Having got past the front forces, Pearcival was glad to see that the knights were few and far between. After all, the outfit he had stolen wasn't a full metal suit of armour and he would have been annoyed if he'd taken the wrong outfit. While there were a number who were in the full armour it was clear many weren't and kept just the layer that Pearcival had on. A layer he now realised was probably an under armour more than their uniform as itself. Stepping into the reception area he quickly tried to get the lay of the land. It was a challenge as he had to take in all the details to understand the layout while also not breaking stride or signifying in any way that the area was unfamiliar to him. Fortunately, Beth had given him a quick breakdown of the areas she had personally seen. That being the reception and a side room, she had however said the door at the end of the corridor past the reception was guarded and at least she assumed led to where those prisoners were being kept.

Having gotten past that gate too, Pearcival was thanking his lucky stars, it seemed like the mission was proving easier than he had expected. Heading past this door though he hit his first snag, the path split in two, both heading into different sections of the compound. One headed downwards, below the compound, while the other stayed on the surface and seemed generally kept in better conditions. Hedging his bets, Pearcival headed towards the path that led underground. Descending the stairs, he was thankful for the small metal basket of unlight torches. He grabbed one and lit it on a passing torch. Down here, again the conditions weren't awful. In fact they were better than he had expected. Poorly lit and worse than the surface cells he had glanced at the end of the corridor but still not as bad as most he'd seen.

There was also a distinct lack of guards down there, as though they didn't particularly care what happened to the people down there when left to their own devices. Within each cell were at most a pair of people. There were roughly 50 cells there in total, and most of their inhabitants had a similar look, these were clearly warriors, or at least people who had seen battle. That much Pearcival could tell from how they held themselves, they were exclusively men and a not inconsiderable number had on kilts. They chatted in a language Pearcival could tell was distinctly different to the language everybody else he had encountered had spoken.

This was an unexplained quirk of the system that always had existed. People could understand all languages that weren't based on their own planet no matter how varied they were yet if it originated from their own planet they had no chance unless they learnt it the old fashioned way. Over time most planets normally transitioned to a single language or two rather than the large number they often originally have. However in those earlyish days it wasn't unheard of for people to be invited to a planet just to act as a translator for those who lived there.

Pearcival scanned the cells quickly taking in the names of their inhabitants and trying not to linger for long enough to draw any particular attention. For the most part the prisoners didn't particularly care about his presence and other than some general jeering, that was quickly hushed, from some of the younger looking prisoners, they were respectful. Some even greeted him stiltedly in the language of the town, to whom he responded equally respectfully. He appreciated these warriors and though he wasn't going to medle he always wasn't going to be rude to them. Having ascertained that none of them were the person he was looking for, he'd double checked the names just to be sure, he left the dungeon area and headed back up into the other area.

This area had natural light which instantly made it more pleasant, though obviously there were still bars on the doors, it was unfortunately more populated with guards. This meant he had to be more careful. He headed through the area. Checking out the cells again as he went past. These people were different, they weren't warriors and you could tell. These people were much more scared, much more broken, much more varied. These people weren't prideful, weren't warriors, and somehow were less content than those below. Despite their better conditions, they were quieter and not in the silent commeradary he'd seen elsewhere. They were ordinary men and women broken by hard work. Most of whom were kept going only by a dwindling hope and faith in their Lord. They were kept in single cells and he could see some people were fighting between them. They had no loyalty to each other. No shared bond that kept them united and as such strong. Many of them were just hollow husks.

He quickened his pace slightly. Practically a difference of minutes was going to have no effect on the mental state of the person he had been sent to save, but seeing some of the broken faces reminded him of the times back home when he had been too late. Not in the literal sense, the people he was looking to save hadn't yet been eaten but they were broken nonetheless and never really returned to themselves, or to being a functioning member of society at all. Eventually he found the cell he was looking for. Within was Susanna Oakfenny.

He was relieved to see her eyes weren't hollow. Not yet. They weren't healthy though, and ironically mirrored her daughters. Both were hardened yet both were clearly fragile. Though where Beth's eyes looked as though they would only break if you hit a certain spot and otherwise came with some give. Susanna's eyes had less give; it would only take a couple of hits for them to fall apart completely to be hollowed out, possibly irreversible.

This time, unlike downstairs, Pearcival was surrounded by people and he couldn't give away his position. As such he continued straight past the cell though he took note of it's rough positioning and kept an eye on all the other cells he passed as he continued to the end of the row. His passing was so fast he didn't even meet Susanna's eye, not wanting to risk any lingering eyes in the lighting, nor did he want her to see his intent and give away the plot. COntinuing to the end he found it opened up to some work rooms. More importantly though he came across a large barracks, with a couple of cots. While clearly not a permanent place for the guards to stay it was a clear breakroom and within a couple of people were napping and playing cards. He boldly stepped in, knowing this was going beyond the mouth of the beast and into its belly.