To find anything in the Stable was easy: Have the Stable like you.

If it liked you, you were golden. Sure, it liked to show you weird creepy creatures that would give you nightmares, but it was more like an excited child showing their parent a dead frog than any kind of malice.

But if it didn't like you, your role in the equation changed. You were more likely to end up like the dead frog than the grossed-out parent.

Most of the time, the Stable didn't care one way or another. Many joked that the Stable didn't favor them, but that was just because having the massive changing structure ignore you was rather inconvenient.

If it didn't like you, you were in trouble. Workers who violated its rules, who harmed the creatures sheltered inside the Stable, who did not work and did not help, those the Stable disliked. Their days would be filled with myriads of hallways being changed into the manure rooms, passageways looping keeping them trapped in a circuit until the Stable grew bored, and being outright ejected from the Stable.

And those the Stable hated...well, they were the ones to disappear and not come back.

Kenton closed his eyes and focused on the task at hand. While the Stable's favor had many inconveniences, there were certain benefits.

It would lead you to where you needed to go if you were clear enough about what you needed.

He breathed, ignoring the smell of old hay and dampness, ignoring the sounds of the creatures nearby. He saw nothing but his own eyelids. But that's how it always started.

Kenton brought his focus to Elswith. He knew him differently than most others. He had seen him grow, after all. He thought of the cute little kid with yellow hair like dandelion fluff who had helped repair a halter that Cinnamon Girl had destroyed, the little Lordling watching with solemn eyes as Kenton had shown him how to take a mending stone and slowly press the magic to rejoin the tears. Kenton thought of the Young Lordling, just returned from his first campaign, face pale and horror fresh as he had encountered Dread Creatures for the first time. Kenton thought of purposeful Lordling Elswith, a month ago, as he had established which saddle and gear he wanted for his twentieth campaign, asking Kenton for advice for the best saddle for his aims.

Kenton focused, and in the vagueness that normally surrounded him at the Stable, came a focused direction. A pull in the pit of his stomach, a direction. A vague impression of...yellow walls? That didn't matter! He'd follow that pull, even if it led to the pits where the Cold Ones were kept!

Haste flowed into Kenton, the stiffness in his knees completely gone, as he hurried down the Stable passageway. He kept thoughts of Elswith in his mind, while he traveled toward the pull of the lost fae.

Those other servants may have seen Elswith that morning, but they hadn't been watching close enough, didn't know enough, and assumed too much and too quickly. When Kenton had seen Elswith enter the Servants' Hall this morning, from his perch on the third-level balcony, he had not seen someone uncertain. He had seen Elswith leave for every campaign, and he recognized that look of seriousness and determination. Those other servants mocked Elswith and spit at him, but if they really thought he was beaten, then they were fools, all of them. From the moment Kenton had seen the look in Elswith's eyes, he had known. This was within his plans.

Kenton raced down several hallways, past the Mintoal turtles. Past the electric eels....they seemed unusually agitated and rather upset for some odd reason, strange. Then the passageway banked up and away from the Aquatic zones. Back toward the relatively empty section that he had been in earlier looking for that griffin. The Owl's Scope room, where the servants and Elswith had first found the griffin feathers, not too long ago. The tall curved room stretched upward before doming. There were no owls present now, and the room was mostly used for holding old tools and buckets, some old tin bells tucked away for future use.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The former Mapper didn't see him. But the pull was still strong and present. He closed his eyes, focusing, and the sensation focused as well.

He felt the pull lead upward.

"Elswith...errr, Branch?" He called, remembering belatedly that Elswith was playing at being a servant. Didn't want to call him the wrong name and have whatever Watchers and Minders take offense.

There was no response from Elswith, but the room didn't feel empty. It felt like there was someone else in the room with him.

There was nowhere else to hide in this room. Except up.

Around the Owl's Scope room were twelve ledges, each ledge about six feet by six feet against the wall with three edges clear for perches. The ledges encircled the room, each one higher than the last and off to the right side spiraling up, like stairs for a very tall fae or a very short giant. These platforms encircled the circular wall until the final of twelve which was over sixty feet in the air, the last three ledges slightly further away from each other than the first nine.

Kenton remembered Young Elswith had enjoyed climbing to high places and staying there for hours on end. And this room had perches where one could lie and not be seen from below.

Kento craned his head back as far as it would go, but he didn't see Elswith. He did see some things perched on the very edges of those ledges, including an actual old bucket on the highest ledge. But he couldn't see anything beyond that. The angle was wrong for it.

Kenton groaned as he considered his options. If Elswith was dumped here, he may be unconscious or hurt after what the Stable did. Someone would need to help, and Kenton didn't trust anyone else's intentions not to harm him. Kenton would have to help Elswith directly.

That game thing, which mostly ignored him, suddenly got all hot and bothered. Kenton spent his life avoiding the games as best as any fae could, but he was old enough not to be completely flustered by its advances. First, he needed to understand the issue.

It was muddled and more like a feeling. Kenton snorted when he realized the Stable was clearer than this game thing actually. But Kenton felt like it was warning him to not aid Elswith.

"I'm not aiding him! I need him to help me find the blasted dragon hide saddle!"

The pressure of the Game went away.

So...he had its permission?

Foolishness, all of it. Once Kenton got to Midling fae, he was going to retire back to his home court and be done with the lot of them!

The pull of the Stable was still upward. Kenton groaned as he realized there was no ladder here, nor did he have the ability to get one so tall without alerting the Tolsen.

Kenton would have to climb up the ledges...and leap to the next one.

His knees groaned immediately, and he felt his back suddenly stiff and sore.

Kenton was not as young as he used to be. But he still felt like Elswith was nearby...

So he shambled up the first ledge, having to reach and inch worm crawl his way onto the first perch. The platform circled the room, each one higher than the last and off to the right side. The gaps seemed larger than before now that he was actually here on the ledge. Kenton stood, looking at the gap he'd need to clear to reach the next platform, and a wave of vertigo washed over him for a moment though he was only five feet from the ground. He looked upward. Only eleven to go!

He kept focusing on Elswith, and the Stable kept directing him to this room.

He ran and jumped, hitting his chest against the next ledge. Ooph, that hurt a bit. But he pulled himself upward and took to his feet. He still didn't see Elswith. But the Stable had never lied to him before. And Elswith would have responded if he could have. Not that Kenton was helping Elswith with his game thing. He was being completely selfish.

Kenton ran and jumped again, this time getting the jump better and not knocking the breath from his lungs. He was standing on the 3rd platform.

Elswith had never harmed any lowlings or midlings.

Kenton took a breath and leaped again, making the ledge and pulling himself up. 4th platform.

If a ploy had required disrupting their work, Elswith had always reimbursed them double their trouble.

Kenton breathed heavily, sitting for just a second. He was not the fittest fae in the world.

Elswith had always remembered everyone's name.

Kenton stood and leaped again. He got his breath knocked out of him but pulled himself up all right. 5th platform.

Elswith had always remembered everyone's favorite food and their birthday.

Kenton counted the ledges left. Seven more jumps to go.

He could do it. He had already gone up so far!

He made the mistake of looking over the edge, and another attack of vertigo was intense and in full force instantly. He puffed out air as he leaned against the wall. The ground was so far down!

Why was someone as...not as young as he used to be...be doing this?