As the flames triggered by the 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's 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 100 and 100 gold coins. If it is shipped to Amn or more
Baldur's Gate in the north can earn at least four times the profit. Further north in Waterdeep and Neverwinter, it may even be eight times as much."
Bernard is indeed a shrewd businessman, and 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, so 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 those "trade notes" and magic items packed into dimensional bags.
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 high-level spell scrolls that are light and weightless.
A magic item, materials to make a golem or construct, or the consumption of several experiments.
Bernard quickly 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 in about ten minutes, the city guards should be arriving.
If they find a large number of burnt and desecrated corpses in the house, they will definitely commission the temple to investigate.
At that time, once those nosy paladins come, they will inevitably interrogate and search around."
A thief wearing leather armor and covered in a gray cloak couldn't help but interject.
As a person that Epke transferred from the guild to help with surveillance, the last thing he wanted to encounter was a 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 faded after being burned by the fire, this corpse has definitely been desecrated."
"Blasphemy? You mean... undead creatures, necromancers and demons from the lower planes are involved?"
Another young woman who looked to be in her early twenties opened her eyes in surprise.
An experienced older paladin leads an inexperienced younger paladin, a practice widely adopted 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 some irreparable mistakes due to his impulsive personality.
Or maybe they were plotted by the evil camp and eventually fell into depravity due to various reasons and temptations.
But if it is paired with an experienced senior, the situation will be much better.
Through words and deeds, the young paladin will quickly grow up and 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 learned from the guards that almost all the valuables in the house had been wiped out.
Especially the warehouse in the basement is cleaner than a mouse licking it.
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 businessmen, clerks, servants and slaves.
It must be said that as a representative of lawful good, she behaved very restrainedly.
Even if he witnessed 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 owners to release the slaves.
Quite the opposite!
She only maintained a minimum of sympathy and pity.
After all, this is Calimport, the place where the slave trade flourished most.
In addition to being kind, paladins also have lawful attributes.
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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 includes forcing slave owners to hand over their "property" - 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 personnel.
According to figures obtained from several neighbors, more than sixty armed men were stationed in the house.
There are even spellcasters for hire.
Maintaining this quantity and quality of armed personnel all year round obviously requires a large investment of money.
This is completely opposite to the profit-seeking approach of most businessmen, who try to save costs as much as possible."
Miss Paladin stated the suspicious things she discovered 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, stay patient no matter what happens.
Don't let impulse dominate your reason, otherwise the consequences will be serious." 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.