@All

Shadows and dust fill the area around Jade, encapsulating those of you who are stills standing with her in a thick shroud. Lux, you are too far away from the group for this to effect you.

Jade, you make it to the cave without any issues. Make a perception check with disadvantage to see if you can notice anything additional in the cave

As the shadows fill the air, Dazlyn whispers "Ah, this should help. I'm not the stealthiest alive with this ol' hunk a metal!". He smacks the chain mail armor he is wearing. Norbus and Dazlyn then begin to make thier way over to the cave, hoping to join the rest of the group that's already gotten over there
Norbus: 17
Dazlyn: 10

Both dwarves reach the cave, and begin to search around, their darkvision helping them examine further

Norbus: 13
Dazlyn: 18

Norbus doesn't see much of anything, not quite being able to make out anything important even without the dark impeding him, but Dazlyn immediately locks on to the entire extent of the cave. Soloth, Elandra, Jade, he begins describing to you what he sees:

Once she reaches the cave, she tries to look around in the dim light provided by Soloth's torch

Perception 17

After Jade casts her spell, Liri begins to slowly creep her way up the mountainside towards the cave, pausing every so often to look up and check that the Roc has not noticed her.

15

@Jade

You also notice the small shrines surrounding the ruins of the statue, and while you can't read them yourself, you trust that Dazlyn's translation is accurate. You also can't quite make out what the runes on the statue say. With whatever runes these are, between written in a different language and clearly having high arcane potential, you can't read them

@Liri

You make it to the cave safely, joining most of the rest of the group. There's not much else to take a look at here that the rest of the group hasn't already clocked, but is there anything you want to do as you arrive at the cave?

Koric is definitely unwilling to be left behind, and ascends stealthily. When he arrives, he too tries to read the runes, looking through Balthar's eyes if necessary. Finding he can't read it all, he pulls out his spell book and begins a brief ritual in the dark recesses of the cave.

Stealth: 27

@Koric

Getting over to the cave proves to be absolutely no issue, and you quickly get to examining the runes. With the aid of the spell you cast, you can read the text of the runes, which you translate roughly to "Rise, defender of Axeholm, hammer of Moradin, and smite our foes!". More than that though, now being able to read the text, you get the sense this text encodes a spell, acting much like a scroll would. It looks to you like some variation of the Animate Objects spell, but the spell's clearly been significantly enhanced by magic that baffles even you with its power. Still, you could attempt to cast it, hoping to channel Mystra's pure arcane might for a moment

As you read the text, you describe it to the group and..

@Elandra

As Koric reads the text out loud, the runes suddenly seem to be far more familiar to you. With the language barrier dropped, even with the strange arcane nature of the runes in front of you, you get the sense Tymora's power could help you cast this if you tried hard enough 

@Koric and Elandra

This is an incredibly complex spell, and whoever wrote these runes must have been incredibly powerful to imbue them with this empowered version of an already difficult spell. Still, you can absolutely attempt to use the runes to cast it, much like you would with a scroll. If you want to do so, make a check with your spellcasting ability (Intelligence for Koric, Charisma for Elandra). DC is 16 to cast the spell, and it's unclear if failing to cast such a powerful spell would have adverse consequences

Koric looks up to his companions, "This is one of those moments when I know I can activate the statue. It is a clear future...if we choose it."

(( Would use portent, IF group decides ))

Despite Sololth's enthusiasm, Koric looks a little worried, and glances at the others for a reaction, his gaze coming to rest on the to dwarves. "I worry that this creature, once activated, might not see us as friends. Perhaps our new allies have knowledge of this thing?"

"If we do activate it, then...perhaps everyone other than myself and the dwarves should be below?" He eyes the statue warily, and does not look very happy with the idea of remaining on the outcrap when the statue comes to life. "As to Lux..." he looks from the stationary companion, the the statue and back to the Roc, "...once the statue is activated, it will likely command the full attention of the Roc. At least I hope so."

@Koric

Norbus History check: 20
Dazlyn History check: 10

Norbus and Dazlyn both have no idea what this could be, although both speculate that it's most likely old enough to be back from before Axeholm fell, and they relay this to you

Edit: Not sure why, but the rolls changed when I edited the bottom part on. They were originally 4 and 7

Also, @Koric

You can certainly have the rest of your friends leave the cave if you want to before you cast the spell (you are all in the cave on the upper outcropping), but getting out of the cave could risk alerting the roc and would require another stealth check from everyone

Sweat appears on Koric's brow as he feels the weight of destiny upon him. His eyes flicker around his companions as he waits for their response, and to know if they want to stay or go.

(( I assume we still have Pass Without Trace, so +10 to stealth for any who want to go? ))

Pass without Trace is still active, yes

Elandra had been reading the scroll or at least trying to do so over Koric's shoulder, and as he started reading the strange symbols seemed to resolve themselves in her mind, now seeming more like a complex piece of sheet music, the notes, bars, chords and words all picked out in a certain way. It was a decidedly strange experience in her head to have the spell change in her head like that, yet to still see the original text on the page as unintelligible as ever.

"I think you are better suited to this my friend." Elandra's words come seemingly out of nowhere as she holds the veil of invisibility over her still, "Though I shall stay with you whilst you undertake this task. Whilst I am unseen it may be that this guardian pays me no heed, though if it were to I have at least some advantage in being able to avoid it's ire... Plus I'm just that lovable." She giggles in an overly cute tone, exaggerating just how adorable she could be.

"I'm not entirely convinced that we would want it to head out and take a swing at that roc though. the bird might be an inconvenience, it hasn't done anything bad though."

Koric nods, not entirely sure where to look. He eventually settles his gaze on the Roc, "Agreed. Better than us, though. I hope it head to Axeholm."

He waits for the others to move as they choose and then, assuming all are in agreement, activates the spell.

"I am not going to leave you, Koric.  Do the spell, we shall see what happens and meet it together." Jade peeks out the cave to check on Lux, making sure he's alright.

 Liri peeks out of the cave back at the Roc, watching to make sure it remains asleep, and that Lux remains safe. Satisfied that all is still well for the moment, she looks back at Koric. "I will stay here as well. If there does turn out to be a problem with this statue, then better we face it together."

Koric draws in a deep breath and nods slowly in a strange mixture of gratitude and resignation. With a final look at his companions, and then at the status, he activates the spell.