Him admitting concern for the party IS evolution in his thinking.

A paty that doesn't know about how much in danger they are... because he doesn't tell them.

He wasn't saying "let's not take risks." He was saying "let's not risk Ikathon discovering us."

Like... being in a party 20 feet from him, or roaming the empire making a name for themselves, or stealing an artifact that was on his hands... cmon...

He wants to acquire knowledge to change his life... he gets praised for his "calculated risks" and so on... Taking the favor of the most powerful magic user that they know OUTSIDE of the empire is... logical! does he really needs to keep looking for shitty books in shitty bookstores?

PS. i see that talking about "bad" caleb is a no-no in this parts, sorry bout that... Back to lurking!....