When they came to the metal ladder running up the outside of the exchanger building, Jin looked at the bloodstains and stiffness and thought to ask, “Can you climb?”

The little man stared upward. “It’s not my favorite activity. How far up does this castle keep really go?”

“Just to the top.”

“That would be, um, two stories?” He added in a low mutter, “Or twenty?”

Jin said, “Just three. My hideout’s on the roof.”

“The hideout part sounds good.” The man licked at his cracked lips with a dry-looking tongue. He really did need water, Jin guessed. “Maybe you’d better go first. In case I slip.”

“I have to go last to raise the ladder.”

“Oh. All right.” A small, square hand reached out to grip a rung. “Up. Up is good, right?” He paused, drew a breath, then lurched skyward.

Jin followed as lightly as a lizard. Three meters up, he stopped to crank the ratchet that raised the ladder out of reach of the unauthorized and latch it. Up another three meters, he came to the place where the rungs were replaced by broad steel staples, bolted to the building’s side. The little man had managed them, but now seemed stuck on the ledge.

“Where am I now?” he called back to Jin in tense tones. “I can feel a drop, but I can’t be sure how far down it really goes.”

What, it wasn’t that dark. “Just roll over and fall, if you can’t lift yourself. The edge-wall’s only about half a meter high.”

“Ah.” The sock feet swung out and disappeared. Jin heard a thump and a grunt. He popped over the parapet to find the little man sitting up on the flat rooftop, fingers scraping at the grit as if seeking a handhold on the surface.