More ragtag than previously estimated, then. But--"They grew up with you, and left you for dead--!?" The context hits harder than the idea of some ragamuffin crime group leaving a cohort behind. That is family. It would be like a Dalish abandoning a member of their clan.

The explanation of the aeormaton is treated with substantial more confusion. After a long moment of thought, she recalls that sometimes spirits possess suits of armor, and it must be a similar situation. It reflects well on Ashton, she decides, that they would befriend a spirit and not judge them for their appearance. But she's pulled back from her musings when she learns of Bertrand.

"Oh, Ashton. That's awful. I'm glad that he brought your friends together, and that you honored him in your name. But I'm sorry to hear that he died. Did you catch who did it?" For a man that had been as important as this man seemed to be, Beleth knew that she would be chomping at the bit to avenge him, in Ashton's shoes.