Free Ascendant by Craig Alanson

over the
edge of the roof was to turn around and slide down on his belly, head-first.
    Koren froze.
The roof seemed impossibly steep now that he was facing downward. Slowly, inch
by inch, he slid along the roof, trying to ignore the butterflies in his
stomach. Reaching the edge, he gathered up his courage and crept forward until
his nose was over the edge, and he could see down.
    Impossible.
There was no pipe, no stone column. The roof ended in an overhang less than a
foot wide, then a flat stone wall all the way down to the courtyard, four
stories below.
    Koren tried to
slide back up, but his pants and shirt got snagged on the roof tiles, and a
tile broke. It clattered along the roof and out into the air, Koren desperately
reached for it and caught it between two fingers. There were people in the
courtyard, a falling roof tile would have made people notice the boy on the
roof, and then it would be straight to the dungeon for him. Carefully, he laid
the broken tile on the roof next to him, and then found he could not move.
Catching the tile had caused him to slide forward, his shoulders were almost
over the edge of the roof. Another inch forward, and he would slide off the
roof and fall. His fingers scrambled for a hold on the slippery tiles, without
success. Koren closed his eyes, unable to look down.
     
    “ Hello over there! ” Called a voice from the
same window Koren had escaped through. Koren carefully opened one eye to look,
and saw a tall, dark-haired man in a purple robe leaning out the window. “ That looks very dangerous.
What are you doing out on the roof? Be careful, or you ’ ll fall off. ” The man asked as he
stepped out the window onto the narrow ledge. Before Koren ’ s disbelieving eyes, the
man strolled casually along the narrow ledge, not holding onto the wall, with a
small plate of pastries in one hand. When he reached the roof, the man stepped
up onto the roof tiles, walked over to Koren, and scooped him up as if he were
light as a feather. He carried Koren under his arm to the peak of the roof, set
the boy down carefully, and lowered himself down next to Koren.
    “ It is a nice view up here. ” The man said. “ But it seems like a lot of
trouble to go through just to see the sights. Why, you have gotten your new
clothes all dirty! You ’ ll
have to change into something presentable before you meet the Regent, of
course. So, whatever made you climb out onto the roof? Your shoulder is still
healing, it would not be good to have you undo all my hard work. ”
    Koren could
only stare open-mouthed at the man, his eyes almost popping out of his head.
How could this man have walked along the ledge, and onto the roof, as if he
were strolling down a country lane? “ Sir,
are you, are you a wizard ? ” Koren asked fearfully.
    Paedris held
up his right hand, palm open. A ball of flame appeared, floating above his
hand. He winked at Koren, and the flame went out. “ I ’ m terribly sorry, where
are my manners today? I haven ’ t
introduced myself. I am Lord Paedris Don Salva de la Murta, chief wizard to the
royal court of Tarador. I am the only wizard in the royal court, actually, but
chief wizard sounds so much more impressive, don ’ t you think? ”
    Koren nodded
silently.
    “ And your name is? ”
    “ K-Koren. Koren B-Bladewell.
Sir. Of, of Crickdon county. ”
    The wizard
held out his hand to Koren, who shook it warily. “ Pleased to meet you, Koren. Now, why were you
out on the roof? Take a deep breath first, and calm yourself, I ’ d hate for you to roll off
the roof now. ”
    Koren didn ’ t trust the wizard, who
had likely pulled Koren out of danger so he could be thrown into the dungeon,
which was the proper place for a poacher, bandit and kidnapper. “ I heard two women talking
when they thought I was asleep, Sir, they said I am a poacher, and that I was
trying to kidnap that girl because I ’ m
a bandit. I am not a bandit, and if this Duke didn ’ t want me hunting in his
private