Cat and Mouse

Under the cover of darkness, Manco approached the town's south-east corner. Atop the five-meter high embattled stone walls, several guards were visible on the walkway behind the battlement. One of them was lighting the torches set alongside the wall, while the others were standing in groups of twos or threes and chatting. They all seemed quite relaxed.

Keeping a close eye on the guards, he took out his repeating crossbow and loaded the armor-piercing bolts.

When the patrolling guard was far enough away from the corner, he fired.

*Twang!*

*Crunch!*

The bolt was embedded in the wall, about a forearm's length away from the top. He stayed still and listened. None of the guards reacted to the noise.

*Twang!*

*Twang!*

*Twang!*

…

Slowly, he fired a dozen bolts in a zig-zag pattern from the top down.

He put away the crossbow. After making sure the guards weren't looking, he sneaked to the spot where he fired the bolts.

He quickly made his way up, using the bolts as handholds and footholds. They were quite resilient and could hold his weight without snapping.

Grabbing the edge of a crenel, he hauled himself over and pressed himself flat on the walkway.

He lay still for a moment, head swiveling to check the guards on either side of him and the church's bell tower.

No movements. Either they hadn't spotted him, or they were smart and didn't tip their hands.

Besides the town center, Broken Hill could be loosely divided into four major areas.

- North-west (right next to Aegis River): Dock District.

- South-west: Tavern District.

- South-east: Housing Quarter. This was were Manco was currently in.

- North-east: Craftsman's Quarter

Of course such a division was oversimplified. The actual distribution of buildings was not nearly as cut-and-dry. For example, the Tavern District stretched from the south-west to the north-west quadrant. The majority of the residential houses were situated in the Housing Quarter at the south-east quadrant, but some were scattered in other areas as well.

Most importantly for Manco, his spawn point, the Sleepy Hollow Inn, was not in Tavern District, but right here in the Housing Quarter, nestled in a small and relatively quiet alley.

If he wanted to, he could have dashed straight to the inn and log out, but that would give away his spawn point. He would have to lead them to believe he stayed in the Tavern District first.

'Here we go!' Rolling off the walkway, he plunged down the ground below.

「Float」

Landing without a sound, he dashed off forward into an alley between a stable and a warehouse. After a few twists and turns, he began heading west.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

[I see him! He's entered the Housing Quarter!] Morana spoke. Her party was now in a private group voice chat channel. Now that another player was around, they couldn't afford to use the public channel.

[Oh! You managed to 'observe and report'? I thought you'd throw a Fireball at him or something!] BoneCrusha's teasing voice grated in Morana's ear.

He wasn't wrong. Just now, she saw Manco climbing over the wall, as if mocking her for expecting him to use the gates. She almost wanted to fling a Fireball toward at him, but managed to reign herself in. At this distance, she would miss, and even if she scored a hit, all it did was alerting him to their presence.

[Well done, sis! You're getting better at this cloak and dagger stuff!] Galaad joined in for a jab.

[Shut the fuck up, Galaad!]

'What a bunch of twats!' Gnashing her teeth, she strained her eyes for any suspicious movements.

The town at dusk was lively. Carts and carriages carrying people and tools were entering through all the gates. People were milling about everywhere. The clamor of the market right below her constantly disrupted her focus. Normally she would appreciate the game's effort to make the settlements seem alive, but right now she wished this place were a ghost town.

[Someone entered my Vigiled area in Tavern District!] Galaad reported.

[I saw him! I'm following him!] Oneshot confirmed.

[Keep your distance! See which building he's entering!] Morana ordered.

From atop the church's bell tower, she looked at Tavern District. This time of day, it was the most crowded part of town. Mercenaries, traders, laborers, even the slaves. People of all races, classes and trades would gather here at the end of the day for a hot meal, a few drinks to unwind, someone to warm the bed, or preferably all three. It would be impossible to spot one person from where she stood. She needed a closer look.

「Featherfall 」!

Having lightened herself, she jumped from the bell tower to the barrack's roof. Afterward, she cast 「Haste」 on herself and began dashing from rooftop to rooftop toward Oneshot's location.

Eyes darting left and right, she saw Saarkas and SilentDeath also running on rooftops. A quick glance at the minimap told her Galaad and BoneCrusha were also on their way.

[Find covers!] she ordered.

Except for Oneshot who was trailing the target, the other four followed their previous arrangement. They took positions on rooftops or inside abandoned buildings overlooking the streets that divided the south-west quadrant from the rest of the town. If Manco left this area, they would hopefully spot him.

As for Morana, she would join the ranger to trail the target.

"Hey, get down from there!"

Jumping down from the roof of a bakery, she answered the owner's protests with a middle finger as she scanned the streets and alleys.

Two children brushed past her, giggling as they shared a loaf of candied bread.

Two mercenaries chatted with two prostitutes in a dark alley.

A bard shared a drink with a beggar.

Someone wearing leather armor looked around sneakily, then ducked into a tavern.

There!

[He's entered a tavern called Gold Rush!] Oneshot reported. Morana could see his head poking out behind a grill stand at a distance.

[I see him too. Keep your eyes on the front door!] She replied.

Shoving aside the two children holding candied bread, Morana ignored their wails as she approached the tavern named Gold Rush.

She believed he wouldn't be stupid enough to go straight to his real hideout. So she didn't enter the tavern, but instead circled around and found a position overlooking an alley leading to Gold Rush's backdoor.

Sure enough, a minute later, the same leather armor-clad man emerged from the alley. She focused on the man.

[Manco the FaceWrecker (lv.25 Crimson Mage)]

'Christ! What a retarded name!' muttering under her breath, she followed him.

He headed north, deftly weaving between people, horses, carts, stalls and houses. Occasionally he innocuously stopped to check behind him. Despite herself, she couldn't help but admire the way he gracefully moved and narrowly avoided collisions without breaking strides.

'What the fuck are you thinking? Focus!' Chiding herself, she checked her team's positions and belatedly realized OneShot was still watching Gold Rush's front door.

[OneShot, follow me! He just left the tavern and is heading north! Saarkas, BoneCrusher, watch the street! He's heading toward you two!]

Three sounds of affirmation let her know her commands were heard.

Manco didn't keep heading north, but circled back to the heart of Tavern District.

[Nevermind, he's circled back. Oneshot, do you see him? Tall guy in brown leather armor, armed with daggers and a crossbow.]

[Yeah, yeah I see him!]

[Good! Keep your eyes open! Everyone else hold position.]

This continued for a few more minutes. Manco would enter a building, then emerge from another exit, or jump to an adjacent building in an attempt to shake off any pursuers. Morana and Oneshot almost lost him a few times, but they always managed to catch a glimpse of him and were back on the chase.

At a junction ahead, he crouched down next to a beggar and furtively glanced back. She pressed against the wall behind a stack of barrels smelling of stale beer. Peering out of the gap between the barrels, she saw him making a right turn.

Unhurriedly, she followed his path and turned right.

'When the hell is he gonna stop wandering around?' She grumbled inwardly as her foot stepped on something that went 'Click!'

'What the…?'

*SNAP!* *CRUNCH!*

Pain shot up her leg as something clamped down on her right calf.

[AAArrrggh! Fuck!] She reflexively shouted. Despite the lowered pain sensation, it was almost as painful as being stabbed by several needles.

Looking down, she saw what looked like an improvised bear trap. It wasn't chained to the ground, so she could still move around, but the hunk of metal teeth piercing the flesh on her leg was painful as hell.

[Jesus! My ears! What happened?] Someone asked.

[He fucking trapped me! With a bear trap!]

[You need any help?] The cleric asked.

[No! I'll free myself!] Morana refused. Galaad and SilentDeath were watching the street leading from the town center to the south gate, separating the Tavern District from the Housing District.

Drinking a potion to bring her health back up, she cast Freezing Touch on herself then put her hand on the trap, freezing it. Then, clenching her teeth, she followed up with a Fireball. The cheap metal trap immediately shattered, leaving behind a witch with a broken, bleeding and badly burned right leg.

[He got me too!] Oneshot reported, his voice sounded as if he was crying. [A bear trap, too!]

'Fuck!' Morana hung her head. This is the most humiliating thing ever! Six people and they couldn't track a single player.

[Do we keep watching?] SilentDeath inquired, running out of patience.

[Yes! Galaad, Come over here and help Oneshot and I].

[Got it!] The cleric replied. The burning and bleeding status effects would wear off by themselves. Her leg, however, was broken and needed a cleric's spell to fix.

A light chuckle drifted to her ear and was instantly drowned within the cacophony of sounds from the nearby taverns. Shaking her head, she waited for Galaad to come.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

From a nearby rooftop, Manco saw the cleric rushing over to help the witch. Two of the dozen traps he laid had sprung. Directly attacking other players wasn't allowed, but it didn't mean he couldn't mess them up with traps.

'Play time's over, kiddos!' Smiling, he left his hiding spot and dashed toward the east, where there was now a gap in their encirclement.

One person was nowhere near enough to check the entire street separating Tavern District to the Housing Quarter.

Manco simply swapped to his ratty old clothes, joined a bunch of drunks, trotted across the street. Without a care, he walked to the Sleepy Hollow tavern, where he logged out.