Farid and Leif continued their arduous trek across the Necrolith, at long last reaching the far peak - only to discover that it was not a mountain, but the petrified form of the demon which Ghrym had been stuggling against. Using Brandon's recovered "Dragon Headpiece of Levitation", Farid and Leif slowly ascend the face of the peak, seeking the source of the magical vortex that was forming behiond the megalith. As they rose, they were attacked by the demon inhabiting Brandon's form, who came at them with spells and magic. Farid and Leif managed to escape the full brunt of the attack, and fled into the cave like mouth of the statue.
Meanwhile, in Dragoth'Gor, Thomasin, Endelban, and Yoshimoto all struggled to make sense of their situation. From the pit emerged a terrible beast - a dragon, but one without flesh...a skeletal shadow to Brightwing's majestic form. The young copper dragon leapt to the attack, as did Thomasin and Yoshimoto, but it was clear from the beginning that they were all hopelessly outmatched. As the battle raged on, things suddenly went from bad to worse, as the great portal at the back of the cave began to open.
Emerging through the back of the statue, Farid and Leif found themselves before the robed accuser, stull inhabiting Ian's body. Their former companion was using the second Ba'alstone to open a rift like vortex in the swirling mists. The three battled, and Leif dealt the killing blow with Darkfire, but the magical blade's energies were somehow turned against him. As the ranger fell to the ground, terribly weakened, the one who was Ian seemed to grow as he burned with the black fire. Farid made a desparate grab for the Ba'alstone, but the former priest seemed not to notice. As they watched, a stone bridge grew forth from the Necrolith, streching out into the spiraling rift. The black robed priest turned and triumphantly strode out onto the expanse...
Finding their attacks ineffective against the skeletal dragon, and seeking shelter from the crumbling cavern, Thomasin, Endeleban, and Yoshimoto headed through the opened portal. Beyond, they found a boiling curtain of darkness, surging forward towards the opening. The remains of an elven warrior, complete with spear and broken harp lay on the cavern floor, just before the black curtain. Surely these were the remains of the elven heor Al'Draven, mentioned in the text outside the portal, but the secret of the magic he used to seal the portal was lost to the party. As the darkness inched forward, and the titanic battle raged in the cavern behind them, the three adventurers put their trust in fate and stepped into the black curtain...
As the vortex raged all around them, Leif and Farid gathered the last of their strength and charged after the escaping priest. As they caught up to him, however, they saw another group - Yoshimoto, Endeleban, and Thomasin - approaching from the far end of the bridge. The battle to prevent the priest's escape was brief, as their weapons seemed ineffective against the black fire which engulfed him. Briefly, the priest and the demonic halfling turned at the portal to offer one last taunt and then were gone, closing the portal behind them.
The Company was reunited, but they had failed in preventing the darkness from escaping the bounds of Ravenloft. Worse yet, they found themselves trapped within the dark prison. But, even as the bridge began to crumble beneath their feet, the shade of El'Al'Halen appeared and warned them not to give up on their quest...For they had recovered two of the Ba'alstones, and would need the combined power of all three if they were to set things right again...As the bridge fell away, the adventurers found themselves once again in the Mists, despair filling their hearts...