El’s journal #006

It has been many days since the opportunity to sit quietly with my books has been available. After
the Kobold attack at the inn, we slumbered two to a room, and though I enjoy Lee’s company, I do not yet trust that all his endeavors are above-board. Well, not so much above-board as… directed by interests that won’t get in the way of my own. The young paladin: he is motivated by things too precious and pure to be of any real use in the world. Lee, though interested in the mundane, has some tie to a spiritual realm; a tie that might let his moral compass lead him off in some morally upward but personally downward direction.

His companionship, though, is kind enough and it is nice to once again travel with others, especially so with one of our kind. He is Elven, and that is something that cannot be understood by leagues of men, who’ve lived their full life-span and then some. Time… is different for us, slower for us, because there is so much of it. So much of the human world is concerned with filling up their time, packing as much as they can in those short hours.

It all moves too fast.

Guy fell victim to this — the lightning-fast descent into waters far too deep. His connections to the artifacts, his willingness to strike a deal too good to be true… his wont to trust people like us… this is what parted the man from his possessions and, eventually, from his very life.

I would have been willing to let him walk, if he would allow us to recover the items that were not rightfully his. He could continue his other profitable ventures, but for the insanely formidable illusionary defense system in his home. A simple sleep spell, quite harmless for a human being, set off a chain reaction of events which led to his death and a great battle with a very violent armoire. And some kitchen chairs. And a dining room table. Ok, so a very violent battle with every pirce of furniture and room decor the man owned. Paranoid. Overkill. He let himself believe that his money could make him safe. It could not. In fact, his very expensive alarm system is what ultimately got him killed.

With Guy gone, we were able to secure the objects we had been seeking. This is, of course, in addition to the house itself, which when paired with the amulet that bestows control of the ambulatory furnishings, should fetch a handsome price. The scroll and box are interesting to but few collectors
(and most of them seem to feel we should have some obligation to their religion and return it for no fee). A house with such a gaudy protection feature cannot help but attract equally inflated Muls.

I am surprised most of all that the Paladin appears to agree that the house — which he feels are spoils of our unjust murder — can be sold for our profit. I am certain that he will tithe his portion, or refuse it outright, out of his goodly nature. But what he does with his portion does not affect me, so I care little. And the generous portion I recieve for myself will eliminate the monetry woes that have plagued me since leaving Silverymoon.

Thus, when the decision was made to return the items we had been seeking to a temple in the religious district, I weighed the certain and easy profit of the house against the uncertain and dangerous possible profit from the unknown magics. The patience that I mentioned previously guides me here, and I believe once the house is sold, I shall be able to move on with a comfortable sum in profit, without the promised rewards for the mage-built lockbox.

Curiousity, though, is not sated. Any mage-born would be insanely curious about a piece of that age and power. And something so important to so many groups does make one tend to wonder.

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