As he and Becka moved away from the rocky space where they’d spent the night, Glenn noticed the narrow flat surface atop the winding cliff was a little more precarious looking than he’d expected. And high. They had nothing but sheer rock to one side and a long drop to the forest below.

No wonder Becka had been troubled. Glenn had never been afraid of heights, but it felt different when all one had beneath one’s feet was a thin flat strip of slippery rock with an angry Moss Beast snapping its dirty jaws below. He looked up toward the thick overgrowth, then looked down at the forest. It was a relief to be able to see both plants and trees once more.

A bright blue day existed above this thick canopy, and while he couldn’t see the sun, he could see the moss. Glenn offered Becka a glance. “Stick with me. We’ll follow the cliffs as long as we can.”

She nodded. “I’m with you.”

Glenn set their direction and an easy, relatively sedate pace along the meandering cliffs. As they continued, he opened the map of Grassea he kept in head and verified everything just to be safe.

The Deepscorn Woods nestled against the impassible cliffs that bordered the western edge of Grassea, with Wolfpine to the northeast corner of the wood’s top and the Safe Road running south from Wolfpine to the border of Evolan. Glenn’s mental map placed he and Becka west of the road.

The clifftops ran north/northeast, which wasn’t directly where they wanted to go, but once he’d followed them long enough, they might reach a higher level of the Deepscorn Woods. The important thing was the Moss Beast still silently shadowing them along the cliffs below couldn’t follow.

The Safe Road leading out of Wolfpine meandered for some time on its way to the massive fortress wall separating Grassea from Evolan, the neighboring province of wide fields, tall cliffs, and gorgeous blue streams. Lakebrooke, a large town abutting the sea, resided in Evolan, placed atop the wide open mouths of three different streams. Glenn had seen drawings.

Sadly, he’d never seen Lakebrooke in person, as much as he had often wanted too. Evolan’s Monsters were level 8-16, meaning they could challenge even Wolfpine’s Town Guards. They would be absolute murder on an unclassed Level 4, yet Glenn couldn’t leave Grassea even if he wanted to.

The Gods controlled who could move between zones. The only way a person born in Grassea could leave its borders was either to be chosen as an Adventurer or to Level a Townsfolk Class high enough to complete in a higher Level town. If chosen as Townsfolk, Glenn could conceivably Level a Class like Blacksmith or Enchanter to Level 8 with enough effort and time, but it could be years before he managed that. By then, he’d likely have settled down with Becka or...

No. He had to stop thinking this way. He wouldn’t be Leveling Blacksmith or Enchanter in Wolfpine, or settling down with any woman in his hometown, because he’d be an Adventurer as soon as tomorrow, or rather ... today.

Which was actually his Birth Day. Glenn belatedly remembered to open his Status Sheet, and he whooped loudly before he caught himself.

Name: Glenn Redwood ==== Age: 16 Strength: 13 Level: 4 Divinity: 8 Class: Unassigned Luck: 7 HP: 38/110 Vitality: 11 Blood: 60/60 Wisdom: 6 Experience: 21999/22000 Prowess: 8

...

He proudly displayed his Status Sheet for Becka to see. “Look! My Cap is gone!” Glenn could gain experience again after spending three months stuck at 21999 of 22000. He could finally reach Level 5.

Becka smiled. “Congratulations. Turning in this Quest will gain you a load of experience. I might even Cap me too, if we’re lucky.”

He sighed and squeezed her arm. “I have to Level.”

Becka ruefully shook her head. “You’re currently beat up worse than a training dummy. Do you really want to take on a Gloamwolf right now?

“If I Level, everything heals. Then we’ll definitely make it back to Wolfpine alive.”

“I suppose there is that.” Becka glanced past him. “That cursed beast is still down there. What a sore loser. I wish we could just kill it, but it’s safer to find a Gloamwolf.”

Glenn gave the lumbering Moss Beast below another glance. “It can go jump in a lake. There’s no way up these cliffs for five hundred paces in any direction.”

“And no way off them,” Becka added.

Glenn might just have quickened his pace. “If we keep going, we might find a spot further ahead where we can clamber up. If we’re careful.”

Becka clutched his arm tightly as they crept their way along the narrow cliff. “There’s no way I’m letting you lift me off this cliff.” Sheer rock walls rose to their left, while a drop waited to their right.

“Then I’ll clamber up first,” Glenn said confidently. “And then reach down and pull you up.”

“With your hands as they are? You will not be dangling me over a sheer drop with only your shredded hands to keep me from dropping to my doom.”

She did make a good point. Still, Glenn kept them moving. “We’ll figure it out. The Pantheon provides. Let’s see if we can even find a place to climb up first.”

They kept moving, together, though the ledge quickly narrowed. Soon, they had no choice but to separate. Glenn led the way, pressing his back flat against the wall and holding both hands out. He gripped Becka’s outstretched hand with his own. He knew she remained terrified of heights.

“Back and heels against the rock,” he instructed. “Don’t look down, and don’t worry about taking big steps. Slide your leading foot left, then hold, then move your other to join it. Slow and steady. We’re not in any rush this morning.”

Becka’s hand trembled in his own, but she kept with him ... slowly. He was constantly impressed by how she pushed onward no matter the problem. She must be utterly terrified right now.

“Don’t look down,” he heard her whisper quietly to herself. “Don’t look down don’t look down.”

Fortunately for them both, the narrow stretch of cliff only meandered on for another few minutes before it widened one more. It stretched out to form an almost flat ledge as big as a tavern balcony. As Glenn stepped onto it he spotted the darkened hole dug into the cliff, stretching from just below his waist to the rocky limestone. He knew why this outgrowing cliff ledge was so flat.

A bone-grinding chill crept up Glenn’s spine. He unconsciously grabbed the grip of his sword, then winced as his palm screamed. “Cliff Spider hole,” he whispered. “I hate those things.”

Becka scurried onto the wider ledge beside him, then smiled with relief. “Why? They’re no worse than Grass Sprites. Those little crawlies are only Level 3.”

“But they’re spiders,” Glenn reminded her plaintively, as he shuddered involuntarily. “Don’t they creep you out, even a little? Those glistening, dark-brown bodies? All those legs?”

“And you make fun of me for heights.”

“I’ve never made fun.”

Becka sighed dramatically and knelt between him and the darkened hole. She fearlessly leaned in to peer inside more closely. What if a Cliff Spider jumped out at her? Their poison might be weak, but it was still poison!

“The hole’s empty,” Becka declared confidently. “There’s also white gunk inside. Bird poop. Seems to me a flyer of some sort swooped in and helped itself to whatever was in this hole.”

Glenn trembled with relief. “Must have been a Grass Hawk. They do tend to nest on cliffs this time of year. Cliff Spiders are one of their favorite treats.”

Becka rose and faced him. “You’re so cute when you’re scared senseless.”

“I just don’t like getting poisoned!”

Becka opened both arms. “Need a hug?”

A hug sounded pretty good, actually, but he needed to focus on climbing up these cliffs. As Glenn’s eyes traveled past Becka to the sheer cliff above the hole, he realized that it actually wasn’t much more than the height of a man and a half from here. The hole the Cliff Spiders had dug out had a trace of a ledge all around, possibly enough for a boot toe to find purchase.

Glenn stepped right past Becka, careful not to bump into her. “I think I can climb up that.”

Becka huffed and lowered her arms. “I see how it is. The morning he turns trial age, he’s already moving on to a woman he can bone.”

He blinked at her. “I’d never! It’s just ... this might be our best chance to get up there.”

She snickered and patted his chest. “I know. You really want to Level. I’m sure having your experience capped has been almost as much of a tease as I am.”

“Hey, it’s not like you do it on purpose. The Gods can’t keep us apart forever.”

Becka’s smile faltered again. “So long as they choose us both as Adventurers.”

Once more, Glenn remembered something was still wrong. Whatever he’d sensed this morning was still there, but she obviously wasn’t ready to tell him ... yet.

“If you think you can get up there, I say go for it,” Becka said. “But don’t expect me to climb after you. I expect a strong vine or a really thick branch lowered my way.”

Glenn nodded, walked past her to the hole, then tentatively raised his boot and placed the tip upon the ledge atop the hole. It didn’t break beneath his tentative push.

“Be with you in a moment,” he assured her.

====

Once a mortal reaches the age of 16—trial age—they may undertake the Ceremony of the Path. They enter a Chapel of Celes and place their hands upon the shrine. Once they do so, the Gods will choose them as Adventurer or Townsfolk based on criteria known only to Them.

Adventurers are challenged by the Gods to defeat Monsters, Level, and complete Quests. They may travel anywhere at any time. Most young mortals long to become Adventurers, but not everyone succeeds. Many Adventurers die in battle long before they reach the Divine Level Cap.

Those whom the Gods deem talented in areas other than Monster killing are often chosen as Townsfolk. These people may only choose Townsfolk Classes and are confined to the walls of the town in which they are born. They may only leave town during the day, though once they reach the minimum Level of a neighboring zone, they can travel to it and share their wares with Adventurers living there.

While Adventurers may seem to have the more glamorous job, they could not succeed without Townsfolk, who create and repair their weapons and armor, Enchant their weapons, and even create the Quests they undertake. And without the Life Stones Adventurers retrieve from killing Monsters, Townsfolk would be without the most vital crafting ingredients required for all crafting skills.

Yet while this system enforced by the Gods works for all, everyone knows a set of friends or lovers who were split when cruel fate chose to separate them. An Adventurer who left their town to Level while their Townsfolk lover stay behind. Most common age relationships are considered fleeting as a result, with one’s true partner often chosen after one’s road has been declared by the Gods.