Chapter 1: The House of Lament

"I'm afraid that we don't have much to spare," Alanik says, then hesitates, "But I suppose that if you're the ones exploring, you could use these more that us."

With that, he reaches into a bag attached to his chair and pulls out a pair of scrolls before handing them over.

You make your way slowly through the house. Room by room, you encounter further evidence of a malevolent spirit haunting the place. At your best guess, it is haunted by the spirits of Dalk Dranzorg, Lady Mara Silvra, and Theodora Halvhrest, though which one is causing the problems isn't clear.

Two nights after you enter, you find yourselves in a hidden basement under the original tower structure.

Nothing is natural about this buried cavity or the amber light flooding the space. Petrified figures lie trapped among the pale stone walls, their faces contorted in terror. Deeper, the floor forms a craterlike depression filled with inky muck. From the center of the pit rises a jagged amber monolith. A faint glow issues from within, backlighting a vague, elusive shape.

As you approach, the air grows cold and Mara Silvra manifests before you, a spectral night with distorted, screaming features. She looks to the monolith and shouts ""You foul thing! Take these lives and release me!"

After a tough fight, you manage to bring her down. Her spectral form turns to mist and peace washes over her tortured visage and she fades away.

The amber monolith remains and Zuri approaches it, laying a hand on it and drawing upon his magical powers and discipline to commune with it. With a growl and a pained shout, he plunges his hand into it and it shatters into a million pieces.

He slumps, exhausted, to the ground and Arthur rushes forth to check on him. "I think he'll be okay," he says after a moment, "But I think it best if we watch over him for a bit while we finish cleansing this place."

You all agree and Zuri stays with your new friends, for now.