Therion could not say he was particularly happy with being back in Northreach of all places. 

Unlike the last time he was in town though, Therion's complaints had nothing to do with the people he was going to find there. Instead, Therion was far more focused on just how cold it was in Northreach. Therion had never been the best with extreme temperatures in either direction, and in Northreach, he was bitterly reminded of just how cold it could get in the Frostlands. Flamesgrace and Stillsnow felt like child's play when compared to the raw chill of Northreach, and Therion had not been looking forward to returning as a result. Still, it was either that or go to the desert, and Therion knew which evil he thought was lesser of the two. 

"Cold, are you?" Alfyn asked when they crossed the threshold into town. Therion nodded, and Alfyn slung an arm around his shoulders before pulling him in tight. "How about this? Does this make you feel any better?"

Therion felt a new heat rush into his cheeks, and he wondered how Alfyn could be so shameless about things like this. Therion didn't think he would ever get used to it. "Yeah... Much better."

Alfyn continued to not acknowledge nor mind how close they were as they made their way to the back of the town. "So we're gonna head into the cathedral and look around for any traces of Darius' activity," Alfyn went on. "There's a chance he might've known somethin' else about the dragonstones, and this is the place where we're most likely to find it."

"I don't think Darius knew anything honestly," Therion admitted, doing his best to ignore the way his voice was muffled because of how closely Alfyn was holding him. "He didn't know to expect the dragonstones could power him up until he did it. They were already distorting his desires and pushing him too far. He didn't know what he was getting into. I don't think he even knew how to tap into them until he was on his back foot during our battle."

"Then we can say we came here for the sake of completeness," Alfyn replied. "There's no harm in lookin' around, especially since the others are all doin' the same. If we don't find anythin', then we can hope the others had a bit more luck than us."

Therion nodded, but he froze soon after the cathedral came into view. Alfyn paused a moment later, skittering back awkwardly to Therion's side after realizing some distance had opened between them. "Theri? Is everythin' okay?" Alfyn asked softly and worriedly. 

Therion didn't respond, instead continuing to stare ahead at a familiar purple silhouette. Gareth was standing outside the cathedral, looking up at the building with a frown. Beside him was a grave that had clearly only recently been filled, and Gareth seemed to be pointedly ignoring it. Therion's chest went tight. He already knew whose body was in that grave without needing to ask. 

But he found himself walking forward anyway, breaking away from Alfyn and leaving the apothecary scrambling after him. "Gareth," Therion called out flatly, and sure enough, the silhouette turned. Gareth's expression was unreadable, but Therion recognized it regardless. It was the same miserable look his reflection had worn in the weeks after Darius' betrayal. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I knew I'd find you here," Gareth replied, his voice too tired to be venomous. He tapped the grave with the toe of his boot. "You know about this, don't you? Were you the one who did it?"

"No... But I had a feeling it happened after I left town," Therion answered. He looked down at Gareth's memorial for Darius, and his chest went so tight it seemed to strangle his heartbeats in an effort to stop them from coming. "I'm glad you weren't here when it happened."

"Because you would've had to kill me if we saw each other again?" Gareth asked with a raised eyebrow, and Therion nodded. Gareth scoffed and shook his head. "Maybe it would've been better than getting here too late and finding him dead in the cellars under the cathedral."

"It wouldn't have been," Therion countered. "He already left you for dead once. I knew where that was going to take you under different circumstances. I wasn't going to let it happen." He looked up and met Gareth's gaze, and he narrowed his own eyes darkly. "You know what he did to you that day, don't you? He wasn't going to come back for you. He knew there was a chance you would die fighting me, and he didn't give a damn."

Gareth hesitated before he nodded. "It took me a while to come to terms with it," he confessed. "But I figured it out eventually. He was going to leave me behind the same way he left you behind."

Therion let out a thin breath, and the air fogged up in front of his mouth. "Did you ever hear much about me?"

Gareth shook his head. "Lord Darius mentioned having an old partner, but he kept the details to a minimum."

"Good. He probably didn't want you to figure out what you were to him... Just a replacement for me once I was gone," Therion snorted, and Gareth's gaze dropped to the gravestone once again. "He and I were together for years in more ways than one. Darius decided I was a thorn in his side, and he decided to kill me for getting in his way. That was how he got control of the Cianno ring... And then squeezed them until they popped. He never forgot about me though... He's got a thing for guys in purple with fire magic."

Gareth let out a dark laugh. "He never let me ask any questions about his past... Always said it didn't matter anymore. I think he knew he couldn't forget about you. He just didn't want anyone else to point it out."

"That sounds accurate." Therion stepped toward Darius' grave, his eyes narrowing. "You didn't need to do all of this for him. He wouldn't have done the same for you if your positions were reversed."

"I know," Gareth muttered. "But here I am anyway." After a long pause, Gareth tilted his head back so he was staring at the cloudy sky overhead. "He was the only person I ever thought I could rely on. I would've done anything for him... But he never would have done a damn thing for me."

"And now... He's gone," Therion finished, and Gareth nodded. "What are you going to do now? Darius is dead, and his ring is probably on the verge of eating itself alive. I wouldn't suggest going back there even if it's still in one piece right now."

"I wasn't planning on it," Gareth replied. "I don't know what I'm going to do next here. All I really know is what I can't do. I settled my debts by coming here and burying him. Lord Darius was all I ever had, and now..."

"The world's your oyster," Therion cut in. "You're better off cutting yourself loose from someone who makes you call them your lord. He never gave a damn about you, and you know it. Now, you've got the chance to do whatever you want with your life. Become the next greatest thief in Orsterra. Retire early and spend your days doing something you never expected. Pick anything you want. He's not around to tell you no anymore, and I'm not going to stop you either."

Gareth laughed, the sound low and dark. "I can't believe you gave me this chance in the first place," he admitted. "Most people would've killed me and been done with it." Darius would've killed me and been done with it, Gareth chose to not say. 

"I'm not like most people," Therion said simply. "I think we've both figured that out by now." He turned away from Gareth with a loose shrug. "Go and find something else for yourself that isn't living in my shadow. Darius would be pissed if he heard, but... That's the point of it, isn't it?"

Therion returned to Alfyn's side as Gareth nodded after him. Alfyn had been stunned silent throughout the entire conversation, and he only snapped out of his trance when Therion settled in beside him. "We had a cathedral to investigate, didn't we?" Therion asked. 

Alfyn nodded with a few rapid blinks. "Yeah... You're right. Let's do it."

~~~~~

Just as Therion had expected, the cathedral in Northreach had remarkably little information about the dragonstones or what they could have been used for. Darius had seemingly found the gold dragonstone by chance, and he decided he wanted to find the others when the first gem began to corrupt him. Legends about the dragonstones weren't too difficult to come by when a person looked in the right place, and Therion was willing to bet the information circulated a bit more freely after they were stolen from House Ravus too. 

In the end, they learned nothing from Northreach. Therion almost wanted to go to Noblecourt to ask Orlick and Barham if they knew anything about the dragonstones, but he already knew what answer he was going to receive. Orlick bought the ruby stone from a market, and he hadn't really done much research on it. Instead, he had simply become obsessed with it and pushed everyone else around him away in his single-minded pursuit of information... Not that it told him anything of value. 

"I guess we should've known we weren't gonna end up findin' anythin' here," Alfyn remarked as he and Therion walked out of the cathedral. "The dragonstones were scattered to the wind around the time House Ravus began to fall from grace."

"And I'm willing to hazard a guess that they were scattered because somebody used them to open the Gate of Finis," Therion finished for him. Alfyn opened his mouth to point out that they didn't know for certain that the gate had been unlocked, but Therion cut him off. "The timing matches up too perfectly with when Werner would have gotten access to the gate. I'm going to bet that Galdera's champion stole the dragonstones, used them to open the gate, and then scattered them to make sure no one would be able to seal it after she went to all the trouble to open it."

"So we're goin' to need to head to Hornburg and look around no matter what," Alfyn concluded, and Therion nodded. "I guess all we can do until then is hope we can find somethin' else of value that will help us for when we have to go there."

Therion moved to reply, but before he could, he caught a glimpse of someone else near the cemetery at the border of Northreach. Gareth was long gone, seemingly having taken Therion's advice to go off and make something new of himself. Instead, Ogen stood before a grave, something dark in his eyes. This time, it was Alfyn's turn to freeze in shock, and Therion glanced up at him with a heavy frown. "What are you going to do?" he asked softly. "You don't have to talk to him if you don't--"

"Ogen," Alfyn called out before Therion could finish the thought. Ogen jolted out of his thoughts from where he stood over the grave, blinking rapidly to awareness. Alfyn approached him with a small smile. "I didn't think I'd see you here of all places."

Ogen's shoulders went stiff, and he ventured a dangerous glance down at the grave before him. "It's... It's almost the anniversary of the day I lost Melyssa," he began to explain. "I've never come back here for it before, but... I guess I couldn't help it after the two of us talked in Orewell."

"I understand," Alfyn nodded. He took a step toward Ogen, but he hesitated and smiled weakly at the other apothecary. "May I?"

Ogen nodded slowly and took a step back, giving Alfyn the room he needed to crouch in front of the grave. "I wanted to bring her some of her favorite flowers, but it's hard for any flowers to grow out in this cold," Ogen said. "I didn't think they would even survive the journey up to her grave."

"What are they?" Alfyn questioned, rubbing his fingers through the snow in front of Melyssa's grave. Ogen may have thought he wouldn't be able to make the flowers last in that cold, but Alfyn knew he could do one better, and he was determined to do just that. 

"Forget-me-nots," Ogen replied. "She always loved flowers even though she was born and raised in the Frostlands. She... She wanted to move out of town so she could be around them more before..." His expression went dark and sober, and he cut himself off with a shake of his head. "Never mind."

Alfyn pressed his palms against the snow once more, and the green whisper of plant magic flowed from his fingertips. Forget-me-nots sprouted from the ground beneath his hands, and a thin layer of frost across the petals preserved them eternally even in the frigid climate. Alfyn pulled his hands back and pushed himself to his feet, brushing his palms off on his trousers. "That should do it."

Ogen stared at the flowers in shock before his expression softened. "You're something else, aren't you?" Ogen crouched before the grave, reaching out to brush his fingers across the stone. "I'm home, Melyssa... I'm sorry it took me so long to visit you again." Ogen touched the preserved flowers with a trembling smile. "I haven't even looked at these flowers since I lost you... But I suppose there's a first time for everything." Ogen's eyes fell closed. "Not a day has passed where I haven't thought of you. I've been wandering all this time, looking for a reason to keep on living... And I think I finally found it. I'm going to keep on helping people as an apothecary for a little while yet... So I won't be coming to join you as soon as I thought. I hope you'll watch over me... And wait for me to come to you."

Alfyn rubbed at his eyes, but his tears refused to be stemmed in full. "I... I'm glad I was able to help you with somethin' so precious to you," he told Ogen. All of a sudden, Alfyn wanted to go back to Clearbrook for longer than just a few days ago. He had a lot to tell his mother, and he needed to catch her up on everything that had happened as soon as possible. He had been away for too long, but he would return as soon as he had the opportunity. 

Ogen gestured for Alfyn to step closer, and the younger apothecary hesitantly followed his instruction. "It's perfect that you're here," Ogen admitted. "I... I was thinking about it on my way here. It felt wrong to come back to visit Melyssa without you. After all, I never would have found my reason to live again if you hadn't been there." 

Alfyn felt his eyes go wide, and his cheeks filled with a warmth he hadn't expected to find in such chilly temperatures. "Ogen..."

Ogen smiled as he looked back down to Melyssa's grave. "Melyssa... This is Alfyn. He's a fellow apothecary, and he's the reason I'm still alive now. I didn't think there was a point in waking up in the morning after I lost you, but he... He taught me otherwise. I don't know where I would be without him." Ogen's eyes fell shut. "I hope you can forgive him for being the reason I haven't come to join you yet. I think he's right though when he says that I need to live. There's still so much I haven't done, so many people I haven't helped... I'll be with you one day, but for now, I'm going to keep fighting to stay alive. It hasn't been easy, but I think it has been worth it... And I think you would want me to live too."

"Hey there," Alfyn found himself greeting around the knot in his throat. "Sorry for keepin' Ogen away from you for another few years, but... I think this is where he belongs. He's a good apothecary. A great one, even. I think the world needs to have him here for the sake of protectin' those who need it most. He'll be with you again one day, but for now... I'm glad I was able to learn from him. He's taught me a lot of valuable lessons about myself and the world."

Ogen buried the lower half of his face into the collar of his coat. "Thank you for being here, Alfyn," he whispered. He glanced up and met the younger apothecary's gaze as Alfyn nodded in return. "I trust we'll see each other on the road again one day."

Alfyn nodded, unable to hold back his bright smile in return. "Yeah... I know we will. I look forward to it."

Ogen held out his hand, and Alfyn shook it in return. For a few moments, Alfyn felt new warmth across his fingers, and he had to wonder if Melyssa's spirit was holding both his and Ogen's hands. Regardless of if it was true or not, Alfyn felt his smile grow wider. He thanked both Ogen and Therion for not remarking on the tears streaking down on his cheeks, and Alfyn was glad he was alive to see a moment as beautiful as this. 

~~~~~

As was to be expected, Alfyn and Therion found nothing of note in Northreach after that. They stood quietly outside town after parting ways with Ogen, clutching tightly at one another's hands. No words could seem to comfort either one of them after what they had experienced that morning, but they didn't mind it. As long as they were together, they knew they would be alright. That was all that truly mattered. 

Cyrus took Alfyn and Therion away from Northreach when afternoon arrived, and they touched down next just outside Orewell. Alfyn didn't think they would find too much of note there, so he asked Cyrus if he would be able to make one more stop in about an hour or two. He and Therion didn't have much to look forward to in Orewell, but there was a chance Noblecourt would be a different story. Cyrus, Primrose, and H'aanit hadn't talked with Orlick and Barham when they were in Noblecourt, so Alfyn and Therion were going to take care of it that evening. 

But first, Alfyn and Therion needed to see if there was anything of note or value for them to find in Orewell. Alfyn glanced around the town quietly, almost hoping something would jump out at him to beg for his attention. He didn't know if he had the emotional capacity to walk around the town asking everyone for information about the Gate of Finis after the conversation he had shared with Ogen, so Alfyn opted to follow Therion's regular plan of gathering information instead. Therion spent a lot of time watching and listening to the people around him, and Alfyn could only hope this afternoon search would show him the value of such a thing too. 

Alfyn and Therion walked quietly through the streets of Orewell, but there was very little for them to latch onto. Most of the people in town were indoors to escape the heat of the midday. There was only one cluster of townsfolk out and about, and Alfyn began to drift toward them. The person at the center of the crowd appeared to be a sailor who had only recently arrived in town. 

"It was unbelievable, I'm telling you," the sailor was saying. "I had never seen anything like it. There's not supposed to be an island in the Central Sea, but there it was."

Alfyn's eyes went wide, and he glanced over to see Therion's face screwed together with confusion. No one had ever heard of there being an island in the Central Sea. The ocean was filled with ships no matter the time of year, and an island couldn't form without being seen by countless crews aboard countless boats. How could there suddenly be an island there now?

"It appeared like magic," the sailor continued. "Some of us wanted to dock on it and look around after we delivered our cargo, but we couldn't find our way through the dense fog... It was like the fog was trying to keep everyone away from the island. I don't know how to describe it, but I think there must have been some divine intervention involved."

Alfyn felt as if he had been punched with the mention of divine intervention. "Hey... Don't the scriptures say the gods ascended out of the mortal plane through the Central Sea?" he asked Therion in an undertone, and the thief nodded silently beside him. "I wonder... Do you think the gods want us to go to the new island in the Central Sea so we can talk to them about everythin'?"

"I'm not sure," Therion admitted. "But I think it's worth investigating. Let's see if we can learn anything else."

Alfyn nodded, and he strayed a bit closer to the crowd. One of the other townsfolk was speaking now. "When did the island appear?" the woman asked. "Do you think it could mean anything bad for us?"

The sailor shrugged. "It's impossible to say... I knew I couldn't just sit with that knowledge forever though. I had to come back here and tell everyone about it. I think a few ships are trying to get through the fog, but no one has been able to get close enough to the island to tell what's on it. The fog is too dense to navigate."

Alfyn pressed his lips into a frown. If the sailor was right about this being a matter of divine intervention, then the gods could be using their magic to deliberately keep people away from the island. The travelers couldn't easily access the shrines anymore, but if they were to go to the island in the Central Sea... They would be able to talk to the gods at the last point of contact they had with the mortal plane after their battle against Galdera. 

"The others will need to hear about this," Alfyn murmured, and Therion nodded. Alfyn let out a sigh, running one hand through his hair. "I hope it ends up helpin' us... We're runnin' out of options."

~~~~~

Alfyn and Therion were easily able to borrow the Warp Staff from Cyrus after they met up with the rest of the group. They offered to bring the entire group along to speak with Barham and Orlick, but the others were too tired after their investigations to join them. H'aanit in particular looked incredibly rattled, and Therion hoped she could hold on long enough for him and Alfyn to run their errand in Noblecourt before she explained what from the investigation that day had her so agitated. 

Therion traced the path to Barham's home easily, and he knocked once he arrived outside the building. He heard Orlick call from inside to give them a minute, and the thief fell back on his heels with a sigh. He didn't think this was going to take them anywhere, but it wouldn't hurt to at least ask. 

Barham opened the door a few moments later, and his eyes widened at the sight of Therion and Alfyn. "Therion," he greeted. "What brings you here? And without the bulk of your party?"

"We won't be here for long," Therion told Barham as he stepped inside. "I was just wondering if you could tell us anything about the dragonstones. We've been doing a bit of research into them lately, and I was hoping you would be able to give us a few more details about the ruby stone."

Barham's eyes swiveled over to Orlick where he was reading a book. Orlick looked up and set the book on the nearby table with a sigh. It was almost impressive how little he resembled the person Therion had fought in the manor on the edge of town. Back then, Orlick's eyes had been wide and wild, and now, there was a calm composure to them that was unheard of as long as the dragonstones were around. Those jewels truly were a poison to any sane mind that happened to behold them. 

"I don't know what to tell you," Orlick confessed. "I bought it at an auction. As soon as I saw it, I knew there was something special about it, and I knew I needed to have it. I paid a bit more than I'm comfortable admitting to, and then I took to researching it."

"Was it alone when you bought it?" Therion asked, and Orlick frowned in confusion. "That stone isn't one of a kind. It is part of a set of four, and tracking the other stones was my job up until very recently. Did you ever see the other jewels like it?"

Orlick shook his head. "When I got to the auction, it was the only one there. I believe the person who was selling it claimed it was one of a kind too. If there were other jewels like it, then they were already sold by the time I had arrived... Though I doubt they were ever there in the first place."

"So that proves it," Alfyn concluded with a nod. "The stones were probably scattered after they were used in Hornburg. Whoever used them wanted to make sure they were never used to chase after them."

"I'm a bit confused," Barham interjected. "What exactly were these stones used for?"

"Probably opening the gate to hell," Therion replied coolly, and Barham's eyes widened so far they almost seemed to pop out of his skull. "It's a long story, but we're handling it." As much as we can with so little information in our hands. 

"You have nothin' to worry about," Alfyn assured Barham with a smile, but Therion could tell he was putting on the show to ensure this didn't spiral any further than it already had. "We're doin' everythin' we can to take care of things. We just wanted to know if you knew anythin' about the other stones before we kept on with our search."

"What are you thinking you're going to find?" Orlick questioned. "Those jewels are dangerous. I don't think they should ever be left unattended in the wrong hands."

"They're in the right hands now," Therion said. "We were able to get them all back together. They stop acting like leeches once they're all together and can balance one another out. You don't need to worry about that anymore. It's more a matter of us trying to figure out what their power was used for when they were split up and taken away from their home."

"I wish we could help you with your search, but I'm afraid we don't know anything more than you do," Barham sighed. "If you end up needing us though, then you know you can come to us. We would be more than happy to help however we can."

"Thanks for that. It really means a lot," Alfyn nodded. He glanced back over to Therion, his eyes hardening with steely determination. "We should probably be on our way. The rest of our friends are waitin' for us, and we don't want to keep them twiddlin' their thumbs for too much longer."

"You meant it when you said you only had to ask us a few questions, I see," Orlick hummed. "Good luck with the rest of your research." He reached for the book he had been reading and returned to his page, waving absentmindedly as the thief and apothecary retreated through the door. 

Once they were outside, Therion turned to Alfyn with a heavy sigh. "Well, it's really looking like someone is trying to keep us away from the Gate of Finis," he remarked. "I bet they used the dragonstones to open the gate and then scattered them so that we wouldn't be able to follow them."

"Or more accurately, so we wouldn't be able to close the gate again," Alfyn corrected. "I think it's still open. I can't imagine whoever opened it went back to close it after they first pulled it open. We're gonna have to do that for ourselves."

Therion nodded dully. He didn't like the idea of that at all. He had to wonder if he would be able to persuade Cordelia and Heathcote to let him and the rest of the travelers use the dragonstones to make sure the Gate of Finis was truly closed. They probably wouldn't be eager to part with the jewels so soon after they were returned to House Ravus, but what other choice did they have at this point? If someone truly had opened the Gate of Finis, then someone was going to have to close it. 

But something deep in the pit of Therion's stomach told him it wasn't going to be that easy. He was confident there was more to it than just the dragonstones. Hadn't the Gate of Finis been sealed away by a particularly powerful sorcerer too? Without the power of that sorcerer, it would be difficult to close the gate again. For all they knew, it would be pointless to try. 

At the end of the day, the travelers were getting closer to learning what they needed to about the Gate of Finis, but it still felt like they were chasing their tails in circles. What could they do to bring all of this into the light? And what were they missing to make it a bit easier? Therion wished he knew the answer to that question, but he was beginning to suspect he wouldn't find it until after all of this was well and truly over. 

In the meantime though, he had an explanation to hear, and H'aanit was the one who could give it. Therion shoved his anxiety as far down as he could push it and started toward the edge of town. He prayed H'aanit's news wasn't too hard to hear... 

But deep down, Therion already knew it would be. 

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We're in the homestretch of this arc now! 

I really like this chapter honestly. It's a nice way to close out Therion's arc, and we were able to see both Gareth and Ogen again too. I really love working on the side quest rush because it brings back so many familiar faces. I missed seeing people like Gareth, Barham, and Orlick, and here they are for one last little hoorah before the end of the story. 

We're getting really close to the end of the side quest rush now, and after that... Well, you'll just have to see what comes next. Until then, we've got three chapters left, and I hope you're all as excited for them as I am. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a great day, everyone!

-Digital