Eight Intertwined

178 - Kidnappers

The path to the cavern south of Goldshore was surprisingly desolate. Ophilia had expected it to be crawling with monsters, but much to her surprise, no one dared to touch the path, the local beasts included. It was as if even the fauna had realized just how dangerous the area was today, and none of them wanted to take a chance on being killed by the dark figures that had taken up residence in the cavern. 

Ophilia's grip on the lanthorn remained as tight as iron the whole way to her destination. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she did nothing to try and soothe its terror. By the time she and the travelers arrived at the cave, her fingers were starting to sting from the imprint of the lanthorn's handle across her hand. She knew almost instinctively that they had arrived at their destination, but Ophilia still couldn't understand what was going on. Why would anyone want the Ember? The Kindling kept everyone in Orsterra safe, and someone would only seek to intervene in the rite if they were hoping to endanger the entire continent... But what logic could there be for that?

The only theory Ophilia could think of was that a few of the stray heretics Mattias had mentioned were responsible... But that was a bit too perfect, wasn't it? Ophilia hadn't heard of anyone wanting to work against the church until that day, and Mattias had explained it just before Ophilia was faced with the horrors of a hostage situation. It felt too convenient, and the miserable fear in Ophilia's stomach only deepened at the thought. Could Mattias have known this was coming? But if that was possible, then how had he figured it out? Was that the reason he was in Goldshore? How had Ophilia's trust in others degraded to the point of asking such questions of someone she barely knew?

Deep down, Ophilia already knew the reason. She had lost so much when the group was betrayed time and again. When given the option, Ophilia would always choose to maintain her trust in others than let doubts cloud her mind, but it was easier said than done. Miguel, Simeon, and Lucia had all eroded Ophilia's trust even though she didn't want to give them that power over her. Her paranoia about needing to leave the travelers behind only made it worse. She didn't know what to do, and she knew she wasn't the only one. Around her, all of the travelers were watching her carefully, and Ophilia wondered if they had come to the same conclusions she had. Either way, she didn't ask. "Come on," Ophilia instructed simply, and they entered the cave with the Ember as their guiding light. 

The cave was just as empty as the path leading up to its entrance, and somehow, that made Ophilia much worse than a barrage of monsters ever could have. All the life in the cavern had been chased out by the new intruders, and that only reinforced her fear that she was walking into something far larger than she could have ever imagined. If this was truly part of a conspiracy against the church--and Ophilia was beginning to fear it was--then what could it have meant? Why would anyone want to see Orsterra driven to ruin? It made no sense... And yet, Ophilia had learned that other things in life made even less sense. Her travels had taught her many things, but they opened many questions too, and Ophilia had no idea what she was meant to do with any of that information. 

Ophilia willed herself to move faster, but she didn't let her legs break out into a sprint just yet. She was certain she would need to fight in order to ensure Lysa's safety, and she couldn't waste her energy before the battle began. She had to keep her composure. Ophilia forced air in and out of her lungs despite the mounting panic in her chest making it impossibly harder to breathe. She would find a way to make all of this work. She would save Lysa. She had to. 

And she would ignore the curious, fearful eyes of the travelers following her everywhere as she did it. 

~~~~~

Lysa had never been this terrified.

She had been dragged through the winding paths through the seaside grotto by two men. She had been wandering freely through the streets of Goldshore just that morning, but it had all collapsed around her before she knew it. Lysa barely remembered any of it, and she learned from the men that they had knocked her unconscious with some herbal mixture, but that did nothing to help her feel better. If anything, she was more afraid of what could have happened when she was asleep and unable to fight back.