The two of them spoke very little over the next two days. Lyn had told him they needed to travel to a town called Bulgar in order to prepare for their travels, and the pace she kept meant Mark had to struggle to keep up. It was obvious she was more used to traveling than he was. He wasn't sure how far and wide he had traveled before, but clearly if he had it was by horse or cart, not on foot. That said, he didn't mind. Even without extensive conversation, she was pleasant company. It was nice to have a traveling companion, and he had to admit to himself that it was nice that his was a pretty woman his own age.

As soon as Bulgar came into view, Lyn took off at a run towards the town square. He increased his pace to try to catch her, but she was clearly much more used to physical exertion, because he was left trailing far behind. He wanted to call after her, but the strain of traveling and running after her left him out of breath.

"Mark! Over here!" he heard her yell. He had no idea where she got so much energy. He caught sight of her in the middle of the bustling square. She waved to him and he walked to her as quickly as he could manage. He nearly bumped into a few people, but if they noticed they didn't say anything. "This is Bulgar, the largest city in all of Sacae," she said as he reached her. Once again her enthusiasm was so great that he found himself smiling. She sounded so excited to be showing him the town. "We should buy supplies before we set off. They hadn't decided on a destination, but they knew they were going to be traveling all around.

"That sound like a good—" he was cut off by a man's voice from behind them.

"Oh, my heart! What a dazzling vision of loveliness!" They could hear his voice over the noise of the crowd and Mark could tell instantly that it was directed at Lyn. Lyn blinked and turned towards the source of the voice, which turned out to be a brown-haired man in green armor. He pushed through the crowd to reach the two of them and it appeared the people he passed were trying very hard to ignore him. Lyn made a noncommittal noise and began to turn to leave. The man called again. "Wait, beauteous one!" He reached them. "Would you not share your name with me? Or, better yet, your company?" Mark decided to intervene, but before he could speak Lyn beat him to it.

"Where do you come from, sir knight, that you would speak in this way to a stranger?" Mark closed his mouth. Clearly Lyn didn't need his help.

"I feared you would never ask!" said the man. "I am from Lycia! I hail from Caelin canton, home to men of passion and fire!" Mark rolled his eyes, but now that he knew that Lyn could handle herself, he stayed quiet.

"Shouldn't that be 'home to callow oafs with loose tongues'?" Mark bit back a laugh at her words and the hurt expression that crossed the man's face. He seemed to recover quickly though, which Mark found disappointing.

"You're even lovely when you're cruel," he said. Lyn shot Mark a glance and made a disgusted noise.

"Let's go, Mark," she said.

"Indeed," said Mark and the two of them turned and left the man sputtering in protest behind them. They made for a nearby shop that sold dried meats and fruits. Mark waited until they were alone browsing the selection before he spoke again. "What a boor that man was." Lyn shook her head.

"I haven't been to Lycia before, but I hope he wasn't typical of the men they employ as knights." She selected several pieces of dried beef and venison as well as some dried fruits Mark didn't recognize but Lyn seemed to.

"Hopefully not," said Mark. "I seem to recall hearing that the knights of the Lycian League are known for being honorable, though I'm sure it varies from man to man." Mark picked up some food of his own and they paid with some of the gold Mark had found in his belongings. "So do you have a destination in mind once we depart Bulgar?"

"There is a shrine not far from here. It's our tradition to pray at it before departing on a journey." They exited the shop and entered a neighboring one that sold tents and blankets. They hadn't been able to carry Lyn's hut between the two of them and Lyn had decided she didn't want to sleep somewhere with the memories attached to that hut.

"Very well," said Mark. He didn't recall worshiping the same gods as the nomads of Sacae, but it wouldn't hurt him to join her, especially since it meant more time in her company. "Does it matter if our tents match?" It wasn't a pertinent question, but he wanted to make conversation.

"Do we need two tents?"

"I don't think it would be proper to share," he said. They were a man and a woman the same age. He was surprised she was so carefree about it.

"I trust you, Mark," she said. "Besides, you aren't a warrior. I'm sure I could stop you from trying anything." He saw a smile on her face and realized she was teasing him. He tried not to let it bother him.

"Even so," he said, "it wouldn't be right. These tents don't look large enough to give us sufficient room between us if we shared." There were some larger tents than the ones they were looking at, but they were much more expensive and likely would be much harder to carry.

"You make a fair point," she said. "Very well, we'll buy two." She picked up two tents with matching designs on the cloth and brought them to the shopkeeper, a friendly older woman. They chatted briefly before Lyn returned to Mark with their equipment packed into two satchels. She handed him one and he slung it over his shoulder.

"Shall we?" he asked, motioning for her to leave first. She did and they exited the shop.

"I think that's all we need," she said, "the shrine is this way." She pointed and he followed her. The knight from earlier was in front of them. A second knight in red armor was with him, and they were both mounted and blocking the exit to the town. They were engaged in a conversation Mark couldn't hear, but he could see that the knight in red looked exasperated. "Excuse me!" Lyn called out, "you're blocking the road! If would to please move your horses we would like to depart." The knight in red, whose hair matched his armor, was the one who answered.

"My apologies," he said with a slight bow. He nudged his horse and it took two steps back to clear a space for the two of them.

"Thank you," said Lyn as she motioned for Mark to follow, "at least you seem honorable enough." She shot a glare at the other knight. The knight glanced at his companion, then back to Lyn, then at Mark, then he did a double take at Lyn.

"Excuse me, milady, but for some reason I feel as though we have met before..." his voice trailed off. Mark stopped short next to Lyn and looked up at the knights. He got the impression this man wasn't as boorish as his companion, but even so he seemed very forward to speak to her that way. Mark clenched and unclenched a hand.

"I beg your pardon?" said Lyn. She had stopped, but she crossed her arms and edged away from the knight which carried her a bit closer to Mark.

"No fair, Kent!" said the knight in green. "I saw her first!" Lyn made another disgusted sound and Mark had to stop himself from wheeling on the other man.

"It seems there are no decent men among Lycia's knights after all!" she said to Mark. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him past the two men towards the city exit. "Mark, I've run out of patience. Let's go." She started walking but Mark was right in step with her so he avoided being pulled off balance. They nearly ran out of the city and Mark heard the knights arguing as they departed. Mark couldn't understand much of it, though he distinctly heard the red-haired knight say "I am NOT you!"

They reached the city limits before Lyn let go of Mark's wrist. She didn't say a word, but Mark could tell that she was still fuming. It was understandable after the behavior of the knights, but still he wished he could say something to help calm her down. Instead he simply kept up with her as they made their way south out of the city. Soon after, Mark heard movement to the east and south.

"Lyn, do you hear that?" She stopped and started to listen.

"I do. We're being pursued. Run!" Weighed down as he was by their supplies, Mark wasn't able to run as fast as usual, but even so he kept pace with her. "Is it the knights from the town?" she asked over her shoulder to him.

"No!" he called back. "No horses!" he started looking all around them to see who it was and saw the forms of large men with axes. "Bandits!"

"They're out for blood!" she called back. One of the bandits to the east ran towards them and stopped at the opposite end of a stream.

"Well well, look what we have here!" said the bandit. "Your name is Lyndis, is it not?" Lyn stopped short and Mark nearly collided with her.

"What did you call me? Who are you?" her hand fell immediately to the hilt of her sword.

"What a waste of a perfectly pretty girl," said the bandit. He shook his head. "The things I do for gold. Time to die, Lyndis." He took his axe from a strap on his back and brandished it. Mark looked around and saw several other bandits emerge from the trees around them. He took a quick count and saw five total. Lyn took out her sword.

"This may be more of them than I can handle," she said over her shoulder to him. "Mark, if you want to run I won't think less of you." He stood behind her.

"I'm not leaving your side," he said.

"Thank you," she said. She sounded relieved. He wasn't going to abandon her to die. They would figure out something. One of the bandits started to approach and Lyn readied her sword to fight.

"There she is!" came a voice from behind them.

"What?" said Lyn without looking back. She was too focused on the bandits in front of them. It took a moment for the next sound to reach them, but Mark recognized it immediately. It was the stampede of hooves. A few moments later the two knights from Lycia thundered up next to them and took up positions on either side of Lyn and Mark.

"You there!" called the knight in green, "What is your business? Such numbers against a single girl? Cowards, the lot of you!"

"You!" said Lyn

"Stay back, milady," said the knight in red. "If these bandits want a fight, they can look at me!"

"I'll take care of this!" said the knight in green.

"No! Stay out of my way! This is my fight!" said Lyn.

"We need their help, Lyn," said Mark. He respected her attitude, but they needed to keep a realistic view. She wasn't going to win against five and these were armored men on horseback. They could easily turn the tide of the battle.

"I have a solution," said the knight in red. He pointed to Mark. "You. Command us. My name is Kent, my companion is Sain. We will obey your orders, will we not, Sain?" Sain nodded a little sheepishly. "Is that acceptable, milady?" Lyn glanced back at Mark, then to Kent.

"Yes. I'll trust Mark's judgment. Let's go!" The bandits, now deprived of their large numerical advantage, backed off. The leader retreated a few paces behind his fellows and several took up positions within the cover of trees.

"You there!" said the knight in green, "you are called Mark, yes? Allow me to attack first!"

"Very well," said Mark. He figured he needed to get a good idea of the knights' combat abilities, so allowing Sain to attack first would help serve that purpose. He pointed to the closest bandit. "That man, run him down." He pointed to Kent. "Flank the bandit from the other side." Mark's words were partially drowned out as Sain went charging heedlessly forward, lance in hand, and thrust at the bandit. The bandit ducked behind a tree and dodged Sain's thrust. He struck out at Sain and caught his outer thigh. Blood appeared through the fabric of Sain's trouser leg and he yelped in pain. Kent charged from the other direction and swung his sword in an arc from behind the bandit. It took him across the back and the bandit grunted and fell to his knees. He lashed out, but Kent was already past and circling around again.

"What's your call, Mark?" asked Lyn.

"Finish him off," said Mark. She nodded and charged. The bandit wasn't back on his feet before Lyn arrived, and a stroke of her sword ensured he would never rise again. Mark saw Kent ride to Sain's side and pass him a spare sword. Sain must have neglected to carry one with him or else had dropped or forgotten it in town, Mark thought. It was good of Kent to give him one. The sword's speed would serve him well against the bandits and their axes.

Two of the bandits attempted to advance on them from across the stream. One was coming from the north and one from the south. A third was behind the bandit from the south and would likely catch up quickly. That would be an even fight in terms of numbers, but Mark wanted to prevent his allies' attention from being divided in two directions.

"Kent, Sain, to the south. Cut off that one and prepare for the second behind him. Lyn, take the one coming from the north." The knights saluted and kicked their horses to get them to move. They charged off to intercept the bandit rushing at them from the south while Lyn turned north. Mark, not wanting to be left alone on a battlefield, was a step behind Lyn.

"The trees should give me some cover, right?" She said without looking back.

"Yes, get into the copse before the bandit arrives and you should have the advantage," he answered. She did manage to reach the cover of a tangle of trees before the bandit could, and the two of them hid within some of the lower-hanging branches. Once Lyn had set herself she looked back to the knights. They were circling the bandit without allowing him to focus on one of them for long enough. Whatever Mark thought of Sain's attitude, they were clearly disciplined and coordinated with one another.

"Your name is Sain, yes?" he heard Lyn call. "You've been hurt. You should heal yourself." Sain charged at the bandit, swung his sword, missed as the bandit ducked around a tree, and ran away to swing around for another attack. He looked at his leg when he heard Lyn's words, then over to the two of them.

"Ah, I've made you darken your lovely features with worry. Please, if you've a vulnerary, share it with me." Mark rolled his eyes as Lyn answered him.

"On second thought, you're fine. Focus on the fighting." Sain started towards them.

"No! I must not cause you any worry!"

"Mark," Lyn said in a low voice, "Get the vulnerary from my pack and give it to him." The bandit was closing quickly. Mark reached into the pack over her shoulder, found the fresh vulnerary she was carrying, and pulled it out. Sain was only a few feet away so Mark tossed the phial to him. Sain's face fell as he caught the potion and drank a portion.

"Handle the bandits from the south!" said Mark. Sain nodded and turned back to assist his comrade. Kent, Mark saw, was clashing with the bandit and appeared to have the upper hand. He was clearly skilled with the sword and had seen his share of combat.

The bandit reached them and let out a cry. Lyn slid behind the trunk of a tree and lashed out with her sword. She caught the bandit's axe arm and made a deep enough gash that his axe fell from his hand. He stumbled back to try to get away from her follow up attack, but she was too quick for him. Her sword struck home in his chest and he toppled backwards. He let out a gasp and didn't rise.

"Good job," said Mark as he looked quickly away and towards the remaining bandits. "We should try to take on the leader. The knights can handle the other two." Lyn nodded sharply and they rushed past the fallen bandit towards the small bridge on the stream. It was sturdy enough to hold the both of them and Lyn approached the bandit leader with her sword up. He was grumbling about the knights when he saw them and charged. Lyn parried his first attack, struck him with a quick stab to the midsection, and fell back a few steps. He winced in pain and touched his wound to check for blood. When he saw it he cursed and raised his weapon for another attack.

Lyn put her sword up to block the bandit's blow but the force of it knocked her sword aside long enough for the bandit to lash out with his free fist. He drove it into her midsection and she grunted in pain. She stumbled back and bumped into Mark which nearly caused her to lose her balance and fall. Mark, on instinct, put his hand against her back to keep her steady. She put her left hand against her side when the bandit had punched her and held up her sword with her right hand. It was shaking slightly, but her stance was determined so Mark knew it was from the pain and not fear.

The bandit charged at her again. She stepped forward into him and bent to the right as he swung. The axe grazed her left shoulder and she yelped but her sword flashed upwards at his ribs. It bit into his midsection and his momentum caused him to fall forward along the blade. Lyn kept moving past him and he tripped and fell sprawling into the dirt. She skidded to a stop, spun quickly, gasped, and ran at him. Mark stepped aside as he saw a mix of pain and determination in her expression. The bandit boss attempted to roll over and raise his axe to defend himself, but Lyn was too quick. She brought her sword down in a stab and hit him underneath the arm.

"Blast..." he said with a cough. "Only...supposed to be the...lone girl." His eyes shut. Lyn stepped back and fell to one knee, her sword driving into the ground as support. Mark rushed over to her and put her arm around his shoulder to keep her steady. He reached into her pack which had fallen to the ground and handed her the vulnerary that still remained. She took it and drank. Mark looked around and saw that the knights were riding towards them.

"Th-thank you, Mark," said Lyn. "I think that's the last of them. Good work. And...thank you."

"Let's get you back on your feet," he said as he tried to ignore the heat in his cheeks from her praise. He knew why he was getting flustered by it, of course, but he couldn't allow it to distract him. He barely knew her, so he certainly couldn't call his feeling anything more than attraction yet. Best to let it sit until he was more sure. He stood slowly and brought her with him. Once he thought she was steady he let her arm drop and allowed her to stand on her own again. He assumed her pride wouldn't allow her to accept help for long.

The knights reached them and dismounted together. They took the reins of their respective horses and walked them slowly to where Lyn and Mark were standing. Lyn and Mark walked towards them to put some distance between themselves and the fallen bandit leader. Lyn was the one who spoke first.

"You were going to tell me your story?" she said, specifically focusing on Kent.

"Indeed," he said. "My compatriot and I have come here from Caelin in Lycia in search of someone. We were given orders to act as messengers to the Lady Madelyn, the Marquess' daughter, who eloped with a nomad some nineteen years ago." Mark saw the light of recognition in Lyn's face and thought he had a guess as to the identity of this Lady Madelyn.

"Did you say Madelyn?" asked Lyn.

"Yes. She was, as I said, the Marquess' only daughter. He was devastated when she left him behind. He took to declaring that he had no daughter simply to cope with the pain of losing her at such a young age." Sain eagerly cut off his partner.

"We received a letter from her earlier this year. It was a simple letter informing the Marquess that the lady was living happily on the plains with her husband and daughter, now a woman grown." Lyn's expression smoothed out into a neutral mask, which Mark thought the knights didn't notice, or else simply didn't react. "The Marquess was overjoyed to learn he had a granddaughter. He sent us to find his daughter and granddaughter, a woman named Lyndis, the same as the Marquess' late wife." Lyn's expression never changed.

"Lyndis?"

"Indeed. It was the name that changed the Marquess' heart. He thought that his daughter left because she hated him, but to learn that she had given her daughter that name showed him the error of his thinking. Now his greatest wish is to at least be allowed to meet his daughter's family once." Sain's face fell. "...However, we learned recently that Lady Madelyn passed soon after sending her letter." Lyn's expression remained as neutral as before, but Mark noticed that she shifted her weight in his direction, stopping just short of taking a step towards him.

"We have also learned that her daughter still lives," said Kent. "We heard that she lives alone on the plains." He paused to collect himself. "...I knew it as soon as I saw you, milady. You are the Lady Lyndis." Lyn shook her head.

"Why would you think that?" Even without his obvious confidence in his statement, the quaver in her voice would have given her away.

"Your grandfather kept portraits of his daughter in the castle. Your resemblance to her is remarkable." Lyn looked away and towards Mark, took in a breath, and looked back.

"To my tribe, I was always Lyn. But when it was only me and my parents...they always called me Lyndis in private." She closed her eyes and once again Mark wanted to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder, but thought better of it. "This is all so strange," she said after a moment. "I was all alone, and now you tell me I have a grandfather." Mark wanted to tell her that she wasn't alone. She had him, but he had only known her a day. "I never thought I would hear that name again. Oh! The bandit called me Lyndis as well!"

"But how could he have—" Kent started before he was cut off by Sain.

"He must have been a henchman of Lord Lundgren."

"The Marquess' younger brother," said Kent when he noticed the confusion on Lyn's face. "He became the heir to the Marquess' throne once it was learned that Lady Madelyn was killed."

"To be blunt, your existence is an obstacle to Lundgren's ambitions. It's likely he sent bandits after you to silence you," said Sain.

"But I don't care to inherit any title!"

"Your granduncle likely won't believe that," said Sain. "He will likely continue attempting to kill you."

"What do you think I should do about it?" she asked, still mostly looking at Kent.

"Accompany us to Caelin. Staying on your own is dangerous." She looked to Mark.

"What do you think?" He could see that she was reluctant, possibly she even wanted him to say no, but he didn't see any other options. He shrugged.

"I think it's safest to stay with them. If there really will be attempts on your life...well, I know I can't protect you." It stung him to say it, but it was true. All he could do was offer guidance, and she was only one warrior. She shook her head in frustration.

"I...feel I have no choice. We'll go with you." Kent nodded and Sain beamed. "Please," she said, "give us a moment alone." Kent nodded again and guided the other man and their horses away over Sain's weak protests. Once they were out of earshot Lyn looked directly at Mark and sighed. "Mark...I'm sorry. This...it changes everything. If I'm going with them, well, what do you think you're going to do now?" Mark shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other.

"I think you should decide," he said. "If you want me to, say the word and I'll stay with you." He enjoyed her company greatly, but ultimately he didn't want to stay with him if she didn't want it. And besides, her answer would give him a better idea of what she thought of him.

"Me?" She blinked once. "Well of course having you with me would ease the journey, but..." he thought he saw her shiver a little. "Mark, it's going to be so dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you." Without thinking he put a hand on her upper arm and squeezed gently. She jumped a little at his touch, but didn't pull away.

"If being there will make your journey easier, then I'll be there with you." He smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile at her. "I'm your master strategist, right? I can't leave my peerless warrior by herself." She beamed at him and, once again, lunged forward to pull him into a hug. This one lasted longer than the previous one, but only by a moment.

"Thank you so much, Mark!" Her smiled faded slightly and she turned so that she had her back completely to the knights, who were far enough away that Mark assumed they couldn't hear regardless. "I...honestly don't know what I would have done if you didn't want to stay. Thank you." He smiled at her once more.

"I wouldn't have left you," he said, "but I do need to ask you something."

"Anything," she said as she relaxed her posture and let her shoulders sag.

"Now that I've heard of your origins, well..." he paused to ensure that what he was about to ask wouldn't sound rude and continued as politely as he could "...would you prefer I call you Lyndis?" She grabbed his hand in both of hers.

"No," she said with a small smile. She leaned in and he thought she looked like a young girl inviting him to share a salacious piece of gossip. "If all the Lycians we meet are going to call me Lyndis, then I want you to keep calling me Lyn."

"Alright then, Lyn," he said. As he often had in the last few days, he found himself smiling at her. It felt good. "Let's go get our journey underway."

A/N: For the curious, I don't intend for every chapter to cover one game chapter, but the earlier chapters are short enough where they likely will be 1:1