Eight Intertwined

77 - Saintsbridge

The sun had almost completely disappeared on the horizon by the time that the group left behind Dohter's shrine. Ophilia did her best to resist cringing at the sight, knowing that the group had to get going as soon as possible if they didn't want to be caught up in the rush of nocturnal monsters waking up for their midnight hunts. Everyone else understood her desire to hurry and then some, and they were more than happy to trail after the light of the Ember coming from the lanthorn as Ophilia started to jog towards Saintsbridge. 

Luckily for the cleric and the rest of the group though, Saintsbridge wasn't far from the shrine, and they were able to settle down within the city soon afterwards. Ophilia sighed with relief as soon as the town's entrance lights came into view, and she allowed herself to tuck the lanthorn away at her hip. People were bustling around in the evening rush, no doubt off to get food for the night, and Ophilia couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was nice to be back in a town that reminded her so much of home. Flamesgrace got the same way when night drew near, and Ophilia rather enjoyed staying in a place like this. She needed the extra reminders of everything she loved when the Kindling was so close on the horizon. 

In more ways than one, it was strange to Ophilia that she was finally there. She had taken much longer than she would have liked to travel to Saintsbridge because everything related to the Kindling had been put on hold for a while to help the rest of her companions. However, all of that was in the past now, and Ophilia was close to carrying out the first step of the pilgrimage. She hadn't ever imagined that she would be making this journey to begin with, and yet, there she was, ready to take the next steps in order to change everything about her life for the better. 

Then there was the matter of the war that had swallowed Creek ages ago. Tressa had made it clear that she was going to try and help Ophilia to uncover the truth in any way she could, though the cleric still had no idea how they were going to go about finding out something like that. Ophilia had distanced herself from the subject for years because, in all honesty, she feared what she might find. Would anybody even remember the conflict from fifteen years ago that had taken so much from her? Saintsbridge was a busy town, and for all she knew, the people had moved on ages ago. She doubted Quarrycrest would be much better. The mere thought made Ophilia want to shove all of her previous thoughts of pursuing the truth back where they had come from, never to be touched again. 

But she doubted Tressa would let her get away with that. Tressa could tell what she wanted, and the merchant refused to let it all go quite so soon. There had to be somebody that knew the truth behind what happened for Creek to fall, and Tressa was going to find a way to track them down regardless of how much time or energy it took. Tressa's loyalty was certainly appreciated; Ophilia could tell that she was going to need it as she moved towards the truth of her past. 

"We should try and settle down at the inn for now," Alfyn announced. "I bet I'll be able to figure out how to get us a discount. There's always somebody who knows something important when it comes to stuff like that, you know?"

"We can eat at the tavern after we're finished putting our things down then," Primrose suggested with a nod. She started to walk towards the entrance of the inn, and the others followed her, though Alfyn trailed away from the main bulk of the party, no doubt off to make casual conversation and hope that it led him somewhere. Much to Ophilia's surprise, even Therion stuck with the others in the party; it seemed as if he wasn't in the mood to steal anything for the time being, so he decided to linger with his allies for a while longer. 

As a matter of fact, Tressa was the other person who drifted away as the group continued to navigate through Saintsbridge. Ophilia paused when she realized that the merchant had stopped, and she approached the other girl carefully. "Is something wrong?" Ophilia asked, though she immediately realized that wasn't the case when she saw that Tressa was staring into the window of a store.