A sneeze destroys a magical civilization

As the flames caused by magic continued to spread around, the entire house was soon enveloped in the sky-high flames.

Some nearby residents were alarmed by the fire and woke up from their sleep, carrying buckets of water and trying to put out the fire.

But unfortunately, it was too late.

They could only do their best to dig fire trenches to prevent the flames from igniting other surrounding houses.

Looking at the panicked crowd on the street not far away, Zuo Si, standing in the darkness, immediately asked without looking back: "Have all the valuable commodities and goods in the underground warehouse been shipped out?"

"Don't worry! Everything has been shipped out before the fire spread. Most of them are relatively valuable spices, silk and sugar. According to my estimate, the value is probably between 48,000 and 60,000 gold coins. If it is shipped to Amn Or Baldur's Gate further north can make at least four times the profit. Waterdeep City and Neverwinter further north can even make eight times as much profit."

Bernard is indeed a shrewd businessman. He can tell the value of the goods stored in Mook's warehouse at a glance.

The most important thing is that these in-demand goods are all for free. There is no need to spend money to purchase them, and there is no need to worry about price fluctuations caused by large-volume purchases.

At the same time, after witnessing a secret pirate stronghold occupied by a large number of armed men, Zuo Si easily removed it, which greatly increased his confidence in reaching Ascatella safely.

"That's right! I'll leave these goods to you." Zuo Si gave the merchant an approving look.

As everyone knows, he is complaining crazily in his heart at this moment, so a lot of goods are only worth 50,000 or 60,000 gold coins in the end?

Not as valuable as the "trade notes" and magic items packed into the dimensional bag.

No wonder some people say that the world in the eyes of spellcasters and the world in the eyes of ordinary people are completely different.

In the eyes of most people, "huge" wealth that is enough to allow them to live comfortably for a lifetime, for spell casters, especially high-level spell casters, may just be a few light and weightless high-level spell scrolls, a A magic item, materials to create a golem or construct, or the cost of several experiments.

Bernard hurriedly put his hand on his chest and saluted: "Thank you for your trust. I will make a list of these goods later for easy reference at any time."

"You two, I must remind you that the city guards should be arriving in about ten minutes.

If they found a large number of charred and desecrated bodies in the house, they would certainly commission an investigation by the temple.

Once those nosy paladins arrive, they will inevitably be interrogated and searched around. "

A thief wearing leather armor and covered in a gray cloak couldn't help but interject.

As the person Epke transferred from the guild to help with surveillance, the last thing he wanted to encounter was the paladin.

Because these brainless guys are naturally hostile to crime and all people and organizations related to crime.

"Let's go. After working most of the night, it's time to go back and rest."

After that, Zuo Si glanced at Yelnia who was hiding in his own shadow, as well as the guys she transformed into shadow creatures, and disappeared at the end of the intricate streets of Calimport in a short time.

…

About two hours later, when the fire was completely extinguished, two paladins wearing the holy symbol of Ilmat, the God of Suffering, finally appeared near the ruins.

They first learned about the situation with the soldiers.

Then one of the men, about forty years old, immediately inspected the severity of the burning of the main body of the building, and then squatted down to look at the remains that were burned beyond recognition.

After several minutes, he said with a solemn expression: "There are traces of negative energy! Although it has become very faint after being burned by the fire, this corpse has definitely been desecrated."

"Desecration? You mean... undead creatures, necromancers, and demons from the lower planes are involved?"

Another young woman who looked to be in her early twenties widened her eyes in surprise.

An experienced older paladin leads an inexperienced younger paladin, a practice widely practiced by many temples of the Good God and paladin groups.

Because a young paladin performs a mission alone, it is easy for him to make irreparable mistakes due to his impulsive personality.

Or they may be plotted by the evil camp and eventually fall into depravity due to various reasons and temptations.

But if paired with an experienced senior, the situation would be much better.

Through words and deeds, young paladins will quickly grow up to become a strong shield that protects the innocent and the weak.

"I don't know! But I think this matter deserves further investigation.

First of all, what we need to do is to understand the background and origin of this chamber of commerce.

Secondly, we need to pay attention to the market.

Especially the black market, which specializes in purchasing goods of unknown origin, is there anyone selling stolen goods in large quantities? "

The older paladin quickly made his own judgment.

Because he had already learned from the guards that the valuable things in the house had been almost wiped out.

Especially the warehouse in the basement was cleaner than if it had been licked by mice.

This means that the attacker is most likely seeking money.

"Understood! I'm going to go around and get some information about this chamber of commerce."

The young female paladin seemed eager to express herself. Without saying a word, she started knocking on the door from door to door, taking the trouble to ask for clues from the merchants, clerks, servants and slaves.

It has to be said that as a representative of lawful good, she behaved quite restrained.

Even if he saw the existence of slaves, which was completely contrary to the doctrine, he did not immediately draw his sword and kill people, or ask the slave owner to release the slaves.

Just the opposite!

She only maintained a minimum of sympathy and pity.

After all, this is Port Calim, the place where the slave trade flourishes most.

Moreover, in addition to being kind, paladins also have lawful attributes.

Being lawful means that you cannot easily destroy the existing order and must abide by local laws and regulations.

Paladins cannot do anything illegal unless the law is hopelessly broken.

This naturally included forcing slave owners to hand over their "property" - their slaves.

After an hour and a half of investigation, the young paladin lady quickly ran back to the older paladin and said excitedly: "Agor! I got some unusual clues."

"Oh? What is it?"

The older paladin known as Agor raised his head.

“It’s the number of armed men.

According to figures obtained from several neighbors, more than sixty armed men were stationed at the house.

There are even spellcasters for hire among them.

Maintaining this quantity and quality of armed personnel all year round obviously requires investing a lot of money.

This is diametrically opposed to the profit-seeking approach of most businessmen, who seek to save costs as much as possible. "

The paladin lady told the suspicious things she found in one breath.

After hearing this, Agor immediately smiled happily and praised softly: "Very beautiful investigation and inference.

He is truly worthy of being the chief apprentice who completed basic training in first place.

It seems that we need to talk to the businessmen who have business dealings with this chamber of commerce next to see if they know anything. "

"Now?"

Miss Paladin raised her head and glanced at the night sky full of stars.

"No, of course not now, at least until after dawn.

Remember, Ellen, be patient no matter what.

Don't let your impulses rule your mind, or the consequences could be dire. "Agor warned solemnly.

In this way, after the two paladins who were invited to investigate the arson case got hold of some clues, they quickly returned to the temple to report.