Eight Intertwined

93 - Hunt

Ophilia's leg hadn't stopped bouncing from sheer anxiety since the rest of the travelers had left her and Tressa alone in their shared room. Everyone had scattered to the wind to take care of every other important thing they needed to have done before they left Quarrycrest in two days, and Ophilia had opted to stay with Tressa and make sure she was feeling alright. Tressa still struggled to do much of anything without getting dizzy as she thought of everything they had witnessed that day, and Ophilia simply didn't feel comfortable leaving her alone for any longer than she had to. It wasn't as if she had much else to do, so why not just stay with her merchant companion?

It ran a little bit deeper than that though, and Ophilia knew it. There was so much racing through her head, and it felt like she had been a constant tempest of howls ever since she concluded with the rest of the group that they were staying in Quarrycrest for an extra day. It made sense for them to stay behind for a while longer given all they had witnessed, but Ophilia still couldn't shake the nerves. She hadn't even been able to sit still, hence why her leg was currently bouncing like thunder striking the earth. 

Tressa was staring up at the ceiling, a worried expression painted in her eyes. "Are you sure that you're okay?" Tressa asked into the silence. She didn't glance over to Ophilia, already knowing that she had the cleric's attention. "You've been so antsy ever since everyone else left."

Ophilia swallowed dryly at that, desperately trying to come up with a response that wouldn't bring her friend more worry than it was worth. "Oh, um... I'm fine," she replied with a smile that felt so false it was like a stab to the stomach. Of course she was lying. She wouldn't be able to hide that forever, and she knew it. 

Tressa frowned at that, already having seen through the lie for what it was. She looked over at Ophilia at last, and the two locked eyes for a few uneasy moments before Tressa went right back to staring at the ceiling again. "You're thinking about Morlock."

Ophilia bit her lip. She had expected to hear that, but she had been hoping that she would be able to keep up the lie at least a little bit longer. She didn't want to worry Tressa more than was absolutely necessary, especially given how awful her friend was already feeling. "I... Um..." At the same time though, was there really a point in hiding it at all? Of course she was thinking about Morlock. How could she not be? The group was staying in his territory for a little while longer, and that would give him all the time he needed to potentially find them. Ophilia knew that he wouldn't recognize her since the two had never even met directly, but she didn't want to think about what might happen if the two crossed paths. 

Tressa sighed as she eased herself into a seated position, leaning against the wall behind her along the way. "I talked to Cyrus about it earlier," she told Ophilia. "He thought we were going to have to fight against Morlock sooner or later. As long as he's treating the people of this town so poorly... It feels like it's just inevitable. He's done so much and hasn't cared at all for the people under his rule. How can we just walk away from all of this?"

Ophilia hesitated at that, and as much as she wanted to agree openly, she had no idea what she was meant to say about it. She sighed, forcing her foot to fall still as she pulled her legs up to her chest. "I don't know how to feel about it," she admitted. "I don't want to get revenge against him. That might be the path others would choose, but it's not the one I want. I wish I could just leave all of this behind me, but... He's hurting more people, and that's not something I can just sit back and watch. I want to do something to fix this, but..."

"You don't know where to start," Tressa finished for her, and Ophilia nodded. "I wish there was something I could say to make this easier, but... I really don't know what even can be said. He's done so many horrible things, and what we saw beneath the town... All of that experimentation was in part because of him. He neglected his people and decided he cared more about profits and what they might be able to offer him in comparison to their lives. How can we just sit back and not do anything about that? We have to try and stop him if he's really doing so much to harm others."