The Instigator

''"Thank you for your patronage." - The Instigator to a contracted innkeeper.''

The Instigator is a mysterious undead entity who enters into contracts with mortals to exchange blood coins for fresh corpses. It was deduced by the paladin Eadric that The Instigator is, in fact, a death knight.

Appearance
The Instigator resembles an undead human male. Sporting old plate armor, and garbed in a worn black tabard that is soiled with blood, the creature's decaying face and piercing yellow eyes reveal it's unnatural existence.

Moving with the coordination and purposefulness one would expect from the living, it is apparent that The Instigator is a formidable being; much more so than any common reanimated corpse.

Personality
Whilst little is known about this mysterious entity, The Instigator appears to diligently carry out its role with a cold, unwavering commitment.

Articulate, direct, and assertive, The Instigator never fails to appear and fulfil the contracts it issues. The Instigator seems completely detached and emotionless to the circumstances in which the provided corpses are found.

Despite the entity's apparent indifference to those outside the scope of it's duties, The Instigator's very presence instils a sense of dread and inescapable evil.

The Contract
The Instigator was first encountered by members of the West Marches Adventurering Company as they stopped at an isolated inn during their journey back to Newharbour from Tannis the Seer. After a violent tavern fight with a group of bandits, who were all killed in the encounter, the undead entity entered the premises and payed the innkeeper 6 red-tinged gold coins; one for each bandit killed within the building. Several ghouls under the command of The Instigator proceeded to enter the inn and collect the fresh corpses, stacking them onto a wagon outside the building.

Before it could leave, The Instigator was accosted by the paladin Ornstein. It was at this time that the undead knight offered the paladin a contract; The Instigator would collect any being felled by the paladin in exchange for blood money. Before Ornstein could respond, The Instigator took leave; seemingly vanishing with its ghouls and their freshly collected corpses. It was at this time that fellow paladin Eadric sensed a great foreboding evil emanate from the creature. It was later confirmed by the innkeeper that he had previously signed such a contract.

Having accepted the contract, Ornstein had The Instigator contact him through several dreams. Through these dreams, The Instigator revealed that those who signed the contract had accepted patronage from a mysterious and powerful entity currently only referred to as "The Master".

Damon
The Instigator was later discovered to be working closely with the para-lich, Damon. The Instigator sought to forge for Damon a powerful sword, using the blood extracted from the corpses that had been gathered by The Master's retainers. The Instigator was interrupted by the West Marches Adventuring Company, and was ultimately defeated. Whilst Eadric destroyed The Instigator's body with a powerful divine smite, the aasimar paladin questioned as to if The Instigator had truly been vanquished.