Answer: the correct answer is C. Just then, an old elf released a great eagle from its shackles, a signal for the race to start. When it squawked to freedom, the race began.
Explanation: the author wants the audience to hear the eagle squawking.
Your answer would be D) The gentle foothills ended quickly, and the runners made a steep scramble to the top of a cliff, followed by a daylong run up across uneven terrain of hard, coarse-grained rock.
