Sword Art Online-Encroaching Shadows

Chapter 42

"So...ye leave with one lass and return with two. When I told ye to man up I didn't expect such quick progress!" Jayce sat down in between Luna and Roland at the same table they had been at before. Before his rear even hit the wooden seat Luna had begun laying into him. Argo slid into the seat across the table also in between the two NPC's.

"It's not like that Luna. This is Argo the Rat, the best information broker around. Argo, this is Luna Duskmantle and Roland McGlade." Jayce motioned towards each of the NPC's respectively.

"Nice to meet you both." Argo reached a hand out and shook Roland and Luna's politely.

"Roland, this one's cute too eh? Think Jayce would mind if I took this one for meself?" Luan leered at Argo and licked her lips making Argo's eyes widen. Jayce just chuckled and shook his head.

"Pay her no mind young lady, Luna lacks proper manners. She did the same to Jayce when she met him too." Roland winked towards Argo and she relaxed dramatically.

"Eh! You ruin all the fun! So, Argo the Rat...what brings ye to our little hole in the ground? Jayce says yer an information broker." Luna let the teasing drop and poured liquid into a mug sliding it over to Argo.

"Jayce said he needed my help and that it would be more than worth my while. I came here strictly to see what he felt was so valuable, but now..." Argo trailed off looking down into the mug as Luna and Roland exchanged glances.

"You met with Rose huh? How much did she tell you?" Roland took a drink after asking Argo whose shoulders shrugged under the brown cloak she wore.

"Not sure, but I feel like she told me everything." Jayce remained silent as Argo conversed with the two NPC's. He couldn't help but note that she had seemed to forget that these were only NPC's. Their conversation was flowing like any real conversation between a group of people. Even Argo the Rat was seemingly forgetting that these two people beside her were nothing more than strings of code.

"Tis a sad story. One that she keeps near her heart so I must ask discretion Miss Rat. Yer an information broker so ye sell and trade the resource. Rose ain't fer trading, selling, or buying. We understand one another?" Luna's voice switched into a slightly threatening tone, but Argo's face never flinched. She lifted the mug and took a drink before setting it back down on the table.

"If you had told me that before I met her I would have argued, but after hearing it myself? It won't leave this room, I promise." Luna smiled and raised her mug respectively towards Argo. Jayce grinned watching as the always sarcastic and opportunistic Argo showed a side he had never seen before.

"Jemza is still in there with Rose right?" Roland leaned towards Jayce and received a nod in return.

"Yeah, those two really hit it off last time so they had more to discuss." Jayce looked back towards the door for a few moments.

"Something happened didn't it?" Jayce looked back at Roland whose eyes seemed to bore into his thoughts.

"Whoever hurt Rose is still after her. Someone knows she's here, and I think that someone was one of the people present when her husband was killed." Luna and Argo stopped talking with one another and turned towards Jayce.

"Are you sure?" Roland leaned back in his seat, the mood around the table dropping dramatically.

"We broke into a house in Marome and found evidence suggesting it yes. Also, the man I'm talking about made an appearance and we overheard vague plans to find attack tonight." Luna's eyes narrowed and she looked between Roland and Jayce a few times.