A Letter to Zhaff -- 18 Aryth, 998 YK

Zhaff

I’ve been keeping an eye on Del as promised. He’s faring far better than I’d expect for a Thrane in Breland. He doesn’t flaunt his belief in the Silver Flame (which is smart), but he doesn’t go out of his way to conceal it either. He’s found a very delicate balance which works for him.

His companions from the Guild are a motley bunch. They include a human priest of the Soverign Host, a Dwarven warrior, a Warforged battle leader, a human wizard, and a human rogue from the streets. They seem to be doing a lot of in-fighting but so far they haven’t come to blows. I’ve seen this behaviour before and I have no doubt that they’ll overcome their differences. I did learn that Del had some very harsh words for his companions after a bitter defeat. It caused a few of them to view Del harshly, but the result was an overall improvement to the team. I have no doubt that Del realized this would be the case. It was a smart and calculating move on his part.

In Sharn he’s been spending a lot of time at Coldflame Keep. He generously donated a sizable portion of his earnings to the church. I don’t think they’ve had that kind of donation in a long time. It will certainly win over Father Tana. He’s old school and sees generosity as a true virtue of the chosen. Del may not realize it, but Father Tana would probably do anything he asked of him if it was within his power.

Father Tana’s acolytes have come to worship Del in their own right. Nondar has taken to learning the ways of the sword and Del has been kind enough to provide the boy with some basic training. Liola, a comely human girl of 17 is smitten with Del. But Del doesn’t seem to realize just how much the girl truly adores him. I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid and break her heart in the process. Ah, to be his age again.

Since Del’s return to Shran from his voyage at sea, he’s attracted some of the wrong kind of attention. His new-found wealth and his newly acquired magic sword have not gone unnoticed. On his third night back some ruffians broke into Coldflame Keep. They were clearly after Del’s money and his magical treasures. I took steps to make sure that Del was given adequate warning once the men were inside the church. (Don’t worry, he didn’t know that I was even there.) He quickly took charge of the situation and with the help of the Templars stationed within the church they took down the four burglars without difficulty. None were killed and their arrest sent a message to others who might think that a Church of the Silver Flame is an easy target just because it’s outside of Thrane. This also had the additional bonus of letting the Templars see some much needed action.

I “bumped into” Del a few days later. He remembered me from the Tea House, much to my surprise. We had a brief lunch and talked about the state of Sharn since the end of the war. I didn’t ask him anything too specific and he didn’t volunteer details. He’s very good at reading people and I have no doubt that he knows my meeting was not mere chance. I’ll have to be more diligent if I’m going to continue keeping an eye on him. I suspect he’ll be keeping an eye out for mee too in the days to come.

He reminds me so much of his mother. I’m glad that he didn’t get buried under the bureaucracy of the Silver Flame during his time in Flamekeep. He’s turning into a very interesting man.

Sincerely,
Aloniff