The Black Swordsman
"Your mind's made up?"
December 28th. Argo was hunched over her desk, hands clasped, rather than leaning back on two legs of her chair. A gold candelabra, probably stolen, illuminated the room. Accenting everything in it with golden-orange light. The map of Aincrad pinned to the wall behind her was slowly being filled in, new locations and guild movements added with pins every day.
"Sorry. It's something I have to do."
Argo nodded. She looked down at the leather pouch of Kirito's gold beside her, a handful of col coins spilling from the bag. They seemed to glow in the candlelight. She moved her clasped hands in front of her mouth, resting on her elbows.
"I guess I just hoped it was the cold getting to you," she said. "So... Titan's Hand. You want to go after them."
"I need to know everything, Argo. How many there are, what level they are, equipment, skills, sightings. Everything. I need to make sure that they never take advantage of other players ever again."
"You going to kill them?"
Kirito paused. For a moment he was so sure that it was a joke. Argo's face was anything but light-hearted. Her brown eyes stared right at and right through him. Waiting for a reply.
"Why would you even ask that?"
"That's not an answer."
The silence stretched on. The candles burned on, droplets of molten wax slowly rolling down the sticks. Water dripped in the corner, the rhythmic heartbeat of the conversation. Drip... drip... drip... drip...
Why was it so hard to answer?
"I'm not a murderer," he said irritably. "I'm not like them. I was willing to leave them alone but they came after me okay. They started this. I have to finish it. So are you going to tell me or not?"
He regretted the words the instant they were free, but it's not like he could take them back. Argo stared. Studied him. Somewhere else in the depths of the sewers, an old iron grate squealed as it was swung shut. He swallowed.
"I can't tell you where they are, but I've got a pretty good guess where they'll go next," Argo said. "One of my Rats heard some fairly intriguing news in the east, across the Landsea. In Mishe, there's a girl who tamed a dragon. Name's Silica."
Kirito did a double-take. "How old? Not an adult, surely?"
Argo shook her head. "Housecat-sized. Still. That's a dragon we're talking about. Claws like spears, scales like tenfold shields, that kind. When it grows up it could be a game-changer. More so if she tells anyone how she tamed it."
"... or if someone forces her to tell them."
Argo nodded grimly. "Your old friend Keita's been good at laying low. 30k col hasn't turned up. Titan's Hand is still hurting from what happened. They're deep in the hole. They'd never pass up an opportunity like this."
"So. I go to Mishe, find her, look after her, and Titan's Hand will come to me. Thanks."
Silence descended again like a thick, muffling blanket. Nothing more to say between them, even after all this time. The seconds ticked on. Kirito turned to leave. Long journey ahead of him after all, even once he took a teleport crystal to Urbus. Best to get moving quickly.
"Kirito."
He stopped.
"Just... don't do anything you'll regret."
Too late for that, Argo.
He stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Took a deep breath. It'd all be over soon. He just had to keep it together for a few days more. He rattled off a brief private message to Klein, more for himself than anything else. 'Be done by New Years'. Opened his inventory tab, selected his teleport crystal. Clutched it in his hand as it sent him miles in seconds, motes of light on the wind, to its attuned location.
He reappeared in the middle of a frost-rimed plain, snowflakes scattering around him from the displacement of air that had heralded his arrival. Absolutely nothing as far as the eye could see all around him. Urbus had moved on.
"God dammit."
***
30th of December.
Entering Mishe wasn't the problem. Its walls were thick and high, its guards well-armoured and attentive, but it appeared that his 'fame' had not spread to the NPCs. Kirito made no effort to conceal himself on the first scouting pass, and the guards showed complete apathy to the very idea of his existence. The main issue was what he'd do once he was inside, with any number of other players who'd leap at the chance to lynch him and collect the bounty on his head.
In the end, he threw caution to the wind. The idea of Titan's Hand with a trained attack dragon rearranged his priorities somewhat. He entered in the wee hours of the morning, the sun only barely peeking over the hills and far-off, rugged cliffs beyond. Once through the gate his pace quickened immensely, furtively combing the city for what he needed. Not an easy task. While not quite as large as the player-and-NPC hotspot of the Town of Beginnings, Mishe was impressively developed by medieval fantasy standards. The smallest building he saw was still two storeys, the majority four or even five. The cobblestone streets were wide enough for people to walk twelve abreast, and so clean they practically shone.
Still, he wasn't there to admire the architecture. He found a tailor, ducking beneath the needle-and-thread branded sign, and practically lunged at the door the moment he heard the bolt scraping back. The owner, a woman who was less pushing sixty and more clinging to it for dear life, started. Kirito practically pushed col into her hands before she could react with pertinent questions like 'who the hell are you and why are you so desperate to get into my shop'.
Step one of one in his grand stealth plan of incognito. Buy a cloak. It was more or less on the cards anyway - the winter cold was deeper than ever, and the fur enhancements to the Coat of Midnight just weren't cutting it any more - but this way he could hide his face and equipment too. About time he got something for his empty cloak slot too. Not black either - his fondness for black equipment was probably just as well-known as any other of his crimes. It all took about an hour, somewhat to his consternation, but at that point he was afraid the woman would physically throw him out of the shop if he hurried her any more.
The sun had well and truly risen once he emerged from the tailor's shop, bundled up nice and tight in a sturdy hooded cloak. A marginal boost to his resistances to boot. There was much rejoicing. The next issue still lay before him as he called up his map. Incomplete, he noted dejectedly, despite all his searching. Argo's rat had not overheard the specifics of where Silica was staying, nor had Argo arranged for them to meet. Another solo mission. The way it was supposed to be.
Kirito took another hour to map out Mishe completely, receiving a happy little notification and a sprinkle of Detection XP once he had done so. The city had well and truly woken up by then, the streets bustling with NPCs and PCs alike. He kept his head down, weaving carefully through the crowds, ever cautious to stay with throngs of NPCs. If he ever focused, the air became so thickly forested with names that it became more or less useless. He couldn't tell the usernames from the NPC names. So, falling back to the basics, he asked a few passing citizens where he could find the most popular inn.
The Weathercock Pavilion's (he really had to ask about the name at some point) whole first floor was a restaurant. A pretty damn high-end one to boot, all things considered. Tables large enough to comfortably seat four people, small and unobtrusive lamps at each for light (turned off at the moment, of course). All he managed to take in as he entered before he was accosted by the woman at the front desk.
"Good morning!" she said brightly. "I'm sorry to say we don't have any rooms available at the moment, but our restaurant is always open! Be sure to try the cheesecake, it's our specialty!"
"... okay."
So there he was. Come to Mishe to potentially save another player's life. Stay for the really good cheesecake. Kirito drummed his fingers awkwardly on the tabletop, the polished wood hard and unyielding. He was sitting at one of the corner tables, facing the stairway. Unless the (FAMOUS) cheesecake absorbed his attention utterly, he'd probably catch Silica if she came downstairs. Unless she was long gone and already being jumped in an alleyway. Or she stayed in her room forever out of fear for her safety and he spent a whole day eating cheesecake. Both very likely possibilities.
Kirito lowered his hood and sighed deeply, cradling his head in his hands. Somehow, going solo didn't seem like such a hot prospect any more. He didn't even care about the rhythmic footsteps approaching him from across the restaurant.
"Anyone else sitting here?" The voice asked. Male. Mild.
"Nope. Go ahead."
The chair opposite Kirito creaked softly as a weight settled into it. Kirito raised his eyebrows, forehead wrinkling, but didn't yet look up from the table. "I kind of assumed you were talking about taking one of the spare chairs," he said. Slightly testier than he'd intended, but still. "Plenty of other tables."
"Not many with the Black Swordsman sitting at them, are there?"
Kirito snapped his head up. The man sitting across from him wasn't particularly intimidating physically. About as tall and broad as Kirito, anything more specific concealed beneath his heavy black cloak. It practically cascaded around him in reams of jet-black linen, the hood casting his face in impossibly deep shadow for the lighting. The hilt of a weapon, a blade definitely, possibly something arming sword sized or shorter, protruded from his casually-parted cloak. His heart leapt to his throat, but something held him back. The guy's hands were laid on the tabletop, palms down. Not aggressive.
"How'd you know who I was?" Kirito asked warily, peering into the shadowed depths of the newcomer's hood. When he spoke, he saw the man's jaw enter the light every now and then. Light-skinned, maybe Japanese. He wasn't going to pick the guy out of a lineup any time soon. Which, he considered morbidly, could've been the point.
"Good idea with the cloak in theory," the hooded man said. "Hiding the recognizable bits of gear, that's a touch most people don't think about. They just assume grinding Sneak is all they have to do, like that'll turn them invisible or something. Still treating things like a game. Kinda sad in a way. Pretty frustrating in a lot of others. Makes you feel like the idiot sometimes, doesn't it?"
"I think there was gonna be a point in there somewhere."
"Thank you for that, lost my train of thought. Yes, the cloak was a good idea in theory. In practice, not so much. I could see your username the moment you walked in here. Anyone who hasn't literally ignored Detection probably could too."
Naturally, Kirito's eyes flicked above the hooded man's head to test that. He started, double-taking, as he saw nothing. No guild crest, no nickname, no nothing. He blinked.
"That's why I said 'in theory'," the guy went on, sounding somewhat pleased that Kirito had walked right into that one. "My cloak is enchanted. Got it for a steal, great quality. I can get you in touch with the tailor if you want. She's expensive but it's worth every col, I guarantee it."
"That's... wonderful and all, but before we discuss fashion tips any more I'd like to know who you are and why you're sitting with me."
The hooded man inclined his head, turning his hand slightly as if to say 'fair enough'. He laced his fingers together and rested his chin on his hands.
"Well, if you're talking about my username, I'm not too fond of it. Chose it before I knew I'd be stuck here using it as my name for God-knows-how-long, so it's a little embarrassing truth be told. Part of the fun of the cloak is getting to choose a different one."
Kirito shifted in his seat, leaning back ever so slightly. He couldn't even hear the other patrons any more. Every last scrap of attention was focused on the man sitting across from him.
"It's PoH. Sometimes I use XaXa too. Some just call me Red-Eye. And I know you're here for the dragon-tamer."