The rest didn’t last long. Draco had barely had time to sit down comfortably under a tree when the scouts—the ones they’d split up from right at the start—appeared. Driven by curiosity, the dragon approached the spot where Adam was briefing Cedric on the reconnaissance.
‘… straight ahead, about two kilometres.’ The scout leader marked something on the map. ‘It was easy to spot because it’s all pine trees. You could see the traps from a distance.’
‘Liam’s work?’
‘No, from a distance it looked like wolf pits. When we got closer, I had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right, so we turned back.’ He tapped the map with his stylus. ‘It’s possible there’s some sort of formation there, or a more sophisticated magical trap.’
‘So it’s part of the terrain.’ Cedric nodded in understanding.
‘Later, we went round it via the upper path, but we didn’t come across anything there. At least, not until we got close to the lake.’ He marked something else on the map. ‘There’s a tower here with a fortified courtyard. It’s going to be a tough nut to crack.’
‘Since you mention it, that means someone’s been there.’
‘Yes, at least two squads. I also saw their banner at the summit, so we’ll have to work out what to do about them anyway.’ He moved the stylus slightly down the map. ‘This is where the stream ends and flows into the lake. Then it goes like this.’ From memory, he traced the course of the stream on the map. ‘There’s a village in that bend. Nothing special, just four simple huts connected by a palisade, but there’s a second pennant there too, and certainly more than one squad.’
‘It's not that far at all.’ Cedric looked gloomy.
‘Less than two kilometres, and even less as the crow flies.’ Adam finished drawing. ‘They're busy doing something over there. We didn't watch for very long, but it seems to me they're tasked with marking out the fortifications to be built around the village. There’s also a small problem. I saw Liam there. It seems to
