apple to replace the one he had eaten on the way in. 

The crowds of Noblecourt were just as frustratingly loud as always, but there was a pair of voices that managed to differentiate themselves just enough to become the subject of Therion's fascination. "I'm glad it's on the outskirts. I avoid it if I can," the first of the two people said, a voice with a somewhat high-pitched voice. 

"That creepy old mansion on the northwest part of town?" the second man, this one with a slightly deeper voice, asked. His companion seemingly nodded, prompting the second man to continue. "I heard someone actually lives there."

The first man staggered in surprise. "Who?" he questioned in pure shock. 

"A man named Orlick. They say he's some kind of scholar," his companion explained. 

"What business would a scholar have living there?" the first man inquired. 

"Research. Apparently, he spends all his time locked up in his study looking at some shiny red stone," the second man said, his voice sinking into a cadence that was reserved exclusively for gossip. "His men won't let anyone in to see him."

Therion's eyes flickered open, and he glanced over his shoulder at the two young men. Neither one of them had noticed him on account of the crowd, but they were talking loudly enough that it was more than easy enough for Therion to pick out their voices, and he latched onto what they were saying with everything he had as the first man continued to speak. "If you ask me, it sounds like he's hiding something."

"He may very well be, but I'm fine letting him keep his secrets," the second man commented with a sigh and matching shake of his head. "I don't want anything to do with that place."

The two men departed from there, off into the heat of the crowd. Therion didn't bother to follow them, knowing they had already communicated all they had to for him to understand. It was impressive just how easy he had been able to figure out where the dragonstone was; he had expected to have to hit the tavern and wait until somebody with loose enough lips drank enough mead to let the secret slip. It seemed people in Noblecourt were just as gullible as they always had been, discussing such heavy subjects without a care in the world. That was more than fine with Therion; it certainly made his job easier, and given the circumstances, that was all he could have asked for.

As far as Therion was concerned, the man could keep his secrets all he wanted. However, that stone was going back to Bolderfall with Therion regardless of what that scholar was hoping for. Orlick, they said his name was? That was all Therion needed to start doing a bit of searching on his own, and he saw no point in wasting any time getting right to it. 

"So, Therion. Do you really think we'll find the dragonstone here?"

Therion nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a familiar face manifest in front of him, and a moment later, he realized Tressa was standing in roughly the same spot where the two men had previously been. He did his best to hide how surprised he was that he had let her sneak up on him as he spoke next. He needed to stop getting caught up in his own thoughts and actions; that was what got him into this situation in the first place, wasn't it? Caution was the name of the game, and it started with Tressa. "That's the question of the day, isn't it? Won't know until we ask around," Therion told her simply. Even if he knew about Orlick, there was still a lot he didn't understand yet, and the best way to figure that out was to just start searching.