rewatch, continued: Thinking about that super low DC needed for Essek to teach Caleb a few dunamancy spells, and yes, while I love the idea that it was simply because Essek was so hot-for-wizard, I’m also considering how this is the beginning of him making mention of future favors to call in. I wonder if he already realized he was in way over his head with the CA and that his plans to study the beacon had not panned out the way he expected. In 63, Caleb announces to the Bright Queen and the court that he was formerly training to be a scourger, though he failed, and that it is his goal to supplant the Cerberus Assembly. In that conversation, Essek vouches for the m9′s capabilities twice to the Queen. (In 91 he seems very surprised/unaware of the CA’s experimentation with dunamis and accepts Yezza’s vial as repayment for one of those favors - which is what leads me to believe that he got snowed after handing over the beacons.) These things, especially as they added up over time, could have made the m9 appear particularly well suited to helping him get out of the mess he made for himself. I wonder how things could have gone if he’d fessed up and asked for their help prior to being caught.
