I always had a hard time with the Save the Midnight Mansion until I changed my strategy. I actually soloed it for the first time last week, and I was on a fairly squishy troller. When all the players were outside ready for the Talons onslaught, I set my toon to 'follow' Master Winkley and kill what he killed. (This made a big difference when fighting the elite boss, Lady Atella.) After the multiple waves were done, I then destroyed the 4 stones. When the Orb appeared, I led it to the pool, ignoring attacks. I then went topside, 'followed' Winkley again to fight Ward until the evil left it. Bingo! First time succeeding at the normal level without dying 50 times! The only way I ever finished before was to either drop the mish, or wait till I leveled up a couple of times before I did it.
The Save Alec Parson...Silver Mantis. Whew. I usually have to level up a couple of times to tackle her before I do that one.