)30th Day of Winter
Ever since the capture of Alethin, there’s been an uproar in the Keep. Well, as much as an uproar as there can be when those upset by it are customers to an illegal market. Still, word travels, and some people aren’t as quiet as they might wish to be. People could be found pretty much everywhere trying to eavesdrop on others, especially the library, craving any information as to what happened to the gold greedy merchant. Then again, it could just be students trying to study for their finals. There are a lot of first years, and I highly doubt that they would be involved in this unless they already have the gold to spend at Alethin’s shop. That’s unlikely though. Most first years spend their gold buying books and other materials for their classes as well as caring for their creatures not to mention other basic necessities. The professors have probably scared them so much with tales of failing and expelled students that they would most likely run from the Black Market even if they had enough gold to spend on such rare creatures and items. Honestly though, if Talyn could graduate, anyone can. That guy is a mess. Nobody even knows what happened with the boar for sure anymore because there’s been so many spins on the tale. The only thing known for sure is that it was Talyn who was responsible. As if it could have been anyone else.
37th Day of Winter
There’s a lot of suspicion circling Remy right now in regards to Alethin’s arrest. I’ve spent the past few nights at the inn to try and see if I could pick anything up. Ale is horrible. I don’t know how any of those people stomach the stuff. I settled for a coffee. It’s strong and doesn’t taste particularly good either, but at least it helps keep you wide awake and doesn’t make you reek of fermented who-knows-what. There’s definitely an air of distrust in the inn though. Remy’s got two Tenera dogs by the counter he stands at. Anyone who knows a lick about the animals knows that they can sense ill intentions. Those dogs weren’t napping either. They were at full attention every night I was there. He’s got them on guard duty. I highly doubt that Remy was the one that put Alethin away though. He knows the guy from what I’ve heard, used to be in the merchant’s guild with him. Apparently Alethin got on bad terms with the guild, not surprising with the wares he sells, and they went their separate ways a while ago. Remy tends to keep to himself though. I don’t blame him. A man like Alethin has to have a lot of wealthy people backing him up, and wealth often means power.
43rd Day of Winter
I’m still frequenting the inn despite Remy not being responsible for Alethin’s capture from what I can tell. It’s still a useful place to gather information. Ale makes the tongue looser than usual. Although I’ll be the first to say that Remy needs to cut down on all the Chocolate Earwigs in the place. I get that he wants the people to be a little less hostile towards him, but I found one in my coffee. The last thing I want is a creepy crawly in my drink. I don’t care if they’re considered a delicacy! At least I got another coffee on the house. Would have preferred my gold back though. It looks too much like a melted Earwig. Rumor has it that Remy set up Alethin since he didn’t approve of what he did while in the guild. Other people claim that he set him up not to get back at Alethin but to help the Keep. There are innocent students being corrupted by the glamour of his wares they say. Rare creatures you can’t find anywhere else, special items, potions. He’s a smuggler. Granted, anyone involved in the Black Market should know that. But I can see how that could be a motive for Remy to tip off Alethin. He may be grumpy at times, but with the Delroch crap he has to put up with, it’s understandable. The guy can’t be all sunshine and smiles. He has good intentions though, and while he doesn’t exactly approve of the drinking habits of some students, he does still care for them. Well, most of them. He made quite the face when Talyn was mentioned by some second years. I’ll try to look into him later. I think I’m done for the night. I also think I’m done drinking Remy’s coffee for the time being.
46th Day of Winter
Turns out that Talyn associated with Alethin in the past. About three years ago or so, he went out on an expedition with the smuggler as his guide. The Black Market has been around the Keep for about one or two years. I don’t know if he was involved in smuggling when he went on that expedition with Talyn, but he probably wasn’t trustworthy at the time, at least not for someone as dimwitted as that graduate. It really is a wonder he was allowed to graduate. Rumor has it that the professors just wanted him gone. Apparently Alethin got him thrown into jail in Alveus though. It’s no surprise given Talyn’s past pranks and the place’s distrust of magi. It’s possible that Alethin got tired of him and decided that was where he could drop him. I don’t think we’ll ever know. Maybe Alethin will spill the beans if asked though. It seems likely that Talyn would have a dislike for Alethin though I highly doubt that he would know where the smuggler is and when. He’s a trouble maker for sure, but he doesn’t seem like the type of troublemaker that would delve in illegally markets. Talyn did change the subject pretty quickly. I’m not sure what to think at this point. Word has it that Alethin has escaped though which is no surprise with all the sightings of his cobra. Adela is downright freaky as far as Raza Cobras go. I’m not even sure if she’s truly one. Apparently Alethin doesn’t know who set him up either, so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if nobody can figure it out.
49th Day of Winter
While Talyn is certainly suspicious, he doesn’t seem to be the type to go to the authorities to get Alethin locked away. He’s caused enough trouble on his own it seems that going to the authorities would be the last thing he would do. Perhaps a customer let Alethin’s route slip. After all, his cart was in the usual spot. It hadn’t been confiscated though. One would think that the smuggled goods would have been taken in with him. Did Adela work her magic on them in order to keep the goods safe? But in that case, wouldn’t Alethin have been able to evade the guards while they were under the snake’s influence? Nothing makes sense about this. Maybe it was Remy. Everyone knows he cares deeply for the creatures he owns and sells. Perhaps he was afraid of Alethin harming the creatures in the process of smuggling them. After all, nobody knows how he gets his wares, and the eggs have to come from somewhere. Everyone knows that smuggling is wrong for multiple reasons. Remy has many reasons to turn in Alethin, but others have reasons as well. Alethin supposedly got Talyn sent to jail after all! I’ll have to do some more digging.
54th Day of Winter
A new creature has apparently been bred into existence. Well, two new hybrids that is. Two deadly hybrids. Nobody knows for sure if it’s related to Talyn having to dispose of some breeding potions gone wrong, but Mist Stalkers and Telvian Panthers have been breeding with Ammits. Those creatures are bad enough on their own when not properly trained, but mixed together into a new hybrid people aren’t quite sure how to care for? How do you keep an Ammit with the powers of the Mist Stalker under control? At least Telvian Ammits just turn invisible. Don’t get me wrong, they seem like they could be a very useful asset, but they definitely spell for disaster at the moment. They’ve been banned from Remy’s inn from the moment news got out. I don’t blame him. The inn would be torn apart if they weren’t kept under control not to mention they could attack other creatures. Rumor has it that a green Ammit was seen before, but it was quite a while ago. Where these the rare creatures that Alethin was out to obtain with his Love Potions? I can understand Cobalt Alicantos and Ruby Wyverns, but Telvian and Mist Ammits? I would think Alethin had lost his mind to try and sell creatures like those!
61th Day of Winter
I've finally gotten to the bottom of things. I finally have a straight answer. Granted, it wasn't really do to any of my searching which is quite a disappointment with all the work I had done, all of the coffees I drank. I'll never get that gold back. I'm not sure I'll be able be able to look at a cup of Remy's coffee the same way again either after that Earwig incident, no offense to him. He can't exactly control the little critters. Maybe they're the reason his coffee is so strong... Maybe they always eat all the sugar... But he still sells those fruity little drinks during the holidays... Hm... Anyways, he came up to me while I was at his inn late last night. I hadn't even realized that I was the last person there, just scribbling in my journal as my Borean wolf was no doubt begging to head back to the Keep to sleep, not having the aid of the coffee that I did. He said something along the lines of that while he appreciated the business I had been giving him, he did not want me to keep wasting my gold on countless cups of coffee, not to mention I had been depleting his stock of beans quite a bit, and it would be a while before he could get some more, so the beans needed to last. According to him, he had indeed reported Alethin. While normally he didn't get involved in these sorts of things, he felt that he couldn't stand by while the man stole eggs from who knows where. He muttered something about a promise to an old friend from the woods. I think he was getting tired. It was pretty late, and I don't know of anyone who lives in Silva Forest. However, he feared for the mistreatment of the creatures the eggs were taken from and the eggs themselves. After following some people to Alethin's approximate location, he approached Archmage Thane and let him know of the smuggler that was tempting the magi of the Keep. The Archmage promised to keep quiet about Remy being the one to give him the information in exchange and had Alethin rounded up. He didn't know why Alethin's cart wasn't taken in with him, not a part of the arrest, but he was disappointed to say the least that the smuggler got out so quickly thanks to Adela. I gave him some gold in thanks, but he gave it back and just asked me to "please leave his inn and not order coffee for a while." I guess I'll have to push through finals some other way... Maybe Alethin can smuggle me some for some insane price...
