‘Good idea,’ Sheth nodded and stepped away from the edge. ‘You should look for something for the rest of you as well.’
‘Cedric mentioned something. I’ll find some for you, and in the meantime, have a think about the route.’ Noah nodded to them and walked off, glancing up at the treetops as if assessing something.
‘We’d better listen to him.’ The troll looked at Draco and the goblin, then back at the chasm. ‘I’ll show you the way I want to go. You can tell me what you think of it.’
Planning the route took them longer than Draco had expected. At first, the route suggested by the troll seemed quite good to him, but Warren took a different view. The goblin pointed out places which, in his opinion, weren’t entirely stable and weren’t suitable as handholds or belay points. Later, they discussed the new route together, weighing up their respective comments. The dragon had the least to say on the matter, but he listened eagerly to the whole exchange, learning something from it himself.
Before they’d finished, Noah appeared with a thick, limp vine, which they were to use as a rope. Parthir declared that he’d chosen the best one for them. With everything ready, they set about the descent.
Sheth slid down the wall with ease, disappearing over the edge of the cliff before they’d even had a chance to ask him anything. Things were worse with the frightened goblin. Warren was reluctant to even approach the edge of the chasm, but, persuaded by the dragon, he finally stepped forward and, held on one side by the reptile and on the other by the troll, finally stepped onto the cliff. Draco only set about it once he was sure the goblin was holding on firmly to the rock.
The dragon had no problem with heights, so he took the first step with ease and, holding onto a rope secured to the rock, lowered himself onto the wall of the chasm. Seeing Warren clinging to the stone, he quickly descended further, still using his momentum. Then came the
