If you are an erudite (assuming since you mentioned a Paineel quest) or even a human, you could considered the Flayed Skin Armor. It usually goes for cheap if it is even sold. A lot of people might just give it away. Also, if you can find a way to get to Karnor's Castle, you could just sit there for a few hours asking for it and i'm sure some people would just give it to you.
It is decent for starting gear. I have it on my human necro cause I don't really feel like investing much in him until Velious. Here is a link to the gear:
http://wiki.project1999.org/Flayed_Skin_Armor