5876/The Dark Lady: Black Swords Man's Inquisition

The Dark Lady: Black Swords Man's Inquisition
Date of Scene:	25 May 2018
Location:	The Dark Lady's Castle Libary
Synopsis:	Kirito and Tomoe go to dig for information in the Castle Libary and Kirito uncovers a worrying bit of information about the nature of the Castle and the Dark Lady.
Cast of Characters:	Tomoe, Kirito
Tinyplot:	The Dark Lady

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Tomoe has posed:
Kirito had had some thoughts about the castle, he had questions and Tomoe had been happy to let him go around asking them. Under one condtion that she could come along, so she's waiting for him in the entryway of the grim castle. Once again in her Dark Lady form, wings, horns tail and the outfit.

"So you had something you wanted to see if you could get answers about?"

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's ditched his BIG SCARY ATTIRE and is now walking around in his usual getup. Because he just can't stand wearing that mask any further. "Nnh." He replies with an informal affirmative.

    "I've got a hunch. That maybe this quest isn't as glitched as we thought. Or, if it is, that there might've been some... retcons at play. All we need to do to verify is ask the locals about the castle's history. Either they'll have something to say about it or... it'll be a dead end."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks to Kirito for a moment "That could be a problem." Her tails twitching a bit without her thinking about it much. "Lead the way I'll make sure the locals comply with your request wnat to hit up the libary first?" She tilts her head a bit and moves to fall in with Kirito. "Only one way to find out."

Kirito has posed:
    "The library's as good a start as any!" Kirito agrees, looking up and blinking a bit with realization. "Might be a book or two with information...!" He's not sure. He's never actually CHECKED books on shelves that way in Aincrad, come to think of it. They weren't common!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe thinks for a moment as she heads into the depths of the castle her heels clicking on the stone and tail swaying. "I have been thinking you are right, it could some how effect my mind. That worried me a lot, I had enough of things like that for one life time after I was Jeci...."

Kirito has posed:
    "To be honest... my gut tells me it shouldn't." Kirito answers quite bluntly. "It would break all precedent established so far. And even with everything going topsy-turvy physical, most quests still seem... fair. Still playing by the usual rules." And this is the Kirito Tomoe might be more familiar with, out of Aincrad!

    Analytical. Observant. Working to solve the mystery, even if he's blunt and direct about it.

    "...But even still..."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe thinks about uit as she walked, her tail sways and her wings twitch a bit as she goes. "You make a good point and I have to wonder. Did Cardinal stop something worse like a rapid fusing of our world with the data core slowing it down to the point we coulc cope?" She wonders. The p air soon arrive at the libary and there's walls of books, it's not huge but it's still sizable for a personal collection, more than one might expect. A fairly well dressed Orc looks up as the pair enter.

"My Lady, General, how may I be of service to you in the Archives?"

"I am looking for the history of the castle and anything to do with our own history."

The Orc pauses "My lady why would you need such do you not know your own past."

"Consider this a test of our archive."

The orc pause and nods before looking to Kirito.

"What do you require general?"

Kirito has posed:
    "Our enemies are claiming that we have conquered and pillaged lands I have never heard of." Kirito makes his best impression of a commanding tone. "Hardly befitting a general. So I am here to peruse any records on our past conquests. Fill in a few holes in the story."

    Since Tomoe went and asked the first thing he wanted...

Tomoe has posed:
The Orc brushes off Kirito's comment. "With all of our conquests it's not shocking you might forget a place or two. After all for them it was a day burned into your mind. For our Dark Lady? It was Tuesday. Still I will fetch those records for you."

He leads Tomoe and Kirito to the history section of the libary it's only a fee shelves but it's there nad tomoe starts to look, she finds one on the world tree, one of the foating castle and pause as she flips through it, the one covering the lore of SAO? Is disturbing accurate as ehr lef through it, Kirito meanwhile would find a book on the Castle, the tome is clad in dark dyed black leather and decoraded with black dragon scales on the cover. Inside he would fion that the castle was suposedly old, very old, fused with a Ley Line Nexus of dark Elemental power, there's a general index history of the Dark Lady, History of the castle, Will of the Castle and even an original floor plan from it's construction.

Kirito has posed:
    "Hrmgh." Kirito's grouchy throaty noise will have to suffice for a response! He makes his way with the Orc and Tomoe though, and starts perusing the available lore, letting the Orc explain some of the conquests.

    And the floor plans. His eyes widen at those!

    "Yui?"

    In a flash, the little Navigation Pixie appears on Kirito's shoulder! She'd been napping, apparently, for she covers her mouth to yaaaaaaawn! "Yes, papa? Good evening, Miss Tomoe! And..." She peers curiously at the Orc. Then at the page.

    "I'm wondering if this floor plan is still accurate." He murmurs to his 'daughter'. He also eyes the deal about a ley line, which supports SOME of his theories...

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is lost looking ove the history book while Kirito and Yui woudl be findin some interesing bots of data here. She could check the maps after all she is Kirito's aid so far as the monsters of the castle are concerned and she shouldn't end up being a target. "Oh Yui! Hello, that could be something for Yui to check out. Are you thinking this castle is cursed somehow Kirito?"

Kirito has posed:
    "It's built on a fount of dark magic. How is it NOT 'cursed'?" Kirito answers almost sarcastically, giving Tomoe an incredulous look... and then scratching his chin. "Finding anything interesting about the history?"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks at Kirito "It could just be New Jersy." She notes making a joke Kirito might not get. "It's disturbing accuate about the death game, albeit in a lore form Down to all the heroes vanishing form the world. As for the cstl eit's mostly just hte dark lade made her mighty fortress upon this ever moding fount, I think the castle goes with the Ley Lines as it shifts but if it's cused what will it /do/ to me?!"

Kirito has posed:
    "Probably nothing good, if it is. But if it's a magic castle, there's probably something like a heart to it. Something like a big crystal..." Kirito muses aloud quite thoughtfully.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks to Kirito as she keeps looking over the various tomes here and pauses thinking "If we think of this in a video game sense there'a also a boss fight. You know the cursed castle series with the dark vampire lord and the Hellsing family fighting them over the generations..."

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito hears Tomoe's idea.... and sort of stares at her for a bit while thoughts percolate in his mind. "Hmmm. Assuming that's the case... then there should be records about it we can look up!"

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe thinks for a moment "Let's keep looking we're in the right section it looks like, right?" Tomoe would start having to bend over to check some of the lower shelves and is distracted for the moment look. Kirito might find another tome this one locked by chains and a magical seal though the title on it is the Dark Lady's Codex....

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito does indeed hoist up the ominous-looking volume, frowning at how heavily it's been bound up. "... this is our castle, isn't it?" He quietly asides to Tomoe, as if offended by finding this thing all bound up.

    Hurriedly, he pokes the object to bring up its menu, looking to see if he has whatever it takes to unlock it.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe rises up and pauses as she looks at the book. "What is the book?" She asks, if Kirito checks it open. It seems he does have the means to open the book as a dark general a the fluff text notes the contents are known only to the lady and her dark generals.

Kirito has posed:
    "Dark Lady's Codex." Kirito responds simply and in a distracted tone. As usual, manners aren't high on his list of priorities. His nose is in the book as he cracks it open to have a look. "For our eyes only."

Tomoe has posed:
The tmes chains give way vanishing in a burst purple light anbd the contents open up before them, ther's bits about how certain aspects of the castle can be used to create minions and bosses. Or transform victems into such, Tomoe makes a face she keeps looking and soon they will find about the nexus the core of the castl the place of the dark Lady's asention to true power and full mastery of the castl once the heroes have fallen...

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's expression darkens the more he reads, page flip after page flip. Not only does it darken but he draws in a sharp breath at some of the entries...

    And it ends with him giving her a silent but forceful LOOK. yeah. He knows what they'll have to do here!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks ove them her expression darkens too. "Cardinal really went all out on this...but we need to finish the quest don't we? Then again she's done dummy quests before as well." She thinks about where she got her fake excalibur. "So beater, got any ideas?"

Kirito has posed:
    'Beater.' Kirito very mildly twitches at the use of that ancient word. Bunches his shoulders a little uncomfortably even. But shrugs it off, ultimately. He keeps up the hard look. "Yeah. We go check these things out... and see what our options are. Like if they have health bars."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe intended it as a joke to lighten the mood but it failed haard and she looks a bit ashamed for a moment "Right, then try to grill my minions as I really don't want to go end boss JRPG boss." Her dragon like featureds hint to what the final form might be like. Her tail is twitching a heck of a lot and it's really otu of her contol. "So we should go do that now I think while we have the motivation to do so."

Kirito has posed:
    "Sounds like a plan." Kirito exclaims with an exasperated sigh. This quest is ridiculous, and he doesn't know what to make of this crazy new world sometimes. It defies his understanding of VRMMOs as Cardinal had heavily established them. But that just brings new questions to his overactive mind... ALL of them troubling!

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe stretchds looks to Kirito. "may I have the codex to hang on to I need ot read this in detail." She notes even if it's not handed over she'll head out thank the Orc who runs this place and will take time ot grill her minions to where the nexus is, she'll not she wishe ot make some early preperaitons for the ritual and with that the two find themselvces going into the deeps deep below the castle the place thrums with magic, black crystals glow with some sort ofg magicla power as they get deeper and deeper into the heart of the castle. There are stone statures here and there which look very much like Tomoe or one related to her.

"I think we're almost there."

Then they will come upon a engraving showing one looking very much like tomoe being enveloped in power before a massive crystal formation.

"..."

Kirito has posed:
    Of course Kirito hands over the book on request! And he follows all the way to the spot on the map.

    He's not terribly happy.

    Statues. Statues everywhere. And...

    "... man. So it WAS a crystal." Kirito exclaims almost anticlimactically at the sight of that huge assembly of strange occult formations!

    "... I'm getting a bad feeling about this. We should probably get a full party here before we touch anything."

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks about for a moment and she sighs "It looks like it and hold on do you see that?" There in the central chamber is the skeleton of a massive dragon with the bearest hints of scale and skin remaining here and there. Tromoe nods in agreement "We shouldn't poke this without others with us, I don't ... like this."

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito does indeed see it. He looks between the half-assembled dragon and Tomoe a few times, expression growing tense and brow furrowing. "At LEAST a full party." The Black Swordsman asserts, voice almost a desperate hiss.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks at her tail then to the wings and horns. "...Never turn into a snake, it never helps." She sighs and fgrowns "Why do I get a feeling that's somehow connected to my suposed asdending?" She makes a face and she sighs "I'm glad I have friends like you, Yuuki, Asuna, Silica and everyone else..."

Kirito has posed:
    "You thought so too?" Kirito questions... though given the subject, it's almsot rhetorical. At the sudden praise, the boy's expression turns a bit awkward... but it soon shifts into a warm and supportive smile. "Yeah. None of us would be here today if we weren't all together. So we'll get through this."