After Rodney left his room, Barnabas drummed his fingers against the table while looking blankly to the ceiling.

[Was this their real objective?]

He scratched his head, opened a drawer and grabbed a leather-bound tome. He prepared his ink bottle and pen, opened the tome and started writing. Barnabas, like any self-respecting wizard, documented things. It was extremely useful when studying and conducting experiments. It also helped to organize his thoughts in a structured manner, aiding him to see things clearly.

He wrote slowly and meticulously because, like any self-respecting wizard, his notes were encrypted in a way only he could understand. It was something that took years of practice before becoming second nature, but even still it wasn’t as fast as his normal writing.

After finishing writing his most recent entry, he leafed through the book, stopping on the first note he made about this particular conundrum. He read it silently in the hopes of realizing something he’d missed.

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“A peculiar group came to our branch today. A young couple carrying a strange monster. They came to register the creature and the lad into the guild.

The girl seemed normal, as far as I could tell. The monster looked like a mutated serpent, it had limbs and claws, like a weird mixture between a lizard and a snake. It was a really curious beast, one I’ve never encountered in my time, nor have seen described in any books.

The young man was the one that surprised me the most however, as he’d the highest concentration of mana I’ve ever seen on a human body! Could he be a paragon perhaps? If so, why was he dressed like a peasant? Why was he registering with the guild on what, I can only assume, was a fake name? He even pretended to be mute and let the lass do all the work. It was so strange! Why would a paragon come to Starfall incognito?

That bastard Weasley was annoying them by offering to buy the tamed monster, it was the perfect opportunity to interfere. I helped them out and pretended to show great interest in their beast as well, making small talk while I scrutinized the young man. He played his part perfectly. He ignored me and looked around, gawking at everything like it was the first time he was seeing it. I tried pulling him into the conversation, but the lass would block me every time, saying he was mute and couldn’t understand words or other such nonsense.

I felt like screaming! Why do you pretend so? Anyone that can detect mana can see who the real leader of this group is! They left after their badges were done. I asked Rodney to keep an eye on them to see what they’re up to. I can feel my blood boiling, it’s been a long time since I was this excited! Who are these people? What are they after? I’m looking forward to figuring it out!”

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“Our mysterious friends went around town today. I was afraid they would ditch their tails, but it was an unnecessary worry. Maybe they didn’t notice they were being followed since the streets are always full of people, or maybe they just didn’t care.

They kept asking around for rumours or sightings of elves. At first, I thought it was to mask their real objective, but according to Rodney, the lass is a half-elf, so maybe they are actually interested in uncovering that information.

Who would have guessed, she’s a half-elf! I feel sorry for dismissing her earlier as an ordinary lass, I guess there’s no one on their group that isn’t unique in some way.

The real surprise came later though, as we discovered they had something to do with the commotion that occurred at the lord’s mansion at dusk. I was nervous at first, because if they were captured I could only see things ending badly, but Rodney confirmed they had escaped! Ha, I couldn’t resist laughing out in joy! Whatever they did at the earl’s place was probably their original objective.

Tomorrow we’ll gather more information. Finally! Finally, we can figure out what our little friends real plan was all along! This is fun!”

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“We learned more about what happened at the lord’s manor yesterday. Our friends broke into the place and rescued a prisoner. The report we received indicated that it was a coincidence, but I find that hard to believe.

How can you ‘accidently’ break in and rescue someone? Especially when you consider that the prisoner was an otherworlder! Earl Frederick managed to get his hands on a world traveler… who was then stolen right underneath his nose! Hahaha, he must be fuming in anger.

It all makes sense now. Why would a paragon come to Starfall and remain incognito? That’s why! But how did they find out about it? I’d no idea the earl was keeping an otherworlder prisoner.

Yet, just as I thought I understood them, they baffle me again. I can see why one would sneak into Starfall to free the world traveler, but why didn’t they run away immediately? The earl was caught off guard, they could’ve taken that opportunity and escaped unscathed, but they went into hiding instead.

Now the entire city is in lockdown and it will prove difficult for even a paragon to escape. Why did they linger around? Could the otherworlder not be the ultimate goal? That seems preposterous!

I’ve asked Rodney to spread the word to reliable people that we want to help them escape the city. I hope it reaches their ears and we can talk. Right now, the only thing we can do is try to create an amiable relationship with this group. It’s a shame though, I really wish I could study the otherworlder and compare with the legends and myths.”

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Barnabas closed the tome and pondered on all the facts for a moment. He shook his head, convinced they haven’t overlooked anything so far and the best course of action was already being taken. He put the book back on the drawer and sighed.

He turned his head, looking at all the remaining paperwork on his desk. There were still many guild tasks he had to oversee. He cracked his knuckles and began to work.