The assistant led us to Cicero Castleton directly, though we did stop to say goodbye to everyone. Despite us being there to thwart their plans, the Jerks seemed enthused about the results I'd gotten, and Way Crazy Wyatt in particular was insistent that we were best friends now. Despite my insistence that I barely knew him, and that my name was NOT Sally, he refused to hear a word of it, loudly proclaiming to the other Jerks that even though the money was given to the circus and not available anymore, he was going to challenge the ox again so he could beat it and we could be "bull buddies".

I had been thinking about how much I preferred Wyatt to that shit bag Ronnie, but after a brief interaction before we left for the ring master tent, my headache made it clear that Wyatt was MUCH more annoying to interact with, even if it was for harmless and amusing reasons. I desperately hoped that Wyatt wasn't part of the faction that supported Punchin Carl, though who even knew what that support entailed or what he would use it for. I still wasn't sure exactly what Carl's ability was, but I was hoping to avoid him entirely. Even if I could beat him in a fight once he hit G rank (which I wasn't certain of) I had no motivation to actually do so.

As we approached the ring master tent I pulled Callie close to me. Since we were playing the love birds it fit the narrative for us to be cuddly, plus I think she was genuinely excited about the bull riding thing. Still, we didn't ignore everything around us, and I asked the assistant a question I'd been wondering about as we approached the huge green and black striped tent in the center of the circus, which I hadn't even seen until we got close. "So, do many people get the chance to meet Mr. Castleton? I've heard lots about the cavalcade but little about him personally."

The assistant chuckled. "The cavalcade is Mr. Castleton's life's work. Since it has his name on it everyone who hears about it hears about him. As such he doesn't bother too much with in person appearances or gathering personal power, instead putting his all into making the cavalcade as famous and beloved as possible. It was one of the main differences that led to the departure of his brother. Mr. Abel always preferred to see more direct results from his development. He tried to insert himself into the acts to gather acclaim, and when they couldn't agree on the subject Mr. Castleton asked him to leave."

That was interesting. I hadn't heard about that. "So, Mr. Castleton has a brother? He's a G ranker too I take it? How come I haven't heard about him, and why isn't his name part of the title of the circus? It seems like that might cause some issues between them if nothing else." I couldn't imagine founding a huge place like this and having someone else put their name on it and leave mine off.

The assistant sighed. "The name of the circus used to be the Confounding Castleton's Captivating Chaotic Cavalcade, Mr. Castleton, or rather, Mr. Cicero, changed the name when Mr. Abel left. As for why you haven't heard of him, despite their differences Mr. Abel loves his brother. When he left the cavalcade he decided that he would abandon his name so as not to detract from his brother's fame. He donned a mask and tossed away his original name and reputation, opening a sausage shop at the entrance to G district. The only tribute to his former life is the use of the word Cavalcade in the name of his shop."

I froze. "Wait...Spruce Bunny? He's the one who pointed us here, and we've gotten help from him before. He's Mr. Castleton's brother? I hadn't really considered where he might have come from I guess, though that story does make sense. I take it since he was so focused on personal power, he must be pretty effective in a fight huh?" He would be G rank for sure, but I was guessing based on what the assistant had said before that he was high G rank. We resumed walking, drawing closer and closer to the big tent, though it was bigger than I'd thought because the walk was taking a while.

The assistant nodded emphatically. "Oh, heavens yes. Mr. Abel was one of the most powerful G rankers in the district before he went into exile. I suspect that Mr. Cicero expected him to take a position of honor with one of the other factions. Mr. Abel's ability is rather potent, and he could have easily gotten such an opportunity. Instead he tossed his entire reputation aside and became a nobody in order to protect his little brother. Mr. Cicero has always regretted that, I think, but he doesn't feel he has the right to meet with his brother to ask him about it after the trouble he's caused."

I had no clue what to say to any of that. Knowing that wacko in the rabbit mask was some kind of elite combat master was...weird, but then again, most Ascendants were weird. Hell, it was possible that Spruce Bunny was gathering as much rep as Abel had, though based on his lack of advertising and how long it took me to hear this story I doubted it. Still, I couldn't resist asking the obvious question. "You said his ability was potent. Is it ok if I ask what that ability is? I love to hear about interesting powers."

The assistant chuckled. "Of course. It's no secret. Mr. Abel possesses a speed ability. It creates a field of...warped space, around him that acts like a lubricant, allowing him to move much faster with the Might he has than would normally be possible. He's also a dedicated practitioner of Ragam, and extremely dangerous high speed striking martial art. Mr. Abel in combat is something to behold. Sometimes I wonder if Mr. Cicero shouldn't have allowed him to create an act like he wanted."

That was...scary. I could think of a dozen ways that could synergize into something truly terrifying, not even taking into account his skills in martial arts, which, if they were notable enough to bring up here, were probably at least at Intermediate. Maybe even higher, since he was apparently not focused on gaining stats at the moment. It was theoretically possible for him to be at Expert rank in the discipline, though granted, that was extremely unlikely. Even for someone at the peak of G rank.

A person COULD get a Skill to two ranks above where they were currently, if they were careful and didn't cripple themselves trying to leverage usage of that Skill past what their soul could bear. It usually wasn't done, because it was difficult to know which aspects of a Skill couldn't be used, but martial artists in particular often tried to go that route. Physical skills were easier to handle in that context, and since many matial artists synergized their fighting style with their ability, it gave them much more overtly impressive combat power.

My thoughts were cut off sadly, as we finally made it to the lime green and black striped canvas tent. When we reached the entrance we stopped, and the assistant turned to us. "Mr. Castleton is waiting for you inside. I wasn't summoned so I won't be entering with you, but I would like to thank you again for what you've done tonight. You don't know how much it's helped us." He gave us a low bow, a courtly and elegant gesture involving a flourish of his hand. "My name is Emery, feel free to seek me out if you have any needs here in the future."

With that, he rose and stepped back, gesturing for us to enter on our own. I pulled Callie tighter against me, and turned my body slightly to put myself ahead of her as we entered, though she caught me trying and elbowed me in the ribs. I let out a whoof of breath and rubbed my ribs as she gave me a sweet smile, which I couldn't help but chuckle at. We stepped through the opening in the tent together, pushing aside the heavy fabric to step into a large dark space, lit by only a single candle at a small table in the middle of the room, at which sat a tall man.

Cicero Castleton looked young, but to be fair, most Ascendants did at this level. He wasn't some old monster like that Moravian guy Cark had mentioned, at least I didn't think so. He looked about our age, with a tall top hat, a red velvet waistcoat with thick black buttons, and a black vest with a gold watch chain trailing between it and the breast pocket of the coat. He had a thick mustache and kind brown eyes, and when he noticed us enter he gave a low, deep nod and gestured us forward to join him.

When we sat down, he gave us a welcoming smile. "So, you're the young man who returned all those chits to the cavalcade rather than take them. I was impressed by your kindness, though I suspect your reasons may be more complex than Emery might believe. Given your interaction with those new troublemakers, I take it you find yourself standing on the opposite side of the faction attempting to oust me from my seat here?" Despite the grim nature of the question, his tone was light and up beat, like he wasn't worried about anything. It was kind of impressive.

I didn't see any reason to pretend. "You got us. Yeah, we're here to try to prevent the faction behind the Jerks from taking over G district. I can't go into details, but if there's some way we can be of assistance, maybe you could tell us about it? Also, it might help if we knew who the hell is doing all this. We've run into a bit of a wall in our investigation, we only know what they're planning, not who is behind it all." Not that it mattered to me since I knew no one here, but finding out who our enemy was couldn't hurt.

Cicero chuckled slightly, the air making his mustache ruffle. "Help? I suppose I wouldn't say no to a bit of assistance. I'm not sure who the faction behind this is. I'm the last person they would tip off, given my own connections in the WCP. It would defeat the purpose of working through intermediaries. That said, I do know who would be aware. In point of fact, it's the same person who would have benefited had you not returned those chits you won. One of my managers, and one with quite a bit of influence in the cavalcade."

That surprised me. "How come you haven't gotten rid of the person if you know who it is? You're the boss, can't you just kick them out?" This whole place was way more complicated than it should be, the politics were insane. Callie reached down and gripped my hand, and I eased off a bit. I wasn't a fan of all this double talk and shady dealing, but she was in her element here. I'd let her handle things, though I doubted she would let me ignore it completely given her desire to make me pay attention to the political side of things.

That got another, much sadder laugh. The young looking man's face settled into a much more aged appearance. Not from some kind of Skill or effect, but from the lines of stress and sadness I could see etched into his skin. The expression on his face made it seem like he'd aged twenty years in just a few seconds. His voice was quiet as he responded to my question. "I couldn't bear to do that. You see, it's my fault she's trying to get rid of me in the first place."