Lyn and Mark were walking through Bulgar looking for a merchant. Mark was contemplating where the two would head next. Considering the fact that he would somehow need to repay his debt to Lyndis before killing her, Mark needed to find a way to return the favor. Lyn seemed pretty happy about finally being able to roam more freely, this made Mark feel a lot less guilty about having to kill the young Sacaen, this was a strange pattern for Mark. He had not felt any emotion after his family was killed, it baffled him that someone he'd met a short time ago, was the one who brought these emotions to surface. Marks eyes continued to drift as he'd been searching for a merchant, eventually, he saw a small shop with a man standing behind it.
"Lyn, here's a merchant, maybe he has the supplies we need." Mark suggested. He gave Lyn a gesture to signal that he wanted the Sacaen to follow him. Lyn nodded and the two walked toward the merchant who stood waiting for the two.
"Ah! Two youngins looking to buy my wares! What can I get you?" The merchant asked with a smile.
"Yes, do you have a map of Elibe, and some vulneraries?" Mark replied.
"Why, of course! Here you are!" The merchant stated as he placed the items on the counter in display in front of Mark. He then gave another stern look at the merchant.
"Do you have any weapons with you good sir?" Mark asked the merchant who nodded in response.
"Good, get me the best sword you have," Mark ordered. The merchant went under the desk and pulled up a case. He slowly opened the case and revealed its contents to the assassin. Mark looked closely at the blade. Mark frowned at the sword believing it wasn't anything great. He looked the merchant in the eye and took a deep breath.
"How much?" Mark asked.
"700 gold," the merchant replied.
"Like hell! This thing is worth 200 gold at best! I may not be an expert in fighting, but I can see the value of a weapon, and frankly, I've seen sticks worth more gold!" Mark exclaimed.
"You disrespectful lout! How dare you mock my wares!"
"I'm not mocking your wares! I'm mocking your sword. Surely you have a sword worth more than this piece of trash!"
"Fine! Here's the real best sword we have! I hid it because I doubt someone as young as you could afford this!" The merchant growled as he slammed the sword onto the counter. Mark gave a look at the sword and smiled.
"Now this, is more like it! How much for this?" Mark asked.
"2000 gold! Like you could afford it!" The merchant laughed.
"Mark, don't you think that's a bit expensive?" Lyn stated. Mark gave a laugh at Lyn's comment.
"Nonsense, with my last job, I could afford the most valuable sword! This is child play as far as I'm concerned!" Mark stated. He opened the bag that hanged over his shoulder. He opened the bag and pulled out a smaller bag. He placed it on the table and a loud bang was heard. He opened the bag and the merchant was boggled by how much gold was in the bag.
"WHAT THE HELL! WHA-WHERE DID YOU GET THAT KIND OF MONEY?" The merchant exclaimed in amazement.
"If you were in my line of work, you'd know! I think this should cover it," Mark stated with a smirk across his face. The merchant was amazed, he never imagined that a boy at 20 years of age could afford such expensive things without so much as a dent in his wallet. Lyn and Mark walked away from the merchant as they continued looking around. Lyn turned to Mark with a confused look on her face.
"Mark, where did you get that kind of money?" Lyn asked the assassin as he took a deep breath.
"After having my job for six years, you're going to be pretty damn rich," Mark revealed as he continued looking around.
"What job did you have?" Lyn asked. Mark gave Lyn a cold, and stern stare.
"You ask too much, I never liked that in a woman, or anyone really," Mark replied. He turned away from Lyn and continued his search. He grabbed some gold from his bag and handed it to Lyn.
"Listen, we're likely going to be travelling a far distance, it would be wise for us to get some horses. I want you to look for the stables. I will look for a vendor who sells food and water. Can I trust you Lyn?" Mark asked. Lyn nodded and turned to make her way across the city. Mark continued searching for the vendor, until he heard a woman screaming in disgust. He turned to see a knight chasing after a woman, and this made him chuckle.
"Heh, knights, little to no respect amongst too many of them nowadays," Mark chuckled. He saw another knight lamenting the other knights actions. He saw the knights face, orange hair, red eyes and red armor.
"Blast! It's Kent! If he catches me, oh man, I can't let him know it's me. Wait, without my mask...He won't recognize me, I'm actually happy my mask was destroyed now!" Mark exclaimed with a sigh. He continued walking, but the red knight stopped him in his path.
"Excuse me sir, but have you seen a woman named Lyndis?" The knight asked.
"Lyndis? Nope, not familiar with her," Mark replied confidently.
"Hm, I'm sorry sir, but have we met before?" The knight asked. Mark's heart suddenly began to beat faster, he was afraid he had been caught, but he decided to keep the panic to himself.
"Whatever do you mean?" Mark replied.
"It's just...There's something familiar about you..." The knight stated.
"Well, you must have the wrong guy," Mark insisted.
"Maybe you're right, the guy you seem like wears a mask anyway, and his face is supposed to be horribly burned. I'm sorry for wasting your time," the knight said.
"It's no worry," Mark replied. As Mark walked away, he let out a sigh of relief, he'd just avoided being caught by a knight of Caelin, if they caught him, he could be in trouble. He continued walking and eventually he found the stables he slammed his hand into his head as this realization came to him.
"Dammit, I cannot believe I actually sent Lyn the wrong way, this just gets better and better." Mark sighed.
"MARK!" Mark looked up to see Lyn guiding two horses in his direction.
"Oh perfect, I went in a circle," Mark growled to himself.
"Here's your horse, apparently his name is Cornellius," Lyn stated.
"Cornellius, huh? Well, that's certainly a creative name," Mark sighed as he climbed onto the horse. Lyn climbed onto her horse and the two began their way through Bulgar.
"Mark, did you get the rest of the supplies?" Lyn asked.
"Unfortunately, no, I went in a circle," Mark sighed. Lyn rolled her eyes at Marks mistake, but heeded no mention to it.
"My! What is this beauty my eyes have gazed upon!" A voice echoed. Mark let out a deep breath as he realized, Sain was close by. He was hoping he was not talking about Lyn, sadly, that was exactly who Sain was referring to.
"O Beauteous one, would you honor me with your name?" Sain asked her.
"Oh, spare me," Mark groaned as he watched the pathetic display.
"May I ask where you are from to which you speak to a woman so freely?" Lyn asked.
"Ah! I am a knight of Lycia, from Canton Caelin! Home of men of passion and fire!" Sain exclaimed proudly.
"Don't you mean callow oafs with loose tongues?" Lyn shot back.
"Oh, you're so lovely, even when you're cruel," Sain laughed.
"Shut up! Passion and fire? How pathetic, what kind of knight would be so discourteous to a woman? This is just nauseating! I don't know about you, but I'm done here," Mark growled as he guided his horse away from the knight as Lyn pursued.
"Hey, wait!" Sain was about to follow, but another knight cut him off.
"Sain! Hold your ground! I'm disappointed in you, I thought we agreed that you wouldn't flirt with woman on this assignment," Kent hissed at Sain.
"Maybe so, but did you see her? She was gorgeous! To stand in silence while such a beauty roams would be rude and discourteous!" Sain exclaimed.
"Discourteous? Is this some sort of joke? I have never seen you display courtesy!" Kent retorted. At that moment, Lyn and Mark appeared beside the two atop their horses.
"Excuse me, but you're horses are in the way, do you mind moving them?" Lyn asked.
"Oh, of course, my apologies," Kent stated as he moved his horse so Lyn and Mark could move away. He took a close look at Lyn and he began to remember something.
"Excuse me miss, but I get the feeling we've met somewhere before," Kent began.
"HEY! You hypocrite, I saw her first!" Sain exclaimed.
"I guess there are no decent men among Lycia's knights!" Lyn growled.
"I really, wish my arm wasn't broken right now," Mark stated.
"Come on Mark, I've run out of patience!" Lyn exclaimed as she ordered her horse to dash away from the knights. Mark did the same and followed her away from the two knights.
"Wait! I didn't mean it like that...Sain you lout! Do you realize what you've done?" Kent growled.
"What? What did I do other than keep you from being a hypocrite?" Sain asked.
"Sain you buffoon, I know you've seen the portraits in the castle! That girl looks way too identical to those portraits to be a coincidence!" Kent concluded.
"Wait, you can't be saying that-"
"That girl must be Lady Lyndis!" Kent exclaimed.
"Y-You can't be serious! You're kidding right?" Sain replied.
"Only one way to find out, come on!" Kent ordered. He turned his horse to pursue Lyn and Mark and his horse sped off in their direction.
"Wait, Kent! Wait!" Sain beckoned, but his fellow knight ignored his pleas.
Mark and Lyn were moving their horses away from the gates of Bulgar and both seemed disgruntled.
"How dishonorable, I mean who would imagine knights would be degraded into that over time?" Mark sighed.
"I don't know, I always imagined knights to be far more honorable, but I guess I was wrong, oh well we all make mistakes," Lyn stated. Mark stopped his horse and closed his eyes.
"Mark, is something wrong?" Lyn asked.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Mark stated. He jumped off his horse and grabbed his dagger with his good arm. He slammed the dagger into the ground and began making a small marking. He then placed the palm of his hand into the center of the marking and a sense of fear overcame him.
"RUN! We're being followed!" Mark exclaimed.
"Why should we run?"
"Lyn, I know from experience that being followed is never a good thing. We must get out of here! Anon!" Mark ordered. He was about to climb onto his horse when an axe appeared. Mark managed to dodge the axe as a bandit appeared before the two.
"Girl! Your name is Lyndis, is it not?" The bandit asked. Lyn froze in disbelief unable to believe that a random bandit knew her name. She quickly snapped out of it and jumped off her horse.
"How do you know my name? Answer me! Now!" Lyn demanded looking for answers.
"So it's true, it's a shame that a beauty such as yourself has to die," the bandit laughed. He charged at Lyn who had her sword readied. The bandit rose his axe and slammed it at Lyn who managed to roll out of the way and slash the bandit in his leg. The bandit fell forward and Lyn prepared to land the finishing blow, but a hand stopped her. Another bandit appeared out of seemingly nowhere, he punched the Sacaen in the stomach and threw her away from him.
"You coward, what kind of man hits a woman!" Mark growled.
"Who are you to judge us? Kai?" Mark froze in place as the leader of the bandits stood to his feet and revealed that he knew his true name.
"You've killed men, woman and children with no remorse, and now you preach to us about what's right and wrong?" The bandit leader scoffed.
"It's better than being a bandit, you're worthless savages who kill for fun!" Mark shot back.
"Assassins and bandits are one in the same!"
"That's a lie!" Mark growled.
"Really, you kill, we kill, your kind would murder men, woman and children for gold, as would we." The bandit leader retorted.
"Th-That's not true! We do it because we've been hired to!"
"Bandits are hired sometimes too," the bandit leader argued.
"No! I'm nothing like you savages!" Mark retorted.
"Look, we've both been hired to do the same job, help us kill the girl and we'll give you a cut of the earnings." The bandit leader offered.
"I'd sooner die then help savages like you!"
"Be careful what you wish for," the leader scoffed. Two bandits grabbed Mark by his arm and threw him into a tree.
"Mark!" Lyn screamed, but one bandit caught her in a full nelson holding her back.
"Hold on lassie, you'll get your turn!" The bandit leader laughed. One bandit walked up to Mark and lifted him into a standing position. The bandit gave a powerful punch across Mark's face causing him to fall to the ground. The two bandits knelled down and began pummeling Mark, punch after punch.
"Stop you ruffians!" Lyn exclaimed. She managed to get into a position that allowed her to slam her heel into the bandits 'weak point' and escape the hold. She grabbed her sword and stabbed the bandit in the chest. The Sacaen turned her attention to the leader and began going for rapid slashes. The leader was unable to keep up with Lyn's speed so all he could do was block. The bandits punched Mark hard enough to make him scream.
"Mark!" Lyn exclaimed, but it was a foolish move on her part. Her momentary distraction was enough for the bandit leader to kick her in the stomach causing her to fall on her back.
"Say goodbye!" The bandit leader roared as he rose his axe. Out of nowhere a javelin struck the bandit in the back piercing right through his heart. The grip on his axe came undone and fell. Lyn rolled out of the axe's path and stood to her feet. She turned to see that the two bandits had turned tail and ran while Mark laid bloody and battered on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Lyn asked as she grabbed her vulneraries. She began pouring them on Mark's wounds. She heard the clatter of horse hooves coming from behind her. She turned to see the knights from earlier appear.
"I'm sorry we were late," one knight stated with sincerity.
"Here, allow me to heal his wounds," the orange haired knight offered. He began to pour the vulneraries onto Mark until the assassin could stand on his own two feet.
"Are you alright?" The orange haired knight asked. Mark nodded in response as he held onto his broken arm which had been reaggravated due to the beating he had just received.
"Why are you two here?" Lyn asked.
"First, allow me to introduce myself, I am Kent, and my companion here is Sain, we're here because-"
"YOU'RE DEAD NOW!" A voice screamed. The group turned to see five bandits running toward them.
"Scatter! We'll flake'em out one by one!" One bandit exclaimed.
"Oh man..." Mark groaned.
"We're going to need a strategy and fast!" Sain stated.
"The bandits have hidden and we can't combat what we can't see! What can we do?" Kent growled as he began looking around.
"Can't combat what we can't see...I've got an idea! Problem is, one of us could die executing this plan. Okay, first, we need to hide three of us, and the other one needs to lure out the bandits. They can lure them to our position and we can finish them quickly. Lyn, they were looking for you, so you maybe the best bait!" Mark concluded.
"No way! I'm not going to let a beauty like this die by the hand of such ruffians! I'll do it!" The green knight offered.
"No, sorry Mark, but you're the best option, you're the only one that can't fight." Kent stated.
"Fine, I'll do it, but I swear if I die..." Mark growled as he darted into an open area. As he predicted, two bandits burst out of their hiding spots to combat him. The knights and Lyn rushed forward, and managed to defeat the two bandits. Two bandits appeared out of nowhere and leapt from the trees onto Kent and Sain causing them to fall off their horses. The third bandit tackled Lyn and began dragging her by her feet away.
"Oh no you don't!" Mark exclaimed as he ran at the bandit. He lifted Lyn and used her as a weapon to hit Mark in the arm, he followed by kicking the assassin in the stomach sending him back. The bandit tossed Lyn's sword away and began to run, but out of nowhere a mage in a black cloak appeared in front of the bandit. He snapped his fingers and shot a blast of fire at the bandit, the blast went straight through the bandits stomach and he fell dead onto the grass. The mage vanished and reappeared behind one bandit and snapped the bandits neck. The other bandit noticed and threw his axe at the mage, the mage took the bandits dead corpse and used it as a shield. The mage shot another blast of magic at the bandit and it killed the bandit on contact. The mage walked over to Mark's unconscious body and knelt down next to the boy.
"Stay alive, you must for your mother..." the mage said as a soft, woman like voice escaped from her cloak. The female mage knelt over and kissed Mark on the cheek and then proceeded to leave the area.
Mark just regained consciousness he looked to see that Lyn, Kent and Sain were surrounding a campfire. Lyn was frozen and a look of shock was planted on her face.
"Lyn, what's going on?" Mark groaned as he pushed himself up, still feeling the effects of the days battle.
"We just told your friend that she is of Lycian royalty, the granddaughter of Marquess Hausen." Kent stated.
"Really?" Mark said in a confused tone, despite knowing this for a while. Lyn nodded and began pondering this fact in her head.
"I-I can't believe this...I was all alone in this world...And so suddenly I have a grandfather," Lyn stated this news was overwhelming for the Sacaen. Until, something hit her...
"Wait! That bandit! He knew my name! He knew my name was Lyndis!" Lyn exclaimed.
"Lundgren...That son of a..." Sain growled.
"Lundgren?" Lyn said in confusion.
"Lundgren is the brother of Lord Hausen, in other words, your great granduncle." Kent stated.
"What does that-" Lyn began.
"He was next in line as the Marquess of Caelin, however, with you being the granddaughter of Lord Hausen you're higher in the pedistal meaning you're the next Marquess, Lundgren is angry about that and will do anything he can to make sure you're unable to claim the title." Kent stated.
"So, those bandits must have been hired by Lundgren...Kent you don't think Lundgren will hire...him?" Sain asked.
"Him?" Lyn stated as she tilted her head slightly.
"In Lycia, there is a renown assassin, no one has seen his face and it is said that he was disfigured horribly when he was young. His family was killed and the same one who killed his family shot fire in his face burning his face horribly, leaving him disfigured. It is said that the last thing his victims see before he kills them is his horribly disfigured face. His name is Kai, and he has never failed an assassination." Sain answered.
"I'm afraid he will send Kai after us eventually. We'll just have to wait and hope he doesn't appear." Kent stated.
"Is he really that scary?" Lyn asked.
"No, but he is someone we have to keep a look out for. If he got to you, it would pretty much be the end for you. Luckily, we'll be able to see him coming from far away. Hopefully, he won't appear." Sain sighed.
"Lyndis, we have one more thing to ask of you," Kent began.
"What is it?" Lyn asked.
"Will you travel with us to Caelin?" Kent questioned. Lyn paused to think about the offer, for a moment, she stood silent, but she looked up and nodded. She then turned to Mark.
"Mark, will you be joining us?" Lyn asked. Mark without hesitation nodded.
"Thank you Mark, you'll be a great help." Lyn stated.
"I can only hope," Mark sighed.
"We should be off to bed we have an early morning tomorrow." Kent suggested. The two knights and Lyn lied down, but Mark remained sitting. He sighed to himself and thought about what the bandit said, as the thought had cratered deep into his mind.