Knock Out

General Tolbin supplied us with a map to the northeast recon camp. Thankfully, the trip through the caverns (took about three hours) and no one got lost.
 
Eventually we found the camp, underground amidst large crystal outcroppings (as if grown from the earth). It was abandoned. The campfire at the site seems to have been recently put out, and what looks like the remains of a meal.
 
Between Bee and Sera, we tracked whatever trail we could find -- the missing recon team? Another creature? It led us deeper into the caverns, where we stopped when the tracks ended in a pile of blood, bones, and gore.
 
Jarek knelt before the remains, and uttered the last rites for those who had passed in the chamber. He was barely able to finish before a noise rumbled from out of sight. A gigantic lizard, studded with crystals and gemstones similar to those inside the cavern, fell from somewhere above and let out a great roar. As it did, the crystals both on its back and in the chamber glowed angrily before a bright flash of light flooded the room.
 
Whatever the crystal light did, it sparked infighting in the group: everyone except Milo began attacking the nearest thing that moved -- each other. Worried, our sorcerer cast sleep to try and calm those of us who were mindless, knocking out only Jarek. Bee woke him up, just as the crystal lizard reappeared to barrage the group with crystals.
 
For Jarek, nothing was working -- no spells, no attacks, nothing. In despair, he clasped his hands in a prayer to Saldar: "Save us, Lord of Light. I can't do this." His prayer was answered, and the cleric's bless broke through whatever magical inhibitor the creature had slammed the party with. And almost with divine certainty, Bee's next attack -- a flurry of rocky fists and bees -- struck true with Saldar's light.
 
Finally, after the creature blinded the entire group, Tiberius attacked with a triumphant roar and finally slew the creature.
 

Return to Belfor

After a rest in the recon team's abandoned camp (and a prayer of healing), we returned to General Tolbin, who informed us we had slain a baby derith, "the dwarf-killer".
 
As a final joke, Tolbin told us his house was no longer accessable -- due to teh goblin attacks, it was locked down and uninhabited. So we were free to crash in the library, "as a temporary home". With groans, we agreed.
 

Onwards and upwards

The next morning, we quietly agreed to pass through Belfor and move onwards; the fighting here was not
 
We reluctantly informed the general that we were moving on; in thanks (and to our surprise) he gifted each of us a slab of dwarven obsidian (5-8lb each).
 
And so we left. Three more weeks of travel until our next stop: the elven kingdom. We were promptly stopped at the border.
 

Open The Country

The guardsmen at the border informed us that the border was closed; the elf kingdom was "expecting a royal visitor", and due to the importance of this arrival, was not accepting anyone else into the country. We all shared the same thought, if not the same look, and Sera spoke more questions in elvish.
 
Our conversation was broken up by another elf, perhaps a higher-ranking official. He introduced himself as Duran, and again Sera was the one to explain: Duran is the head of spies for the elven king. Without interruption he told us to head to the royal castle: "there is someone expecting you", before heading off.
 
At the steps to the castle, there was an elaborate guard with three people in the center. Two seemed to be the elven royalty: King Perrathin and Queen, as well as a scribe in white robes. They knew Leigha, who ran up and hugged them (her godparents!).
 
The scribe Althalos noted only that he knew us -- that we were chosen by him for this mission -- as he led us into the castle to a small receiving room. There we debriefed the journey. When asked about the princess and her ailments, Althalos without mincing words answered, "she is dying."
 
Due to her divine blood, directly graced by the Lord of Light, she can be considered a source of magic that dwells within her. For one with divine blood, Leigha is particularly connected to her inner magic (and is therefore particularly powerful).
 

The next cycle

 
As far as Althalos and the First Monastery is concerned, all of those discovered with divine blood (like Leigha) are suffering a similar sickness. This, combined with other notes from the monastery's research, has led them to believe that magic in the world is dying out (and those with divine blood are among the first signs). Every time magic has started to die out, it is "replenished" by the Ashfall.
 
It is believeed the Ashfall happens every few thousand years on a cycle, when the volcano Tartarus erupts. Along with the magma and lava, large amounts of magical energy pours out from Tartarus when it erupts, affecting everything. Particularly divine bloods. They could see their lives cut short or wither out when that happens.
 
Althalos has been told that the Ashfall will begin in the next coming months. He also revealed that, though many believe Saldar is dead and gone, he is among those who believe the Lord of Light is still "alive" (in a god sense), locked away on another plane for His own safety. And to bring back Lord Saldar? We need to recover the heart of Ma'ar.