Paranoid Wizard: the Early Years

[Drychnath]

I am looking to play a Gnome Illusionist as a Paranoid Wizard. The inspiration is, loosely, the environment of Glen Cook's Black Company series, where sorcerers of whatever stripe were a secretive, murderous lot planning to usurp one another's power. I would like to spend considerable effort avoiding such possible machinations. The question is, at earlier levels, how best to go about it?

I think the most obvious solution is, while low level, to simply stay below the radar. I would think I could achieve that by obfuscating my role in party victories, and some judicious downtime use of Magic Aura and the like.

My question is, what could reasonably be done for levels 1-6, that is between not attracting attention to the character and the classic unkillable paranoid wizard shenanigans at higher levels of which I am so fond of reading?

Edit: Grammar

[Son of the Veterinarian]

It's not very glamorous, but you could concentrate on creating magic items: scrolls, potions, and wonderous items.

Make yourself useful by offering them to the other casters at slightly below market prices.

[cnetarian]

Do what the magic users of the company often did, pretend you are not a wizard. Carry a crossbow, wear padded armor and let everyone think you are a dex-based crossbow fighter or something.

[Drychnath]

Masquerading as some other class was high on my list. I was also looking into changing my aliases, outfits from location to location, and the like.

How early, do y'suppose, could a fellow lay his grubby Gnome paws on some sort of scrying detection/defense?

[cnetarian]

Wanderer's shroud faith trait is the only one I can think of that a gnome could get before the the level 3 non-detection spell. 35,000 gp for an amulet of proof against detection and location, I recall there being another item that has a similar effect for about 20,000gp however I cannot recall the name or if it is PF legal and by the time you can afford 20,000gp you should have the non-detection spell anyway.