Throné found the rest of the travelers in the inn's lobby when she and Temenos returned from their trip out that night. She had known they would be there, but it still caught her by surprise, and she paused when she realized just how many people she was going to have to talk to in order to make her way back to her room to rest for the night. Just as they had said, they had all gone to the local shops to make sure they were properly equipped for the rest of their journey to Clockbank. Their trip to Flamechurch had always been meant to be brief, and everyone had gotten what they wanted from it...

At least as much as they could have. Throné couldn't say she was entirely happy, but she supposed that was to be expected. She had been hoping she would be able to find a treasure, but in the end, she had walked away with just a dirty mirror and a lost bet. None of the people she had made that wager with were there to talk to her about it now, and it bothered her in ways she couldn't ever put to words. It was agonizing, and Throné knew it was only going to get harder the longer she had to sit there in the darkness of her emotions. 

But she couldn't just tell her new companions that she was going through something miserable because of the past. The last thing she wanted to do was tell them about her time in the Blacksnakes. That was going to make her feel worse, especially since it wasn't necessary quite yet. Throné would have to talk to them about who she was and what she was trying to accomplish one day, but she wasn't there yet. She didn't want to be there yet. She wanted to push forward for a little bit longer. She wanted to be certain without a shadow of a doubt that none of them were going to decide to abandon her when she told them who she was. As long as she wasn't there yet, she was going to have to choose each step she took as carefully as possible. 

"We're back!" Temenos called out as he pulled the door to the inn closed behind him. He looked up to find all of the travelers sitting together in front of the fireplace, clearly trying to enjoy its warmth on the cool mountain night. "I take it the search for supplies we'll need to get to Clockbank went well?"

"It did," Castti confirmed with a nod. She was far more focused today than she had been when the group was in Montwise, and Throné had to wonder just what had taken her over to make her so distant and difficult to read for a few days in that city exclusively. "We'll be ready to leave town in the morning. Everything is proceeding according to plan."

"Good." Temenos sat down in one of the only empty seats, and he looked up at Throné with shining eyes that made the thief feel like she was being hollowed out from the depths of her heart. "Do you want to join us? I think we should tell everyone about the adventure we got up to tonight."

Throné wanted to go back to her room and pretend all of this had ended better than it had, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to get away with it. Everyone was going to want to know how the investigation had gone, and even if she was able to slip back to her room for the time being, they would ask her in the morning. Throné hoped she would feel better when she came to in the morning, but she didn't want to take that chance. Sometimes, sleeping on something only made her feel worse, and if Temenos was inviting her to sit... She couldn't just refuse. 

As Throné took the final seat in the hearth room, Ochette looked up at her with shining eyes. "So how did it go?" she asked eagerly. "You said that you were going to see if you could find a treasure in the cathedral! Were you able to find what you were looking for? What did the treasure end up being?"

Throné bit back a wince. Of course that was her first question. It was natural that the rest of the travelers would want to know the truth behind the search, but that didn't make it any easier to explain. Luckily, Throné didn't have to be the one to explain. Instead, Temenos reached into his robes and pulled out the cloudy mirror that Alpates had given them. "Feast your eyes upon the treasure of the Flamechurch cathedral!" Temenos declared, but Throné could tell by the tone of his voice that he was trying to poke a bit of fun at the idea. Temenos thought the mirror had a little bit more value than Throné did, but that wasn't trully saying much when she was so firmly against it. 

Agnea stared at the mirror for a long moment, and she tilted her head to the side in confusion. "That... Looks like a piece of a mirror," she began slowly. "I would have thought the treasure would be something a bit... Grander."

"Especially since it's broken," Hikari nodded. "But I'm certain it has a reason for holding that title." He looked at the mirror for a few seconds, and his eyes narrowed as he seemed to want to reach out and take it out of Temenos' hands so he could hold it to his chest. "I wonder... Do any of you feel like you're being almost... Drawn to it?"

That question gave Throné pause, and she stared at the mirror with a heavy frown of her own. She wanted to be able to say the answer to that was no, but she wasn't entirely sure. It was difficult to describe how she felt about the mirror, but she felt like there was something off about it. Alpates seemed to think it was deeply important, and she wanted to give it to Temenos and Throné as soon as they arrived in her room... What about it could have been so important? Why did it make her want to go out and pursue the next stage of the mission she hadn't bothered to explain before she walked away?

"There's something fascinating about it," Castti agreed. She held her hands out, and Temenos gladly passed the mirror over to her. Once it was sitting in her lap, Castti reached into her bag and pulled out a small piece of cloth, and she began to rub away the dirt that had settled across its surface. "I wonder if it just needs a little bit of attention..."

Throné was glad Castti could see value in it. As it stood, all Throné wanted to do was pretend it didn't exist. That was a generous way of phrasing just how little she wanted to do with it, as a matter of fact. Throné wished she hadn't come to the town at all. She had been doing her best to not think about the pain that came with losing Pirro and the others she could have called friends in a better world, but instead... That night, all she could stand to do was remember them. It was agonizing, and she wished her memories could somehow be purged from her head when she let her guard down enough to not think about being a Blacksnake for once. 

Would this have even ended any differently if she had found a true treasure in the cathedral? Would she feel better if she had glimpsed something so beautiful it seemed to change her life forever? Throné didn't think that was the case even though she would have liked for it to be. Nothing was going to make this any easier, and she wished she had seen it sooner. She was always going to be miserable with the way this had ended, and it was clear as could be. Throné had just been foolish enough to think there was some other outcome she hadn't thought to look for sooner. 

Castti finished polishing the mirror a few moments later, and she held it up to the light. A beautiful light seemed to gleam from within it, and a blue gleam danced across its surface. Still, it was very obviously incomplete, and Castti's image was distorted when the glass reflected it back to her. "I suppose it looks better now," Castti began, and she passed it back to Temenos. "I have to wonder what it could be a piece of though. Surely it comes from a far larger mirror, but I don't know how we would go about finding it."

"Perhaps that has something to do with the mission Alpates went on," Temenos mused. The rest of the group stared at him in confusion, and Temenos nodded when he realized he hadn't explained. "Ah, my apologies. Let me take this story from the beginning. The woman who gave this mirror to us was a woman by the name of Alpates..."

Throughout Temenos' recounting of the tale, Throné remained silent. She stared at the other members of the group where they were sitting around the room, and she wondered if any of them would want to be around her after they learned the truth of who she was. Would they want to turn in a new direction and run as far away from her as they could if they realized that she was a Blacksnake? Throné certainly wouldn't be able to blame them if they chose to do that, but it still stung to think about. It was a problem she didn't have a true solution to, and she doubted she was going to figure it out soon either. 

But Throné knew one thing for certain: she didn't want to lose this. She had already seen too many friends die in the last few weeks, and it was only going to get worse if the misery of the Blacksnakes spread beyond the limits of New Delsta. She could put an end to this if she was only determined enough to see it through. She would go after Mother and Father, find their keys, and then unlock the path that would take her to her freedom. 

And Throné would make sure no one else found themselves in danger because of the actions she had been forced to perform in the past and would no doubt have to pressure herself into in the future. She didn't want anything to happen to this ragtag group of travelers. She wanted to do what she could to take care of them. She wanted to ensure they were all as protected as they could have been. Maybe it wasn't a perfect plan, but it was all Throné wanted now. She wanted to have a place where she could be safe, and... 

Against all of her expectations, Throné felt safe there with the rest of the travelers. She didn't know why, but she was certain she was meant to be there. She felt at ease with them, and she felt like the mirror in Temenos' hands was reflective of something. She may have thought of it as a shoddy treasure, but it was still... Important somehow. Throné didn't know how it was so crucial, but she knew it had to mean something to her. She knew it had to mean something to all of them. 

She had no idea how she was going to find a way through this, but Throné knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was going to push forward. She would figure out how to stay by the sides of the rest of the travelers, and she could do what she could to ensure they didn't abandon her when they learned of who she was. Maybe they wouldn't even consider it when she finally came out with the truth. She couldn't say for certain. Throné still knew she had a lot of work to do, and she wasn't going to let her history as a Blacksnake ruin her completely. She needed this, and she was willing to fight for it. 

"Wow... There was a girl in the cathedral all that time, and you didn't know about her at all?" Agnea asked, her eyes wide as could be. Temenos had finished telling the story of how he and Throné got the mirror, it seemed, and all of the travelers were watching him in curiosity. "I would have thought you would know about her being there since you worked in the church for so long."

"I thought so too," Temenos confessed, and Throné could see a flicker of pain in his irises. He shoved it down again just as quickly, and Throné knew that he didn't want to talk about it at all. He had respected Throné for not wanting to talk about her history as a Blacksnake, and she didn't want to push him in front of everyone in case it splintered their fragile alliance... But she couldn't help her curiosity about just how betrayed he felt by all they had found that night. "In the end, Alpates decided to set out on her own journey, though I cannot say for certain what it is that she wants to do with this future she now has access to. I suppose we'll simply have to see if we're able to find her at some point later on in our own adventures."

"It's certainly fascinating," Osvald murmured. "But for now, I think it would be in our best interests to get some rest for the night. The road to Clockbank is long, and we'll need all the energy we can if we want to get to the town in a timely manner."

There was something Throné could agree with. She felt like she had been run through by something sharp, and even though it was an emotional wound rather than a physical one, it still stung her deeply. "I guess I'll see you all in the morning then," Throné declared. She pushed herself to her feet and started back toward her inn room, seeing no reason to linger for even a moment longer. Temenos had convinced her to stay before, but he would not be able to talk her into it now. She needed rest, and she needed to get out of her own head for a while. 

The other travelers followed Throné's lead in going back to their rooms for the night, and that meant the thief was not alone in her room for long. Castti pulled the door shut in her wake, and she looked up at Throné from across the room. Throné was already well on her way to getting ready to sleep, and Castti studied her every move carefully like she was trying to figure out the best way to close a severe wound. Was Throné's anguish truly that obvious? Did Castti truly feel like she was bleeding her heart all over the floor of their room?

"Throné, are you alright?" Castti asked carefully, and for a split second, Throné froze. She forced herself to move again just as quickly out of the hope that she would not show Castti just how much those words had rattled her, but she knew it was too late. Castti had already seen too much, and she was going to push the subject as much as she thought she could. "I don't mean to intrude, but... It's seemed to me like you've been distracted ever since you got back from the search for the treasure."

Throné didn't know how to respond to that even though she knew she was going to have to speak up sooner or later. She couldn't just let the dread of the silence consume her even if she wanted to forget that night had happened at all. There were some things that simply could not be erased, and she needed to figure that out sooner rather than later... But she couldn't bring herself to speak of it. Somehow, it felt like it was simply too much for her. 

"I... I've just had a lot on my mind," Throné finally settled for saying. It was true even if it wasn't even the beginning of everything she had been battling since this mess began. She had been thinking about a lot of things, yes, but it wasn't anything she could bring herself to discuss with Castti or the rest of the travelers. Temenos knew the most about her out of all of them, but Throné still didn't want to bring it up with him. Talking about anything vulnerable was dangerous. She had learned that lesson well when she was working as a Blacksnake, and even now, she couldn't seem to shake her training. 

One day, Throné hoped that things would be different. She didn't know what she was going to do with her life if she was ever able to escape from this cycle of misery and bloodshed, but she knew that something was going to have to change. She had no idea how, but she hoped that it went about as well as it could have in the future. Until then, she didn't want anyone to figure out a thing about her, and that included the fact that she had once acted as an assassin. She just wanted to be able to sit there in the darkness and perhaps let it swallow her long enough for the emotions raging in her chest to stop wanting to ruin her. 

"I see." Castti continued to study Throné's face for a long moment, trying to see if she could find anything that might help her to get to the bottom of the mystery of her roommate, but she ultimately came up short. Instead, Castti looked to her lap where she was sifting through her apothecary materials. "If you ever decide you want to talk about it, then I would be more than happy to listen. The choice is yours, of course, but I'll be here if you want me to be."

Throné stared at Castti for a long moment, fighting to keep her shock off her face. That was an offer that had never been given to her in the Blacksnakes. Even she and Pirro didn't talk about their feelings in any degree of detail. They knew it was risky as long as it could tip them over the edge into grief for what they would never be able to have nor understand. They were always at risk of losing themselves to their own desires, and they were careful with that knowledge. Castti didn't seem to have any such things in mind, proving herself as someone who existed beyond the limitations that Throné had been forced to grow up in. 

The thief let out a slow breath, tearing her gaze away from Castti. Somehow, looking at her felt like too much, and she couldn't do it for even a moment longer. "Thank you, Castti," Throné murmured. 

"It's no problem." Castti got back to organizing her supplies a moment later, but Throné snuck in one last glance at her in the darkness. Perhaps one day she would feel safe enough to talk to her about all of this. She could not say for sure, but it was a nice thought if nothing else. 

And maybe one day, it would end up meaning something more than just simple pleasantness. 

~~~~~

Temenos was glad when Osvald decided to go to sleep early for the night. Even now, he was fighting off the consequences of spending so many years on Frigit Isle. He was exhausted most days when he pushed himself too hard, and marching up the mountains to make it to Flamechurch had seemingly applied. Temenos knew that it would take Osvald time to fully recover from what had happened to his body when he was a prisoner, and the cleric could only hope that Osvald got to the other end of this bridge of misery one day. 

For the time being, Osvald was asleep, and that left Temenos alone in the darkness and the silence of their inn room. Temenos stared up at the ceiling with a small frown on his face, unable to tear the events of the evening from his mind. He hadn't known exactly what to expect when Throné said that she had heard rumors of a treasure hiding in the cathedral of Flamechurch, but he had been curious to see it through to the end. He was intrigued by the idea if nothing else. He wanted to do everything he could to solve the many mysteries of the world, and this was no exception. If he was able to get a little bit closer to learning more about what the universe had in store for him, then he was willing to consider it a victory. 

Temenos hadn't expected what they found in the slightest though. He also hadn't imagined it was going to hurt him so much. He knew there was no reason for him to be this bothered by it, and yet... He couldn't get his mind away from the fact that the pontiff had hidden all of this from him. At any point over the course of his life, Jörg could have told Temenos about Alpates. In fact, Temenos was certain that he would have been a fine help and a great companion to her. She was lonely from growing up within the church, and Temenos would have been more than happy to step up and talk to her every once in a while. 

But instead, Jörg had never revealed a thing about her. Temenos hadn't expected the betrayal to sting as much as it did, but he couldn't get it out of his head once he started to think about it. Why had his father gone so far to make sure this secret never found its way into the light? Temenos didn't understand any of it. He just wanted to understand, but now, he would never get that chance. Jörg was gone, and Temenos couldn't communicate with the dead. He couldn't find a way to contact his father's spirit to ask him why he had gone so far to keep the secret. He couldn't find any degree of closure from Jörg's death at all, and Temenos hated it deeply. 

It felt like he hadn't truly been given the chance to see this through. Temenos had been doing his best to keep from thinking about his grief ever since he found his adoptive father's corpse, but it was getting harder and harder. Coming back to Flamechurch had been risky for him, but it wasn't just a matter of him not knowing how he was going to explain himself if someone he didn't like happened to see him. Temenos was also worried about returning to the town that his father had once called home. This was where Temenos had felt safe and happy for so many years, and now... He was alone. There was no one to wait for him when he decided he wanted to visit again. There was no person for him to share dinner with as he talked about all of the wonders he had encountered on the road. He was on his own.

Perhaps that was the real reason Temenos was so upset about Alpates. She could have been a source of camaraderie for him. Temenos had never been the darling of any of the church's leaders, and he hadn't ever understood why. Roi was sometimes frowned upon simply because of his position, but there weren't many people who outright hated him. Temenos, on the other hand, couldn't remember a time in his life where he had not been scorned by those around him. He had never been well-liked, and it seemed like the only people who were ever willing to go far for him were Roi and Jörg. Roi had gone missing years ago, and now, Jörg was gone along with him. Even Temenos' friendship with Mindt felt superficial compared to some of the other bonds that he could have shared with others. They worked together, yes, but it was nothing quite like what Temenos knew he needed. 

Alpates had been left on her own for so long. The pontiff was one of her only points of contact with the outside world, and he only seemed to visit her for short periods of time to bring her food or give her what little human connection she was ever granted by the grace of the gods. It was a cruel existence, and Temenos couldn't help but wonder if he could have made a difference in it sooner. If he had known Alpates before all of this began, then maybe he could have gotten to know her. She was out on a journey now to see through whatever goal it was that had captured her attention, but Temenos wished that he had been given the chance to know her before she decided to leave. Could he have done something to make her life a little bit easier if they had only been given the time to talk with one another before this? Would he ever even know?

Temenos let out a slow breath, and he could feel tears starting to rise to his eyes. He didn't want them to fall as long as there was a chance he could disturb Osvald though. Over the course of their time sharing an inn room, Temenos had learned that Osvald's sleep schedule was very erratic, no doubt the result of his time in Frigit. On some nights, he slept lightly and woke up the instant he heard any sounds in the darkness. On other nights, he was out for hours at a time, and Temenos could even read a book by candlelight without disturbing him. 

Temenos didn't want to take the chance tonight. He had come to learn a lot of things about himself recently, and one of them was that he did not want to have to talk to anyone around him about his feelings regarding the pontiff's death. The grief felt like it was going to crush him. He was all on his own. All his life, he had been unwanted and cast aside. His parents had abandoned him, and the pontiff had taken him in through adoption... But Temenos had never been able to shake the feeling that there were people who did not want him there. His parents had forgotten about him easily, and he had never been able to make up for the ground he lost from that. 

Now, Temenos had to wonder if the pontiff wanted him around either. He had never doubted Jörg's love for him like this before. He worried sometimes that his adoptive father was going strangely far in his name, taking care of him even when others would want to cast him aside. Still, none of it even came close to this. Temenos knew that there were people who did not want him around, but he had thought he would always be safe with his family. Instead, his father had kept secrets from him, and Temenos hadn't been given the chance to understand Alpates until after she was already planning on setting out on some unknown mission. 

Temenos knew that he shouldn't have let it bother him. There was no point in reading into the motives of people who were no longer alive to explain themselves, and he knew that well. Still, he couldn't help thinking of it as yet another mystery to be solved. The pontiff's behavior was odd, and Temenos didn't like it at all. He wanted to understand, but there was nothing in the world that would be able to tell him what it was that he needed to hear. Unless he could find a way to commune with the dead, this secret was going to live and die by his tongue, and Temenos didn't want to indulge it for even a second longer than was necessary. He already knew he would want to tear himself apart if he thought about it for longer than he had leading up to that point. He couldn't make it worse. He had gone through enough that day. 

Temenos let out another slow breath to try and ground himself. He would not let himself dissolve to tears now. He had to stay strong. The world was counting on him to solve the mystery of what had happened to his father, and he had to get to the bottom of it. Beyond that, Temenos knew that he would not be able to easily pull himself together again if he succumbed to grief now. He had to hold firm for as long as he could. He would be able to mourn for all that was not anymore and would never be once this was over. Until then, he... He... 

He had a new group of people to help. He was a guide for the lost, a shepherd taking care of wayward lambs. He would be able to help those who needed him most, and right now, that included the travelers. He would help them on their way to Clockbank, and he would aid Partitio in speaking with his old friend. Temenos didn't know where their journey would take them after that, but he was more than happy to see it through. That was what he had to do. He knew it well. He could be patient in unraveling all of these miserable secrets. It would do him no good at that moment. If anything, it would only make him feel worse, and he had suffered more than enough as it was. 

There were others in the world who needed Temenos more than he needed himself right now... And if he thought through that idea enough times, then perhaps he would come to believe it. 

Tears dropped onto his pillow, and Temenos thanked his lungs for their silence. 

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And so ends the arc for the first crossed paths! Woohoo!

I really like this chapter. I already adore both Throné and Temenos as characters, and I had a lot of fun exploring their first crossed paths with such an emotional lens. That's what this story is for, you know? We're going beyond what the game could do, and I love how it turned out. These novelizations are so much fun. 

But it's back on the regular tracks after this. Next time, it's Partitio's time to shine! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital