Thus far, the party has managed to uncover a number of items leftover from a time when the church of Amaunator was at its peak, items which will help them defeat the shadow lord. With these items now in hand, they proceed down the temple corridor to a set of stairs leading further down into the temple.

The stairs end in a short landing, with an elaborate archway separating the stairs from the grand room beyond. This room is over 100 feet across, in the shape of an octagon. 20 feet out from the corners are elegant stone pillars, with large arches supported between them, and each pillar supporting a large golden mirror. Above all this is the ceiling, which once was a glass dome held up with an intricate metalwork frame, deisgned to maximize the amount of sunlight entering the room.

The room must have once been a beautiful sight to behold, but in the dimmed shadowy light, it has become a place of fear. The ceiling dome has since been shattered, the stonework and metalwork allowed to tarnish, and in the center of it all is a huge sleeping shadow dragon.

Upon first seeing the dragon, the party's first instinct to find a corner to hide in, fearful that the dragon might detect them. However, they quickly remember the ward stone they were given, the one that will allow them to pass undetected past this monstrosity. Roc gets a bit overconfident however, seeing the sleeping dragon as a chance to score an easy victory and perhaps gain whatever treasure it has no doubt amassed here.

The other party members, however, quickly warn him that the ward stone will only protect them if they stay away from the dragon. Any attempt to approach or attack the dragon will dispel the protection of the stone. Without its protection, the dragon will most likely wake and lay waste to the party. For the first time, there is a heated argument between the party members over what to do. Eventually, Roc concedes, and the party begins skirting the outside wall of the room, searching for the antechamber entrance where the shadow lord resides.

Once they find the entrance, the party begins spell and item preparations for the confrontation to follow. A strategy is laid out, protection and augmenting spells are cast, and potions imbibed.

Roc's job will be to engage the shadow lord immediately in melee, and as such, he is given the Amulet of the Sun for protection against the Shadow Lord's energy drain attacks and imbibes a few potions to augment his physical strength and endurance. Nataya's job will be to keep Roc healed as needed, and drive off as many of the Shadow Lord's undead minions as she can. Theranion and Zendril will take care of anything that remains, with Zendril running interference so Theranion can get off his offensive spells.

When they enter the altar room, they find the Shadow Lord has been expecting them. They are ambushed by his minions, but Roc's temporarily enhanced power allows him to break through the rush of the minions and engage the Shadow Lord directly. The spell protections and augmentations cast prior to the encounter help a great deal, and they are able to route the minions within a few minutes worth of battle. The Shadow Lord, however, refuses to die.

By this time, Roc has dealt a number of damaging blows to the Shadow Lord, more than enough to kill even the most battle-hardened warrior. Yet each time Roc landed a blow, the Shadow Lord would regenerate the damage less than a minute later. Roc is beginning to tire, and has taken quite a number of wounds from the Shadow Lord's own attacks. With the minions out of the way, the rest of the party joins in to assist Roc with healing and weapons at the ready.

Nataya stays out of the battle for the moment, concentrating instead on casting healing spells on Roc. Between casts, she catches a glimpse of a thin shadowy tendril that seems to emanate from the blackened altar, occasionally touching the Shadow Lord and apparently reinvigorating him. With the whole room cloaked in swirling shadows, the tendril would have gone completely unnoticed had she not stayed out of the melee battle.

She gives a shout to Theranion, pointing to the altar even as she begins casting a spell. The two of them bathe the altar in fire spells, severing the link between the altar and the Shadow Lord. The Shadow Lord turns and gives an angry shout, just as Roc lands a blow to his now exposed back. A deafening howl sounds through the room as the Shadow Lord falls, the swirling shadows around him suddenly being pulled into a small portal opening above the altar. As the last of the swirling mass of shadows is pulled through, the Shadow Lord's own essence is ripped from his host body and pulled through just before the portal closes in on itself.

With the taint of the Shadow Lord gone, the altar and the rest of room return to their original gold and white marble splendor. Lying on the floor where the Shadow Lord fell is the ranger Marella, her body withered and dying. She looks up at the party and whispers a faint "Thank you", before taking her final breath...