Ashcroft has one of the more complicated reasons for being on that ship. He's the son of the murdered sultan of Baghdad, and Sinbad is suspected of killing his father. That chan…

Ashcroft has one of the more complicated reasons for being on that ship. He's the son of the murdered sultan of Baghdad, and Sinbad is suspected of killing his father. That changes the way you look at their relationship. He's traveling beside someone he has a very serious reason to investigate. His uncle Tipu is part of why he had to flee Baghdad. Joining this crew gives him somewhere to go, but it also puts him close to the person who might be responsible for what happened to his family. Trust has to develop with that sitting underneath it. Samelia matters to him too. His connection to her exists before the crew is free, and it gives him a reason to care about their situation beyond his own escape. Later, when he's sent away on Sinbad's errand, their farewell gives that relationship a moment of its own. The interesting question with Ashcroft is how you separate what you believe about someone from what you actually see them do. Sinbad can be the man suspected of killing his father and also the man who helped free the people around him. Ashcroft has to live with both versions while he tries to figure out the truth. That's a much more difficult position than just deciding whether he likes his captain. If he trusts the wrong person, it could mean betraying his father's memory. If he lets suspicion decide everything, he could destroy a relationship before he understands what really happened.