Draco decided there was no time to waste and returned to the other side of the rampart to take another look at the surroundings. On the way, he spotted a somewhat concealed passage leading outwards, situated right next to one of the platforms. The exit was barely wide enough to drag a gun carriage through and far too low for any draught animal to pass. The dragon opened the bolt and pushed the gate outwards.
The reptile stepped onto the embankment, from which he had a view of the centre of the Crater. The rampart was too low to see anything above the treetops, but it was still a decent vantage point. The forest opposite seemed calm and empty, almost in a strange way. Only now did Draco realise that when he had been in Enpine, the woodland surrounding the estate had been teeming with life. Sounds came from all around; it was filled with animals, both large and small. Something was always on the move. Here, however, there was only emptiness. Something that should have been obvious in an artificially created area had become a shocking discovery for the boy.
‘Can you see anything?’
The dragon flinched at the sound of Cedric’s voice behind him. He hadn’t paid the slightest attention to what was going on around him and had let his mind wander. I shouldn’t have done that, he chided himself. He had no desire whatsoever to even consider what the consequences might be if he’d missed not his own team, but someone from the opposing group.
‘Apart from the fact that there’ll be nowhere to hide under the pine trees, there’s nothing interesting.’ He shrugged and scanned the area once more.
Retfield stood beside him and looked around himself. Sheth sat down on one of the logs and waited calmly for further instructions. Noah and Zane were missing. Draco had no idea what to say, so he tried to follow Cedric’s gaze more or less in the same direction. However, he didn’t see anything of interest.
‘We’ll carry on as planned,’ Retfield finally said. It was hard
