Draco shook himself off. The clash had been brief, but he had to admit to himself that it hadn't been meant to be quite so brutal. He realised that, thanks to his recent training sessions with Kei, he'd started to rely more on his instincts and senses whilst fighting. It helped him to focus and improve his reaction times, but he now realised that he shouldn't necessarily always rely on them. He decided to ask his master about it at the earliest opportunity.
Meanwhile, he walked over to Cedric and held out his hand to him. The boy, panting heavily, looked at him from under his brow, but accepted the help and let himself be pulled to his feet. He had a bit of trouble staying upright and kept clutching his stomach, but it seemed he was unharmed. He didn't say a word to the dragon, but simply set off after the assistant instructor. The rest of the class watched him closely, though no one commented on what had just happened.
'Well done.' The reptile flinched slightly when Zane patted him on the back. 'He'll never tell you this, but you've made a good impression on our dear Cedric.' A wry smile appeared on the elf's lips. 'And not just on him. Keep it up and don't screw anything up, and soon everyone will treat you as one of their own.'
'Thanks… I suppose.' Draco looked around and, sure enough, as he met the eyes of the other cadets, he could see that something had changed. Perhaps it was the beginnings of respect, or perhaps something else entirely. He couldn't tell.
Without waiting for further instructions, they picked up the pace to catch up with Retfield. The rest of the team quickly joined them, and for the first time they seemed like a cohesive unit. At least on the surface.
The entrance to the ravine was gentle, but its floor soon began to slope downwards, and the width of the passage narrowed. What had looked from a distance like a pleasant little wood clinging to a gentle slope was merely a cover for a deep, narrow and dark chasm with a stony floor. At one point, there was so little space that they had to walk in single file.
When the ravine opened out again, its walls parted to reveal a Crater. Or at least that was what Draco assumed, seeing the vertical walls, several metres high, towering above him and stretching far in both directions. He couldn't see all that much, either, because just beyond a small patch of flat ground lay a lush forest. The spreading trees reached with their crowns almost to the top of the cliffs, so that he could see only the ridge of the cliff directly above them.
As he crossed the edge of the Crater, the dragon felt an unpleasant tingling sensation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and a strange shiver ran through him. The boy looked up and shuddered even more at the sight of stone claws, glistening with countless runes, emerging from the ridge of the cliff and curving towards the centre of the caldera.
'Don't dawdle.' The voice came from nearby, so Draco turned towards the instructor waiting for them. 'Your main task is to find and secure three protected positions.' The instructor didn't wait for everyone's attention to be on him. 'Each one, in a visible spot, is marked with a pennant bearing a shield.' He pointed to a small, grey rectangle with an embroidered pavise. 'Securing the position involves replacing the pennant with your own.' He pointed to an identical one, except that it was embroidered with a sword. 'In addition, you have five secondary tasks. Firstly, to mark out a safe route from here to the lake, assuming this is the route for the regiment. Secondly, to find and secure a source of drinking water. Thirdly, to designate a campsite for the aforementioned unit near the water source. Fourthly, to prevent the enemy from raising the alarm. The final side task is to gather information on the opposing group's objectives. Extra points can be earned for mapping the area. Clear?'
'Yes, sir,' they replied in unison.
'In that case, here are your amulets.' One of the assistants opened a large chest and began pulling out crystal medallions on thin chains, glinting in the light. 'Once everyone has theirs, you'll begin your mission. Good luck,' he added, pulling a map from his pocket and tossing it to Cedric. The instructor then turned and walked off towards the ravine.
They were left with a few assistants. The cadets moved forward and lined up to collect their protective artefacts. Draco found himself at the back of the queue with his team.
'If we're not to set off the alarm, we'll need to disguise ourselves somehow,' he pointed out, looking at the students' white clothing.
'Don't worry,' Zane fortunately decided to allay the dragon's doubts. 'You'll see in a moment that it's not a problem.' He gestured towards the front of the queue.
And indeed, it turned out that the dragon had needlessly worried about the matter of camouflage. The first members of their group had just received their amulets and were putting them round their necks. Almost immediately, the crystal pendant flashed with a bright light, and when it dimmed, all the white parts of the cadet's uniform turned dark green.
'Another advantage of forming up in the crater,' muttered the elf. 'Ours are green, and the defenders' are grey,' he added, anticipating the questions that were sure to follow.
Draco merely nodded, watching as the colours of the others' outfits changed. He was genuinely fascinated by it. The magic he'd seen so far had been somewhat different, as whilst preparing for his exams he'd focused on combat magic and hadn't devoted his free time to studying other varieties and types of spells. Now, the display unfolding before him encouraged him to explore the vast arcane depths of knowledge more fully.
However, the dragon did not have much more time to marvel at the workings of spells unknown to him, for his turn had come and he himself received an artefact. Suppressing the tremor in his hand, he slipped the chain round his neck and immediately felt a strange warmth, as if he'd come close to a fire for a split second. Slightly dazzled by the flash, he blinked a few times and began to examine the green colour enveloping his attire with curiosity. Up close, the colour looked strange, unnatural, and gave the unsettling impression that something was not quite as it should be. The longer he looked closely at the individual elements, the stronger the feeling of artificiality became.
'You'd better not dwell on it.' Zane tugged the dragon by the shoulder. 'If you stare at it up close for too long, you'll feel queasy.'
Draco nodded, beginning to feel an unpleasant twinge in his stomach. Interestingly, when looking at the elf, he didn't have the same feeling, but one glance at his hand, still clenched around the reptile's shoulder, was enough for the green coils to make his insides somersault.
'It's all about distance,' he hissed through clenched teeth, trying to calm his stomach.
'Exactly.' The elf was pleased with his quick grasp of the situation. 'From a distance, everything looks normal; it's only up close that the spell stops deceiving the senses so effectively.'
'What's on the map?' A voice from the gathering group of cadets caught Draco's attention; he was in desperate need of something to fully absorb him.
'It seems things have changed a bit.' Cedric studied the sheet of paper he'd received from the instructor carefully. 'The lake is bigger and more central to the Crater; it looks as though there's an island in it. Trees are marked all around, so we're dealing with mostly wooded terrain. In the north-east, there are some rocks and fortifications. Apart from that, there are only a few small hills or knolls marked here and there.'
'A stream?' Adam tried to look over Retfield's shoulder.
'It's not marked, but that's where I'd try to regroup anyway.' Cedric tapped somewhere at the bottom of the map. 'Reconnaissance from here to the lake, and then south-west.' He traced the proposed route with his finger. - We'll make our way along the edge of the crater as far as we can, and once we meet up, we'll decide on our next move.' He looked at the scout leader. 'Try not to run into anyone.'
'Speak for yourself,' Adam snorted, but he didn't look as though he'd taken it personally. 'We'll see if we can tick off this route-mapping task whilst we're at it.' Without waiting for the conversation to continue, he turned and walked over to his team.
'That's everyone,' announced the assistant instructor, who was handing out the necklaces. 'Good luck.' He smiled at them and, together with the other assistants, began to pack up.
A drawn-out horn blast rang out over the Crater, giving the impression that it was coming from right behind them. Draco felt a slight shiver. The other cadets seemed not to pay any attention to the sound, as if it were perfectly normal in this place.
The dragon glanced back just in time to see Adam's team disappear among the trees. It looked as though they'd been given their task and had set about carrying it out.
'We need to get a move on too.' Cedric folded the map and pointed to one of the Crater walls. 'Noah and Zane lead the way. The rest of you stay in your teams and keep within sight. Let's go.' He commanded, and everyone accepted the order without further discussion.
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They made their way along the cliff at a brisk pace, trying to keep as quiet as possible. Fortunately, parthir, who was leading the way, used his magic to ensure the vegetation no longer blocked their path. Thanks to this, it felt more like a brisk walk than a struggle through thickets, which, judging by the number of thorny bushes swaying around them, would not have been particularly pleasant.
As Cedric had split everyone up so they wouldn't walk in a large group, Draco found himself alone with Retfiled and Sheth. To say it was a bit awkward would be an understatement. Whilst the troll paid attention to the dragon when necessary, their leader seemed to treat the reptile like he wasn't there. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary tension, Draco accepted the situation and simply got on with his task, just as the elf had advised him earlier. At the same time, he was enjoying his new surroundings. He was used to the city and well-maintained parks, and now he had a second chance to visit a proper forest. Although the first time hadn't ended too well, he was in good spirits now.
They didn't stop until nearly half an hour had passed, when Zane turned back and brought everyone to a halt. The trees were a little sparser here, and further on a clearing or a hill could be seen. The elf kept glancing over his shoulder, so it was easy to guess that they'd come across something.
'What is it?' Cedric stopped and leaned against a tree.
'The forest is coming to an end.' Zane shrugged, but under the commander's urgent gaze, he continued his explanation. 'Beyond the edge of the forest there's open ground and a hill on which a fortified position has been built. I didn't see anyone hanging about there, but if someone's hiding, there'll be no way of spotting them.'
'Is it big?'
'A bit.' The elf paused to think for a moment. 'About three hundred metres from the tree line, the ground starts to rise, and it continues for roughly the same distance. From halfway up the hill, there are trenches reinforced with wooden logs, and at the top, a low palisade with recesses for cannons. If someone's sitting in the ramparts or the passageways, we won't be able to spot them.' He shook his head.
Cedric began to think hard, weighing up his options.
'What if we try to go round it?' he asked at last.
'We'll have to go an extra kilometre and a half or so, and we don't know what the forest's like on the other side. I reckon there are mostly conifers there, so it might be hard to hide.'
'Didn't you see any movement?'
'No, but Noah stayed behind anyway to take a closer look and make sure.'
The commander glanced at the others, who had already gathered in one spot. He ran through the numbers in his head and sighed resignedly.
'Our team will go and check it out, and the rest of you are to wait here.' Cedric waited until everyone had nodded in agreement. 'Right, let's go.'
Draco adjusted both his swords so they wouldn't get in the way and checked his gloves and helmet somewhat nervously. Everything was in place, so there was no point in delaying, and he ran off to catch up with the rest. They walked in single file in silence, and when the trees thinned out and an open space became visible between them, they began to creep forward, keeping to the thorny bushes. The bushes were conveniently situated enough that they managed to reach the very edge of the forest behind them, where Noah was waiting in the ravine, watching the hill opposite intently. All four of them pressed themselves flat against the ground near the parthir, peering out only with their heads above the crest of the slope.
Just as Zane had described earlier, the hill was quite heavily fortified. The rampart at the top of the hill was surrounded not only by a low palisade but also by an earthen embankment; it was clearly prepared to be manned by field guns, the range of which could easily reach the tree line, and perhaps even a little further. The trenches halfway up the slope, reinforced with logs, looked deep and wide enough for soldiers to pass each other comfortably, even whilst carrying heavy weapons. The riflemen remained largely hidden even whilst firing volleys at the approaching enemy. It looked like a perfect example of military engineering, almost like a final-year project. Given where they were, the dragon would not have been at all surprised if that were indeed the case.
'I haven't seen anyone the whole time,' Parthir said after a moment. 'If there's someone sitting there, they're hardly watching the area, or at least not from this side.'
'It's hard to say whether going round it makes sense,' said Sheth, speaking for what seemed to be the first time since Draco had seen him. The dragon had expected his voice to be deep or harsh, but it wasn't all that different from a human's. Perhaps it was just a little higher-pitched than average. 'If there's someone sitting up there, we run the risk of them spotting us as we pass by on the other side.' He pointed to the tops of the soaring pine trees protruding above the hill. 'Lying here and staring in the hope that someone will lean out won't get us very far either. Wasting time isn't really a good idea.'
'We'd need to get up the hill fairly quickly and get into the ramparts before anyone has time to react.' Zane rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky. 'Six hundred metres isn't exactly a short distance.'
'Noah, can you sneak all the way up to the trenches?' Cedric kept his eyes fixed on the palisade at the top of the hill.
'I'm no Adam,' replied the parthir, not looking too pleased. 'I can make the bushes part a bit to clear a path, but I can't work any miracles on open ground with short grass.'
'Don't look to me,' Sheth shook his head and crawled a little way down their ravine. 'It's too far.'
'Am I supposed to run?' Zane didn't look too pleased. He looked across the open space once more, gauging the distance. 'If no one hits me in the meantime, it should be fine.'
'Maybe I'll run?' Draco piped up. 'I'm quite fast, the distance isn't that far for me, and even if there's someone there, I should be able to hold out until someone helps me,' he blurted out in one breath.
Cedric looked at him with a certain amount of reluctance, then at Zane, who nodded enthusiastically. Retfield sighed heavily and rested his forehead on the ground.
'Can you sprint all the way there?' the commander asked the ground, but the dragon pretended not to notice.
'No problem.' Draco, as befits a dragon, didn't tire easily, and such a run could hardly be called a warm-up. 'If it's safe up there, I'll wave my helmet; if not, you'll probably hear me.' He smiled wryly and, before anyone could say another word, he got to his feet and set off at full speed.
Leaning forward slightly, he fixed his gaze on the top of the hill, hoping that if anyone appeared there, he'd have time to drop to the ground and stand a chance of going unnoticed. He didn't have time to watch his step, so he could only hope he wouldn't stumble into any holes. If he were to fall over for that reason, it would be a real source of embarrassment. All the while, he could feel both swords clattering against his thigh, but he paid it little heed. He ran, taking deep breaths; maintaining a steady pace was no problem.
He soon reached the front line of the trenches, but instead of slowing down, he took a powerful leap off the earthen embankment and cleared over to the other side. He wavered slightly on landing, but regained his balance almost immediately. A few more breaths and another leap. A smoother landing this time allowed him to maintain his speed and begin climbing the increasingly steep slope with greater momentum. He slowed down slightly, but reached the base of the earthen rampart and the palisade at a satisfactory pace. He propelled himself off the slope, nimbly leaping onto the embankment, and from its crest he sprang up, gripping the top of the wooden fortification with both hands. He pulled himself up and, in one fluid motion, swung himself over to the other side.
He landed heavily, but immediately sprang to his feet and drew his weapon. At first he saw nothing, so he adjusted his slightly askew helmet and looked around more carefully. The square in the centre of the rampart was empty, apart from the raised platforms for the cannons. Five were situated around the recesses in the palisade, and a sixth in the very centre, intended for the dragon cannon. Or, to be more precise, a long-barrelled cannon with an adjustable breech designed to engage aerial targets. In short, it was used primarily to fire at attacking dragons. In Dagos, Draco had been taught to spot the positions of various types of equipment, but the greatest emphasis had been placed precisely on the positions of these cannons. According to the general assessment of the battlefield, it was these that were the most dangerous, second only to magic.
Draco shook his head and ran to the other side of the rampart. He leaned out slightly through the gun port and scanned the surroundings. There was nothing suspicious to be seen. Just as on the other side, there were two lines of trenches and an empty approach to the fortifications. The only difference immediately apparent was the woodland further along the path they were now taking. Whilst up to now they had been travelling through a deciduous forest with plenty of low vegetation that helped them remain unnoticed, ahead of them he could see tall pine trees whose branches began several metres above the ground, and in the lower sections and at ground level there was absolutely nothing. There was scarcely any grass there either, and everything was covered by a layer of brown needles.
The dragon shook his head and returned to the spot where he'd leapt over the palisade. On the way, he took off his helmet and, when he appeared in a gap in the fortifications, waved it in the direction from which he'd come. For a moment, nothing happened, and then Sheth rose from the ravine and waved back at him.