Ancient cults perfected a ritual to bind demons in a shell of stone and to a particular location. While lost to modern spellslingers, this ritual has been passed down through the generations of those cults. The ritual is very complex and long, since it is designed to keep the demon encased in stone for countless years. In order to lessen the complexity, certain compromises were made—these can vary between cults, but typically consist of specified windows of time (full moons, rainstorms, or for one hour after midnight) when the demon is free from his prison or limited forms of sensory contact (reading minds, vision, hearing, or even the use of hypnotism). Gargoyles vary in appearance, depending on the nature of the demon affected. Those with wings take on the traditional gargoyle facade, but demons that appear human or animal-like look like traditional statues (smaller ones may even almost look like garden gnomes or temple guardians). Unless a window opens that lifts the stone shell, the demon is stuck as a statue. During the open window, however, it sheds the stone appearance, appearing in its natural form (whatever type of demon it is). When the window closes, the demon returns to its stone form. If this does not occur at the location to which it is bound, the stone shell begins to crack. The cracking continues for three days until it eventually shatters, killing the demon, unless returned to its bound location before that time. Many buildings and other structures are decorated with stone ornaments. These are often gargoyles unbeknownst to the masons and owners. Bear in mind that just because something looks like a gargoyle, that does not mean it is. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and many of the original gargoyles have been copied and sold as collections, with new styles of art and sculpture being based on them. Someone dealing in antiques could very easily sell an actual gargoyle beside a normal sculpture, and no one would be the wiser, including the dealer. That’s just the way it is on Marl. The many years of magical alterations and countless demonic intrusions have influenced the world beyond most people’s comprehension.