Author's Note: This is the part where some major rewrites happen. Mostly because in this rewrite I wanted to focus on the cast and Will as the tactician and phase out most if not all the OCs I used in the original fic. I may reference them later on but probably not.

Chapter 16: Siblings Abroad

The fateful day arrived. Throughout the weeks, both Will and Maria had taken turns to guard the prisoners on occasion. Whenever they had the opportunity, the relayed bits and pieces of the plan. Forming a cohesive whole took two full months. They knew an opportunity would not present itself again.

Maria and Will often spent time together, whether it was simply talking over dinner or taking walks while on patrol. To most it seemed like the two were in love, but neither said anything about it. Will often said it was more that he was envious of Maria's spirit. The way she lived her life happily despite her trade baffled him, but held a strange attraction that kept him with her. Perhaps that is the very definition of love, but Will had never known the sensation of being in love, so there was no way to confirm it. He was only sixteen when the plan was finally set into motion. It had been three years since he joined the fang. It felt like an eternity. Nothing but death and killing for as long as he could remember.

It was easy to knock out the other guards. The small group wasn't aiming for kills, nor did the guards put up much of a fight. Perhaps in their hearts they were rooting for the upstarts to succeed. Maria picked the lock easily, releasing the two from their cage. Quickly they dropped down into the escape tunnel, which had taken Maria a full year to make, though the most progress had been made when she had gotten Will to join her cause.

"How are we going to get off the island?" Nils, the young boy asked.

"A friend of mine has a ship prepared for us. We'll be able to escape on it, and head for Ostia." Maria replied.

"Won't they give chase?" Ninian asked, worried.

"The ship is fast enough to not be caught up by another, and if we hoof it, we should be able to get protection in Lycia." Will replied, remembering the maps and plans Maria had drawn up with his aid.

"I was afraid of that." The cloaked thief Matthew said, looking at Will. "When Maria didn't send a report within a six week period, we knew something had gone wrong."

"I blundered. My plan wasn't as full-proof as I thought it was." Will said, sighing and looking ahead.

Kent rode back to them from the vanguard. "There's an inn up ahead. Perhaps we should rest there for the night. It may be our last chance."

Sain nodded his approval. "I think it might be best. We all need a break from this endless marching."

"Sorry I can't magic you all there." Will muttered sarcastically, and Wil laughed.

"Did you write an update in your journal?" Lyn asked, walking next to Will as they changed direction slightly to head towards the inn.

"Why so interested?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lyn looked away, hiding her face from Will's curious stare. "No reason."

Will paused for a second, then shrugged. "Yeah, I did." He took it out, and handed it to her. Lyn looked at the newly written on page, and read:

We took leave of Araphen, finding no aid from the pitiful excuse of a Marquis. Now our march toward Caelin begins again in earnest. Racing against time, hurried and impatient, Lyndis's legion presses onward.

"That's it?" Lyn asked, slightly disappointed.

"What did you expect? We haven't had another fight yet, and I didn't feel like writing about the necklace either." Will said, shrugging.

"It's fine." Lyn said, handing it back to him. After all, it wasn't her business what he wrote. At least it shouldn't be. She was just curious. Nothing wrong with being curious about a friend. Right?

Nearby, a young boy ran into the inn with a horrified expression. They took Ninian… what do I do? All other thoughts failing him, he called out "Please! Someone help!"

The innkeeper came from behind the counter, looking at the boy. "Get out!" He roared, making the boy jump. "I want no trouble here!"

"But sir… why?" The young boy asked, willing to get on his knees and beg. "You were so kind to us yesterday…"

"I thought you were just kids, traveling and performing or something! If they are after you, then you're obviously up to no good!" The innkeeper shouted, making the poor boy tremble. "Up and out! You're a plague on decent folk!"

The boy left and the innkeeper wiped his sweaty brow, returning to the counter, muttering something like 'what a mess…'

The monk who was currently considering taking a room let out a sigh. The innkeeper shot him a look. "What, you looking for trouble too monk?"

"No, but I'm afraid ignoring the plight of a child is not in my nature." The monk replied, placing a bit of emphasis on the word child which made the innkeeper flinch. "I'm afraid I won't be lodging here after all."

"Yeah, go get yourself killed." The innkeeper said with a scoff. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The monk bowed politely and left, leaving the innkeeper to sit there and grumble. "It's not like I want to kick the kid out, but helping him would mean I'd die for it too." He muttered softly.

"Where are we now?" Florina asked, her Pegasus walking next to Will, Lyn, and Wil. The others were scattered around as they made their way forward. At the head of the pack were Kent, Sain, Matthew and Dorcas while Erk, Serra, and Rath brought up the rear.

"We're in Kathelet. South of here is where we pass into Caelin. By my reckoning, if we continue at this pace and aren't delayed, we'll be there in ten days." Will said, rubbing his temples. Over the past couple days the pain had begun to remain for longer periods of time, and now it occurred every few hours rather than once a day. The poison was spreading.

"Ten days…" Lyn mused. Of course she was worried about her grandfather, but she also glanced worriedly at Will as he massaged his temples. Poison was a cowardly way to take someone away from their family.

A young approached the group, but made a beeline straight for Will. Will looked at the boy. "Yes, can I… Nils!" His shout caused the entire group to jump. The boy called Nils jumped onto Will, hugging him fiercely.

"I knew we'd find you again!" He cried. He sobbed deeply into Will's arms. Will took a moment to muse at how people always seemed to cry on him in weird places, like his hand or arm instead of his shoulder or chest.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Will asked, managing to calm Nils's sobbing.

Nils looked around at the group Will was surrounded by. "Are these people… mercenaries?" It would make sense for Will to be traveling with them, since mercenaries could use tacticians.

Lyn spoke from next to Will. "And if we are?" She asked, figuring the whole convoluted story was best left to the side for the time being.

"I need your help!" Nils said, looking at Will pleadingly.

Kent was a little skeptical. While it was a mere child, occasionally children were taken and raised as assassins. However if Will knew this one, it must mean he was the one Will had rescued from the Black Fang. Perhaps now was not the best time to question motives.

"We're in a hurry… isn't there anyone else who can help?" Sain asked. He was always baffled by the unwillingness people had to help others. It made him glad he had met Lyn. Of course his question was taken poorly, as he received quite the glare from Will. It reminded him heavily of Lyn's glare when he had hit on her, just a little scarier.

"There isn't any time! Last night, while we were practicing, Ninian… my sister was kidnapped!" He cried, once more sobbing into Will's arm.

"Your sister?" Will said, his eyes narrowing. "So Ninian was…" He trailed off, before he crouched down. "Was it the Black Fang?" He asked. Nils nodded, and almost everyone immediately drew their weapons.

"Then we have to help." Rath said, his calm voice breaking through the momentary silence.

"Aren't we supposed to hurry? If the Marquis is as ill as we've heard…" Erk said, before getting whacked on the head by Serra's staff.

"He's a child, Erk! Of course we help children!" She preached. Erk sighed heavily. He had only been playing devil's advocate anyway. Leaving this kid to fend for himself wasn't something he was entirely willing to do.

Will turned to Lyn. "Milady, what is your decision?" He asked.

She looked incredulous. Why did he even ask? She felt the answer was obvious and he knew it just as well as she. "I am worried about grandfather, but I can't sit back and watch this happen. We're helping him."

Sain let out a cheer. "Why are we still standing around talking? Let's do this already!"

"Let's go save Ninian, alright?" Will said, and Nils nodded happily. The group began to advance, but Dorcas Let out a cry which caused the group to turn. Lyn quickly stepped forward as three cloaked figures appeared from the shadows.

"Well well… here's our little bird… ah…" The man was looking at Nils, and now at Will. "And an old friend… Well, it's back to Nergal with both of you! Come quietly…"

"No!" Nils yelled. "Let Ninian go!"

"Well… we aren't allowed to kill you, but we are allowed to rough you up a bit… hmm?" The man paused, Lyn's sword currently held level with his throat.

"Let the boy's sister go." She said, her voice level. The malice behind her words was not lost on the man, who let out a harsh chuckle.

"So, you are helping these traitors? That's a shame. You'll die for something that doesn't concern you." He snapped his fingers, and a pulse of dark energy forced Lyn's sword to the ground.

Will's sword instantly replaced Lyn's, though it shook slightly as he held it in his left hand. His right hand now longer held the sword steady, and even though it shook slightly, his left managed to keep the sword level until Lyn had retrieved her blade. "Do we look that easy to you? Then by all means, underestimate us. You'll be in for a rather rude awakening."

The man growled as he vanished into shadow once more.

"Damn, we should've killed him before he got the chance to…" Dorcas began, but was cut off by the loud sounds of raucous laughter that came with the scraping metal of weapons being drawn.

"Summon reinforcements?" Wil said with a slight smile. Kent sighed sadly. This was going to cause another long delay. He could just tell. It was too late to regret not taking to child and galloping for Caelin now, he supposed.

Will surveyed the fields and enemy forces as best he could. Neither he nor Lyn could see over the mountains, and Sending Florina alone was likely too dangerous to risk. "There are some shamans among our enemies." Will said, placing a finger to his forehead in thought. "They're just like me in that they use the dark side of magic, so be careful when approaching them. If they can they'll try to trick you into a flux pool which can and will kill you."

He suddenly felt a polite tapping on his shoulder, and turned quickly to behold what seemed to be a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair, and a beautiful smile that illuminated her face. A moment later, Will nearly kicked himself as he realized it was a man's monk's robe this person wore. Though in his defense, the person was so beautiful heads were bound to turn. Though now he wasn't entirely sure if this person was a man or a woman.

"Who might you be?" Will asked, leaving off a 'sir' or 'madam' until he could figure it out.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to startle you…" He said, in what was unmistakably a male voice. That brought Will a bit of relief.

"You're an Elimine bishop." Will said, further examining the man's attire.

"No. I am only an Acolyte, a monk to be specific. My name is Lucius." The monk replied. It was Lyn's turn to speak.

"Do you have business with us?" She asked. The man shook his head slightly.

"I was at the inn when this boy came seeking aid. The innkeeper was afraid to get involved. He was… unpleasant." Lucius said, delicately.

"I wasn't scared of him! I'm used to that kind of treatment!" Nils piped up, making the whole group smile slightly.

"I would like to lend my services. I wish to help the boy, if only a little." a shaman was quickly approaching. Will nodded. "Allow me then." Lucius said with a smile. "May the Blessed light of St. Elimine cleanse your defiled soul!" Lucius cried, raising his arm. Particles of light seemed to sprinkle forth and the next moment he flung his arm towards the shaman who was instantly blasted by a ball of light. The man sent his own wave of dark magic through the ground, but Lucius nimbly dodged it as his training had no doubt taught him. Lucius launched a counter blow, but the man still refused to die.

"Let me help too!" Nils called, rushing forward with his flute. Lyn looked at Will curiously.

"He can fight?" She asked.

"No, he's a bard." Will said, as though this explained everything. She was still at a loss though.

"A minstrel? This is no place for Ballads and Saltarellos." She said, slightly angry at her friend for remaining so calm.

"Trust me." He said, and nodded towards Lucius. Lyn turned just in time to hear an amazing melody play back to her, and see Lucius finish off the shaman with an extra-large blast of light.

Nils came running back. "How was it?" He asked. Will smiled, patting Nils's head.

"Amazing…" Lyn said, stunned. "Invigorating! Would you play for me sometime?" Nils grinned happily, which she took as a yes.

The battle began in earnest. Will continued to relay instructions as they made their way through a narrow path. The amount of enemies was much less than they had been expecting to face at the start.

"This is too easy." Sain muttered. Kent gave a solemn nod as Rath continued to scout just ahead of them. The three had to ride around the mountain pass the others were traversing through, as their horses would have been slowed too much by the rocky path to be much use.

Lyn and Matthew had forged the river and were currently holding off a fire mage, a dark mage, an archer and a sword wielder. Will was directing the group of Erk, Serra, Nils, Dorcas and Lucius over to the bridge which lead to another group of enemies. Wil fired several arrows over the river, somehow still hitting his mark and distract the enemies Lyn and Matthew were engaging.

Much to her embarrassment, Florina was riding on her Pegasus with Will sitting behind her so he was able to give said directions. He would point out a group to her and they would soar down to give a few orders before flying up into the air once more.

The path they followed continued to be narrow, and the caliber and amount of enemies did not increase. "I have a really bad feeling about this…" Will muttered, getting off Florina's mount onto solid ground. Only black cloaked leader remained.

Sain exited a house where he had heard someone complaining about how this man named 'Eliwood' was late. While he wasn't entirely sure what that meant, he knew that worrying about it was likely not going to do them much good.

Serra, completely ignoring what Erk told her about 'not checking the same place twice,' went inside the house Sain had exited. She came out a minute later, shrugging and mentioning that 'no one was home.'

Matthew heard both accounts, and decided he better check for himself. When he got inside a young blue-haired lord met him, sitting in a chair, an axe by his feet.

"Huh? Milord!" The man looked around quickly. "What brings you here?"

"Hmm? Oh, Matthew. I'm here for me and Eliwood's monthly spar." The man replied.

"Still testing each other's fighting prowess, eh? A solid friendship that is, since you practice so faithfully." Matthew said, in a bunch of fancy words that only a vassal of a lord would use.

"If you don't sharpen your skills, you lose them." The lord replied bluntly, not caring for the formalities Matthew showed. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Lord Uther was curious about the succession issue." Matthew replied, with a polite bow.

"Oh, the long-lost-granddaughter thing, right? Which way does brother lean?" The lord asked, although he seemed completely fairly uninterested.

"My assessment: He'll back the princess. Lundgren is far too ambitious. We might find him at Ostia's door before long if we leave him alone." Matthew said, smiling slightly.

"I see… and the guy mentioned in Maria's reports?" Hector asked, now actually looking at the thief.

"Also true, he's alive and well, traveling with the granddaughter to help her achieve her goals. Apparently he's paying a debt." Matthew said.

"Will he come to Ostia afterwards?" The young lord asked, raising his axe and examining the sharpened end.

"I'm not sure, but I'll find out soon enough. Also, my return to Ostia is going to be a tad bit delayed. Mind telling Lord Uther for me?" Matthew said, already making for the exit.

The young lord sprung up in a quick temper. "Am I your messenger?"

Matthew bowed sarcastically. "You have such a good sense of humor, milord." Then he was out the door, but not before saying "Don't forget my message!"

The young lord considered chasing the man, but knowing he had little chance of catching him, sat down with a sigh. "What impudence…"

Will quickly devised a strategy against the leader. He was guarding the gate which presumably lead to where Ninian was being held hostage. He likely wouldn't budge from the spot, which actually gave them a fair advantage in the exchange.

"Here's the plan. Erk, you and Lucius hammer him with your magic from a safe distance. He will be able to counter you, so Serra make sure to heal them. Nils, keep playing your song for Lucius. His magic should work better against the shaman. No offense Erk."

The man in question shook his head, taking no offense. Dark users were usually resilient to Anima magic so the plan was simple and effective.

"Florina, I need you to get above him. Once he looks weakened, you need to strike the final blow. The rest of you, scout around and make sure there aren't any reinforcements coming. Things have been too peaceful on this battlefield."

Everyone nodded, most of them dispersing into small groups to scout the remaining area. Florina took to the skies, While Lucius and Erk prepared a magic barrage. The shaman noticed them just as their first volley fired. He dodged deftly to one side, counterattacking with a Flux spell. Nils's flute played vigorously, and Lucius danced out of the way of the attack, his robes fluttering gracefully around him as he prepared the second volley.

The second volley hit its mark. Erk's magic was a fireball which flew towards the target, so the Shaman ended up focused on dodging the fireball's arc. The moment he stepped to the side, Lucius's lightning struck him square in the head. The man stumbled, and another fireball set his robes on fire. He quickly disrobed, firing another flux spell which caught Erk's leg as he failed to dodge. Serra quickly rushed forward with her healing staff, getting to work as Lucius stepped in front of the Anima mage to prevent further attacks.

The scouts returned with nothing to report. This made Will feel even more uneasy, and he glanced at the battle taking place at the front gate. It seemed there were no reinforcements for the man coming from the fort, but that in and of itself was a strange occurrence.

As the man stumbled away from a lightning strike, falling to his knees, Florina plunged down from the sky. Her opening was found and her lance sunk deep into the Shaman's chest, piercing his lungs. "You were only… striking at air… you are too late… the girl is already…" He whispered to her. A moment later he fell flat on his face and moved no longer.

When Florina conveyed this message, Will slapped himself on the head. "I should've realized it sooner!" He then rushed into the fort, with the others in tow. Despite what the man had said they needed to make sure themselves before they went after them. Will sent about half the party to scout the area once more and catch the trail before it went cold.

"Ninian!" Nils called, desperate to find his sister. "Ninian! She's not here… then that must mean…"

Wil appeared. Apparently Rath had already found something. "A villager spotted a group of men riding south." He reported.

"Damn." Will said, clenching his fist.

"We should give chase, right?" Erk said, nursing his injured leg as Serra continued to work on healing him.

"We won't make it in time. She must already be…" Will said, his voice low and saddened.

"Are you looking for this girl here?" A voice suddenly called. Everyone turned to see a young man with red hair standing at the entrance, holding an unconscious girl in his arms.

Nils ran to her immediately. "Ninian!" He called, but she didn't respond.

Will looked at the man curiously. "She's fine. Only unconscious." He said, smiling.

"Who are you?" Lyn asked.

"My name is Eliwood, of Pharae. I am the son of the Marquis." He said, bowing politely.

Will wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but none of the others near him seemed to pay his title much mind. He'd have to ask Kent about it later. "She was with a band of ruffians. She seemed upset and in need of rescue, so I…" He said, scratching the back of his head, as though he was afraid he did something wrong. "Was I wrong to get involved?"

"You saved her life!" Lyn exclaimed, stepping forward and shaking the man's hand vigorously. She didn't notice the Man still trying to support the unconscious girl with one arm instead of two. "I am Lyn of Sacae. I am also Marquis Caelin's granddaughter."

This caught the man's interest. "Really? You must tell me about it."

Lyn gave Will a look, and he sighed. "Me, huh? Alright, I'll explain…"

The story took a couple of hours to tell, though Will simplified it as much as he could. Of course, Eliwood had many questions, after the tale he was bombarded with questions about extra details he had thought weren't important enough to conclude. Aside from the scouts and Lyn who remained by his side, the others went about collecting vulneraries from the fallen enemies. Wil collected whatever arrows he could to keep his and Rath's quivers from emptying.

Lucius had also decided to stay after the battle and accompany them to Caelin. Will was very glad for this, as a practitioner of light magic would be a great help against Mark.

"That's about it. Not easy to believe, I know, but…" Will said, his voice slightly hoarse from all the talking after shouting orders during battle.

"No, I do believe you." Eliwood said simply, which was a nice surprise. "The Marquis's brother has been acting oddly, and now that I have seen Lyn, I can tell she is no mere Plainswoman. She has her grandfather's eyes."

"You know my grandfather?" Lyn asked, curiously.

"Lord Hausen is my father's good friend. I have also heard that the people of Sacae tell no lies. Isn't that true?" Eliwood said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes it is. I must thank you. I did not expect a Lycian noble to treat a Sacaen nomad so courteously." Lyn said, inclining her head. All three of them had sat down quite a while ago so Will could relay the full story easily.

"It's what any reasonable person would do, I'm sure." He said, waving it off.

Yes well, at least you are reasonable, unlike… Will thought, putting a hand to his head.

Miles away, the Marquess of Araphen sneezed rather loudly. He had been dancing outside his 'Chamber of Relieving' as he called it, all night, and when finally the locksmith came, he pointed out there was another chamber just down the hall.

The guards had all laughed their heads off, and the Marquis was too embarrassed to fire them, because then he knew the story would be all over Lycia in no time.

Now, that sneeze. Had he caught a cold?

I don't even want to think about it. Will finished his thought, and looked back up. The two seemed deep in conversation so he got up and excused himself. Lyn looked at him for a moment worriedly.

"I'm going to see how Nils and Ninian are doing." He explained, and she nodded.

Eliwood watched the man leave. "Hard to believe he's a former Black Fang member."

"Have you heard of them?" Lyn asked.

"Not really, just rumors. Apparently they used to only take out nobles that abused their power." Eliwood said, smiling slightly.

"But that doesn't seem bad at all!" She said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Used to." Eliwood repeated. "They've begun to change over the years. Slowly they've begun taking more jobs, not just ones that involve abusing power. They're in it for the money now."

Lyn hung her head. "I can see why Will wouldn't like that."

"Have you known him for long?" The young lord asked.

"Well enough to see that he doesn't hold on to much. He doesn't keep much money on him, and very few possessions. He doesn't have anything else. He didn't even have a tent." Lyn laughed at the memory.

"Well, if you can deem him worthy of trust, then it's not my place to ask any more." Eliwood said, once again surprising Lyn by his willingness to accept things. "You seem to be in trouble as far as this inheritance dispute goes. Would you like my assistance?" He asked.

"No." Lyn said, smiling. "This is my problem. I think I'd like to deal with it."

Eliwood nodded. Apparently he understood. "Very well, but I'll be in the area for a while. If you need anything, let me know, alright? I'm on your side, Lyndis."

Lyn nodded. "Thank you."

Matthew decided to accompany Eliwood to the house where a certain blue haired noble waited for him.

Nils looked up as Will entered the room, smiling as they both hugged again. They looked back down at Ninian, who had been asleep for quite some time.

"You okay?" Will asked, sitting down.

"…" Nils was about to respond, when the girl gave a small groan. It was clear she was waking up. She pulled herself into a sitting position, and looked at the two in front of her groggily.

"Ninian! You awake?" Nils asked, which brought her to life.

"Nils! You're okay! Oh thank…" She trailed of, gazing at the other person sitting next to her brother.

"Hey." He said, raising a hand. It was as though they had never been separated. As though only a few days had passed after they last met. Yet for her it had been much longer.

Lyn entered just in time to see the girl called Ninian hurl herself into Will's arms, crying his name in between sobs. Will patted her kindly on the back, and for some reason Lyn was feeling angry. More angry than she had felt in a long time. He hadn't ever hugged her like that. Wait… what?

"Umm… who's the girl with the angry glare?" Ninian asked, peering at Lyn from her spot on Will's shoulder. He still seemed too confused and embarrassed at what had just happened to actually react to it.

"They're the ones who helped me!" Nils chimed happily. Lyn let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in. It wasn't her business if some random girl they saved hugged her tactician like that. Wait…. What?

"My name is Lyn." She said. "I'm glad you're both feeling better."

Will gently laid Ninian back into the bed. They'd have time for story telling later. Something strange had happened just now, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what. Looking at Lyn, she refused to meet his gaze, staring instead at Nils.

"I am Ninian. Nils and I are… traveling performers." She said, trying to explain their situation to Lyn. Part of her was embarrassed she had so readily thrown herself into Will's arms.

This did manage to attract Lyn's gaze. "Both of you? I know Nils is a bard, but…"

Ninian seemed even more bashful and replied in a quiet voice. "I… dance…"

Of course it was as she said this that Sain and Kent happened to walk in. The small room was suddenly getting crowded. "Oh my, a dancer!" Sain exclaimed excitedly.

"Later, Sain." Kent said brusquely.

"Ah… yes, of course. My apologies." Sain said.

"Your clothes aren't those of a dancer." Lyn said, crossing her arms. She realized a moment later her voice was more confrontational than she had meant.

"Ninian's dances are sacred. She uses them to honor life." Nils said. Everyone paused to think about this, and Lyn knew that this was something to be respected.

"Sacred dance?" Sain asked. Of those present, he was the only one who had never heard the term. Kent was equally in the dark, but was much better at hiding his confusion.

"Well, the dance I do when we're traveling is a normal one, but I cannot perform either right now. I twisted my ankle when those men caught me. I won't be able to aid you… I'm sorry." Ninian said, ignoring Sain's question. Lyn chose not to press the issue, since her temper seemed to be running away from her.

"Don't worry about it." She said, sympathetically. A part of her recalled helping Dorcas's wife, who was injured similarly and required their aid.

"That's right. You being out of harm's way was our aim from the start." Will said, smiling.

Serra entered to take a look at Ninian's ankle before running her healing staff over it. "I doubt she'll be able to travel far on this for long periods of time. If I treat it, it may get better, but it will take time."

"Then we bring them with us." Lyn said. Despite her strange mood, she knew what was right.

"That's far too dangerous." Kent said, still looking at his liege. "You are already being hunted as it is. That's not even to mention your choice of tactician and his enemies."

Nils looked at the knight pleadingly. "Please let us come too! We can help, honest! Please?"

Ninian nodded. "We can aid you with our talents. We can also sense danger approaching."

Sain clapped his hands. "Amazing! What a handy talent to have!"

Nils sighed. "But we're not fighters. We can sense the danger coming, but we can't do anything about it. If you were with us…"

Lyn finally looked at Will, which made him shudder. For the first time her gaze was stern and cold. He found he didn't like it much and wondered what he could have possibly done wrong to anger her.

"What do you think, Will?" She asked. Her gaze was cold, but her voice seemed normal. She was simply asking his opinion on the matter. Now if only her gaze were less stern.

Will smiled. "I think leaving them would cause the lady more worry then if we took them with us."

Lyn smiled. Despite everything he's still my… our tactician. Our. "Kent?" She asked, turning to the knight.

"I must agree with Will on this one." He said, also giving her a slight smile.

"Sain?" She said, starting to turn towards the knight. "Oh never mind, I know what your answer would be."

Sain stood there, silently sobbing. Why did everyone think he'd say such a thing! Well of course he would have, but that was no reason for them to assume…

"You sure you want to travel with us?" Lyn asked, approaching the bed at last.

"Of course!" Nils called happily.

Everyone had gone to pack up what little they needed to before the march continued. Nils was eyeing his sister, who was searching the ground for something. He decided to ask when she straightened up and sighed.

"What's wrong, Ninian?" Obvious question to ask, of course.

"My ring… I've lost it…" She said, dejectedly.

"Your ring?" Lyn asked, Will at her side. In the short ten minutes they had been gone, Lyn had beat Will in three consecutive spars. She had gone easy to avoid injuring him, of course, but he had still managed to get scraped several times. For some reason she felt much better now though.

"Not Ninis's grace?" Nils asked, horrified.

"The very same." Ninian said, falling deeper into gloom.

"Hmm… I bet the Black Fang stole it." Will said, thinking hard. "Was it valuable?" He had never asked about the ring in the first place, so he wasn't sure.

"It was a keepsake from our departed mother, blessed by Ninis's spirit. It's one of a kind." Ninian responded, becoming more silent with each word.

"And now we've lost it to those villains… there's nothing to be done." Nils said quickly, and only Will knew why.

"Yes… of course." Ninian said, making her voice stronger again.

"Will… can I talk to you?" Lyn asked. Will nodded, and she pulled him aside. "What do you think? I'd like to retrieve the ring for them, but those thieves might prove too much for us. What do you think?"

Will smiled. "Lyn, I'm your tactician. I follow your orders. If you want to get the ring back, then let's go."

Lyn smiled and nodded, feeling a strange warmth when he said 'I'm your tactician.' "I was hoping you'd say that."

Will nodded, and then turned to everyone else, who had gathered. "Everyone! Those bandits headed south. We're going to give chase!"

"Very well!" Sain cried, punching his fist into the air, followed by a few of the others.

"Lyndis's legion… move out!" Kent called a few minutes later, and the group set off after the Black Fang.

"Oh dear… he's gone off course." Said the man idly, checking the latest report. "All for a ring… when he might die? He's gotten much less intelligent than before." Mark laughed. Once again, the hall was empty of all the soldiers that had been there seconds before. "Well, I better make sure he's still kicking then." Mark picked up his book of dangerous tomes, and headed for the door. "I still have a use for you Will… so you aren't allowed to die until I say so."