At long last, Lyn arrives in the land of her mother's birth. Lycia is a federation of territories, each one ruled by a powerful marquess. Now, Lyn takes her leave of one of these territories, Araphen and sets out to meet her grandfather, the marquess of Caelin. However, the marquess's brother, Lundgren, hungers to rule Caelin. He is preparing a deadly welcome for Lyn, who stands to threaten his grasp for power.

"What city is this?" Lyn asked Sain.

Sain looked around. "What? This is Araphen. After Ostia, it's the second-biggest city in Lycia."

Sion smiled, then looked around at all of the rushing merchants and shoppers.

"The second biggest, hm?" Lyn thought. "It does seem pretty busy. By the way, where's Kent?"

Everyone looked, and noticed that Kent indeed, was not there.

Sain responded, "He said he was going ahead to the castle, but..."

Sain squinted a bit, then smiled. "Ah, here he comes now."

Kent took in a few breaths, then spoke to Lyn. "Milady Lyndis! Let us proceed to the castle. They've prepared supplies for us. The marquess has agreed to aid us on our journey to Caelin."

Sion beamed, "That's excellent!"

Lyn asked, "He's going to help us?"

Kent replied, "Yes. Araphen and Caelin have enjoyed a sturdy friendship for many years. Once I informed the marquess of our plight, he agreed to lend us his strength."

Sain smirked at Kent. "Looks like we've got a smooth road ahead!"

Kent responded, "If we could pick up some soldiers, the road to Caelin would be that much safer. I'm truly for hardships you've suffered so far."

Lyn, simply smiled back at Kent and giggled. "Don't be silly. You are so capable, Kent."

Sain, all disappointed, asked, "Kent!"

"Hm?" Lyn turned around. "Oh, and so are you, Sain."

"Of course I am!" Sain shouted.

Sion groaned, and put his face into his hands. Kent nudged Sion and spoke to him. "The castle awaits..."

With that, everyone followed Kent to the castle of Araphen. They all continued smoothle until Sion saw someone ahead. A village man screamed and ran outside his house, pointing at Castle Araphen.

"This is terrible! The castle is burning!"

Sion ran up to him, followed by Sain. Sain asked the man, "What did you say? What's happening?"

The man, panicking spoke, "Smoke! From the castle! Hey!" He pointed at people by the castle, "What are those men doing?"

Sion saw someone sinister approach Lyn and ran to her side as she spoke to him.

"Who are you?" Lyn asked.

The man smiled an evil grin and approached her. "You! You're Lyndis, aren't you?"

"Ah!" Lyn shouted. She took a step back, closer to Sion. "What do you"

The man interrupted her as Sion held her hand, "No questions! Prepare yourself!" he yelled. Sion's eyes widened as he saw an arrow fly towards all three of them.

"Hey!" Lyn shouted as Sion pulled her back. Sion tackled her to the ground. Seconds whizzed past Lyn as she felt herself under Sion, only seeing past his hair and between his shoulder. Lyn began to blush, but then her eyes widened as she heard the assassin scream.

"Aaaargg! Aaaaah!"

Lyn, still wide-eyed, stared in shock as she saw a whole bunch of blood soar above her and Sion, some getting on her face, followed by a bloody arrow that flew past Sion's head.

"What?" She whispered, "An arrow?"

Sion then let go of Lyn and stood up.

"Lyn? Are you hurt?" Sion asked.

Lyn also stood up, then saw the person who killed the bandit. It was a nomad on a horse.

"..." He remained silent as he stared at her and Sion.

"Who are" Lyn began. But then Kent interrupted her.

"Milady Lyndis! Are you all right?"

Lyn, stared at the nomad as she spoke to Kent.

"I'm fine. He... This man saved me."

Sion, a bit awestruck, opened his mouth to speak to Lyn, but nothing came out no matter how he tried. He froze as he felt a small pang in his heart. He thought to himself.

"If I hadn't pushed Lyn out of the way... the arrow would have hit her too. It went through that man..."

Sion just sighed and looked on.

"May I ask your name?" Kent asked the nomad.

The rider only remained silent, then he moved back.

"Wait!" Lyn shouted. "Why did you help me?"

The rider, spoke softly. "I thought a Sacaean plainswoman was being attacked. I was mistaken."

Lyn smiled, "No, you were right! I am from Sacae. I'm Lyn, the daughter of the Lorca chieftain."

The rider spoke, with a surprised look on his face. "The Lorca? There were survivors?"

Lyn nodded, "Yes."

The rider kept speaking, "You should leave at once. A blaze has started in the castle, and it's spreading. Don't be foolish and waste the life I just saved."

Lyn asked, "You're from the castle? What's happening? How severe is the fire? Is te marquess safe?"

Sighing, the nomad continued, "The castle is under attack, and the marquess has been accosted. The man who attacked you was probably one of the marauders. As captain of the castle guard, it's my duty to rescue the marquess."

Lyn thought for a bit, "I see... All right then, we'll help you."

Sion picked up his head at this.

Kent asked, "Milady?"

The nomad seemed confused, "Why?"

Lyn answered, "These brigands are after me. If they're attacking the castle, it's because of me. So I must help if I can..."

The nomad gave Lyn a good look, then continued speaking, "It sounds like you're involved somehow... Let's go."

Lyn asked, "You'll accept our aid?"

Kent and Sion remained silent as the kept looking on.

The nomad spoke again, "I am Rath of the Kutolah. Our tribes may be different, but I will not abandon a woman of the Sacae."

Lyn smiled, "Thank you Rath! A thousand blessings upon you!"

Rath answered, "And a thousand curses upon our enemy!"

"Come!" Lyn shouted.

A little further away from the scene...

A man who had been watching the whole thing, walked inside a local home. Upon entering, he was interrogated by the lady of the house.

"You! What are you doing in my house!"

"Peace! I mean no danger to you!" The man removed his red cloak from his body. "Your home offers a good view of the battle outside. Look, I'll pay you for the privilege. Please."

The woman looked upon him with scorn. "Like a vulture waiting for the spoils, eh? Terrible!" She thought a moment, then continued.

"Pay up! I'll be hiding below, so don't bother me."

The man smirked, "I wouldn't dream of it." The lady left for the basement, then the man looked out the window.

"Now then, which side has the most to offer?"

Back to the travelers...

Rath galloped up to Lyn. "Once the marquess is safe, my men can move in. Perhaps the secret passageway..."

Lyn asked, "Secret passageway?"

Rath responded, "An underground tunnel leading to the throne room. There are triggers in the barracks that will open the tunnel."

Lyn thought. "Head through the passage to the throne room... and rescue the marquess. Once that's done, con you drive the enemy from the castle?"

Rath thought, "Mmm... If we can release those triggers, my men and I can handle the rest. There are three triggers, though. All three need to be released, or the entrance won't open."

Lyn said, "But the doors to the barracks are locked."

Rath answered, "The enemy's within. If we don't get inside and finish them, we're stuck."

Lyn said, "So opening those doors is our first objective."

Rath nodded, then galloped off.

Lyn sighed, then looked to Sion.

"What shall we do, Sion? We don't have any keys with us. Perhaps some of the marauders are carrying keys..."

Sion shrugged. "I don't know, maybe your hero can shoot down the doors with his bow!"

Lyn looked at Sion, a bit confused.

Sion looked back before walking off. "Lyn, you and everyone else fight. I'm going to go look to see if anyone knows where we can find keys."

Lyn nodded back at Sion, then ran off to fight. He saw someone stare at him through a window. Suspicious, Sion ran to the house and opened the door.

"Hey, you!"

Sion looked up and saw a man up staring down the stairs at him.

"Can I talk to you?" The man asked Sion.

"Who are you?" Sion asked.

"I'm Matthew, a specialist in acquisitions of all kinds. Would you like to buy my services?"

Sion thought a bit. "I don't think we need a thief in our party."

Matthew smirked slyly, and folded his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Really? And how do you plan on opening the barrack doors?"

Sion was amused. "So you were watching the whole time?"

"Bullseye!" Matthew grinned.

Sion folded his arms.

"Don't be mad. Hire me. For you, I'll even lower my normal rate."

"I do need those doors opened... I like you." Sion thought a bit. He then turned to smile at Matthew. "OK. You're hired. But I need to know, why did you want to ally with us instead of them?"

"Hm? I was watching, remember? Your group looked like a lot more fun than the dead guy. Pretty simple, really."

Sion laughed. "You're so odd." With that, Sion walked out to fight again.

Matthew smiled, "Time to get to work!" Matthew followed and snuck past the fighters to begin unlocking the doors. He unlocked one, then quickly ran to the next one. Sion ran to Florina and nudged her.

"Florina, see that switch?"

Florina shyly nodded.

"Good. Now, I want you to land on it, just as you did with the bandits at Taliver Mountain.

Blushing, Florina nodded, then flew and landed on it. A huge rumbling noise was heard, and a wall slid down into the earth.

Startled, Florina asked, "Um... Sion? Is this... is this a trigger?"

"Yup."

"That's that. Only two left."

Sion smiled, then continued with Matthew, protecting him as he opened the second door. Matthew opened the door, and then as he left to get some possessions from a treasure chest in a room, he gave Sion a high five. Sion laughed, then pulled Kent to the side.

"Kent, there's a trigger in the room over there. Matthew opened it."

"Who is this Matthew?"

"I'll explain later, just step on it with your horse."

Kent trotted his horse to the trigger and waited, as the wall grated into the ground, revealing another room with an archer and a knight.

"I suppose that was the second trigger. That leaves one more."

"Thanks for stating the obvious Kent." Sion grinned at Kent as Kent smiled back.

"You are a rascal, Sion. Now's not the time for jokes." Kent said.

Sion shook his head, then left for the last room. He growled under his breath as he noticed that the heavily armored knight was blocking it.

"Damn... How am I supposed to take him out? The only person who I think can get through that armor is possibly Kent and Sain... Florina!"

Florina, hearing Sion's call, flew to his side and waited.

"Can you fly over to Kent and Sain and call them to fight here?"

Florina nodded as she took off, soon after, the knights arrived. Sion quickly broke the archer's neck, then stabbed him, before commanding the knights.

"Sain, Kent. I need you to try and take that knight out. Will your lances or swords get through?"

Sain thought a bit, than answered. "If we could get a armorslayer from town we's nail him."

Matthew coughed and threw one to Kent. Kent stunned, looked at his hands.

"Wh- Matthew, where'd you get"

Matthew just ran away, and Kent saw an empty chest and thought.

"So, Sion. He's a thief?"

Sion nodded, then said, "Kill the knight. Or he'll kill Lyn, then all of us." Sion left as the knights nodded. Erk, then walked up to the knights.

"I'd appreciate it if you let be deal the first blow. My magic should hurt him, and I should make myself useful."

Sain grinned, "By all means!"

Erk then recited an incantation, which caught the knight, Boor's attention. He spoke.

"Bah. Lyndis and her cadre. When did you arrive? No matter. I shall deal with you."

Erk quickly silenced him with his fireballs, melting parts of his armor to his skin. Sain turned around and covered his nose at the smell of his burning flesh.

Lyn finally saw this, and decided to take a swing at him. She then noticed Kent's armorslayer and snatched it, dealing the last blow, cutting deep into Boor's neck.

"Gah! Lord Lundgren..." Boor then feel lifeless to the floor as Lyn returned the armorslayer to Kent after cleaning it.

Sion noticed, "Sain! The last trigger's free now. Mount your horse on it."

Sain trotted to the trigger and stepped on it.

"The last trigger. This should do it." Sain had his horse stomp on the trigger as the wall rolled down.

Lyn jumped at the sight of the new passage. "Here it is, Sion! The hidden passageway! Good work! We'll let Rath take over from here."

Sion only nodded, then watched as Rath galloped into the throne room with his men.

About a half hour later...

Rath finally cleared out the remaining bandits and reached the marquess. Smiling, knowing he was safe, he smiled.

"Ah, it's Rath! You've done well. What a performance!"

Rath replied, "Sir... If you have praise, it should be given to this group."

"Hm?" The marquess eyed Lyn carefully. "Who are you?"

Lyn smiled, "My name is Lyndis. I'm pleased you're well."

The marquess frowned, "Oh... It's you. You're Marquess Caelin's" The marquess thought. "Leave us, Rath. I would speak with this girl."

Rath remained silent as he left.

The marquess continued, "Now... Lady Lyndis. Do you know the identity of those responsible for this uproar?"

"I believe it to be the work of my granduncle, Lundgren."

The marques nodded, "That's exactly right. Which means my castle has been damaged in your family's petty inheritance dispute."

Lyn looked down at the floor, "My-My apologies..."

The marquess of Araphen continued. "When I heard that Lady Madelyn's daughter was in trouble, I thought to lend my assistance... I find I've changed my mind. I withdraw my offer."

In an uproar, Kent yelled. "Marquess Araphen! You gave me your word, my lord!"

The marquess eyed Kent, "...Your name is Kent, is it not? You failed to inform me of one most vital detail!"

Stunned, Kent asked. "What... What do you mean?"

Sion, trying to contain his ever-growing anger, clutched his right hand into a fist.

The marquess spoke, "This girl does resemble Lady Madelyn, but... I didn't expect to see her so tainted with the blood of Sacae."

"What?" Lyn yelled.

"Don't you feel the marquess of Caelin would be troubled to meet this... nomadic mongrel?"

Sion lost himself, and made an attempt to lunge at the marquess, but Kent held him back.

Sain, angry spoke. "You!"

Kent shouted at Sain, "Sain! Hold! My apologies, my lord Marquess."

The marquess scoffed. "Hm... Your man is poorly disciplined."

"Marquess Araphen!" Kent yelled. "Please... If you would grace us with your aid..."

The marquess spoke, "... I hear Marquess Caelin is ill and abed. I question whether he will survive to meet this girl. In which case, his brother, Lundgren, will claim his title. And I certainly wish to avoid trouble with the coming marquess."

"You scheming..." Began Sain.

"Sain!" Kent reprimanded.

Lyn spoke, "I understand, Kent, Sain, Sion, we take our leave at once."

Sion, stunned, turned to face Lyn.

Kent spoke, "Milady Lyndis! We"

Lyn yelled at the marquess, taking a hold of Sion's left hand. "I am proud of the Sacae blood that runs through my veins. I will NOT accept aid from one who disparages my heritage." With that, Sion held her hand tighter then walked her outside the throne room.

Outside the castle...

Sain spoke to Lyn. "That was well done, milady! The marquess is a lout!"

Sion spoke, "You did a great job yourself, Sain. Had Kent let you speak, we would have been dumped in the river poked with archers' arrows on the marquess' order!"

Sain continued, "Don't worry about anything. We're all here for you! Isn't that so, Kent?"

Kent said, "I beg your forgiveness."

Lyn asked, "Why are you apologizing, Kent?"

Kent sighed. "I've been so concerned with seeing you to Caelin. I failed to take your feelings into account."

Sion sighed, what Kent said, to him, was an irony of a sort.

Lyn laughed, "Is that it? Trouble yourself no more. You have put my safety above all else.

Sion felt something pang in his heart all of a sudden, then looked down at his chest. What was this feeling? He ignored it, as he tried to forget Lyn's words.

Lyn continued to speak to Kent. "I see that... Hold your head up and be proud."

"Milady Lyndis..."

Sion sighed, let go of Lyn's hand, then walked away. To ignore his feelings, he took out a map and logged down their paths.

Sion whispered to himself. "I can't let this get in the way. I need to become a better tactician... These feelings, are only interfering."

Sion looked down at his map and continued graphing.

Inside Marquess Araphen's throne room...

"Bah! Arrogant child! If she had but shed a single tear, I would have granted her request. We Lycian nobles will never understand those prideful savages."

Rath, hearing this stepped from behind a column and stared at the marquess with angry eyes.

"... Are those your true feelings towards the nomads of Sacae, milord?"

The marquess whirled around. "What? Oh, Rath! I didn't see you there. My comments do not reflect on you. You are my captain. I'm proud of your service."

Rath continued, "Of course. As long as we bend our knee to you, you care not where we're from. But when an equal comes from my lands? What conceit."

Appalled, the marquess spoke. "Rath! How can you speak to me like that? I have treated you well, have I not? I have paid you well, I have treated you better than your kind deserves."

"You will never understand. My service ends here."

With that, Rath left and exited the castle.

Back to our travelers outside the castle...

Lyn sat next to Sion and spoke to him. "The marquess of Araphen... He said my grandfather was ill. We must hurry to Caelin."

Kent sat next to them, then continued. "As we approach Caelin, Lundgren's obstacles will be more difficult to overcome. However, I've vowed to see you through to the end, milady!"

Lyn smiled, "I'm counting on you, Kent."

Sain also spoke, "I'm with you, too!"

"Thank you, Sain."

The knights left.

Then Lyn turned to Sion. "Sion..."

Sion sighed, then turned to her and managed a smile. "Yes, Lyn?"

Lyn looked down, then looked into Sion's eyes as the sun began to set. "Thank you for always standing at my side. It's because of all of you that I... I will persevere! They will never break my spirit!"

Lyn threw her arms around Sion, forcing him onto the grass. Surprised, Sion blinked, then sat up as he wrapped his arms around her, smiling from the bottom of his heart.

Rath suddenly galloped and stood in front of Lyn and Sion, staring and remaining silent.

"Lyn..." Sion began. "We have company..."

"Rath!" Lyn shouted. "What are you"

Rath sighed, "I overheard the marquess talking to himself. Lyn of the Lorca... Proud daughter of the Sacae... I would join you. I would add my strength to yours."

"Really?" Lyn asked.

Rath pulled out a small satchel, "And this... I want you to take it."

Lyn took it and looked in. "This is... Gold?"

Sion began to stare at Rath. Perhaps he was only here to help, like he said.

Lyn continued. "It's too much. I can't accept it."

Rath said, "I have no need for it. And if it will help you..."

"But..."

Rath said firmly, "I cannot take back something once offered." Then left.

"Rath... Thank you."

Sion smiled. Then took the satchel and put it in the group bag. "He seems like a decent man."

Lyn sighed. "It relieves me to no end to see a fellow Sacaen nomad such as myself. It almost makes me feel, family is still out there."

"Just as family?"

"Yes... Sion, why do you ask?"

Sion looked down at the floor, "Well, when Rath killed the bandit, I... I just had a feeling. A feeling that the arrow would go right through him and hit you. I couldn't help it, I pushed you out of the way. I was scared it would hit you."

Lyn blushed. "You think I didn't realize?"

Sion shook his head.

Lyn laughed. "I did. I was just surprised that Rath would save a stranger at the time."

Sion laughed, and then let out a huge sigh of relief. "It's getting late. We should get ready for bed."

Lyn nodded, "Well, goodnight then... my hero."

Sion froze, then turned to face Lyn, who was smiling at him.

"No... Thank you, Lady Lyndis." Sion took a deep bow to Lyn as she laughed. Then walked off towards the knights.

Sion shouted, "Get ready for camp, everyone."

With that, everyone prepared a fire, tents and blankets as Florina came back with a boar large enough for everyone for dinner. With a full stomach, everyone went to bed. Sion too, managed to fall into a deep sleep with a smile on his face.

With yet another addition to Lyndis's Legion, Sion's responsibilities grow heavy. Lyn presses on ever faster, with newfound pride to meet her ailing grandfather, after Marquess Araphen reveals his greed by not assisting. Another attempt to slay Lyn has been thwarted, but Lundgren prepares another fatal surprise for our travelers. Keep reading, the next chapter, Siblings Abroad, will be posted very soon.