She then looked at my direction,
"Hello, Desmond Heller. Before we could discuss any further let's take a seat and have a proper introduction. Is that okay?"

I nodded in response.

They did their background checks. For now, I'll play along.
Even if they were a nuisance, they don't seem to be bad guys.

We got back underneath the tree shade where we had met before and made it our meeting place. We formed a circular formation like everyone and sat down on the grassy lawn. It looked as if we were having a picnic.

The goofy guy was the first to speak,
"My name's Bruno Rodriguez Marshfield, I am the fourth in line to the heir of house Marshfield."

So he was one the heir to the Marshfield noble house which was one of the closest advisors to the King, itself. What was a noble doing in such a place? What was this mission they were talking about? Many such questions started to arose.

Bruno than pointed towards the girl,
"This is Thalia and this is William. They are my most trusted servants and bodyguard. They might not look like it, but they are one of the top-notch skilled veteran soldiers. I am very proud of them.", he said haughtily.

"You are too kind, master!", replied William and Thalia in sync.

It seemed like he was proud of his servants and even they loved their master equally. Looking at them made me feel out of the place.
The only thing that still bugs me, why are they involving me?

So before they could drag this on, I asked them.
"First of all, why did you made me join this squad? What do you want from me? Why are you telling me all this? Depending on your answer, I will decide to co-operate or not."

I don't want to get involved in something messy. Even if they seemed like a good bunch, but their mission sounded shady. I don't wanna risk my life for some dubious covert mission. What's in it for me?

William all of a sudden got furious,
"Hey! You should be happy that the master involved you in his plan. So how dare you-"

"William stop!", said Bruno.

"But Master, he-"

"It's okay. He deserves to know what he's getting into.", replied Bruno.

All of a sudden, his goofy expression changed into a serious one,
"There is this secret ominous syndicate that we are trying to track down. They are…"

And soon, he started his explanation about their mission.

There was a secret cult who was kidnapping people throughout the kingdom. They kidnapped various people randomly, commoners, priests, slaves, even some people from the noble family are stated to be missing. Many of the noble houses pleaded to look into the matter but the royal family has ignored every plea. For some reason unknown, the royal family has dismissed the existence of such an organization and they blamed kidnapping were done by some human trafficking terrorist organizations and other criminal gangs. Lately, one of Bruno's trusted servants also had gone missing and it was the handiwork of the cult. Although the noble house of Marshfield didn't take the kidnapping of a lowly servant seriously and ignored it. But Bruno wasn't willing to stay quiet, so he vouched for this mission himself along with his trusted bodyguards.

They somehow got information that some of the guardsman soldiers were associated with the cult. Now they have joined the guardsman regiment to unveil the truth and prove the existence of this shady cult organization.

In my point of view, Bruno was a good guy but also equally stupid. Is this his way of playing the hero? I don't get it. Why was he going out of his way to prove the existence of such a cult? Even if such a cult do exist, why was he taking such a big risk? I know he cherishes his people but to such an extent?

"So why are they kidnapping people? Is it random or do they have something in common?", I asked.

"We have shortlisted all the missing people and they don't have much in common. Although the abduction started about five years from now, just a month after the mysterious blast of Vlosk city.", answered Thalia.

If this cult were somehow related to the mysterious blast of Vlosk city than this was not some petty organization. I don't want to get involved with them, any further.
"Guys! You can count me out! Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. So leave me out of your mission." I said it clearly.

"Well, there is a piece of information that might pique your interest!", responded Thalia.

Now they were just baiting me, I won't fall for their lies this time.
"So you should have started from there. What is this info you are talking about?", I still asked curiously.

They had done good research as they knew my name beforehand. So I don't know what info they have, I don't wanna risk my life for some petty ideologies like patriotism or heroism and justice. People get kidnapped so that's their own fault for letting them get kidnapped in the first place. I won't go around challenging every criminal organization in the name of justice.

I just want to rise in ranks as quickly as possible. I got plans ahead for the future.

Bruno answered this time,
"We also got the info that the cult was responsible behind the missing of the war hero Rodrezzo during the last war.", said Bruno.

My brain just froze. This was shocking information that was a bit hard to interpret within my brain. The War hero Rodrezzo who was once a commoner orphan who soared high on ranks and became a general among the ranks of the Rublor army. The people of Rublor looked up to him for inspiration for the citizens of Rublor. He was a remarkable fighter on the battlefield and his twin swords were unstoppable. He earned the title of War Hero and named the slaughtering scissors of Rublor. Despite his common stature, he earned quite a fame. But a lot of other heroes didn't take this very well. Later, during one of the warring times, Rodrezzo disappeared amid a crucial battle. His sudden disappearance led to the death of many soldiers and Rublor lost an important piece of territory to the enemy. Since then he was labeled as a traitor and a coward. A huge ransom was placed on his head. He left his wife and kids behind in the nation who were later shunned by society. They later went into hiding.

And today, after all this time he's saying that Rodrezzo was really kidnapped? I was having a hard time believing my ears.

"How reliable is the source?", I asked.

"I will cut off my tongue if the source happens to be a lie. That I swear in the name of my house, Marshfield.", he replied with confidence.

"Is there a chance my old man is still alive?", I asked once again.