Over the course of the few hours after the fight, Ali slept as much as he possibly could. Tressa was more than happy to stay with him, bouncing her leg to help pass the time. She couldn't tell if she was more desperate for him to wake up or if she needed the time to think on her own. It was impossible to tell much of anything these days. All Tressa could say for sure was that she had a lot on her mind, and it all stemmed back to Morlock.

Tressa wanted to look after Ophilia. She was halfway tempted to get up and find the cleric every other minute just to make sure that she was alright. At the same time though, Tressa knew she wouldn't be able to just leave Ali alone as long as he was in a condition like this. Tressa had given it her all when it came to helping him, gladly using the innate healing magic skill she had been granted by Aelfric. What he needed now was a lot of rest and a lot of patience, though Tressa had neither in generous supply. The best thing she could do was stay there with him until he was feeling well enough to get back on his feet, but Tressa had no idea how to handle the agonizingly long wait, so she just stared at the ground blankly.

Tressa still couldn't believe they had actually won the day. She had been hoping, albeit quietly, that perhaps they would be able to find a way to convince Morlock to change his ways without the need for murder, but at the same time, she had always known this was how it was going to end. Tressa knew they had acted in the best and only way they could for the sake of saving Ali and exacting justice for everyone else Morlock had hurt in the path of his greed, but at the same time, her stomach twisted and churned each time she thought about it for too long. This hadn't been the life she wanted, but it was the path she had been granted all the same.

Tressa tapped her foot a little bit faster, the bouncing thunderous in the silence of the room. At least Ali was starting to look a little bit better than he had earlier in the day. It was a small mercy, but Tressa knew that she had to take what she could get. Ali was still obviously exhausted, but at least the color was starting to return to his face. That was beyond welcome, and Tressa would take it. He deserved better than all of this. He shouldn't have been dragged into this at all, but as long as he was involved with it, she had to try and help him through the fallout.

Ali groaned lightly, and Tressa looked over to him like she was a monster pinned on the other end of a hunter's arrow. Ali rubbed at the side of his head with his hand, blinking a few times as he came to grips with the reality around him. When his eyes fell on Tressa, he shot her a weak smile. Even now, he was still trying to put on a show of some kind. "Hey, Green Pea," he greeted.

Tressa did her best to not roll her eyes at the ridiculous nickname. Instead, she leaned forward a little bit, bracing her hands against the edge of the chair cushion beneath her. "How are you feeling?" she asked. She prepared herself to summon a bit more healing magic if that was what he needed, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away from the grounding surface of the cushion between her fingertips.

Ali thought about it as he slowly but surely sat up. He looked around the room, and Tressa could already see the difference in the way he was carrying himself. He seemed much more composed now than he had been before. His eyes were a bit sharper than they had been when he had just been attacked by Omar, and Tressa could take that as a sign that he was crawling back to reality. Luckily for her, Ali seemed to agree. "Better than before," he said.

"I'm glad to hear it," Tressa smiled as relief hit her like a tidal wave. She looked down at the ground once again, wishing she had something else to say. What could she even say? Gods above, it would only come off as awkward and stilted if she tried to talk. How was she supposed to say that she was glad she had saved his life even if it had come at the price of killing two men who had ruined countless lives? How could she explain to him that Morlock had already smeared blood all over the present and past to justify his death? How could she justify Morlock and Omar's deaths at all? Was she sick and twisted for thinking she would be able to?

Ali didn't seem to have any reservations though, and he offered her a weak and self-deprecating smile. "I owe you one," he whispered. "And a merchant always pays his debts. You have my word."

Part of Tressa was convinced that she should deny his words and try to change the subject. When she realized that she didn't particularly want to think about anything that she could have changed the subject to, she just smiled back at him. "I'll hold you to it," she said with a weak laugh even though she had no intentions of doing such a thing. She didn't want to think about debts or keeping score as long as she was still thinking about the fact that two people had died in front of her just a few hours ago.

Ali didn't know what to say in the silence either, and he stared off to the side before he forced himself to look over to Tressa. "Morlock... He said a lot of things back there," he started slowly. "So did you."

Tressa just hummed, knowing she wouldn't be able to say much of anything of value even if she tried. Ali didn't mind, instead continuing to talk as he stared down at the blankets of his bed. "Morlock was the one who ruined my father's career years ago," Ali muttered. He looked like he wanted to repeat the words just to convince himself that it was real, but he shook his head and forced himself to continue a beat later. "My father never swindled anyone. Morlock was jealous of his talent and spread lies about him to take the other hand."

"And it got him pretty far," Tressa sighed. "He was able to move up here to Quarrycrest and make himself the leader of everything. He's been ruining lives and throwing people into the trash ever since then."

"He left my father with massive amounts of debt so he could pull all this off," Ali frowned. "My father never told me the name of the one who ruined his life. He didn't want me to do... All of this. My father taught me a lot of great things, but he was afraid of me leaving the nest. I doubt he ever expected I would stumble into a town run by the man who had destroyed him though."

"You wouldn't be the only one who didn't expect everything to end like this," Tressa agreed. She pressed her toe against the floorboards below like she was trying to dig a hole into the ground that could swallow her whole. That desire wasn't entirely out of the question for her, but Tressa refused to admit that to Ali.

"I'm going to work as hard as I can to go back home with the money needed to pay our debts," Ali declared. "Our words have the power to make our customers happy. One day... I'm going to use that power and help my father. It's the least I can do for him after all he taught me."

Tressa gave Ali a small smile, and he watched her for a second before something dawned on him, his eyes going wide. "Say, have you ever heard of the Merchants' Fair?" he questioned. Tressa stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, the action slow and uncertain. "It's the greatest auction in the realm. It's held in Grandport each year. The wealthiest and most influential people the world over come to feast their eyes on treasures beyond your imagination. They say there's nothing you can't buy at the Merchants' Fair."

"That sounds incredible!" Tressa cried out, only realizing after she had spoken just how loud she had been. She didn't bother with hiding her thoughts on the matter though, instead just leaning forward in her chair like she thought that would give her more information about the Merchants' Fair.

"I'm going to go there and make my dreams come true. If you can make it at the Fair, you can make it anywhere!" Ali went on, his excitement bubbling over. His eyes and smile gleamed with all the glee in the world, and Tressa could feel her heart starting to melt at the sight. It was nice to see someone so genuinely happy after the disaster the fight against Morlock had been.

Morlock could have taken away all of this.

Tressa shoved the thought as far away as she could muster before it could consume her. Instead, she just grinned in return to her new friend. "You really do have a way with words, Ali," she beamed. She thought about his words for a moment before crossing her arms in determination. "Guess I'll be seeing you in Grandport!"

"I was hoping you'd say that," Ali remarked, and Tressa had to wonder if perhaps he had brought up the Merchants' Fair to begin with so that he would be able to convince her to join him there. It was a fine excuse for another meeting, and Tressa could only imagine that it would be under better circumstances than their encounter that day. All things considered, she needed something like that to look forward to.

Tressa smirked at Ali as she leaned a little bit closer to his bed. "We still need to have our rematch," she told him. "And what better place to settle the score than the Merchants' Fair?"

"I'll bring my best treasure. If you think you stand a chance, I suggest you do the same," Ali said. Despite the fact that he was currently stuck in his inn room and would be until at least the end of the day, he radiated such light and joy that Tressa never would have guessed it. Seeing him so happy was a step above the way the rest of the day had ended, and Tressa was more than fine with that.

"I'll find the greatest treasure there is! You'll see!" Tressa cried out. She clapped her hands together, determination and excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"Good. Once you have it, come find me at the Fair," Ali instructed. "I'll be the one drawing the largest crowd." He flicked at her shoulder with one finger, clearly trying to ruffle her feathers as per usual.

Tressa didn't fall for it though, instead just laughing and resting her hands on her hips. "They won't stick around for long once I get there!" she exclaimed. She returned his flicking gesture by punching him gently on the shoulder, being sure to avoid the places she knew Omar had left behind bruises.

Ali just laughed, jubilation filling the air around them both. "You're sounding less green already, Green Pea!" he declared. He reached for the nearby table beside his bed before grabbing a notebook and pen. He scrawled at it for a few moments before passing the page to Tressa. "This is everything you'll need to know about the Fair. I hope you're not too late in getting there... After all, the sooner you arrive, the sooner I can show you up in the rematch."

Tressa rose to her feet after reading over all that Ali had written. She could tell by his change in demeanor that he was feeling much better now, and she didn't want to keep him awake any longer than she already had. He needed rest, and if he was alright, then Tressa was going to leave him to sleep again. She offered him a brief wave as she reached for the doorknob. "Oh, we'll see about that!" The last thing she heard as she stepped out into the hallway was another laugh from Ali, and with that, the door tapped shut.

Tressa stared down at the small page about the Merchants' Fair for a long moment before she stuck her other arm into her bag, feeling for the familiar pocket that held her journal. She pulled the notebook out and began to flick to the pages about Quarrycrest, and in doing so, she found the words of the previous owner of the book. She remembered what he had said here as soon as she reached the page, and her eyes went wide. She had only read those words a few short hours ago, but it felt like a lifetime had passed all the same.

"Sharing a connection with someone new-for however brief a time-is unforgettable."

Tressa tucked the page about the Merchants' Fair in between the pages before she moved to a blank spot at the back of the notebook. With that, she began to write, starting to wander over to the bench in the inn's lobby along the way. When she had first arrived in Quarrycrest, all she had wanted to do was forget Ali, but now that they had been given the chance to bond, Tressa doubted she would ever be able to. He certainly knew how to leave a lasting impression, and that was one reason among many that Tressa enjoyed the idea of having him as a rival. It was funny how things worked out like that. She had saved him from a near-death experience, and just like that, all of their previous grudges had been buried. She supposed that was just how it all worked.

Tressa hesitated when it came to explaining anything more about Ali though, knowing that she would need a bit more time to wade through her thoughts and put them to paper. After the encounter with Morlock, she had a lot to think about, and she was sure the words would come to her in time. For the moment though, she started back toward her own room in the inn. She somehow doubted Ophilia would be there, but Tressa was alright with that. She needed to get all her thoughts out before she could start to talk to the cleric about the day's events.

Tressa doubled back through the notebook's pages once she had arrived in her room and sat down at her desk. She read carefully over the explanation of what her predecessor had done after leaving Quarrycrest, and her eyes went wide when she realized where he had gone next. He had set out for Victors Hollow. That was where the entire group was headed next. If his words were to be believed, there was a treasure beyond imagination to be found there too. In other words, she would be able to find what she would need in order to really bring the heat at the Merchants' Fair.

She was looking forward to her rematch with Ali already. She was sure it would be great for them both. In the meantime though, she had a treasure to find in Victors Hollow.

Neither Ophilia nor Alfyn said anything for a long time. Alfyn couldn't say he was surprised about it. The events of that morning were still hanging heavily over both of their heads, a constant oppressive force dead set on pushing them into the ground with no hope of escape. Somehow, they were faltering more than they ever had before, and nobody quite knew how to handle it.

Ophilia pulled herself together with a grounding breath, and she forced her spine to sit as straight as possible. "I... I'm glad that you're still here," she began. "I don't regret what I had to do. I saved your life when Morlock tried to..." She trailed off, faltered for a moment, and forced herself to continue. "I don't regret saving you from him. I never could. I just..."

"You were scared," Alfyn said, already knowing where this was going before she could even come close to the subject. "You were afraid of what was goin' to happen after that. I can't say I blame you for being nervous about it. It's... It's a lot to take in."

Ophilia nodded her agreement slowly but surely. "I never thought I would have to do that," she admitted softly. "I didn't think I would ever need to take a human life. Still... When the time came, I knew what I had to do. I couldn't just sit there and watch as he ruined somebody else's life. He had already taken everything from me, and now... He's gone."

"Thank you for what you did," Alfyn smiled softly and weakly. "I don't think I ever really got the chance to say that, but... I appreciate it. You saved me from death back there, Phili. I... I'm still not entirely sure how to respond to any of it either, but I know that I'm glad you were able to step in."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ophilia smiled to herself. She shifted uncomfortably on the spot before looking off to the side. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't feel bad about this. I know what I did, and I made the choice to strike back at him. I couldn't have you feeling guilty when you were going to suffer because of him. None of that would have been your fault, and... I had to be sure that you knew that."

"I know," Alfyn assured her with a shake of his head. "It's... It's a lot to take in for me too though. I'll admit that. I didn't think that was how it was all going to end. How could I have expected that? We went there to try and fight him to save Quarrycrest, but... I didn't expect you to have to do that."

"Well, that makes for two of us," Ophilia laughed sadly. Her expression sobered up the longer Alfyn watched her, and she pressed her hands together tightly on her lap. "I... I don't regret it. Each time I think about how that could have ended, I know I made the right decision. I couldn't just sit there and watch you get seriously hurt or even... Die. I had to do something. I never thought I would have to take a human life, but when it came down to the wire, I knew I was doing the right thing."

"And I'm glad you did," Alfyn agreed. "I never wanted to be the reason anybody died either. I don't... I don't think it's really hit me yet. I became an apothecary because I wanted to save people, not bring them pain. This is... It's a lot to take in for me the same way it is for you. I want to help people, not hurt them, but..."

"This isn't your fault," Ophilia interjected. "I know that you want to help people. Gods above, all of us can see it. What happened back there... It wasn't your fault. You didn't ask to be put in danger so that somebody else could die. You're not like that. You had no idea that was how it was going to end. You do work to help people, but... What happened today... It was a way for the rest of us to help you. It was a way for me to help you."

Alfyn faltered, staring at Ophilia with wide eyes and a pounding heart. He forced himself to come back down to earth again a moment later with a careful, thought-out breath. "Thanks for that, Phili," he whispered. "I keep telling myself that I couldn't have known it was going to turn out that way, but it's so hard to make myself believe it. I don't know why. It's just... I don't know. I have no idea how to think of any of this."

"I think we'll just have to take it one step at a time," Ophilia suggested. "There's no easy way to just leave all of this in the past. I wish there was, but... It's not that simple. It will never be that simple no matter how much we wish it was."

"You can say that again," Alfyn snorted. He looked off to the side as well, his eyes suddenly finding the ground to be the most interesting thing he had ever seen. For a long time, he just stared at the floorboards of the inn, desperate to push himself free of his own skin for even a few moments. When he found no such salvation though, he sighed, letting his hands come up to press down on his eyes until stars exploded behind his vision.

"I'm glad I did it," Ophilia whispered, reiterating the thought like it was the most precious thing in the world. "If I was given the choice of finding another way to end the fight... I don't think I would have taken it. I was worried about it seeming like I was taking revenge against him for what happened years ago, but I know that none of you feel that way about what happened. You know that it wasn't about vengeance. You know that... That I don't want that to be how people see me."

"And we don't see you like that," Alfyn confirmed. "What happened in the mansion was because of Morlock. He decided to cause problems for all of us, and he had to face the consequences of that in the end too. This is... It's all... It's a lot for us to think about. But I can say that I know one thing for sure, and it's that you didn't mean for it to happen like this. If you wanted to kill him, then you would have just done it from the start. Why bother with goin' around in circles like that to get to him if this was what you wanted from the start?"

Ophilia nodded. She pressed her eyes closed for a long moment before shifting her focus to the ceiling overhead. "I have to wonder if perhaps all the people Morlock has hurt in the past are able to rest now," she murmured. "Will this bring them any sort of peace? I know this wasn't an act of vengeance or retribution, but... I can't help thinking about those who suffered under his actions in the past."

"I'm sure it will," Alfyn told her. "I know I feel a lot safer now that he's out of the picture... I guess I'm a tad biased though, huh? He almost killed me earlier." Alfyn let out a nervous laugh, hating that he had to acknowledge what Morlock had come so close to doing. He bounced his foot nervously against the ground below before looking off to the side once again, refusing to look Ophilia in the yees.

Ophilia was quiet for a long time before she reached out and gently took his hands in her own. Alfyn looked up at her uncertainly, but he said nothing. "Thank you for being here," Ophilia murmured to herself. She slowly wrapped her arms around his body when she realized it was alright, and Alfyn returned the gesture. Ophilia, expectedly, ran cold, but Alfyn couldn't bring himself to mind it at all. He just loved the contact. He was glad to be able to experience it at all. If Morlock had his way, then Alfyn wouldn't have been there to enjoy it to begin with. But he was fine. Everything was alright. Morlock was gone, and he would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

Alfyn squeezed Ophilia a little bit tighter. "Thank you for helpin' me," he whispered into her hair. He wanted to say something else, but he couldn't quite find the words, so he just stayed there for a long moment, glad he could be there with her to begin with.

"You're welcome," Ophilia smiled as she pulled away from him slowly with a kind smile on her face. She looked into Alfyn's gaze for a long moment, taking in a careful breath along the way. "I'm going to make sure nothing like that is ever necessary again. We all got distracted by Omar during that fight, and that was the reason all of this happened. I'm not... I'm not going to let that happen again. I'll be there to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Don't act like this is all on you," Alfyn frowned. "I should have been a bit more careful. There's no point in pointin' fingers now anyhow. Morlock's gone, and Quarrycrest is goin' to have to deal with that. I don't know what's goin' to happen around here now that he's out of the picture, but I'm glad we're not going to be here to see what everybody decides to do."

"I think we should come back here one day," Ophilia said slowly, seeming shocked at the fact that she had proposed such a thing to begin with. "I want to see what this place is like when it's been freed from Morlock's control. I'm sure the people will be much happier once they fully realize that they're free from him and can do as they please."

"We'll have to make a note to do that then," Alfyn declared with a grin on his face. "For now though, I think I'm ready to get out of here and not think about what happened for a while. I've had fun, but I would rather not stay any longer than we already have."

Ophilia nodded at that, letting out a loose laugh that released all the tension in her shoulders. "Me too. I didn't really want to come here in the first place, and now that we're on our way out... I can say with certainty that I would rather not think about Quarrycrest again for a long time," she agreed. "We have a few big days ahead of us anyway. Victors Hollow is going to be a difficult journey for all of us, I'm sure."

"And after that... Well, I guess we'll just have to figure out where we go from there," Alfyn shrugged. "In the meantime, I'm going to try and sleep as much as I can. The less I have to acknowledge being here in Quarrycrest, the better off I'm going to be."

Ophilia reached out to Alfyn with her hands glowing, and white magic fell like a blanket over Alfyn's body. He had already mostly been healed from his injuries after the battle, but it was still nice to have that extra bit of assurance on his side. At this point, all he could do was wait until his body put itself back together, though that was bound to take much longer than he would have expected. Still, he was glad for Ophilia's consideration and wishes to help him to ease his pain.

"Thank you," Alfyn murmured. "I appreciate it, Phili." He was desperate to say more, but at this point, he was sure that everything he wasn't saying was speaking volumes more than what he was telling her. She already knew how grateful he was that she had stepped in to save his life. He couldn't say it again without just repeating himself for what felt like the fifteenth time that day. He was glad that he could be there to consider his own repetitive nature at all though. If not for Ophilia, he didn't know what would have happened, but he was certain that it wouldn't have been pretty.

Ophilia just smiled back to him, taking his hands between hers once again. "You're welcome," she assured him. She paused for a few beats before looking back at Alfyn, insecurity starting to shine through her irises. "Would... Would you mind if I stayed here for a little bit longer?"

Alfyn shook his head, pleasantly surprised at the lack of a shrieking headache when he did so. He was recovering impressively quickly for someone who had suffered a concussion earlier in the day. That was what magic and healing tinctures were for, he supposed. "I'd love to have you here," he assured her."

Ophilia smiled, and she turned her head to look out the nearby window. For a long moment, Alfyn just watched her, and he was certain that even if this path had been filled with danger and horror, this was where he was supposed to be. He hadn't ever thought that a group of seemingly random travelers blowing through Clearbrook could change his life so much, but now, he could never go back to the way he had been before. This was where he belonged, and nothing would ever change that.

Alfyn looked down at where his hands met Ophilia's fingers, and he remained still for a long moment. Her gloves were clean now, but he didn't think he would ever forget when they had been covered in blood from what had happened during the fight against Morlock. Alfyn was going to do everything he could to make sure that never happened again. Ophilia hadn't wanted to kill anyone, and yet, that was the way the day had ended.

Alfyn's job was to save people. That included saving his close friends from the weight of their potential choices. He was going to get stronger to make sure this never happened again. If he had just been a bit stronger, then Ophilia wouldn't be so wracked with guilt now. Alfyn would do anything to fix that for her and the rest of the group, and it all started with getting as powerful as possible.

This wouldn't happen again. He would make sure of it.

Holy crap, everybody... 100 chapters. Wow.

When I first started this project, it was completely on a whim. Now, here we are, 500,000 words deep and 100 chapters in. I never thought I would get this far, but I'm really happy I've stuck with it. This story is incredibly fun to write, and I hope you've all been enjoying it as much as I have. Look at my little baby; it's growing up.

This is about where a normal writer would offer a suggestion of a cutoff point, but I have nothing like that in mind. We're not even done with the chapter twos yet, and even though things are going to speed up after that since we don't need to pause for shrine quests, I'm not sure how long this story is going to take. I don't want to put a chapter cap on it if there's more potential to continue things, especially since I'm planning on doubling back to cover side quests in the postgame about the characters from the main eight stories. We'll just have to see how all that goes in the end. For now, happy 100 chapters, everyone. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am.

Alright, back to the chapter in question. Tressa and Ali finally had the chance to talk. That wraps up everything about Tressa's chapter two aside from her travel banter with Alfyn, so Cyrus' chapter closing cutscene is going to be what sends us out of Quarrycrest soon. We're getting pretty damn close to that point too, probably in the next two chapters. Finally. After all this time, we're about to leave Quarrycrest. It's been ages since I could say that, huh?

I edited the Tressa and Ali talk to make a bit more sense given the context. I didn't want to just copy and paste it from the game since that wouldn't work all that well, so... Here we are. I really like how it turned out in the end. Minor lore changes for the win!

Next, we've got the real heavy hitter of this chapter: Ophilia and Alfyn. I feel like the strength of this conversation is everything they're not talking about. You can feel their love for one another even if they're not sure about how to approach what happened. Their emotions are raw, and that's really what I was going for. Just... Wow. I adore these two to pieces, and I hope you all do too. It's just great. Chef's kiss. Thank you to Ophilia and Alfyn for being so great.

Next time around, we're going to do the final full chapter in Quarrycrest before moving on to Victors Hollow the following week. We're almost there, everybody! Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital