"What? But I know magic! It's supposed to work when you --"

The chimera interrupted him with a roar, sending a gout of flame at a nearby roof. Inside, he heard a faint scream of terror, and realized there were more things at stake than his ego.

"Rope! Right."

He cast his eyes around the chaos, seeing banners, broken wood... but no rope. Thinking fast, he unbuckled his belt and slipped it out of his pants. "Is this long enough?"