This is a transcription of all the party banter dialogue from Cyrus's Chapter 2. Context for each scene has now been added.
All dialogue here was transcribed using this video. You're welcome to copy/paste/use this wherever and however you want.
Cyrus has just entered Quarrycrest, rereading a letter from an old colleague that warns him about how his good looks and friendly demeanor could be misconstrued by women, due to his sheer obliviousness to how attractive he is.
Professor, may I ask what that letter was about? It seemed most engrossing.
Oh, that? It was a message warning me about women.
...Huh?
Oh, I don't mean in a bad way. What it actually said was that I should be careful how I act toward women, lest I give cause for misunderstandings.
Well, intelligence such as yours can be very attractive...
Please, my dear. A word such as "attractive" must be kept in reserve for those of great beauty - such as yourself.
... Erm...
Hm?
I think maybe that's the kind of thing the letter writer was talking about...
You think so? But I was merely speaking my mind. Am I not allowed to tell a beautiful woman that she is just that?
Well, sometimes you can...but maybe, in your case, you shouldn't.
Tsk. I am finding this most difficult to understand.
Cyrus's old colleague Odette is puzzled by a string of missing people within Quarrycrest, and Cyrus eagerly offers to help since he can't turn down a mystery.
So, Professor. Think you can solve the puzzle?
Oh, definitely. I am very much looking forward to the challenge!
Hehe. Your enthusiasm certainly is charming, but don't you find the scholarly life to be...exhausting sometimes?
You must forgive me, but I don't see how it possibly could be.
Well, you lot can never let a mystery just be. You need to figure everything out... You realize there's no end to it? That you'll never find all the answers? Life is too short to spend it with a furrowed brow and a nose forever stuck in a tome.
Ah. Clearly, you are not a fan of natural philosophy. Still, I enjoy your frankness. There's a certain beauty to your honesty.
Steady, Professor. Are you trying to sweet-talk me?
What do you mean?
... (I honestly can't tell if he's genuinely guileless, or just play-acting...)
Cyrus has just spent a decent length of time figuring out how the missing people were abducted. ...
Er, Professor?
...
He-LLOOO! Professor!
...Ah, hello, Tressa. Why are you shouting?
I was trying to offer you some sweets, but you weren't answering me.
Oh, I do apologize. Once I get to thinking about a thing, I oft become lost to the world. There was a time when I was so engrossed in a book, I failed to notice that my neighbor's house was on fire.
W-wow... Being able to concentrate like that must be super handy as a scholar! But it's probably best to be a liiittle more attentive, especially when on the road like we are. You never know what's waiting around the next corner!
Quite true, Tressa, quite true. I shall endeavor to be more vigilant. ...(She praises my focus, but it's nothing compared to hers when she's in the midst of a business negotiation.)
Cyrus and company have just entered the sewers of Quarrycrest, where Cyrus believes the culprit they're hunting is taking the abducted villagers.
...It looks like someone's been coming in and out of these sewers.
As we suspected.
Muddy footprints on the floor and handprints on the wall. Recent, too. The mud is still wet.
I see. That is very useful information. I must say, you have a keen eye, to spot such subtle signs.
It's just experience. Albeit experience I never thought would be useful to you... Heh.
Your experience is the result of careful study, and gives you valuable skills. You see... Oh, but we don't have time for a discussion now, however interesting. Perhaps I'll share my insights later.
Don't worry about it. Your lectures give me a headache.
...
Too honest?
A little, yes.
After discovering the missing people and defeating the responsible party, Cyrus finds an abridged copy of the book he's searching for. Together with Odette, he deduces it was made in Stonegard, due partly to the book's cover being made of...lambskin? Either they meant goatskin or this conversation really does come out of nowhere, both are possible really.
I care not to boast...but I have experience in hunting wild goats.
Oh? Now that's interesting...
Their fur and hide aren highly valued - especially when unmarred by wounds. Instead of using a bow, I oft builde traps when I hunte goats.
I see...
I stalke the quarry, then herde it toward my pit or snare until it is caught.
Different means for different prey. Hunting is not as simple as it seems.
In all things, thou must finden the proper way to achieven thy goal. Wouldst thou eaten soup with a fork? Steak with a spoon?
Excellent examples, both. You state your case most persuasively. You have a talent for teaching. Perhaps it is something you might pursue, in the future.
Me, a teacher? I thinke not.
You seem very sure about that.
I prefere the hunt.
Well, pedagogy's loss is hunting's gain, I dare say.
This triggers at the same time as H'aanit's conversation. While in the sewers, Cyrus discovers bodies, living and dead, used by a necromancer to create blood crystals. These bodies had their blood drained from them and were then discarded like meaningless objects.
...
Alfyn, my friend. You seem...melancholy.
It's nothin'.
Yet I am worried that it is, in fact, something.
Well, I can't stop thinkin' about them poor folk that got sacrificed. It's an awful thing. People ain't tools to be used!
Knowledge is a tool that can serve noble ends or wicked, depending on who wields it. What matters is the nature of the person who uses the tool...the disposition of their heart. Yours, for example, is full of goodness, and I believe that any knowledge is safe in your hands.
Aw, leave off it, Professor. I've got my brain full just tryin' to learn all I can about medicine. In any case, I feel sick thinkin' about all this. I need to wash my hands or somethin'.
Use this.
A handkerchief? Thank you, Professor.
(...Hmm. I believe I shall learn much from this man.)
As Cyrus leaves Quarrycrest, a mysterious figure that was also seen at the end of Cyrus's Chapter 1 appears, as if they're following Cyrus...
...
Is something troubling you, my friend? You suddenly have a worried look about you.
Don't stop, and don't look back - but I feel eyes upon us.
Someone watching, you mean? Hmm... It would well behoove us to trust your instincts...
The question is, who?
Let us drag them out of hiding and find out. Compel them to confess their intentions.
We could try. But if they escape, we will only have served to alert them...
Then only one other avenue is open to us.
What would that be?
Continue on our way, pretending that we have noticed nothing, and let them make the first move.
If that be your advice, so be it. But you must be our lookout. Do not let your guard slip.
Hehe. Knowing one's enemy is the first step to defeating him.
I cannot tell if you are courageous...or ignorant of the danger.
