Chapter 23

The patrons of the bar sneered and chuckled under their breaths in response to Jayce and Jemza's confused looks. The woman who welcomed them laughed lightly as well stepping forward once more. She wedged herself in between the duo and draped an arm around their shoulders. With an ever so slight amount of pressure she urged them forward further into the bar.

"Cutpurses, thieves, brigands, robbers…you'll find all kinds here my friends. It's nice to see new faces." The redhead said, the yellow exclamation mark still glowing brightly above her head. Jayce couldn't help but feel a bit strange about this whole situation. NPC's typically followed set algorithms and speech paths. However, this woman seemed alive and not just a simple computer program. It reminded him of the woman and little girl they met in Horunka.

"Where exactly is here?" Jemza's voice drew him out of his thoughts and the woman stopped guiding them lifting a hand to her face in disappointment.

"How incredibly rude of me. I was so lost in the excitement of meeting you that I forgot basic pleasantries. This is called the Infiltrator's Den located just a bit underneath the central plaza or Urbus. My name is Rose Vermilion and I guess you could say I run this little hole we call home."

"It looks…friendly." Jemza muttered the words and Rose laughed loudly putting her arms around the pair once more.

"Looks can be deceiving. You have nothing to fear while you are here. A member of the family will always find save haven in the Infiltrator's Den." Rose guided them further into the bar past the tables where other members sat. She led them towards a door near the back of the room.

"The family? You mean the Thieves Guild?" Rose let them go and opened the door which led into a small office of sorts. A Table, chairs, and various bookcases lined the wall within. She motioned for them to enter politely.

"One in the same." Jemza and Jayce looked at each other before crossing into the room. Rose closed the door behind her as she followed and moved around them until she stood behind the table.

"And you want us to be part of the guild?" Jemza looked down at the wooden chair next to her, but remained standing.

"You found your way here didn't you? You made the bond of blood on the seal. Are you saying you are not interested?" Rose's face turned downcast. She seemed saddened greatly at the prospect of the pair not accepting her offer. Again, Jayce kept thinking that this NPC was far more advanced than should have been possible. Over and over he had to keep looking at the cursor above her head confirming she wasn't a player.

"We don't know exactly what it is you do. Or if we would even be of value to you." The redhead looked at Jayce in response to what he said. She came around the table slowly and placed her hands on his breastplate. He swallowed hard staring into her bright green eye, too stunned to move.

"Mmm, I think you would definitely be of use. I see nothing that would make me believe you would not be of value. Then again, it's not like I can see everything you have to offer…yet." Her hands ran around his side where the leather armor laces were. She ran her fingers over them touching his body in between each lace.

"Enough!" If he was stunned before, the anger on Jemza's face froze him solid. The white haired girl now stood directly beside Rose threateningly. Was Jemza jealous? Jayce shook the thought from his head as quickly as it popped in. Jemza never gave off any indication that she held some sort of romantic feelings for him so jealousy couldn't be it. Rose lowered her hands and turned facing Jemza, standing toe to toe with her. After a few seconds the redhead giggled and held her hands up.

"Forgive me, I got carried away. Alas, the good ones are always taken." Jayce waited for Jemza to correct the woman about their relationship, but he was surprised when she made no move to do anything of the sort. Perhaps in her anger she simply missed what Rose had said so logically he should make sure the misunderstanding was corrected before she got angrier.

"We aren't like that." Rose looked back at him and then Jemza with a sly smile. Since Jemza was becoming increasingly irritated for some reason he felt good that he had caught what Rose said and corrected her. Jemza would appreciate that for sure. The ice cold glare he received looking at his partner was far from the expected response. Was she now angry at him for making sure Rose knew they weren't a couple? Now that he thought about it, why did it even matter? This was an NPC. It's not like she had real feelings or thoughts aside from whatever her programming dictated.

"Then there's still hope." The redhead whispered as she walked back towards her desk running a hand over his breastplate once more.

"You don't know when to shut up do you?" Jemza growled taking a seat in the chair after Rose did the same on her side of the desk. Jayce sighed sadly still not sure what had gotten her so worked up and sat in the other chair.

"I'll get right to the point and let you both decide for yourselves. On the western edge of Urbus is a large estate. It is owned by a man named Demeter Wright, an art collector. Mr. Wright has been able to purchase anything he desires with his large surplus of col. What most don't know is how he acquired such money to begin with.

Mr. Wright handles the transportation and acquisition of dark elf prisoners. The forest elves pay him handsomely for his services. In short, he is a slave trader." Rose leaned back in her chair folding her hands on her lap.

"Elves?" Whatever irritation Jemza had seemed to disappear as Rose explained.

"Aye, the forest elves and dark elves have been at war with one another for some time now. Personally, I don't care one way or the other, but slaving? Not in my city." A flash of anger crossed Rose's face.

"I've never seen any elves before." Jayce stated exactly what Jemza and he had been thinking.

"You will. Just be careful when you reach the Forest of Wavering Mists. Stay to the path and you will be safe. For now, however, I would like you to do something for me." Rose placed her hands on the desk looking between the two.

"Which is?"

"Break into his estate. Find documentation of his dealings and bring it to me. I will handle the rest. Take whatever else you want, but the proof of his slave trading is mine." Jemza looked over at Jayce who shared the same look of uncertainty.

"Sounds dangerous. Am I to assume this is what you want us to do if we want to be part of the guild…I mean, the family?" Jayce voiced their concerns out loud and Rose leaned forward on the desk. Her eye not covered by the patch blinked slowly and her mouth curled just slightly in a seductive smile.

"It will be, yes. He hires mercenaries to guard his estate. I can't speak to what other dangers may reside within, but I'm sure you would succeed. I can promise to make it very…very worth your while." Her voice lowered and for the briefest of moments Jayce's willpower failed and his eyes glanced down at her very visible cleavage.

"Alright…" Jemza looked over at him in shock as he dumbly agreed to her request. The exclamation mark over her head disappeared and a chime alerted them that a new quest entry had been added to their journals. Upon hearing his acceptance Rose sat back happily clapping her hands twice.

"I knew I could count on you. Here, take these. It's important no one recognizes you. Bring me those documents and I will be eternally grateful. I look forward to seeing you again." As Rose finished speaking a window appeared in front of each of their eyes showing two items each. The first was a cloth mask to hide their faces. Secondly, a small case with numerous small tools inside was provided. Each one looked delicate and fragile, but had one clear purpose. Lock picks.

They both closed the window accepting the items into their inventory and stood. With a final wave Rose bid them farewell as they returned to the bar section of the Infiltrator's Den. No one seemed to mind their presence this time not even bothering to glance their way. Jayce walked just slightly ahead of his partner heading towards the door they had entered the hideout through. As soon as they both passed through the door and closed it behind them Jayce had to bite down to keep himself from crying out. Jemza grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him so his back was to the wall. She shoved him against it glaring at him from inches away.

"What was that all about huh? You were too scared to leave an inn for almost a month, almost died in the forest of Horunka, and we barely escaped those bulls yesterday! All of a sudden you agree to something this dangerous without even giving it a second thought? You didn't even ask me how I felt about it! Just because she showed a little skin you couldn't think straight? She's not even real!" Jayce took her verbal assault unable to argue against any of it. Rose and the complexities of her programming had thrown him off and made her feel incredibly real. The attention she gave him made it hard to say no to anything she said, but doing so came at the cost of Jemza's feelings.

"Jemza…" He tried to respond, but she shoved him again so he hit the wall silencing him.

"Don't Jemza me! If you think I would just go along with this because we're partners, you're dead wrong. What was with that NPC anyway? Who would program someone to act like that? This is a video game and that's inappropriate." She continued to press against him pressing him harder against the wall of the tunnel.

"It sounded like fun." Her eyebrows rose in confusion after he spoke.

"What?"

"This quest. It sounded like fun. I hadn't allowed myself to enjoy anything in SAO until the other day we went out into the savannah. Before the stampede I was excited to hunt with you. When I told you about what happened with my mom and sister it released a lot of tension in me. It's not something I can get over like flipping a switch, but it helped. I woke up and felt like I had been released from a prison.

I didn't accept the quest because of Rose or how she looked. I accepted it because it's something you and I can do. I know how scared you were last night. This will keep us in the city and we can still progress our characters. Sometimes I say and do things that you don't like. Rose caught me off guard and I didn't know how to react. That sort of attention was not something I'm accustomed to so I'm sorry I handled it poorly.

Also, I swear this morning I didn't touch you or do anything inappropriate to you. I didn't mean to stare at you, but just like with Rose when I saw you I just…nevermind." Jayce quickly stopped after he realized that his explanation was veering towards dangerous territory. The whole morning incident had been on his mind all day though, bothering him.

"You just…what?" Tiny explosions started erupting in Jayce's head. The cause was that the anger on Jemza's face had vanished. Instead she stared at him, her silver eyes crushing any defenses he had. Her face looked like she wanted to hear something specific, but Jayce didn't have the same ability she had to read his mind. Her hands were still against his body where she had pushed him against the wall and he was now very aware of how close she was.

"N…nothing."

"No, when you saw me this morning you just what?" She repeated her question using her eyes to attack him further. This was the most dangerous situation he had ever been in by far. Was she feeling self-conscious because of Rose? If he complimented her now and was wrong it could cause a huge mess.

"I just…thought you looked…pretty." He shut his eyes tightly waiting for her to strike, but after a few moments he dared to peek. She was still where she had been, but her eyes and face looked like she was torn between how she should respond.

"You think I'm pretty?" She was quieter than normal.

"Yeah." It took a minute to force the answer out of his mouth and again as he said it he instantly prepared for the worst. She only seemed more indecisive now that he had answered her. Her face began to turn red and as their eyes met she stepped back quickly and spun around.

"Alright, let's do this quest. I admit the Thieves Guild sounds really cool and I'm interested in it. I also will admit that I think it does sound fun, but from now on we make decisions like this together as a team. I'm sorry I attacked you and pushed you." Jayce stared at the back of her head in confusion. This was something he hadn't felt with her before. It felt like…victory.

"Did you just apologize? I won an argument?" Elation began to fill him as her head spun to look at him over her shoulder. Her long white hair flew through the air behind her head.

"Don't get the wrong idea Alchemist. I apologized because of what happened last night, and because this morning really was my fault. And because you called me…pretty." The last bit of her sentence got so quiet he couldn't hear her, but it was enough.

"Amazing. This feeling of, what is it? Happiness? Such a foreign feeling, I barely remember it." Jemza's eyes rolled sarcastically as Jayce continued to over dramatize the situation. He clutched at his heart as if a sharp pain lanced through him.

"Come on Alchemist we got work to do." Jemza began walking away her arms swinging hard. Apologizing for something like this was not something Jemza did often, that much was clear. As such the only thing Jayce could do was what most men would do. Make it worse.

"Don't worry! I, the victorious Alchemist who has won this day on the battlefield of man versus woman shall accompany you! Do not fear Jemza I shall forgive you for everything because I am a merciful man. My mercy comes at the low cost of a nice steak meal tonight!"

"Argh! You sound like Argo!" He laughed loudly seeing her arms shake angrily, but knowing that her anger was nothing to worry about.