Servant of the Shard: Dungeons & Dragons

"It is undeniably beautiful, do you not agree?" Jarlaxle asked, looking back at the soaring cathedral, with its tall spires, soaring buttresses, and great, colored windows.

"The mask of a god", Entreri replied sourly.

"The mask or the face?" asked the always-surprising Jarlaxle.

Entreri stared hard at his companion, and back at the towering cathedral. "The mask", he said, "or perhaps the illusion, concocted by those who seek to elevate themselves above all others and have not the skills to do so".

Jarlaxle looked at him curiously.

"A man inferior with the blade or with his thoughts can still so elevate himself", Entreri explained curtly, "if he can impart the belief that some god or other speaks through him. It is the greatest deception in all the world, and one embraced by kings and lords, while minor lying thieves on the streets of Calimport and other cities lose their tongues for so attempting to coax the purses of others".

That struck Jarlaxle as the most poignant and revealing insight he had yet pried from the mouth of the elusive Artemis Entreri, a great clue as to who this man truly was.

"Power is always a relative concept".—the illithid Yharaskrik