crusade

Vanta moved at a lope toward the cavern entrance, her crystalline fur catching the light in a dazzling display. Lia was already waiting, her fire-kissed figure silhouetted against the backdrop of the ancient caves. "Sorry for the delay."  She breathed, a sheepish grin breaking across her muzzle as she slowed to a stop beside her friend. "Catching up with my dad took longer than I expected."

She gave a shake of her head, clearing it, and directing her focus instead to the task at hand. "Have you found anything?" Her crystalline gaze swept over the cave entrance, noting the ancient drawings that adorned the walls just past the mouth. She'd always wondered about them as a child and had meant to set aside time to explore and investigate them. She'd yearned once to learn of the history that had been so important that someone had literally etched it on the walls.. and now here she was, a woman grown, wishing she could collapse every single tunnel.

The troubling possibility that these caverns might still conceal slavers even years after Lia's sale was hard to swallow. How could this disgusting business persist near the Armada unnoticed? Or worse, tolerated? The young Fatalis wrestled with the difficult notion that her father - or even Azure - might have had a hand in this. Could they have intentionally chosen these mountains for the convenience of being close to such darkness? The very idea made her skin crawl, her fur prickling in discomfort. It was far more comforting to believe that this evil was just as hidden from the Armada as from the rest of the world, and until proven otherwise, Vanta would give her father the benefit of the doubt.

Vanta glanced at Lia, seeking the woman's input. They were partners now. "If these slavers are still operating here, we need to uncover it. And if we find them..." Her jaw set in a firm line, her crystalline eyes hardening with resolve. "We'll do what must be done. For the good of all."

"Speech"