The second chapter of Therion's tale takes place in Noblecourt, an aristocrat community in the northeast of Orsterra. You'll get to Noblecourt by heading northeast of Atlasdam, via the North Atlasdam Flats and the Western Noblecourt Flats. Take the eastern path through the flats to find the long, obvious road to Noblecourt.
Noblecourt is likely a new destination for you if you didn't come here for Primrose's third chapter first, so we'd best have a look around and see what's what:
- The Inn is right beside the entrance of Noblecourt. Up the stairs from the Inn is a small courtyard with several townsfolk. The leftmost, female Townsperson has a Soul Knife to Purchase / Steal that is an excellent weapon if you can manage to grab it. Also here is an Affable Antiquarian with Lorie's Diary, an item to Purchase / Steal that's part of a Side Story originating in Cobbleston.
- Down the stairs from the courtyard is an Elderly Woman in front of a house. She's also carrying a Soul Knife, as well as a powerful Sorcerer's Robe. You can Challenge / Provoke the Elderly Woman - she's a strong opponent, though beatable past level 25 or so - and if you beat her you'll find a purple chest containing 10,000 leaves inside her home.
- Down the stairs from the Elderly Woman are two men by a house. The Accomplished Graybeard is holding a Codger-friendly Bow that's part of a Side Story, while the other man has... not sure. Need to be level 30. Come back to this!
- North of the courtyard is the Provisioner. West of the Provisioner is a large house that you can't approach until you do so as part of a Chapter. The Fashionable Traveler on this road has the A Use for Textiles info that's part of a Side Story.
- Head east along this upper road and you'll find East Noblecourt.
More town? More town. Let's keep looking around:
- The Townsperson near the save point ahead has a Crescent Dagger you can Steal / Purchase.
- Also near the save point is the Tavern. The patrons inside have a number of good things to Purchase / Steal, most notably an Imperial Vest from the Tavern Patron on the far right. The right Tavern Patron at the bar as the Discount at the Inn info, if you care to Scrutinize / Inquire him, and the left Tavern Patron at the table will give you the New Weapons for Sale info.
- There's a fountain outside the Tavern. The Townsperson on the right has an Invigorating Nut (M) and an Elemental Heavy Armor to Purchase / Steal.
- There's a small graveyard in the south of this part of town. You'll find a chest here containing an Olive of Life.
- Just east of the Armorer is a large house. Out front is a Townsperson with the Thieving Tips & Tricks info to make your criminal life with Therion a little easier.
- North of the fountain is a sizable mansion. It will look familiar if you've been keeping up with Primrose's story. Just to the left of the front door is a chest containing an Herb of Light.
Therion's Story
Therion arrives in Noblecourt on the intel that there is a dragonstone in the town that he needs to collect. Some conveniently-placed townsfolk immediately begin to speak of an old manor on the edge of town, belonging to a man named Orlick, who keeps everyone at arm's length. Sounds like the place to go.
The manor is the place up the stairs and to the left that the party couldn't approach earlier. Wander over and a guard patrol will tell Therion that the place is watched at all times. The lack of a back door leave Therion pondering what to do, and he decides to check out the Tavern. Trek over to East Noblecourt and step inside the Tavern.
A quick scene follows, and Therion will earn information about Orlick in exchange for drinks. The informants will mention Orlick's former research partner, Barham, who apparently parted ways with the reclusive scholar.
Head back to the western half of Noblecourt and look in the south for a lonely, dilapidated-looking building. Approaching it will trigger a cut scene with Barham. Therion explains the situation, and Barham tells him that he needs a password to enter Orlick's mansion. He'll give Therion the password in exchange for pure, filtered water, held by a specific merchant who often comes through Noblecourt.
The Sunlands Merchant you want is busy selling his wares in the courtyard near Barham's home. Walk up and Steal the Oasis Water from the Sunlands Merchant, then take it back to Barham. He's apparently canny, and decides to send Therion on another errand. He wants a Wyvern Scale...
... and you can Steal it from a Merchant outside Primrose's old home in East Noblecourt. Bring it back to Barham, and... of course he wants something else. The last thing Barham needs is Crystal Ore, and the Merchant carrying some is just outside the Provisioner. Take it back to Barham and he'll tell you the password: 'The truth of all things'. He'll also make a key to Orlick's laboratory and hand it over. Very good.
After some more reminiscing on one of Therion's old friends you'll be free to begin the next phase of the plan. Trek up to the manor. The guards will let Therion through thanks to the password. Now the fun begins.
(Once you can gain access to the manor you can also speak to the two Gatekeepers. One has a Moonblade that you can Steal / Purchase, while the other has a Heavy Blade. Just south of the left guard is a chest, partially hidden behind a tree, that contains an Herb of Clamor.)
Orlick's Manse
The password may have gotten the group through the front door, but they'll still need to fight their way through the rest of Orlick's Manse. You'll face off against the following enemies in his lavish home:
- Bodyguard I - Weak to Polearm, Axe, and Ice. Buff themselves then hit you with Pummel and normal attacks. A bit painful, but straightforward.
- Bodyguard II - Weak to Polearm, Axe, and Ice. Buff themselves, then can use Spin Attack to hit the whole party. Still pretty straightforward like the other Bodyguards, but should be priority targets.
- Guardian - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Dagger, and Bow. Burly foe with high defenses and some strong attacks. Worth dispatching early most of the time.
- Dark Guardian - Weak to Sword, Dagger, Bow, and Light.
- Ice Guardian - Weak to Sword, Dagger, Bow, and Fire. Melee combatant that can use Ice Storm to hit the whole party. Not that much trouble.
- Dark Sentinel - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Axe, Staff, and Light. Weak mooks that use Dark Skills. Can be quickly stunned and dispatched by Ophilia's Luminescence.
- Curator - Weak to Polearm, Dagger, Bow, and Staff. Serves primarily to buff itself and its party, though can do some damage as well. Therion can knock it down with his Skills pretty easily.
This battle is a bit of a process. Orlick begins with two Bodyguards, and they keep his weaknesses locked away. You can damage Orlick, but you can't lower his shields. Aside from normal attacks Orlick can buff his whole team, hit the whole party with Rage, target one character with Magic Missile for a substantial amount of damage, and channel his arcane energies, which leads to Magic Grenade if Orlick isn't broken. Magic Grenade hits everyone and hurts quite a bit. Halfway through Orlick's HP he'll call in Orlick's Golem, which like the Bodyguards before it is largely a single-targeting enemy, though occasionally it can hit everyone with Lightning Bolt for around 400 points of damage.
With all the foes you need to defeat this fight can take a fair while, and since Orlick is protected off the bat you need to start with his two Bodyguards. They're not that tough, but you want to take them out as quickly as possible so Orlick himself can't lay too much of a beatdown on your party while he's still protected. Cyrus is great at cutting them both down to size with Blizzard. Once Orlick is exposed you'll have a pretty easy time keeping him stunned until he brings in his Golem, at which point Orlick will also start going into Boost mode and threatening you with Magic Grenade. Orlick is still more dangerous than the Golem, so focus more on bringing the scholar down, keeping his shields low but not breaking his defenses until he channels his arcane energies. Only target the Golem when Orlick is close to breaking already. Once Orlick is gone you shouldn't have too much trouble mopping up the Golem.
You'll earn an Inspiriting Plum Basket for defeating Orlick and his entourage. Therion will snag the dragonstone and take it back to Bolderfall. Heathcote will give Therion his next destination: The town of Wellspring, south of Sunshade.