Lerai couldn't react; it was far too unexpected. The world seemed to tilt as both men went back over the cliff, the wind coming up on them with violence. However, its aggressive howl was short, just as the men's fall was short. With a swiftness that spoke of critical tacticality, Aldric materialized a blade of soul essence in his hand and plunged it into the rock of the cliff.
Sparks, dark yet blinding in that regard, shot from the soul essence blade as it struggled for grip on the cliff's wall, tearing its way through the hard stone as the descent of the men, already significantly slowed, began to cease.
Aldric's left hand gripped the soul essence dagger religiously as it was all that stood between them and a nearly sixty-foot drop into the hungry mouths of the creatures below. His right hand strongly gripped Lerai, who was just as confused as he was furious. But being held from a fatal drop by the person who made him feel such anger, he had no way of expressing it.
