My feet hit the ledge. My knees buckled before I could stiffen them. I clawed at the wall but there was nothing to grip onto. My eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open in a wild scream as I began to tumble back. Gravity is a heartless bitch.

“Shut the hell up!”

Frank slammed into my back with more force than I would have thought possible. My belly hit the wall. My arms spread wide and my fingers flexed stiff. My knees were locked in position even as my legs shook enough to vibrate the rest of me. Thankfully, my bladder remained in control. A small blessing.

“Thank… thank you… Frank…” I managed between desperate gasps of the chilly night air.

Frank flapped up to the windowsill I had been attempting to climb onto, spread his wings, and screamed at me. I felt like a little kid being admonished for bad behavior. I don’t know what he was bitching about, he had wings and I didn’t.

I muttered and cursed as I tried to still the fear coursing through me. Part of me wanted to climb back through the damn window and fight the monster through the carved door. Another part wanted to try again and the final bit of me wanted to crawl into a ball in the corner somewhere and cry like the little sook I was.

Swallowing past the lump that had formed in my throat I jumped again and grabbed the windowsill in an almost painful death grip. I pulled myself up, scurrying onto the wide windowsill and pressing up against the icy cold glass. Frank screeched and hopped away from me, upset that I’d almost sat right on top of him. I didn’t much care what he thought though, my chest still felt like Sob had given it a firm kick.

I pressed my burning forehead against the glass. It was soothing. Well, it was until the curtain on the other side was torn down and a Nox Warrior slammed against the window. I yelped and jerked my head back, staring into the man's eyes as he slowly began to slide down the window leaving a trail of blood behind him.

My breathing was coming in noisy gasps when I lifted my eyes and looked into the face of a humanoid hyena. The beast had a large scar down half its face rendering one of its eyes white and useless. The thing stood tall on its hind legs as it stared into my soul. It wore scraps of mismatched armor and carried a wicked-looking axe that reminded me of Nora’s.

The hyena monster approached the window, kicking the now-dead man aside as it pressed its large black nose against the glass.

“And what do we have here?” It asked in a loud growl.

I gave an awkward wave. “Hello.”

“You can not avoid all of us creeping around like that,” it said.

I looked past the beast at the mountain of bodies scattered behind him. Who or whatever he was, it was clear he was too high-level for a lot of the players stuck in this realm. Suddenly, being out here didn’t seem like such a bad thing.

The hyena slammed a closed fist into the glass making it tremble again. I smiled at his frustration as I climbed to my feet, I reached up for the arch of stone at the top of the window. Before I gripped it I flipped the hyena the bird, giving the finger a good twirl to really sink in the message I was trying to pass along.

The hyena bellowed and started pounding on the glass with fist and axe alike. Neither shattered the magically hardened glass. Slobber escaped the beast's jaw, slathering the window and clouding my view of the monster. My grin broadened.

Gripping the arch I climbed ever higher, jumping from the arch to the ledge above it and then the next windowsill in the line. It didn’t take long for me to get into a rhythm and when I did, this climbing the sheer face of a ridiculously high spire got a whole lot easier. The only problem with that was, my stamina couldn’t keep up.

Every few floors I had to sit on one of the windowsills, dangling my feet over the edge as I waited for the green-hued bar to refill itself. It was a painfully slow process.

Odd how quickly terror could turn into a peaceful escape. I chose to look up instead of down, admiring the blanket of stars scattered around the enormous and bright twin moons. Neither of the moons seemed to rise or set like the one back on Earth did. Instead, they circled around the realm, always in view and moving at different speeds. The smaller of the two was much faster than the larger one.

It took weeks to climb high enough that the clouds began to swallow me. Twice now I’d found another carving left behind by Kendrick. One was a crude picture of a fox, and the other an illicit and rough carving of what looked like a very fun party for all involved. I guess he got as bored as I did when waiting for his stamina to refill.

I copied his artistic streak, carving my own pictures every time I had to wait. A gift I was leaving behind for anyone else who found this path. Mine were not as good as Kendrick’s, stone carving was not the same as charcoal sketching. Every new carving was just a depiction of a family member I’d left behind. As close to the real thing as I could remember anyway. I’d just finished carving horns on Theo’s head when my stamina refilled itself.

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

I stood and stretched. The clouds were a nuisance, making it more difficult to see and leaving behind dampness that made my grip a little more tenuous. After so long it was a relief to add a little extra challenge to the process, even if it did up my heart rate to dangerous levels.

I reached for the next windowsill, ready to do the daring leap to reach the thing. Frank screeched and pecked my fingers.

"Ouch, what the hell Frank?"

The bird spread his black wings and screamed at me.

"I don’t speak pain in the ass,” I snapped, rubbing my sore fingers.

“Shut the hell up!”

“No, you shut up,” I shouted.

I tried to reach again only to be brutally stabbed again.

“For fuck sake,” I grumbled.

I readjusted my foothold on the ledge. I looked down, beads of sweat rolling down my face and dripping into the dense fog that hid the ground so far below from me. The brilliant purple light from the twin moons was muted by the clouds, leaving me in a swirling mess of lilac.

Frank squawked again and flapped down onto the ledge beside me, hopping along it away from the window. I ignored him, reaching up again.

“Shut the hell up!”

I flinched and let my hand drop, glaring at the stupid bird. “What do you want?”

Frank flapped his wings aggressively and hopped away from me. I sighed and followed him, keeping my hands on the wall as I gingerly navigated away from the window. Frank grew quiet, clearly happy that I was doing what he wanted me to do.

The bird stopped in front of a half-moon-shaped stained glass window a lot like the one I’d slipped through with the fox on it. This one, however, had a large moon in the center of it.

“Frank, there are still a few floors to go,” I said, jabbing a finger upward.

“Shut the hell up.”

I ground my teeth. I was starting to regret having the bird here. He should have just stayed with the Witch of Evermore.

Shaking my head I carefully pushed the window open to avoid any loud squeaks and scouted the chamber on the other side.

“Hurry up, Xander,” someone below snapped. “We’re so close.”

“Shut up, the thing is stuck for some reason. It won’t budge.”

“Oh, move over. You’re all hopeless,” I woman snapped.

I frowned, laying on my stomach as I eyed the large carved door below. Five players were gathered around it; three Nox Warriors and two Daughters of Umbra. I was surprised to see them all the way up here. They must have worked together as a team to make it here so soon.

I flicked my eyes to my quest menu marker.

One month, ten days, one hour, and 19 minutes.

Disciples remaining: 9

I swallowed, a little surprised by the low number. I hadn’t looked at it since I’d started the climb. In only twenty-three days, fifty players had died. No doubt a lot of them had been on the hyena’s floor. That left the five banging on the door below me, myself, and three others that weren’t here yet.

I crossed my arms and rested my chin on them, watching the show down below. I couldn’t help but smile. From my position up here I could see the pair of heavy latches holding the door closed. One of them was only a short climb away from me. The other might be a little tricky, but the rough brick was much easier to navigate than the smooth walls outside.

“This is bullshit,” one of the Nox Warriors barked, throwing his gauntletted hands into the air.

“Settle down, Ryder,” the one named Xander said. “It’s just a puzzle instead of a fight. No big deal.”

Frank waddled up beside me, bending out over the edge and tilting his head from side to side as he watched them with me. They threw theories about one after the other. Lockpicking? A ward to break? Something hidden in the carvings?

I smiled and lifted myself up. Frank eyed me as I climbed over the walls, moving silently and swiftly like a monkey in the treetops. Maybe a lizard or goat would be a more accurate simile, considering I was currently scaling across a vertical wall.

I reached the first latch and played the bouncing ball minigame, singing my little song to help me focus as I rushed through the seven of them. The latch released with a satisfying click. I grasped the latch and swung it aside so it was no longer blocking the door then I scaled the wall to the other and did the exact same thing.

The job done I smirked and returned to my windowsill, flexing my slighting stiff fingers. I waited for a long time but the group didn’t try the door again, content in their brainstorming session. I sighed and dropped my chin onto my arms. Frank was dozing off beside me, making me jealous that I couldn’t do the same thing.

It had been months since I’d slept and boy did I miss it. I missed food and beer just as much. Being perpetually satisfied just felt wrong. This whole realm felt like an endless dream world filled with nightmares behind every door.

“Maybe we should go back,” a Daughter of Umbra said. “Maybe we missed something.”

I groaned and despite my better judgment shouted, “why don’t you give it one more try?”

The twang on multiple crossbows had me yelping and jerking back. Frank screeched and took to the air outside, furious at being so rudely awakened. The bolts shattered against the wall, covering me in bits of wood.

“That’s not nice,” I snapped. “And after I just unlocked the damn door for you too.”

“Get down here,” Xander bellowed.

“Now, or we’ll kill you,” Ryder said.

“Oh, that’s comforting,” I muttered to myself.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him,” one of the Daughters of Umbra said.

I peeked over the edge, watching the woman scale the wall insanely fast with the assistance of her feathered wings.

Damn. I totally forgot about the wings.