House Kastinoff

(CAST-i-noff)

The Estate

The Kastinoff family lives on the northern end of the Forked Tongue estuary, a few miles outside Balic. The estate is continually being covered in silt, and must be cleaned almost constantly. In the past, the estate would have been beautiful, it’s grounds gently sloping down from the high point at the front gates to the low point where ancient stone docks jut out into the Silt Sea.

The mine that gave the family it’s great wealth lies on the southeastern end of the estate. It is a small rocky pile rising fifteen feet from the ground. A carved staircase leads down into a antechamber twenty feet below the ground. It is in this room that the supplies are mining are kept, and where the slaves bring the mined rock for refining.

The Family

The family has grown rich from the mining rights of a small silver mine that Andropinis gave them due to their loyalty. The silver mine went dry long before the current patriarch Magavish was born. The mine still exists, and the slaves continue to dig. All they have found for decades in silver dust, and that is now running out. While there are several more years of funds left, the end is in sight and the Kastinoff line is getting desperate for income.

Magavish (N hm Psi9) is the head of the family. He is in his late 60’s and still in excellent health. His temperament, while never good, has continued to become darker as the resources of the family dwindle. The mine has run dry, the funds are running low, and he has no other major sources of income. He has been considering hiring mercenaries to raid caravans, but has not gotten up the nerve yet. He realizes that this is a desperate final step, one that could irrevocably harm his family name - that is, if the merchant houses did not destroy his family outright.

Magavish’s wife is name Casiono (NG hf Fgt1). They have been married for 30 years, and for the most part it has been a happy union. Until lately. Casiono is not exactly sure what has gone wrong, but her husband is changing. (His alignment used to be Neutral Good, but it is changing towards Neutral Evil, and the change is noticeable.) She has tried to discover what is happening, but Megavish has refused to tell her the troubles.

They have one child, Shildis (LG hm Fgt6). Shildis is inspired by the tales he has heard of pre-wasteland Athas. He fancies himself becoming a knight of some sort, and helping to restore Athas to the paradise it was before the coming of the sorcerer kings. He has been searching for the Veiled Alliance, but has yet to find them. They are aware of him, however, and are observing him to see if he is true in his convictions to save Athas.

Shildis is troubled by his father’s change, especially in his treatment of the slaves. Magavish used to treat his slaves with some kind of compassion. They were required to work hard, but were treated fairly. Now, he has been responding harshly, and has even had several of the slaves beaten. Shildis believes it has to do with the lack of silver coming from the mines. He has been meaning to speak to his father, but has been hoping the problem will resolve itself.

Adventure idea – the characters are approached by a manservant of Magavich. He wants them to come to his estate for an employment opportunity. The manserver does not specify why (he does not know why), but says it can involve a considerable amount of silver. If the characters go to see Magavich, he wants them to steal something for him, or raid a nearby estate for coinage.