[b][i]Flame Brooks[/i][/b]

A spike of fear rose in the back of Flame's mind at the maid's words; did Gris Art Fortye mean to pursue Ashton? Did he actually have a lead on his boyfriend? Flame kept his face blank, hiding his thoughts from the maid as he said, "I'll be going to the magic show, then. I would like to see it - And Mr. Fortye - later on. Thank you for your time."

And with that, Flame walked off to the docks, doing his best to keep his fear at the back of his head until he found out the full picture. There was nothing good about jumping to conclusions, after all. Who knows, perhaps the magic show was good...

[b][i]Ashton Andrews[/i][/b] 

In response to Belrigger's words, Ashton mused over whether to tell the truth, before he said, "No, there was no trouble in the Market District, but..." Ashton was well aware of the sensitivity of his position and the importance of his next words, "But there were surprises."

Surprises, like Alistair's recent revelations. They had less time than they thought, and it would not do to alienate potential allies. So Ashton followed up with, "Tell me, Mr. Belrigger, if you were told that this city was in danger - more than it is already - what will you do? Will you help protect it, abandon it, or join with the danger? You don't look like you'd do the latter two."

An earlier revelation than expected, but Ashton knew Belrigger responded best to a measure of honesty, that what differentiated a Hero of Guile from a liar and a cheat was the ability to tell the truth even when it was dangerous. Profitable, yes, but still dangerous. And right now, Ashton needed true allies among the natives.

Taking a leap of faith, the boy de-transformed in the middle of Belrigger and his pupils, in order to give them an advantage should they turn hostile and they knew it. His next words were, "I'm facing you in a position of physical and magical weakness in order to show you guys that I mean no harm, either to you or this city. But I still need your help."