A figure stood in the shadows, back pressed against the bare wall. Slowly, silently, it turned to look around the corner. Nothing moved in the hallway. It placed a foot around the corner, feeling the wooden floor for pressure plates. Not a single click, no raised planks. Safe enough. The figure dashed around the corner, running down the bare hallway in a crouch. The door to the atrium stood ahead, tall and imposing. The figure pressed its fingertips to the space around the doorknob and pushed. Couldn’t be too careful about doorknobs. The door swung open, light spilling into the passage. Undaunted, the figure continued through the doorway, taking only a small moment to let its eyes adjust to the well-lit open space before it.

The atrium took up the main area at the center of the academy, a circular open space running through all the floors. Black banners hung from the balconies, matching the dark color of the stone below. At the top, the atrium narrowed to a point, from which hung a candle-lit chandelier of wrought iron. Lanterns at regular intervals guaranteed that shadows fled. In the center of the ground-floor level stood a guard with a crossbow, sweeping the area around him like he expected the shadows themselves to attack him. He had a right to be afraid.

The figure prowled around the perimeter of the fourth floor atrium balcony. The best way down would be to blend in. One end of a knotted rope went around the balcony railing, the other dangling just above the first floor, out of sight. Like the banner behind it, the rope had a dark hue. As the guard completed another sweep of the still shadows, the figure vaulted over the balcony railing and grabbed hold of the rope, sliding down until its feet hit the knot at the bottom. The ground floor looked no more than four meters away now. The figure hovered in front of the black banner, blending in with the fabric. The guard passed over it, eyes passing quickly as he detected no movement other than the faint rippling of the fabric. With one fluid movement, the figure kicked off the banner and let go of the rope, falling to the floor below, and rolling on impact. Not so much as a faint echo. The figure ducked behind the nearest pillar and took in what it had just seen.

The ground floor of the atrium widened from the rest and had easily twice the space, with the portion under the upper floors supported by pillars that were just out of sight from someone looking down from a balcony. Off to the figure’s left, the main entrance to the academy towered menacingly, tall wooden doors with iron bands around them. The chandelier’s light from the very top of the atrium barely reached down here, so each pillar had a lantern behind it. Which meant the faces of those tied to the pillars were cast in shadow.

There were twelve, one for each pillar ringing the atrium. The oldest was still a child, not yet achieving the ten dozen moons needed to receive a moonbeam. The youngest had maybe six or seven dozen moons. The child on the opposite side of the pillar the figure had hid behind had her head down, either in sleep or in defeat. She had chestnut-brown hair, a rare occurrence here on a Spire. She’d probably been taken from an alleyway, somewhere no one would miss her. She meant nothing to anybody. She was nothing.

The figure slid a shortblade from its forearm sheath and edged around the stone pillar until it could reach the little girl’s throat. It would be quick, painless. To the girl, it would be a blessing, an end to the misery of her final days. The shortblade stopped millimeters from flesh.

The figure strained, but its arm stayed where it was, refusing to move the blade closer. Sweat beaded on the figure’s forehead as the arm continued to resist. All the figure had to do was slash once with the shortblade and it could leave in honor.

The guard with the crossbow turned back, crossbow suddenly aimed at the figure’s head. The figure froze, a real terror coursing through its body. This, tonight, this was real. It would die just the same as a hostage. And yet… the guard continued turning, sweeping the weapon around and away in the same circle as before. The figure pushed one more time, trying to move its arm. The blade stayed where it was.

By the time the guard came around once again and looked at the pillar, the figure was gone. The child still slept.

The figure pushed through the door to its room, black hair dripping with sweat. Everything had to go. Nothing could be left that would give them an advantage in finding it. It had to go somewhere, anywhere other than here. It was no longer safe to stay. The figure swiped all the small trinkets on the shelf into its bag and stacked the weapons from the corner on top. The money from the wall safe went in its pocket. The window was open now, a rope hanging down to the ground outside. The figure slung the pack on its shoulder and swept the room for any last trace of possessions. Nothing. They couldn’t bring it back here, no matter what. The figure climbed over the windowsill and grabbed hold of the rope. It slid down to the cobblestone road, let go of the rope, and vanished into the dark night amidst the torch-glow from the surrounding buildings.

The Ambassador had returned. At least, everyone said she had. Ambrose wasn’t sure he believed them. It had been at least three dozen moons since she’d come back this quickly after administering the tests. And last time this had happened, someone left with her and hadn’t come back.

But this time he wasn’t going to ignore her, not like all the other times. This time he’d taken the tests.

“Ambrose! Where are you?”

He sighed. “Right here, Mother. Out front.” From the twisted front porch, the hill continued down and towards the town proper. The roof of the townhouse poked up over the faded-blue leaves of the trees. If only he could just stay here and keep looking at the brilliant art of nature. Those would distract him until the bustle settled down and he could know why she’d returned.

Ambrose felt a hand on his shoulder. “Still watching the trees to make sure they don’t move?”

“Well, they haven’t moved yet. So it must be working.” He paused. “What if it’s me this time? What if I’m going to leave and never come back?”

“Is that what you’re worried about?” His mother ruffled his hair. “If you leave, you’re going to learn so much. You’ll be a lot smarter than both of us here. And I’m sure you’ll get to come back up at some point. They can’t keep you down there forever.”

“I guess not. I can’t imagine living down there for years without ever seeing plants and nature.”

Ambrose’s mother gave him a hug. “Come on. We’ve still got things to do around here. There will be a meeting tonight with the Ambassador. We won’t know anything until then.” She looked down at him. “I have a fresh batch of striker silk that I need to spin. Maybe you can help me with that.”

“Sure.” That’ll be a good distraction.

“Let this session of the Hillcrest Council be called to order.” The dignified man at the head of the long table hit two wooden blocks together before setting them back on the hard surface. He looked around the room at the scattering of faces, illuminated by the lanterns hung from the ceiling. The old man remained absent, most likely sick with winterflu. And probably for the best too. He tended to rile up the louder advocates, and, with this showing, the council leader already knew it would get more out of hand than he liked. He breathed in a chilly breath of air, the white-grey wooden walls doing little against the night air. “Secretary, please present to the Council the current issues.”

“Of course. Perhaps we should start with the most obvious. The Engineers have called for another of our numbers to join them in the caverns below.”

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The young woman at the end of the table rested her head on a fist, doing her best to look utterly bored. “I don’t see why this is an issue…”

“Quiet, please. You will have time to speak.”

“Now just a minute. I outrank all of you. I shouldn’t even have to be sitting here listening to this. Moons above, you should be listening to me.”

“You are in our jurisdiction, and thus you must obey our rules. Silence, please.”

The Ambassador sighed the longest sigh the man had heard. “Continue.”

The secretary shuffled his papers nervously. “Those against this action, please state your reasoning.”

A man with a cropped beard rose from midway down the right side of the table, poking at the wooden surface like his finger was the tip of a dagger he intended to puncture it with. “Indeed I shall. Every so often, without advance notice, one of us is spirited away out of society, often without our consent. Their talents and work are lost to us and we can do nothing! This cannot be allowed to continue.”

A few of the wizened figures around the table grumbled in agreement, although the response stayed surprisingly subdued.

The Ambassador took offense anyway. “Well pardon me, but that’s not really something you get to have a say in. The Engineers are the reason you’re safe and can live out here. We therefore have the power to make such decisions as pertains to that.”

The man with the beard looked like he wanted to run the Ambassador through with a spear. “You say that, but what is there to be protected against? We can do just fine up here without your help.” He clipped the last word like it left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I don’t care. This matter is not up for debate.” The Ambassador shrugged. “The boy is coming with me back down to the caverns. That’s where he belongs.”

Ambrose lowered his eye from the crack in the wall where he’d been listening in. So someone had passed the tests. And that someone would be leaving for good. And it could be him. He pressed his ear to the crack. Eventually the Ambassador had to announce the name of the person selected.

“How do you even know this person is useful? It could be I’m taking someone off your hands who is simply a drain on resources right now.”

“Now that is just despicable! Everyone here has some purpose, or they wouldn’t still be here.”

Just say it already. Say my name!

“This person isn’t so integral to the fragile economy up here that taking him away would throw it out of alignment. You’d barely even notice he’s gone.”

“And just who is this person?” Here it is here it is…

“Ambrose Bentspring. In the house on the hill over to the east.”

That was all he needed to hear. He’d passed the tests. The Engineers wanted him. And considering this meeting, he couldn’t waste a minute.

Ambrose tore through the wilderness, over the tall blue grass, under the low-hanging branches. The hill came into view, barely discernible unless you knew what to look for through all the foliage. Ambrose barrelled for the house at the top, the small misshapen porch he’d been standing on earlier that day lit by a single dim cylindrical lantern. The warm light reflected off the blue leaves of the nearest trees. Trees he wouldn’t see for a very long time if he left. But the excitement propelled him forward anyway. In a second he was up the hill and through the door, into his room where his few possessions were stacked. He piled them all into a beaten messenger bag and threw the strap over his shoulder. As long as he found the Ambassador soon after he left, he wouldn’t need to take any food with him. His mother and sister needed all that they had right now.

Ambrose looked over the empty shelf and the hastily made-up bed crammed in the corner. They hadn’t been bare like that since the day they’d moved in here. That felt wrong. But for the moment, he didn’t care.

“Ambrose? What’s going on?” His mother appeared in the doorway.

“It’s me, Mother! I passed! The Ambassador is here for me!”

His mother’s face lit up. “Oh, that’s wonderful! When do you leave?”

He looked out the front window, suddenly sure someone had followed him from the Council Hall. “As soon as possible. The Council doesn’t want me to leave. I figure that if I can follow the Ambassador as she leaves the Council Hall, I’ll be safe enough.”

“That’s a good plan.” She frowned a little. “You’re going to be missed. Especially by Sylvie.”

“I know. I wish I could say goodbye to her.”

His mother hugged him tightly. “I shouldn’t keep you. Please be safe. And come back as soon as you can.”

A small head poked out of one of the nearby doorways. “Where are you going, big brother?” Sylvie wiped some of the sleep out of her eyes, although her eyebrows still drooped.

“I have to go away for a while. I’ll be out of reach. But I’ll be safe. And I’ll come back. You take good care of Mother, all right?”

Sylvie smiled. “Okay.” She toddled over and hugged Ambrose’s leg. He knelt down and hugged her back.

“Alright, I really need to go.” Ambrose peeled away his little sister’s arms and stood up.

“Be safe. Know that you’re always welcome back here.”

He winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back one day. Hopefully one day soon.”

Before he had the urge to wait a little longer and stare off the porch into the trees, Ambrose turned and jumped through the open doorway. His feet slid on the blue-brown leaves that had fallen just a few days ago. One glance back, back towards the lantern and the faces of his mother and sister. Towards his old home. He fixed the image in his memory. Whatever happened, he wouldn’t forget.

But he couldn’t leave yet. He had one more place to go. Ambrose took a right before the town, towards the looming mountains. He ran through trees tall and thin, low-hanging and soaring. Right before the mountains soared up, a small patch of grass stood proudly, completely open to the sky without trees to block the moonlight. On the right night, you could lay down and see directly up to the stars. The Celestial Compass and Honor’s Wrench shone brightly on those nights.

Tonight seemed to be a good night for stargazing. Someone sat in the tall blue grass, staring up at the sky, her long brown hair blending with the grass like mist. She turned as Ambrose stepped into the clearing, barely ten steps away. Even in the dim light, he could see two teartrails on her face. “I heard them announce your name.” With a speed that frightened him, she jumped up and ran to him, wrapping him in the most monstrous hug he’d ever seen. “Why do you have to leave?”

“The Engineers want me to go. They need more people. To keep everyone up here safe.”

“But what if you just stayed here? With me?” She pulled back a little and stared into his eyes.

For the first time since the Ambassador’s announcement, Ambrose felt a twinge of regret. But the excitement still bubbled under the surface.

“I need to know more. I need to learn.” He looked back towards the town and the lights shining faintly through the trees. “I need to go. The Council wants to keep me here to spite the Engineers.”

“Do you have to? You could at least stay here with me tonight. I have an extra bedroll.”

“Lillien, you know I have to go. I wish I could stay.”

She released him and grasped his arms, looking into his eyes. “Promise me you’ll write.”

“I promise.”

A conflicted look crossed Lillien’s face, teartrails starting to glisten again. She leaned forward and kissed him. The taste of salt was overpowering. After only a second, she broke away.

“Lillien, I…”

“Go.” She waved her hand. “They’ll be looking for you once they find you’re not at home. The sooner you leave, the safer you’ll be.”

“Lil…”

“Go!” Ambrose felt a tear fall as he turned and dashed out of the clearing. For now, he needed to get away and to the Council Hall. Once he found the Ambassador, he’d be okay.