The Keys of Telku / Heathen pt. 8 / Eire the 4th, 3592 CE / 8-11-19

The Adventurers have entered the grounds of the Hand of Naraash cultists, an ancient temple site known as the "Pillars of Midnight." They have come seeking one of the legendary Keys of Telku for their patron, Tarrus the One-Eyed, Lord of Liem, while their companion Sara Djemel comes seeking clues to the fate of her friend, the paladin Jaryn. They have gained access to the cultists village by disguising Moss and Henry as Hand of Naraash soldiers with the tabards the Sara had looted, while the rest of the party plays the part of aspiring cult member. Fiora Rebane and the half-elf ranger, Ramha Greensleeves, have stayed hidden in the tree line outside the compound, planning a timed distraction that will hopefully allow the party to gain access to whatever inner sanctum holds the Key and Jaryn. However the party has learned to their dismay since passing the first round of guards that what they previously presumed to simply be a military compound is in fact a fully-functioning village of several hundred fanatics, leaving Fiora and Greensleeves at risk of playing hit and run a massively overwhelming force. As they reach the base of a massive set of obsidian stairs leading to a colonnade of dark stone flanking massive open doors into the mountain, no doubt the cultists' temple and heart of their operations, Moss began relaying to the guards that they require an audience with Naraash. The guards reject these claims until Henry uses abyssal to convince the guards they are high-ranking cultists. As the Adventurers ascend the stairs to the mountain temple, the distraction initiated by their companions appears to have begun, but at that same moment, D'Jani, the corrupted tiefling squire of Jaryn, comes riding through the village declaring the party enemies of Anukbak! The heroes flee up the stairs as D'jani and the cultists give chase, the tiefling flicking in and out of sight with the benefit of his magic cloak. As they pass through the double doors, Moss throws down a smoke stick to obscure their passage, and Roisyll summuns a swarm of bats to harry their pursuers. With great effort they are able to push the massive doors closed, . and Nari reverts from fox to human in order use her to her immovable rod to bar the door. Henry and Moss pull down a massive beam intended to secure the door, Nari notices a glimmer of magic as the beam falls into place, and then turns at the sound of the two doors in the antechamber behind them also attempting to slam shut, with the same magical energy, an arcane lock. As Nari recovers her immovable rod, Roisyll notices the one of the interior doors is still being held open by some fallen rubble. The party quickly makes their way through it just before it slams shut behind them, the arcane locks sliding into place. The Adventurers stand in a chamber perhaps once used as an armory judging by the giant-sized suits of armor that line the walls. Nari is disconcerted by the prospect that inanimate objects in an evil temple may not remain inanimate for long, and the party obligingly searches for a way out, discovering a secret door on the far wall. This brings them into a hallway covered in runes that Nari recognizes as a primitive form of jotun, though some areas have been covered over with more recent graffiti in goblin that appears to praise their dark god, Anubhak. At that moment the party is confronted by several ogres, who demand to know their business in the temple. Nari and Adrienne realize in horror that these are the ogres they had freed from a frozen sleep in the tomb of Dir-Yabon several months ago. The ogres in turn seem to recognize Nari as well, but accept that she has now joined their dark path. All is lost however when Moss and Henry try bluster their way past the guards to Naraash's inner sanctum, and the ogres test their knowledge of the temples layout. Luckliy Moss is able to deduce that the correct path is through another secret door, and soon they stand in Naraash's reception chamber, flanked by the ogres and Naraash's guards lead by the hobgoblin military leader, Larzakh. Moss tries smooth talking the cultists into revealing the location of the Key of Telku by claiming outsiders are seeking it and it must be guarded! Reference to the key only seems to baffle the cultists, and when the tiefling D'Jani appears beside the figure on the throne, the one the party assumes to be Naraash himself, and whispers in his ear, they know their ruse is at an end. A vicious fight breaks out between the Adventurers and the assembled cultists, one which leaves the Adventurers' ultimate fate in peril. Moss uses the immovable rod to trap one ogre, even as his bat swarm harasses and bites him, while Nari uses his tree feather token to deflect Boris, the head ogre. However, even as hobgoblin guards are being cut down, Sara, suspecting that the figure on the throne is in fact her lost friend Jaryn, attempts to plead with him to listen to reason. This leaves her vulnerable to the invisible assassin, D'Jani, he mercilessly runs her through, killing her.