Chapter 3: A Boy, a Bird, and the Wrong Side of the Wall

The oil bottle clinked in Kiriti's bag as he crossed the east square.

Every few steps, he glanced behind him, unsure why. Nothing followed. No danger markers. No players waving swords around or spamming chat.

Just the quiet of midmorning Stonehollow, full of lazy cart wheels, muttering shopkeepers, and the occasional cough from inside shuttered windows.

Still, something buzzed at the edge of his senses.

A feeling like… he was being watched.

He shook it off and turned the corner past the chapel.

The north wall loomed ahead — not tall, but old. One of the first things he'd noticed when he arrived. The stones didn't match the rest of the town. They were darker. Cracked. Too clean in places, too mossy in others.

At the base of the wall sat a boy, maybe ten years old, tossing crumbs into the dirt.

A bird — thin-feathered, black with a patch of gold on its chest — hopped in a lopsided circle, pecking at the crumbs. Its wing looked bent.

Kiriti paused.

He didn't mean to.

His feet just… stopped.

The boy glanced up. Narrow eyes, pale skin, freckles like ink dots. His tunic was too big. One sleeve had been rolled twice.

"Don't scare her," he said.

Kiriti raised his hands. "Not trying to."

The bird flapped once, then settled again, watching Kiriti with what felt like caution.

"She's been like that since the frost," the boy said. "Won't fly."

Kiriti knelt down slowly, careful not to startle either of them.

"You named her?"

"Everyone's got a name," the boy said without looking.

Kiriti smiled faintly.

"That's true."

They sat like that for a while.No talking.Just the sound of wings rustling and crumbs falling.

Then the boy asked, "You're new, huh?"

"I am."

"You're the one who fixed the west gate?"

Kiriti blinked. "How'd you know?"

The boy grinned. "You think the gates oil themselves?"

He flicked a crumb toward the bird. "People talk."

"I didn't know they talked to kids."

"They talk to everyone who listens."

Kiriti turned that over in his mind.

Then asked, "What's your name?"

The boy hesitated.

Then: "They call me Patch."

"Is that your real name?"

"No. But it's the one I earned."

Kiriti thought about that.

Patch leaned back on his elbows and looked at the wall behind him.

"You see it?"

Kiriti followed his gaze.

In the mortar between two stones — barely visible — was a scratch.

Not a crack.

A mark. Etched with care.

Three vertical lines, one across. Like a tally.

"What is that?" Kiriti asked.

Patch shrugged. "Old story. People say there was another village here, long before Stonehollow. Burned to the ground. They say this wall is all that's left."

Kiriti stared at the mark.

"You believe that?"

Patch didn't answer directly.

He stood, dusted off his pants.

"I believe birds remember places people forget."

He looked at Kiriti.

Then — almost an afterthought — asked:

"You gonna be here long?"

"I hope so."

"Good. Most people don't stay."

Then he whistled once.

The bird flapped, stumbled — and lifted off the ground for half a second.

Kiriti watched it wobble into the sky.

Patch was already gone.

He stood there for a while, staring at the mark.

Then he looked up.

Across the square, standing half-hidden beneath the shadow of the chapel arch, was a figure in full leather armor — clean, new, polished. Sword at the hip. White gloves. The kind of cosmetics only paying players had access to.

Her nametag hovered faintly above her head:

[PLAYER] Revi • Lvl 18 • Wandering Blades]

She was watching him.

Not openly hostile.

Just… observing.

When Kiriti met her eyes, she smiled faintly.

Then turned and walked the other way.

He stood alone at the wall.

And finally noticed what else had been carved beneath the tally marks.

Two words. Faint. Etched by someone with a shaky hand.

"Still here."

📄 [SYSTEM NOTE: Memory Node - Wall 3/12 Located]Flagged by Player Kiriti• Anchor Response: Escalated• Legacy Trace Match: Confirmed

— Tracking Additional Thread: Player "Revi" — Observation Level Raised