@eshita14 My, that is very astute and concise observation. You are incredibly perceptive, so much so that you almost gave the entire plot away. You are right on a lot of counts, (I’m not going to tell you which ones). I’m surprised no one’s solved the mystery of the feather hat guy, I didn’t expect it turn into such an object of fascination haha. What you said about Gellert is quite accurate, the reason for his being that way, his past experiences and his history with previous companions. Thea is strong-headed and admittedly prideful, which provokes the point that despite knowing that Gellert would probably look into her, she still gave away her name (perhaps as an act of defiance).