Eight Intertwined

181 - Silence

Therion remembered Vanessa a bit too well. 

When the travelers arrived back in Goldshore, Therion was glad to finally have a breath of fresh air in a new location for the first time in ages. As much as he appreciated Wellspring, the heat was a bit much for him, and he needed a break from it. Goldshore, much like the rest of the Coastlands, maintained a perfect balance of heat and chill with the warmth of the air and the coolness from the sea air. Therion had been glad to have the reason to get out of his head at long last, and he knew the rest of the travelers embraced it too. 

Unfortunately, coming back to Goldshore reminded Therion of the last time he had been there. He was beyond the point of Vanessa bothering him and weighing down his entire day, but that didn't mean he wanted to think about her. In fact, Therion would have been perfectly content to never think about her again. His mind had other plans though, and as Therion stalked through the streets of Goldshore with an apple in one hand, he couldn't seem to forget her. 

But Therion wasn't going to let him go down to the prisons in Goldshore just to mock her. It was tempting, but he knew it would ultimately do him more harm than good. Luckily, he had the perfect idea of something else he could do to distract himself: steal her knife. Vanessa's dagger had been perhaps one of the fanciest he had ever seen, but he hadn't been able to pick it up before the guards for the town showed up. Therion regretted not snatching it up right away now. It would have certainly helped the travelers a lot going forward. Ophilia was handier with a knife than she wanted to admit, and Therion thought it was high time she got a dagger of her own rather than just picking up the weapons others left behind. 

Ultimately, picking up the dagger was a piece of cake. Therion hadn't needed to try to infiltrate the prison at all, and just like he had expected, the knife was sitting in a box of seized goods. No one had thought to do anything with it than set it on a shelf for the last few weeks. In other words, it was ripe for the taking, and take it Therion had. He was in and out of the prison before anyone realized he had been there at all, and he wouldn't have had it any other way. 

However, Therion knew he wouldn't be able to deliver his newest prize to its target just yet. Ophilia had killed someone earlier that day, and she didn't want to think about everything that had happened both before and after her second murder. She was good with a knife, but she was distracted with thinking about her sister and the dagger that Lianna had so expertly planted in Ophilia's own back. Therion would have a reason to go by and visit with Ophilia later, he was certain, but for now, he was going to hold onto it. 

Therion was on his way out of the manor district when he caught a glimpse of blue near one of the stalls lining the plaza. As soon as he looked at it a bit closer, Therion realized what it was: lapis lazuli. Kit had said that he needed some in order to repaint the sign for the theater troupe, and with perfect timing, one of those stones had fallen right into Therion's lap... But he already knew that Kit wasn't going to be able to afford it. Merchants in Goldshore had too much confidence and too much money. That was how they were so easily swindled by Vanessa; she knew how to take advantage of the rich, and she exercised those same methods against the poor. 

Therion was no fool though, and he slipped over to the stall and grabbed the lapis lazuli easily. The shop owner didn't even realize that he had taken something until after he had already left the stall behind. Therion took a bite of his apple as he heard the clamor of panic in the distance. Kit didn't need to know where the lapis lazuli had come from. If he asked, Therion would say that he had picked it up in a cave near town. If Kit was smart, he wouldn't push the point. 

Kit was still working around the edge of the theater troupe's tent near the cathedral, but as soon as he felt someone's eyes on him, he looked up to see Therion standing nearby. Just as before, Kit's face broke out in a bright smile. "Therion!" he exclaimed. "What brings you back here?" Therion knew what question he was really trying to ask: why are you here without the rest of the group? Ophilia had offered to help Kit, and the rest of the travelers had gladly followed her suggestion... But Ophilia was nowhere to be found, and if Therion had to guess, he would have said that she had no plans on leaving the inn again for the rest of the day.