and then the wall trembled and began to bulge. At first irregularly, bit by bit. Some fragments actually broke off and vanished into the mist beneath them. Suddenly, the goblin tensed, clenched his fingers, and the rock ledge began to take on a more stable form. The cadet’s effort was plain to see.
Draco watched it all with genuine fascination. The creation of something so simple, yet so necessary in the current situation, had captured his attention. The formation emerging from the rock face grew before his eyes until it was large enough to accommodate two people and allow them to turn about freely.
Seeing how tired Warren was, the dragon hauled him up and then practically tossed him onto the newly formed ledge. It seemed that creating such a large structure had, after all, significantly drained the goblin’s strength. The reptile began to wonder whether they would be able to carry out their original plan under these circumstances.
‘Can you manage this ledge?’ Draco scrambled onto the finished shelf and, with a rather displeased expression, assessed how much was left to do. Or rather, how much work was left for Warren.
‘Yeah…’ The goblin panted heavily for a moment. ‘It doesn’t need to be that wide later on.’ He took a deep breath. ‘You see, the closer I am to the parent rock, the less mana I need to use.’
The explanation was simple and logical, so Draco accepted it with a mere nod. He didn't suspect Warren of overestimating his own strength either. So far, he’d seemed shy but responsible.
In accordance with the signal they’d agreed on earlier, the dragon tugged several times on the rope secured at the top. In response, Cedric’s face appeared above the wall. He seemed to have cheered up a little, as he nodded and signalled for them to carry on. The dragon patted the goblin on the shoulder and they began to move on. Warren remained on all fours the whole time, manoeuvring the rock, whilst Draco followed close behind, belaying him with the rope and clinging to the cliff face.
