Chapter 141: Arrival (2)
Jeffery nodded at Adrian’s question with a serious expression.
"We are. And I was actually wondering how we were going to manage it. Scaling that, especially for those without magic... it would be arduous, slow. Possibly dangerous depending on the terrain we can’t see from here."
"Exactly," Adrian confirmed. "Which is why I’ve decided. We won’t be climbing it."
Charles’s eyebrows shot up. Jeffery leaned forward slightly, intrigued but waiting.
Adrian continued. "I called you here because I plan on us using this night to reform the mountain. I’ve ruled out simply blasting a path as that’s too unstable and unnecessary. Instead, we’ll reshape it. Build roads, passes, perhaps even tunnels where necessary. A proper crossing."
Charles’s eyes, which had widened at ’reform the mountain’, now sparked with the fierce light of a challenge accepted.
"Reform it? Now that’s a project! But Adrian, to do it right, especially overnight... we’d need a damn near perfect blueprint. We’d need to understand the rock strata, the natural fault lines... things we can’t possibly know without surveying it first. Rushing in blind could cause collapses and create worse problems than a steep climb."
His tone wasn’t doubting Adrian’s power, but highlighting the practical constraints.
Jeffery nodded in firm agreement with his brother.
"Charles is right. Reshaping terrain on that scale... it requires precise knowledge. Without it, even with our earth magic, we risk creating an unstable monstrosity."
Adrian remained impassive. "I don’t require either of you to survey it now, or to design the solution from scratch."
He raised his hand a large, heavy roll of paper materialized.