Eight Intertwined

83 - Past

"I first met your parents roughly twenty-two years ago," Bartolo began, a fond smile spreading across his features with the words. "They were ambassadors coming to discuss trade deals with Creek. The town was small, but its farming and trade industries were crucial to helping Saintsbridge function. Soon afterwards, we became friends, and that friendship only deepened after they met Archbishop Josef. He had come through Saintsbridge as part of the Kindling, and he met them along the way. The three of them got along like few others had. It was like they were family right from the start."

"Father mentioned that he was close with my parents years ago," Ophilia said with a small nod. "He didn't tell me much about them though... I was too afraid to breach the subject, to be perfectly honest."

"You didn't want to think about the attack that had destroyed Creek to begin with," Bartolo concluded, and Ophilia nodded. His smile turned sad as he looked down to his hands. "It shouldn't have ever ended that way to begin with. The leader of Quarrycrest... He was a coward, and he shouldn't have ever dared to harm your village or your family that way. The archbishop and I both mourned the day they perished."

"Quarrycrest got into a dispute with Saintsbridge, and that was the reason for the attack... Or so I've heard," Ophilia murmured. She swallowed dryly, steeling herself for what she was about to hear. She knew where the story was going all too well, and she was almost afraid of what was going to come next. 

Bartolo nodded. "The leader of Quarrycrest was not in charge because of fairness or justice. He was the richest man in a town primarily consisting of poor miners, and he was able to claim power easily because he was the one at the top of the totem pole," he explained. "After he arrived in Quarrycrest, he took full control of the mining operations, and he reaped the rewards immediately, building an even greater fortune on top of what he already possessed. But... It was suspicious to me how quickly he was earning his resources and his fame. Something felt wrong to me, so I sent a few inspectors to Quarrycrest to see what was going on there."

Ophilia bit down on the inside of her lip as Bartolo continued. "We were met with human rights violations unlike what you have ever seen. Every miner was being pushed to the brink, barely able to carry themselves around the town. They were struggling, and we could see immediately how he was able to seize power. He claimed that he would offer wealth to the poor town of Quarrycrest, but all he did was destroy it instead, forcing its people into brutal working conditions and leaving them to drift over the edge of what their bodies could take. It was inhumane at best and criminal at worst."

"And that was what caused the conflict," Ophilia concluded. "You didn't like the way that the people of Quarrycrest were being treated, so you pushed back against it."

"The church has been in charge of Saintsbridge's rule and governance for as long as Saintsbridge has stood. I couldn't simply sit back and call myself a follower of Aelfric's teachings knowing what was happening in the next major town over. I told the man responsible for this madness to stop, but he refused. When Saintsbridge inspectors attempted to liberate the miners, he declared war and made to march on Saintsbridge immediately," Bartolo said. He hesitated for a long moment before sighing. "But... He knew that he wouldn't be able to claim Saintsbridge itself on his own, not lacking in soldiers as he was. The miners were mostly weak from fighting, and they wouldn't have stood a chance against the fighters the church had at its disposal. So... He targeted the leg that he thought would make Saintsbridge the weakest."

"Creek," Ophilia finished for him. "He had the town razed to the ground so that they wouldn't be able to provide any resources for your soldiers."

Bartolo closed his eyes and nodded sadly. "I wish there was more that we could have done to defend them, but... By the time we realized what was happening, it was far too late. It appeared as if everyone had been killed, but... You were the sole miracle to survive it all."