The brick slid out from its place as if it had been lubricated, and her hand came down with it.

  It was only through her caution - she hadn't committed much of her weight - that Neru didn't plummet to her death, and even avoided the brick smashing into her face. Still, she slammed awkwardly back against the right wall, and the bird nest that had apparently been on top of her brilliant handhold did hit her, pouring all its dubious contents onto her chest, some even slipping into her mouth.

  Sputtering, she clung onto the wall and chanted into her mind how her objective was worth any amount of indignity. She would simply have to throw away this local tunic that she wasn't even fond of. Though her leather boots - that had just been sullied by some squishy vile thing she didn't even want to think about down in the alley - were a different matter.

  "I'm really starting to hate this place."

  And these were just silly things, vanity that didn't really impact her objective. The real problem was that this wall was going to be a pain and a half. But she had trained many skills in preparation to her trials, and climbing happened to be one of her best. What was a little seven-floor building to her?

  She took a deep breath, in and out, reached for the handholds and pushed up with her legs... finding herself at a quite uncomfortable angle - her upper body holding onto a protrusion and further out than her lower part.

  "Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don’t..."

  Pulling herself upright was going to be dicey, and even after that, the path forward didn't seem any better. She'd better hurry, before-

  Footsteps approached from below, and she froze, waiting for the inevitable alarmed shout. What sort of weirdo would come into this kind of alley at this hour? Luckily the voice that greeted her was familiar. And a bit shrill.

  "I just knew you would be up to something crazy! What are you doing up there!? Are you out of your mind?! Please, get down before you get hurt!"

  But even though Vellia was just about the only person that was fine catching her, at this rate she would attract the attention of someone that wasn't. Without daring to turn her head back, Neru replied, trying to keep her voice the lowest possible while still making herself be heard. "Would you mind keeping it down, please?"

  "Why are you so stubborn?" Vellia whined, ignoring the request entirely. If anything, she was being louder. "I told you I could help you! I had a plan!"

  Unwilling to have this discussion in general and especially not in these conditions, Neru decided that she had lingered enough: there would be no timeout or convenient resting place if her fingers tired. She coiled her legs...

  "Please Neru, I'm not mad. Not too much at least. Just come down before you break your-"

  ... and jumped, simultaneously grabbing for the next handhold and pulling herself up and upright again. Vellia breathed in through her teeth so loudly that it could be heard from here.

  "I can't believe- I can't watch you keep..."

  But Neru was fully focused onto her climb, the grumbling from below fading away. She needed all her attention here, because the bricks weren't much better than the left wall's and if she didn't test them thoroughly before committing, she would find herself speeding down to the ground.

  One awkward foothold after the other, she moved like a particularly heavy and drunk spider, dust and scary pieces of building materials raining down from her efforts every once in a while. But she did steadily make her way up... until she got to the really problematic section.

  She was on a ledge now, one almost as large as her foot. A couple of stray bricks stuck out from the wall, and then... an entirely flat surface extended above. The first section of the building that jutted out from the surroundings and was thus much better maintained, to look good from far away. It was made to appear like marble, and even though it obviously wasn't, they managed to give it that same smooth and slippery texture. It was three more floors worth of that.

  There was no foothold up there. She would have to give herself a boost and jump the entire section, reaching the windowsill above in one go. Otherwise... her traitorous gaze moved below, catching just how far the ground was. She slammed her front against the wall, trying her best to adhere completely, become one with it.

  ... maybe she had been a little too hasty. This meeting wasn't necessarily going to be that important, was it? Whatever they'd say, surely she could just find out later from gossip and less lethal eavesdropping.

  However, even if she gave up now, the only way out was...

  She risked another look back down, and immediately went back to hugging the wall, squeezing her eyes shut.

  Yeah, that could be a little problematic.

  But before she could smother the panic and work herself into doing something stupid, there was a snapping sound - that almost made her flinch out of her ledge - against the wall on her left, and then further down into the alley.

  She opened her eyes again and moved her gaze up along the wonderful length of rope that had appeared beside her, to find it dangling from a metal support in a ledge close to the window she had meant to reach. On that very ledge, a familiar head of brown hair in a bob was looking down, waving a hand with a little smirk.

  When did she even...? No, that was secondary.

  "You walked inside?!" Neru almost screamed. "You've compromised me!"

  "As if the lofty otherworlders would cancel a meeting just because little me entered the room before them," she replied with uncharacteristic nonchalance, and gave the rope a good taunting shake. "Hurry up before they come and catch you dangling."

  Now it was Neru's turn to feel indignant. Of course she still grabbed onto the rope and started pulling herself up, but she did so channeling all her annoyance into the motions: she wouldn't ever give Vellia the satisfaction of knowing how much she had helped.

  A much quicker and safer ascent later, she vaulted over the ledge and found herself in an alcove wedged into the wall such that it was completely hidden from anybody who didn't already know it was here - especially from anybody looking from the window close by. It was as cramped as expected, barely large enough for herself and the other occupant, who was currently busy patting down her own bottom and backing off from the whitish walls and corners with a disgusted expression. "Ew."

  Wow, that's a lot of bird poop. "Where did you even find the rope?"

  Vellia gave up on her improptu cleaning session and turned around with a little arrogant smile, chin up - a bearing so out of character for her timid self, it was frankly amusing. "I put it up yesterday evening. Figured you'd want to be all sneaky and climb your way up or down."

  That was actually a pretty good plan: as the shy, tiny, always overlooked princess, she could move freely everywhere. "If only you'd come to me first..."

  And somehow Neru had failed to consider her too, in a way. She had been so quick to spare the girl the worry about such a dangerous climb, that she'd failed to realize it could have been avoided entirely, with her help. She was beyond embarrassed, downright mortified. ...But better focus on practical matters.

  Leaning out from the alcove, she peered inside the meeting room, finding exactly what could be expected from one such place: a huge table in the middle occupying almost the entirety of the space, with chairs going all around it. A thick, load-bearing wall separated the room from their little alcove.

  "What if they close the window? How are we going to eavesdrop, then?"

  "Thanks to these."

  Neru turned back to find Vellia - still looking pretty annoyed and smug at the same time - pointing at a handful of tiny, round openings in the wall, which turned out to be small iron tubes jammed into it.

  On a closer inspection, they formed a grid - which was probably for sound - under a sort of funnel above, with the bigger part facing the both of them, allowing to see inside the room even better than the window without danger of being spotted. Theoretically.

  "This was all made specifically to eavesdrop on people of interest. If they close the window, that changes nothing."

  Neru was more than a little impressed by the convenient arrangement, and by how committed this little empire was to breaching the privacy of their guests. Impressed, and worried. "These people are not some common local politicians, you know?"

  "This and many other rooms were made to work on ascended just the same. They think I don't know anything," she said, looking proud, " but I eavesdropped by myself more than once, and I was never caught."

  Your 'ascended' are nothing compared to actual sidhas. But Vellia looked so proud, Neru didn't have the heart to tell her. Not that it would have helped any, at this point. She needed to mitigate the danger where she could instead, like fixing the little princess' 'disappearance' from the building.

  "You entering the room might be fine, but shouldn't you also be seen coming out?" Neru asked, with growing unease. She absolutely couldn't afford to be discovered before hearing the news.

  "You want to send me away after I saved you?!" Vellia looked betrayed, eyes a little watery.

  "I'm only telling you to do the same as I did." Neru replied quicly, a bit exasperated. "You just need to go back through the window, and then-"

  Sounds of voices and footsteps from the grid in the wall stopped her dead.

  Neru immediately shut up and put her face next to the only peephole, initially ignoring Vellia's protests that she wanted to see too, and then grabbing for the girl, squeezing her against her body, a hand covering her mouth to make her be silent. She spied into the room.

  One after the other, all straight and stately, the four leaders of the Menders' mission filed into the room... followed by one single, obnoxious apprentice. Neru gritted her teeth. As if he wasn't already smug enough.

  The masters' appearance was a perfect manifestation of their attitude towards the local culture: acceptance, up to a certain point.

  The men wore their tunics and knee-height skirts by the book, but had also kept their beards unchanged - master Matiya's in particular was quite full and bushy. Master Etena was even worse, for she was dressed the same as her peers, but being the only woman she absolutely was not supposed to. Ziro of course hadn't even bothered, probably believing himself above these trivial things, and wore pants with a clearly foreign ornate shirt and jacket.

  Meanwhile, Vellia's prodding on her side had grown annoying enough that Neru was forced to let go and leave some room for her to also look through the peephole.

  Faces side by side, they watched the masters sit around the table, close enough to easily hear each other - not that sidhas of their elevation would have trouble with that - but far enough to maintain a professional distance. The very picture of what the locals would expected from so-called 'ascended'. Then Ziro closed the door behind himself... and they all slumped into their seats.

  "Finally!" said the only master whose name Neru couldn't remember, the younger one. " These people are way too uptight. I don't think I can keep being polite for much longer." For good measure, he leaned back and threw is feet over the table.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Neru looked at the princess and almost burst out laughing watching those eyes so wide they might pop out of her head. It wasn't Vellia's first time witnessing the true character of the masters, but it had apparently not yet sunk in how normal they were. Even with their high elevation, they were far from the point where they might be that detached.

  "You can keep playing along, or you can go right back with a dishonorable discharge in your record," master Asuwan replied tiredly. He was by far the most collected of them all, which was only natural with him being the one in charge and an advanced second elevation sidha at that - though Neru knew for a fact that he could be even shoddier than the others.

  The rebellious master raised his hands in surrender... but also loosened his shoes and threw them away. Neru preemptively covered Vellia's mouth.

  "We are a powerful independent force operating in their territory," master Etena cut in. "You would be nervous too, in their place."

  "What 'nervous'? There's nothing nervous in their behavior. They're just trying to win us over, weaseling their way into our meetings to sic us at their enemies, and you want me to-"

  "Let's get down to business, if you please," master Asuwan called out, tapping on the table to punctuate his words, all business. "We don't have much time before they start bothering us again. We'll start with whoever has the most important finding to report."

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  There were sounds of assent from everybody - even a little hum from Ziro who was standing behind his and Neru's supervisor, master Matiya. Neru felt her heart speed up in anticipation...

  And then silence, everybody in the room looking at each other helplessly.

  "Ugh. Would have been too good to be true," said the no-name master.

  Master Asuwan sighed in turn. "It would. Why don't you start, then?"

  "Very well. I do hope you all had more success than me." And he launched into the most soul-crushingly boring report Neru had ever been subjected to.

  She knew the four of them had split and each headed somewhere around the realm, in search of... anything that didn't fit, from her understanding. This no-name master had gone south to sweep the rest of the peninsula, and apparently found absolutely nothing of interest - which by his attitude was anything but new. Neru felt a little drop in her stomach: if they couldn't find what was amiss and stayed here in this boring city, how would she ever prove herself? And of course there was the stability of the entire realm to consider too...

  But soon even her worries were washed away by the immense tide of boredom that was this report. By the excruciatingly detailed recounting of a plain prana-starved environment and of what rituals had failed to uncover any kind of rift in it, where exactly they'd been conducted and their timings, and then plans about what should be done in the future to get more extensive and in-depth readings. All of this with such a droning, soporific voice, that Neru refused to believe there was no expression at work. By the time it was over, her excitement and fears had both drained completely, her eyes closing. Even Vellia was hugging her and barely keeping from falling asleep on her chest.

  "I said I'm done, you lot! Were you even listening to me?" the no-name master asked with a fake indignant tone, and the two of them broke out of their daze and went back to spying.

  Similarly, the masters all flinched at the same time and the lone apprentice pushed off of the chair he'd been leaning onto. Even master Asuwan had to shake his head and straighten. "Of course we were listening. Of course. But did you really have to go into so much detail?"

  "Last time you told me I needed to be more thorough, and that's what I did. Besides, I was forced to put up with all that because these people are so belligerent, disorganized and weak. It's only right you get a taste."

  It was too dark on their side to see properly, but Neru thought she could see Vellia frown... which would be more than understandable since the master had just offended her entire world, and the others weren't exactly rushing to contradict him.

  "You just don't want to work," master Etena cut in.

  "Tsk. Let's hear what you have to say then, miss workaholic."

  Master Etena didn't waste time. "I moved north up till the mountains and performed all the surveys required, that I won't bore you all with." She shot a glare at the no-name master, which was promptly ignored - the man held his hands behind his head, looking relaxed and satisfied. "The difference was that I did find something interesting: the first instances of this so-called 'taint'."

  Neru felt the princess draw a quick breath, and their gazes met.

  According to what she'd heard around and what Vellia herself had shared, the 'taint' was a cursed part of this world, earning its name from the way it twisted everything and anyone that was caught inside or who dared to approach it. There was none near the empire and the princess was too unimportant at court to know the specifics beyond that it was extremely dangerous and forbidden, an ever-advancing threat eating their world away.

  It was also Neru's best bet for finding what she was looking for.

  "Just as we expected, it's a much higher prana region. Nothing much, and far from first elevation, but it's still significantly denser than the ambient level here. I suspect that deeper inside it could surprise us."

  "If only we could have done our research..." master Matiya muttered.

  Master Etena shrugged. "It is what it is. As our gracious hosts informed us, it ebbs and flows into non-'tainted' territory -"

  "Wait, are you saying it expands and contaminates? Don't you find that strangely- " the no-name master tried to comment, but was promptly ignored.

  " - and even into other tainted territories. The different strains give and take dominance over an area, or, rarely, simply mix together into something new."

  Master Asuwan hummed in thought. "So there really are different types of this taint, like an ever evolving sickness. That could make our job extremely difficult."

  "Unfortunately yes. I've encountered four different strains, and throughout them all, the local guides couldn't identify some nasty dazzling fungus, a handful of creepy insectile monkeys and two different tentacular masses. That was only three days in the outskirts. Supposedly, unknown creatures and phenomena pop out every once in a while, and nobody in this realm's living memory has seen what hides in the depths. The written records are just as fantastic and unreliable as you would expect."

  Master Matiya sighed. "Bad news, but at least better than Dakun's."

  Oh, that was the name!

  "You always press me into the worst assignments," master Dakun, apparently, complained. "I call hazing."

  "If you say so. Not that I have any right to criticize you with my results."

  "Then tell us what you've found quickly Matiya," master Asuwan said, putting a stop to the byplay, " before we focus on Etena's findings."

  Master Matiya leaned back in his chair, looking regretful. "There's nothing much to say, unfortunately. We reached the sanctuary, performed the ritual, and found no match whatsoever."

  So that was were they'd gone! Neru had seen them leave by ship, but had no knowledge of their destination and purpose other than the hard-won reassurance by Ziro that it was nothing exciting. To think he wasn't trying to fool me, for once.

  "But how could this be?" master Dakun asked. "An entire realm collapsed close by! It can't have left no traces."

  "The taint has a high correlation with higher prana areas in this realm, and is unknown even to the locals," master Etena explained. " It took months for the highers up to clear our entry. The fabric could have settled and the traces been lost in there."

  "The kid is onto something, though. A total lack of instability or micro-rifts? Are we even sure that we're in the right place?"

  "What do you mean, Matiya? This was the only realm that was close to the collapse at the time," Asuwan pointed out.

  "But that doesn't mean the spill happened in here, does it?"

  There was a sudden round of pained groans, master Etena's sounding uncharacteristically undignified.

  "Because it's by far the most annoying scenario," master Matiya explained - judging by how he was leaning over his supervisor, Ziro had asked him for clarifications. "It would mean we'd have to search the whole realm up and down for traces that do not exist, to ensure that they really do not. It could take months. Years even."

  Another round of even more pained groans followed. Neru could simpathize. It would mean more time to search for her opportunity, yes, but years?

  "And our work would be meaningless in the end, because everything would be up to our colleagues out there," master Etena complained too, surprisingly.

  "The toilets here..."

  A knock on the door interrupted the meeting and allowed Neru to avoid processing Master Dakun's remark.

  "That didn't take long."

  Ziro moved towards the door and looked back questioningly. At master Asuwan's nod, he reached for the knob.

  Though Neru couldn't see who it was from this angle, the mood inside the meeting room soured instantly, which was pretty telling.

  "May i come in?" The voice was also unfamiliar, but had Vellia almost growling. Can't be anyone nice.

  After getting a less than lukewarm confirmation, a thin young man with a strong nose and a weak, smooth chin entered the room. Neru had not paid much attention to local politics, but she couldn't be completely unaware as a friend of Vellia's. And frankly, even the least beggar in the streets would know the third prince and that he wasn't a fan of the 'third' part of his title.

  Though he'd done nothing reprehensible thus far, everybody could see his efforts in promoting his image as the perfect heir - which couldn't be good for anybody, when there was already a crown prince. Still, he kept expanding his influence and forging alliances for himself, his family and the empire as a whole.

  He was also the most aggressive in trying to pawn Vellia off, by far. It was no surprise she hated him.

  As Ziro closed the door, the prince bowed to the masters. "Esteemed ascended from above, it is my utmost pleasure to-

  "This is a private meeting," master Asuwan reminded bluntly, "and our patience is not endless. Say your piece if you have something to say." 'And get out if you don't,' was the implied continuation. Neru shared a smirk with Vellia, feeling the girl's vindication: the masters didn't much like the third prince either.

  The man paused, clearly thrown off kilter. But he was not one to be discouraged. "Of course. I'll get straight to point."

  He headed towards the table, opposite from the masters. He didn't sit. "I understand you're searching for something in the accursed taint?"

  "You understand well," master Asuwan conceded.

  "I also understand you're not encountering much success."

  Neru shivered in second-hand fear at the provocation. Is he out of his mind?

  "Do you have anything to say, little boy?" Master Etena asked, in a chilly tone.

  There was a slimy smile on the prince's face, unperturbed.

  "As matter of fact, yes. I do."

  When Ziro closed the door behind the third prince, Neru's excitement was back in full force. For Vellia's sake, she didn't want the masters helping that jerk in any way, but this could really be it...

  "Do you think we should go along with this?" master Dakun asked.

  "He obviously knows something, and I don't think he's so full of himself that he would waste his time and ours," master Matiya said. "We can't afford to flounder about when a path is open."

  "We absolutely can afford to. The little shit is trying to use us!" master Dakun spat, affronted.

  "That's even better," Master Matiya said. " It means the boy has a stake in our success. He's just some spoiled prince that wants to get his chance at the throne. Let him think he has control. If he tries anything that could hinder us, we'll just explain to him how wrong he is."

  The masters kept up their back and forth, but it was clear to Neru that the decision had already been made, and she couldn't help her opinion of them go down as a result, especially of master Matiya.

  He'd told her that she needed to be more diplomatic and less uncompromising. Did he mean this? Making deals with scumbags? They had to see what would happen if they handed enough power to the third prince! She'd known the Menders were very strict in their policy of non-interference with local matters, but this was barbaric. They could be about to indirectly help the prince provoke a civil war!

  On the other hand, if she managed to get her wish... maybe she could clean up after them, herself...

  "You want to go?" master Asuwan asked master Matiya.

  He shrugged "It's a good lead, and good experience for the boy."

  Yes!!! If Ziro goes, then there's really a chance...!

  "It might be dangerous, but he's first elevation already: this is as good an opportunity as any, for him. Don't you agree, kiddo?"

  "My needs are nothing compared to the mission," Ziro replied.

  "He agrees."

  The masters started discussing the details of how they would split the workload, but Neru wasn't listening anymore. If the prince hadn't lied...

  An actual trial ground, where even the youths of this impoverished realm could 'ascend'. After all this time and after all her failed attempts, this was going to be her opportunity. She just knew that she would come out of this realm a true sidha!

  "May I ask a question, master?"

  A shiver went down Neru's spine. The meeting was over, the masters already standing and slowly heading towards the door - master Dakun gathering his shoes - when Ziro had spoken up. It was the first time he'd done so of his own volition during the entirety of the meeting, and that meant nothing good.

  After master Asuwan's go-ahead, he asked, "What about the mundane workers with us? Some of them are assigned to me and master Matiya."

  Master Asuwan looked confused at him, as if he'd asked what color the sky was. "Naturally, they cannot be put in needless danger. All mundanes will be reassigned to me and stay here until we have a better grasp of the situation."

  The shiver down Neru's spine became a cold shower. No, please don't.

  "What about Neru? You must know of her. This would look like the perfect opportunity"

  This fucker. I'm going to murder him...

  Master Asuwan looked at him askance. "What is your question, boy?"

  He seemed completely unbothered by the gaze and spoke with his usual calm. "She's very stubborn. What should we tell her, to make her understand that she needs to stay safe?"

  I'm going to kill him slowly and painfully. I'm going to...

  Master Asuwan scoffed. "She's a mundane employee, not a noble child in a payed-for self-discovery trip. She insisted she was an adult, it's time she learns her place in the world." Then he exited the room without another word.

  "Even if the third prince's words are true, these trials are only so effective on locals, " master Matiya said. "Those that take part are bound to be the cream of crop, people with potential who had simply lacked opportunities growing up. One of our own, who had countless chances that ended up with nothing..." He trailed off with a shrug and joined his peer outside the room.

  His words hit like a hundred gut punches, much worse than even master Asuwan's. More, they were spoken with a gentleness out of place, considering that his interlocutor must be enjoying them. Neru couldn't shake a suspicion.

  As soon as they had all exited the room - Ziro closing the door behind the masters - she leaned out of the alcove and found the window still open. They hadn't closed it the entire time. She slipped onto the windowsill, almost sure now that they'd known she was listening in the entire time, and let her.

  So that she'd know perfectly well what a useless burden she was in their eyes.

  After waiting on Neru to enter the room for many awkward moments, Vellia finally couldn't take it anymore and slipped past. She jumped down from the window and walked over the marble floor... to an even more awkward silence.

  "So... that happened."

  There was no answer.

  With trepidation, she turned around to look at Neru sitting on the windowsill, a leg outside, watching the alleys.

  "What... what will you do, Neru?"

  More silence.

  Her face was hidden from this perspective, but Vellia could easily imagine what she was feeling. Maybe better than anyone.

  To be destined for very little.

  Initially deluding oneself that it was just family and circumstances dragging one down... and then realizing that it was just not meant to be. That you're simply not good enough.

  To have an adventurous spirit, ready to fly away... but with wings cut and paths barred. Shackled to a fate that others had decided. And Neru was a hundred times the fighter that Vellia was. It must be that much harder for her.

  She would love to tell her something to help, to ease her burden, but-

  "Have you ever dreamed, Vellia," Neru begun out of nowhere, her gaze still fixed onto the outside, "that you were more?"

  "... 'more'?" What kind of question was that? "You mean like... better? Then yes, of course. Who doesn't wish to be better?"

  "That you were actually special, better than everybody around you, but you just couldn't... like you're a dragon, trapped in the body of a little gecko?"

  "... I think that's a very common thought between losers and kids with little social life." Then she realized what she'd just implied. "Not that i think you're like that of course!"

  Luckily, Neru seemed unbothered. So much so that Vellia couldn't say if she was speaking with her or just talking to herself. "I tried everything I could where I came from - they were right about that much. And when nothing worked, I joined with the menders as a lowly grunt, to explore somewhere else and find other opportunities."

  She laughed a bitter laugh. "Can you imagine that Ziro tried to stop me even then? I bet you can. If it was for him I'd still be..." She sighed. "But I made it. Because it was not the first time that someone tripped me or that I stumbled by myself, and it has never kept me down."

  Neru took a deep breath, and despite herself, Vellia could feel growing anticipation.

  "I know my feelings are a delusion. I know, deep down, that they're just a defense mechanism."

  Ever since they'd met she'd been inspired by this girl, who never seemed to relent, always believing so earnestly that she could spit in the face of 'fate'. That it was really possible to do so.

  "But if they're not true..."

  Neru turned around, and Vellia found a face entirely different from what she'd feared, but exactly as she should have expected.

  " ...then I'll make them."

  There was such a frightening determination in those eyes, Vellia couldn't help but believe her. No matter how absurd.

  "The right question, my dear Vellia is what we will do."

  "...eh?"