Eight Intertwined

150 - Albus

The city of Noblecourt could be split rather cleanly into two sections. A massive wall ran around the innermost circle of the city, and it acted as the perfect dividing line. When one first entered the town, they were met with the region outside the wall. Further travels up through the city would reveal the portion within the wall. Both were important parts of Noblecourt, and Primrose had heard as much from her father many times when she was growing up. Originally, the city had been built with a wall to keep it safe from attack in the days when war was of great concern centuries prior. Since then, Noblecourt had expanded beyond the wall, and that growth allowed Noblecourt to rank as one of the largest cities in all of Orsterra. 

In the time since Geoffrey's death, the divide between the areas inside and outside of the wall had only grown deeper. Inside the wall, everything was cared for perfectly, and there wasn't even a hair out of place on the heads of the people who lived there. The homes felt just a little bit too clean, and the streets were lacking in the life Primrose had come to expect from the city when she was growing up. On the other hand, the outer ring of the city had fallen into disrepair. It was under strict control much like the area within the city, but it was neglected at the same time. The people in charge of the city cared what the commoners had to say about them, and they would gladly order hits against those who dared to defy them, but so long as the people remained in line, the crows would gladly ignore them. It was twisted in more ways than Primrose could count. At the end of the day, both sides of the city were being abused; it just looked different with the wall there to mark the rift of class divide that had only gotten worse with time. 

Revello led Primrose through the heavily guarded innermost portion of the city, sticking to backstreets and shadowy alleyways to ensure they were not spotted. The Obsidians didn't want anything to do with the light of day, it seemed, and Primrose was happy for that. If she was going to follow this journey to the end, then she at least wanted to be able to keep the townsfolk out of it. They had endured more than enough if the hit ordered against that merchant earlier in the day was any evidence. 

Revello stopped just outside the entrance of a massive building that would have gladly swallowed the Azelhart estate in size. Many larger buildings had seemingly been combined through years of renovations, and Primrose would have been impressed with the sight if it didn't infuriate her so much. "This is the den of the Obsidians," Revello said softly. "They have been working here ever since the death of your father ten years ago." 

Regret was written all over Revello's face, and he couldn't seem to hide his anxiety no matter how hard he tried. Primrose smiled gently and placed a hand on his shoulder in a bid to soothe his fears. "You have my gratitude, Master Forsythe."

"I cannot guarantee your safety should you choose to go forward, my lady" Revello cautioned her once again. Upon closer examination, Primrose realized that his hands were shaking, but he was doing his best to hide the trembling from her. 

Primrose shook her head and gladly swiveled her eyes up and away from his hands. "Nor would I ask you to." She had dragged more than enough people into her revenge mission. The rest of the travelers were incredibly kind people, but she still regretted reaching out to them sometimes. What had any of them done to deserve being dragged into her revenge mission? What would it even do for any of them? If Primrose could help it, she at least wanted to spare one more person from the sting of her twisted desires. 

Revello hesitated for a few seconds before he forced himself to speak again. "Lady Primrose... You mean to avenge Geoffrey's death, do you not?" The question came out heavy and agonized, and Primrose could tell he didn't want to speak them. Revello didn't want to be right, but he knew he was even before he said a word. 

Primrose remained quiet for a handful of breaths in turn before nodding. "I do. It has been my sole reason for living all these years." She wished she could have believed that the way she needed to. Primrose had a new reason to push forward in the form of the rest of the travelers, but she couldn't just admit to something like that, especially when she was in the city of her childhood and the place where her father had drawn his last breath. Geoffrey would need his killers dead if he was to rest in peace, and Primrose was going to act as the agent of justice to ensure he saw tranquility in the afterlife. Abandoning that cause after spending ten years pursuing it would be pointless. Primrose had disgraced her family enough with her actions, and she knew it. She couldn't back away when the end was finally in her reach.