 While Kel makes extraordinary progress throughout the book, her fear of heights torments her throughout her time as a page.Though Lord Wyldon attempts to force her to face her fears by assigning height related chores/punishments, she remains terrified until the day of her page examinations.An hour before the exam she gets an anonymous message that Lalasa has been kidnapped and left atop Balor's Needle – the highest tower in Tortall.