A one shot I decided to do since I am having a hard time writing about other stuff. Anyway, I apologize for not putting something up in a while.

As always, readers you are appreciated and enjoy

JB

Who would have thought it would come to this? Kirito wondered as he jostled up and down on the horse's saddle. His thoughts were cut off as he tried to regain his balance. This was a terrible annoyance considering his hands were tied together and his head was covered by a rough burlap sack. The first time he lost his stability he fell off landing with a thud on the ground and knocking the air out of his lungs. His captors had roared with laughter as they prodded him back into the saddle. Falling became less frequent but staying in the saddle took considerable effort. He was sitting upright in his saddle again trying to gather his thoughts once more. He judged it was late afternoon from the warm heat that struck his shoulders and back. Of course he was never quite sure what time it was or what was going on because of stuffy bag that made him light-headed. Kirito hardly noticed when the party of horses stopped. His hijackers unpacked and threw him to the ground someplace garnering another oomph from him. We must still be in the plains Kirito concluded as his body brushed uncomfortably with tall grass that swayed with the wind. Pushing his comfort aside, he returned to his routine thought process of possible ways he could escape the situation he was in. For the seventh time that day he came up with none, and for the seventh time that day he wondered who would have thought it would come to this? The creeping darkness of night approached and reminded him of the night he got himself into this mess.

Two days earlier Kirito was selected to beta test for the new game Sword Art Online. From the time he started, he had not logged off since. As a beginner, Kirito was simply trying to grasp the gameplay. In the new beta, not everyone needed to be an adventurer but could simply live an "ordinary" life in Aincrad. To test this aspect out, Kirito started farming to become acquainted with the feel of the game and the adaptability of the AIs. Part of Kirito's daily quests were to help care for a flock of sheep that the castle lord owned. To generate revenue and experience, Kirito had to check the flock for abrasions, nurse the young lambs, and protect the flock from attack. According to the AIs Kirito had talked to, a few years ago a group of bandits started harassing the land. Lord Heathcliff required all farmers to be issued standard weapons. As a result, Kirito was provided two base-level daggers. When the flock was in no imminent danger, he spent his time practicing with his weapons on nearby trees or imaginary targets.

On this day, after he was done taking care of the sheep, he gathered his things and trudged under the shadow of castle Gersambre. He set off to find his special area where he could relax after a hard day's work. It was an old gnarled tree that had grown on the wall of the castle. He scrambled up the tree and near the top of the tree he hopped off onto the garrison of the castle wall. Perching himself on the ledge he looked up at the night sky. He loved coming up here and taking time to look at the beauty of the moon and stars. It was a sight that was often difficult to see back in reality because of the clouds or light from the city. However, in this world, there was nothing but a vast expanse of the night lit by thousands of stars. Kirito pulled his cloak around his body tighter as he felt the chill of the night and dipped his chin closer to his chest.

Kirito awoke with a start. He sat up and murmured to himself, "Must have drifted off." Looking around for the reason he woke up he realized it was a sound that had disturbed his sleep. Then he heard it clearly for the first time. Hoof beats. Two pairs of them. Who would be riding at this time of night? Maybe they needed help? He slipped down from the wall, back into the tree, and shimmied down. He started towards the two hooded figures on horseback. When he was still thirty meters away from the strangers he called out the normal statement the gatekeeper was programed to say, "State your name and business." Kirito smiled at the thought. He sounded a lot like one of the people in the game when he used their same jargon. The strangers started in his direction, speeding up from walk to canter. Kirito yelled again a little louder this time, "Name and business!" They sped up again, to a half-gallop, only fifteen meters away. It was now that Kirito realized there was something afoot. He turned about and yelled out to the snoozing guard. He screamed louder, panic rising in his throat as he glanced back at the galloping figures getting closer and closer by the second. If they were AIs part of a quest, a notification should have appeared. If they were players, they should have had green indicators and health markers. Why then, did these charging horsemen lack all characteristics of normal characters? Amidst his frantic questions of the gameplay, Kirito finally remembered his weapons in the small leather sack he carried. Before he could even start to pick up his bag he felt a searing pain behind his left ear, then nothing, just blackness. And now I'm here. Kirito recollected, stuck amidst these strange thugs, going who knows where. His grim mood deepened even more when he realized that no one would try to come looking for him. He was a player and he hadn't activated a quest despite his circumstance.

Kirito slept fitfully that night. Just as the gray streaks of dawn struck the darkness he was surrounded in, he came to a conclusion. He was going to escape. However, his idea was halted as he was hoisted to his feet and greeted by a gruff voice, "Get up on your feet you lazy swine." Kirito's muscles screamed in protest as he shuffled blindly towards his horse. They broke camp and headed out on their intended course once again. He was up in his saddle again, battling to stay upright the entire day. Kirito sensed that they had entered a forest area because the wind died down and forest creatures could be heard scurrying about. The sun was just starting to kiss the horizon when they stopped. It was only a moment of respite before they started again. It was as if the robbers had stopped to glance at the sunset. Kirito could hear a distorted noise from their position. As they continued to trot ahead, he could make out the distinct sound of men hustling about driving tent pegs into the ground and arguing with each other. The party slowed down to a walk as they headed through what must have been the main camp. Previous conversations died as they continued on the path towards middle-camp. The group came to a halt and Kirito was shoved from his saddle by one of the men. Caught off guard, he tumbled awkwardly, landing face first into the dirt. This time, more than just the men he was kidnapped by broke out into side-splitting laughter. Kirito blindly scrambled to his feet, furious at all the men around him. He was forced back on his rump and his hands were released from the ever-present rope. He rubbed the raw and bloodied area around his hands tenderly. His relief would be cut short as his wrists were quickly tied off again, only this time they were attached to a stake as well. Just like an unruly bull tied to a fence post he fumed silently. A cool burst of air greeted Kirito as the burlap sack was yanked from his head. He sat there for a moment savoring the freedom from his cranial prison. The moment ended abruptly, as he was kicked in the side by the leader of his two imprisoners. This was the first time he had seen his captors faces clearly and frankly, he wasn't surprised by their appearances. The leader's face was scarred from many fights. His nose was disfigured, bent awkwardly to one side due to repeated broken noses. His face was dirtied and his hair was a matted mess. He wasn't a tall man but was instead quite stout and plump. As for his partner, tall, burly, and scowling, he was one not to be reckoned with. Kirito looked about the camp for the first time. The men around his part of the camp were very similar to the two he had encountered already, unkempt hair and scars in various places. They were a ragtag group of assorted lawbreakers: pickpockets, cutthroats, and pirates and they all lack quest markers, health gauges, or player indicators, strange…Kirito thought. This camp must have been the main vein of the bandits harassing the castle land, there must be thousands of men camping here.

The next day he was untied from his stake. The rope around his hands was untied and placed around his neck instead instead. He soon learned the reason why. He was led to the edge of the forest where stumps poked out from the ground. There were others bound similarly being led to the tree-line. He was given an ax and was shoved toward a tree. He gazed at the others around him chopping trees with vacant expressions. A sharp pain around his neck reminded him that he should cut down the tree in front of him. As he methodically hacked away at the trunk of his tree he contemplated why this unruly gang of men would need so much wood. Obviously, there was more than enough already chopped to tend to fires so what else could they need it for? The sun was long gone beyond the horizon when he was pushed back into camp. Exhausted, he complied quickly. His neck was burning from the coarse rope and his hands were blistering badly. He sat himself back by his stake in the ground and sunk his head into his chest. Before his rogue captor could finish the knot on his hands, Kirito was sleeping soundly. He was awoken by raised voices; two men emerged from a much larger tent. Kirito hastily put his head back down into his chest and steadied his breathing again. Kirito picked up some of the conversation as the men paused near his post. "Sir, we need more time, the weapons aren't quite ready to move." Then a second replied in a threateningly quiet tone, "Well then you better get them ready by today because we can't have a siege without siege weapons now can we?" Kirito's mind was racing. They were going to lay siege on the castle? They had an organized plan and leader? Then it all started to form in Kirito's mind. So that's why those two men were around the castle! They were scouting it. That's the reason they had me and all the other prisoners chopping down trees, to make siege weapons Kirito thought alarmingly. I have to get out of this camp and warn the lord; who knows what will happen to the game or the programming if these thugs destroy the castle. Dawn was a couple hours away Kirito estimated. In that time, he worked furiously at his bonds with no avail. Thinking on his circumstance, Kirito tried to come up with an explanation for these strange events. I could just log out and then come back and see if this is a glitch. Or maybe this is the way the beta ends by having an undefeatable army ruin the landscape and force everyone off the server. Something still doesn't feel right about it and I'm going to find out for myself. The sun was just peeking its head up when he found a flaw in his holding place. The stake he was tied to was loose from all his struggling. If he grabbed the stake and pulled up, while moving his hands down he would eventually be free from his makeshift prison. It was too late to try at this hour.

The next day's work consisted of splitting the wood into planks or stripping logs of their bark. Kirito purposefully split his logs terribly doing all he could to mess up the pieces their plans. That night, no matter how exhausted he was, Kirito was going to escape. He allowed a few hours to pass to make sure all the men had retired to their quarters before working on his plan. Like he had prearranged, he pulled up the stake and slid his hands down. Fortunately, his hands slid free of the pole, unfortunately, his wrists were still tightly bound. He moved stealthily towards the area he had worked at that day to find an axe. He spotted one not far from a disassembled war machine. He rubbed the coarse rope against the axe. Once the sharp axe head bit through the rope he grabbed the tool and sprinted to a pen where the horses were kept. He quickly picked one, led it unobtrusively out of camp, and hopped up onto its back digging his heels into its side. He wanted to get as much of a lead as he could on the enemy before they mobilized for the castle. He didn't stop to make camp at all during his two-day ride. By the time the castle was in view, his eyes were red rimmed and half shut and his whole body was saddle sore. Seeing the castle again gave him renewed hope. He quickened the horse's pace and trotted up to the gate. The guard leaned over the ramparts, "State your name and business." Kirito grinned wearily up at the guard, "You would not believe how much trouble that will cause you sir. Now let me in! I've got vital news for the lord concerning his land's security. Seeing no harm in a single man, the guard Kirito through. Kirito quickly dismounted and went straight to the keep and raced up the stairs. At the top he was stopped by lord Heathcliff's clerk. He was a scrawny man with white wisps of hair protruding from his skull. Barely looking up from glasses perched on the rim of his nose the clerk replied, "I'm sorry but you need to make previous arrangements with the lord for a meeting." Kirito had no time for this. He pulled out the ax he had with him and checked its weight. It was similar in balance to his knife. He drew back slightly and threw the ax. It embedded itself in the wall next to the man's head. Practice with his knives did not go to waste. Speechless, the clerk looked in shock at the ax buried in the post beside him. Kirito looked at him seriously, "Consider yourself lucky, it could have been your head. Now I need to speak with lord Heathcliff, or would you rather try your luck with a second throw?" The clerk gulped and opened the door to Heathcliff's study and announced, "Someone to see you, my lord." Lord Heathcliffe looked up from his own work and grunted his thanks to the clerk. Kirito didn't waste time with formalities, "Your castle and your land are in danger." The lord looked up from his papers and raised his eyebrow in an inquisitorial way. He gestured for Kirito to continue. "Well, my lord, there is a group of bandits; the ones that have been raiding the land." Heathcliffe replied quickly, "There aren't enough to attack this castle my boy; the raids have consisted of no more than fifty men." Kirito countered just as fast, "There are a lot more than that. They are all part of a large group numbering in the thousands." The lord's questioning facial expression was repeated. Kirito then recounted the past few days of his capture and escape. Lord Heathcliffe exhaled and nodded pensively. Before he could ask the question on his mind, Kirito answered it for him, "They are a little over a day away. When I escaped they had finished the siege engines and were going to head out that afternoon." Lord Heathcliffe suddenly looked a few years older after being laden with this problem, "So what do you suggest doing against thousands of men? I only have a few hundred garrisoned and by the time reinforcements come, the bandits will have the castle." Kirito smirked and leaned closer to Heathcliffe, "That's what I think I can help you with."

The next twenty-four hours at the castle grounds were chaos. Kirito's plan was put into action immediately. People and soldiers were rushing about trying to finish everything as the enemy came into view. The menacing group of ruffians trudged toward the front of the castle wall, armed with their battering rams, scaling ladders, and a massive catapult. Kirito sprinted along the garrison giving orders to the various AIs after being bestowed authority by the king. He had brought in as many of the people from the surrounding countryside in order to protect them and use them for defense. Why did I bring so many people into the castle? They are just additional characters set up by the computer. Is it because I spent so much time trying to be like them that I ended up becoming attached to them? I can't just leave someone behind though. Kirito shook the matter from his mind and proceeded to set up the defenses. He stopped for a moment and surveyed the intimidating army in front of him. Now this feels more like a quest!

The undisciplined mass of brigands charged straight for the castle gate in haphazard form with no pattern whatsoever. As Kirito watched, he clenched his teeth in angry confusion. This just doesn't match up with ordinary games. There is always a pattern, despite how sporadic it looks. Unless this system can handle individual personalities and battle styles separately for a group of enemies. Kirito's frown transformed into a grin as he considered the capabilities of the beta test. I do love a challenge! The battering rams went first up against the castle gate, thrashing and hammering the door, splintering the wood. Kirito directed villagers drop stones, heavy tools, and other assorted objects down on the narrow line of attackers at the gate. Meanwhile, a smaller force, including the leader of the bandits, was sent around to the tree on the wall. The attack on the gate was a diversion! They planned to infiltrate the castle by climbing up the tree into the castle! As the small party clambered around the tree, the primary army backed up from the gate toward the walls of the castle with scaling ladders. When the men approached the wall they were met by a surprise. The ground underneath them gave way and a vast majority of the attackers found themselves in a pit that ran along half the outside castle wall. Once in the pit, they were susceptible to attacks from soldiers who rushed out of the gate and from the continued storm of objects thrown by villagers. Above ground, remaining ruffians were thrown into disarray with half their army vanishing into a pit. Now they had no way to breach the castle with a moat between them and the castle. They either fled seeing the battle was lost or were cut down by the castle's knights and ordinary country folk. The small raid party was unaware of the development at the front of the castle. When they emerged from the tree they found themselves surrounded by soldiers.

The celebration feast went late into the night. All were invited no matter how lowly or high in rank they were. Kirito sat at the head of the table with Lord Heathcliffe. Throughout the whole celebration he was bombarded with questions about his story and he was forced to retell it time after time. After dessert, Lord Heathcliffe stood and called for silence in the dining hall. Soon all that could be heard was the crackle of the fire stoked by the remains of the enemy's unused catapult. When all was still, he stood and addressed Kirito, "Kirito you have truly done your kingdom a great service, if it had not been for your capture and escape we might not be here." There was a general murmur of agreement through the hall. Lord Heathcliffe continued, "Because of your bold acts I would like to offer up the crest of this castle to you as a distinguished symbol. You are permitted with it to enter these grounds and be a part of this council whenever you like." Kirito was confused slightly at the reward for such a dangerous quest. Maybe it meant an unlimited amount of gold because I can use the castle as I please. Maybe it means I can take the most powerful weapons in the castle which would be much higher level than my twin daggers. Kirito shrugged at the thought and assumed whatever the crest meant, it would be to his benefit. He stood silently, bowed, and replied, "It would be my honor." The lord beamed down at Kirito. Lord Heathcliffe then fastened a white shield with a red cross to Kirito's shirt. Applause broke out from the hall in recognition of the gift. Kirito looked up at the king, "But now who will take care of the sheep?" The hall burst into a chorus of laughter. More drinks were brought out along with minstrels. The people of the hall commenced dancing to folk songs and ditties. Kirito remained seated, stewing over the gaps in the quest he had just undertaken. A voice interrupted his thoughts, "So you managed to get the AIs to defend the castle by commanding them to do their ordinary tasks such as holding an axe, rock, or tool and then dropping them? It was quite an ingenious way of solving the problem." Kirito whirled around to find Lord Heathcliffe standing beside him with eyes fixed on the merriment in front of him. He peered at the Lord closer. He also doesn't have an indicators of being a player or AI! What does this mean? Is there a problem with the game so some characters do not register on the screen? Lord Heathcliffe placed his hand on Kirito's shoulder firmly and continued to speak, "I'm glad I found someone with your skill and ingenuity. Hold onto that crest. I'll be keeping a close eye on you from now on." Kirito grew more and more uncomfortable with the hand on his shoulder and the way Lord Heathcliffe was speaking. It's as if he is another player but he doesn't show any signs of a normal player. The whole situation seemed off to him. No notifications, no markers, no new contacts. In fact, it was as if the game had become reality because of the lack of virtual effects. Intrigued, Kirito turned to ask the mysterious Lord of the castle but when he turned, the man was gone. The hall was unchanged by absence of the Lord and the awkwardness of Kirito. I guess it is just a beta test. They will fix some of the problems before it is released.

That night Kirito was sitting on the castle wall by his favorite tree staring at the stars. Things will never be the same he concluded as he thumbed the tiny metallic shield in his hand. As long as there are stars to look at, I will never forget this night he figured. He shifted his position finding a piece of rumble poking into his back. Kirito sat atop the castle wall for a moment, and then sighed, "Who would've thought it would come to this." Kirito looked up again at the stars. They started to shift as if time were passing rapidly. The who sky appeared to increase in speed until the night grew brighter and brighter. Kirito braced himself and shut his eyes in response to the odd phenomenon. When he opened his eyes again, there was a pair of eyes above him. It was his sister. "Finally, your finished with you game. C'mon brother you've got to eat something. You've been playing that game non-stop for the past few days." Kirito shifted and sat up awkwardly unaccustomed to moving in reality. He shook his head as he tried to recall what exactly had happened. Was that the end of it? Did I beat the beta or did I make it crash? Whatever, I'm starving. Kirito got to his feet and walked groggily down to the kitchen where onigiri was waiting for him on the table. As he sat the words of Heathcliffe rang in his ears, "I'll be keeping a close eye on you from now on."

"From now on"?