The Keys of Telku / The Temple of the Apocalypse pt. 20 / Fos the 2nd, 3593 CE / 8-16-20

The Adventurers are in a pitched battle with the evil entity known as Zuggathoa. Waldo has disabled the arcane device in her throne room that casting deadly magical effects, but discovers to his horror that it was also keeping the fiendishly mutated drow princess trapped within this section of the compound. As she follows the party towards the stairs leading out of her throne room, the metallic skulls begin sounding an alarm atop their pillars. As other Adventurers quickly attempt to exit Zuggathoa's throne room, Moss decides to take a stand, casting a spell that seems to repel Zuggathoa and her violet fungus servant. Meanwhile, Waldo has spotted a possible alternate exit hidden behind a tapestry. He tries to persuade the last remaining member of the drow retinue to take the better part of valor, but the House Tesseril retainer chooses instead to attempt to slow down Zuggathoa's progress, losing his life in the process. Tenser and Henry join Moss in making a stand on the stairwell, with Tenser summoning great gusts of wind to blow back the enemy. Waldo, seeing an opportunity, taunts the monster, who decides that for the moment the halfling is the easier target. His plan works to deadly effect. As the towering monstrosity approaches him, the broken arcane device finally overloads with a blinding explosion of magical force. The violet fungus is killed instantly, and as their vision clears, Moss and Henry see Waldo and his opponent both teeter for a moment on the edge of life. As Zuggathoa cries out in disbelief, Waldo uses his final ounce of willpower to put a magical crossbow bolt through the creature's eye, killing her. Together they fall to the ground, dead. On the other side of wall that separates the throne room from the hidden chamber they have discovered, the shockwave shakes several of the menagerie of animal statues off the wall, though none of the ones which Uli has identified as magical. Blur is distraught to discover his newfound companion has sacrificed himself to stop the evil Zuggathoa, but in the room beyond the menagerie, Adrienne finds a patch of dirt that serves as a conduit for Romag, High Priest of the Stonefall Society to check on their progress. He seems quite pleased that the party has dispatched Zuggathoa. In the throne room, Moss spots the ghostly figure of a warrier through the tatters of the tapestry which hid a secret passage. The ghost tells the party that he is there to direct them to safety, though the sight of the spectre instills a strange sense of deja vu and uneasiness in Uli. Following the ghost's directions, the Adventurers follow the secret passage behind Zuggathoa's throne room to a narrow staircase that leads down. The stairs end in a secret door with turns out to be behind a demonic statue in a great altar room of the temple, with strange, multi-colored corridors leading away from it. Unfortunately, as the party exits from the statue, they are assaulted by a booming voice that accuses them of violating the sanctity of the Eternal Flame. Moments later, strange otherworldly fire creatures called salamanders attack, and the Adventurers are once more engaged in battle.