The assistant lead us to Cicero Castleton directly, though we did  stop to say goodbye to everyone. Despite being here 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 the 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 the 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."