With a toothy grin at Fianna, Chen says: Well unless someone else wants to grow a pair of antlers, we'd better move. Then to Tic he adds: Let's see where this chain leads, shall we? 

Jezun nods and volunteers to fly ahead stealthily, following the chain. He asks if they want to bring the unconscious demon along for any reason.

     "How long can you fly such?" Fianna asks, a bit surprised.  "We've no idea how far this chain goes...  As for the demon, from watching the other demons pass I would presume we would need this demon alive in order to follow the chain.  But I don't know if bringing it with us would be wise..."

Jezun's brow furrows. "Um, I'm not sure. One time, I flew for almost an hour, but then I ran into a stalactite on accident, which really hurt, and then I couldn't fly anymore. So maybe an hour, as long as I don't hit a stalagmite? Stalagtite? Stalacmite? I think the ones on the lower side of the cave have an L in them, but all of those words have Ls in them so maybe the top ones are ceiling pokers..."

He trails off, confusedly muttering to himself, but eyes still brightly alert as he begins to hover a bit off the ground, following the chain, unless someone stops him.

Stops - no, but follow. At least Mirica will, however she would make sure others at least thinking about getting in. Not too deep into the entrance but away from the coming anomaly.

((Umm... Please, read "entrance" in my posts as "following the chain :) Somehow I was sure the chain leads inside the entrance of the dragon lair, was even going to discus the use of demon as a trap trigger))

     "I guess we're following the one who flies low enough to fly into stalagmites," Fianna says with a shrug, before climbing to her feet.  "Checks out about right for us."

     Before getting too far, Fianna throws two flasks of oil into the crevice they've been filling with trees dead shrubs and such, as well as trying to collapse.  She'll aim for the most flammable looking portion with one flask, the most inflammable portion with the other...Then use Prestidigitation to set them both aflame.

 (Err, this is assuming the chain isn't leading us into the crevice...)

Fianna sends some oil into the crevice, and then it bursts alight.  The oil is slow to light the wood and such on fire, but by the time the group is 100 feet from the crevice, smoke is pouring out of it and flames are licking the edges. The chain indeed leads away from the crevice.  With Fi'Finnella scouting, along with your monk who is "running" across the air....you are able to avoid the approaching magical disturbance and follow the lead. Fi'Finnella glances towards the crow, seeing that it's trailing them at a distance, moving from cover to cover and staying low.   It soons becomes obvious that the chain is leading you towards one of the larger hills in the ruins....where a large chunk of mountain remains intact. 

With your arial scout, you avoid two more magical disturbances, a pack of some sort of mutated dog things, a pack of about two dozen dretch demons, and five undead shadow things. The ruins seem quite active with these wandering monster things, but you avoid wasting energy on them.  About twenty minutes later you've come directly to the side of this massive chunk of mountain that stretches up a few hundred feet. Bare rock and rubble surround it, with chunks of buildings littering the entire area.  The chain leads to the side of the thing, perhaps a hundred feet up the slanted rubble strewn slope....and then....in.  As you get closer, you see gaps in the rock. Too small to crawl through, and with about thirty feet worth, it would take quite a while to clear.  The earth elemental was with you for a while, but eventually just sank into the ground and was gone.  You could perhaps peek through and misty step into what looks like open space back in the darkness, or clear the tunnel out...or any other number of things....assuming you wish to try and follow the chain into the very rock. 

Toc looks to the group, "If we want to go in, I can make a temporary passage through the rock." 

Can Jezun fly easily around the moutaintop, looking for any other opening or sign of activity?

Both Jezun and Fi'Finnela go flying about the mountain. They notice a few critters or a couple packs of wandering small demons, but nothing that looks like it has a mystic chain around it, or that appears to be "operating" here. 

Chen remembers the time Toc turned him into mist to fit through a small gap, and volunteers to repeat the exercise to recon inside.

     Where is this crow - how close is it?  Fi'Finella, before scouting for another entrance, will try to make some subtle movement towards the bird.  Even if it reacts to keep it's distance, the fact that it can see the invisible familiar would at least be telling...

     Telling what is debatable, but would at the very least eliminate it from being a typical, curious crow.

Do the chunks of rock and buildings seem to have doors and openings? Jezun's looking for other means of entry, before Toc goes through the trouble of creating a portal.

It’s a fairly big chunk of mountain and rubble and could take quite a while (a day? More?) to do a thorough investigation of it for other entrances. The first pass doesn’t reveal anything obvious though. If you want to give it a proper “search” for an hour or so you can roll perception. 

Toc nods to Chen. “I can turn you to mist so you can look if you like. If it’s just an empty pocket or dead end then it it’ll save a more powerful spell.”

Jezun will hold off on a deeper investigation into the rest of the mountainside. He also softly floats to the ground near the group, as his flight ability fades.

He agrees with Toc and Chen that misting sounds fun, and while Chen is headed in, he will find a flat rock, sit down, and begin to meditate. If he is able to do so for an hour, amazing. If not, short rests are not essential for life.

Chen nods to Toc in consent to be transformed...

Toc begins weaving magic, and then reaches out and touches Chen who's body fades into a gaseous mist before the group.  Chen feels light and fluffy, like a buttermilk pancake...ooooh, maybe with some maple syrup and a bit of berry on top....a big stack...with a side of bacon and....wait...wait...he's got a job to do.  Glancing about, feeling the wind gusts pull at his body strangely, he then moves through the crevices and cracks in the rock...his misty body easing out into the open space perhaps 30 feet through the rubble. It's dark...but the dim glow of light comes from down a ten foot wide passage. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all cracked and damaged badly, but seem stable. The engravings and images on the walls are of a strange design, with letters and imagery that seem quite alien to Chen. He's never seen letters or language, but to him, it all seems incredibly ancient.  Shadows hang on the engraved walls oddly, as if unwilling to be dismissed by the light.  Chen moves further down the shadowy hallway until it reaches a T intersection. He sees a blueish white crystal is embedded in the wall giving off a cold light here.  At the T intersection he looks left and right, seeing short ten foot passages that both end in ancient solid stone doors with iron bands around them.  He feels he could probaby pass through the doors gaps if he wanted to. 

Chen regrets not having established some means of communication with the others before entering, but carries on regardless and tries to memorise as many details as possible. If he is unable to see the magic demon-chain, then he decides to investigate the door on the left.

Chen slips under through the cracks in the frame and arrives in a room. 5.  

This chamber's wall, floor and ceiling are in excellent repair, as if someone—or something—has been maintaining them in the years since the disaster struck. The stonework and masonry are a seamless blend of elven and the same ancient style from the hallway.  Chen looks around an octagon shaped room. There appears to be no windows, and only one other door on the right side of the room.  Several crystals embedded in the wall provide a cold blueish white light in the room. Multiple strange sharp shadows extend from all the objects here.  Incorporeal shields glitter and hover along the exterior walls. A single pulled thread glowing a ruddy color, which Chen remembers the mages said were tuned to abjuration magic, is in the center of the room, and books lay on work benches and in stone shelves along the walls. Some drawings and what looks like complex magical theories are written in beautiful handwriting on large posters that are stuck to the walls. 

Committing as much detail to memory as he can, Chen floats across the room to look (or diffuse) through the door.