the point.' He blurted out, sensing the commander's urgent gaze upon him. 'Somewhere halfway along this side branch there's a watchtower. From its tower, there's a brilliant view of the end of the ravine and almost everything right up to the entrance to the Crater.'
Retfield narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'It's manned, isn't it?' Cedric seemed strangely calm.
'Ah, yes.' Zane nodded. 'I don't know if it's just one squad, but I saw at least three people at the top of the tower.'
'It'll be difficult to get close to them,' Retfield assessed, running his finger over the map.
'Worse still, I'm sure I saw a signal launcher there, and the mast was empty.'
'So not only do we have no reason to attack them, but they'll also raise the alarm as soon as they see us.'
'We'll either have to take a risk or back off,' stated one of the cadets who'd been discussing strategy before entering the Crater.
'There's no point wasting time. We need to take the watchtower quickly, before they realise what's going on,' someone from the side objected.
'As soon as they see us, they'll shoot. They're not idiots,' Zane chimed in. 'Besides, they're probably expecting us from this direction. The guards are watching the entrance, the ravine and the forest we just passed through.'
'Can't we just carry on?' the dragon blurted out. As if on cue, everyone fell silent and looked at him. 'Don't we have any earth mages?'
'I am one, but this width...' the nervous goblin said timidly.
'I'm not talking about casting a bridge, after all.' Draco bit his tongue just in time. 'All we need is a ledge wide enough for us to slowly walk sideways across,' he stated as if it were obvious, pointing to the high cliff behind them.
