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.

"This place has some really good equipment," Tressa remarked. "Though I guess we're probably not going to have enough gold to get all that much here right now. I mean, we've got to conserve our money while we're in the bigger cities. After this, we'll be going to Quarrycrest and Victors Hollow, and inn rooms can be pretty expensive there as far as I can tell."

Ophilia nodded her understanding. "Luckily for us, we'll be able to return here and buy more supplies any time we want thanks to the Warp Staff," she pointed out. "We should be able to get at least a few of these weapons later on when we have the money for them."

"Exactly," Tressa grinned, snapping her fingers together with a wink. "But until then... I think I want to deal in the currency of information rather than leaves. After all, that's the best shot we're going to have when it comes to figuring out what's going on with Saintsbridge and Quarrycrest's history. There has to be somebody who knows about it around here. I'm sure of it."

"I hope so," Ophilia murmured. She glanced up in the direction of the rest of the group, figuring that Cyrus would be able to answer her questions better than anyone. When she looked up though, Ophilia realized that the rest of them had moved on towards the inn without her and Tressa, and she let out a gasp before gently taking the merchant's wrist between her fingers and dashing after them. Tressa let out a small yelp of shock before she regained her footing and continued to dash after her companion, quickly shoving her awe at Saintsbridge's weapons aside for later.

Alfyn was talking with a pair of people not far from the entrance to the inn, and judging by the way he was smiling and the corresponding gleam in his eyes, Ophilia could assume easily enough that he had struck gold in terms of information. Sure enough, the apothecary waved farewell to the other townsfolk a moment later before strutting over to the rest of his traveling companions. "I've got it," he told them before moving towards the door. He opened it before gesturing that everyone go inside before him. Ophilia gave him a quick word of thanks, and Alfyn simply smiled in return, his grin beaming brighter than the sun. He was starting to bounce back in full even after everything that had happened with Vanessa, and Ophilia couldn't have possibly been happier. Alfyn deserved that much at the very least.

The apothecary wound up moving towards the front of the party to speak with the innkeeper, and Primrose trailed after him while the others all stood nearby. Ophilia glanced over to Cyrus, who was rolling up the map he had used to track the shrine locations. He tucked the page out of view, and Ophilia pushed herself to walk up to him and ask if he knew anything. Cyrus knew just about everything there was to know when it came to Orsterra's history; he had to at least be vaguely aware of the conflict that had marked her past so prominently, right?

Before Ophilia had the chance to approach the scholar and ask though, she was cut off by the sound of Alfyn's voice. He let out a small exhale before reaching for the bag he had set on the ground while speaking with the innkeeper. "Let's head on back to our rooms, everyone," he announced. Primrose trailed after him, and the other members of the group followed suit. Ophilia had no choice but to go along with it as well, and she resisted the urge to sigh at her shattered plan as she shuffled in the footsteps of the other travelers.

The process of settling down for the night went by much faster than Ophilia would have expected, and she practically threw everything into its regular position because of her nerves. Ophilia liked to believe that she was able to think rationally under the influence of anxiety most of the time, but it seemed that she had judged herself prematurely. Then again, she understood exactly why she was so worked up; Ophilia had never allowed herself to be so curious about her past before, and even though she was set on learning the truth, part of her still feared losing her nerve at the last minute and backing down. She had to do this before she lost her resolve, and that meant getting the question out into the air as soon as she could possibly manage it.

"Are you okay?" Tressa questioned as she set down the last of her supplies on the table at the center of the inn room. "I don't think I've ever seen you looking this nervous before."

Ophilia finally paused at the merchant's words before sighing once again. "I don't know," she admitted. "I never thought that I would have the chance to investigate all of this... I was convinced that the truth was going to be out of my reach forever, and now that I'm finally close to it..."

"You're afraid of what you're going to find," Tressa finished for her, and Ophilia nodded her confirmation. Tressa took a small step closer to her as she put down her bag on the bed behind her. "It's okay to be nervous, you know. This is a lot to do out of the blue, and I doubt that the Kindling starting soon is doing all that much to help you feel better about this, huh?"

Ophilia felt her breath catch in her chest at that. Of course the Kindling was making it harder. Ophilia just so happened to stumble into one of the two towns that could give her answers for her history, and regardless of what she found, she would have to pull herself together and look as refined as possible for the ceremony the following day. People were counting on her to maintain her composure regardless of how impossible it seemed, and even though that was a problem for the following day, the nerves continued to weigh heavily on Ophilia's shoulders. She felt as if she would never be able to breathe easily again after coming to such a harsh conclusion about the way her life was changing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Tressa remarked. "Well, we can go to talk to Cyrus and everybody else after we're finished with unloading our stuff here. They said that we're going to dinner at the tavern, and that means that we can decompress while eating some good food and talking about everything that's bothering you. They don't want you to be worked up for the Kindling, and that means that they're going to want to listen to you talk about everything on your mind. At least one of them has to know what's going on, I'm sure."

Ophilia nodded at that, though she still felt as if she was going to be sick if she even thought about eating. "You're right," she murmured. She fell silent for a long beat before sighing. "You know... It was on this same pilgrimage that my adoptive father met my birth parents. Our old home village wasn't far from here, and Father passed through on his way to complete this leg of the Kindling. They hit it off and became friends almost immediately, and... After my parents passed, he took me in as a way of paying back his honor of friendship to them."

"I guess all of this is pretty personal to you then," Tressa said with a soft smile. "I can see why... Though I wish that it didn't have to all happen at once. I mean, life has been pretty nonstop for us ever since we first left S'warkii, though it's probably been a whirlwind for even longer than that too."

"Yeah," Ophilia agreed. "When Father came through Creek and met my parents all those years ago, my mother was pregnant with me... And he said that he would do what he could to come and meet me when he got the chance. I suppose that did wind up happening... Though I doubt this was what he had in mind."

Tressa nodded her understanding, and Ophilia reached for the Ember where it hung from her hip. She lifted the lanthorn up to her eye level and stared into the white flames that crackled at the center of the cage. "I... I want to go back home to him soon," she murmured. "I'm sure that he's going to find a way to hold on long enough for me to return. He may not have thought it, but... The healers believe that he'll recover one way or another, and I want to see him again. I need to thank him again for everything that he's done for me, and the first step of that is completing the Kindling so that I can show him all that I've learned."

Tressa smiled, and she reached out to take Ophilia's free hand between her own fingers. "And no matter what happens, you're not going to be in this alone," she vowed. "I know that it might seem scary right now, but we're going to figure out the reason behind the war that took Creek away, and after that, we'll take care of the Kindling. After all that we've done-after all the monsters and gods we've fought to reach this point-I think we can handle something like this. I mean, a little bit of research is nothing compared to the thrashing that some of our past enemies have given us, right?"

Ophilia couldn't hold back her laughter at that, and she nodded. "You're right," she whispered. "I never would have thought that I would be caught up in something like this when I was growing up in Flamesgrace. I didn't even think it would end this way when I first left the church behind to carry out the Kindling... But I suppose that life has enjoyed sending us all on an unexpected journey."

"I'm not complaining about it either," Tressa grinned. "After all, if life didn't throw us all for a loop, then we wouldn't have been able to meet each other, and... A life like that doesn't sound like much fun after all that we've managed to accomplish together."

Ophilia nodded. "You're right... And I know that the others are going to have my back no matter what we learn here in Saintsbridge," she announced. At long last, the nerves in her stomach began to settle, and she felt as if she could breathe easily for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. "We're going to figure out what really happened all those years ago, and... Regardless of what the truth turns out to be, I know that we'll be able to face it together."

"That's the spirit!" Tressa exclaimed. "Now, let's go and catch up with them. I don't know about you, but food from the tavern sounds like a treat after all the fighting and walking we've done today."

Ophilia trailed after Tressa with a small smile on her face, and much to her relief, the rest of the travelers had already come to stand in the hallway that ran through the center of the inn. Alfyn pushed himself off the wall with a bright grin on his features. "Let's go and get some food," he announced. "I don't know about the rest of you, but after all that fightin' we did today, I'm absolutely starving."

"You wouldn't be the only one," Tressa agreed with a firm nod. "I hope the tavern here has good food. I could really use something aside from what we get on the road after today."

"The food here is better than what you'll find in most taverns," Therion confirmed, and Ophilia stared at him for a moment before realizing how he had been able to figure that out. Therion had likely passed through Saintsbridge before, and he had enjoyed the tavern's cuisine along the way. Ophilia didn't allow herself to wonder if Therion had purchased the food legally or simply stolen it though; that wasn't going to help anyone, and if anything, it would just distract her from her primary purpose at the moment.

"That's a relief," Primrose smiled. "Come on, everyone. We want to still get a table together, don't we?"

With that, Primrose took to leading the travelers out of the inn and out onto the street. From there, she navigated her way to the tavern easily, and Ophilia couldn't help watching the city around her as she followed the dancer. Everything about Saintsbridge simply felt... Cozy. Homey. This wasn't Flamesgrace-something the warmer climate made perfectly clear to her-but it was still nice. Ophilia bit back a thought about how her parents had likely visited Saintsbridge many times because of how close the town had been to Creek. They had promised to take her one day when she was a bit older, though that had never come to pass.

I'm finally here... I hope they're proud of me.

The group arrived at the tavern soon afterwards, and Primrose was easily able to find a table big enough for the full party. She sat down at the first chair she could get her hands on, and the rest of the group filed in behind her. Ophilia was able to get a seat between Cyrus and Tressa, something she couldn't have possibly been more relieved by. As soon as they ordered their food, they would be able to talk. Finally, after all of her years of wondering, she was going to get an answer.

The process of ordering food came and went in a whirlwind that Ophilia barely registered. She knew that she had selected something tasty since Therion nodded his approval from across the table as she spoke to the waitress, and Ophilia couldn't help but feel her excitement rise at the idea of the coming meal. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until she stopped rushing around in a constant whirlwind of travel, and as soon as she had opened her eyes to the truth, she couldn't ignore it anymore.

As soon as the waitress walked away to put in everyone's orders, Ophilia offered a quick glance to Tressa out of the corner of her eye. The merchant gave her a smile and corresponding nod of encouragement, and Ophilia bit back the next wave of nerves that threatened to swallow her whole. Instead, she simply nodded to herself before shifting her focus to where Cyrus sat on her other side.

The scholar had been glancing around the tavern with curiosity in his eyes, no doubt trying to take in as much information about his surroundings as possible. Ophilia let one gloved hand rise before coming down to tap gently on his shoulder. "Cyrus?" she asked softly, though she still had to speak up a bit to be heard over the cacophony of the tavern's evening rush.

"What is it?" Cyrus questioned as he turned to face her. His eyes were bright and full of wonder, and Ophilia's stomach did another handful of flips as soon as they met eyes.

"Ah, um... I had a question for you," Ophilia forced herself to say, refusing to let her nerves get the better of her when she was so close to finally finding the answers she had been avoiding for so long. "I was wondering... Do you know anything about a conflict taking place between Saintsbridge and Quarrycrest about fifteen years ago?"

"Hm... I believe I did hear about that, albeit rather vaguely," Cyrus replied with a nod. Ophilia's heart soared with excitement as he continued. "I'm afraid I'm somewhat lacking on the details, but I believe it was a trade disagreement between the church and the primary leader within Quarrycrest. I can't say for sure, but I believe that the man responsible for many of Quarrycrest's financial agreements found himself on bad terms with the church, and Saintsbridge decided to stop trading with him. Since Saintsbridge is such an important and large city-one of the largest in southern Orsterra-Quarrycrest immediately slipped into panic, and I believe that led to an escalation of aggression."

Ophilia nodded to herself. It was nothing that she hadn't heard before, but she was still glad to have at least a few more precise details about it all. "What do you know about the leader of Quarrycrest?" she questioned. She didn't know why she was so intent on learning more about him, in all honesty; if he had been in charge fifteen years ago, then chances were that he had been ousted by this point, especially if he had earned the ire of the church so openly.

"I'm afraid I don't know his name. My apologies," Cyrus told her. "However, I do believe that he was able to settle his dispute with Saintsbridge soon after it began, and the two towns resumed trade after a few months of conflict. Quarrycrest has never been a town known for its military might, and the church's forces were much stronger. Quarrycrest may have burned bright in its fighting prowess at first, but it flickered out quickly, and just like that, Saintsbridge was able to reopen trade agreements and eventually settle the conflict that had caused so much strife for both towns to begin with."

"Thank you," Ophilia said with a light nod. She glanced back down to the table, finding herself sifting through all that she had come to know about Quarrycrest and Saintsbridge over the course of the last few hours. Quarrycrest was responsible for the fall of Creek; that was something Ophilia had known for a great many years. Creek was within the greater Saintsbridge area, and that meant that much of its influence depended on the church. Creek was able to harvest crops for the city to sell, and as such, Saintsbridge had no real reason to lash out at such a firm ally. Quarrycrest had likely led an attack on Creek to try and cut off Saintsbridge's food supply, but in the end, that still wasn't enough for them to win the war, and all they had accomplished was wiping Creek from the face of Orsterra.

Cyrus watched Ophilia for a long moment, a frown forming across his features. "I believe I can assume easily enough why you wish to learn more about Creek," he began. Ophilia looked up to meet his gaze, and Cyrus took that as his cue to continue. "That was where you were from many years ago, and now, you want to do what you can to uncover the truth behind your family's history."

"I... I never had much of a chance to ask about it before now," Ophilia admitted as she looked down to the table. "I was afraid of what I was going to find, and... I didn't want to think about the war any more than I had to. Nobody was talking about it in Flamesgrace, and it somehow felt wrong to ask anybody within the church about what happened. I thought it would be best if I just... Didn't talk about it."

"I understand... But you no longer need to worry. I would be more than happy to help you uncover the truth behind your questions," Cyrus replied with a smile. "I'm uncertain as to how much information we'll be able to find here in Saintsbridge since, as far as I have read, the people here are more than eager to leave the conflict in the past... Though I do believe that the current leader of the church may know something. After all, he is the one in charge of trade agreements and such within Saintsbridge. For all practical purposes, he is the leader of this city as well as the local church because of how closely the two are connected at the root."

"I suppose I'll have my chance to ask when we go to the church tomorrow then," Ophilia murmured. She felt her stomach do a flip, and part of her struggled to believe that what she was saying was real. She was finally going to be hearing the truth that she had been searching for all this time. Ophilia swallowed dryly and tried to not think about it too much. The last thing she wanted was to get too worked up about it now and decide to not follow through, or even worse, keep herself awake all night with theories that wouldn't be confirmed or denied until the following day.

"We would all be more than happy to accompany you there, I'm sure," Cyrus assured her. "I would love to witness the Kindling's ceremonies for myself, and I have no doubt that the others feel much the same way. You have done much to support us until this point, and the others would be happy to return the favor."

"You're right," Ophilia whispered. She smiled at the words, allowing them to start to calm the storm that continued to thrive and thrash in the center of her body. "Thank you for talking to me about all of this, Cyrus... I really do appreciate it."

"You don't need to thank me, Ophilia," Cyrus said with a nonchalant wave of one hand. "I want to do what I can to help you. This is one subject where my knowledge is somewhat lacking because of where I studied, but I believe that I should be able to ask others within Quarrycrest and Saintsbridge for answers with time. I can begin my investigation tomorrow after we've gotten some rest."

"Thank you," Ophilia reiterated, unable to hold herself back even though Cyrus had insisted that she didn't need to say such a thing. She took in a careful breath before sighing. "I... I honestly have no idea what I'm expecting to find at the end of this path, but... I can't keep avoiding it forever. I thought I would be satisfied to not uncover the truth, but I suppose that being with the rest of you has taught me that it's alright to seek answers this way."

"Of course it is! The pursuit of knowledge is important for anyone regardless of social standing or occupation. It is human to want to discover more about the world around us, and in your case, I find it to be more natural than ever. You want to understand your past, and none of us will be holding you back from it," Cyrus declared, a grand smile spreading across his features. "I would be dishonest if I said that I knew what we will be uncovering on this path, but I will do what I can to assist you no matter what."

"It means a lot to have such amazing people like you at my side," Ophilia smiled, her fingers drifting towards the lanthorn once again. She felt the Ember begin to grow a little bit brighter, and the light and warmth was enough to flood her body with the calmness that she desperately needed given the circumstances. Everything was going to work out with time regardless of how anxious she got in present times. All she had to do was hold on and have faith for a short while longer.

"We're happy to be here, my dear," Cyrus told her. He was on the verge of saying something more, but his attention was caught by something else instead, and he let out a gasp. "Ah! It appears our food has arrived."

Sure enough, when Ophilia glanced up, she noticed that the waitress from before had come back with plates of food for half the party. The woman set down plates in front of Cyrus, Ophilia, Olberic, and Alfyn before retreating to grab the second half of the dishes. Ophilia thanked her when she came by, and the woman simply nodded in return on her way back to the kitchen.

"Until tomorrow, we should try our best to relax. You need as much rest as possible before the Kindling ceremony, and that starts with eating enough to make up for the energy you lost in the battles today," Cyrus continued. "We'll resolve our conflicts when morning arrives. That much I swear to you."

Ophilia nodded at that before looking down to her food. This was certainly what she needed after how troublesome and long the day had been. Even if it wasn't much, she had uncovered a bit more information about her past and all that had happened for Creek to fall. The following day, she would be able to talk with those within the church about everything that she had to know about Quarrycrest that she was not yet aware of. Everything was starting to fall into place, and Ophilia couldn't have been happier for it.

But for the time being, she had the chance to eat and enjoy herself after a difficult day. Two other shrines had been taken out of the equation, and two new elements of magic had been claimed. Ophilia smiled to the other people around the table before sighing to herself. She couldn't have asked for a better group of people to join her on the Kindling, and she knew that no matter what she found out the following day, she would be alright as long as she had them at her side.

For a few moments, the conflict of fifteen years ago didn't matter so much, and Ophilia was simply happy to have found yet another place to call home.

Another chapter in the bag!

Next week, it'll be time to jump into Ophilia's chapter two at long last, and I can't wait for it. Given the subtle changes in Ophilia's characterization that I've set up here, I'm looking forward to being able to pick up with her story again. It's been ages since we were able to follow Ophilia for a dedicated chapter, and I'm so excited to bring her back. The investigation into Saintsbridge and Quarrycrest's old conflict is going to add another layer of intrigue, and I can't wait for you guys to see what I have planned there.

The entire subplot kind of came to me out of the blue, if I'm being honest. I was originally planning on leaving it in the past with its small mentions back in Ophilia's first chapter, but the second I started thinking about it, I got an idea and decided to flesh it out. Now, here we are, and I can't wait for what's going to come next.

Until then, I'm going to leave things off here. I can't gush about what I'm excited for forever, so you'll simply have to wait until next week for the start of Ophilia's second chapter. For now, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital