Eight Intertwined

131 - Dominic

After the travelers realized Dominic wouldn't be speaking with them, the next course of action was to ask around town to see if there was anyone who would be able to explain the truth behind the translator's seclusion to them. Cyrus scanned the others in the area with a small frown, hoping at least someone would stick out to him as helpful. It would certainly save him the time of having to ask everybody... But at the same time, Cyrus was hoping he would be able to catch a glimpse of the spy that had caused him so much grief recently. Just like every other time he tried to spot the stalker though, his efforts were all for nothing, and he resisted the urge to groan at the revelation. 

While Cyrus was looking around for any signs of help for the Dominic problem, his gaze caught H'aanit, and he realized she was staring down at the ground with a darkened sheen to her eyes. Cyrus didn't think he had ever seen H'aanit this lost in thought, so he approached her carefully, a frown on his face. "You are looking most solemn," he told her, not that he thought she needed a reason for that given their circumstances. "Is anything troubling you?"

H'aanit was quiet for a long time before she snuck in another glance over her shoulder at the door to Dominic's home. "...I was thinking. Wherefore would someone so mighty turnen his back on others?" she questioned. Cyrus thought about it, but he was unable to produce an answer on account of knowing so little about Dominic. That was part of the issue, and he knew it, so he simply watched H'aanit with sympathetic eyes as she waited for her to go on. "The suffering in his voice was that of an man who hath been made to forsaken everything."

Cyrus nodded his agreement. He couldn't say he understood just what had prompted Dominic to isolate himself so completely, but he was confident there was a reason for it. Everything happened for a reason, after all, and his best course of action was to figure out what caused Dominic to act in such an isolating way. "There must be a reason for his behavior..." he murmured. All that remained was to find out what that reason was, though that was the main problem at hand to begin with. 

"I knowen not for certain where his logic stemmeth from," H'aanit began. "But when I thinken about the life he may have led before all of this... I imagine something took place to changen his behavior completely for the worse."

"Something tragic may have befallen him..." Cyrus agreed with a light nod. If a person was given no other reason to believe in the light, then they may have very easily turned against the world simply because it was what they saw to be the best course of action. Why would someone believe in a world that had given them nothing to believe in to begin with? It was a dark line of thought, but it made sense all the same. 

Before Cyrus had the chance to think through this more, he heard a door creaking open nearby. A quick glance over his shoulder told him that the woman living in the home right next to Dominic's had come outside. Nobody would know the depth of Dominic's struggles better than a neighbor... Or so Cyrus was hoping. He didn't have time to waste on asking around for people who would be able to help him. He was still outrunning an assailant who wanted him dead, and he needed to stay focused if he was to remain one step ahead. 

Cyrus was quick to make his way over to the older woman, and she turned in his direction with confusion written all over her face. "Pardon me, madam," Cyrus began. "I was wondering if perhaps you would be willing to tell me about your neighbor. I was hoping to seek his company, but he refuses to let me inside. Might you know why?"

"Dominic?" she asked, and Cyrus nodded. The woman hummed to herself. "He's been hiding away in his home ever since his daughter passed away fifteen years ago. Most people in Stonegard haven't even seen his face. He takes on a few odd translating jobs here and there, but for the most part... He spends his days hiding."

"The passing of a daughter..." Cyrus murmured with a nod as he raised one hand to his chin. That would certainly qualify as a tragic event that would make Dominic want to hide away from the rest of the world. "What else can you tell me about this period of his life?"