The rest of the sentence was lost in an inaudible whisper.
Retfield looked at the goblin for a moment, then picked up another stone himself and, just to be sure, repeated the dragon’s throw. The sound of the impact wasn’t as loud as before, but it was clear that the protective spell didn’t extend downwards.
‘I can belay you,’ Draco said to the earth mage. ‘I’m not afraid of heights, and I’m quite good at climbing.’ It was partly true. At the dragon academy, they did indeed practise rock climbing, but only after transformation. The dragon, however, assumed that if he’d managed it then, he wouldn’t have any trouble with it in human form either.
‘Me too,’ said Sheth, raising his hand. ‘We often go climbing at home. We even have competitions,’ he added, trying to hide the pride he felt in the activity. ‘The three of us shouldn’t have any trouble.’ He turned to Cedric and looked at him expectantly.
‘All right then.’ Retfield agreed to the proposal, though it was clear he wasn’t particularly pleased. It was just hard to tell whether the problem was the plan itself or the fact that he hadn’t come up with it himself. ‘The three of you will lead the way, and then the rest of us will follow you.’ He waved his hand and set about organising the order, leaving all decisions to the people he’d just appointed.
‘I’ll go first.’ The troll approached the edge and looked down. His gaze swept smoothly across the rock face. ‘Then Warren, clearing the path, and finally Draco, belaying both of us.’ He turned to them, waiting for confirmation.
‘We could really use a rope. It would be much easier and safer if we tied ourselves together.’ The dragon made a valid point.
‘I can help with that.’ Draco almost jumped, not realising that Noah was standing barely a step behind him. Parthir smiled slightly, but looked at the chasm with a touch of uncertainty. ‘Thick vines should do the trick, and if I add a bit of my own, they certainly won’t snap.’
