Benelaius

Benelaius was a War Wizard of Cormyr who retired in the mid–14 century DR. In 1366 DR, he moved to the village of Ghars, on the edge of the Vast Swamp, and bought a small house abutting the swamp. He lived there with his servant Jasper and a large number of cats.

Personality
Although he was a powerful War Wizard, Benelaius eschewed magic and spent most of his time studying.

He openly mocked Jasper's idol worship of the fictional detective Camber Fosrick, considering the character a poor mockery of a good detective.

History
Very little was revealed about Benelaius's past, except that he served the kingdom as a War Wizard. In his service as a War Wizard, he became good friends with Vangerdahast Aeiulvana.

In 1366 DR, he moved to Ghars, building a small house east of town abutting the Vast Swamp. A few weeks after moving in, he was burglarized by Jasper and caught the would-be thief only after Jasper mistook one of his many cats as a stuffed pillow in the dark.

He gave Jasper two choices: be turned over to the Purple Dragons for punishment or become his servant for a year. Benelaius would provide room, board, a small stipend (1 silver falcon a month), and an education in exchange for Jasper's service. Jasper chose service over jail (or worse) and became a valued addition to Benelaius's retirement.

Benelaius was true to his word to Jasper, setting aside at least an hour a day educating his servant. He taught Jasper a wide variety of subjects, with the exception of magic.

He had frequent visitors, including his old friend Vangerdahast.

He used Jasper as his eyes and ears around Ghars, often providing sharp insight into the workings of the small village.

In 1367 DR, with the help of his servant Jasper, Benelaius solved a murder mystery in Cormyr, without casting any spells.

Home
Benelaius built a cottage to the east of Ghars. It was a two-story building, with a front hall, kitchen and small pantry, private study and main room on the first floor. In the study, a pair of doors led out to a piazza, a patio looking out onto the Vast Swamp. The piazza had several wooden chairs and braziers.

There were three bedrooms and a small library on the second floor. The largest bedroom was Benelaius's, and Jasper occupied the smallest bedroom. The third was a guest bedroom for visitors.

A carriage house contained a stable for Benelais's horses, Jenkus and Stubbins, and a small carriage was on one side of the house.

Benelaius told Jasper that the house had magical protections but did not provide any details about the spells. When Jasper responded that the spells didn't stop him from burgling the place, Benelaius quipped back that it had caught him a servant.

Benelaius had nearly 100 house cats. The cats used the Vast Swamp as their litterbox, avoiding any mess or smell in the house. Two of them were Grimalkin and Razor.

The small library in the house contained many texts, such as: Archetymbal by Kastor, Proceedings by Magus Firewand, Mediations and Meditations by Kirkabey, Seasons in the Heartlands by Chelm Vandor, and Thought and Its Processes by Trelaphin. Benelais's private study contained a number of other, highly specialized volumes.

Behind the Scenes
As stated by author Chet Williamson, Benelaius is based on armchair detective Nero Wolfe, with his servant Jasper in the role of Archie Goodwin.