Temeraire twitched in surprise at the bang, but he recovered quickly, leaning forward to inspect what he could see of the barrier. It seemed entirely unaffected, which was a great pity, although not entirely unexpected.

Glancing down, he selected what he thought was a small stone--very nearly the size of a fist to anyone else--and tossed it carefully, in turn. There was no explosion, this time, but it bounced harmlessly back at Temeraire, landing on the ground almost exactly halfway between him and the barrier.

"Well," he said slowly. "It will not kill us if we fling something at it, at the very least."