Chapter 22

"Enjoy your girl talk?" He tried to hide the sarcasm in his voice, but considering this was Argo he was thinking about it was still dripping with it.

"She said she'll be busy for a while so you'll need to find someone else to cry to when you need help." Jemza's retort was quick like her dagger and stabbed just as hard.

"I didn't cry to her. She embellishes the truth and twists it to suit her needs. You know this." By this point Jayce was arguing defensively which meant of course that he lost. Women were by far the most dangerous thing in this game, he was beginning to think.

"Shouldn't be much further. Wonder what she meant by my assets?" Jemza asked the last question quietly under her breath. She looked down at her body on instinct and shook her head. Argo refused to explain what she meant, but there's no way she would have sent Jemza on some strange quest that used her body right?

The two had walked west along the main road until Jemza guided them down a twisting alley. Side streets and alleyways weren't uncommon, but this one was unique. It turned and dipped in places that did not feel natural to a city. It wasn't long before Jayce rested his hand on the pommel of his sword as they walked. Within the city confines the System protected them, but the dank alley made him nervous. Whatever info Jemza had bought from Argo was beginning to feel dangerous.

"What the…" Jemza's voice trailed off as they rounded a corner and faced a large brick wall. Various buildings with doorways had trailed down either side of the alley as they walked, but this dead end was clearly not something the white haired girl had been anticipating.

"I'd ask if we took a wrong turn, but there really wasn't any turns to take aside from the main alley." Jayce turned looking back the way they came. Jemza ran her hands along the wall and sighed loudly.

"Exactly, this has to be it. Just doesn't make sense." She was upset that much was obvious. He doubted that Argo's information was wrong and she was most likely thinking the same thing. What was frustrating her now was the fact that she had missed something along the way.

"Ok, what did she tell you exactly. We can figure this out." Jayce walked next to her and placed his hand on the wall getting her attention.

"Not much. She just said to find this alley and follow it until it ends. An NPC would provide us with the quest. Actually…she did mention that specific triggers needed to be met before we could accept it." Jemza tapped her chin thinking back on her conversation with Argo. Jayce opened his inventory and removed the gloves from his hands before placing one back on the wall.

"I think you led us to the right spot. This dead end is way too…oddly placed I guess I'd call it. Why would there be a dead end like this at the end of such a long alleyway?" The question he asked was mostly rhetorical, but Jemza mimicked his motion removing her gloves before touching the wall.

"Because it's not a dead end." There was no upward inflection at the end meaning she wasn't asking, she knew.

"Yeah, I think that's the trick. The question now is how do we proceed?" The girl beside him opened her eyes wide like she had remembered something important. She tapped the air in front of her near where her skills were listed. Jayce couldn't see any of the interface she saw, but could tell based off how his own looked that she was doing something with her skills.

"Assets…now it all makes sense. Remind me to never underestimate that girl." Jemza crouched down and began running her hand along the ground where the wall met the pavement.

"What are you mumbling about down there?" He couldn't see whatever it was she was looking at let alone understand what she was referring to. He kneeled down beside her, but as far as he could tell the wall and pavement held nothing unique.

"When we both hit level six we got our third skill slot right? You took Hiding I assume since you are able to sneak around with me. I already had Hiding so I took the skill opposite to that." Jayce's eyes lit up understanding now where she was going with this.

"Searching" She nodded in response and as she did her finger slipped under the wall a few inches. With a wide smile she pushed into a shallow depression under the wall creating a loud click.

"You're amazing." Jayce said it in wonder as the brick wall rotated revealing a pathway leading further into the heart of the city. The fear and nervousness from before was replaced with excitement as they two crossed the threshold. The wall spun back into place behind them, but a visible switch to open it once more was attached to one of the buildings beside it.

"It's like a secret passageway." Her voice was as excited sounding as he felt inside.

"What did you mean by assets?" Jayce asked as they navigated the alleyway and his question made her laugh.

"Argo said this would cater to my assets. I thought she was hinting that this quest would rely on me stripping or something." Her laughter died as Jayce looked away hiding within the confined of his hood. She slapped his arm making him bump into the wall of a building beside him.

"Ow!" It didn't hurt, but it was just reflexive to cry out when hit like this. He was thankful that she wasn't angry. She had a playful smile on her face as he glanced over at her.

"Erase whatever image you just had!"

"Yes ma'am." The two laughed following the alley as it began to descend. It turned to the right leading towards a tunnel that carved into the earth below one of the buildings up above. Two torches on either side of the tunnel lit the entranceway. The ominous feeling the pair received as they crossed the archway of the tunnel only made the anticipation more palpable.

The ceiling was about a dozen feet high and wide enough for the pair to walk comfortably side by side. More torches lined the walls keeping the interior lit. Up ahead a simple wooden door was built into the wall at the end of the tunnel. A plaque above the door with an engraving and two final torches on either side were the only other features.

"A bond of blood will light your path." Jayce read the inscription on the plaque aloud as they stopped before the door. Jemza reached out and opened the door revealing a brick wall directly behind it. She shut the door and looked around the room for any clues that might explain how to proceed.

"I'm not picking up anything with my skills so it's a riddle then." Jayce nodded looking up at the plaque once more.

"Everything looks and feels real in SAO, but blood doesn't really exist. If a sword catches you it draws a glowing red line, but otherwise there's no blood." Jemza furrowed her brow as she listened to Jayce. He was right about the lack of blood in the game. With that in mind there had to be something else they could do.

"It has to be the place. This tunnel is below the city and hard to…"

"That's it! Jemza, let me see your hand." Jayce cut her off excitedly holding his hand out. With a moment of reluctance, she stretched her arm out and he took her hand in his holding it palm up. They hadn't equipped their gloves after removing them before and she waited as he ran a finger over her palm gently.

"Are you just trying to fondle my hand or something?"

"Shut up and give me your dagger." His voice was rushed like a kid wanting to open presents on Christmas. Whatever he had figured out was nearing the boiling point in his mind. With her free hand, Jemza reached down and pulled her dagger from its sheath handing over to Jayce.

"Thanks, just trust me alright?" He put the blade against her palm cutting along the skin. She cringed reflexively, her mind waiting for pain, but none came. A glowing red line formed where he had cut a few hit points decreasing from her health bar. He let her hand go and proceeded to cut a similar line into his own hand before holding the dagger back towards her.

"I don't understand." Jayce held a finger up for her to wait.

"We were in Urbus right? A Safe Zone by definition so we can't take damage. So…" He trailed off waiting for her to catch on.

"We're not in the city anymore." She finished his sentence in astonishment making him nod in return.

"Exactly! We can't bleed, but since we are no longer in the city proper we can take damage. The plaque doesn't mean actual blood. It means this." He took her hand in his and guided it up until both of their cut palms pressed against the plaque. A feint glow emanated from around the edge for a second and a loud click echoed from nearby. To their left a door swung open hidden in the wall, a staircase leading down further. A wide smile appeared over her face and she squeezed his hand in hers.

"Now you're amazing come on!" She jogged towards the door still holding his hand, pulling him along behind her. The descended the staircase nearly two at a time until they came to a landing with another door ahead. With a quick glance over her shoulder at her partner, Jemza pushed the door open.

At least a dozen people turned to look at them. It looked like a bar, but darker and more dangerous. Everyone inside were NPC's, but their equipment and demeanor were mostly uniform. Leather armor, swords, daggers, hooded cloaks, and even masks were worn in various combinations of everyone inside. The pair stepped into the tavern scanning the room as the NPC's stared back.

"New friends I see." A steady calming voice called out making their heads turn towards the direction it came from. A tall, slender woman in dark leather armor approached with her hands held out. Her armor and clothes were similar to Jemza's except that she did not wear tights or a shirt underneath the armor. This meant her thighs and much of her torso was left exposed. A curved cutlass was strapped over her shoulder, her bright red hair tied back behind her head into a neat braided ponytail. The most noticeable feature though was the patch covering her left eye, a red rose etched into the surface.

"Us?" Jemza asked dumbly looking between the woman who now came to a stop before them and the other patrons. The woman reached down and took their hands turning them over until the glowing red lines where they had cut their hands were upraised. The woman grinned releasing her grip. She took a step back and looked between the pair resting her hand on her hip. A glowing yellow exclamation mark blinked into view above her head as her smile widened.

"Aye, welcome to the Thieves Guild."