Eight Intertwined

52 - Map

When Therion arrived outside the inn, he found that the group had already started to split up to take care of the responsibilities on their to-do list before they departed from Noblecourt. Tressa and Alfyn were off to make sure their supplies were in order, and Tressa was determined to haggle anyone who gave them prices that could at all be considered too high. Olberic wound up leaving with H'aanit to get some extra food for Linde and Hägen since the two were starting to get agitated by the constant shuffle of the town. That left Ophilia to go with Cyrus and Therion back to Barham's home to see if the scholar knew anything about the shrines of the gods. Therion was fine with it, much to his own surprise; Cyrus knew what he was doing, and Ophilia seemed like a nice person. There were worse people he could have been stuck with. 

The more Therion thought about it, the more he had to wonder if he really disliked any of the people he had found himself traveling with. It wasn't as if he had asked to be part of their journey across the continent, but at the same time, he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would. Even if he was there because Cordelia and Heathcote hadn't given him a choice, at least he was trying to enjoy it. As far as Therion could tell, he was almost succeeding. There were still a few whispers in the back of his mind that reminded him to not get too close to anyone or to let his guard down too much, but he did his best to move past that and concentrate on just getting through the situation at hand. He owed himself that much, and the others deserved a bit of dignity along the way too. 

Walking back to Barham's home this time was much less painful than it had been in the past. Ever since realizing just how similar they were in the worst ways possible, Therion hadn't minded Barham as much. He supposed that being able to take out his anger on Orlick hadn't hurt in the slightest when it came to calming himself down. Either way, Therion's concerns with their histories being similar didn't matter. He was there on another mission, and he wasn't going to falter. After all, he wanted to get out of Noblecourt as soon as possible, and this was the best way for him to get that chance. 

Therion knocked on the door to Barham's house, and shuffling could be heard from the other side. Barham opened the door a few moments later, and his eyes went wide when he saw Therion, Cyrus, and Ophilia. "Surprise," Therion started, his voice deadpan and low. 

Barham stared at them for another moment before he stepped aside to let them inside. "I take it you were successful in your mission?" 

Therion nodded. "You won't need to worry about the dragonstone ever again as far as we're concerned," he replied. 

"We believe that the stones may have a somewhat toxic effect on one's mind. If they are around the gemstone too long, then there is a chance that they will be influenced by it on a personal level," Cyrus began to explain. "I believe that your friend was caught in the grasp of the stones and didn't realize it."

Barham let out a sigh as he looked off to the side. "As much as I hate to admit it, that would make sense... I hope you're right in that he doesn't get involved with anything like that again," he murmured. "I hated having to see it the first time, and I don't want that to happen again."

"For now, we're going to take the dragonstone back where it belongs tomorrow. Until then, we have an important question for you," Ophilia told Barham. 

The scholar raised an eyebrow in her direction. "What is it?"

"While we were on our way here, we came across two shrines that represent two of the twelve gods of Orsterra. We were hoping that there would be information that could lead us to the other shrines somewhere in Noblecourt. After all, there are quite a few scholars here that gather significant amounts of knowledge, and given what you did for us, we figured that you would be a perfect place to start," Ophilia explained.