Castle Amber

Your newly formed party of six adventurers has been traveling overland to Glantri City, tracking down rumors that one of the Princes of Glantri is looking for brave adventurers willing to undertake a special mission (for a suitable fee, of course). You were especially eager to receive the commission, because the Princes of Glantri are noted for their generosity, not only with money but also with magical gifts.

Leading pack mules laden with supplies, you have been following a river that the local inhabitants assured you would lead to Glantri City. Unfortunately, no hired guide was available, and either the directions given to you were wrong or you have taken the wrong fork in the river by mistake. At any rate, you have good reason to suspect that you are lost and will have to retrace your route tomorrow.

The sun is setting and it is time to make camp. The most defensible campsite is on a nearby hill. The night passes safely, though everyone's sleep is plagued with nightmares. When the sun finally rises, you stare out at a world gone mad. Instead of the hill where you made camp last night, your bedrolls now lie in a foyer of an ornate mansion. A freshly swept carpet graces the floor. The walls are decorated with bright, colorful tapestries.

Brass candelabras line the entranceway. They show signs of having been recently polished and are filled with candles.

More frightening than the sudden change from the wilderness to a mansion, is the smoky gray mist which surrounds the mansion at a distance of 30 feet, blocking all sight beyond. No sound penetrates the mist. A mule which accidentally wandered into the mist was quickly lost to sight, though its lead rope was clearly visible at the edge of the mist. When the rope was hauled back in, the dead body of the mule was dragged back into the sunlight. What killed the mule cannot be determined, but it died with a horrible look of pain on its face.

The mist advances on the mansion even as the party watches, but luckily it does not enter the foyer. The double doors to the interior swing open into the main hallway by themselves.