Ascent?

Arbiddance had to check for himself that the dragon was dead... not that he didn't take Hern's word, but that one could never be too careful with dragons. Satisfied, he crawled over the corpse and entered its lair.

It was hard to focus with ice covering most things, but Arbiddance walked around to take stock of the cave's contents... hoping something here might solve the predicament they were in.

In the middle of the room was a mound of coins of various kinds. The mound was studded with gems and assorted silverware... so typical of a dragon... and it was a lot. He kicked around and found a few vials; from the labelling, he thought one or two might heal. Assorted urns lined the back wall. He checked out the contents of each: oil, coins, more coins, cremains, a carpet, some scrolls...

A carpet?

Praying against the odds, Arbiddance pulled the carpet out of its container and spread it out. He spoke a few arcane words over it, and it glowed with a dim light.

"Okay," he muttered. "You're magical in nature. You either fly or you stay really clean."

A thorough search of the carpet's edges revealed a tiny phrase... written in Ak'Kori sewn into the threads near the tassels. Arbiddance smiled.