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Hlal-son sighs and closes his eyes. "So you merely made a small inroad into the stone breach and it gave way. You really didn't try to force it in any way?"

"How?" asks Hlal-son quietly, causing Luceil to wonder what it was that the elder dragon really wanted to know.

Hlal-son nods with relief. "Very well. Then you may have triggered the flood... but it was a hair from occurring naturally..." He holds up a hand to keep Luceil from interrupting.

"Luceil... water weakens acid.. all acids, but especially our acids." says Hlal-son quietly. "There was no way, you could have started that chain reaction with that. Now pounding on it probably didn't help matters, but had a large enough boulder broke free and fallen on it, it would have deliver pretty much the same effect. In no way does this relieve you from the responsibility of wanting to break that dam down, but it does tell me that it was probably a good thing you did. Had that happened when no one was around to see it take place, we would have lost many young ones. As it is, we have several serious injuries, but no casualties. Tomorrow we will fly up to the falls... to see if your hunch was worth all the trouble and heartache it's managed to drag forth. Understood?"

"I will need to sleep on this. It is not as if you intentionally set out to drown the valley... but you did show a serious lack of thought in the matter. For now, I simply thank the all-father, you did not succeed."

Hlal-son sends him back to his cave and dismisses the two girls at the same time.

Igniska catches up to Luceil just outside the cavern entrance. Coriander is fast on her heels.

"Well... it could have been worse..." says Cori helpfully.

Igniska glares at her then sighs. "Ye want me to keep ye company? Don't think yer gonna sleep much tonight iffin I know ye."

"The next morning he is awakened by a small bronze dragon who seems to be in awe of him.

"M-master Hlal-son says you should eat, then join him... on the mountain..." He stares wide eyed at Luceil then blurts out. "Did you really try to stop that water all by yourself?"

He finds the copper dragon standing near the bottom of a large gash, cut into the mountain side. There is still water standing in the pool but it is far lower now and no longer looks to be artificial. The runoff from the mountain top is trickling down merrily, joining a small stream which is flowing from a opening just below what Luceil thinks are his stone reliefs, most of which are extremely difficult to make out. Erosion and time have worn them down to almost nothing or removed them completely. Only those areas which were protected from the rush of the water remain. A hand here, part of a foot there. Fragments of what must have been a magnificent monument carved into... not out of the stone before them.

Hlal-son is studying the opening. "Luceil, does that look natural to you?" he asks absently. In some ways it does, in others it does not.

Hlal-son looks up at the carvings and shakes his head. "Oh, those things... I've already determined they are carved by the hands... or should I say hands of some ancient individual. I was talking about that opening over there... where the water is running from. Come... wait, I seem to remember some glowing stones that we moved to your cave. Could you please go fetch us a few?"