No Idea what's going on

The bear had far more meat on its bone than I had anticipated. I have enough cured, smoked and dried meat (sausages) to last us several months. I may choose to sell a large amount of it if the need for money arises. It is a particular taste that isn't for everyone so I do not expect it to do well as a regular food item even if it is nutritious. I also used it for a quick lunch in the woods.
 
We had planned to move on immediately to the next town or village but sir Gimdalf's books had something else in mind. In particular, the tome which apparently has something to do with ancient ruïns. It flew off into the bushes, dragging our companion with it.
Since we did not sense any immediate danger I parked the wagon on the side of the road and took Dar and Din along to see where the book would lead us. We ended up in a cave with pillars made of strange bones (I managed to procure two good pieces of dragon bone for soup) and a ground littered with green, metal shards.
The tome seemed to be dragged in by a dark orb... thing that gave me the shivers. I can't tell what its function was exactly and who build it, but the fact that its activation was accompanied by screaming didn't spell much good. Dar and Din helped me to drag sir Gimdalf and his book to a safe distance and the ground before we secured the bag with the book to a tree. After that, we went back in to deactivate the thing which was easier than I'd imagined. Sir Gimdalf simply dismissed whatever magic was connecting it to its power source and dug out the magic 'battery' from the ground, which was a wisp. The poor thing had been trapped in a cage underground since the war between the demons and the ancient folk.
..........
 
When we returned to the wagon one of the wheels was missing. Apparently, these woods are patrolled by parking officers. We managed to get to the fortress mentioned on the note with sir Gimdalfs help and sir Maca-nee skillfully negotiated with the disinterested guards to retrieve the wheel without a fine.
A little further down the road we encountered three fortune tellers who had lost a wagon wheel as well. The two gentlemen helped them coble a new wheel from a barrel lid and mount it in place. They seem to be in a similar situation as us, where they simply wish to cross the country as swiftly as possible due to the hostility and silent threat of war.
I decided to gamble on trusting them and travelling as a group. After all, the universe has many mysteries and it seems that my companions are very involved with those. Getting a different perception of the questions we encounter may be just what we need. However, it seems that the fortune-teller's deity is in a similar situation to the few other gods I've heard about.
 
We reached the harbour city Saltdale and the military presence here is strong. I dare not enter the city and risk overusing my cloak to hide my identity. However, both gentlemen need to win information about the magic phenomena and the fortune-tellers want to conduct their business. Sir Gimdalf was kind enough to make his magical hideout on the city's outskirts for me to hang out in during the day. I hid my wagon among some trees and foliage and retreated to turn all the goatmilk I'd stored in the cold box into cheese.
During the day a cabbage farmer got stuck in the mud with his wagon. Naturally, I decided to help. Though he was a bit warry of my goats, apparently he'd never seen such big lasses before, he was kind enough te tell me a bit about the countries current state and give me a few cabbages.
 
 

NOTE
 
Current situation in Opal empire:
 
-Only military travel roads are properly maintained and all other roads are stripped of stone and useful material.
 
-None of the commoners we've spoken to so far agree with the war.
 
-The magic disruptions are either framed as holy blessings or pre-emptive attacks from Talamir.