As soon as she could bear it, Tressa hauled herself back onto her feet. She rubbed away tears of upset with the back of her hand, doing her best to keep a scowl on her face rather than the fear that she felt would be more appropriate to express. The pirates were long gone by this point, and the crowd surrounding her had burst into chatter about the events that had just transpired. Others sent her glances of sympathy, but they just made Tressa want to melt into the ground and disappear more than ever.
A hand came down on her shoulder once again. "There's no need to pretend, lass," the captain said from behind her, his voice as soothing and gentle as the ocean itself. "Your legs are trembling."
"I-It's just a cramp... That's all," Tressa forced herself to say despite how obvious the lie was. Of course the man would be able to see that she was afraid. Why was she even bothering to hide it in the first place?
The captain narrowed his eyes. "Not even the best merchant can buy back their life once it's taken from them," he pointed out. His gaze made it clear that he didn't want her to even think of pursuing the pirates.
Even though Tressa knew it was because he was looking out for her, she still felt anxiety and red-hot anger boiling up inside of her. "I know, but..." she said through gritted teeth. She wanted to go after them, to take what she had lost and avenge those who the pirates had hurt, but she didn't know if that was an option in the first place.
Shuffling came from behind Tressa, and she turned to see the old vendor from before walking towards her. His eyes were filled with rage, and he looked to the places where Tressa's knees were scuffed angrily. She hadn't even noticed that bruises were starting to form on her legs from when she had been forced to the ground.
"Why won't they just leave us alone? Those pirates should be out at sea!" the man said, pulling Tressa away from her thoughts immediately. "Instead, they're holed up in the Caves of Maiya, west of town. They shouldn't be harassing us, but here they are, making everyone miserable for their own amusement." He turned back to his stand, which had been utterly ravaged by the reach of the pirates. "What do I do now...?" His eyes were best described as hopeless, and he appeared to be on the verge of either exploding with grief or anger. Perhaps it would be a blend of both.
The people in the town exploded into chatter after that, and they began to disperse. Tressa wasn't sure of when the captain left his place behind her, but she knew that he had disappeared at some point. She growled in anger, finally allowing her anguish to be laid to rest, as she started to storm off towards the west side of Rippletide. If those pirates were in the Caves of Maiya, then she was going to fight them off. Tressa liked to think that she was good with a spear and a bow. Her father had taught her how to use both, and she had picked up on wind magic over the years thanks to parchments that other vendors sold in town. She would be able to defend herself if they came after her. It seemed that the pirates were more concerned with their wealth than with killing the people of Rippletide, so Tressa thought that it was at least somewhat safe to assume that she would be fine.
She weaved through the people of the crowd, her shoes making rough and angry contact with the cobblestones below. The docks came into view soon afterwards, but rather than turning to investigate the ships, she went straight to the place where the notable streets of Rippletide gave way to the haphazard rocks of the path leading to the Caves of Maiya. She had seen the route there many times, but she had never thought to travel through it until that moment. She had never thought that she would be given a reason, and yet, there she was.
"Going somewhere, lass?"
The voice of the captain behind her made Tressa turn, her eyes narrowing with determination. Her hands were pressed against the straps of her bag as a way of releasing excess stress that she was unsure of how to get rid of otherwise. As far as she could tell, he had been caught up in the crowd, but the way that he watched her made it clear that he had always been intending on seeing what she got up to in the aftermath of the pirates' antics. Maybe he was perceptive enough to know that this was Tressa's plan. It certainly wouldn't surprise her given what she had already seen.
"Captain..." Tressa whispered, letting the word fly away before it was stolen on the coastal morning breeze. She shook it off before taking another two steps in the direction of the path to the caves.
The captain hummed his disproval. "If I didn't know better, I would say you were setting a course straight for the pirates' den. Awfully rash, wouldn't you say?" he questioned, taking one step closer to her.
Tressa hesitated, hiding her eyes beneath the brim of her hat by looking down. "I know, but..." When she looked up to him, determination glittered in her gaze bright and proud.
"And still you intend to go, I see," the captain commented, his abilities of perception once again showing themselves to be beyond impressive. Tressa nodded, and he continued soon afterwards. "That must mean that you have a foolproof plan of attack. And a weapon, of course. You wouldn't dare go empty-handed, would you? Only a fool would think that they can haggle their wares back from dastardly pirates."
The captain's words were spoken clearly and precisely. He knew what he was doing and what kind of impact it would have on Tressa. She realized as he spoke that she had no plan, no weapon, and no way to be sure that this would work at all. She snarled under her breath, though it was more at the pirates than the captain. After all, he certainly had a point, and Tressa couldn't fault him for trying to help her. "I know, but I can't just sit by and do nothing!" she cried out. She remembered the old man and how shattered he had looked as he stared at the remnants of his stand that the pirates had ransacked. "Those poor people might starve if they don't get their belongings back! On my honor as a merchant, I can't let them get away with this!"
Tressa's voice was explosive and percussive as she stared intently at the captain. He returned her gaze for a long moment before he smiled to himself. "A fine choice of words, lass," he commented. Tressa's eyes went wide as she sputtered her surprise at his approval as he continued to speak. "Aye. If you're so determined, I won't stop you... On the condition that you let me help."
Tressa's eyes went wide with confusion. She was more than fine with having him by her side, but she wasn't sure about how he would be able to help her in the first place. "How so?" she questioned. The captain certainly didn't seem like a fighter, so was he intending to help her out through means of combat?
"I'm willing to part with some of my wares if you think they will prove useful on your journey," the captain replied. "If there's something that catches your eye, consider it yours... For the right price, of course."
Tressa beamed as she stuck her hand out for him to shake. "Deal!" she proudly proclaimed. The captain smiled to himself from behind his scarf as he shook her hand, and Tressa was surprised at how worn and calloused his palms were. They certainly didn't fit his appearance as a serene and peace-loving merchant, but she wasn't about to complain. If she was going to receive his help, then the details didn't matter. After all, they had a job to do, and they couldn't hold it off for long if they wanted to strike before the pirates could continue their reign of terror over the people living within the boundaries of Rippletide.
Here we go, Rippletide! I'm going to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again! That's a promise!
Cyrus and Ophilia had arrived at Rippletide late the previous night, and they were able to get a nice night of sleep before they woke up the following morning. Cyrus had been more than happy to pay for one room with a bed for each of them. As soon as they had finished packing their things again for the journey ahead, Cyrus offered the suggestion of them going deeper into town to see if they could find anything that could help them from then on.
That was when Cyrus and Ophilia saw the pirates at the heart of Rippletide. They had been near the back of the crowd, far from the eyes of others within the town, but they were able to see more than enough. The urge to interfere was ultimately quelled when they realized that there was a chance their magic would strike the townspeople as well if they weren't careful. There were simply too many onlookers, and their powers of the arcane wouldn't be accurate enough to defeat the pirates while not harming any of the people watching the scene with terror in their eyes.
Ophilia had not moved since the crowd fully dispersed, and she looked up to Cyrus with determination shining brightly in her blue eyes. "We have to do something about this," she told Cyrus. "We can't just leave these people while they're suffering so much. Those pirates have done so much to hurt them, and... I want to do what I can to help them in return."
Cyrus nodded in response. "I agree. We must offer our assistance to the townsfolk, though I have no idea how we would go about doing such a thing... We were unable to see where the pirates disappeared to because of the crowd. Perhaps we can ask around and see if someone would be able to pass along the information that we require..."
Rippletide was a bustling place, but that didn't stop Ophilia and Cyrus from moving through the crowd as quickly as they could manage. There had to be someone around there who would be able to tell them about where the pirates were staying, and as soon as they got their hands on that information, it would be over for Mikk, Makk, and anyone else working with them to terrorize Rippletide. The pirates' remaining time of tyranny was counted in hours.
Tressa smiled proudly to herself as she looked at the herbs she had managed to purchase from a merchant on the captain's ship. She held her prize above her head, unable to keep herself from grinning. This was going to work nicely to pulling off her plan. She hadn't been able to come up with anything effective until after she saw the weed in the hands of the other merchant, but all of a sudden, the key pieces were slipping into place, and Tressa was going to be sure that this ended well for her.
The captain raised an eyebrow from his place nearby. "And what would you need sleepweed for?" he questioned curiously. He was obviously acquainted with the herb given that someone he knew was selling it; sleepweed was known for triggering unconsciousness as soon as it was ingested, and it would certainly work against the pirates. After all, if it was blended with other liquids, the weed would dissolve and become one with its surroundings. If a drink was made from it and given to the pirates, then Tressa would be able to slip in, take back the wares that had been stolen, and get out before any trouble could start brewing. She wouldn't be able to fight the pirates in their home territory, especially when she didn't know how many there were, so this was her best shot at victory.
"I'm sure those pirates must be exhausted after all that looting," Tressa told the captain with a cheeky grin. "So I thought I'd help them relax by slipping some of this into their wine." She waved the sleepweed through the air with a mischievous wink.
The captain immediately burst into laughter. "You're a clever one, aren't you?" he asked. He shook his head once he managed to regain his composure. "Off you go then. And be safe out there, lass."
Tressa nodded, ready to retreat back into the deeper areas of Rippletide to retrieve a container of wine that would be suitable for her plan. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. She paused after taking a step though, and she turned around to face the captain once again. "By the way, Captain... Why are you helping me?" This was a burning matter of curiosity that Tressa simply didn't know how to settle. Part of her simply knew that there was more to the captain than met the eye, and that left her wondering what it was that made her stick out to him. After all, there were countless other merchants in the town, and he had hardly gotten attached to any of them in comparison to his dynamic with Tressa.
The captain smiled as he tapped his temple knowingly. "Because my eye tells me to do so," he explained simply. "As a fellow merchant, I'm sure you understand. We appraise with our eyes, and mine tell me that there's something special about you."
Tressa felt like she was glowing as she looked down at the ground. "I see..." she commented to herself. This was unlike any compliment that she had ever received previously, and she would have been lying if she said that she didn't greatly enjoy hearing the captain sing her praises in such a manner. "Thank you, Captain." She gave him one final nod before pivoting on her heel and running back through Rippletide in the direction of the tavern.
By the time that Tressa arrived, both Cyrus and Ophilia were already inside, standing near the wall far from the activity elsewhere in the bar. They watched Tressa carefully and wordlessly as she finished making her blend of sleepweed and wine to give to the pirates. She had easily been able to get her hands on the wine when she promised the barkeeper that she would make sure that the pirates never caused a ruckus again, and all the pieces fell into place swiftly from there. Everyone in the tavern was staring at her by now, but this attention felt different from what she had endured that morning. She felt on top of the world, and everyone else was simply an audience to her grand show of justice.
"That should do the trick," Tressa smiled to herself as she examined the wine one last time. The mixture was perfect, and there were no traces of sleepweed on the surface of the fluid. That was a sign that she had done everything right, so all that remained was for her to give the wine to the pirates and wait for them to all curl up for a nap while she took back what rightly belonged to the people of Rippletide. "Now to make a special delivery to the Caves of Maiya!"
Tressa replaced the lid on the vat of wine and curled her arms around the surface of the barrel before attempting to hoist it into her grasp fully. She managed to get about halfway there before she was cut off by a set of footsteps moving closer to her. Tressa looked up with a frown on her face, and she was met with the curious faces of none other than Ophilia and Cyrus. "Huh? Is there something that you two need?" she asked. She hadn't seen their faces around Rippletide before, and she was sure that she would have recognized them. Even among the strange crowd of people that came and went through the merchant town, they were distinctive thanks to their odd attire.
"You are going to eliminate the pirates that have been causing problems for this town, yes?" Cyrus questioned as he looked at Tressa with poorly-hidden curiosity. When she nodded, a smile appeared across his features. "I'm glad to hear it! Ophilia and I would like to join you on your quest, if that would be alright with you. We witnessed your confrontation against the pirates earlier this morning, and we would like to play our part in saving this town from their tyranny."
Tressa gasped. "You would really do that?" she questioned. She had been attracting all sorts of odd attention that day, it seemed. First, it was the captain, and then came these two strange people. She wasn't complaining in the slightest, of course, knowing that she could use all the help that she could get. If something went south and she had to fight against the pirates, it would be for the best if she had backup. After all, her skills with a bow and spear would only be able to get her so far. She had purchased weapons from the captain's merchants earlier in the day, but she could tell that if she was going to have to fight, she would need the extra aid.
"Of course!" Ophilia chimed in, her eyes bright with determination. "We thought that what happened this morning was awful, and... We wanted to do what we could to help out, but we couldn't figure out where the pirates went. We lost them in the crowd, but we heard your voice and knew that you stood up to them. It would be our honor to chime in and help you on this mission... If you would have us, that is."
"I'd love to have your help!" Tressa assured them. She set the container of wine down and propped one of her arms against the top of it. She could use the help in taking the wine to the pirates' hideout as well, and since it was so heavy, an added set of hands would make everything much easier. Having two people on her side would only make it better as far as she was concerned.
"It's a relief to hear that," Cyrus smiled. He pressed one of his hands against his chest and sunk his head low in a bow towards Tressa. "My name is Cyrus Albright. I'm a scholar currently traveling Orsterra, and this is..."
Ophilia picked up with her introduction where Cyrus left off, though she kept the hand clutching at Aelfric's Lanthorn hidden behind her back the whole way through. "My name is Ophilia. I'm a priestess with the Church of the Sacred Flame," she explained. "I'm glad that you're willing to accept our help, Miss...?" Her voice trailed off, a clear implication that she was waiting for Tressa to explain her identity next.
She nodded upon understanding what Ophilia was asking of her. "I'm Tressa! Tressa Colzione! My parents run a general store in this town, and I was out on my morning run for supplies when those pirates showed up. I'm glad that you two have decided to help me out. I don't think that it would have been a good thing at all if I was forced to fight those pirates off all by myself if something happened for things to go south," she explained.
"What types of weapons do you use?" Ophilia questioned. Tressa could see a staff sticking out of the bag that was hanging from her shoulder, and the same applied to Cyrus. Given that mages were the primary people who used staves for physical combat (primarily because of the lack of physical strength required to utilize them efficiently), Tressa assumed that they were proficient in the arcane arts to some degree.
"I can use a spear and a bow, and I'm pretty good with wind magic too," Tressa explained. "My dad taught me everything that I know about weapons, and I'd say that I'm decent enough with them. Of course, I've only had to fight off Coastlands beasts before now, so I guess that I've still got a long way to go, especially if we're going to be fighting against actual people during this."
"Wind magic is not easy to master. I must say that I'm impressed," Cyrus remarked, and Tressa felt her cheeks heat up from his kind comment as a grin spread across her face. "I've learned how to use fire, ice, and thunder magic over my years as a magical researcher, and I'm teaching Ophilia how to use those same elements. She can already utilize light magic as it is."
"Wow!" Tressa cried out, her eyes wide. She would have been lying if she said that magic had never interested her, and it was almost as if this was fate given that she was presented with the chance to meet people so strong with the magical arts on a whim like this. The fact that they had offered to help her through this troubling situation only made it better as far as she was concerned, and Tressa hoped that they would be able to help each other out in a significant way.
"If you would like, we can help you to learn other types of magic too," Ophilia offered. She paused before letting out a laugh and shaking her head. "Then again, if that container of wine really is filled with sleepweed like you made it sound, then that means that we aren't going to be doing much fighting. Just marching through the caves will have to be our priority, and we don't want to wake anyone up prematurely."
Tressa nodded, and she recognized thanks to Ophilia's words that she and Cyrus had been watching her from afar for quite some time after she entered the tavern. "Well, if there's nothing else for us to take care of, then I guess that we should be off!" she proclaimed. She wrapped her arms around the outside of the wine container once again and attempted to heave it up once more, but it remained stubbornly heavy. She resisted the urge to let out a huff of air when it threatened to slip out of her grasp. Who knew that wine could become so hard to carry when there got to be so much of it? She never would have guessed that.
"Allow me to assist you," Cyrus offered. He curled his hands around the bottom of the barrel and waited for Tressa to do the same. Meanwhile, Ophilia secured the lid on the container once again, and when Cyrus and Tressa picked it up, the container tipped sideways so that it was resting horizontally between them. Tressa smiled to herself when she was sure that it had been secured in its place within her arms. This was much easier with multiple people, that was for sure.
"Thanks a lot, Cyrus," Tressa beamed in response. Ophilia spotted her and Cyrus as they took their first few steps towards the door, and Tressa found that moving was even easier than she expected thanks to the outside assistance that she was receiving. She allowed herself to backpedal towards the entrance of the tavern, and all eyes remained on her as she moved in the direction of the door.
Ophilia pushed the door open when Tressa and Cyrus had a need for such a thing, and they burst out into the clear Rippletide air. The sun was high in the sky, smiling down with a midday gaze. Tressa hadn't noticed that so much time had passed until the outline of the star came to rest at the top edge of her vision. She carefully eased the barrel of wine down once again next to the entrance of the tavern.
"We should probably go and gather our supplies before we set out," Cyrus suggested. "I hesitate to say that we will likely be attacked while we are in the Caves of Maiya, but it might be for the best if we're at least ready to deal with a potential ambush on our way to encounter the pirates. What do you say?"
"Of course," Ophilia nodded her agreement. "We were on our way to pick up a few items before the pirates appeared and started causing problems in the first place, so it would make sense if we went off to try and take care of that now. Given that we could wind up in the middle of a fight, now seems like as good a time as any to knock that out of our routine for Rippletide."
"I can totally get us a few healing grapes and inspiriting plums," Tressa offered. "In fact, I might be able to get us a bonus on a few special types of jam that we get imported into Rippletide every once in a while. This is a merchant town, after all, so it's only natural that I'm able to get a few special things for our journey. Plus, I might be able to haggle down a few prices and save us some money."
Ophilia's eyes went wide at Tressa's words. "Wow... I can tell that you're experienced when it comes to these matters," she remarked with a gentle laugh. "I'm not complaining, of course, but it's nice to see that you're so passionate and talented on this matter. I'm afraid that Cyrus and I don't have skillsets quite like yours."
Tressa shrugged and waved a hand dismissively in Ophilia's direction. "I wouldn't worry about it. Everybody has their own unique things that they can do that others lack the ability to," she assured Ophilia without a moment of hesitation. "Besides, I'm sure that you'll be able to chime in with this journey in your own way. If we have to fight off some of the pirates, I'm sure that your light magic will come in handy. If they're spending all of their time in a dark, dingy cave, I can't imagine that their eyesight will be all that great. You being able to use light magic should help to make it a bit easier to fight back against them."
Ophilia was practically beaming at Tressa's words, and she nodded confidently at the young merchant. "Thank you for your kind words, Tressa," she told the brown-haired girl. She let out a small breath to ground herself, and she gestured for the others to trail after her. "We should go and pick up the supplies now. I think that this would be a good time for us to strike before the pirates return. After all, it wouldn't be good if they came back and ruined our plan before it could even be put into motion."
"You're right there for sure," Tressa agreed with a nod. She worked on picking up the barrel of wine once again, and Cyrus joined her in such endeavors a moment later. They were off shuffling in the direction of the other half of town soon afterwards, and Tressa was glad to see that everyone had decided to give them a wide berth thanks to the heavy cargo that they were carrying. It certainly made their quest much easier to manage since it lessened the need to push and shove around the other people within Rippletide's bustling streets.
Tressa kept her footsteps careful yet upbeat as she focused on moving the wine through the street. It wasn't going to be easy for them to get the wine all the way to the Caves of Maiya, especially if there were truly monsters on the path there the way that the rumors claimed. Still, Tressa was beyond confident that they would be able to pull it off. After all, she wasn't going into this alone anymore, and the added assistance that came with the presence of Ophilia and Cyrus already had her feeling as if she could do just about anything. She felt on top of the world in a way that she hadn't experienced previously. No past adrenaline rush could even hope to compare to what she was going through in that moment, and she wouldn't have had it any other way.
Tressa's mind was racing as she and Cyrus set down the wine barrel in front of a small vendor's stand that was selling grapes and plums. She could see a few jams positioned on the shelf behind the merchant's head, and Tressa grinned to herself as she locked in on her target. She was going to make sure that the best supplies possible wound up in her hands for the sake of this upcoming journey. She had haggled down prices for countless other items, including the fish from that morning that the pirates had stolen from her, so she was sure that this was going to be a piece of cake.
As she got to work, both Ophilia and Cyrus watched her from a few feet away. Cyrus had a humored smile on his face as he shook his head to himself. "She truly is a bright young woman," he murmured under his breath, and Ophilia nodded her agreement from her place at his side. There was something about Tressa that simply seemed special in a way that neither one of them could describe. Ophilia would never dare to say it outright, but she almost wondered if perhaps her and Cyrus finding Tressa was some gift of fate, as if the gods themselves had pushed the three of them together.
She ultimately shook off the thought when Tressa returned with an armful of items to show that she had been successful, and the trio took off towards the Caves of Maiya once again. The Ember began to gleam even brighter than before from its place within the Lanthorn, unseen by any but still glittering all the same.
Here we are again! Halfway through Tressa's chapter one, baby!
This chapter one is definitely structured a bit differently from the others because of how ending-heavy that the dialogue is, so I'm probably going to have the boss fight take place at the end of the third part of the chapter instead of the start of the fourth. We'll just have to see how the cookie crumbles, honestly.
Anyways, I come with another cool announcement! There's not much else to say about this chapter, but I do want to tell you all that I've decided this story is going to receive an update hopefully once per week. This isn't to say that it'll be updated on the same day each week, but it should receive a new chapter at some point on some weekday each week. That's my hope for now, at the very least. Updates aren't going to be as common as they were during the first month for the time being, but I should be able to ramp up new chapters and their turnaround times soon (hopefully after I finish up this chunk of support conversations for Alternative). We'll just have to see.
With that said, I'm going to round off this chapter here. It's time for me to go and try to figure out why my backup flash drive has randomly decided to stop working as I rock out to the Ace Attorney Pursuit themes. I'll see you again next time! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day!
-Digital