Chapter 312: The Old Ladder

The restricted-region permit was still under review. Ren planned to inspect the ground beside the princess’s pocket when he returned; first, he wanted to see what the Old Ladder offered.

At the Explorer Guild’s mission hall, queues stretched beneath the light boards across the stadium-sized building. He passed the contract counters and joined the shorter line at the transfer desk.

"The Old Ladder," he said when his turn came.

The clerk checked his plate and directed him to a transfer ring at the back. Ren crossed when it opened and stepped out at the foot of Dawnspire’s central spire.

Rock filled his view. The dawn band lit one face gold, while the stair wound out of that light and into the shadow beyond.

Some stretches were cut into the spire. Others crossed open air on steps held by old formations, with trial platforms suspended beside them. Through the gaps, Ren could see inscriptions shining beneath the stone. A climber passed overhead, boots briefly visible on an open span before the stair carried them behind the rock.

Ren followed the route upward with his eyes until he lost it, then approached the entrance.

— • —

A stone board stood beside the counter, its lettering lit from within. Beneath the Ladder’s name, a smaller inscription identified it as a pre-Alliance structure under Guild administration.

Ren read the public terms.

Entry: valid surveyor plate. Merit charged for each attempt.

Clothing only. No personal equipment, companions or outside assistance during trials.

Risks include falls, exhaustion and the hazards listed for each floor.

Crossing back over the starting mark ends the attempt. No reward or refund.

The public floors were listed below, each with its task, hazards and payment schedule. He stopped at a Fire exercise.

Fourth platform — Fire control. Hazard: burns. Entry per attempt: 200 merit. First clear: 650 merit. Repeat clear: 350 merit.

The attendant looked young, with a Guild pin fastened at her collar. She took his Gold Surveyor plate, the compass-and-lantern emblem catching the light as she checked it, then brought up his account on her slate.

"Fourth platform?"

"Yes."

"You have enough merit for entry."

Ren pointed to the withdrawal rule. "What if I can’t reach the starting mark?"

"Each trial has a route back to it. Crossing ends the attempt even if you’re pushed across. The timing ring goes dark and the formation stops." She indicated the nearest platform. "If you can’t withdraw, we retrieve you when the term ends and the formation is idle."

He looked up at the ring of light around its edge, then back at the floor’s listed hazards.

"I can watch a run first?"

"From this side of the entrance. There’s someone on the second platform now."

— • —

The climber was carrying a trial weight up a short flight of stairs. Ren could see a handle set into the block and a rail running beside the steps.

At a marked tread, the climber lurched sideways. The block dragged toward the rail, pulling both arms with it. They caught the rail with one hand, braced a boot and eased the weight back across their body before taking the next step.

Higher up, their knees bent under a sudden downward pull. They stopped long enough to adjust their grip, then climbed again. Around the platform, the inscriptions went dark one after another.

The climber reached the top with several still lit. They pushed the block into its receiving socket, and a completion mark shone above the stairs. The remaining inscriptions extinguished. Released from the pull, the climber straightened slowly and rubbed one shoulder.

Ren moved aside when they came down. At the counter, they checked the credited reward, signed the entry and headed toward the transfer ring.

He stepped forward and authorized his own fee. The attendant kept his plate at the counter while he climbed.

— • —

The fourth platform projected far enough from the spire that Ren could see the lower stairs through the gap beside it. He stayed on the broad approach and stopped at the starting mark.

Beyond it stood a shallow stone basin. Six channels ran from its base to separate marks across the floor, with a flame suspended above each. Rings of light enclosed them, an inner boundary marking the minimum size and an outer one the maximum.

The instructions beside the basin required every flame to remain within those limits for the full term. Letting one cross either boundary would fail the attempt. The formation would admit pulses of the dawn band’s heat throughout.

Ren read to the end, checked the clear path back to the mark and stepped across.

The timing ring lit around the platform. He set his hands on the basin’s rim and felt the channels take his Fire.

He began with a light, even feed.

Two flames expanded toward their outer rings while the smallest scarcely changed. Ren reduced the flow before the larger pair reached their limits, then separated the feeds. The small flame on the left needed more than he had given it.

Light gathered along the platform’s edge. A pulse of heat swept through the formation, swelling the flame on the right while the one on the left contracted toward its inner ring.

Ren caught both, cutting the right-hand feed and increasing the left. The other flames shifted as he divided his attention between them, and he adjusted those in turn.

He had enough Fire. Keeping it going where it was needed took more attention than the amount suggested.

Before the next pulse, he eased the larger flame down within its permitted range and strengthened the smaller one. That left room for both to change without crossing a boundary. The middle pair needed a brief increase as the heat passed through, then less afterward.

He watched the rings while working through each channel. Once, he cut a feed too sharply and had to restore it as the flame drew inward. On the next pulse he made the same adjustment more gradually.

His fingers tightened against the basin. The timing inscriptions continued to fade, but he kept his eyes on the flames until the last pulse had passed.

The completion mark lit beside his hands. All six flames extinguished as the formation stopped.

"You can open your hand now, Ren," Kaia said privately.

He looked down and loosened his fingers from the rim.

At the counter, the attendant checked the recorded clear and credited the first reward. After the entry cost, it left him a modest return for the time he had spent.

He accepted his plate, still thinking about the middle channels. Each time he had kept feeding them after the pulse, he had created another correction for himself. He wanted to try it again while he could remember the change in the pull.

"Another attempt," he said, handing the plate back.

She charged the entry fee again and cleared him to return.

— • —

The second run required the same interval.

Ren strengthened the left-hand flame before the first pulse and left the larger one room to expand. When the heat came through, he reduced its feed while supplying the middle pair, then eased those back as the pulse passed.

He still had to watch them. Knowing the sequence didn’t tell him exactly how much Fire each adjustment needed, but he caught the changes earlier now. The flames stayed farther from their limits, and he spent less effort correcting his own excess.

The last inscriptions dimmed around the platform.

Ren held the feeds through the final pulse, his fingers resting loose against the stone. The completion mark lit, and the flames went out.

He lowered his hands.

— • —

The attendant credited the repeat reward and returned his plate. This clear also paid more than its entry cost, though the margin was smaller.

Ren compared the two runs as he stepped away from the counter. The repeat had cost him less effort, but most of its value had been practice. He had learned more while working out the channels on the first attempt.

He silently asked the System to check his Fire comprehension.

[FIRE COMPREHENSION: 17.0% → 17.1%.]

His stage remained unchanged. He put the plate away and looked back up the stair.

Beyond the public platforms, a higher landing stood behind a dark ring. The approaching stair was empty, though climbers were moving between the lower trials.

Ren returned to the board. Beneath the priced floors, he found the upper section’s entry.

Upper section — separate authorization required. Merit payment not accepted.

He glanced from it to the attendant.

"The landing above the public floors. That’s the separate section?"

"Yes."

"So earning more here won’t qualify me for it?"

"Merit won’t open that section."