The Innkeeper



Lex was sitting in silence inside the private room, tapping his index finger on the armrest of his sofa. The sound of singing and merrymaking could faintly be heard from outside, though that was only because Lex left the door slightly open. After all the harrowing experiences everyone in this tavern went through, it was a wonder they could still celebrate like this.

But at the same time, it was because they had all gone through such tough times together that they were so close.

Lex too, had to admit that he felt a special bond for all these people who had been beside him during his very stressful time of being stuck away from the Inn. It was for that specific reason that he was feeling slightly stressed right now.

He did not know much about his surrounding areas, and how far his destination was. To curb that, he had begun asking the locals a bit about the neighboring states or towns, or anything else that they knew of.

Most of them had very limited knowledge. They all lived in the area controlled by the Noel family all their lives, and at most knew the names of neighboring nobles and their states.

They had no idea regarding any information relating to other nations at all. He somewhat missed the highly advanced Hum nation and the academy. There, a simple search on their local portal was all it would have taken to get all the information he needed.

Lex's expressions stirred as he heard a familiar voice in the main hall, and turned to look at the door. A few moments later, the door was opened by Rick, who was followed by a few people.

Jolene was naturally among them, for he wanted to see if his instincts reacted to her. As it happened, Bertram Noel was also there. This was great, for Lex had also extended an invitation to him. Lex was hoping to learn how he could make his way to the Crystal nation through him. Surely he would know more, right? But there was a third, unexpected person there as well.

The young and slightly tanned woman bore a strong resemblance to Jolene, but unlike her smiling mother she wore a very stern and serious expression. This was, no doubt, the daughter Jolene wanted Lex to work with in the planning of Jasmine's and Pvarti's wedding.

He only gave her a cursory glance before turning his attention back to the other two.

"Jolene, Bertram, I'm glad you both could make it," said Lex as he stood up to greet them. Naturally he put on his best smile, and did not let any of his internal concerns show on his face.

"It's no trouble at all," said Jolene, her eyes fixed on Lex with a feverish gaze. "Besides, I was planning on visiting you soon anyway. I have to introduce my daughter, and our soon to be liaison for the wedding preparations. This is Jess, one of my most hardworking and accomplished daughters."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lex said politely, and Jess only nodded in return. It seemed like for liaison, she wasn't exactly very talkative. But that suited Lex just fine, so it did not matter. Especially since Lex wanted to keep as much of a distance from Jolene as possible. After she and her family had discovered the Midnight Inn, Jolene had become almost fanatical in her admiration for Lex. It was quite a nuisance, even when he was merely dealing with her using a projection.

"Unfortunately, Jess' arrival also means it is time for me to leave. We have decided the date for the wedding. It will be held in 6 months exactly, and there are too many matters for us to deal with to make it happen on such short notice."

"Will you be traveling a lot during this time?" Lex asked, genuinely curious. The person who he truly wanted to converse with was Aegis, but that fellow had disappeared for a while. Let alone the tavern, he was not even showing up at the Inn so there was no way for Lex to ask him for any routes. The next best option was naturally Jolene, for her family was deeply connected to the rulers of Hum nation. The best option after that was the Noel family - probably.

"Yes, unfortunately, familial affairs are the most complicated. A lot of our guests need to be invited personally, and certain matters and deals need to be taken care of during this time as well. We will even need to pay a visit to the Hum nation and inform the royal family about the wedding. Being a parent is truly… too complicated."

"Won't that take too long? How will you reach the Hum nation from here?"

"For ordinary people, it would indeed take quite a while," informed Bertram. "But the influence of the nations extends even beyond their own borders. Even though these lands are far away from the empires, separated by vast oceans and extremely inhospitable lands, many nobles have short and long range teleportation formations within their territories. Anyone bearing a token of one of the nation's royal families can use those formations at will."

This was both good and bad news. The good news was that there were apparently many teleportation formations he could possibly access, but the bad news was that the distance between Babylon and the nations seemed to be great.

"What if I wanted to send someone on an errand? Do you think they could get access to those formations?"

Bertram paused, and an awkward look appeared on his face. It seemed like he was not anticipating such a question. As far as he knew, Lex was not as simple as he made it appear on the surface. Not only was he himself an incredible powerhouse, pretending to be a weakling, but he also had the backing of the mysterious Midnight Inn. He did not want to offend Lex by giving him an answer he might not like, but…

"Oh yes, of course! Why not?" exclaimed Jolene as she suddenly saw an opportunity. From her spatial ring, she summoned a large bronze token which had a pickaxe engraved across its front. As far as emblems went, a pickaxe was not a prestigious symbol, but it was most befitting the Phillip clan which was allowed to mine Ethereum under the royal family's command.

"Although this is not the same as a token from the royal family of the Hum nation, this is a token of my Phillips family. It may not get you the same kind of service, but it will definitely enable you to access the teleportation formations. Unfortunately, you will not be exempt from paying for the use. I would give you the royal family's token if I could, but I am not really allowed to give it out - you understand."

"No need, this is already a great help," said Lex, accepting the token. Although she harbored ulterior motives in helping him, Lex wouldn't deny help that he needed.

"You… you aren't the one who has to go on a trip, right?" Jolene suddenly asked, as if it just occurred to her. "If you are, I can send along an escort…"

"No, no, no need," Lex said, doing his best to keep his lip from twitching. "I will be here, making sure everything is in order for the upcoming wedding. But, I have to send someone on a rather urgent task all the way to the Crystal nation, to a city called Valesco. Would you happen to know where it is?"

Even before the duo had the opportunity to answer, he felt like he got an answer. Both Bertram and Jolene had a change in their expression, though they swiftly controlled themselves. Still, Lex felt like he could detect shock and fear from them.

"The path to the Crystal nation from here is different from the one to the Hum nation. The formations will not be enough to send you on your way, and you will have to cross certain areas yourself. It's… it's not really an easy path. I will consult my father and have a map drawn for you to help your… your helper on his journey. But while I can help you find your way to the Crystal nation, finding your way to Valesco… I think only someone from the Crystal race can help you with that."

"Why is that?" Lex asked, curious.

"That… well, technically I cannot even confirm if what I know is true. But there are rumors that… the Crystal race has a massive prison where they punish members of their race who have committed unforgivable crimes. A prison… so old that no one is sure when it was made, filled with immortal prisoners too dangerous to ever be allowed free again, yet kept alive because killing them is too light of a punishment. The name of that prison… is Valesco."

Despite his resilience, Lex sighed. Why were things never just simple?