Confront the Spirit Behind the Black Veil#

Status#

Active. A subquest of Havenport. On 2026.09.29, Azrith returned from the ethereal plane and met Eleanor Gray — Aldric’s mother, a ghost trapped beyond the black veil. She told him about the spirit behind the veil: “a putrid and foul entity… an evil force, a spirit that commands the undead. It draws it unto itself.” Source: 2026.09.29.

Azrith declared: “if it’s undead and he can kill it, he will.” Source: 2026.09.29.

On 2026.10.06, Odine Dunmere’s natural 20 revealed the veil’s price: 10 HP of maximum hit points of shared life force (narratively, about a year of life split among four). Neither Ian nor Mauve Marigold could offer a divine alternative. Aldric and Odine each offered 5 HP, and Cassian remained reluctant. The party rested at the Salt House and planned to return to the veil in the morning; Odine vowed to go “with or without you.” Source: 2026.10.06.

On 2026.10.13, the party paid the toll and passed the veil. Cassian paid the first point of life force, nine points were shared among the four, and Odine paid the last alone to break the seal. Beyond, they crossed the ethereal corridor of trapped souls into the burial chamber, where the trapped spirits named their captor — The Warden of Death — and its animated Shepherd-statue vessel attacked. The party destroyed the statue, but the Warden’s ethereal rostrum survived (“you have destroyed my body, but you will not break my oath”) and moved toward another of the nine deity statues to possess it. The session ended mid-fight: the party must stop it reaching a new vessel. Source: 2026.10.13.

The Spirit#

Commands the undead.
Entices spirits — it enthralled Eleanor Gray before she escaped its control.
Is why the Curtains are acting strangely and why spirits dying in Havenport are trapped.
Eleanor refuses to speak its name: “I dare not speak its name for it will invoke its wrath.” She has avoided its ire for a few years since escaping. Source: 2026.09.29.
It is beyond the black veil in the Westermere Manor undercroft.

What’s Known About the Veil#

It is a shimmering black wall sealing off part of the undercroft, ever since the Curtain opened. Source: 2026.09.22.
It is impenetrable to Samantha Westermere (a ghost). Source: 2026.09.22.
To the living: it feels like cold steel, and black mist crawls up the arm stealing warmth. It doesn’t feel evil — it feels like entropy. Source: 2026.09.22.
It is not elven magic. It feels foreign and alien — the ethereal and material planes, normally separate, are converging here. Source: 2026.09.22.
It reacts to living creatures — there’s a sense of refusal. Whatever is on the other side is protecting that space from outsiders. Source: 2026.09.29.
Radiant energy staves off its negative effects. Source: 2026.09.29.
Passing through may require enough radiant energy, or exchanging something vital with the necrotic force. Source: 2026.09.29.
It is old, complex, and not understood magic. Source: 2026.09.29.
Two ways through (Odine’s natural 20 Insight): (1) a divine smite large enough to beat what seems to be an alien, near-infinite necrotic power source, which is probably beyond the party; or (2) “knocking”: the veil invites them in for a price of 10 HP of maximum HP in life force, which can be shared. Source: 2026.10.06.
Past attempts failed: priests prayed at it and tried to bless the burial site, and a House Corwyn hedge mage spent three days on it without success. Source: 2026.10.06.
The Oathkeepers know of it and have forbidden Ian to go down there because of missing persons. Source: 2026.10.06.
The wall swallows light completely (shown by Aldric’s Light cantrip). Source: 2026.09.22.

What Azrith Learned in the Ethereal Plane#

On 2026.09.29, Azrith fought through the ethereal plane:

Killed a vengeful ghost (wraith-type: horrific visage, withering touch) — it had been killed by something and was angry about it. Source: 2026.09.29.
Met Eleanor Gray hiding behind a tomb. She led him to a ledge over an ethereal abyss and showed him how to return. Source: 2026.09.29.
Azrith jumped from the ledge and crashed back into the Westermere Manor undercroft. Source: 2026.09.29.

Next Steps#

Find out whether Azrith can return to the ethereal plane (and the spirit’s location) at will, or whether the Curtain must reopen.
Learn more about the spirit — from Eleanor, from the vengeful ghost’s remains, from any other trapped spirits.
~~Determine what it would take to pass through the black veil~~ — done (2026.10.06): a divine smite, or 10 HP of maximum hit points in shared life force.
~~Seek a divine caster who could smite the veil~~ — done (2026.10.06): Ian and Mauve know of no one.
~~Decide who gives how much life force, and pass through the veil~~ — done (2026.10.13): nine points shared, Odine paid the last to break the seal.
Stop the Warden before it possesses another of the nine deity statues (2026.10.13 cliffhanger).
Find out whether leaving the veil’s domain costs life force again.
Confront and kill the Warden, as Azrith has declared — and learn the nature of its oath.
Ask whether the Warden is truly the spirit behind the veil that Eleanor described.