[this does not make him feel even remotely better, even if rationally he is kind of aware that his judgment was influenced by a bizarre obsession with treasure/his destination and also the cyoa runner never intended for us to go with these npcs. we really broke this cyoa by sylus being het.]

It is not unusual, but that does not make it right. In any case, as said, they were essentially as real to us as we were to each other.