Free the Artist

Oskar wishes to return to Baldur's Gate.

Free the Artist is a Quest in Act One and Act Three of Baldur's Gate 3. It is started by speaking with Oskar Fevras at the Zhentarim Basement in Act One and does not resume until Act Three in Baldur's Gate.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Help Oskar escape.

• We met Oskar, an artist captured by the Zhentarim. He begged us to help him escape, promising that his patron will reward us handsomely.
• We told Oskar we'd rescue him. Now to figure out how.
• Brem agreed to sell us Oskar for a hefty sum of gold.
• If passed persuasion check: It took some convincing, but we got Brem to lower the price.
• If Oskar is purchased: We bought Oskar from Zhentarium. We should tell him the good news.
• If the Zhentarim were persuaded to release Oskar: We persuaded the Zhentarim that Oskar was more trouble than he was worth. They let him go.
• Oskar told us his story. Caught up in a romantic scandal with a patriar of Baldur's Gate, he fled his engagement to her.

Look for Oskar in Baldur's Gate.

• Oskar left for Baldur's Gate. Who knows, maybe we'll see him there.

Check up on Lady Jannath.

• Lady Jannath's butler, Tarhun, indicated to us that something very strange is going on and was clearly unsettled. We should investigate.

Find out what's haunting the Jannath Estate.

• The Jannath Estate is clearly haunted. We should find what's causing this.

Incapacitate Oskar.

• We found Oskar, who is possessed and aggressive. His wife, Lady Jannath, has asked us to incapacitate him.

Explore the Jannath Estate.

• We knocked out Oskar, but he is still possessed. Maybe there are clues around the mansion that will help us find out what caused this.

Investigate the Atelier in the Jannath Estate.

• Lady Jannath said that since the wedding, Oskar has been working obsessively up in his Atelier. We should go investigate.
• We briefly broke the enchantment possessing Oskar. During those brief moments, he mentioned the Atelier. We might find more clues there.
• We found the Atelier. There must be something in here that will point us toward the source of Oskar's possession.
• We discovered a secret room in the Atelier.
• The hidden portrait of the maiden seems to be invulnerable to normal attacks and responds to violence with violence. There must be some way of coaxing out whatever's tormenting it. We should look around for clues.

Ask Lady Jannath about Mystic Carrion.

• We found a letter from a Mystic Carrion addressed to Oskar. It says to bring the letter to Carrion's mansion and provides a password that will grant entry. We might want to ask Lady Jannath if she knows anything about this mystic.

Find Mystic Carrion's mansion.

• We found a letter from a Mystic Carrion addressed to Oskar. It says to bring the letter to Carrion's mansion and provides a password that will grant entry. We should find where he lives and ask him about Oskar.

Talk to Mystic Carrion about Oskar.

• We spoke to Lady Jannath about Mystic Carrion. She said that Carrion's services are a fad amongst the nobility and that we can find his mansion down near the water. We should go speak to him.
• We found a letter from a Mystic Carrion addressed to Oskar. It says to bring the letter to Carrion's mansion and provides a password that will grant entry. We should pay him a visit and ask him about Oskar.

Help Mystic Carrion in exchange for the means to exorcise the spirit from Oskar.

• Carrion revealed that Oskar came to him to talk to a tormented spirit. He's willing to help us exorcise this spirit from Oskar if we help him with his missing servant first.
• Carrion revealed that Oskar came to him to talk to a tormented spirit. He's willing to give us a Torch of Revocation to exorcise the spirit from Oskar if we help him with his missing servant first.
• We convinced Lady Jannath to help us pay Mystic Carrion for Oskar's cure.

Explore Mystic Carrion's mansion.

• We made an enemy of Mystic Carrion before learning how to exorcise the spirit possessing Oskar. We'll have to search Carrion's mansion for clues.
• We found a stash of client information. Maybe it will contain clues about how to exorcise the spirit possessing Oskar.

Obtain the Torch of Revocation.

• We made an enemy of Carrion, so we'll have to find the Torch of Revocation ourselves. It must be around here somewhere.
• We found Oskar on a list of Mystic Carrion's clients. It revealed that a Torch of Revocation can be used to destroy the cursed portrait. We need to find one.

Destroy the cursed portrait in the Jannath Estate.

• We got our hands on the Torch of Revocation. We should use it to destroy the cursed portrait in the Jannath Estate.

Confront the spirit of Kerri Evenfield.

• We successfully destroyed the cursed portrait, forcing the spirit out. She went looking for Oskar. We should follow her.

Find Oskar in the Atelier to receive a reward.

• We convinced Kerri's spirit to leave this plane. Lady Jannath and Oskar made amends. We should find Oskar up in the Atelier to receive the reward we were promised.
• We defeated Kerri's spirit, but Lady Jannath couldn't forgive Oskar and they parted ways. We should find Oskar up in the Atelier and ask for the reward we were promised.
• We defeated Kerri's spirit and convinced Lady Jannath to give Oskar another chance. We should find Oskar up in the Atelier and ask for the reward we were promised.

Quest Complete

• Oskar died.
• We called Oskar our slave after freeing him from the Zhentarim, which led to a sour goodbye.
• We left Oskar with the Zhentarim.
• We left Oskar to his fate, consumed by the spirit possessing him.
• We killed Oskar. At least the spirit possessing him will be free.
• We let Kerri's spirit kill Oskar. Once the deed was done, she vanished.
• We convinced Kerri's spirit to leave this plane. However, Oskar was devastated to learn that his wife was dead, so he wasn't ready to paint us. He gave us his sketchbook as payment instead.
• We defeated Kerri's spirit, but Oskar was devastated to learn that his wife was dead. He wasn't ready to paint us, so he gave us his sketchbook as payment.
• Oskar painted a portrait of us and gifted it to us as thanks for our troubles.
• We left Oskar to his fate after finding him possessed by a spirit.
• We abandoned Oskar during the fight with Kerri's spirit.

Walkthrough

The Zhentarim Hideout

The door to the Zhentarim hideout.

During Act One, to find Oskar, the Zhentarim Hideout must first be located. It's in a barn west of Waukeen's Rest, at the shabby door (X:-113, Y:613). The party will automatically be aware of the Zhentarim Hideout depending on how  Find the Missing Shipment was dealt with. If the party undertook this quest and managed to spare Rugan's life, he shares the location of the hideout along with the password need to enter. With a successful perception check, the party notices a man, Salazon, crouching behind some shelves. Reciting the password 'Little serpent, long shadow' has him stand down immediately and provide the key to a wardrobe that leads into the hideout. If the party does not have the password, there are a myriad of other options to get past Salazon:

• Read his mind.
• [PERSUASION] Just calm down - I'm not here to fight. (DC 15)
• [ROGUE][PERSUASION] This is all pretty crude, as traps go - you'll probably kill us both. (DC 15)
• [SORCERER][PERSUASION] I am magic. Cast that spell - you'll only hurt yourself. (DC 15)
• [BARBARIAN][INTIMIDATION] Careful. You won't kill me, but you will make me mad. (DC 15)

Succeeding to make the man stand down allows the Zhentarim to be dealt with peacefully. Enter the Zhentarim Basement and follow the path down to encounter Brem (X:295, Y:-250). Brem is a trader for the Zhentarim and he's holding an artist, Oskar Fevras, hostage. He offers to have Oskar paint a portrait, for a fee. Speaking to Brem before Oskar provides unique dialogue options to persuade him that Oskar is more trouble than he's worth.

If choosing "A 'pet artist'?" to ask Brem more about Oskar, he explains they found him wandering the wilds, and that he needed protection. Choosing "'Protection'. It sounds a bit more like kidnapping." results in a dialogue about letting Oskar go:

• [INTIMIDATION] We can skip threats and go straight to blades, if you like. (DC 20)
• [PERSUASION] If he's as talented as you say, someone will be looking for him. (DC 20)
• [ROGUE][PERSUASION] Art's more valuable once the creator is dead. I can arrange that (DC 15)
• [BARD][PERSUASION] If this artist were to tragically expire, his portfolio would become finite - therefore priceless. (DC 15)
• [PALADIN][PERSUASION] Slavekeeping's bad for business with any halfway-moral customer. Let him go. (DC 15)
• [GITHYANKI][INTIMIDATION] Here's my offer: give me your slave, or become mine. (DC 15)

Choosing "Fine, I'll buy him. How much?" causes Brem to name a price - 1000 gold. This price can be knocked down to 600 gold with a successful Persuasion roll (DC 15) or Intimidation (DC 20).

If speaking to Oskar to inform him of the good news, then more information can be gleaned about Oskar - he's engaged to a wealthy woman but conflicted about leaving behind his first love. He asks for more gold for the road, stating his fiancé will repay the party handsomely for rescuing him. Regardless of if the party pays up, he'll successfully escape and return to Baldur's Gate.

Lady Jannath's Estate

Floating objects reveal something ghostly is happening in the mansion.

Once in Act Three, the party can attempt to meet with Oskar in Baldur's Gate. Oskar can be sought out within the Lower City at Lady Jannath's Estate (X:-254, Y:-76). A butler named Tarhun Mnemonis guards the door. Tarhun explains that Lady Jannath sent away all the servants on vacation, including him. As he is on vacation, he cannot stop anyone from entering the estate, but he does warn against it. While the conversation is going on, screaming and banging can be heard from within the mansion.

Entering the mansion, it's clear something ghostly is occurring. Chairs and various objects are floating and, as the party climbs the stairs, they start to attack. Use dash to climb the steps as fast as possible and enter the upstairs bedroom (X:-251, Y:-55) to initiate a cutscene with Lady Jannath and a possessed Oskar. Three Poltergeists appear to attack the party. Knocking out Oskar will immediately kill the three poltergeists. Killing Oscar causes Jannath to immediately kick the party out and prematurely end the quest.

If the party can't knock Oskar out and must instead kill the poltergeists manually, they'll turn invisible. Volo's Ersatz Eye and other sources of  See Invisibility can help in this encounter.  Faerie Fire and  Spirit Guardians are also helpful.

Once the poltergeists are dealt with, Jannath pleads with the party to help her. She needs discretion, which is why she sent the servants away. She notes that there appears to be something off about the atelier at the top floor and directs the party to investigate there.

If going to the atelier the party has to deal with a number of cursed skulls. The skulls deal thunder damage and knock back the party. Using  Silence can stop the skulls from casting their spells. Then the party can utilize  Remove Curse or use throw a "thrown" bludgeoning weapon at them, which will destroy them in one attack. Also  Spirit Guardians is useful to get rid of the skulls.

The location of Oskar's portrait - steal it to combine with his easel.

Once in the atelier (X:-268, Y:-52), a perception check reveals a strange wall. The wall can be accessed by a trick with Oskar's portraits. Stealing the portrait of Oskar that's against the western wall and then combining it with the empty easel opens up an additional section of the room and the possessed portrait within. There's also a locked chest behind the portrait. Lockpick the chest (DC 20) and read the Letter to Oskar Fevras within. The letter reveals that Oskar was corresponding with someone named Mystic Carrion who was helping him with his ghostly problems.

Mystic Carrion's Mansion

Go to Philgrave's Mansion (X:-8, Y:-158) to find Mystic Carrion. The western wall can either be destroyed, lockpicked, or the passphrase from Oskar's letter can be used to open it.

Talk to Mystic Carrion about Oskar, and he remembers dealing with him. He offers a solution - the Torch of Revocation - for the price of 3000 gold. He is, however, willing to waive the fee if the party agrees to find his missing servant, Thrumbo, as part of  Find Mystic Carrion's Servant. If Mystic Carrion is dead, the Torch can be found in a gilded chest behind where he was originally encountered (X:18, Y:-162).

Kerri is not happy that Oskar disturbed her peace.

However the Torch is acquired, bring it back to the atelier and equip it. Then, use it on the possessed portrait (if it's equipped as a torch, perform an off-hand melee attack) to free the spirit of Kerri Evenfield. The ghost inside is enraged at the fact that Oskar trapped her, and wants revenge. Kerri can be persuaded or intimidated (DC 15) into backing down from killing Oskar. Otherwise, she'll attack the party with two Vengeful Souls and two Tormented Souls. After this all the invisible Poltergeists throughout the house will immediately die.

If saving Oskar by fighting Kerri then Lady Jannath will be upset about Oskar putting them in danger. The party can choose to help Oskar or tell Lady Jannath the truth.

If both Oskar and his marriage are saved, he'll be immensely grateful and offer to paint a portrait as a reward. He goes up to the atelier and starts painting whenever the party is ready. He also allows the title to be chosen by the party, which does not affect the price of the portrait. ^{[See: Bugs]}

Quest rewards

• An original painting by Oskar Fevras for saving both Oskar and his marriage.
• Till Death Do Us Part and After Death Do Us Part for fighting Kerri and telling Jannath the truth (Oskar will leave and drop After Death Do Us Part on the floor just outside the bedroom).
• Leaving Oskar to Kerri also rewards After Death Do Us Part.

Notes

• The party does NOT need to pay the additional 200 gold when freeing Oskar for him to show up in Baldur's Gate and continue the questline, the extra 200 gold is for changing around companion reputation.
• The party may also choose to continue this quest if they chose to buy Oskar and treat him as a slave, resulting in him fleeing the party on bad terms. This all seems to be forgotten when the party reaches Baldur's Gate, and the quest continues as normal.
• If a romantic partner is in the party, when Oskar paints a portrait of the player character, they will comment on how attractive it makes the player character look.

Bugs

• The portrait painted by Oskar will not always be of the party member who spoke with him.
• The poltergeists in Lady Jannath’s mansion can behave erratically, skipping multiple turns in a row without taking any actions.
• The party can visit Mystic Carrion and ask for assistance with Oskar's condition before they visit Lady Jannath's Estate, despite having no way to know about him becoming possessed.