The Isle of the Black Rose is not so lonely and desolate a place as one might assume. The Lady of this Isle is quite kind, even if she is a bit... odd.

As you enter through a pair of wooden doors, you note the twin dark roses, one on each door. Strangely enough, the eye does not wander to the petals, but to the sinister blades lining the stem. Only a certain kind of traveler can appreciate the beauty of rose's thorns.

As you cross over the threshold, the air changes ever so slightly. A censer not of evil, but of quiet kindness. The lady of the isle, the sole inhabitant, stands at the bottom of a magnificent staircase. Her gown is of a stately black velvet, trimmed in a pale moonglow silver. Her smile offers welcome and you instantly relax. Generously, she curtsies and gestures to the large room before you.

"'Tis not often I receive visitors. Perhaps you may stay awhile, on the Isle of the black rose. But be warned, traveller; the roses here, like any other rose, are not without their thorns...