Simon is initially stunned by the impressive display of magic, although quickly realises that it is not what it appears. In the fleeting seconds that follow, Simon considers running up the stairs to the roof to attempt to attract the attention of passers-by to get help but then remembers the heavy rain and figures either his voice would not carry through it or there would be so few pedestrians that, even if he could be heard, there would be no-one to hear him. Then he wonders if the monk's illusion is a decoy to get Alistair and him to focus on following the girl and not investigating the doorway to the monk's left.
Acoma wrote:
"Simon, do you have some water or anything?"
Simon is snapped out of his overthinking by Alistair's question and Simon realises that, regardless of the monk's agendum, his priority should be to protect the girl, who may now feel trapped on the other side of the illusory wall of flames. Without turning to face Alistair, Simon replies,
It's not real, and runs through the flames to find the girl.
It is only as Simon is about to pass through the flames that the thought occurs to him that maybe the monk's magic has deliberately disguised a
real wall of fire as an illusion to tempt him to pass through, but it is too late for that thought to prevent Simon from jumping through...
Acoma wrote:
[OOC - does Alistair know Simon studies magic?]
[
OOC - That is unlikely, although not impossible - Simon is discrete but not perfectly so. I figure Alistair and Simon know each other from Alistair's visits to the library, but as far as Simon is aware, only he and Rowan know his secret - to everyone else, Simon is just a scribe. Conversely, does Simon know anything about Alistair beyond their encounters at the library or, perhaps, the occasional encounters whilst Alistair has been on patrol in places Simon sometimes visits? For example, might Alistair have been at the library to refer to certain books/scrolls from which Simon might infer Alistair's studies, or is his apprenticeship as a warlock relatively public knowledge to people within a certain circle or those who know the city (especially as Simon is curious about magic and likely to have sought to identify, if not to engage with, people that might understand magic)?]