The moment Ced landed in Thracia, he was met with bright sunlight and a much harder ground than what he was used to in Silesse. Feeling a little unbalanced from the warp spell, he looked around the landscape in front of him, looking for some sort of base or somewhere where the Grannvelians his father had told him might be. He hadn't given any details about where he should act, leaving Ced even more confused at his father's sudden request.
Everything around him looked normal, but there was always more than what meets the eye. So, keeping a close eye on his surroundings, he made his way through the town.
He wandered through the town, searching for someone he could ask for information, he looked around the houses and it looked oddly empty. He had expected a more lively environment for a big town like Manster. It felt suspicious, more so as he walked past the silent streets. Once he got closer to what looked like a castle, he found an old-looking man, he looked worried about something and he seemed to be lost in thought, planning something important.
Ced decided to approach the man, hopefully he could give him useful information, "Excuse me, sir. Do you know why this place feels so empty? Did something happen?" He asked.
The man looked over at Ced as if he were examining him, "More than something. Unless you have been living under a rock, you would've known that the Loptyr Church has been taking away children and offering them as sacrifices to their Dark God. Everyone is scared to even go out now."
...So the Loptyr Church had been hunting children? Then what of the Grannvalians? "What? That's- that's horrible! Where exactly are these children being taken to?"
"That I do not know exactly. But there's been reports of multiple Loptyr shrines around the continent so I assume they are taken there."
"I see…" Ced pondered, scratching his chin in thought. "How long has all of this been since this all started?"
"You really do live under a rock. Well no matter, it was six years ago when all of this came to light at least, apparently not long before that the Empire had fallen into heavy influence from the Loptyr Church, Prince Julius had been more active within the Empire.
"Hmmm, and these Loptyr Shrines...does there happen to be one near here? If so, it would explain why it's all so...quiet, now."
"That's what I thought. Children have been disappearing around here almost every day. Despite all the efforts from the Magi…"
Ced sighed, beginning to ask. "The Magi? Forgive me, I have not actually...been here before."
"They are one of the countless groups who are risking their lives to save the children from the Empire's grasp. But like I said, even with their efforts, nothing seems to have changed. Though, they are the ones who have accomplished the most out of all of them."
"I see...this seems to be quite the predicament. Is it really impossible to stop this?" He questioned, feeling this sense of urgency flow through his body.
"Well, impossible it is not. The problem is Prince Julius himself and the head of the Loptyr Church, Archbishop Manfroy. With them in control it is nearly impossible to put a stop to this, even Emperor Arvis is powerless."
"Then...then...someone needs to stop this! Please, tell me what has to be done to stop this." Shaking with pure rage, Ced tried to stay calm with his words.
"Well, I don't think there is anything you can do to stop it. Our only option is the Book of Naga...but the only people who are known to be able to use it disappeared a long time ago, I'm afraid."
"Who are they?" He asked yet another question. Perhaps he was too curious about all of this, but it was more than that! He needed all the information possible.
"What are you planning? If you are planning to go find them, it's no use. Both the Empress and the Princess bear the blood of Naga. They suddenly disappeared six years ago and we haven't heard of them since...we don't even know if they even live."
Ced shook his head. "No, no, nothing like that. Though I can't let this go unnoticed, do you know where the nearest shrine might be?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out...my Lord has been captured and imprisoned inside this city's castle, I have suspicions it might be related to it."
"Your Lord? Mind giving me his name? I can try and rescue him, maybe find out about the Loptyr Church as well."
"I am afraid I cannot give you his name, but he is in that prison, he can continue on his own after he leaves that place."
"I , I'll take my leave now. Thank you for your information, kind sir." Ced said, bowing slightly, if only for courtesy.
"Be careful out there! don't do anything reckless." The old man said.
Ced made his way toward the castle, trying to figure out how to get inside. He realized that this world was larger than he had thought, there was a lot he didn't know about. He never understood why his father would never let him outside of Silesse, both he and Fee wanted to explore the continent, to see what else was out there. Not only that, but he had no idea there were childhunts around. Grannvale was far more of a threat than what he was told, he never would have imagined they were doing things this horrible on the other side of the continent. And where could the Empress and Princess be? He really wanted to find them and put a stop to this.
He looked around the castle carefully, looking for a perfect opportunity to break into it. He was confident in his abilities as a mage to break in successfully, but he was worried about being outnumbered, if only his father would've given him more information he could've easily made up a plan. Regardless, he prepared himself for the worst, that was all he could do.
Moments passed and he couldn't find any way to get inside unnoticed. He neared the last corner of the castle, about to give up hope, until he saw a group of people. A Mage, an Axe Knight, a Thief, a Myrmidon, and various soldiers, all of them equipped with battle gear as if their objective was the same as his. Maybe he should join them, it would be easier for him to escape in case he got outnumbered.
As he got closer, he saw as the group suddenly shifted their attention to what seemed to be numerous castle guards. They seemed to not have noticed him, thankfully It was the perfect opportunity to use his wind tome and save the group, maybe it'd make it easier for him to try and join them.
He casted a spell and a powerful blow of wind blasted off the tome, causing the soldiers to fall to the ground. Thanks to Ced's sudden attack, the group finally turned their attention to him, "Th-Thank you, you saved us." Said a brown haired young mage who seemed to be the leader, "Can you tell us your name?"
"It's nothing. You were in danger, it's only normal to help people in need." Ced said, "I'm Ced by the way, I'm here in hopes of infiltrating this castle."
"Well, I appreciate your help, Ced. My name's Hawke, leader of the Magi squad. We were planning to break into this castle as well, we could use your help. What do you say? Will you join us?"
So this was the Magi the old man had talked about, interesting. Perhaps he was in good luck, the Magi should know more about this childhunts and the Empire, this was a perfect opportunity to gather more information, so with that in mind, he said. "I was planning to, it's better to go in a group after all." Ced accepted.
"Excellent, though let's save more formal introductions for later. We need to head to the dungeons to free those children." Hawke said, turning toward the hallway that was originally blocked off. The other three members were on their guard, prepared for any other ambushes.
Ced wanted to go right away with the questions but there were more important manners at hand, so he only gave an approving nod and with no time to lose, the group entered the castle and made their way through the halls of the castle before reinforcements came. Thankfully, they managed to get through with seemingly no repercussions. They made it to what seemed like the entrance of a dungeon, most likely where the children and the old man's lord were.
Despite all the torches, it was difficult to see inside the dark prison. If they were to be ambushed, it would be very hard for them to make it out alive. The castle was surprisingly quiet, maybe all their forces were inside the prison ready for a surprise attack. They had to be careful.
"It seems that we have arrived at our objective. I need everyone to be careful, the enemy might be preparing a surprise attack!" Hawke said once they reached the end of the staircase, numerous cells could be seen with the little light they had. "Lara, you open the cells, Machyua will watch your back." He said, both girls nodded and did as he ordered. "Brighton, you are in charge for now! Divide our men in groups and guard the entrances. I'll go inspect the other rooms."
"Yes sir." The axeman—Brighton, said. "Once these poor souls have been released we'll rendezvous with you." He continued and led the rest of the group towards the doors.
"May Naga allow it."
"What about me, sir Hawke?" Ced asked.
"Where do you want to go? Your magic is enough to defeat a hundred soldiers at once, you'll easily fit in any of the groups, you could even go alone if that's what you prefer.."
"Allow me to go with you, I'd like to ask some questions on the way, if possible."
"You read my mind, I'd also like to ask you some questions about your magic. I've never seen someone so powerful, we could both learn from each other."
"I agree, though as you have said, we should be on our guard. The last thing we need is to get hurt." Ced replied.
"Yeah, let's not waste any time."
Both mages swiftly went through the hallway and entered another dark room filled with even more cells. It felt ominous compared to the other room, maybe there was something hidden in this one.
When they finally got down the staircase, a group of soldiers attempted to ambush them, though it failed thanks to Hawke's quick reaction. Both he and Ced easily took them down with just a single attack from each of their tomes. Now that the area was apparently fully cleared out Ced and Hawke finally had some time to talk while they waited for Lara to reunite with them and open the cells.
"Well, it seems like we are finally able to talk. Why don't you start with your questions, Ced?"
"Where to even begin? I suppose I will start with these childhunts. How long have they been going? I've seen many children inside these cells, it's truly horrifying."
Hawke sighed, looking at Ced in such a melancholic way. "I'll be honest, I have no idea, they just happened, I suppose. Pretty much everywhere I can think of, though there are some kingdoms left untouched."
"What kingdoms have been left untouched?" Ced asked intriguingly.
Taking a moment to think, he listed off a few. "Well, from what I know, Verdane seems to be fine, Silesse too, and...what else."
Ced's ears perked up when hearing his homeland's name. "Did you say Silesse?"
"Yeah, Silesse has been safely guarded for some time now by the country's army led by the King. Despite all of Grannvale's efforts, Silesse is still left untouched, thankfully. " Hawke answered.
"I see...well, I come from Silesse myself. Until now I wasn't even allowed to leave, I was told it was for my own protection. But I am beginning to doubt that." Ced responded, he felt like he shouldn't tell too many details, it was uncertain what would happen if they knew he was part of the Silessian royalty.
"You're from Silesse? Well, I suppose that makes a lot of sense now, you seem to have no idea what has been going on these past years. I've never seen any Silessians myself, I've heard only a certain group of people are allowed to leave the country, mostly the Pegasus Knights. Is this true?"
"I think so? I'm not the best informed, but seeing how none in my family have been able to leave it might be."
"If that is true, that you were not able to leave for so long, how did you manage to wind up here of all places?"
Well that caught him off guard, he shouldn't say anything about his mission here. Then again, it was a little odd for him to end up in Thracia, a kingdom almost on the other end of the continent. So he made up an excuse of sorts. "I had gotten information regarding Thracia and its current predicament, so I came here unbeknownst to anyone." Hopefully it was believable enough.
"That sounds dangerous, but you seem to have handled your own so far. I know I have no idea about what Silesse is like but, I pray nothing terrible ends up happening when you return." Hawke said.
"I am sure I'll be able to handle whatever there is to come." The wind sage assured.
Just then, the door opened, causing both mages to look toward the door again. Lara came running from it, fidgeting with her lockpick. "Sorry for the wait! We ran into a little bit of a problem but it's alright now! All the villagers that were kept there are being escorted by a group of our soldiers, they will be safe! Oh, also! We found a royal-looking guy, he says he's Prince Leif of Leonster!"
"Prince Leif of Leonster, hm? Where is he now?" Hawke asked.
"Oh, he's right here," Lara told them, pointing at said Prince who was behind her. Then, she went towards the cells and freed the children that were held there as well.
Looking over at Leif, Hawke said. "So you are Prince Leif of Leonster, right? I had heard of your imprisonment some time ago and asked the Magi to help you. Well, it's good to meet you."
"Yeah, that's me. Though, Leonster was destroyed long ago and it's under the Empire's rule, so I don't know if I'd really be considered a prince at this point." Leif said, looking away from Hawke.
'Hm...so he's a prince as well,' Ced thought, 'perhaps there's more to this than what meets the eye.'
Breaking away from his thoughts, Ced said, "Well, we shall figure out the details later, for now, we should get going. I think I hear footsteps nearing."
As the reinforcements came closer, everyone tried to escape as quickly as possible, Ced and Hawke were in charge to stop them from getting closer, making sure everyone escaped alive, especially the children and villagers.
Once the soldiers had stopped coming, at least temporarily, and the last ally had escaped, Ced and Hawke made their way toward the exit, blocking the way with a massive blow to the ceiling.
And with that, they finally made it to the next phase of the mission, escaping the castle. As expected, it was full with soldiers, much more powerful than the ones they faced in the dungeon. They had saved their best men for last, which made it all the more intimidating.
This was gonna be hell.