Dark Dealings

My lord's only goal is to end the reign of the gods; to remove us from beneath their heels. -Dharrakir

Successfully fighting off an ambush, and managing to capture one of their assailants, the party collected themselves, along with a lot of new information. This led to a heated discussion about the party's next move, all the while the snowstorm slowly obscuring the lands around them.
Note from the DM: There was a LOT of information that got dumped during these conversations; I'm doing my best to correctly include what you all learned; but if there's something I missed, please let me know.

Plot points/Scenes

Good Help is Hard to Find

Waking up their captive, the interrogation began in earnest; although the man, who identified himself as Noggie, needed little persuasion. A recent recruit to a group that identified themselves as followers of the god Bastimaar, he explained that they had been sent to make contact with the party; although his superior, Haris, had a rather aggressive idea of what that meant. More than happy to dump the organization he had recently joined in order to get out of this alive, he promised not to go back to Dharrakir, the leader of their band of followers. He was pretty sure that his superiors knew about the party in advance, and since Haris didn't seem too perturbed by the sun falling, he figured it was either expected or not a big deal. When pressed about why he joined them, Noggie explained the promises of Bastimaar, and the misconceptions about their group, due to the similarities of Bastimaar's Blessing and the Fel. He talks of a trial, which if completed, grants the bearer some powers of Bastimaar. When asked to elaborate, he describes that Dharrakir and Haris are the only two he's ever met. They seemed stronger and more capable than before, and Dharrakir had even grown a pair of wings.
Beyond that however, he didn't have a lot to tell the party. He suggested that, since it sounded like the party had wiped out his associates, Haris had an amulet that allowed her to communicate directly with Dharrakir if they could find it.

Shades of Gray

Fork, having gone through Haris' belongings, was careful placing the golden amulet on the snow next to the body. Tilly was the first to pick it up, and was the first to have the voice of Dharrakir speaking in her head. Well spoken and polite, he apologized for Haris's actions. He explained that their numbers are few, and he's been forced to work with what he has. Through a variety of questioning from Vita, Tilly, and Bulgey, Dharrakir reveals a variety of new information to the party. High insight checks by various party members confirm this information likely true, although they do notice he seems to be choosing his words carefully, and may be hiding something.

• Riverbell, the capitol city of Light's Crest, was destroyed by the falling sun. He's relatively certain, and relieved, that the population appears to have successfully evacuated.
• He reiterates that this world is not home to a singular sun, a fact that Brian and Wick confirm.
• He was aware of the party, and wanted to speak with them, through the assistance of the hag Mary, whose "Little Lambs" had been tracking the party.
• Mary is not a member of their group, but has expressed an interest in their condition and god; running little experiments in an attempt to smooth out the dangers of Bastimaar's Trial.
• When pressed about Mary kidnapping children, he expressed that, as he understood it, one of them had willingly undergone the experimentation.
• Bastimaar is a god that, as Dharrakir seems to believe it, wishes to assist worthy mortals to godhood themselves. His gifts are bestowed on those he believes capable through a trial.
• Failure during the trial apparently leads to death, one of the primary concerns Mary has been trying to remedy.
• He expressed that the party could do what they wish at this stage, but he would always welcome capable individuals to undergo the trial.
• Once chosen as an avatar of Bastimaar 's power, death becomes inconsequential to some degree, as Bastimaar will return his followers to the world as he sees a need for them.
• When asked what his next move would be should the party leave him alone, he expressed that they would likely offer assistance and shelter to any of the evacuees from Mudwater that get left behind. He expressed that willing converts are preferred, and that he would not force the trial on anyone.

The party at this point places the idol on the ground in order to have a private conversation, and decide their next move. Torn between a variety of motivations and concerns, the party lands on their top concern being Mary, whom they deem as a threat in general, as well as part of their obligation to protect the road specifically. They are unsure about Dharrakir and his people, but are willing to give him a chance (depending on which party member you're talking to, I believe) to prove his good intentions by disavowing the hag and assisting in her location/killing/capture.
Bulgey picks up the thorny golden idol to bring Dharrakir back into the discussion. Dharrakir expresses that he does not know where Mary is, only through her "Little Lambs" does he regularly communicate with her. Bulgey, growing frustrated, threatens that, should Dharrakir not assist in tracking Mary down, he would kill Noggie. This pronouncement seemed to upset some of Bulgey's party members more than it did Dharrakir, who suggested that he would need more than the return of Noggie to justify such a trade off. He offered that he would assist, should a party member be willing to undergo Bastimaar's Trial, of which Bulgey agreed. With some apprehension in his voice, Dharrakir suggested that the party make towards his camp, so that they could both begin the trial, and determine how to trap a lamb.
Removing the idol from the conversation, the party reconvenes, tensions heightening about the agreement Bulgey made. Fork expresses concerns about trusting anyone that would willingly work with a hag, and Noggie reiterates at one point that failing the trial means death. Having long since grown tired of the indecisiveness, Brian brings out the Seeker's Compass, and insists that the party gather around it to get a bearing of where it thinks they should go. The compass settles pointing east, which seems to be enough of a decision for the party to begin to act. Voting to keep Noggie tied up for the trek, they set off into the woods; noting that the road south of town has been completely obscured by the incessant snowfall.

Wrinkles to the Plan

Making their way into the woods east, Wick has his familiar in owl form flying a perimeter. About halfway to where they were told the camp was, the owl returns to hoot in an unusual (I believe Brendan-esque, really) manner. In the dark, with the snow falling, the party could not make out anything beyond a possible inkling of movement to the north. Deciding to detour somewhat, they come across a complex network of tracks, some natural path through the woods that wildlife appears to travel. However, Vita was able to pick out easily a fresh set of three clawed tracks, the sort that they'd spotted before tracking and following them on their travels, heading north away from them. Sensing a potential opportunity to capture one of Mary's Little Lambs, the party sets off following them, only to find them sharply cutting east, and leading to what the party suspects to be Dharrakir's camp. Nestled into a cliffside, on the far side of a ravine, a wooden wall and parapet, with the silhouettes of guards above it. The tracks appeared to clearly make their way to a wooden bridge that led into the camp.
Seeing an opportunity to further gauge Dharrakir's honesty, the party retrieves the idol from Maldwyn's saddlebags, Bulgey once again taking the lead as speaker. He reiterates an earlier question about whether one of Mary's scouts was in the camp. Bulgey hears him (as does the party to a lesser extent, shouting in the distance), asking the guards if he has any visitors. A short amount of back and forth (where only Dharrakir's side can be heard audibly) before Dharrakir returns his attention to Bulgey, stating that nobody has seen anything enter the camp. Curious, he asks Bulgey if the party was nearby. Catching something in how Bulgey answers, Dharrakir shouts an order to the guards, and a series of magical beacons light up the landscape just in front of the party, between them and the ravine. Perhaps growing tired of Bulgey's own coy answers, Dharrakir expresses, somewhat patronizingly, that cooperation was not going to be easy if Bulgey was going to lie about frivolous things. Bulgey responded to this slight with a colorful threat on Dharrakir's life, with promises of necrophilia thrown in.
Immediate protests from his party members likely drowned out Dharrakir's response. A pause, followed by a long sigh, was the last thing Bulgey heard from him before a distant shout signaled to one of the guards, who let loose a fire arrow into the oil soaked wooden bridge across the ravine, setting it violently ablaze.