Chapter Fourteen

"Yolko, we were wondering if you've ever heard the name Grimlock."

I watched in between the two of them. Rikimaru sat beside me in the corner by the window, where I could watch over the wolves. Yolko hadn't let them in.

"Yes, I have." Yolko admitted, confusion coating her face, "Actually, until a few month ago, he was in a guild with me and Kains."

"Listen, we took this spear that impaled Kains to an appraiser. We had him go over it pretty carefully, and we found out Grimlock made it. Can you think of any reason why he did?" Kirito asked.

"Yes, I can..." She admitted. "I should have told you everything yesterday. It's just... I couldn't. It's something I've been trying very hard to forget. But now, I have no choice."

We all waited rather impatiently for her to gather her thoughts. I forgot all about the wolves as I leaned forward, eager to hear her story.

"I should tell you about how my guild...was destroyed." She started, "When we formed it, Golden Apple was the name we chose. Six months ago, we killed a rare monster. It dropped a powerful ring that raised player's agility by twenty. Some of us wanted to keep it for the guild. Others wanted to sell it and split the earnings."

I frowned at the lack of agreement in her guild. No wonder it eventually ended. I looked at Rikimaru out of the corner of my eye, smiling when I noticed the enraptured look on his face.

"We couldn't agree and in the end, we put it to a vote. It was five-to-three in favor of selling it. Our leader, Griselda, took it to a large town on the front lines. She was going to sell it to a broker and was staying overnight." - Yolko took a deep breath before continuing - "We waited and waited, but she never came back. It was until later, we learned our worst fears have come true - Griselda was dead. To this day, I still don't know how she died."

Nobody said anything for a moment, processing her words.

"No one's gonna leave a safe zone with a rare item like that. Too risky. You think someone could've pulled a sleep PK on her?" Kirito reasoned.

"Not if it was six months ago, that method's still sort of new." Rikimaru countered, speaking up.

"You're right. But she wasn't a random victim, either." Kirito had a look of concentration on his face, "No, the killer was after the ring. It has to be someone who knew she had it. Which means..."

He trailed off, watching Yolko for confirmation.

"The killer's one of the seven others in our guild." She finished, "Yes."

"We have our suspects." Asuna said, "Now we just have to figure out who didn't wanna sell the ring."

"I doubt the killer waited till after Griselda sold the ring. She was killed before she sold it." I spoke up, "That's my guess."

"Probably." Kirito agreed, frowning, "Tell us what you know about Grimlock."

"Well, I guess for starters, he was Griselda's husband." Yolko announced, "Oh, but not in real life, just in the game. Griselda was a powerful swordswoman. She was beautiful and smart. Grimlock was kind and I can't remember a day when he wasn't smiling. They made a great couple and got along as husband and wife. If Grimlock is really the one who murdered Kains yesterday, then he's probably going after the three guild members who voted against selling the ring. Kains was one of the three who wanted to keep the ring for the guild. I was the other one."

I could hardly wrap my head around the husband and wide thing, but I did my best to ignore it, and focus on the conversation.

"Then, who's the third person?" Rikimaru asked.

"The other's a tank named Schmitt. And he, the last I heard, is on the front lines now with the Holy Dragon Alliance."

"Schmitt, huh? I've heard that name before." Kirito muttered.

"He's the leader of the defense unit of the Holy Dragon Alliance. He's an exceptional lancer." Asuna informed us, leaning back in her chair.

"Wait. Do you really know Schmitt?" Yolko asked.

"Well, I've run into him a couple of times we were clearing bosses." Kirito admitted.

"Same here!" I said, raising my hand in the air.

"I need to see him right away." Yolko announced, suddenly tense and alert, "Could you please take me to him? If he's on the front lines, he probably hasn't heard about the murder. He needs to know. Before what happened to Kains happens to him..."

She trailed off, her eyes glazing. Asuna reached over, resting her hand on Yolko's arm.

"We'll help you get in touch with Schmitt. I know someone in the Holy Dragon Alliance. He'll help us out. We'll visit their HQ."

"Okay. But first, we should make sure she gets back to the inn." Rikimaru said, nodding his head in Yolko's direction.

"Yolko, you have to stay there, okay? Seriously, don't go anywhere until we get back." Kirito insisted, getting to his feet.

"All right."

"I can leave Kuro with her." I offered, "You know, just in case."

"No!" Yolko exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"It's only logical." I told her, "He will watch over you and make sure you don't get hurt while we are gone. You are a target, Yolko, you need all the help you can get."

She bit her lip, undecided. Her eyes flickered between the rest of the group, but they seemed to be on my side in this matter.

"Fine." She finally muttered.

"Kuro is calm. He won't harm you in anyway." I reassured her.

She nodded, but still seemed a bit wary. I hurried down to bring Kuro in. When he entered the room behind me, Yolko jumped, but didn't protest.

"Watch over Yolko, okay?" I said, crouching down to look him in the eye.

He licked the side of my jaw, which I took as his understanding. I patted the top of his head, before standing and turning to the rest of the group. We quickly left the building, doing out best to hurry to find Schmitt.

"Okay, so, how do you think a murder like this happened in a safe zone?" Asuna asked as we walked. Gurē followed close by me, seemingly more anxious without Kuro with him.

"I can see three ways it could have." Kirito replied, "Right off the bat, it's possible was a fair duel. Or maybe, someone took advantage of a bug that combines a bunch of different kill methods."

"And the third?" I asked.

"Use something to bypass the protection of a safe zone. Some kind of skill or maybe an item." He paused, "No... on second thought, the third idea is impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"Because it's unfair." He stated, his brow furrowing, "I kind of hate to admit it, but it's true. The rules of SAO are essentially fair for every player in the game. So, there is no way the game would allow murders in safe zones."

After that, we were all silent.

*****

"So, that's what killed Kains. And you're sure about the spear. Was it really Grimlock's?"

I looked at Schmitt who seemed to dominate the whole room. He stood in his armor, standing above the rest of us in height. We had brought him back to Yolko's room, because we didn't want to leave her alone for too long.

And I wanted my wolf back.

"There's no doubt." Yolko said.

"But then, why would he wait six months to kill him?! Unless...wait, could he have stolen the ring?! Do think it's possible he killed Griselda after all?! Does Grimlock want to kill the tree of us because we didn't want to sell the damn ring? Is that why he's after you and me now?!"

"For such a big guy, you sure are a wuss." I told him, rolling my eyes.

Rikimaru elbowed me roughly in the ribs, but I could see he was trying to keep from laughing, a small smirk on his face.

"Maybe Grimlock made this spear for someone else from the guild. And maybe they are the ones who killed Kains. Or maybe... Griselda's come back from the dead to get her revenge." Yolko said, ignoring me. Her voice lowering until he was barely a whisper.

"Huh?" Schmitt asked, his face scrunching up.

I grunted, rolling my eyes again. This was going in a very stupid direction, and I needed a break.

"A player can't kill another player inside a safe zone." Yolko started, "But something else like a ghost could. I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I stayed up thinking...It wasn't anyone's fault. Anyone in the guild has guilty! Her blood is on all our hands! Her fate was sealed when that ring dropped! We shouldn't have voted!We should've done whatever Griselda told us to do! Grimlock was the only one, the only member of the guild, who said we should leave the decision to Griselda. You see, he's the only one of us who can avenge Griselda. He's the only member of our guild who has the right to avenge her."

I sighed, turning to hang halfway out the window, dangling my hands down towards the wolves. Yolko may have accepted Kuro the one time, but she still was wary of them.

They started fighting again in the background. Everything was okay, but then I noticed how restless the wolves were.

Kuro and Gurē were snarling, growling, and yowling, pacing back and forth in front of the inn. When Kuro started scratching at the door and howling, I knew something was wrong.

I stood up and whipped around.

"We have to get out of here!!" I shouted, "Something is wro-"

I was cut off when Rikimaru tackled me to the ground as something threw through the window. He covered my body with his, his heart beating fast.

We heard a thud and a nasty squelch, before shouting ensured. I went to look at what had happened.

Yolko was dead, a dagger stuck like a pin in her. She looked down is shock, before her eyes met mine. Then she shattered into the shards and disappeared.

Yolko was dead.