Background: Ferdinand Valdes

Source

This all began one month ago, when the
Society purchased a number of artefacts
from the adventurer Ferdinand Valdes
(whose exploits you have no doubt
heard of). Though our experts were dubious
of their provenance at first, close
inspection proved beyond doubt that
the contents of Valdes’ haul were in fact
genuine Naptaan grave goods. The goddess
knows how Valdes came by these;
he certainly wasn’t forthcoming with the
information.
The prime specimen was a gilded sar-
cophagus, containing the mummified
body of an actual Naptaan prince. As one
of the Society’s foremost experts on the
Naptaan script, you can imagine my excitement
when I deciphered the hieroglyphs
on the sarcophagus that identified
the body inside as none other than
King Kharatep, listed in the Chronicles
of Teput as one of the keepers of the funerary
caskets of Phatep.
There was no sign of the casket among
the loot Valdes sold us, and close questioning
of his men revealed they had
not seen anything matching its description.
The implication is clear — if Valdes’
men did not take it, the casket must
still be there! [..]
- Beatrix von Ueblingen, Wizard of the Imperial Society of Eichtal