Will stood on the castle wall, staring down at the orc encampment below. He had his bow equipped, just in case an errant orc ventured within range. It was unlikely, the orcs had learned their lesson on the first day of the siege. Regardless, he still made a point of coming up to check on the enemy at least once a day. He didn’t have a lot of other options to pass the time.

He didn’t flinch when a stone smashed into the wall below him, thrown by a catapult, but did steady himself on the closest parapet. The barrage had started on the second day, after the orcs had time to build the weapons, and continued non-stop. The wall was finally starting to show wear with small cracks forming wherever a boulder smashed into it. Will didn’t know if the damage was superficial, or signs that the wall was finally starting to crack. Honestly, he wasn’t sure which one he would prefer. At least the wall falling apart would give him something to do, but it also meant Torial was close to falling. When it did happen, if he wasn’t captured during the process, he’d have to find a way to stay hidden.

Which reminded him that it was about time he resumed his search for somewhere to do that. He’d found a couple spots already, though none were ideal. A couple were small gaps between buildings, none larger than space one or two people to sleep in. They would work if he couldn’t find anything else, but even a small fire would alert the orcs to its existence and two people weren’t enough to mount a fight to take back the city. A few others were rooftops surrounded by larger buildings, though anyone looking out a window would immediately spot him. The most promising was an abandoned courtyard, completely walled off from the outside. It was large enough for two dozen people to hide in, but easily spotted if any orcs decided to wander the roofs and had the same problem with starting a fire.

They would work for temporary spots, maybe even for storing supplies, but he needed something more secure and better hidden to act as a headquarters for his planned rebellion.

He made his way down the wall and walked down a nearby side street before ducking into an alley. He climbed up the stack of barrels and boxes, the same he’d been using for several days, to haul himself onto the roof.

He ran across the rooftops, leaping from across any gaps. At least nobody noticed him moving around up there. Apparently, it was true that nobody bothered to look up.

He reached stopped at a roof across the street from the administration building and crouched to survey the area. The gap was wider than anything he’d tried jumping before and there were a lot more guards in the street below. He couldn’t do anything about the guards, but it was the perfect opportunity for him to try his new idea out.

He drew an elven arrow from his quiver and the coil of rope, both purchased that morning, from his inventory. He laid the coil on the ground beneath him, stepping on one end and tying the other to the arrow. He aimed and fired the arrow above a statue, probably a depiction of the king, and waited a few seconds to see if anyone raised an alarm.

He slowly pulled the rope back. The arrow, now turned sideways because of him pulling on the rope, lodged between the statue’s upright sword and chest. Will tugged on it a few times to make sure it was secure and tied the other end around a chimney, using a taut line to pull the rope tight.

Will shimmied across, praying silently that the arrow would hold his weight. Once across, he climbed up the side of the building and onto the domed roof, almost sliding off a few times before reaching the center.

The view was stunning. He was at least three times as high as the city wall, the guards on it little more than ants from that distance, and the city was laid bare beneath him. He received a few notifications of new locations, places he hadn’t found during his wanderings through the city. He pulled up his map and adjusted its position so that he could still see. He marked a few likely spots with custom waypoints to check out later, when he spotted something surprising.

Several buildings and stone walls lined up to create a symbol he recognized from a game he used to play. It wouldn’t be visible from any other location in the city, but from right here it was plain as day. And it fit with the play style of the old game. There was no way the symbol was an accident. It had to be an Easter Egg. He marked the location on his map, hoping that whoever had programmed it had included more than just the symbol in the game.

Will worked his way back down the dome carefully, down the side of the building and across the rope. He tugged and twisted on the rope several times until the arrow worked its way off the statue. The rope fell across the street below, causing several people to look up and a guard to yelled at him.

Will cursed as he quickly reeled in the rest of the rope in and started running. Guards emerged on roofs behind him, calling for him to stop. He ignored them until an arrow whizzed by his head, followed by a second. He crouched as he ran aimlessly, looking for anywhere to hide and hoping that the guards would quickly forget about him if he did.

His only other option was getting ahead of the search, dropping back down to street level, and acting natural when guards ran past. That would be a gamble though, since he didn’t know if the guards needed direct line of sight to recognize him as a fugitive.

After a few minutes of searching in vain, Will decided trying to act natural was his only option. He spotted a stack of crates in an alley and jumped onto them. He dropped the rest of the way to the alley, the impact forcing him to one knee and scraping it in the process. He raced to the alley entrance and slipped into the flow of traffic. He glanced around as surreptitiously as he could manage, keeping an eye out for any guards, as he limped slightly down the street before furtively slipping into the first shop he passed.

He pretended to study the shop’s wares as guards raced by outside with a few stopping to investigate the area. The shopkeeper came out from the back, glanced at the guards in the street and at him. Will shrugged innocently, trying to convince the shopkeeper he was just as confused by the commotion.

The shopkeeper seemed to believe him and asked, “May I help you find anything?”

“Just looking for right now, but I’ll let you know.” Will said.

“Of course, sir.” The shopkeeper bowed slightly, “Please take your time.”

Will sighed in relief after the guards calmed down twenty minutes later and left the shop. He made a point of staying close to large groups whenever a guard came into view just in case. They were still looking for him, that much was obvious as they patrolled the streets nearby, but Will guessed they hadn’t gotten a good look at him. At least that much worked out in his favor, he thought.

He followed the map to the symbol’s location and started looking for a way back onto the roofs. He had to travel six blocks over before finding a tree next to a house. Reaching the building was a riddle in itself. The only path required him to work his way halfway around the building and further away from it, before using a trellis to drop down onto a stone ledge. From there, he had to use handholds to work his way around the building and leap across an alley to land on the roof where he’d set the custom waypoint.

There was an atrium at the center of the building with a ladder leading from the roof to the first floor. It was a two-story building, completely empty and as far as Will could tell, abandoned. He climbed down and a notification popped up.

You’ve Discovered a Faction Headquarters

Do you wish to claim it?

Yes

No