Uncle Fiddlegibble and Valentin Ironwolf hid the key in a secret vault inside the Shadowed Keep. The vault is well guarded.
World-eater Goblinoids lurk in the lower tunnels. They have found the obelisk but do not know how to activate it.
Black Harbinger cultists and World-eater goblinoids have been at war with one another. The goblinoids are very strong – empowered by their proximity to the obelisk.
Someone is murdering black harbinger cultists within the keep.
Brother Navros (the Dreamwhisper) of the Black Harbingers is actually a priest-assassin of the Dead Night. He knows his lord's true name – Aameul.
The mercenary captain Radine Hawkblade rules over the Iron Drakes in and around Valentin's Folly.
Valentin's eldest son Einar Ironwolf (now a Revenant) found the caves beneath the stronghold and began to explore. He found the obelisk and showed it to his father and Gaven.
The two adventurers were befuddled by the device and its power – a splinter between worlds and likely one of many. Gaven found an item with it held in the hand of a primeval priest dead for millennia. He called it the Key – Fiddlegibble’s Key +2 All-Purpose Tool.
Einar knows about the secret vault and the key held within.
Soon goblins and orcs and worse attacked from the outside and from below – strange goblins with swirls and tentacles and sallow skin. Orcs and undead alike. They all wanted the monolith and the key.
Valentin and Fiddlegibble hid the key in a secret vault within the chambers of Valentin's folly. Gaven went missing, Valentin died defending his family.
Valentin used a powerful guardian to protect the key but the guardian won't last forever – eventually the agents of the Black Harbinger will find it and collect it if it is not collected first.
Zaltor Darkthrone wants the key but does not require it. Instead, he can sacrifice a great many followers to open the doors of the Black Cathedral.
Kaarina Ironwolf, Valentin's wife, was an accomplished wizard and adventurer herself.
Something is murdering Iron Drakes and Black Harbinger cultists in the deeper caves and chambers. They're found eviscerated or crushed or choked to death. Cultists of the Black Harbinger think its assassins of the Dead Night.
Notable NPCs
Einar Ironwolf – Revenant of Valentin's Folly
Kaarina Ironwolf – Ghost of the Folly, Valentin's wife
Radine Hawkblade – Iron Drake captain
Brother Navros – Priest of the Black Harbinger but Spy of Aameul – the Dead Night.
Monsters
Iron Drake mercenary CR 1 AC/DC 12 HP 33 Atk/Prof +5 DPR 12 Atks 2 × 1d6 + 3
Iron Drake Captain CR 4 AC/DC 14 HP 84 Atk/Prof +6 DPR 28 Atks 2 × 1d6 + 11
