Must be honest, my last couple of playthroughs have led me to ignoring the presence of Oscar at the Zhentarim hideout.
I just don't speak to him or even acknowledge anything about 'pet artists'.
I think its kind of a shame the game doesn't allow you to speak to Lady Janelle when you get to Act 3 and say something like 'Oh I think I may have seen him at... but I didn't have any money to buy him' (lie). That way she can go pay for him herself if she's that desperate. But I dislike him intensely as a character, he's just a really oily snake oil seller type, the reward being a portrait (that usually isn't the one you want) instead of the promised gold because the pair of them are cheapskates, and the general hassle of the quest itself - meh I can live without it. Can deal with Mystic directly and not have the hassle.
I don't mind the Marcus quest because since my very first playthrough I simply don't trigger it and don't have to deal with it at all.
