It's been difficult to get messages in and out of The Avium, they've been doing their best to create magic items to help in the fight while they're under occupation.  Also, quite a bit of research about the gates has happened.

Rumors that a significant magical event has happened there, even the gnolls aren't sure what it is.

The party has been tasked with finding out exactly what's going on.  Xander Zibbik is in charge of the Avium, so keep an eye out for him.

Part I

Before the party left, Dúne spent some time talking with Dak.  He'd been listening and learning his language (yodaling) and finally had a breakthrough (at Level 6) and was able to communicate.

Yoda said his name was General Dak.  He'd been an ally of the gnolls, fighting alongside them against a mutual enemy.  The gnolls betrayed his race and fled to Humblewood in hopes of leaving the enemy behind.  Yoda assumed this enemy would follow the gnolls to Humblewood.

Due to the skills of Snow and Dúne, the party traveled quickly to The Avium.  There they met up with their contact, a cervan named Oak.  He took them to the library which was covered in a shield of magic.

Resistance members and gnolls had gone through the shield but never came back out.  Sometimes Oak said you could see people inside, but it was hard to make them out.

The party went through and began their investigation on the first floor.  The first thing they did was set off a trap of poison gas.  Next they discovered odd bug like motes of light that were attracted to magic items.  These motes surrounded the party doing some damage, enough to be annoying.  They also ran into a jerbeen named Jackel who seemed a bit off.  Mostly he seemed irritated at being  found and ran off to a new hiding place.  Cyrus doffed his magic gear and snuck through the rest of the first floor.  Everything was in disarray from fighting.  All he found were two odd leaking creatures eating some dead gnolls.

Down in the basement the party was attacked by a biped creature that looked like it had been stitched together from different animals.  Cyrus stunned it and the party made quick work of it.

They found a scroll of Dispel Magic (cast at a 9th level) and the corpse of Dúne's father.  He'd been killed recently, but there was no way to bring him back.  Dúne took the body with him and the party went up to the second floor.

The party could hear sounds of someone fighting gnolls.  Dúne could sense a portal ahead, but something felt slightly off.  They ran into what was the laboratory of the library where the ground was littered with dead gnolls and folk.  Just as the party readied to join the fight one of the guards shouted, "Here it comes, it's happening again."

There was a flash of blinding light and the party found themselves back where they'd entered the library.  Their health and magic had reset as well to the original moment they walked in, and any items they'd picked up since entering the library were gone.

Dúne immediately ran down to the basement to look for his father, but he wasn't there.  Everyone went up to the second floor and spoke with the guards there.  In the back Xander was casting a spell trying to contain a magic portal that was out of control.  The guards said that time reset periodically with no real pattern.  If they could get some items, Xander thought he could close the portal down.  Others were searching for the items too, but none had come back with all of them.

• In the basement, a scroll of dispel magic. 
• 1st floor, a jerbeen named Jackel had stolen and hid a diamond (worth 1000gp).
• 3rd floor, the wand in Xander's desk.
• 4th floor, a potion of look from the hedge Belkara.

The guards had seen Dúne's father, he'd been trying to get the scroll in the basement for some time, but they hadn't seen him for a couple loops.  The guards also mentioned that "things" were slipping through the portal to different floors of the library.

The party went to the third floor and ended up fighting an iron golem.  Apparently the library defenses were active.  Although the golem hit hard, and could summon fiery creatures they'd seen in Scorched Grove, they were able to defeat it.  

A quick search (and solving a puzzle) the party found the wand that Xander needed.

Part II

After finding the wand time reset again.  Snow ran to where Jackel was hiding and the party convinced him they could end the time loop if he'd give them the diamond Xander needed.  He told them where he hid it and Cyrus and Dùne were able to recover it without a problem.

On the third floor Adina sent her flying octopus familiar that looked exactly like an owl in to Xander's office and was able to recover the wand.

They headed up to the fourth floor and found Dúne's father was on the floor and unresponsive.  One minor restoration later and he was alright, though a bit shaken up.  He was going to head down to the basement and try and get the spell scroll but Dúne convinced him to wait, the party was in much better shape to try it.

The fourth floor of the library was filled with gargoyle looking statues.  The approached cautiously and nothing happened until Amichai felt the urge to defend the library and attacked the party.  A few rounds later he shook it off and the next thing they knew Dúne attacked the party.  

While trying to contain Dúne they found Balkira, who was apparently insane casting random spells in random directions.  They found the potion of luck (Dune stopped attacking but Cyrus began moments later) and exited as quick as they could.

After checking in on the second floor (where they mentioned look out for the library defenses) the party decided to let time reset again.  This would let some of the guards who died a chance to survive.  In fact, some had gone insane (like Belkara) and had to be killed whenever time reset.  This would allow the other guards to subdue them, and hopefully save them.

With one last reset, the party was able to get all four items Xander needed.  Putting them all to use he was able to contain the magic that had gotten out of hand, close the gate he'd been trying to create, and end the time loop.

With that completed, everyone ran out of the library before the gnolls descended on it.