If you can actually affect the stone, then, yes, carving into the symbols would disrupt them.

Elwood turns to his companions, "Anyone have a hammer and some iron spikes?"

OOC: I'm uncharacteristically unprepared for traditional dungeon delving. I'm usually pretty good about that...

Unfortunately I don't have anything that would work.  Your welcome to try with one of my daggers.  Pulling one out and offering it to Elwood.

"Harrumph!" Durek responds. "That's like asking an Elf if he hugs trees! Har-har!"

"You'd be better off with a stone chisel."

He hands over the mentioned chisel and a hammer.

Elwood takes the offered tools. "Thanks, Durek. Please don't laugh at my technique. My only experience chipping away at rock in the past was trying to escape from prison."

The paladin sets to work on the stone, praying to Murlynd as he does that the arcane energies don't suddenly come forth in an explosion of some sort.

Chuckling, Tom replies: "I don't work with stone in that way, so what do you expect?"

Mort still eyed the dragon with considerable cation.  "did the people say why they were leaving this place?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Thu 04 Feb 2016.

Elwood begins chipping at the stone carvings. He has to completely obliterate one of them before something happens.

There's a surge of arcane energy that erupts and crawls over all of the runes before just disappearing.


Elwood realizes now that the runes were a magical 'device', though he still has no idea what their intent was. He does know that they weren't active, and now they can't be activated any more.

While Elwood works away on the runes.  I take another close look at the Dragon.

Apologies for the delay. Been sick all week.


The young dragon looks like any normal dragon. Possibly an expert on dragons, if such exists, could tell what species this one would grow up to become. Each dragon species has unique tail shapes, spinal plates, whiskers, horns, and even skull shapes, or so it is claimed. No one is quite sure if these are hereditary features, or something to do with environment and experience. It's probably a factor of all three. In any case, none of those features are particularly pronounced when they are young. Why this should be so, though, is unclear.

Except for the clipped wings and emaciated condition, this dragon does not look like it was mistreated in any way. If it was placed in the cage since it hatched, it may not have ever flown.

After some examination, it would appear as if this is not a metallic wyrmling, but a chromatic one.

Mort decided that it would be best for him to be outside the room before dragon exited made his was out of the room and waited in the hallway, watching with his weapon held in his hand

After Mort passes through the arch, Elwood hands Durek back his tools with a nod of thanks.

"Well, young dragon, I think I've deactivated this protective spell. I can't guarantee it, so try to pass it slowly and carefully."

Elwood has heard that some dragons tend to be less aligned than others, and hopes that with proper rearing by the group, this dragon could be one of those. He's willing to take a risk on bringing the dragon along. As long as it behaves well, it would make a powerful ally in the battle against strange magics that Elwood's visions have fortold.

It does not appear that the young dragon has developed his breath weapon yet, but his breath seems to have a hint of garlic to it.


The dragon tentatively pokes his snout at the doorway. When nothing happens, he pokes it out a little farther... then a little farther... When his entire head is outside the doorway without any ill effects, he walks out.

Once outside, he looks back at the group still in the cave.

Outside on the ship, Talis is taking a short nap in a hammock strung up on the deck when he suddenly sits up.

"Did you feel that?" he asks the others as he glances up at the sky. "A breeze. A cold one. I think the weather's going to turn."

Indeed, the sky to the north is dark.

"Gierdon, better go tell the others to hurry up. A storm's coming. The ship won't survive here in the box canyon. The winds'll smash it against the canyon walls."

"I figure we've got an hour... maybe two, but that'll be pushing it."


Gierdon hustles down the long tunnel, relying more on sound than sight to find the others. After several  hundred feet, his echoing footsteps signal the presence of a large cavern up ahead. As gets closer, he spots Anneth and Kareth just up ahead. They appear to be waiting.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:34, Wed 24 Feb 2016.

"I hear something..." Anneth gets ready to nock an arrow, turns around...and sees Gierdon.  She lowers her bow.  "Oh, it's you."

"Hmmm....Garlic. It reminds me of home. At least vampires won't be a problem."

He follows the dragon, keeping an eye out behind.

"Weather be picking up," Gierdon says, shaking his head and sniffling in a way that sounds more like a snarl. “We better make preparations, for dwarves waters from the sky can only mean ill.”

Elwood also follows the dragon out.

Whether it was the breaking of the seals around the doorway or the dragon actually stepping out of the chamber is hard to say, but suddenly there is the sound of wings flapping, and half a dozen gargoyles seemingly step out of the rocky sides of the cavern and drop downward, although two veer to the opening where Anneth, Gierdon and Kareth are waiting.

The dwarf snarles as he sees the gargoyle, readying his weapon.

I draw my sword as well.

Not quite having gotten to recover, and mouthing a very strong curse, Anneth fires her bow, and then lets fly another shaft in the hopes that she can hit the winged fiends bearing down on her and her companions.

Attacking the two gargoyles headed Anneth's and the other's ways, short bow!
02:31, Today: Anneth Mage-Singer rolled 15,6 using 1d20+3,1d6 ((12,6)).
02:31, Today: Anneth Mage-Singer rolled 15,1 using 1d20+3,1d6 ((12,1)).
Waiting until they're at short range...

15:26, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 5 using 1d8+3.  Damage to Gargoyle if S/M size.
15:25, Today: Tom Wolf rolled 18 using 1d20+3.  Attack Gargoyle.

This should slow one of them down some.

UP ON THE LEDGE

Gierdon and Kareth have drawn weapons upon sighting the approaching gargoyle, while Anneth is able to ready her bow and fire off two arrows. She has no problem hitting the gargoyles, but the arrows just seem to bounce off.

That sparks a memory that gargoyles can only be damaged by magic.


DOWN ON THE CAVERN FLOOR

Tom swings at the first gargoyle approaches, and has no trouble hitting it... but his sword does not penetrate the creature's stone hide.


What are Aaron, Durek, Elwood, Mort, Rodrigo and Rukao doing?

Seeing Tom's blade literally bounce off of the gargoyle, Rodrigo realizes that these creatures of stone can only be damaged by magic... or possibly some other non-mundane method.

The magic would apply to hitting it with a weapon, but how could they kill the creatures if he just put them to sleep? If nothing else, they could flee while the creatures slumbered. He wondered if they could negotiate the tunnel up top.

The wings wouldn't let them fly through it, but would they scramble through it if they couldn't fly?

"Bah! Enough ruminating! Let's see if a spell will affect them!"

He cast one of his Sleep spells at the first gargoyle.