When everyone gets settled Marav shifts back, he is bruised but not in horrible shape. He goes over to Matrix and casts Cure Wounds at 2nd level.

CW: 12
Then again at 1st level: 9

Then he turns to Aya and casts again twice:
CW:  11
CW:  7

Marav then collapses, "Sorry folks, that's all I got. Hopefully it will get us through the night. I am pretty tapped. I think I got one more shift left in me if something happens, but it would be a slugfest.

You throw the power to the rudder, and the airship's skids grind their way along the cave floor. With a heave, the airship lurches free of the cave into the windy chasm among the Ice Spires. Ironslag's main entrance is hundreds of feet below you, through the mists that currently obscure the valley floor, while the yakfolk village is high above you at the top of the cliff. 

// Where to now? Are you heading somewhere to purchase healing potions? //

Marav flies behind the ship for a few minutes, keeping an eye out for anyone following or coming out of the the village area. Once we are a little ways away he will land and drop his form and prepare for the first watch.

"Think the rest of you are more banged up than me."

All that Marav sees from the village is the smoke billowing from the flaming hut. 

Ink offers, "I think we're all more than banged up - and at the very least, tired. That was a brutal confrontation and I fear more of that waits for us inside." 

He takes out the bottle lifted from the dead drow wizard and studies it for a moment (// ARCANA (INT)? 26 //). He sighs, "I wish Flint was around. He'd be able to identify this flask. I get the feeling that there's something about it - but truth be told, given our history with strange items, I fear unstopping it until I know what it is... especially since it came off the belt of a drow. Why the hell are they here anyways?"

"I'd prefer it if we could go re-supply and rest, but the others brought up good points as we were floating down on the ship - there's probably an uproar in their fortress and it's likely a bundle of chaos. Aya and Matrix's judgment is sound: we take a short rest and go back in before they reset defenses. I would think that given what happened in the yalkfolk village, they'd re-double defenses up top. Now might be the perfect time to use that door you made in the side of the mountain."

"I think I can recover some of the arcane energy I expended while we're resting. Maybe even bring back Quill."

While they rest, Ink performs the ritual needed to bring back Quill. She returns. She is still a great horned owl, but, rather than the smell of cinder, ash and brimstone, her feathers give off the scent of the deep forest as they flap.

Ink can tell that the iron bottle is indeed powerfully magical, as well as ancient. It is covered with embossed and inscribed runes, some of which look familiar to certain abjuration symbols that Ink knows.

Whatever it is, it certainly isn't drow-made; at least, not in recent centuries. When Ink moves it around to study it, the chain clinks against the metal, which makes a hollow, ringing/clinking sound. It seems as if it's empty. 

A couple hours pass, and you feel as if you've taken enough time to rest. The night has come, and with it the frigid winter cold of the Ice Spires. The mists have settled, leaving only the moonlight canyon between you and Ironslag. Do you wish to return to the cave?

Ink looks as if he is about to unstopper the bottle, but stops. He comments, "I shouldn't go around opening up strange bottles that give off powerful waves of arcane energy."

He turns to the others, "You know, apparently I had a cousin, way out along the family tree, that upon hearing a call for help coming from a well, immediately ran to it and peered in to see what he could do... he is still in this well to this day, calling for help. Apparently he took the place of some mage that had been locked away for years."

 "I'd like to think that I remember that lesson on a daily basis, but, let's be honest - I have dove in headfirst a few too many times to be able to claim that."

---

Ink sends Quill to scout ahead, particularly the cave, to see if she finds anything taking residence there, or guards up or down the stairs.

// For Quill: Perception 20, Stealth 4

"We can head back anytime. I don't have a lot in the way of healing though. Just so you know."

Quill comes back with the report that the mines are abuzz with activity. She isn't able to properly scout, and she is pretty sure that she was seen at least twice by some big creatures that almost looked like bugbears.

The giants were able to turn the elevator back on in the meantime; you can hear the rumble of the elevator through the small hole at the back of the cave.

As you sit there in the darkness thinking about what to do, you notice down in the starlit valley, several figures are approaching the cliffside. From this distance it's hard to make out their size and number, but there are at least five burning torches among them. The nearby waterfall is drowning out any noise they might be making.

"Quill. Scout. Carefully," Ink instructs. 

He then steadies himself and slips into her vision.

// The range is only a hundred feet, but I figure her eyes are better than Ink's. 

// Quill Perception 20, Quill Stealth 15 

Quill can see just fine, and flies close to the mountside so as not to give away a silhouette against the stars above. 

It is a fire giant approaching, with a small force of hobgoblins and bugbears, about thirty in all. They are hauling wagons with them. The fire giant keeps pace with two hell hounds at the front of the group.

Ink describes the situation and suggests, "Raid?" I can bring a sleet storm down upon them."

Marav looks at Ink, "What kind of range do you have with that? I can fly you down and we could do some strafing runs. Not sure the range of their attacks, but anything we drop will be aided by gravity. Sleet storm and 1,000 ball bearings might have some... comical effects. Any other ideas?"

The giant and his large retinue draw closer to the mountain door, dragging the three large flatbed carts along with them. Through Quill’s eyes, Ink can see that the carts are laden with big hunks of metal.

The hell hounds pull on their leads, which the fire giant holds in his hand.

Aya looks for any advantageous areas to take up a position to snipe anyone who moves out of the sleet storm. She's looking for high ground with decent cover. 

Right now, you are just over 300 feet from the door at the base of the cliff. 300 feet straight up.

Eyeballing a quick triangulation, Aya thinks she can get to within 250 feet of the door by running down the staircase in the dark. After that there are switchbacks, which take you all the way down the mountainside, but would take even the most proficient climber far more time than you have.

The giant should be at the door in under two minutes, so now is a good time to get into position.

Marav taps Aya on the shoulder, "Let's go. If we are quiet we can get away far enough before we shift our forms and hopefully keep our hidey hole a secret."

He turns to the others, "When we are clear we are gonna go to their opposite side and Aya can start raining hell down on them. I'll try and keep my dragon form between her and our opponents. Bahamut has blessed me with the ability to take a beating. When you hear my roar that is your signal to go, hopefully I'll keep their attention away from this place and you can sneak up behind them. We are gonna concentrate on the big guy."

//Assuming no complaints, when Marav and Aya are in place he will shift into large dragon mode, let Aya mount giving her rope to lash herself to her new mount. Then take off and fly around them. Getting at 600 feet or so. To let Aya shoot. Then Marav will yell out, "That's the one Zalto told us to kill!" then roar loudly as Aya turns him into a pin cushion.

As Marav and Aya fly, Ink rushes to the edge of the cave and looks down, then to the others. He says, "We miscalculated. There's no way we can walk down there in time. Let's get this airship going and join them."

"I think we might be in our own for a while. Didn't realize it a so far down. Ahhh we can handle it." Marav calls over his shoulder.