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Crystal had heard what the ranger had said to Carathir. She wasn't surprised that he would raise such a question. She made a note to watch Carathir, but to not voice her uneasy thoughts out loud anymore.
If he was truly the traitor as she was beginning to suspect then he would try something near the end of the quest when they were just about to find out the true answer that could possibly prove that it was Carathir that had committed murder. He would be wild then and they would be fulfilling the very end of his plan.
She wondered who he would kill first. She assumed it would be Maen because if she got free she could tell her family and authorities who had done it. She possed some threat to Carathir. But then again, so did she. She had skills that he did not know of and some that she assumed he had seen before. He was a man, much stronger then she and could over take her after a small fight. She knew she would be at least the second casuality.
Her eyes wandered over the group. The men could over take Carathir if they stayed together. There was a lot of pride in these men and they would have to push that aside when the time came.
Crystal blinked hard to get rid of her thoughts. She did not want to think about who Carathir would kill or when. She did not want to think about what would happen if he was successful. She didn't want to know what would happen if it wasn't Carathir.
She took the reigns to Atharen's horse and jumped up, moving backward so Atharen could get up. She looked over at the horse she had chosen as her own. It neighed softly.
"Be still little one. You have special cargo on your back. You shall be alright, that I promise to you," Crystal said softly to the horse. The horse quieted and she smiled. She hoped that she lived long enough to take care of the horse, there was just something about him that she liked.
"Let us ride and pray that we aren't the ones the vultures of these lands are searching for," Crystal whispered to herself. It had been something that her mother had said when she felt they were in grave danger. Whenever she had said it in Crystal's presence she would smile and lead them on. Crystal said it now to sooth her thoughts and fears and in dear rememberance of the mother that she loved so much that the pain of her death still cut Crystal deep.
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