|Sword Art Online, Floor 30, Town of Eventide|
|April. 26th, 12:20|
The inn of Eventide wasn't any better than the exterior, it was rundown but not rotting, and the usual stench of the swamp was masked with candles mounted to the walls. There was a desk at the back, a hallway to the right of it, and a spiral staircase to the left. Some chairs were set around the walls with murals of the swamp in a much greater light, and a desk clerk standing by, he was old, looking more like a fisherman than someone who runs an inn with his getup.
While asking for rooms later tonight, Nagi's eyes wandered for a bit, eyeing a painting to the right-hand wall. It was of a man on a gondola, he approached what appeared to be a wisp, glowing in the desaturated colours around the man. But where it sat fascinated Nagi, the massive jaws of a crocodile, its eye was glazed over, its two jaws wide enough for the boat to pass through and still be room.
"That be an old folk tale," The man returned, pulling Nagi from his trance to take the offered keys with a thanks. He had what Nagi could describe as a country accent, "Any that live round these parts know the tales, one poor younglin' goes missin' tryin' to find their way home, followin' a light in the dark, only to be swallowed whole by the omen of the swamps,"
"What was the omen called?" Nagi asked, seeing the man's grey eyes linger on the painting with a dark scent coming off him.
"Nothin' fancy; Dragon Crocodiles, nasty things if ya believe in 'em; they sit in this stasis for years, never movin' less ya disturb that ol' wisp in its maw," The man replied, ushering Nagi on now that he had their rooms. "Come again,"
"Thank you again, sir," With a bow, he turned to walk back to Mito who was sat staring toward Shirayuki and Daora pointing and discussing one of the paintings, the latter scratching his wolf head in confusion. Putting aside the little bit of lore he learned, Nagi smiled, holding out a key for Mito who caught the metal with her eyes. "You okay?"
"It's... just so lifelike," She must've been referring to Shirayuki. "I've come across many NPCs for questlines, but none so, erm..." She rapped her knuckle off her thigh.
"Independent?" Nagi tried, and her face, very briefly, lit up.
"Yeah, that," Then she coughed into her fist. "What I don't understand is why you all treat her like she's a person, I understand needing to roleplay to get certain answers or reactions to push a quest, I've done it too, smart, but this..." Her hand motioned to Daora yelling at the painting while the shinobi beside him chuckled to herself, patting his back. "You act as if she were alive,"
Nagi understood where Mito was coming from, a lot never understood why he, Kirito, and Asuna ever invested so much in NPCs like Shirayuki, Kizmel, and a few others. In the end, they were A.I. "That's the thing, I know they are who they are, but... this is their world, in here, Shirayuki, the Sunsinger clan, the Houses; even Kizmel and the Dark Elves, so many are living and breathing, and dying like we are in this world, maybe they don't always act like us, but I can tell," That's when Mito saw the honest smile on his face, without a flicker of doubt. "They have souls like us, which to me, is what makes them living beings too,"
She continued to stare at him, looking back to Shirayuki who now approached them with a huffing Daora. "My apologizes, our friend was caught in the fearsome trap of artwork, I attempted to aid his understanding but I appeared to have made him worse,"
"It's not even a picture, it's just colours vomited onto a page!" Daora argued. Nagi leaned to the side past his shoulder, spotting the... abstract art piece, pressing his lips into a thin line.
"Eh... yeah, I can see that," Nagi brought his easy-going expression back, handing Shirayuki a key. "Two rooms, one for me, Artorias, and Daora, the other is for you and Mito,"
"Eh?" Mito flinched, she wasn't expecting to share a room with an NPC, let alone the one she still wasn't convinced on, nor Nagi's reasoning for being so friendly. "He knows that when we clear this game, she'll disappear, all of it will," Reluctantly, Mito nodded, forcing a neutral face. "S-sure, I guess 'thanks' for the room, I'll pay you back,"
"No need, I've got plenty, just rest up for the afternoon is all I ask," Nagi raised a thumb to her, then soon looked to the doorway. "Let's go find Artorias, he's bound to be in the middle of his search or a quest for more information,"
Mito really didn't understand him, then again, he's befriended Daora, something she was certain she only had the ability to do, that and whoever Daora's 'master smith' and 'tin woman' were. Today just kept getting stranger. Picking up her scythe, she slowly shadowed the trio out into the gloomy town.
|April. 26th, 12:40|
Taking the booth closest to the fireplace of the tavern, the Croaking Mire, the group felt much warmer than before. The interior was far nicer, the floor's wood texture didn't look wet or creak as much, posts lined the middle in two rows, booths made up the available tables toward the bar and kitchen where food was sizzling away, filling the air with unique scents. A fireplace was situated on the right wall between two booths, so naturally, they flocked to it. Being the only players in Eventide, it was quiet say for the NPC villagers.
Sat with drinks between them, a form of tea that reminded Nagi of green tea, it was sweet and warm, so that's all that mattered, the group got down to discussing Artorias' findings. "'Maws of the Marsh', that's at least the most concrete answer I got from doing an annoying fetch quests back and forth this place," He wasn't amused but didn't argue with the results. "Old legend like most monster or spirit folklore, people see them, they pull a Houdini, and are never heard from again,"
"Sounds as though the influences of the Abyss have saturated this floor the most," Shirayuki sighed a little, placing a hand on her forehead with a shake. "I fear it will take more than the Lotuses to purge the corruption at its source, or whatever lies in the ruins of House Dusk,"
"Like we need some flowers to do that," Daora cracked his knuckles. "We've beaten our way through this stuff before, just watch!"
"He's right, we'll find a way, and with Klein with us, that should help a bunch," Nagi encouraged the silverette who sipped her tea, giving them a pleasant smile.
"Yes, you are correct," Then she eyed Artorias. "Now, Sir Artorias, what else were you able to uncover about the fate of Twilight Keep?"
Materializing a few worn pieces of parchment onto the table, Artorias spread them out to show sketches drawn of the Keep as it stands today, and of what it once looked like with circles and other notes stuck and written on them. "Only that the town doesn't go near it, it's considered cursed, a place to die, a keystone for spirits, the usual spooky stuff,"
Mito took one of the keep in the past, tapping the bottom half. "The level below the earth is visible, but this part-" She motioned to the left toward the north wall. "It was blocked off with rubble, but I don't believe it's entirely collapsed, there could be a whole section left intact,"
"That might be where the Crest is," It dawned on Nagi.
"I'll break it down just like at that keep we saved those crafters, it'll be easy for me!" Daora was on board as always.
"Guess that means we'll have to deal with the influx of Drowned, that I don't have an answer for, just a theory," Artorias admitted with a shrug.
"And what might that be?" Mito asked him.
"That tale about the 'Maw of the Marsh'? It's probably what that glow across the lake is, it might be acting like a lure to draw the Drowned in, hence why they wouldn't stop spawning atop you," Artorias explained, then Nagi gasped, nearly knocking over his drink if Shirayuki hadn't moved it.
"The Dragon Crocodiles!" Of course, all of them were confused to what he meant by that, so the raven-brunette explained with realization in his eyes. "The myth is real, that glow we saw while we ran here? It was a wisp, I saw a painting in the inn, and the man explained that the Dragon Crocodiles were in a form of stasis unless someone disturbed the wisp floating in their jaws, it must be a field boss,"
"Crap..." Artorias tisked, pointing with his cup. "Does the Rat know?"
"I can check, but we have until tomorrow anyway to think of a plan," Nagi replied while flicking through his menu, just as their food arrived thanks to a waitress. "But that can wait-" He closed it. "-we have a great lead, and thanks to Mito, we may know where to look for the Crest,"
"It was more of a guess, honestly," Mito shrugged, looking at the strange bowl of soup set before her, it smelled very weird but did look appetizing so she wasn't complaining.
"Any and all information given is valuable, your contribution may have just saved us precious time in our battle tomorrow, and that can mean the difference between life and death," Shirayuki thanked with a small nod of her head. "Truly, we are grateful,"
"I..." Mito just nodded back, looking around at their meal. Artorias and Nagi had the same soup, the former pulling a face but ultimately taking a sip, his eyes blinking wide with surprise. Nagi dipped a piece of bread into the broth, smiling a bit as he chewed. That gave Mito the excuse to eat as well, the second she tried some, it tasted like vegetable soup but with a hint of sweetness to it, and the vegetables were ground down so fine she didn't notice any large bits in the yellow mixture. "...it's good,"
"Not exactly what I expected, but sure beats... whatever they're eating," Artorias prodded his spoon to the right to where Daora and Shirayuki gave a firm nod, taking a bite out of a large frog leg, it smelled like chicken but neither the brunette nor purplette could bring themselves to try it. "Urk, yeah, Im'ma stick with human food, thanks,"
"You should never miss out on an adventurous opportunity, my friend!" Shirayuki beamed, licking her lips.
"Hahaha, more for us!" Daora chuckled, the rare time part of his face was visible, that wide, toothy grin, but Mito noticed the start of a scar running up his right cheek. She had never seen his face, though remained curious as to why he covered his face since they met. She relaxed, sitting in silence to enjoy her meal. It felt warmer than she remembered, eating with people around.
|April. 26th, 16:19|
At the back of the town, a long stretch of docks spanned a large lake that faded into the dark mist. Lanterns hung on poles, illuminating a bit of the darkness beyond. A single gondola sitting still out on the lake with three men fishing in place with their own candles to light their way. Mito sat down at the end of one of the docks with a heavy sigh, her body felt heavier than it did after her near-death-experience at Twilight Keep.
She pushed a few strands of hair back, she couldn't even see her reflection, but she must've looked exhausted. Opening her friends list, she saw it was empty say for two names. 'Argo' and 'Daora', she never even thought to add Asuna back then to it, she may have been a Beta Tester, but she had no reason to form 'friends' with people at the time. Maybe if she had added her former close friend, this whole situation could've ended differently.
"I'm such an idiot..." She rubbed her face, trying to keep herself awake for the third day in a row. Ever since the 29th Floor was cleared she saw no reason to stop, wanting to get ahead of the crowd again to join DKB as a support. It was easier when ALS were still on the frontlines, that was before she watched half their men shatter into thousands of pieces. If not for Nagi's team that day, many more could've died. She shuttered at the thought of one of them being Asuna.
"Hey," Mito sat up straight with a jolt, turning slightly to see Daora standing there with his hand swung down at her. "Weren't you told to rest already, what the hell are you doing out here?"
Mito relaxed again, "I appreciate Nagi's worry, but I'm fine, this is nothing new for me," She turned her gaze back to the dark waters. "I made one mistake today, you guys covered me, so I already owe you all enough as is,"
That's when Daora noticed on the party tab, Mito's level had increased by one. That made him step closer. "You were doing quests?" He grunted.
"Fetch quests, nothing crazy," She rolled her eyes, leaning back to look at him skeptically. "Why do you care? Aren't those types of quests boring to you?"
"Of course they are, that's why I've gone out to have a rematch with those snakes in the water, and I won too!" Puffing out his chest for a second, he shot her a glare, not that she could tell. "Even so, why are you acting so mopey like when we met?"
"It's nothing," Mito deflected, glaring at the water.
"No it's not," He retorted.
"I mean it, Daora, just drop it," Now she clenched her fists, trying to bottle away her stress again.
"Not until you stop being weird," That finally snapped a thread in Mito's head. She stood up sharply, her red eyes practically glowing under lantern light.
"I'm being weird!? You're the one walking around shirtless with a stupid wolf head as a helmet! You're the one who's always jumping headfirst into a fight without thinking! You're the one who doesn't know when to keep his nose out of everyone's business! So don't tell me I'm the weird one here!" She jabbed his chest, glaring daggers into his mask. Then she yelled, throwing her hands up as she turned away. "I can't even yell at you seriously with that stupid thing over your face!"
Meanwhile, at the tavern, Artorias and Nagi sat idly by their booth, the latter staring at the fireplace.
"I want to help her, but I'm not sure how to go about asking her," Nagi admitted, feeling lost at this important topic. "Mito's very closed off, and from how you described her, it sounds like it's only gotten worse since the 1st Floor,"
"Yeah... when we made it to the 2nd Floor, the way she talked about Princess not needing her, sounds like she was just lying to herself, she's got a good heart and, surprise, it's tearing her apart," Artorias sighed as he leaned back to rest against the booth, staring up at the ceiling. "She thinks Princess will hate her, in reality, I bet she's torn up about it too, leaving your friend to die out of pure fear and not knowing they lived? Now that's something that takes a lot to get over, believe me, after what I did to you guys I'm still mulling it over,"
Nagi nodded, looking back at Artorias with a remorseful smile. "I know, but I'll keep saying it, we've forgiven you,"
"Easier said than done, boss," Artorias sighed, lifting one hand to form an 'OK' symbol. "As much as it makes me want to physically vomit, let's... leave this to Numbnuts. If anyone can get the real Mito back, it ought to be the most stubborn moron in Aincrad,"
"HuAH!?" Daora yelled, "What's that all supposed to mean!?"
Mito didn't turn to him, crossing her arms tightly. "Forget it, you never listen to anyone anyway, you never did when we met, I doubt you would now..."
"Tch... grr..." Daora trembled with so many emotions that he drew his ax, then, out the corner of Mito's eye, swung toward her. She yelped, but the ax-head cut against one of the posts holding a lantern. It sparked with purple lightning, and the knockback threw Daora onto his backside, the hexagon of purple, 'Immortal Object', disappeared.
"What was that for?" Mito shook her head, exasperated at this point.
Daora sat up with his legs crossed. "The stupid cursor would turn orange, even if I wanted to hit you - but... Fencer probably misses you, idiot!"
"W-what?" Mito was caught between confusion and annoyance.
"You heard me, idiot! She's seen you before in the boss fights, sometimes she looked worried and gave that strange face when you leave, all because you're being an idiot!" Daora had seen through Mito's disguises where no one else could. She couldn't believe it, he had his eye on her this whole time?
"Asuna really looked that way toward me? B-but why? I left her to die b-because I... I was greedy, I-I should've stayed with her-!" Mito's resolve was starting to crack and crumble, Daora picking himself up. "A-and stop calling me an 'idiot', idiot!"
"Not until you stop being an idiot!" He snarked back at her, their faces inches for each other.
"If anyone's an idiot, that's you!"
"You are times infinity, hah!"
"Are you five or something!? Oh, what am I saying? Of course you are..." Mito pinched the bridge of her nose, but her trembling fists loosened again, lowering her eyes shamefully. "...I don't deserve to be her friend, she has all of you now, more than she had in the real world, I'm better off alone," Like it used to be, she can be herself again, forget everything else and move on. Or, she was trying to.
"That's the dumbest thing I've heard yet!" He grabbed her biceps, shaking her on the spot so her eyes drew to his. "If it's such a problem, then I'll force you both to get along!"
This guy... "Why would you do that? What... happened to you, Daora?" He was never this considerate when they last met, he had this headstrong mindset of wanting to be the best player possible, even at the risk of his life. Or had she just never seen this side of him before?
He put her down, huffing, "I'm the badass and fearless leader of this party, so it's my job to ensure everyone know that and is happy to follow me too! That includes you now, so that means getting you and Fencer to be friends again!" That wouldn't change. He didn't get why Mito acted this way at all, so it was only right to shove them back together, simple! He was a genius! "Why else would you still be watching her all this time, huh? Unless you wanted to fight her, I've been wanting to do that for months now but she keeps refusing!"
"Ah..." Mito stared at him, utterly bewildered, before she snorted, her lips wavering until she burst out giggling to herself. It was the first real laugh she's had in months, and it was all because of the most unlikely player to bring it. "You're such an idiot! Hahaha!"
"I already said you're the bigger one, so hah - no, wait, I am, grr, how do I win this...?" Even Daora was confusing himself, and that only made Mito's laughter lengthen. The sound of her laugh, and the way she smiled with her eyes squeezed shut with a few tears caught in the corners of her eyes, it made Daora feel weird, like his chest was getting hotter. "S-stop that, it's making me feel weird things!"
"O-okay, I'm sorry," She snickered, drying her eyes a bit. "I r-really needed that, I... don't know if you're right about me and Asuna, b-but I'll... I'll try," It was still a scary thing to imagine, but maybe she was being ridiculous, all this time spent alone might've done more harm than good for her. "Sorry, maybe you're not that big of an idiot,"
"Hmph, that's better," Then he caught her sly smirk. "H-hey, that means I still am!"
"Does it? Hm, I dunno..." She rolled her eyes elsewhere, tapping her chin.
"Stop that weird smile, Asmodeus does it too!" Daora continued to yell, much to Mito's amusement.
"Well, he's not wro.. ng..." She tried to say, but felt her legs wobble in place. "W-woah..." She gulped, trying to steady herself before she fell forward, expecting to face plant the dock, instead, she stared into Daora's shoulder again. "My legs g-gave out,"
"I told you so," With a single lift, Daora took Nagi's word for how to carry someone better into account, and pulled Mito onto his back instead so he could grip her legs. "Huh, this is easier!" He thought happily, hearing her mutter something incoherently. "Since I'm the leader, you can thank me later for helping you walk,"
"I-I'll be fine, r-really," Her face was starting to turn red, his back was really firm... "Oh God... why now?" Embarrassed, she hid her face against his nape, muttering softly. "T-thank you..."
Daora marched back to the town, some steam rising from his wolf-head at how close her body was to his back, or the fact she kept breathing against his neck made him feel even weirder. He kept his mouth shut though, feeling her body relax, and her tense breaths rest. She owed him big for this, especially if the others saw this now.
Pausing in his step, Daora glanced over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of her face. Mito's eyes were shut, her cheek pressed to his back with both arms over his shoulders. She was in a peaceful slumber now, meaning he had to keep anything bad from happening to her now, just his luck. Adjusting his awkward grip, Daora muttered nonsense to himself, heading toward the inn again.
To Be Continued...
Ah, that was really fun. Mito's a bit OOC at the moment given her state of despair, but with Daora's surprising help, she may be back to normal sooner than she realizes. Writing focus on Daora for a change is fun too, especially how both he and Mito argue which I thought would be a really funny dynamic. Daora's a softy being around Nagi so much. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Players!
049 - The Reaper and the Wolf
Geared up for another attempt at Twilight Keep to obtain the Crest of Flame, Nagi leads his party to come face to face with a horde of Drowned, and the ominous wisp at the lake's horizon...