Lavender reached the exit and flew up along the cliff below the palace. The bear ran through and dug all four of its paws into the rocky ground, claws extended, and skidded to a sudden stop. Osric was catapulted over the bear’s head, struck the edge of the cliff, and fell out of sight. The bear walked over to where Osric had landed and sniffed the ground. Satisfied that no quarry was within reach, it ambled back to the cave and disappeared into the tunnel.
Lavender flew to the edge and looked down. Osric hung from a rocky outcropping about twenty feet below. His feet dangled below him, but he had both arms gripped around a rock that appeared large enough to hold him.
“Are you injured?” she asked.
“I don’t think so,” he said. “I had a couple of hard landings, but it doesn’t feel like anything is broken.”
“Can you climb up?”
“There’s nothing below my feet but air,” Osric said, “and the cliff face above me is solid rock.”
“I can’t weave a portal,” she said, “but I can fashion the strands into a rope. Can you hold on for a little while longer?”
“Like my life depended on it,” he said.
She began moving her hands in all directions, creating strands of gossamer thread, and then braiding them together into one cord.
“You need to hurry,” Osric called. “The rock is moving.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “This isn’t long enough yet!”
“Lavender! Come here now!”
Comentarios