Though he likewise shares skeptical feelings of the soldiers and Cadens' military, having so many extra hands (and horses) to assist is a bonus. When they take to Gideon's instructions immediately, Claude falls in with them to help with a nod and a grin to her as they focus on felling a tree together. And he does so not without plans to be a distraction one more time - going right back to chattering away to keep the soldiers focused on collecting wood rather than looking too closely at Jesper or Ciri, if she's also using her abilities.

And meanwhile, Claude is keeping an eye on what Jesper's doing and notes the strain it's taking on the other man; when having his horse drag a large tree with the help of another soldier, Claude silently casts a wind spell at the durast's feet as they pass by him. It's not particularly strong to avoid doing damage instead of helping, since what it will do is generate enough of a breeze while it hovers in place for a little while to help him cool down.

Sooner rather than later, it's clear this plan is going to work. Not that he truly had any doubt, but seeing it in action is... "Incredible," he murmurs mostly to himself while inspecting Jesper's work and hears a couple others echo it as they work. With the soldiers moving the wood where it needs to go, he heads back to their group in time to overhear Gideon's encouragement and is quick to add to it.

"Not much longer, Jesper. You're doing great so hang in there."