In the old ruins, the group encountered strange creatures - apparently fae - from a group calling itself "the mists of time".

They learned

• the fae can meld with creatures like humans and cavers; it seems this is symbiotic, and both can benefit
• the fae are being hunted by the servants of the winged serpent(s?); but these servants cannot enter the complex due to some ancient wards
• the more powerful fae cannot leave the complex at all; the less powerful ones can do so only through an opening where the ceiling caved in, quite a distance from the old entrance
• the melds are not affected by the wards, they can leave freely
• there is a strange (inactive) gate inside the temple, as well as an even stranger area with plants that seem to come from the fae
• the mists in the temple - and around the fae - have an effect on time flow; spending hours inside can mean that days pass on the outside
• the strange crystals can be charged "with the soul of the world" in "places of power"; it seems the foggy hot springs are one such place

What happened

• Acalan melded with one of the more powerful fae; he hopes to help their gift of visions to aid the tribe in future perils, even though he can never return himself (being branded with non-god magic)
• there was an old storeroom guarded by golems which react aggressively to both the fae and the serpents (in form of Mica); the group was able to open it and loot multiple strange crystals and some artefacts from inside
• Tepoyali apparently stole a strange crystal from the fae; the group gave them one of the looted crystals as replacement (a dim one)