SecondDeath

Background
Karl Brynx is the master art dealer in Kashin -- and perhaps in all of Rakore. Himself a painter of no small talent, Brynx collects and displays some of the best artwork in the western world. Though technically a belted knight, Sir Karl retired from the fighter's life several years prior, to concentrate on his true loves -- family, and art. He lost both of his sons, when 'the Brynx Brothers' hired out to members of Fire Storm. That loss forced Sir Karl's retirement, and brought him closer to his wife and remaining daughter.

Brynx is also an information dealer, of sorts, since he has so many connections. He has discovered the location of a very rare painting that he is willing to pay good money to obtain. The painting was considered lost two years prior, and many had given up hope of ever seeing it again. Dubbed 'The Second Death', it is an artist's rendition of the Chosen of Arpelos dealing the death stroke to Nathel, just after his resurrection at the finale of the War of the Undead.

The Second Death: a painting of the Chosen of Arpelos using the godslaying sword Giran Howel to destroy the recently resurrected god Nathel. The event is said to be the final moment of the War of the Undead, and the details captured in the painting suggest that the artist was actually there. There is no signature on the oil-based, 3'x4' painting. Hardness 1, 5hp, double damage from fire, no damage from water. Street value is 800gp, but collector value exceeds 12,000gp.

Sir Karl obtained information that the painting was in the manor of a wool-merchant's on Lake Finigah. When Sir Karl made subtle overtures to purchase the painting, the wool-merchant vehemently denied having it -- and Brynx suspects that the painting has since disappeared. He has reason to suspect that the merchant, or his people, originally stole the painting. Sir Karl is afraid they might destroy the painting, or it might be lost forever. The art dealer is willing to pay handsomely for the recovery of the painting, and his status as a Knight of Rakore ensures that the operation will be sanctioned by the authorities.

The manor is a sprawling, two-story affair that makes a 'C' shape, with the open portion of the C facing the lake. A massive gateway through the left side of the C allows for caravans and wagons to drive into the building, and thus keep wool and goods out of sight when unloaded or stored. The first floor of the C contains (in counterclockwise order) a kitchen, a dining room, a reception room, the arch, another reception room, a storage room, and the stables (without a loft). The second floor of the C has twin master bedrooms, twin guest bedrooms, a library and gallery, a workroom and loom, and a quad of servants' rooms. The basement is located beneath the stables and storage room.

The inside of the C looks out on a small wooden dock that jets out into Lake Finigah. The archway itself is oft times open, but can be closed and barred with a stout wooden timber (4" thick, 5 hardness, 30hp, Break DC when barred at 25). The only other access from the outside into the manor is through the kitchens, the stables, and the reception room, which each have their own stout doors (3" thick, 5 hardness, 20hp, Break DC when locked at 22). The inside of the C has several light doors that open into the kitchens, both reception rooms, the storage room, and the stalls of the stables. Just outside the stables is a small hay silo perhaps ten feet on a side and twenty feet tall, with grain bins alongside it.

The whole of the compound has a small wall of stone that runs along its perimeter in a greater 'C' shape. Several vicious dogs live in the compound -- dogs that have been trained to attack anyone not of the family. (The stable-hands usually handle the kennels and the dogs.)

The manor is owned by William Geladine -- and he did, indeed, steal the painting. A crooked man, he and his sons often steal the sheep of the uplands villages, sheer the animals on their own, and then slaughter them -- making the scene look like the work of the undead or some gruesome creature of the mountains.

William Geladine stats. Possessions: if there is time to don it, he will put on a suit of Full Plate +1 (2,650gp), stolen from the old bishop's battle-collection.

Geladine and his sons ambushed the funeral procession of the former bishop of Saint Kiera's, as the procession was heading home to Handel up on the plateau. This is where Geladine acquired the Second Death, and several other items of ill repute. Geladine's four, stout sons routinely beat the servants, and threaten to kill them or their families if they ever tell. The servants have gotten used to hiding bruises and beatings in the company of strangers and guests, and because they are all immigrants that barely speak the Common tongue, they continually live in fear.

The dozen servants consist of: 2 cooks, 2 stable-hands, 1 butler, 3 maids, 2 loom-workers, and 2 pages. All are 1st-level commoners with 3hp for purposes of combat and ability.

Geladine panicked when Sir Karl offered to buy 'The Second Death' -- because he wasn't supposed to have it. He'd recently paid significant amounts of money to have the manor redone, and an apprentice engineer accidentally swept aside the curtains that had been over the painting, set above the fireplace in the dining room. In his panic, Geladine has gathered up all the remaining treasure from the funeral procession, and hidden it up in the rafters of the hay silo. A fresh load of hay filled up the silo, and keeps anyone from being able to look up in the silo. What was too heavy to go in the silo went into a locked chest in the basement, hidden behind supplies, raw wool bolts, and tuns of ale.

In the Silo: Phantom Ink (Moonlight) (10 gp), large steel shield +1 in the theme of Mikindim's arches (1,170 gp), potion of Resistance (25 gp) (blue-colored, musty odor/taste, watery, translucent appearance), divine scrolls Handfire (l1, cl1) and Shockwave Strike (l1, cl1) (125 gp each).

In the Chest: 813 gold coins (813 gp), and 50 gold bars (100gp each) -- all stamped with the Church of Lul on one side, and the Church of Mikindim on the other, Full Plate +1 in the theme of Mikindim's arches (2,650gp) -- if Geladine has no time to don it.

William Geladine also invited several real bandits down out of the mountains. Though outfitted in more regal clothes, their barbaric nature is rather obvious to those with a good Gather Information check (DC 16). The bandits and Geladine are planning on raiding Sir Karl's manor, and causing an 'accidental fire'. To help them along, they've purchased several flasks of alchemist's fire.

The bandits will fight for any reason, but have a relatively low morale. They will fade if too much blood is shed, or if one of their members goes down. Unfortunately, because each of them has a vial of alchemists fire, they'll head more-or-less in a bee-line to Sir Karl's -- and burn it down, killing Sir Karl and his wife in the bargain, before returning to the mountains.

If the Second Death is returned intact to Sir Karl, he will reward the party handsomely for their efforts: 6,000gp in the monies of their choice. Even if only parts of the Second Death are returned, Sir Karl will still pay well -- up to 3,000gp, depending on how much of the painting was damaged or lost.

Sir Karl Brynx has a sealed message from Master Evelin Battachirus, one of Kashin's richest and most secretive merchants. Master Battachirus has asked Sir Karl to relay the message to the party, via messenger. The messenger, one of the city's myriad pages, awaits nearby to take the party's response back to Master Battachirus.

If the party answers 'yea', then the page is instructed to give the party a second sealed parchment, with a map to Master Battachirus' manor, west of the city, near the small farming community of Boulderdash. If the party answers 'nay', then the page will leave, and head directly back towards Boulderdash to relay the message.