Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 32

"Marome? What's in Marome?" The pair had just passed through the rotating brick wall that led into the alley of Urbus proper. Jemza looked over at him as they walked side by side. He hadn't received any notification of a new quest being started so when she said their next destination would be a town a few kilometers southeast of Urbus he was confused.

"It's a small town. Might even be smaller than Horunka to be honest, but Rose had a lead there. A man named Kurt Wagner was seen there not long ago. I didn't press her for all the details, but Kurt was the one who sold Rose and her husband out. It started everything that led to his death."

"Sold them out to whom, and for what?" Jayce asked and Jemza could only shrug in response.

"Like I said, I didn't press her for information. This is sensitive and I didn't want to hurt her more by reliving old nightmares." He couldn't fault her on that one. After reliving that night when his own mother and sister died he wouldn't have put Rose through it either.

"We still haven't done any looking into that guy who tried to kill us. Are you alright to leave Urbus?" Jayce hadn't forgotten about the main reason they had remained in Urbus.

"I'm fine, yes. I know you want to track him down for what he did. I know your motivation behind that is because I almost died. I'm grateful for that, but right now I am really focused on helping Rose." Her voice was more calm and steady than he'd heard from her before. It wasn't his place to ask, but it seemed like there was personal stake in this for Jemza as well. It was possible that this was similar to the Anneal Blade quest and how it touched close to home for Jayce. Perhaps something Rose had said hit her the same way.

"Ok, sounds good." Jemza smiled and opened her menu tapping a few buttons. A notification appeared in Jayce's view indicating that a new step to the quest had been added. He looked over at her in surprise.

"How'd you do that? So, this is a continuation of the quest line."

"I got it while Rose and I were talking. There was a button to share it with anyone who was in the group. I don't think this is part of the normal Thieves Guild quests. I can't be certain, but I think we somehow unlocked a unique quest line that branched off from the standard." The two exited the alley onto the busy street of Urbus. NPC's and players walked along the road heading to wherever they desired.

"So, we might be the only people to experience this?" Jayce asked her with a slight bit of excitement.

"I don't know how, but yeah I think so. Might be because of how she and I argued. Then again, it also could be that we finished the first quest together as a couple. Not sure how the game would know that, but if it can detect subtle differences in our speech patterns and mannerisms then maybe it knew. What do you think?" Jemza turned towards him only to find a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"So...we're a couple?" She rolled her eyes in response punching him in the shoulder.

"Shut up and stay on task." A small laugh made its way out of her mouth at the end of her sentence.

"I am! This is important to know. If we're a couple then I need to remember things like Christmas, Valentine's Day, and your birthday. We never actually made anything official."

"If I said yes would you get back to the matter at hand?" She was being coy like usual.

"Absolutely."

"Fine, then we're a couple." Jayce laughed and shook his head after hearing her response.

"That didn't sound like you meant it at all!" He clamped his mouth shut as she spun on him. In the middle of the busy Urbus street she pressed herself against him while grabbing the collar of his shirt in both hands.