After Farid's strange disappearance, the party surmised that he had somehow entered one of the strange mirrors, but they were at a loss as to how the gypsy had accomplished the feat. All they could do was wait and watch the scene that played out in the looking glass before them...

Farid found himself alone in the hallway reflected in the black mirror. His appearance and clothing had changed to that of some sort of young, fanatical temple priest, but a quick check revealed that his weapons and equipment were still intact. Instead of a mirror before him, a black, two dimensional oval hung in midair in the hallway. Turning, Farid saw a black rook chained to a perch in a nearby hallway. At the end of the corridor, double doors opened out onto some sort of plaza underneath a brilliant blue sky.

Farid made an attempt to free the bird from the chain, but the effort proved fruitless. Giving up and muttering an apology to the captive bird, Farid headed out into the plaza. There, he found a man in elaborately decorated robes preaching to a frenzied crowd of thousands. The man spoke of issuing a challenge to the gods above, and the people chanted their praise and worship. Looking up, Farid noticed a small red light near the sun; recalling the tale of the Kingpriest of the city of Istar, he quickly surmised that he was reliving a fantasy of Lord Soth's - a fantasy where the knight, charged by Paladine, saves his world from devastation. Right on cue, the temple doors burst open, and a blonde knight in gleaming armor - an idealized image of Lord Soth - charged into the plaza. He cut his way through the temple guards towards the Kingpriest, who stood in mute fear. Farid leapt forward, intent on dissuading Soth from his course, but the shining knight cut him down. As Farid fell, bleeding, to the steps of the temple, his last sight was of Soth beheading the insolent Kingpriest, thus sparing the world the wrath of the gods. Farid's vision slipped into darkness as his dying breath passed his lips...

...and he awoke in the throne room, surrounded by his companions. He was unhurt, but he could not bear to look into the black mirror. Farid quickly related his experience to his wide-eyed companions, and the party began to form a plan. Leaving Yoshimoto behind to guard their physical forms (and to keep an eye on Lord Soth's ghostly image), the others gathered in front of the second of the mirrors. Gazing into the reflection of a hallway adorned with military banners, the party followed Farid's guidance and willed themselves into the mirrorscape...

Within, they found themselves dressed as knights and wearing faces that were not their own. The hallway they stood in contained another black oval. The other end opened into a courtroom, where a young knight was being put on trial. As they observed, the young knight was revealed to be Soth's former seneschal Caradoc, and he was being found guilty of the murder of Soth's wife, Gladria. Soth - looking as he did in the other mirror - sat and watched the proceedings with a look of satisfaction. When the trial was over and Caradoc sentenced to death, an older knight called to the party to take the prisoner to his cell and guard him until morning, when he would be executed with his own sword. Maintaining their disguise, the party escorted the doomed seneschal to the prison. Once inside, though, they began planning how they could save him. Though his innocence was obvious to them, Caradoc seemed resigned to his fate, claiming to be at least party responsible for Gladria's death. He revealed that he and Gladria were lovers, and that he had convinced her to break her vows of marriage to Soth, who, upon learning of the the affair, killed Gladria and shifted the blame to Caradoc. The young knight showed the party a small emerald ring that he wore - a gift from Gladria.

Before very long, a guard announced that the execution would commence shortly. While each party member hashed out their own plans for foiling Soth's fantasy, they led the prisoner out into a rose-filled courtyard. There, the three knights who had condemned Caradoc - one of them matching the description of the woman from Soth's past, Kitiara - stood in final judgement, while the blonde haired Lord Soth looked on. Upon Kitiara's command, Leif bound Caradoc to the execution block, and Thomasin took up the condemnd's sword. Delban, unnoticed, used his magic to send tormenting messages to Soth, who quickly grew angry and began to disrupt the proceedings. As things began to come apart, Thomasin challenged the knights' ruling, proclaiming Soth to be the murderer. Kitiara warned Thomasin that if he failed to prove his claim, he and his companions would be executed. At this point Farid stepped up and showed Gladria's ring to the assembled knights, proving that Caradoc and Soth's wife were lovers. Kitiara proclaimed that the new evidence cast doubt on Caradoc's guilt, and stayed his execution. The courtyard shook as Soth let out a scream of rage...

...and the party found themselves back in the throne room again. The second mirror had turned black, and offered no reflection. But more had changed - the image of Soth on his throne had moved, as if the death knight had been jarred by a dream...

After filling Yoshi in on what happened, the group decided to enter the first mirror - the one reflecting a woodland scene. They entered in the same fashion, and found themselves in the woods. Their appearance did not change, but they did notice that everything was reverse - weapons were worn on the wrong side, right handed individuals were now left handed, etc. Suddenly a woman's scream filled the air; gathering their weapons, the group headed off to investigate. In a large clearing, they found fourteen elf maidens, captives of a host of ogres. As the party charged to the rescue, the ogres left their meal of venison and charged back. Spells from Thomasin and Delban slowed their advance, and Leif picked off many with his deadly bow. As melee ensued, the party fought well, but were becoming quickly outnumbered. Thomasin fell beneath the blows of an ogre's club, his skull crushed. Suddenly, a band of knights on horseback entered the clearing, routing the ogres. The idealized Lord Soth lead the charge, and challenged the ogre leader to single combat. As the ogre leader's head fell to the ground, the knights finished the last of the ogres. They then offered to escort the elfmaids and the party to Palanthas. Upon returning to their carriage, though, they found a horrible sight. Two ogres had managed to evade the knights and had attacked the carriage, killing Soth's wife, Gladria. Enraged, Soth avenged his wife's death, and ordered her body placed within her carriage for transport to Palanthas. As the procession moved off down the road, Farid commented on how conveniently Soth had changed the outcome, allowing his honor to be retained. The knights moved off down the road, leaving the party behind to plan how they could disrupt Soth's plans...

...as they appeared in the throne room. Tired, the party decided to rest while they coordinated their efforts. Fearing the return of the banshees to the throne room, the party headed back up the outer stairs to the easily fortifiable barracks level.

Having again sought refuge in the shield room, the party rested, studied, prayed, meditated, and planned. The night passed uneventfully, and the group descended into the throne room just as the first rays of the rising sun were reaching for the Keep.

Immediately, the party gathered in front of the mirror that Farid had explored the day before. Yoshimoto joined them as they focused on the scene beyond the mirror; a brief sensation of movement, and they found themselves dressed as temple priests in the doomed city of Istar. The fantasy was playing out just as it had the first time Farid had witnessed it - outside, the Kingpriest was whipping the crowd into a frenzy, even as the fiery mountain blazed like a second sun. This time, though, the party had the advantage of foreknowledge, and they used it. Delban cast a spell of warning on the hallway that Soth had been seen entering the scene from. He then joined the others outside as they tried to warn the temple guards about the danger to the Kingpriest. Seeing the guards' apparent disinterest, Delban cast a magic missile into the crowd, killing a bystander. This had the desired effect of rousing the guards, who pursued the surprisingly nimble mage back into the temple, where Delban led them right into the waiting sword of Lord Soth. The mage fell with the first stroke, but the delay he caused bought the other heroes enough time to set up their defenses around the Kingpriest. Farid blocked the corridor with a wall of magical webs as Yoshi, Thomasin, and Leif formed a circle in front of the Kingpriest. Soth, having made short work of the temple guards, was only momentarily slowed by Farid's spell before he burst onto the portico to slay the Kingpriest. Thomasin, Leif, and Yoshi battled the knight, but only barely managed to slow him down. Yoshi, at the last, dealt Soth a wound that caused him to falter in his deathblow to the Kingpriest, allowing the fiery mountain to strike the city...

...and send them all back to the throne room, unharmed. The mirror had turned dark, just like the one beside it. And again, the image of the death knight on the throne appeared to have moved, as if aware of the party for the first time.

Delban rejoined the group, and together they entered the fourth mirror depicting a city under siege. The party appeared in the armor and faces of harried defenders, worn from a harsh battle. All around them the city burned, the smoke in the air parting only to reveal winged shapes battling high above the rooftops. The party surmised they were in a recreation of Palanthas, a city Soth had once conquered. Just then a half elf in armor approached them through the smoke, his sword blooded and a golden crown upon his head. He introduced himself as Tanis, and rallied the party to the defense of the city. But then the smoke billowed, and Soth appeared, flanked by six hideous looking dragon-men. Soth challenged the half elf to a duel by the Oath and the Measure, and the two fought. Thomasin tried to intervene, but was cut down by the dragon-men's swords. It was obvious that Tanis was the weaker of the two, and gradually Soth beat him down and claimed the golden crown for his own. Placing it atop his head, Soth ordered the dragon-men to finish off the rest of the party. Their poison dripping blades came down...

...and the party was again back in the throne room, their heads spinning with the disorientation caused by their ejection from the mirror.

Gathering their strength and wits, the party entered the fifth mirror and found themselves on a wide plain, dressed as Solamnic knights. In the distance, a tournament was going on amidst several brightly colored pavilions. As the party approached, they saw two combatants - one of them Lord Soth - battling for the favor of the Lady Kitiara. Near Kitiara's tent, a large blue scaled dragon was feasting on the remains of the contest's losers. As they watched, Lord Soth struck the other knight an unfair blow, killing him. He marched forward to claim victory, but was suddenly faced with new opponents - the party. One by one the heroes strode out to challenge him - Yoshi, Farid, Thomasin, Leif. One by one they were cut down by Soth's sword, though they caused him grievous wounds. Finally, instead of challenging the knight, Delban opted to gather his companion's gear and ran, exiting the mirror just as the dragon descended upon him from above.

Disheartened by their failures, the party decided to try the last mirror. There, they found themselves spirits in a ghostly landscape, a broken temple far below them. As they watched, Soth climbed the shattered temple steps and raised a medallion above his head, calling for the spirit of Kitiara. Farid moved in for a closer look, and saw that the medallion matched the pendant that Ticklemop had found, except that this version held a small black jewel in its center. As the spirit of Kitiara disengaged itself from the maelstrom, the party realized that they had to act quickly. Delban cast a spell that knocked the medallion from Soth's hand. As the knight lunged for his prize, Farid followed up with another spell that sent it off the edge into the abyss. Crying out in anger, Soth was suddenly surrounded by a host of blackbirds that scattered into the darkness that was overtaking the scene...

...just as the party was expelled. Pleased with their success, they decided to rest again for a short while, but just then Leif made a startling discovery: the third Ba'alstone that he had been seeking was within reach, and somewhere among Farid's possessions. Emptying his packs, Farid produced a small black bag containing - to everyone's horror - a gritty, crystalline powder and several small broken pieces of stone...

Outside, the animals of the woods scampered for cover. The elves in their ruined cities turned their faces upwards. The vistani brought their procession to a halt. Everyone paused to consider the agonizing scream that echoed throughout the land...the sound of a half elf, broken and tortured and dragged through slime and fire and death...all for nothing.

With night approaching, and the danger of the banshee's serenade growing nearer, the party opted for one last attempt at a mirror before retreating to their adopted headquarters in the shield room. They gathered in front of the first mirror, the scene where Soth led the rescue of the elfmaidens, and entered...

...appearing in the sun-dappled woods again. This time, though, they headed off toward the approaching carriage. As Soth and the knights approached, Farid stumbled out of the woods and pretended to be injured. He claimed to have just narrowly escaped the ogres in the woods, and beseeched Soth to help rescue the elfmaidens. Soth led the knights' charge into battle, while the rest of the party offered to help guard the carriage. Yoshi joined up with the knights, and assisted them in slaying the ogre band. Meanwhile, the rest of the party managed to defeat the two ogre scouts that had killed Lady Gladria the first time around in the fantasy. When Soth returned to find his wife still alive, it was apparent to the party that he was troubled - but the fantasy continued to play out. Later, Soth managed to be alone with his wife, where he killed her and tried to place the blame on Thomasin. But the evidence did not support his claims, and all knew what he had done...

As the sun rose, so did the Company. They journeyed back to the throne room, each of them feeling the coming conclusion to their quest. They worked out a plan, and entered the tournament mirror...

...only to have their plan fall completely apart as Farid, angered and frustrated by Soth's denial of reality, charged headlong into battle with the knight. Soth, surprised, fell back, but quickly regained his battle composure as he fought the crazed gypsy. Delban used his magic to help attack Soth, but the mage was quickly (and rather stylishly) disposed of by the blue dragon, Skie. To everyone's surprise, including his own, Farid managed to defeat the idealized Death Knight, thus ending the fantasy...

...and leaving the party with only one mirror left - the fall of Palanthus. Gathering their strength, the party entered the final mirror...

...and found themselves, once again, in the smoke filled streets of the besieged city. They decided that the key to this fantasy was Soth's recovery of the Crown of Power that the warrior Tanis wore. When the half-elf appeared, they were not only able to draw him away from the place of Soth's arrival, but also steal the crown from his head. When Soth inevitably did arrive on the scene, Yoshi gave Tanis Oathmaker to battle the fallen knight. Tanis fought well, but eventually fell beneath Soth's sword. But Farid had donned the Crown, and used its magic to defend himself and his friends from Soth's dragonman henchmen long enough for Soth to be defeated. As the knight fell to the ground...

...the party returned to the throne room. But this time they were not alone. Lord Soth, the death knight, had awakened from his magical reverie, and demanded an explanation of the party's interference. When told of the destruction happening to Sithicus, Soth left the throne room to survey his lands, only to return scant moments later. He declared his disdain for his flawed realm, and ordered the party to leave his Keep. But as the skeletal warriors advanced, Thomasin held out the small iron pendant that Ticklemop had found. Lord Soth eagerly took it from him, but then became enraged when he discovered that the small black sapphire that offset the pendant was missing. After ordering his minions to bring Ticklemop to him, the death knight interrogated the small kender until he learned that she had found the pendant near her village of Kendralind. Soth once again ordered the party out of his Keep, then disappeared into the shadows to search for his prize.

Fearing that all would be lost if Soth found the stone, the party left Nedragaard Keep and, following Ticklemop, headed for Kendralind. After several hours, they reached a hill near a patch of shimmerweed - a crystalline, refractive plant - where Ticklemop claimed to have killed the wolf and found the pendant. With the aid of the elven woman Hethanna, who was also searching for the "blue ghost", the party found a small cave, concealed by the shining plants. Searching around inside the wolf's den, they eventually discovered a small, rosebud shaped gemstone amidst the debris. Before they could act, though, Lord Soth emerged from the shadows and demanded the stone. Leif tried to destroy it, but he was so gripped by the fear radiating off the death knight that he could barely move. Thomasin gained the stone, and sought to use it to bargain for escape, but Soth had other ideas. The knight cast a fireball that nearly decimated the party. As Thomasin, weakened, attempted to cast the stone away, Soth recovered it. As the party watched, he called forth the spirit of Kitiara from the stone, determined to have her join him forever. The rosebud opened, like a flower, and then the stone shattered. But when Kitiara appeared, she spurned Soth, refusing to submit to him. Suddenly, ravens filled the air, each of them snatching up a fragment of the small stone, carrying it up into the air...Enraged, Soth grabbed for them, but each of the black birds slipped through his grasp.

As the party pulled themselves to their feet, they watched the scene play out. Suddenly, the meaning to Magda's prophecy became clear - "Upon the dark lord's armored plate" did not refer to the third Ba'alstone, but instead to the gateway out of Ravenloft. Leaping forward, each one of the party touched the glowing rose symbol on Lord Soth's breastplate...and each one of them were transported from the Domain of Dread, leaving the tortured dark lord behind them. As they slipped into darkness, each member of the party relived the horrible events they had witnessed in the Mists. But their main concern was for what still lay ahead for them on their path...