Word reached Sandas in mid-January that the emporer of a far off land to the east had fallen to an assassin's blade. That was all that the common folk in the inns and taverns knew, but at the Guild of Magic Users Beth learned more. It was the Emporer of Saltar who was murdered...in the middle of a religious ceremony in his own temple, that of Hecate. Amazingly, the assassin escaped, despite the fact that the temple was filled with people...and the Imperial Guard. The Emporer was unmarried - indeed, the rumours were that he did not like women, but preferred to expend his lusts on men - and no direct heir was apparent. A number of relatives and noblemen laid claim to the Throne of the Ancient Empire, and by the end of December Saltar was engulfed in civil war.
Things do not go well in the war between the Kingdom of Nlad and the Empire of Mestom. The newest members of the party soon learn that most of the people in this group are from Nlad, and that Sandas is in the northwest region of that kingdom. On January 15th the city of Marmador - on the southern border of Nlad - fell to Mestom, and the great Tower in the city was beseiged. Leaving the troops within the tower penned in, the invading armies rolled on and attacked the large city of Flab, next. After another seige, that city also fell, on February 12th, opening the western lands of Nlad to the invaders.
Beth has heard disquieting stories whispered amongst the mages at the Guild...that strange, powerful and foul demon-magics are at work, aiding Mestom and hindering Nlad. Scrying spells cease to function in the areas where the forces of Mestom gather, as do teleportation-type magics as well. The mages have never heard of the like before, and are ransacking the libraries in search of an answer. Meanwhile, old King Ormund of Nlad seems to be perversely satisfied to see his mages at least partially neutralised, as he seems to bear a grudge against that craft, and prefers to throw ever more troops at the enemy. The stories are that this does little more than to slow the advance of Mestom a bit, for that side has powerful devils and demons working with them, plus powerful mages who do not seem to be the least affected by the magics that blind and immobilise the mages of Nlad.
For all that, Ray Jay summoned Beth to his tower, and lectured her like she was still one his students in his introductory incendiaries class.
"Your task is more important than ever!" he told her. "The drow are a wild card in all this. We must know what they are up to, and what their role is in this affair, if they have one. If you can, attack them and damage them. Make them think twice about interfering in the affairs of the surface world!"