Chapter 2: Underage Drinking

The lizards, or Argonians, as they called themselves, were leading them to a small town called 'Riverwood.'

Now that it was dawn, Kirito could take a good look at what the others besides Hytul looked like. Erneth had brown scales and green eyes that looked sickly that life-like. He wore a cloak that had some materials that looked strangely like bone and a black cowl over his head. Sjol (pronounced seal, he soon learned) had red scales and sun-yellow eyes that reminded Kirito of a tiger. He simply wore a white shirt, leather pants, thick boots, and fur gauntlets. The bow he used was apparently an Imperial one (he still needed to ask what Imperials were), and he also carried steel arrows. Finally, Letarn, the spellsword, owned ocean-blue scales and pale green eyes that looked deeply concerned. He wore what apparently was Imperial armor, iron gauntlets and boots, and a hood like Erneth's but brown instead. The sword he used was steel, apparently, and could easily cut through enemies' armor, but not as easily as Hytul's weapon (which he had yet to expain).

On the way to Riverwood, Kirito and Asuna asked hundreds of questions.

"Are you guys players or NPCs?" Kirito asked curiously.

Hytul frowned and told him over his shoulder, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What kind of guilds are nearby?" Asuna asked nobody in particular.

"The nearest here are the Companions," Erneth explained after nodding to a passing mercenary (who was staring a little too much at Asuna).

Erneth jabbed a thumb at Hytul.

"He's part of them."

"It's nothing," Hytul protested.

"You're being modest," Sjol told him. "You know how great of an honor it is to be a Companion."

The Argonians got in a heated argument about Hytul while Kirito raised an eyebrow at Asuna and mouthed, You know the Companions?

No, she mouthed back.

Letarn gave them a cautious smile from behind his back and told them, "The only other 'guilds' in Skyrim are the College of Winterhold and Thieves' Guild. Not really guilds anyway… they're in other parts of Tamriel."

Kirito, assuming that Tamriel was basically the ground underneath Aincrad, asked, "Any way to get to… a steel fortress in the sky?"

Letarn raised an eyebrow. Then he started shaking with fits of laughter.

Hytul stopped his comeback to Erneth and snorted before asking Letarn, "What's so funny?"

Letarn pointed at Kirito and told him, "He said something about a steel fortress in the sky!"

Hytul's eyes narrowed as he said, "That's not the strangest thing we've seen."

Letarn stopped laughing as he said, "Yeah. That's true."

Silence.

Erneth suddenly cleared his throat and told Kirito, expression and voice even, "We're all in a guild. Hytul is a Companion, both Letarn and I are part of the College, and Sjol…"

He took a look at the archer, who blinked.

"What?" Sjol asked.

"He's not in a guild," Erneth finished.

The two squabbled, and Kirito muttered, "I have no idea why we joined these bozos."

2 hours of yelling and arguing later…

Riverwood hardly deserved to be called a town.

It was simply a few wood and hay houses lined up with barely ten guards. It hardly consisted of anything, really. Just a blacksmith, sawmill, inn, and trader. The place looked like it would fall with a nice, strong wind.

Yet there was something about it that was…

"Cozy," Asuna muttered, voicing Kirito's thoughts.

They just stood in the middle of the street, staring at the place, until one of the burly guards told them, "No lollygaggin'."

"Oh, erm, right," Kirito stammered, face red. "S-sorry."

The two went over where the Argonians waited in front of the inn.

"Real smooth," Asuna teased.

Kirito grunted, but made no reply.

Hytul opened the door, and everybody walked into the small inn that awaited.

Like the city itself, the inn looked delicate but somewhat cozy. There were a few long tables, chairs, and a bright fireplace in the center.

Two people sat in a corner singing a song, and there was an innkeeper at the front counter, looking at the new arrivals expectantly.

"What are we doing here again?" Asuna asked Sjol.

Sjol just smiled wickedly.

Hytul went up to the innkeeper and said, "Six bottles of ale, please. Tankards included."

He dropped some gold coins on the counter, and the innkeeper gave over what was bought.

Kirito and Asuna's eyes widened on the spot.

"Isn't that… alcohol?" Kirito asked in a small voice.

"Isn't that against the law?" Asuna added.

"No, not really," Sjol assured them. "I don't know what world you came from, but in Skyrim, you can drink as long as you bought it."

Hytul sat down at a table, and the other Argonians sat down with him. He poured ale into each mug.

He saw Kirito and Asuna, who were staring, and asked, "Are we going to wait on you two again?"

Reluctantly, they sat down, unsure.

Hytul raised his mug and called, "To a successful raid!"

Letarn, Sjol, and Erneth raised their mugs and repeated, "To a successful raid!"

The four drank deeply.

Kirito looked at Asuna, his eyebrows pressed together, and asked, "What do you think, Asuna?"

Asuna gave her drink a hard look. Then she replied with a smile to Kirito, "Once wouldn't hurt."

They both drank their ale, and things went weird…

A few drunken hours later…

Kirito woke up facedown on the floor with a lump on his head.

"What… happened?" he groaned.

He blinked sleepily and attempted to raise himself off the ground with his hands. The world spun and he slipped and fell back down.

He felt someone try to help him up. Eventually, Hytul managed to help Kirito onto a chair.

Kirito's head throbbed, and it wasn't just from the lump on his head. It didn't take long for him to find out why.

"How much did I drink?" he asked.

Hytul tapped his head, still clearly drunk, and he replied, "I have no idea… four, five bottles?"

Kirito, sixteen year old gamer, was having a hangover.

Erneth, also clearly drunk, dropped Asuna on the neighboring seat.

Her eyes, like Kirito's, were half open. On the other hand though, some drool leaked out of the side of her pretty mouth.

Wait… when had he been thinking like that?

Sjol and Letarn were still knocked out on the floor, but Hytul sat on a seat and asked the innkeeper, "What happened?"

The innkeeper regarded them and told them in a deep voice, "You guys drank a bit too much, and your drunkness went a bit wild. For example, your small friends sat in one seat poo-pooing each other…"

Kirito's face, red as it was from the alcohol, went redder. Next to him, Asuna's did the same.

"…and then you, Hytul, and your Argonian friends said something about a steel castle in the sky. Then…"

A guard yelled, and everybody's heads snapped toward the door (kind of).

Hytul barely unsheathed his sword as he garbled, "Okay, let's find out what's going oooooooooooooooon outside…"

Erneth's hand glowed violet, and he cast a spell on Hytul before the warrior could get outside. Hytul's swaying stopped and he stood upright, like in their fort raid.

He cast it on Kirito, and half of his headache subsided. The spinning in his eyes stopped.

Outside

The orc was heavily armored with a steel helmet, steel armor with shoulderplates, steel gauntlets, and chitin boots. He swung two silver swords around, taking the guards down easily.

Hytul seethed at him and muttered, "The Marauder…"

Kirito followed him outside and asked him, "Who is that?"

"The Marauder."

"No, what's up with him?"

"He's an orc. But he's a bit crazy. He's like us, but abuses his powers."

"Powers?"

The Marauder faced them and smiled with hooked teeth with a large underbite. His eyes were red with malice and his skin was a dirt-brown color.

He opened his mouth wide and shouted, "FUS RO DAH!"

I used him for my 'mess around' profile.

Anyways, after the normal SAO, I started disliking the series a bit. Why?

ALO: (status: Bad) The villain's a creep and his servants are tentacle monsters. Anybody need a hint?

GGO: (status: Meh) It's good, and I like the Laughing Coffin thing. But why guns in an anime called 'Sword Art Online'?

Whatever's after that: (status: Horrible) Replacing the old characters is one thing. Making Yuuki defeat Kirito is another.

Rant time! Reaction to Kirito vs. Yuuki

Start: "Ugh… I have no idea why I watch this."

Throughout: "Okay… what the heck."

Kirito about to beat Yuuki: "Maybe they actually did something right in this horrid season."

Time up: "WHAT THE-"

I had to watch some Sword Art Offline to get over that. That match was horrible and I resolved never to watch that season again.

Oh, and I forgot: shoutout to Dictator of Tamriel for helping me with the first chapta and making the TESV Incident (that part just because it's awesome)!