The Keys of Telku / Into the Fire pt. 6 / Von the 20th through the 21st, 3593 CE / 8-15-21

The Adventurers are in the woods lining the rocky slope leading to the summit of Mount Galadea. They are there both searching for missing Knights of Amarath, and for the one of the legendary Keys of Telku. As an evil worg falls from the deadly strike of the Amita K'un ninja Night, Adrienne is faced once more with a former comrade, one who regards her now with cold disdain. The remaining wolf-weres flee, even as one more is killed by blows from John and Rados, and the battle with the servants of Anubhak has ended. After a tense conversation with Tarrus's retainer, Night concedes that despite the bounty Tarrus has put on Adrienne's head, Night has no desire to slay her. Instead she proposes a truce until after the Key is located. Night confirms the party's suspicions, that the Key of Telku once carried aboard an Amarathian vessel bound for Deidre Isle now resides on Mount Galadea. However, the rest of the story will prove even more disturbing. The party accompanies Night back to her camp, where they are introduced to Tarrus's new party of retainers; Shadolok the ranger, Sultar the fire cleric, Dhakab the desert warrior, Argent the magician, and Bladehelm the dwarf. Adrienne is already acquainted with everyone through previous adventures in and out of Liem, but introductions are made for the others to get acquainted. Bladehelm tells the party a tale of the dwarven city of Kragarak, which sits close to the summit of Mount Galadea. Long abandoned, it is now the home of its conqueror, a mighty dragon named Brazzermal the Burning. It is among the dragon's hoard that Night's party believes they will find the Key. Examining the evidence of their journey so far, the Adventurers come to the conclusion that the dragon's lair may also be the final resting place of the missing knights. Seeing that their objectives align, the party agrees to work together, coming up with a plan to trap the dragon under a rockfall long enough to loot his hoard. As the party settles in, Argent takes an interest in Baijo, only the second kitsune he's ever met, and John notices a strange scar on Sultar the gnome's hand. It is revealed through some questioning that the gnome is in fact beholden to a deadly fire demon called Onaida. Dhakab attempts to engage Adrienne in conversation about their mutual friend Galadreal, but finds the swashbuckler typically reticent. And Marrow's habit of picking up unwanted male attention continues in the form of the half-elven ranger Shadolok. The next morning, the combined party heads out to execute their plan. Night, Shadolok, and Rados will scale Kragarak from the back, intending to enter the dwarven citadel through the massive hole that Brazzermal created when he invaded. The rest of the party will approach from the front gates of Kragarak, creating a distraction to draw out the wyrm, at which point Sultar will use his explosive abilities to collapse the entryway on top the dragon. As most of the party takes their positions in front of the gates, Bladehelm reminds them that someone must draw the dragon out. Dhakab volunteers. Meanwhile, Night, Shadolok, and Rados have successfully made their ascent up the cliffs behind Kragarak, but are immediately confronted by the kobolds who serve as Brazzermal's guards. The kobold spellcaster who previously harried the Adventurers further down the mountain creates an extra-dimensional pit to trap Rados and Shadolok, while Night is paralyzed from another spell. With the stealth team now at the mercy of the kobolds, their fate remains in question.