Koji made a low, gruff noise of agreement, and Florian smiled despite himself. They would just have to figure it out as they went, as usual.
This was, of course, easier said than done. He still couldn’t even see the top of the pillar, which was growing steadily thinner and thinner the higher they rose. Now, it looked more like a strange, impossibly tall stalactite with how narrow it had become. But the Blight limited their visibility so much, especially when looking up, that Florian had no idea how much higher it reached.
“Can you see anything?” he called out to Koji, unsure if he could see any better than they could. But the dragon gave a slight shake of his head. “It’s okay. Just keep going.”
They continued to rise until Florian was sure they had gone at least half a mile up, if not more. The feeling of magic in the air was still strong, but he couldn’t detect any differences now, no matter how hard he focused.
Then, abruptly, the pillar cut off, and they were at the very top. The stone ended not at a tapered point, but a jagged edge; and as Koji twisted to get a better look, Florian could see it was hollow, like the end of a log. A soft golden glow was coming from within, visible even with the brightness of the Blight around them.
“There!” Florian exclaimed, though Koji was already turning toward it. “Shit, I don’t know if I can reach it from here. Get as close as you can.”
“Be careful,” Kade said, a sharp edge of worry in his voice.
“I will,” Florian said breathlessly, keeping his eyes on the hollowed-out stone. He couldn’t make out the shape of the Arrow, but it had to be near if they could see its glow. Koji first moved to try to reach in himself, his claw disappearing into the opening; but his limb must not have been long enough, or his three-fingered claw unable to grasp it, and he pulled away empty-handed. He made a soft growling noise, then curled around the opening so Florian was closer. He couldn’t hold completely still, so they circled slowly around the narrow opening.
Florian peered within. This close, he could see the Arrow: it was wedged in deep, the arrowhead buried in the dirt that had accumulated in the opening. He thought he might be able to just grasp the end of it, but it would be a stretch.
He could stretch, though. Florian laughed, grinning back at Kade. “I can get it. Just hold me, okay?”
Kade frowned, looking with uncertainty between him and the pillar, but finally agreeing nonetheless. He wrapped his arms tightly around Florian as they circled away from the pillar, then as they approached the opening again, Florian reached out as far as he could into the opening. The rope strained against his thighs, and Kade’s arms held him securely; but he still couldn’t reach, so he imagined his arms growing longer and longer, feeling his bones and muscles stretch until finally his fingertips brushed against warm metal.
“Got it!” he exclaimed, gripping it and pulling. But the Arrow was stuck fast; it barely budged as Florian pulled with all his weight, slipping from his hand as they moved further away. “Damn it. I don’t know if I can do this in the air.”
“It’s way too narrow for you to stand on there, Florian,” Kade protested, realizing what he was considering.
“I can do it,” Florian replied, already moving to untie himself from Koji. Kade’s arms tightened around him. “Kade. We need to get it. I can’t reach it from here. It’ll be okay.”
For a long moment, Kade didn’t move, his arms still wrapped around his torso. Gingerly, Florian patted his forearms and repeated softly, “I’ll be okay.”
Kade let out a long sigh, then moved to help untie Florian. Koji moved slower, carefully bringing them back up to the pillar as Florian was freed from the ropes.
There was a slight protrusion near the top that Florian thought he could use as a foothold. As they passed by it, he leapt from Koji’s back and clung to the pillar, adrenaline flooding him in the brief instant that he was free in the air thousands of feet from the ground below. But his foot found the protrusion, and he could hook his arms into the hollowed part of the pillar.
There was an ominous crack as he landed, and he held his breath in fear, but nothing gave out under his weight.
“I’m good,” he called nervously, too afraid to look back at Koji or Kade, as the length of Koji’s draconic form circled around him slowly. If he thought about how impossibly high up he was, he might puke—already he regretted thinkingthiswould be the best option.
Best to make quick work of it, then. He leaned forward so he could look into the opening, then stretched out his arm again. It took adding about two inches of length to his forearm before he could firmly grasp the Arrow, which was still stuck fast.
“Fuck,” he grunted, pulling it as hard as he could without leaning all his weight on it, too afraid of overbalancing. “Comeon.”
“Do you need help?” Kade called, now in front of him, as Koji continued to circle around slowly.
“I got it,” Florian shouted back; while he could probably use some help, he had no ideahowKade could assist him, so he would figure it out on his own. He kept pulling fruitlessly; after a while, it felt like the Arrow had maybe budged a little in his grasp, but not nearly enough to pull free.
For a long moment, he weighed his options, unsure of how best to proceed. If he kept pulling, he might eventually get it loose, but who knew how long that might take? If he leaned all his weight back while holding the Arrow, it was sure to come loose; but he would almost certainly overbalance and fall.
But Koji could fly—and Florian could shift and fly, too, since the fall would be more than long enough for him to shift. Koji would just need to stay near enough for the shroud to hold.
“Koji,” he shouted. “Get under me a bit and try to catch me if I fall, okay? If you can’t catch me, just try to fall with me so the shroud holds.”
“Florian,don’t,” Kade exclaimed in response, but his mind was made up.
Florian leaned back, pulling against the Arrow with all his body weight, hoping the force of gravity would be enough to dislodge it despite the awkward angle. For a moment, it held fast, then he felt it slip.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, only to yelp as the Arrow came loose all at once, his free hand grabbing desperately at the edge of the pillar to keep his balance. His feet remained firmly on the foothold, one hand grasping the Arrow tightly, and the other holding the edge despite how clammy his palms were. He sighed with relief, his shoulders sagging.
Another cracking sound right next to him snapped him back into alertness, and suddenly the edge of the broken pillar he had clasped was snapping apart under his weight. He had only an instant to realize it before he felt himself tipping backwards.
