only one way up

He'd be lying if he said her hesitation hadn't thrown him off. The horns were so visible, and Sebastien had yet to meet a mage in hiding who didn't at least try to hide as much as they could. He pretended not to notice, though, his gaze moving from each guard to each entrance. His mind reeled through their options, the possibilities, what could go right, what could go wrong...

But then she'd continued talking, pulling him from his jumbled thoughts.

He leaned back, regarding her out of the corner of his eye as she rattled on, thinking she had him figured out. And maybe she did, with the subtleties she was picking up on (he would have to be a lot more careful moving forward, he noted), but she could only guess the surface. A mere percentage of what he was and what he had done. Noble, yes. Disgraced, absolutely. Wealthy? Once upon a time. But if that was all he was to her, well, he'd been accused of far worse.

"Maybe I'm simply flustered in the presence of a lady such as yourself," He replied with a soft scoff, but he knew she was right. Perhaps he had been a little blunt. "My apologies, though most who want to avoid such questions tend to…" Try a little harder to hide? Well, it really didn't matter anyways- she'd said her magic, whatever it was, wouldn't be useful, and he believed her. He brushed it off with a wave of his hand as she asked of his mage status as well.

"No, unfortunately," He replied with a disappointed sigh. A non-mage? Now that was a part he could easily play, "I fear my usefulness will have to be determined by my creativity."

As if on cue, a shout rang out, and Sebastien whipped his attention towards the rising sounds of a scuffle. A victorious little grin started to grow as he laid eyes on what was probably the best distraction they could ask for. People shouted. Fists flew. Someone had even lit a torch. Guards rushed towards the scuffle, weapons drawn and shouting commands, and more importantly: leaving several entrances wide open.

"Your pick," Sebastien breathed as he turned from the tree, holding his arms out wide as if he'd prepared such doorways himself. He took a few slow steps backwards as she passed him before turning to fall in step behind her. His gaze moved to the tower with an unsettling feeling stirring in his gut. Its massive size and hungry shadows only grew as they got closer and closer… until it damn near swallowed them whole.