"You two handled the Wright estate business yeah?" A man directly on Jayce's left asked the question. A mace hung from his hip accompanied by a wooden shield slung over his back. He slid a mug between his hands on the table while looking at Jayce. He had a grizzled war veteran look to him that gave off the impression that he was well trained in the use of his weapon.
"That's right." Jayce answered the man before taking a sip of the liquid in the mug he had been handed a few minutes earlier.
"Strange that Rose would trust a pair o newcomers with something like that." A woman with long blonde hair sat down on the opposite side of Jayce. The sword on her back was larger than a longsword, but not quite the size of a greatsword. A bastard sword was what it had to be then. A weapon able to be effectively used with one hand or two depending on the situation.
"They managed." The man beside Jayce responded to her comment.
"Aye, that's true I meant no offense. Name's Luna, Luna Duskmantle. This here's Roland McGlade." The woman held her hand out and Jayce shook it once before repeating the process with Roland.
"Jayce, nice to meet you both." Neither one of these NPC's had a quest marker over their heads. It seemed strange that they would converse with him like this without some sort of reason.
"And yer lass? Jayce turned towards Luna questioningly.
"My what?" He had to try not to smile as he asked. For whatever reason the programmers clearly generated Luna's manner of speech to resemble that of either a pirate or maybe even a high fantasy dwarf.
"Lass! Yer lass, what's er name?" Jayce understood her, but couldn't suppress the smile spreading across his face as he listened to this woman talk.
"Ah, Jemza is her name, but she's not my uh...lass."
"Jemza eh? White hair with the nice legs? Hard to miss a pretty little thing like that." Luna lifted her mug as she finished talking making Roland and Jayce chuckle.
"Ignore her, she likes to tease." Roland reached out and slapped Jayce on the shoulder playfully.
"Bah ye big sod who's joking? Acting like ye weren't staring at er hind quarters as she walked by! Hah!" Luna slammed her mug down on the table jabbing a finger towards Roland. Jayce turned towards the man who lifted his own mug up to his mouth to hide his face.
"Lies and slander." All three laughed and in that short amount of time Jayce found himself enjoying these two, even if they were just NPC's. The way they spoke seemed so natural as if they were real people.
"Have you both been part of the guild for a long time?" Jayce posed the question and the two looked at each other before looking back at him.
"Couple years for me. Worked as a mercenary before that. Was hired by all sorts of people, but one of them was this real big guy. Not even sure why he needed people like me with his size, but anyway he hired us to escort a small caravan of supplies. Or at least that's what we were told. Thing is, the wagons weren't filled with supplies. They were filled with the bodies of children. Kids that died in an iron mine the man forced them to work in. Made me sick to my stomach so when his men met us to take the wagons I cut them down. Rose caught wind of it and offered me a job." Roland's story made Jayce feel a knot in his stomach. It seemed that SAO had a darker side to it than just a fantasy MMO game.
"Been ere since I was a young girl. Me mother and father abandoned me when I was just a baby. An orphanage took me in and took care of me, but I mostly lived off the streets. Learned to take what I needed when no one was lookin. Got really good at it. Another kid like me was starving and couldn't afford any food. I was careless in me haste to find something that I got caught. I tried to explain twas for me friend who was dying of hunger, but he didn't care. Threw me in an alley and gave me this." Luna pulled the top of her tunic open revealing a jagged scar running from her left shoulder down into the shadows of her shirt.
"That's horrible!" Jayce could feel his stomach continuing to turn. Did everyone in the guild have a past like this?
"Aye, was only thirteen then. Cut me all the way down to my hip and left me to die in the alley." Jayce could only stare at her in shock that she managed to survive such an injury.
"You're saying you took a sword across your entire chest that young and lived?" Luna nodded in answer before letting a grin cross her face.
"Aye, play yer cards right, maybe buy me a drink and I'll show you later."
"Pfft hah!" Roland banged the table with his hand at the sight of Jayce's face turning red.
"That's not..." Luna was already waving a hand laughing as hard as Roland was.
"Yer an innocent one ain't ye? Gotta fix that o'er you'll wind up dead. Women like a man who takes charge and doesn't balk so easily. Best to work on that!"
"I'll keep that in mind." Jayce rolled his eyes embarrassed that he was being pushed around by a pair of NPC's. The door leading to Rose's office opened making all three jump in their seats. Luna and Roland both glanced at Jayce nervously while quickly drinking from their mugs. Jayce turned around slowly fearing the worst after how tense things had been when the two women kicked him out of the office. The mug in his hand fell from his grasp clattering to the floor. Of all the things that made no sense this topped everything.
"We'll take care of it Rose don't worry." Jemza turned to face the redhead holding both her hands. Even with her eyepatch covering on of her eyes there was a sense of relief that showed in the other.
"I couldn't be more thankful. This means so much to me." Rose bowed once squeezing Jemza's hands.
"I know, that's why we will make sure this is done right." Jemza and Rose both pulled each other close hugging one another. The sight of it made Jayce's mouth open stupidly. Just what was going on here?
"You will come back and see me afterwards right? I must admit I will be a nervous wreck with anticipation." Rose patted Jemza's cheek with one of her hands and the white haired girl nodded with a smile.
"Of course, right away." With one last squeeze Rose pushed Jemza back and spun her around.
"Off you go then my dear. Please be safe." She slapped Jemza on the rear making her jump in surprise, but otherwise it brought no reaction from her. Jayce continued to stare in a daze. This had to be some sort of dream right? These two were at each other's throats not long ago and now they were like two sisters.
"Jayce, come." Jemza strode by where he sat heading for the door that would lead out of the Infiltrators Den.
"Come? I'm not a dog." Roland and Luna both stifled their laughs as Jayce stood up and followed her.
"Til next time Jayce." Roland raised his mug still trying not to laugh.
"Remember what I said. Take charge!" Luna cheered making Jayce mumble under his breath. Jemza's walk seemed to have a bounce to it as he followed her out of the tavern and back up the stairs into the tunnel. What had her so excited? Furthermore, just what happened back there with Rose?
"Saw you made some friends in the guild. You understand now don't you?" Jemza didn't look back, but asked the question from up ahead.
"No, I can honestly say I don't understand a single thing about what just happened." He heard a slight giggle from her before she responded.
"Do you remember Horunka when we first arrived and you treated the man who greeted us coldly? He was just an NPC to you and I yelled at you for it. The girl that you saved, the other guild members, and Rose you treated differently. They're just NPC's right?" Jayce still didn't know here she was going with this, but everything she said was correct.
"Yeah, I guess. What about it?" Jemza stopped and turned to face him.
"They're not just NPC's to you though. They look and talk like real people. They can laugh and cry just like us. That's why that little girl had such an impact. You saw Katie in her didn't you? Rose treated us like we were family welcomed us quite literally with open arms. It's hard to ignore that kind of gesture and just brush it off as computer programming." Jayce felt a slight bit of anger rise at the casual mention of his sister's name. Jemza wasn't wrong though, that was exactly what happened in Horunka.
"Where are you going with this Jemza?" She took a few steps forward closing the distance between them.
"I didn't realize it until I spoke with Rose and she explained it to me. I don't know how I missed it. It doesn't matter if it's me or just a simple NPC that looks like a little girl. Regardless how afraid you used to be, you would risk it all to save someone else. Wouldn't you?"
"I suppose." He was beginning to feel uncomfortable for some reason. Why was Jemza probing him about things like this?
"Rose saw that in your eyes when we first met her. That's why she welcomed us and trusted us like she did. An NPC was able to look at you and understand you. It made me feel horrible that I couldn't look at you and understand you as easily. She told me that you reminded her of her husband. A man that would do anything for those he loved, no matter the cost."
"Her husband?" Jayce stared into Jemza's eyes unable to look away.
"She said the way you looked at me was the same way he used to look at her. Right up until he was tortured and killed before her eyes. Murdered so that she would live." Jayce swallowed hard listening to Jemza.
"I didn't know."
"I'm going to help Rose track the people down who did this to her. She's worked in the shadows for years to try and find those responsible for her husband's death. She's not an NPC to me anymore Jayce. I'm invested now, because if something like that ever happened to you I don't think I could go on. I'm not as strong as Rose is, but in that office I saw who she really is. She's scared and lonely and doesn't know who to turn to. I'm going to help her to avenge her husband so she might find peace. She's my friend and I won't let her feel alone anymore." She wasn't directing her anger at Jayce, but he could hear the determination in her voice. Jemza was angry and focused on what she wanted to do, and it was nice to know for once that he wasn't the cause or reason for it.
"You're right. Even the two I met in the tavern had some dark pasts. I felt sad hearing about it. Didn't matter that they were NPC's, I still felt sympathy. This is our home for however long we are stuck here, which makes people like them the closest thing to family we might have. Let's start treating them as such." Jemza smiled, reaching out to take one of his hands.
"I'm sorry for my jealousy. I felt threatened by Rose. She's confident, beautiful, and intelligent. A perfect combination that any man would find attractive. That didn't give me the right to treat you and speak to you how I did. I've...never had a boyfriend so this is all new to me." She sounded embarrassed, but Jayce couldn't help but be impressed with the woman standing before him. Whatever had happened between her and Rose had opened her more than ever.
"Never?" Jemza was beautiful in her own right. It seemed strange that a girl like her had remained single her entire life.
"I'm no different than Rose, Jayce. We all have dark pasts, mine is no different."
"You told Rose about it didn't you?" That had to be why the two found comfort in one another. Whatever secrets Jemza kept hidden must have been exposed to Rose and in turn Rose had shared hers. The two had bonded over whatever broken pasts they shared as women.
"I did. Someday I will tell you. Not because I feel obligated to, but because you've never pressured me to. You've always respected me as a person. One day when I'm stronger I'll tell you everything and then you can decide for yourself if I'm still worth dying for."
"And if I still feel you're worth it?" Jemza let go of his hand and turned her back to him looking up at the ceiling of the tunnel they were in.
"I'm already yours Jayce. You just have to grow a pair and realize that." She began walking away again leaving him to watch. In SAO you earned experience and leveled up to strengthen your character. The time between when they stepped into Rose's office to when she came out she had metaphorically leveled up as a person. The confidence she had now was leagues apart from where she had been before. There was no embarrassment or shyness in how she spoke to him just now. It was to the point and without regret. He felt ashamed that he wasn't able to make the same leaps she was making.
"Alright Luna, I'll give it a shot." He whispered the words and ran to catch up to his partner.