Journeying through the Impiltur valley, the party heads towards the mining camps located in the western reaches. As they journey, they hear strange tales of ghoul fever and lycanthropy, of madness and mayhem – all apparently spurred by the appearance of the Black Monastery. The local lore is that it was destroyed long ago in the onset of the Demonwars, but since then it has reappeared for varying lengths of time. Each time it returns, there is chaos in the region and adventurers appear from far and near to try and gain access. Most are never seen again, but some escape with wealth aplenty.

The group climbs into the hills and deploys the wizard for some aerial recon. The layout of the place is Gormenghastly – a tangle of roofs and turrets, a large open courtyard and narrow tall windows...

After journeying to the edge of the forest, the party encounters an encampment of elves. They are nervously surveying the forest and tell a strange tale to the inquiring adventurers. A sorcerer and his undead minions sacked the town and ran off the elves. He slew the unicorn that served as guardian and hacked off the horn, partially freeing the evil spirit imprisoned under the sacred stones. The group takes advantage of the scout offered by the EIC (elf in charge) and they find themselves on the eastern edge of the vast forest after a few days. They make a brief contact with a self-blinded elf who fills them with tales of dread and woe. So much woe. Also, a few clues about where to look and what has happened so far.

They enter along the ridgeline and walk through the night to draw close to...

Goldpiece is familiar with the name of Myereth. An elven city near the eastern edge of the Forest of Lethyr, near the Mucklestones.

Although he has never visited it, it is legendary as a safe haven – a place where no evil may enter and the trees are said to weep healing tears on the sick and injured. Oryndel’s report is based on the stories told to him by refugees fleeing the area: A great evil has invaded the forest, slain the unicorn protector and tainted its spirit. They call themselves Servants of the Blood Moon and are led by a sorcerer called Tamarat. The trees themselves now bleed and the ground has turned black...

Departing the crypt, the group ventures on to discover a long, water filled passage. A quick water breathing spell and they investigate. The end of the passage is blocked by a large rock. Some quick thinking with the upside down rowboat to let the mage cast a spell and the rock is shrunk and squeezed past.
Now the group is standing at the bottom of a large lake/cistern. As they set off to explore an undead great white shark masticates the mage and swims off with him imprisoned in the toothy maw of the shark. The quick witted wizard quaffs a potion of diminution and wriggles free, gently drifting towards the bottom. The rest of the group prepares – as well as is possible – for the shark’s return...

After wandering around a bit more, the plucky band of intrepid adventurers comes across a strange collection of traps and an odd fountain adorned by representations of the elemental forces. They exert considerable brainpower and eventually pull the levers that need pulling and sprinkle the sand that needs sprinkling and are rewarded with a bottled djinn.
They release the djinn and contemplate the benefits of 1001 days of service as opposed to three wishes. In the end, wishes are selected. One to recharge the staff of resurrection, one to recharge the undead zapping staff and the last one is used to move the group as close as possible to the Rotting Man!
They materialize on an ivory staircase which opens into a large room...