I must have collected the blood for Fang in a daze, because the next thing that I remember is standing with three heavy bottles full of the still warm, blue blood in my arms and the sound of a woman's voice.

"You there, what's your name?" it was a harsh sound against the heavy stillness of the trees. "You killed that beetle with skill, who taught you that?"

I stood, blinking before I could focus on the woman in pale grey who stood in front of me.

"I – um – nobody taught me," I started to walk back towards the road. What right had she to be questioning me like she was my mother? "I'm just a tailor's assistant, I run errands, pick cotton."

"But that was skill. That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident, I should know."

"Look lady, I'm just here to get the beetle blood, not to be accosted by random strangers. Now if I can just be on my way." My feet had reached the stone of the road by now, my eyes had never left the harsh woman in grey.

"Hmm, very well. But you're wasting your potential being a tailor. You are destined for greater things. I think you should go and speak to your Elder tomorrow, he may have something to say that you might like."

I laughed to myself then. "What makes you think the Elder will want to speak to me?" I turned to walk back up the path that would take me into Etherblade. "Lowly tailor's assistant, remember."

"You are far more than you believe, young one."

I turned back then, and found myself blinking a few times in rapid succession. The strange woman had gone, disappeared into the sparse trees within the space of the few heartbeats it took me to turn around. That was one crazy lady, I thought to myself as I walked, frowning, back up the hill and into town.

I dismissed the woman as crazy as I walked back into my mistress' shop that afternoon. It was beyond stupid that the Elder would think anything more of me than a poor orphan he had felt pity upon.

"Ah you have the blood!" My mistress sounded more happy and relived than I had ever seen her as she rushed to greet me and take the bottles from me with the care of a new mother. "Oh thank you, thank you. You're a life saver." she bustled off into the back of the shop, still speaking with such a high voice I struggled to hear her even as I followed her.

"What about this afternoon, you said I could take the time off?" I kept my question light and hoped she was too happy to go back on her word, not that my mistress was that sort of boss.

"Oh yes, yes, of course you can have the rest of the afternoon off. Just make sure you're back in time to help with dinner, I don't want to have to do it all myself."

I supposed that was only fair, after all, she would have to work hard by herself this afternoon if she wanted to prepare for the weekend.

"I'll be back in plenty of time." I said as I went up the stairs to change out of the bloody clothes Fang had completely failed to notice when I'd come in.

So, I was free for the rest of the afternoon, and truth be told, I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. The streets were bustling with people and I'd never been a fan of crowds. I looked up at the huge stone blade that had always fascinated me, and wondered how peaceful it would be, all the way up above the heat and smell of the city. Then I looked closer. There were pterosaurs that circled the thermals up there by day, waiting for anything that looked like easy prey. OK, so not the best idea.

My eyes wondered then, over the upper parts of the city, the spires and high roofs that most people simply ignored. Surely I could find some sort of peace and quiet on one of them without the risk of being eaten by something. There was the top of the Elder's building, but surely I'd be punished if I was found scaling such a holy place. That was out too. There was a large bridge type construction that I regularly sat upon in the evenings, to look out over Etherblade, but it was so close to Fang's shop that it always stank of chemicals. No, today I wanted somewhere special, somewhere I'd never had the chance to go to. The North Gate caught my eye then, with it's majestic slanting roofs and high cliffs to one side, it looked so brilliant in the afternoon sun that I was almost pulled towards it by its beauty.

The Gate loomed above me as I walked towards it, that same strange feeling creeping over me again, like a prickling blanket of heat and cold at the same time, it covered me, flowing down from the back of my head to the tips of my toes. I felt invigorated, energised from just the thought of reaching the top of the high gate. Before I even realised that I had moved, my hand was upon the dark rock of the cliff, curiously warm from the strong sun that day. It felt so right to let myself go, to trust my instincts in that moment, so much so that I only stopped for a moment before my feet were finding their way into small nooks and my hands were finding protrusions to hold onto. It was such a rush to be climbing, to feel the rough rock beneath my fingers, to find places to push myself up, my feet feeling everything through the flexible soles of my cheap shoes. I passed over rock and roof alike, my mind barely registering the difference as all I could do was climb, to push myself up to the highest point, to be the best I could be.

Then it was over. I had reached the top of the cliff and all about me there was the vast empty blue of sky, only punctuated by the tops of trees that now seemed so small from my new viewpoint. The tingling feeling surged through me again, this time turning to a sheer exaltation at my achievement. I had done it, with no more effort than walking down the street, I had climbed the tallest point in the city.

But no, hold it. There was more. I turned around to see the roof behind me had more to it than I thought. A chest was on the walkway between the two towers of the gate, the dark wood standing out against the pale stone and patterns of gold shining in the afternoon sun. What would someone be doing hiding a chest all the way up here? My curiosity overwhelmed me and I just had to get to that chest. After all, it's not like there was anyone up here that would see me, nobody would find out and I'd get to know what was in there. Not that I'd steal what was in there, I just wanted to know. My hands itched to run over the wood, knowing it would be warm from the sun like the cliff, and the gold that decorated it cool in contrast.

The feeling washed over me again, and before I could take a deep breath, I was at one side of the cliff top, all of my muscles tensed to propel myself as quickly as I could towards the edge. A release of tension and I hurtled in three steps to the edge of the cliff, then off, into the vast nothingness of air for what seemed like forever, my arms stretching forward, then back to push my legs forward. My body knew I was going to make it, to reach the red tile of the roof, but then I started to fall and my mind wasn't so sure. Panicking, my arms started to flail against the air, pointlessly grasping at nothing as I fell. Time seemed to slow as I saw the roof come towards me, my hands now reaching for the tiles, just out of reach, if only I could reach a few more inches forwards, I could grab the roof.