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The next several days passed by fairly slowly for the group though on their trek to Dragis they managed to meet up with soldiers of Kalmarsh who had either survived the fall of Scarlett City or had crossed paths with Uvaris and fled. The group now totaled 39 all together and Crystal felt a bit more comfortable with the extra protection, though she still found sleeping out in the open on the ground to be an experience she would be fine without. Vergence helped her hone her skills with a lance and Dusk would occasionally act as a sparring partner as would Genesis. She could also sense the mass amount of tension there was in the group on account of Dusk and Coby being in proximity to each other. Thankfully, Kasey and Hera both worked to keep as much distance between the two step-brothers as possible, and Crystal recalled that Kasey asked her to do her part as well to keep them separate. Though most of the work went into keeping Coby away as Dusk was more than willing to stay away from the avian. As the group continued their trek to Dragis, Crystal decided to ask Dusk about what he knew of Voval's northern kingdom. "We'll it was formed by a dragon by the name of Varjo Winterfang and most of those that called it home at first were dragons. Mountainous terrain across most of it and freezing temperatures the farther you go north." "Jeeze, sounds pretty rough. Have you actually been to Dragis before?" "A bit. Traveled to this small town not far from Kalmarsh's border for some mercenary work a year and a half ago. Haven't been back since." Crystal got the strange feeling that Dusk wasn't being completely truthful with her, yet why did she think he was withholding information from her? She pushed the thought aside, she trusted him and he was allowed to have some secrets. "If you don't mind the change in topic, what was the day you met Vergence and Genesis like? I've kinda been wondering about it." "It was a spring afternoon, we were nine years old and I was alone as all the other kids didn't want anything to do with me and Coby was already starting to become more well liked than me. I was approached by a raptor, male, same age as me and just as alone as I was. As you can guess, that boy was Vergence. He reached out to me and we soon became close friends." "They didn't want anything to do with you guys just because you were both reptiles?" "Yup." "But that's-!" "It's unfortunately how things are Crystal." Dusk interrupted. "Something tells me that you're going to have a lot of trouble convincing King Winterfang to help you." "Why?" "I learned about him during my time in Dragis and he's become nothing more than a selfish, apathetic, racist asshole who no doubt look down on you because your not your parents and because your still young and inexperienced." Crystal picked up on the poisonous resentment that oozed from Dusk's words and wondered why. "Dusk? It sounds like you don't think much of the king." "Dragis is stagnating under his rule and he hates anyone without scales. I even heard a pair of former royal guards talking about how the king sent both of his kids away from the capital and when bandits attacked, didn't even try to learn if his kids survived or not." "That's horrible. Just imagine if the kids survived, left to wonder when dad was going to send someone to find them." "Yeah. Except he didn't intend on sending anyone to find them. They were gone from Dragis and as far as the king is concerned, that's all that matters." "A-anyway, maybe we could talk about something else?" "Like what?" "Well... uh, maybe about the other countries you've visited? Have been to Outland before?" "I have." To Crystal's relief, he sounded much more cordial. "The only town I visited though was a border town called Syndis." "Did you like it?" "I did. Syndis was also a balanced blend of Outland and Kalmarsh's cultures. I might consider moving there or somewhere in Outland once Voval is at peace again." "I hope you don't plan to go to Outland and drop all contact with us." "Of course not. I'd still keep in touch with you, Verge, and Gen. I'd even make the journey to Scarlett City to visit you and head wherever Verge and Gen choose to live to visit them." "I'm glad to hear that. The last thing I'd want is to not be able to see or talk with you again."

The group soon reached a village and decided to take a moment to rest and gather supplies. Crystal ended up talking with a few of the villagers and learning about what they heard regarding Uvaris' takeover. It upset her to hear how her citizens were suffering as a result of the invasion. ('There has to be something I can do. Something other than convincing King Winterfang to help us.') Crystal continued her lone stroll through the village until the cries of dismay caught her attention. She rushed toward the source of it to find two dead canines and four equine Uvaris soldiers. "Well well. If it isn't Princess Stoneback. We heard you managed to escape from Scarlett City, though you won't be getting away from us this time." Crystal immediately turned and ran, the four equines chasing after her. Thankfully for her, several villagers charged at the soldiers, urging her to run. She turned the corner to cut down an alley and hopefully find Dusk, Kasey, Vergence or Genesis; only to come face to face with a Uvaris captain. "You won't be getting away from us this time Princess. Higher ups said they need alive, though I don't mind knocking the fight out of you." Crystal quickly unslung her lance as the captain drew his saber. The young armadilo quickly recalled every single lesson that Vergence taught her and prepared to fight for her life. The captain started with a swing at her left, which Crystal quickly blocked as well as the quick overhead swing that followed. She continued blocking and parrying each swing and thrust that came at her. Then he feinted right only to thrust left. Crystal managed to avoid being skewered but she could feel the blade come within a hairsbreath of her side. Acting quickly, she took advantage of the opening that he inadvertently gave her and nailed him in the head with the butt of her lance, before driving the tip into his chest three times. He staggered backwards a couple steps before collapsing. The horror of what she did quickly hit her, making her take a couple steps away from the body and stare at the blood that painted the tip of her lance. ('I-I actually-. I actually killed him! I...') Crystal could feel her stomach churning and her lance fell to the ground as her hands began to shake. Dusk soon arrived, seeing her standing in the alley and the dead Uvaris captain nearby. "Crystal? Are you okay?" "I... I didn't mean to-. I wasn't trying to-." Dusk walked over and placed his left hand on her shoulder. She turned, wrapped her arms around him and began to sob. Dusk wrapped his left arm around her and hugged her tight. "Go ahead, let it out." The armadillo princess sobbed into Dusk's chest, distraught at having slain another person. "H-how do you-. How do you do it Dusk?" She looked up at him. "How do you manage to kill someone without it bothering you?" "To be honest, I'm not entirely free from the pain I feel when I do so. But I think it's a good thing that it still hurts a bit when I end a life. Helps remind me that I haven't become a cold-hearted killer that does so without remorse. It will start to get easier the more you do it, but never fully let go of this pain. Understand?" "I do."