The search for a suitable place to set up shop was, unfortunately, much easier said than done. The longer Tressa looked for another position in the merchant district, the more her stomach began to twist from anxiety. She hadn't eaten much all day because of how worked up she had been about the business with Morlock, and she couldn't tell if she needed to sit down for a decent meal or never touch any food again to make herself feel better. Either way, the desperation was settling hot and thick into her bones, and she had no idea what she was meant to do about it.

"Hey, Tress!"

The merchant looked up at the sound of her name, and she saw none other than Alfyn and Olberic approaching her. The apothecary was the one who had called out to her, and he maintained his grin as he strolled closer. "How are things goin' with all of you?" he asked as he glanced over the group to see who all was there. He didn't seem particularly shocked when Therion wasn't present, and he didn't bother with asking where the thief was either. In more ways than one, Therion was like a cat; the travelers could let him go and do whatever he wanted for the day, but he would always come wandering back sooner or later.

"Terrible," Tressa muttered, her stress only continuing to mount. "There's another merchant in town named Ali, and he's making it way harder than it needs to be to get the money we need. I'm looking for another place to set up shop around here. I have the wares I need to get our leaves, but..." She shook her head with a sigh. "We'll figure it out. All we need to do is find a good place to set ourselves up for the day."

"We heard that there are many people within Quarrycrest who are dissatisfied with the way Morlock is conducting himself and his government," Olberic said. "I imagine that all of that discontent will come out the instant they realize they will have backing for it."

Tressa nodded. That was good news at the very least, though she still wasn't sure what she was going to do about their next steps. There had to be a good place for them somewhere, right? The skystones demanded to be sold, and Quarrycrest demanded to be freed from Morlock's oppression. It was a shame the order of operations was continuing to trip her up no matter what she did.

"Your finest meatballs, sir!"

Tressa perked up at the sound of Ali's voice and she noticed him standing in front of a food stand a few stalls down. She glared at him, and she hoped he could feel her rage even though she said nothing to get his attention. Tressa didn't have the time to put up with Ali, not right now. Quarrycrest was counting on her, and she refused to back down from the challenge with so much on the line.

Ali noticed Tressa before she had the chance to sneak past him though, and he offered her a humored smile. "Well, if it isn't the green pea," he greeted. He looked at her from head to toe, his smile slipping slightly. "You're looking famished."

Tressa didn't have the heart to bite back and say that she only felt awful because he had gotten in the way of everything she and her friends were trying to accomplish, so she instead remained still even as he walked up to her. "Here. I take it you're on a tight budget now," he offered, extending an apple in her direction.

Tressa pushed his hand away. "Keep it," she instructed of him. She still wasn't sure if she was supposed to be eating as long as her stomach was this rampantly upset from her constant anxiety, but she didn't want to push it either. She could figure things out once the group had the leaves they needed for the fight at hand.

Ali paused for a moment before he shook his head to himself. "Suit yourself." The air between them was silent, and Tressa began to look around the area in search of a vacant space to set up for the afternoon. She could feel the other travelers watching her interaction with Ali, clearly trying to gauge her inevitable response. Even Alfyn and Olberic seemed to be able to sense the tension between them despite having not been there when the two began their rivalry in earnest.

Ali broke through the silence before Tressa could find a place to set up shop, forcing her to look over to him once more. "So, why'd you take up this line of work anyway?" he asked.

Tressa wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to reply. Eventually, she settled on being too tired to mount a defense, so she forced herself to answer anyway. "Both my parents are merchants, so I guess it just came naturally," she replied. "And now I'm wandering the world learning the trade as I go."

Ali nodded with a humored smile. "You don't say. My old man's a merchant too," he told her. "In the south, everyone and their uncle's heard of Maruf Zaman the merchant. He was such a smooth talker, he could sell sand in the desert... But he never once told a lie. With just a few words, my dad could get anyone to buy what he was selling and make them feel genuinely happy about their purchase. It was like magic."

The gears began to turn in Tressa's head, and she realized that Ali must have been just like her-traveling the world in the name of finding out more about the trade. Ali's complexion and words made it clear that he was from the Sunlands, likely the bustling city of Marsalim, the farthest city south in Orsterra. His father had no doubt found fame and fortune in Marsalim, one of the largest trade centers of southern Orsterra. The desert was a dangerous place, but it was all worth it to get to Marsalim.

Ali smiled tenderly to himself, something nostalgic rising in his eyes. "His words had an incredible power, one that could help people see the beauty in the things they purchased," he continued. "And so I decided to follow in my old man's footsteps. I'm traveling just like you, and now... Here I am."

Tressa took a step toward him, unable to hold back her own curiosity after all she had heard. "Did you take up the family business?" she asked.

Ali went tense and quiet at that, and Tressa could see his smile melt away, starting with his eyes and fading down to the tips of his lips. "No... I ran away from home," he answered softly. All of a sudden, he didn't seem like the competitor for the ages Tressa had made him out to be just less than an hour prior; he was just another kid just like her. He was afraid of the world in his own way, even if he didn't want anybody else to know it.

Ali noticed the way Tressa's eyes had shot open in shock at his words, and he shook his head before brushing one hand through the air. "I'll spare you the details. That's just how things played out," he told Tressa, though it was clear that there was much more to the story than he was willing to admit. He may have told a convincing lie verbally, but his eyes betrayed him, and Tressa could see it plain as day.

Tressa hesitated before looking over her shoulder at the rest of the travelers. They were all speaking among themselves, no doubt trying to determine their next step as long as Tressa was taking a few moments to talk to Ali. "It wasn't so different for me, you know," she admitted to him softly.

Ali looked at her from head to toe before glancing over to the other travelers as well. "You don't say," he murmured. He shifted his attention back to the matter at hand, eyeing the sun overhead. "Well, I've got a busy afternoon ahead of me. Better luck next time, eh?"

Tressa opened her mouth to respond, but the words never came out.

"Well, well. You seem to be doing well for yourself."

Tressa felt as if she had been struck by lightning with the sudden way her heart began to scream inside her chest. She turned around to see Omar and Morlock walking closer, the former being the one who had spoken. They were the picture of perceived superiority, both turning up their noses solely so they could look down on everyone they spoke to. Omar eyed Tressa and Ali, and his gaze twisted to contempt as if he thought the two to be nothing more than bugs. "Illegal though your business may be."

By now, the rest of the travelers had realized what was happening, and their chattering fell silent as they moved through the crowd to reach Tressa and Ali. The rest of the people in the merchant quarter were scattering as much as they could, trying to get out of the way of the one who could so effortlessly ruin their lives. The merchants fell quiet at their stands, not wanting to look up at Morlock and Omar. The fear in the air was tangible, and Tressa felt as if she had been petrified with the way her feet were rooted to the ground and her eyes went wide. They had been wrong in assuming Morlock wouldn't come out of his mansion to wander around the city. He was there, and he was there to stay.

"Who are you?" Ali asked as he took a step toward Morlock and Omar. He didn't seem intimidated in the slightest by the two men before him, instead simply putting on the same confident facade as ever before.

"Watch your tone, boy," Omar snapped. "Mr. Morlock owns this establishment... As well as everything else in this town." He gestured to a nearby stand, and Tressa realized that she wasn't the only one who had gotten the bright idea to move her skystone selling elsewhere. Ali had found a place to sell his gems as well, and it was seemingly why he was in the area at all beyond ordering food for lunch.

"That I most certainly do," Morlock confirmed, and Tressa was taken by the sudden urge to punch him with everything she had. Behind her, Ophilia stared at Morlock with wide eyes and pale features, unable to bring herself to move in her fear.

Ali, on the other hand, was unbothered. "That's great and all, but what do you mean 'illegal?'" he asked. "You may own all the gold, but these were just dusty old rocks until I polished them to a sheen."

Omar stepped closer to Ali, and Tressa realized just how much the bodyguard towered over them both. "That pompous attitude will get you in trouble someday, boy," he snarled. "As landowner here, Mr. Morlock has the right to oversee any and all transactions he so desires. As of now, that includes the trading of your little rocks." He reached out and began to pick up the skystones from the stand, easily resting them on his hefty arm muscles. It seemed Tressa's previous thoughts of using the skystones as a loophole to get her hands on the funds she sought wasn't going to work the way she had hoped, at least not as long as Morlock had something to say about it.

"Does it now?" Ali asked, clearly trying his best to stay calm. "That seems awfully arbitrary, if you ask me... But that wouldn't be the first foul thing to happen here. Or weren't you aware, Mr. Morlock? The price of gold is actually ten times what you're giving to your miners."

Morlock said nothing, but Tressa could tell by the way that he went tense that something awful was coming. She stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, not realizing her fingers were shaking until they entered her line of sight. "Ali, maybe this isn't the time-"

Ali shook his head. "It's exactly the time. They're deceiving honest, hardworking people just to line their pockets. On my honor as a merchant, I won't stand for it!" He moved his shoulder to jerk Tressa's hand off, and she wished she had the words to tell him everything she knew about Morlock. His greed ran much deeper than Ali could have ever imagined, and he had ripped apart an entire village and went to war in the name of defending his hoard of leaves and gold.

Omar got the message across before Tressa could even think of speaking the words though, and he stepped forward again so Ali was completely consumed by his shadow. Morlock shook his head and flicked a dismissive hand in Ali's direction. "Omar, teach this little desert ant what happens to pests who try to stain my good name," he instructed.

All it took was a single punch to the stomach for Ali to go down, and Omar followed it up with a kick. The sickening crack of bone echoed through the darkly warm midday air. Tressa stared in shock, willing her body to move and do something to defend Ali. The damage was done before she could fully register what was happening though, and Ali curled an arm around his torso to try and pull himself back together. He tried to stand, but one more kick from Omar was enough to send him crashing back to the ground. This time, he didn't move again once his face hit the silt below.

Morlock just scoffed and shook his head. "I trust you've learned your lesson, ant," he remarked to himself. He took a step forward, and he finally seemed to notice Tressa was there. When he did, he noticed the skystones gathered together in her bag. "Looks like your wares aren't selling so well. Don't worry; I'll take them off your hands."

Morlock surged forward and grabbed the skystones while Tressa yelped in shock, and while she could have tried to push back against him, she was too shocked and terrified to do much of anything. Behind her, Olberic was reaching for his blade, not yet removing it for the sake of Ali and Tressa's safety but still ready for anything. Primrose was doing much the same, her fingers drifting for the sheath of her knife where it hid beneath her skirt. Starting a fight in the middle of the city wasn't going to end well for any of them as long as there were so many civilians around, but the idea of taking to combat was all too tempting... Or, at the very least, it would have been if Tressa could bring herself to move as Morlock took all of her wares with ruthless fingers.

Morlock managed to gather the stones together before he dumped them in Omar's arms. He turned back to Tressa and stepped toward her. The merchant staggered backward, and Morlock's hand came up to her chin. For a few tense breaths, Tressa was certain she was going to drop unconscious or dead on the street, and she could barely make out Morlock's voice above the screaming of the back of her mind. "These stones belong to me. Do you understand?" he asked, his voice soft but menacing. Tressa said nothing, but she mustered something that vaguely resembled a glare and shot it back at him. He simply laughed to himself. "If you're so determined to have them though, I'll let you be my little worker ant."

Tressa simply fumed at him as Morlock turned on his heel, the elaborate jewels across his body all gleaming. "I'll be in my manor. Come find me if you want a real job," he instructed. He gestured for Omar to follow him, and the guard picked up Ali by the neck of his shirt before dragging him away, effortlessly balancing the unconscious merchant in one hand and the skystones in the other.

It wasn't until after the three had vanished from view that Tressa allowed herself to scream with rage. "I can't believe that man!" she cried out. She turned to the rest of the travelers, her eyes alight with angry fire. "We have to go after him! There won't be any time for us to arrange the rest of our plan, but we have to stop him before he does anything to hurt Ali!"

"I agree completely, but we must proceed carefully," Olberic cautioned. He took a step closer and examined Tressa from head to toe, searching for any injuries that could have been left behind during the confrontation. "If we rush in, we risk putting ourselves and Ali in even greater danger."

Tressa hesitated at that before sighing. "You're right," she muttered even though she hated to admit it. She looked up at the path Morlock had taken to return to his mansion, and she glared at the walkway with every ounce of rage she possessed. "I might not agree with everything Ali says or does, but I know that he doesn't deserve this. No person does. Morlock has done more than enough to harm people now and over the course of the last fifteen years, and I think it's high time all of that stopped. This time, he won't be able to get away."

Olberic nodded his agreement as he glanced over to the other travelers. "I hope our plans falling through does not bother you too much," he said. "We may not have wanted to face him like this, but we should take advantage of this opportunity as long as we have it."

"As long as people are unhappy with the way he runs things, we should be able to get in and out without too many problems," Alfyn chimed in. "Once he's out of the picture, the people of Quarrycrest will probably be fine with his disappearance. As long as they don't push back against us too much, it'll be okay. How we get there won't matter as much."

"I've always preferred a more direct approach anyway," Primrose remarked as she reached for her knife. She twirled it over the top of her hand before tucking the blade out of view once again, her eyes hardened and battle ready.

"I suppose that that decides it then," Olberic commented as he glanced down to Tressa. "Are you ready for this?"

Tressa nodded. "Of course I am." The merchant cast a quick glance over to Ophilia at that, noticing how quiet the cleric had been the entire conversation. "What about you, Ophilia? I know this can't be easy for you either."

Ophilia jumped at being spoken to, but she didn't take long to gather her composure once again. Instead, she simply nodded, though everyone could see there was more to it than met the eye. "Y-Yes, I'm ready," she confirmed haphazardly and falsely. She glanced around the area, clearly searching for a distraction to pull the eyes of the area off of her. "Where's Therion? We still haven't seen him since splitting up earlier this morning."

"I'm right here."

Tressa yelped as Therion appeared from the shadows, his eyes narrowed and his determination clear. "I just saw Morlock take someone back to his mansion. Judging by how upset all of you are, I'm going to assume that you saw it too," he frowned.

"Yeah. That was Ali," Tressa explained, not bothering to tell him who Ali was specifically. "All of our plans of just taking him by storm alongside the rest of the town are going to have to wait. I think we might be able to just take care of things here and now without bothering with any of that."

Therion let out a loose snort. "I figured it would come to that," he muttered under his breath. "Morlock wasn't going to listen to reason no matter what we did. We just have to be ready for everything that's bound to come after this. Quarrycrest isn't going to have an easy time putting itself back together when he's been acting as the center of the universe here for so long."

"A lot of people are unhappy with the way he runs things," Tressa pointed out. "Primrose, Olberic, and Alfyn found that out by asking around. They're not going to miss him once he's gone. We shouldn't see all that much resistance when we head off to fight him once and for all."

"Then let's get right to it," Therion told her. "I was getting a bit bored around here anyway." His hand drifted to where his sword was hiding beneath his shawl, and something in his green eyes twisted with violence. Primrose was far from being the only one ready to do whatever it took to end things then and there.

"Alright then, everyone," Tressa declared as she punched one fist into the air. "Let's do this!"

The path to Morlock's mansion was long and winding. There weren't many monsters in the area, something that caught Tressa by surprise. She would have expected a bit more pushback, though she supposed it didn't matter much as long as they were able to arrive at their destination as soon as possible. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, not when the real fight was only going to start after they invaded the mansion itself.

By the time the manse came into view, all Tressa could do was glare at it. Under most circumstances, she would have admired the building as an inspiration of architecture since it was so much larger than just about any other structure she had ever seen. Morlock had truly made himself out to be a king in his own mind, and his home certainly made that clear. Tressa's rage burned too hot and strong for her to focus on that for too long though, so she sped up as much as she could without running, the other travelers hot on her heels.

"There aren't many guards in the building we should be afraid of," Therion explained as the group drew nearer to the mansion. "The soldiers Morlock hires are all commoners first and foremost, and they don't know how to fight. It seems he puts all of his eggs in one basket with that Omar man who always follows him around. The others should be fairly easy to remove." That explained where Therion had been before he met up with the rest of the group; he had been scouting out the mansion in preparation for their inevitable journey and battle there.

"Or we could try to convince them to not fight us," Tressa offered. "If the people of Quarrycrest are really as unhappy as Olberic, Alfyn, and Primrose make it sound, then they could listen to what we have to say and leave Morlock behind."

"That certainly seems like it could work... As long as we play our cards right, that is," Cyrus agreed with a small nod. "But we must not be too ambitious. If we think we must fight, then we'll simply need to handle the matter with as much care as possible."

Tressa nodded her agreement as the guards in front of the building came into view. There were only two of them, and Tressa could already tell by the way they held their spears that they were far from being fighters. Just as he had done when he waged war against Saintsbridge, Morlock had surrounded himself with mostly commoners who didn't know their way around their weapons. That was going to be the final nail in his coffin, Tressa was sure.

"Who are you?" one of the guards asked, his voice already wavering from anxiety as he looked at the travelers in more detail. He knew they were fighters much stronger than he could ever hope to imagine, and his grip on his spear grew sweaty and loose as a result. "I-I didn't realize Mr. Morlock was expecting company today..."

"He's not," Therion said bluntly. "He took someone in here, and we're coming to take him back. Where is he?"

The second guard shifted uncomfortably, trying to decide if a full fight was worth it, but he decided against it in the end. He instead simply pointed into the building with one finger. "Morlock's office," he answered slowly. The guilt on his face was clear as could be, but he did nothing to push back against his own worries on the matter. Instead, he simply watched as Therion nodded and pushed the front door open. Olberic continued to watch the guards carefully just to make sure they weren't planning a back attack of any kind, and it wasn't until after the doors had shut behind the travelers that he allowed himself to peel his eyes forward again.

"Alright... We just need to figure out where Morlock's office is now," Alfyn concluded. "Do you think he would have it on one of the upper floors? We're goin' to need to move fast if we want to get to him without gettin' caught first."

"Top floor," Therion replied. "I did as much research into this place as I could when I realized we were going to have to fight him, and his office is on the top floor. I can't imagine he would have thought of any better place to gloat."

"Then that's where we're going," Tressa concluded. She started for the stairs, gesturing for everyone else to follow her. "There's not a moment to lose. Let's go get Ali back... And let's finally show Morlock how big of a mistake he's been making all this time."

The office Morlock had come to call his own since settling down in Quarrycrest was, in a word, exquisite. He only employed the finest in his manor as a whole, but his office was the pinnacle of it all. First impressions were important, and when he met with important business associates, he always met them here. That way, they would know exactly what kind of man he was before he even needed to open his mouth. Pride swelled and filled his chest as he walked into the room the same way it always did, a smile on his face.

He didn't waste any time in getting down to business. Omar set Ali down on the ground, and the young merchant remained unconscious even as he crumpled into a heap. After Ali was on the carpet, Omar set the skystones on the desk at the back of the room. Morlock looked to Ali with a light smile on his face before turning his attention to Morlock. "Omar, how fare my coffers?" he asked. It was a tradition for him to ask this each time he returned to the office, and Omar knew it just the same.

"Overflowing as always, sir," Omar returned with a nod. He looked down to the skystones. "And I expect even greater profits with those stones."

Morlock let out a giddy laugh at that. "As if I wasn't wealthy enough already! To think those dirty rocks would prove even more valuable than gold!"

"Those rocks... Belong to us..."

Ali had finally awoken in the midst of the conversation, and he pushed himself up as much as he could. Blood was smeared across his left cheek, and his eyes refused to focus as he tried to eye up Morlock and Omar. The effort was commendable, but it was entertaining more than anything in Morlock's mind.

Morlock chuckled as he took a step toward the young merchant. "Perhaps Omar rattled your brains a bit too hard," he murmured as he lifted Ali's chin with the tip of his shoe. "Let me remind you that this land-all of it-belongs to me. So even if little ants like you manage to dig up something beneath the surface, it's mine." He dropped Ali's chin, and the merchant winced as his head hit the floor again. "You don't want to make an enemy out of me. I can crush bugs like you with the bottom of my shoe. Between the mines and the stones, my profits will continue to grow. It's only a matter of time before I'm the wealthiest man in the realm!" He let out another laugh at that, unable to contain his excitement.

"Hold it right there!"

The doors swung open with a percussive explosion of noise, the knobs slamming into the walls. Tressa appeared in the entryway to the room, the Tempest Spear pressed firmly between her fingers. Around her, the rest of the travelers filed in, all of them holding their godly weapons at the ready save for Primrose and H'aanit, the former of whom opted for her dagger along with the Shadow Fan. The latter had her bow primed to release an arrow the instant Morlock spoke out of term, her eyes narrowed and her aim perfect.

Ali looked up slowly, blinking a few times to try and rid his vision of the spinning he had suffered ever since Omar first hit him. He managed to make out Tressa's figure in the lavish room, the bright green of her spear flickering in his eyes. "Green Pea...?"

Tressa glanced over to him, worry written all over her face. Her eyes said loud and clear that she would be doing everything she could to heal him once the battle was over. Even if he couldn't make out many details of the scene before him, Ali could feel the promise of violence hanging heavy and firm in the air. No matter what Morlock or Omar said next, they would have to fight. They were outnumbered eight to two, and Omar's raw power wouldn't be enough to save the disadvantaged side from their blatant calamity.

At long last, the injustices Morlock had delivered upon the world would draw to a close with his death. His clock had been counting down ever since he first attacked Creek fifteen years prior, but all of that would end then and there. Tressa would make sure of it.

The time had come for a revolution, and she was ready.

We're getting into the good stuff now!

I was really hoping that I was going to be able to finish off the leadup to the fight in this chapter, but I didn't want to cut anything short, so it's instead going to bridge over the end of this chapter and the start of the next one. Next time, we're going to get the Omar fight... And we're going to see our biggest bit of creative liberty in this story yet. Oh, boy.

In the meantime, I want to say that I changed up Olberic and Therion's travel banter with Tressa for this chapter so as to not hold back the pacing. Since the group had already been planning to do this from the start, the context behind the chapter changes in its entirety, so I decided to alter the travel banter to reflect that. They're both rather brief scenes, but Olberic and Therion will both get a chance to shine after this chapter is over when the aftermath of Tressa's second chapter is explored. That much I promise.

I have one more announcement here for anyone curious. I've been planning this for a while, and I'm finally able to announce an upcoming story release! I know a lot of people here are fans of Triangle Strategy as well as Octopath Traveler, and I hope this news finds you well. I'm going to be writing a Triangle Strategy story starting with the new year of 2023! The title for the story is "A Thousand Lives I've Seen," and it's going to be a time loop story revolving around Quahaug. The description for the story is up on my Twitter (_digitaldreams). I'm really looking forward to it, and I hope you all are too. I'll say so here when it's been posted, but in the meantime, you can get excited about a long term Triangle Strategy on the same scale as this one!

For now, I'm going to leave things off here. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next time, we'll jump into the Omar fight. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital