So they soon found themselves near a large forest on the far side of the summoning circle. They followed a road until they came to a huge mansion house. Marie was horrified to discover who the owner was - it was the Vampire she, Corrie and Crompton had been persuaded to work for in Waterdeep. She managed to stay the hand of the rest of the party partly by explaining that when she first met him it was in the midday sun in Waterdeep, and that he had been very honourable and dealt with them fairly, but he scared her near to death! The Vampire graciously introduced himself as Baron von Reidal and he welcomed them to his home.
Trouble nearly resurfaced when he introduced his wife, a Drow Vampire Necromancer. Akordia was all ready to dispatch her until the Baron took her aside and spoke privately to her. Whatever he said had a profound effect upon Akordia. She has never let on what it was he said, she is too honourable to break a confidence.
The Baron explained to them why he had sent the dream - there was a situation he wanted dealt with, but he did not want to be seen to be involved. The daughter of the Mayor of a town nearby had been kidnapped by a mid ranking Red Wizard, to be used as a bargaining tool concerning an important trade route. The Baron was concerned because he knew the Red Wizard was working for Zulkir Aznar Thrul, also the Tharchion of Priador. The trade route was in an important strategic location and the Baron feared that if the Zulkir gained control, the balance of power in this region of Thay would be shifted too far in the Zulkir's favour. As he could not be seen to be involved, he had decided to use Crompton, Corrie and Marie. He had been happy with their performance before, and he believed it should well be within the party's abilities to free the Mayor's daughter.
The next day, the party left to investigate the residence of the Red Wizard. Getting close, it was decided to take a stealthy approach, so Marie scouted ahead. This was her downfall as the Red Wizard was waiting for them and hit her with an Acid Bolt spell, which not only hurt her but ruined many of the magical items she relied upon. This was a serious shock to her system and she subsequently found herself behaving as the old, ruthless Marie would have instead of the more thoughtful one she was trying to become.
They did manage to scare the Wizard off and proceeded to explore the castle, eventually finding the missing girl. Reuniting her with her father spoiled the plans of the Red Wizard and his backers. Unfortunately, this was to have serious consequences for the region in the years to come.