Koharu
"Well, the truth is, we expected to take another three days or so on Stachion's series of quests. But we had to call that off for an unexpected reason... Wait, you guys don't know? The central figure of the quest, Lord Cylon, just up and vanished. It was the night of the first, I think...Ask any servant at the mansion, and none know where he went, and there's no hint about it in the quest log. We just didn't know what else to do but move on."
The return to Stachion came with that unexpected news from Qusack before they departed for the southern ruins to gather the Agate Key. Mito accompanied them after Jaymes suggested that someone needed to get ahead of the frontline and investigate the field boss. Mito was more than happy to volunteer.
In her place, Kizmel decided to join, Kirito, Asuna, Koharu, and Jaymes, since the killers of Cylon were the ones who had Fallen Elf weapons. With that line of reasoning, it made the death of Cylon her concern. After mild concern for her ability to venture into a human town — which fell into the girls' plan all along, to show Kizmel the first two floors of Aincrad via the human teleport gate — they agreed to take Kizmel with them. Wondering it is possible or not, Kirito's answers from Argo didn't help.
Quest NPCs cannot do so, but hired bodyguard NPCs can. Kizmel's quest on the sixth floor is over, but she's not a hired hand. She's joining them of her own volition. Deciding Kizmel most likely fit the latter, the quintet finished breakfast as quickly as possible and headed out.
With the Greenleaf Cape and the Droplets of Villi in hand, the trip from Castle Galey to Stachion was cut from four hour to two. Kizmel's energy faltered again in the desert, but sprang back up in the forested first area after crossing the star-shaped lake. As she guided them through the woods, they encountered a ruin that Jaymes and Kirito just had to explore. After beating the boss and taking the treasure within, the party of five eventually made it to the town of Stachion.
"Wow, straight ahead...How did you know the way without a map, Kizmel?"
"You should not underestimate my ability, Asuna. We elves are never lost in a forest."
"If she was a Forest Elf, I would be more incline to accept that," Jaymes murmurs as they step out to the open field between them and Stachion. Kizmel lowers the hood her navy-blue cloak and sweeps the back around her and tied it up so no one could see the symbol of the Pagoda Royal Knights. In turn, Asuna and Koharu lift their red and green hoods over their heads.
Trailing behind the others, Koharu lifts her head to her partner. "So, about Cylon... I understand that, in respects to our quest, he's dead and gone. But why does that apply to everyone?"
"That bugs me more than it should." Jaymes glances in the direction of the highest point of Stachion. That's where Cylon's mansion is located. "In traditional MMORPGs, the...decisions a player makes doesn't affect the game as a whole. But like we are with the others, we're a party, so whatever Kirito does affects me. You get that, yet I have no answer for you on why Cylon is dead to everyone. Or why and how the quest is continuing. Or why Morte and company would even kill him."
"Maybe thinking of quests traditionally is the wrong frame of mind. Like maybe quests like these in SAO have multiple routes like a visual novel. Like that one about heroes from the past fighting each other." As they cross into town, Jaymes' answer is delayed by his eyes on Kizmel. The SAFE HAVEN sign has appeared before them, and there above the elf's head is the yellow NPC marker. The few players walking around town have little interest in the marker or why it is surrounded by four greens, so they continue onward.
"...You could be right. Surprised you know of that series. I've only watched the anime."
Koharu giggles. "Me too, but in my time between piano lessons when I was younger and nowadays with gymnastics, I would read and play those things. My parents were strict on what I did with my free time, given that they had their business to run. So that series, the one about time travel and world lines, a couple of others...and plenty of dating sims."
"...Uh huh." Jaymes responds in an accusatory tone.
"It's not what you think!" Koharu defensively responds, hoping her cheeks aren't as flushed as she believes. "I-I-I played them because my friends did to, that's all!"
"Uh huh."
"It's true!"
"I honestly believe you."
"Hrmmmm..." As she mopes and her partner chuckles at her expense, Kirito leads the party west off the main road. He spoke of using the morning to examine the lord's disappearance, then take Kizmel down to the lower levels after noon. As they trek on the side path, Kizmel halts and rubs her hand on the side of the dark-wood blocks of a building.
"...You cut the trees down to this size and then stack them up again...Humans do the strangest things..." Noticing her human companions staring silently at each other, as they know that elves regardless of their race don't touch living trees while humans don't possess that regard, smiles and says, "Oh, I am not complaining. Elves have their way of life, as do humans. The old me...in fact, all dark elves, since the long distant past, have scorned other races as foolish and below us, but since meeting you, and accompanying you at times, I have learned that humankind possesses many virtues as well. For one thing, we first met when you saved my life from the forest elf who was about to defeat me. I suppose having my life saved by humans is bound to change my mind..."
Why had they chosen to save Kizmel? Kirito made the same decision in the beta, but he was with a group of guys, so choosing the woman might have been the factor there. But now, with a split of the sexes in the current party, he could have opted for the male Forest Knight. If she knows her partner, Jaymes might not have chosen Kizmel over the knight because the dark elves are seen as the bad guys in literature, and he didn't seem overly pressed to rescue a woman. Koharu and Asuna chose Kizmel for that reason alone.
"Um, Kizmel," Asuna mumbles as she steps to the elf, "the truth is, when we stepped into help you on the third floor—"
Kizmel suddenly grabs Asuna by the shoulders and draws her in close. Glancing over Kirito's shoulder, she shouts, "Who goes there?" Alarmed, Kirito spins around and Jaymes (he and Koharu still behind Kizmel and the others) sprints forward, hand on his sword. Hand over her back, Koharu gazes around, not seeing anyone down the street in this residential area. The street is three meters wide, so there's no way to hide unless one was behind a house.
And that became so as a grey-cloaked figure molts out of the shadows. The knight and boys react defensively to the newcomer, which has a yellow indicator above its head. Seeing hands on swords, the cloak says, "I mean you no harm."
Its a young girl, and her name is Myla. Based on her height, she could be younger than Koharu in age.
Kizmel repeats. "Who are you? Why were you following us?"
She points to Kirito. "I merely wish to speak with that swordsman over there."
"Huh? Me?"
"Sir Swordsman, do you have one of these?" She opens her hand, revealing a key that everyone aside from Kizmel recognizes. Kirito lowers his hand from his sword and materializes the key from his inventory. It 's the same key that dropped from Cylon when Morte killed him and Mito recovered while the others fought off the dark cloaks.
Something strange happens next. The pair of keys start to vibrate and ring together. Kirito faces the girl again and asks, "Who are you? And what does that key do?" Myia stashes the key and approaches Kirito and his party. Jaymes and Koharu had released their weapons, but Kizmel retained her grip.
"As long as we have these keys, we are not safe, even in town. Let's go somewhere else." Kirito shares a look with Jaymes, then they turn to Koharu, Asuna, and Kizmel. They could be heading for a trap, but then again, this could be the clue they're looking for in investigating the mystery of the two keys they had in possession.
"I say we go," Koharu answers, thus speaking for her and Jaymes.
"All right," Asuna says, "Where should we go, then?"
The NPC led them to a small house on the west side of south Stachion, where there's plenty of construction going on. Using a bronze key to enter, Myia ushered them inside and locked the door after making sure they weren't followed.
They entered a dark living room. Despite it being ten in the morning, the shutters are closed, allowing only a minute amount of sunlight. The girl lights a candle, though it only allows a small amount of light in the room.
"I'm sorry that I can't open the window for you. Hang on, I'll put on some tea."
The girl heads for the kitchen, but Asuna stops her. "No, there's no need. Please, tell us what you have to say."
"...Oh. I see." She pauses then gestured to the sofa in the middle of the room. Koharu, Kizmel, and Asuna take it while the girl sits down in the armchair across from it. Kirito stands on the left side of Asuna, leaning against the arm of the couch, while Jaymes remains by the doorframe to the living room.
As she sits down, the NPC lowers her hood. Koharu stifles her gasp as the woman turns out to be a young human girl at most ten years old, She eyes her partner, trading words between their eyes.
"My name is Myia," with her pronouncing it as Mee-a.
"I am Kizmel, a knight."
"I'm Kirito...a swordsman, I guess."
"I am Asuna. I'm a swordswoman."
"That's Jaymes, a swordsman too. I'm Koharu, a...um... What would I be? A rogue-class?" While Myia and Kizmel lack understanding of Koharu's jest of her class, Asuna and Kirito smirk and Jaymes snorts. After all, they were there when Diavel introduced himself as a knight-class.
As all NPCs do when getting player names, she repeated them for clarification of pronunciation. "Kizmel, Kirito, Asuna, Jaymes, and Koharu. Do I have that right?" After getting confirmation, she turns to Kirito. "Kirito, the iron key that you possess came from Lord Cylon of Stachion, correct?"
"Y...yes... Oh, b-but I didn't take it from him by force. Technically, I, uh...picked it up off the ground..."
"Myia, do you...know what happened to Cylon?" Asuna asked with a calmer disposition than her partner.
"...Yes." Myia nods, then droops her head. "I heard from Terro, the gardener at the mansion. Cylon...my father was attacked by brigands outside of town three nights ago and died..."
"That big guy was the gardener?" Jaymes murmurs. He goes silent alongside Kirito, and the two boys share a glance. They both participated in the original "Curse of Stachion" quest series, and the death of Cylon — permanent death of Cylon — has thrown them in a loop more than anything. Jaymes was sure that he was dead only in their version of the quest, despite that they hadn't failed it. But it's like that for everyone.
The large man who was with Cylon was the gardener Terro. Myia introduced herself as Cylon's daughter. Jaymes didn't tell her Cylon had family aside from the woman he had an affair with, and Kirito denied the same the morning after the attack.
"Myia...you're Cylon's daughter?" Asuna questions, in which Myia acknowledges with a nod. The fencer looks to Koharu and the boys with some hesitation before apologizing, "I...I'm sorry, Myia. We were present when those brigands attacked your father. In fact, the truth is, the bandits were after us four. Cylon was just a victim..."
Morte, He Who Is Temporarily Named Joe, Annihilator, and Devesta attacked and killed Cylon in part of trying to kill Koharu's group. It became part of the game three days later, affecting the playability of the sixth floor more than anticipated. People currently in the quest series, such as them, are probably stuck at Pithagras' house now with no way to get further; beta players might have advanced the quest to the point they were at before Morte and company attacked. It was supposed to be the former lover of Cylon, Pithagras' secret second apprentice Theano, to save them from imprisonment and help them complete the rest of the quest to find the golden cube she hidden from Cylon a decade later and help Cylon atone.
But they didn't fail the quest upon Cylon's death; somehow the game took it as a chance to switch things up. How, Koharu doesn't know, Kirito doesn't know, and Jaymes (based on his raised eyebrow in comparison to Kirito's confused face) might have an idea of sorts. She'll ask him later.
"You don't need to apologize for that. I heard about everything from Terro. How Father gave you poison and abducted you...and was going to lock you in the maze beneath the mansion, forcing you to perform the duty, no, the atonement he was meant to bear..."
"Atonement..." Kirito repeats. Eyes on him, he asks the NPC girl, "Do you know...what your father did...?"
"...Yes," Myia said, looking down. "Mother told me everything the other day."
"M-Mother...?" Kirito, as usual, is confused by the mention of Myia's mother, but Koharu already put the pieces together. If she's excellent at anything, her pianist days made her excel at memory and organization of thoughts.
"Your mother is Theano. Servant and a former apprentice to Lord Pithagras, correct?"
Kirito's jaw unhinges from his face. Guess Koharu wasn't suppose to mention the apprentice part, but Koharu sees no point in holding back information Myia might already know. Her partner, however, remains unmoved from his place.
"Yes," Myia responds without suspicion, "my mother's name is Theano, and I've heard that she served Pithagrus, the previous lord of Stachion, until ten years ago."
"Where is Theano?" Jaymes asks without any tact, not that Koharu will ever expect him to have any at this point. He just wants to get to the point of the new course of the quest.
"...I don't know. The morning after she learned that Father had been killed, she left a note and this key behind and vanished."
"What did the note say?"
"It had an apology to me, the truth of the traveler's murder at the mansion ten years ago, and a reminder to visit Barro if she never came back..."
"Who's Barro?" Kirito asks.
Asuna answers, "The gardener at the mansion at the time Theano worked there. Remember, we talked to him three days ago?"
"Oh y-yeah..."
"Barro is the father of Terro, who tends the gardens now. Ten years ago, my father killed Pithagrus, the previous lord...although he made it sound as though a traveler was killed, and Pithagrus went missing. After that, many of the servants left their jobs there, including my mother and Barro. But Terro was having trouble learning his words, and they said he wouldn't be able to support himself in town, so my father, the new lord Cylon, agreed to take him in."
"...Oh, I see..." Kirito sighs afterwards, leaving a silence in the room. Koharu's vision of Cylon has been dictated by what Kirito, Jaymes, and Mito have told them, but she never thought Cylon was completely evil. It may be naive to think that of someone who murdered his master and kept it secret for a decade as kind, but considering he got atonement in the original quest, he truly can't be all that bad. Terro's proof of it.
Kizmel's soft voice breaks through the silence. "Myia. You said that as long as we had the key, we were not safe in town. Why is that?"
"The night that Mother left this key and letter behind, a thief broke into the house where we lived for years, right near the town square. I was awoken by the sound and went into the living room, where a brigand dressed in black was holding this key and drew his dagger to attack when he saw me...I managed to fight him off and take back the key, but I realized it was dangerous to remain in the house, and so I moved here as soon as I could."
"Oh? Whose house is this?"
"My father's. This is where Lord Cylon lived before he went to dwell in the mansion as Lord Pithagrus's apprentice. My father never returned, but my mother would bring me here to clean the place every once in a while."
"I see. So the brigand does not know about this house yet."
"So this is your father's house," Jaymes says, finally moving from the doorframe. His footsteps echo off the walls as he walks behind the couch the girls. His right fingers taps the side of his leg as if he's itching for something. "And you, Myia, fought off the attacker and retreated here?"
She's four years younger than Koharu, and much smaller in frame than Koharu was when she was ten. It's unbelievable that Myia fought off an adult, but then again, exactly a month ago tomorrow, Koharu could barely fight against hogs, wolves and hornets.
Myia stares at Jaymes, her expression stagnant. "Yes. From a very young age, my mother..."
Crash!
A window at the back of the living room shatters. Kirito shouts and bounces to his feet, but Koharu barely hears it as Jaymes grabs her and drops to the ground. She manages to see a black spherical object rolls towards them.
"Everyone, hold your breath!" Kizmel yells, right before the ball splits and coats the room in purple smoke.