The last goblet is in the Lake of Sorrows, a calm misty lake with a small island in the middle. A rowboat is pulled up on the shore so the party gets in; Badwood would rather stay on dry land.

As you row out, the fish in the lake begin to seethe around the boat and it starts to rock violently. Rular thrusts a sun-rod into the water to scare the fish away but they are not fish, they are seven-headed serpents. Abdjib and Coran struggle to row the boat back to shore without losing anyone overboard. When they finally make it Coran unleashes his frustration and batters one of the serpents to death with his staff.

Quarion thinks to ask Badwood whether he knows how to get to the island. He reveals that you have to sing to the snakes; melancholy songs work best. Armed with this knowledge the party rows back across the lake, singing songs that truly bring a tear to the eye.

The last goblet rests on a stone table on the island and with this in their possession the party head back to the hill where they first arrived. The spirits are waiting for them and direct them to the circle of stone pillars where the ‘ritual’ has to be performed.

The four goblets are placed on the four pillars and they slowly start to fill with wine. As each party member drinks a draught they take on a red glow similar to the red shield that surrounds the castle; when all are ready they set off to confront the Coven.

The castle’s gate stands open and as the group sneak in they spot a Coven member crossing the courtyard. She is quickly killed but not before letting out a scream that alerts the test of the castle.

The party runs up the steps to the main hall where they are confronted by the Coven and their skeletal servants, plus a strange creation – a large red egg-shaped device with four mechanical legs and four halberd-like arms.

During the ensuing fight out becomes clear that the once-powerful Coven sorcerors have largely lost their magic, a fact which seems to come as a great shock to them. They move to protect the automaton – which they refer to as “the weapon” – but when it becomes clear that they are losing the battle the Grand Wizard activates the thing. It moves slowly but its four arms are extremely dangerous.

Rular’s spells and any light blows do not affect the machine but at the first strong hit it starts to go wrong: there is a loud ‘bang’ and one of its arms is out of action. Soon all the Coven are dead and only the malfunctioning automaton remains, now going round in circles venting steam and emitting a loud whining noise; a final blow and it starts to disintegrate in a series of small explosions.

The party notice that with the destruction of the machine something strange is happening – the very fabric of the spirit world seems to be streaming away towards the hill where they first arrived. They run back to find that a portal similar to that through which they entered this world has appeared and beside it the spirits waiting for them, eager to be freed from this rapidly-vanishing realm. As each person steps through one spirit accompanies them.

They emerge back in the old asylum, in the real world again at last. The ‘spirits’ now have material bodies, albeit vague and partially-formed ones. They seem ecstatic to be real at last and cackle with unbridled glee before vanishing like mist …