"My parents' house is at the far end of town," Mark noted to Curt.

The four caravaners had finally arrived in Fillmore. As soon as they had entered the town, they had drawn the attention of the people on the streets. Several children even began to run alongside of the wagon, trying their best to pet Charlie. Finally, Mark signaled Curt to stop in front of a large house.

"This is it," Mark said. "Wait here for a moment."

Mark jumped down from the wagon. He paused for a few seconds as he looked at the house he had once called home, and then he slowly walked up to the porch and quietly entered. A few moments later, Curt and the others heard a woman's voice joyfully cry out, "Mark!" Curt chuckled to himself. Finally, Mark came back to the door and waved for his friends to join him inside.

Once everyone was inside, Mark introduced his new friends to his father, Kal, and his mother, Lavinia. Mark's parents welcomed everyone warmly, and Kal invited them to stay for as long as they wanted. After about an hour of chatting, Lavinia suggested that everyone have some time to rest before having a welcome home dinner. Autumn decided that she wanted to take a nap. Curt went outside to tend to Charlie. Paul left to explore the town. And Mark continued to talk with his father.

Paul was eager to stretch his legs. He really had not had much of a chance to explore either Deloam or Sumira, and he wanted to see what Fillmore had to offer. After looking through a few shops, Paul passed a café and saw two boys playing a card game he had once enjoyed playing as a boy himself. Paul stopped and turned back to the boys.

"Hey, would you guys mind if I joined you for a game?" Paul asked.

"You wanna play? Aren't you a bit old to play games?" one of the boys said with a snicker.

"Hush up, Billy. It don't matter how old he is," the other boy said. "Sure, mister. Sit down. I'm Thomas. What's your name?"

"I'm Paul. Thanks for letting me play, Thomas!" Paul replied.

Thomas took the cards and dealt out four hands, one of which he left sitting in front of an empty seat. Paul was just about to ask why Thomas had dealt four hands when there were only three players when Thomas quickly turned toward the door of the café and yelled.

"Come on, sis! We're ready!" Thomas called loudly.

A few seconds later, Paul watched as a beautiful young woman came out of the café and sat down in the empty chair, filling the fourth player spot.

"Sara, this is Paul. He just came walking by and asked if he could play with us. Paul, this is my big sis, Sara," Thomas shared.

"Nice to meet you, Sara," Paul said with a smile.

"Likewise, Paul," replied Sara. "May the best one win!"

Meanwhile, back at the house, Mark was telling Kal about how he had met Curt and the others. Eventually, Mark began to tell his father the story of how he had found out that his brother, John, was still alive. Kal was shocked to hear the news, especially when Mark told him about his shady activities in Sumira.

"I really don't know what to say...I'm both ashamed and glad all at once. Mark, promise me you will do everything in your power to redeem John. I believe that in his heart, he is still a good man," Kal said as a tear fell down his cheek.

"I promise, Kal. I'll do whatever I can," Mark said as he embraced his father.

"And please...don't tell your mother...not yet," Kal added.

"I won't," Mark agreed.

Outside in the front yard, Curt was playing with Charlie.

"So, Charlie, what do you think of Autumn, huh?" Curt asked.

"Kweh?" Charlie responded as he cocked his head to one side.

"Me? Well, I think she's beautiful, funny, adventurous, strong-willed, talented...well...all-around awesome, I guess..." Curt mused.

"Kweeh!" Charlie chirped.

"Oh, you agree, huh?" Curt chuckled as he patted Charlie.

Back at the café, Thomas and Billy looked on as Paul and Sara battled on alone. There was one play left, and the tension was thick. Paul and Sara placed their last cards on the table.

"Ahhh!" Paul sighed loudly.

"Yesss!" Sara shouted gleefully. "I win!"

"Wow, sis! That was awesome!" Thomas commented.

"Thanks, Tom," Sara replied.

"Well played, Sara. I must say that was the best game I've ever seen anyone play...and I'm not just saying that!" Paul complimented. "I've never met a woman who likes to play games before."

"Hey, Billy, you wanna come over for dinner?" Thomas asked his friend.

"Whatcha having?" Billy asked.

"Who cares? You coming or aren't ya?" Thomas pressured.

"Yeah, I guess so," Billy said with some reluctance.

"Cool. Let's go! See ya, Paul. Bye, sis!" Thomas said before getting up from the table and running off with Billy following behind.

"My brother is quite a character!" Sara said, laughing.

"He reminds me a bit of me when I was his age," Paul noted.

Paul and Sara continued to talk for a while, after which Sara finally rose from the table.

"It's nearly time for dinner. I should be going," Sara said.

"Oh yeah...dinner. I almost forgot. I'm supposed to be back at Kal and Lavinia's for a welcome home dinner for my friend, Mark!" Paul shared.

"Kal and Lavinia's? Well my house is right across from theirs. We can walk back together if you'd like," Sara suggested.

"That would be great," Paul agreed.

Paul and Sara made their way through town and continued to chat. A few yards from Sara's house, they suddenly heard a bell begin to ring loudly.

"Oh no!" Sara gasped.

"What is it?" Paul asked.

"Monsters have been sighted," Sara explained.

The door to Sara's house flung open, and Thomas appeared on the porch.

"Sis, the bell! Where's mom? She isn't home yet!" Thomas shouted.

"Get inside, Thomas!" Sara commanded.

Thomas went back inside, and Sara turned to Paul with a look of concern. Paul looked around and saw Curt and Mark emerge from the house across the way.

"Monsters, Curt!" Paul shouted.

Suddenly, everyone heard a scream. Paul turned to look down the street and saw a woman running toward them. Behind her there were two ahriman flying in pursuit.

"Mother!" Sara yelled.

Sara moved to run toward her mother, but Paul stopped her.

"Stay here, Sara!" Paul said sternly.

Paul began running toward Sara's mother, but he could see that he would probably not make it to her in time. Just as the lead ahriman was about to grab Sara's mother, Paul heard a swoosh of air and saw an arrow pierce the ahriman directly in the eye. The ahriman thrashed in the air, knocking into the other one behind it. Paul reached Sara's mother and pulled her to the ground, covering her with his body. The pierced ahriman fell writhing to the ground, while the remaining ahriman flew off into the forest. Mark ran up and finished off the fallen ahriman. Paul looked back toward the houses and saw Autumn holding her bow ready. Paul nodded to Autumn, and she returned an informal salute. He then rose and helped Sara's mother up. In the distance, the bell had stopped ringing.

"Are you ok, ma'am?" Paul asked.

"Yes. Thank you, kind sir," Sara's mother replied.

"Mother, thank goodness you are alright!" Sara said as she came running up.

"Thanks to these good people here," Sara's mother noted.

"Thank you, Paul. Mother, this is my friend, Paul. Paul, this is my mother, Ruth," Sara introduced after embracing her mother tightly.

"Nice to meet you, Ruth...even if it is under such precarious circumstances," Paul said.

"The pleasure is mine, Paul," Ruth returned.

"We had all best go inside," Paul suggested.

A few hours later, everyone sat relaxing at Kal and Lavinia's, having had a grand meal. Kal had invited Sara, Thomas, Ruth, and even Billy to join them. Thomas and Billy were enjoying a game of cards again. Lavinia and Ruth were discussing local town gossip. Paul and Sara were chatting outside on the porch. And Kal, Mark, Curt, and Autumn began to discuss the upcoming journey to the Jorgian Mountains.

"I want you all to be careful out there," Kal said. "Not too long ago, some people from Titan Corp. came to town and announced a new myrrh gathering service that will replace crystal caravans. I don't really know what to make of it yet, but let's just say that I don't have a good feeling about it."

"I know what you mean, Kal," Curt agreed. "A centralized service like that could spell real trouble. We'll be careful. After all we've been through, I'm sure we can handle most anything."