its own distinct strengths. It was hard to say which was the best choice, so the dragon kept quiet. Besides, he wasn’t the only one to adopt this approach. Thanks to this, they were able to have a proper conversation rather than shouting over one another. However, no one was in a hurry to bring the matter to a close, but more and more people were glancing expectantly at Cedric.
‘Let’s do as Adam suggested,’ Retfield finally announced. ‘The scouts will head straight from the ravine, scouting the terrain all the way to the centre of the Crater, and from there they’ll head upstream towards the spring. Meanwhile, we’ll try to reach the rendezvous point, keeping close to the cliffs and surveying the positions we pass. If the topography has changed significantly, we’ll have to improvise.’
A murmur of agreement rippled through the group. Everyone seemed satisfied with the plan.
‘Now we just have to wait for our turn,’ muttered Zane, rolling his eyes.
The break dragged on for quite a while. In the meantime, Draco had the chance to chat with the other students in their group. It turned out that, unlike Cedric, they not only approached the reptile without prejudice, but quickly began to warm to him themselves. The initial questions about Dagos, dragons and his lessons with the master turned into an exchange of gossip about Soeren, stories of races outside the city, anecdotes from previous years at school, and much more. Draco had to admit that it was quite nice to have a normal chat like that.
‘Could I have a word with you for a moment?’ Cedric interrupted the chat. He wasn’t in such a bad mood anymore, but his expression didn’t bode well.
Draco apologised to his other friends and stepped aside with his team captain. Retfield didn’t start straight away, as if he were gathering his thoughts and wasn’t quite sure what to say. Every now and then, he glanced at Noah, who simply nodded encouragingly.
‘We’re working in teams today,’ Cedric finally began. It was hard to tell whether he was embarrassed
