When Ciel eavesdropped in the trio's conversation, he had planned to reveal himself, offering himself as a scout for the party. After all, recon and stealth were his daily routines, given that he was a little rusty with combat with it ever since he hung up his gear. But when he rounded the corner, he was nearly knocked aside by the lance wielding mage that sped past him, followed by the noble on the horse and the poor mage (summoner?) who sounded like he was having heart attacks trying to keep up, leaving Ciel coughing from the dust kicked up from the horse.

He was late.

Ciel watched uneasily as the group carved their way through the streets by brute force, knocking aside bandits and smiting down adventurers into confused blackouts. He could easily catch up, sure - but especially with the spellblade jovially spearing down anyone in their path, it was most likely he would be taken as another badnit before he ever got his name out. Besides, it seemed like they didn't need a scout, if they wanted to just muscle their way through... Or Ciel was making excuses. His stomach pitted a little at the prospect of joining another group. He...he wasn't quite sure if he was ready, despite the ridiculousness of the circumstances. 

Nonetheless, they were going in the same direction as he was, and while he was confident he could avoid most confrontations with well timed magic suppressions and invisiblity, he wasn't as sure about the amount of flak flung around. It was a clear path to safety - an opportunity Ciel couln't afford to miss. Ciel sunk back into invisibility, his surroundings warping and buckling momentarily before stretching back over his body, as if tucking a doll under a blanket. As the clearance ahead of him started to crumble back into madness, Ciel took after the group.

It wasn't long before the trail ended with a partially crumbled alleyway, the adjacent building still smoking from a blast nearby. Ciel slowed down to survey the site, spotting the trio he has just followed meeting up with another group. He could pick up faint fragments of the conversation as Ciel stopped to retie his bindle. It had come loose from the run, and if ever he lost the rations inside, he would soon have to be scrounging or even stealing from others. 'Treasure...team up...'

So they were making a bigger coalition for the treasure hunt. It was astounding to hear that people were still lusting for whate er treasure that was supposedly sitting on top of the ruined cathedral, when screams of far off murder was rounding in the vicinity. Ciel's priorities had shifted the moment the panic broke loose, to just survival. What did a few dozen clutches of coin matter if no-one made their way out of there? Ciel emphasized this point with a double knot. He was getting out of here. Probably go back to the farm, at least there no-one but the occasional wolf bothered him. Ciel stretched, yawning as he scanned the view of the palace. It almost seemed like irony to see a serenely old castle when there was so much chaos outside. Ciel liked old buildings, with their stoic watch over ages past. They looked like silent friends, unbetraying and honest with their decay. Nivianis, Ciel's home city, had countless forgotten houses etched into the cragface, and if one was quiet enough, they would hear the brick and stone whisper lonely secrets through the sea breeze.

Ciel sniffled as he returned from his reminenscence. He was invisible and safe for now, miraculously free from tangles. He doubted his luck would persist. Ciel was about to shoulder his bindle when he heard a rock landing a fair way from him. When he looked up, he saw that the two groups had deteriorated into a terse stand off, and someone had thrown a rock at him in his general direction, landing quite a distance away. Ciel felt his skin crawl, a tell-tale sign of someone detecting magic. Spotted!