The Scholar and The Opportunist

Gaen Baliol was once a scholar of magic and history who was schooled at a secret School of Wizardy in northern Eystlund. Being the sort who was just as interested in magic history as he was in magic itself Gaen spent as many nights reading history texts as he did studying his spellbook. Eventually, his thirst for knowledge led to the forbidden. Though Gaen was uninterested in learning the dark arts for personal use he was greatly concerned with learning of the rise and fall of those who did so in the past.

Over the course of many years Gaen "borrowed" many forbidden texts that were locked and hidden away by his masters. He squirreled them within his own quarters until they became too cumbersome for his tiny dormitory. Eventually, Gaen took the lot of them to a nearby cave to study them, devouring them nightly by candlelight.

Gaen's comings and goings eventually led to his discovery by an elf of the name Ji'Seera. Ji'Seera was an elf of wicked nature and took her opportunity upon discovering Gaen's theft to force him to take more from the masters, lest she expose him for a thief. Ji'Seera however was not interested by the history of the magic that was forbidden to the understudies of the school, but the potential power that knowledge could bring, and so forced Gaen to remove old tomes that explained how one could conjure the power forbidden them.

Fearing expulsion and possibly worse, Gaen obliged. Over several weeks he carefully took what books he could under the noses of the schoolmasters, but Ji'Seera was never satisfied. Eventually, when Gaen could no longer abide the guilt of his crimes he refused Ji'Seera when she demanded more. Defiantly he told her that he would throw himself upon the mercy of the mages council before taking any more and would quickly implicate her extortion if she were to attempt to force him into doing so.

This enraged Ji'Seera. Over the next year and a half she studied and copied every relevant spell and ritual that she found worthy of the texts taken by Gaen. When she finished the exhaustive work she made a final attempt at swaying Baliol at procuring more of the forbidden magical tomes for her. Although Ji'Seera had grown exponentially more powerful than before, Gaen steadfastly refused but stated that as long as she left the situation alone, he would keep her secret if she kept his. Ji'Seera was visibly disappointed but seemed to understand, much to Gaen's surprise, and she left his dormitory without further incident.

The following day a senior member of the mage's council was found dead. It was believed that a spell of necromancy was used to sap the councilman's lifeforce. The spell, it was determined, was one found in a tome of a forbidden nature. One that had been locked away in the deepest depths of the school's basement library centuries ago. A place where only the most senior instructors and the most advanced students were allowed to enter, only now, that tome was missing.

Ji'Seera reported to the council that she had found Gaen Baliol to be keeping odd hours and leaving the school grounds for a small cave to the west. The council investigated, and that day found within the cave Ji'Seera led them to every tome and history book that Gaen had squirreled away for himself, as well as all those spellbooks and tomes of dark ritual that he had stolen for Ji'Seera at her demand.

Word quickly spread through the university that a cave had been discovered near the school with countless stolen spellbooks. Gaen knew it was a matter of time before he would be arrested. He knew that he'd be found guilty and at best be executed, and at worst have his hands cut off and his tongue torn out as punishment. He knew Ji'Seera's word would be accepted over his and so he fled. Leaving all things he loved and all people he knew behind.

20 years passed as Gaen Baliol roamed the northern continent. He had heard word at one time that the noted bounty hunter Windfall was even contracted to find him at one point. Flattered as he might've been if he had in fact been guilty of what he was wanted for, Gaen supposed that it was only fitting. Indirectly, it was his fault after all that a senior councilman was killed, even if he himself didn't cast the spell. Regardless, the threat of one with prowess such as Windfall after him meant that now, more than ever, he needed to find a place of permanent refuge, or die a fugitive.

Eventually, the legend of a village of outlaws was discovered by Baliol to be in fact a reality. A tower, though a very small one, was already within the town and currently empty. Perfect. He immediately bought it from Baron Von Strohm and has been there for the last decade. He has not been harassed since his arrival, and likely would've forgotten all about the troubles of his past if he hadn't received a message by courier, five years after his arrival, that Ji'Seera De'Logue, elven mage, had been made a senior member of the council he had fled from 25 years ago.

The letter, left under his door and delivered to him by a courier he never saw, was unsigned, though at the bottom, where a signature would normally be were the words...

I will keep your secret, if you keep mine.