ShadowBound: The Need For Power-Chapter 579: Extra Cautious

The dust had barely finished settling when the group instinctively drew closer together, the echo of the boulder’s impact still reverberating faintly through the mountainside. No one spoke for several seconds. The silence wasn’t empty—it was heavy, filled with the shared understanding that the mountain was not going to be a passive obstacle. Rather, it was active. Very active.

Dylan was the first to break the silence.

"Okay," he said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared up the slope, eyes narrowed in thought rather than fear. "Yeah. That thing just tried to kill us. So maybe... we don’t just charge up it like idiots."

Max let out a breathy laugh, half relief and half disbelief. "You think?"

"I’m serious," Dylan continued, tone shifting as he stepped forward and crouched slightly, studying the ground near the base where smaller stones and gravel had collected. "Mountains like this don’t just randomly drop boulders. There’s always a reason. Loose layers, pressure points, bad routes." He straightened and pointed upward. "And judging by what I just saw, some of those reasons are probably other students."

Charlotte glanced at him sideways. "You sound awfully confident all of a sudden."

Dylan shrugged. "I kinda am. I used to do this sort of thing a lot as a kid. Not mountains this big, obviously, but rocky terrain, cliffs, bad paths. My old man was obsessed with dragging me along on stuff like that." He squinted, eyes tracing invisible lines across the slope. "You learn pretty quick where not to step if you don’t wanna die."

That earned him several looks.

"You never mentioned that," Ariana said softly.

"Didn’t really come up," Dylan replied. "But yeah, navigating mountains? I’m decent at it. And my eyesight’s pretty good too, so I can spot unstable routes, loose rock clusters, all that fun stuff."

Sheila listened carefully, her attention fully on him. There was no hesitation this time, no quiet dismissal of information that didn’t come from her own experience. She nodded once, decisively.

"Then we shouldn’t be making decisions from here," she said. "We need a better vantage point."

Liam’s gaze lifted, already following the slope upward before she finished speaking. "Higher ground," he agreed. "Somewhere we can see the routes clearly."

Charlotte grinned faintly. "There’s a tree not far back," she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. "Tall enough to give us a decent view."

Sheila considered it for only a moment before nodding again. "Alright. Dylan, Liam, Charlotte—you three scout from above. Get a clear read on the mountain and identify the safest route you can find."

Before they could move, Dylan raised a hand. "One more thing."

Sheila paused. "Go on."

"Even if we find the safest route," Dylan said, "rockfall is still gonna be a thing. There’s no such thing as zero risk on a slope like that. So before we start climbing, we should prep for it."

Max’s eyes lit up slightly. "I can help with that. If we find thick enough branches, I can bind them together into a shield. Nothing fancy but usable. It won’t stop a massive boulder, but it’ll deflect smaller stuff and give us cover."

That earned an approving nod from Sheila. "Good. Then we’ll split into two groups. Dylan, Liam, Charlotte—scout the mountain. Asher and Ariana—we’ll help Max gather materials and build the shields."

With the plan set, each group moved quickly.

Dylan, Charlotte, and Liam wasted no time reaching the tree Charlotte had mentioned. It was massive, its trunk wide and deeply rooted, branches stretching high above the forest canopy. Without a word, Charlotte took the lead, scaling it with smooth, efficient movements that made the climb look effortless. Dylan followed close behind, agile despite his exhaustion, while Liam brought up the rear, his movements agile and precise.

Within moments, the three of them were perched high among the branches, the mountain now laid bare before them.

"Alright," Dylan murmured, leaning forward slightly as he surveyed the slope. "Let’s see what we’re dealing with."

From this vantage point, the dangers became painfully obvious.

Several routes cut straight up the mountain, steep and tempting, but Dylan immediately shook his head at those. "Bad idea. Too steep and too loose. See how the rocks are layered there?" He pointed. "One wrong step and the whole thing slides."

Charlotte nodded, eyes sharp as she tracked movement along another path. "There," she said. "Those students are climbing fast. Too fast."

Sure enough, several figures could be seen scrambling upward recklessly, dislodging stones as they went. Moments later, smaller rockfalls followed in their wake, bouncing and skidding dangerously far.

"That explains the boulder earlier," Liam said quietly.

Dylan’s gaze shifted farther to the side. "Over there," he said after a moment. "That route right there. It is longer path, and more winding, but the rock’s more compact there. Less debris buildup."

Charlotte tilted her head, sniffing lightly. "The ground seems firmer there too. Less loose dirt mixed in."

"It’s not perfect," Dylan added. "There’s still risk in taking that path. But it should be more than manageable."

They spent several more minutes memorizing landmarks, noting trouble zones, overhangs, and areas where rockfall was more likely. Once satisfied, they descended just as quickly, regrouping with the others near the base.

By then, Sheila and the rest had made solid progress. Thick branches were stacked neatly nearby, Max already binding several together with vine and cordage, forming broad, curved shields.

"You guys work fast," Dylan said appreciatively.

"We had good motivation," Ariana replied, glancing up the slope.

Once everyone regrouped, Dylan explained what they’d seen, tracing the safer route in the dirt with a stick while Liam and Charlotte added details. Sheila listened intently, asking a few precise questions before nodding.

"Alright," she said. "It’s clear that we have to move super steady this time around. No rushing."

She gestured to the vine rope Liam had crafted earlier. "And to remain secured, we’ll tie ourselves together and move in same order as before just in a vertical formation, make sure no one is left behind. If one person slips, the rest will stabilize them and get back in track."

She looked at the shields next. "And as for these, they stay ready at all times. The moment anyone spots falling rock, shields go up with no hesitation."

The group nodded as one.

With preparations complete, they formed up, secured themselves with the rope, and had Asher and Liam hold onto each shield. Sheila took one last look at them all before turning toward the mountain.

"Stay alert," she said calmly. "We move together."

And with that, they began their ascent—slow, deliberate, and united, every step taken with care as the mountain watched in silence.