Ascot blinked as he heard the other boy's words. "So...the townsfolk are bad, the Magician is also bad, and the latter may have started the whole thing if I assume he sent the dream that started it all. And apparently, the Magician is also about to get his hands on you." Ascot was angry at that; could imagine himself wrapping his hands around Magician's throat. "As I said, I'll protect you, Ellard."

[I]I have a fixation with cute people close to my age with tragic backstories.[/i] That thought was valid. Then, a delayed response to Zino as the boy turned around and said, "Yes, we jumped onto the train tracks; Ghost Girl promised us powers and a trip to another world as a response. We got both, but well, we also had her controlling the flow of information." A frown. "I sort of trusted her; even now, I don't think she or the Magician will directly harm us as they need their [i]pawns[/i]."

Then back to Ellard and Tabitha as the young man finally mustered the courage to talk to the latter. "Ms. Tabitha...are you okay? Perhaps you need something to eat?" He flew back to Officer Keahi or whoever carried the food and took some cucumbers. He absentmindely gave one to Koda, and gave another to Tabitha as he said, "Here. Also, it seems that we might need to fight against a...veteran. A veteran in this Magic thing. We have numbers, but there is a strong chance we'd lose." 

A frown. "Which is why we need a battle plan; a plan to coordinate with each other to fight the Magician while protecting Ellard. And, to be honest, people have not been responsive to my request to tell me about their powers. A few haven't even put on their masks. But I think with a good enough plan, we can still win, and after that, we can seize the Magician's records or spellbooks and get the knowledge we need for an independent agenda."

He paused and pursed his lips. "The Magician has the advantage of home ground, as well as being able to talk us into a false sense of security with the promise of information. I think that the best plan is to pretend to be willing to listen to his explanations for why he committed such a crime, then attack him by surprise. I volunteer to launch the first move, and I think Michael and Tristan should coordinate with me; in fact, I'll tell them right now."

And with that, he flew away from Ellard and Tabitha and finally drew close to Tristan since their first coming to Iriss. He would then fly close to Tristan's ear, and whisper, "I have a strategy against the Magician. We talk to him then attack him. But...I also have my own paranoid suspicions; Ellard, though cute, has a story that is a bit too convinient. Call it 'Epileptic Trees', sorry for troping, but I think [i]he[/i] might be The Magician himself and this is all part of one bigger test. Keep my suspicions under wraps; if I am wrong, I want a date with Ellard."

He then flew over to Michael Keahi, before saying, slightly louder: "We talk to the Magician until he believes he lulled us to a false sense of security, then attack him." No mention was made of the sudden paranoid guessing about Ellard. "We may also need to unleash Mr. Psycho at him, if we can guarantee that he won't turn against us."

[@Redward][@Etranger][@Ceta de Cloyes][@Scarescrow][@Viatos][@jdh97][@Mammon][@TaroAndSelia]