The Innkeeper

“Be at ease,” Lex said, noticing the rising tension. “Your commander simply fainted due to shock. Here, allow me to wake him up. He will confirm for you all that we are the reinforcements you have all been expecting.”

Lex used one of his healing techniques to lightly stimulate the Magma Lion, providing it with just enough energy to rouse it.

Kaemon struggled to open his eyes, drowsiness weighing down his eyelids. He was more than just exhausted, yet as an immortal he was quite resilient, so the moment his brain started to work even the slightest, he woke with a start, lurching out of Lex’s hold.

The Magma Lion quickly took stock of his situation before taking a deep sigh of relief when he realized reinforcements had actually come, and he hadn’t been dreaming.

“Your soldiers are a little tense, commander. Why don’t you calm them down so that we can see to getting you all healed and rested up.”

The lion looked about and saw the look of doubt and hesitation on the mercenaries faces, and knew that things were not far off from taking a drastic turn.

“What’re you all doing? Stand down! I already have news from the Condottiere! The Midnight Inn has come here to reinforce us.”

“The Midnight Inn? I’ve never heard of an army called the Midnight Inn,” said one of the beasts, a hint of doubt and hesitation evident in his voice.

The lion looked towards Lex, as if wanting him to explain. In truth, even Kaemon was confused about why the Inn would be the one coming to help them when they themselves bought protection through them. With that said, he could not forget so easily that human had wiped out those locusts. That was not the act of a mere innkeeper.

“The Midnight Inn is, naturally, not an army. Instead, we are an Inn, providing hospitality, safety, and many other services to our guests. We also have taverns that we bring to guests who cannot come to the Inn, such as in your case. We have been tasked to bring a tavern to you, and assist you in your quest.

“You do not need to worry about your safety. Within the walls of this tavern, you are absolutely safe, and can allow yourself to rejuvenate. We have an incredible medical wing where you can heal. We have food that will allow you to recover all your strength, and other services that can allow you to relax and let go of the stress you’ve accumulated.”

Lex spoke with great vigor and conviction in his voice, reassuring his guests that they had nothing to fear. He could tell that most of them, upon hearing the lion’s words, had calmed down, and finally allowed themselves to feel relief.

Some, he could tell, were still doubtful but he was certain that sooner or later they would come around.

“I take it you are in command of the… of this tavern,” Kaemon said, looking at Lex.

“Yes. You may call me Lex.”

“I’m Kaemon, of the Dagon Lava Fields, and commander of the Reaving Dreads forces here in Abaddon. My men need rest and healing. Why don’t you have your staff guide them to where they can get either of the two. In the meantime, I think it’s best we talk. There are things we need to discuss, and clarifications that need to be made.”

“Yes, that would be for the best,” said Lex, though he did not need to inform the workers of anything. They were highly trained, the best of the best, so they naturally knew how to attend to their guests’ needs. A majority of the services ran automatically, thanks to the system, but much of the tavern needed to be attended to manually, and so the staff had already divided themselves into groups.

A majority had dispersed across the castle, ensuring that all the services were up and running. Even if the service itself was automatic, it still needed someone to actually operate it.

The rest took it upon themselves to look after the guests – all of whom were particularly touchy. Though, such a thing was to be expected from soldiers on the battlefield, and they were professional enough to handle it.

As Lex and the still bleeding Kaemon separated from the group, going somewhere they could talk comfortably, a small group of soldiers watched them leave with wary eyes.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” one of them asked as he looked at the others.

“It’s obvious,” responded another. “We’ve all encountered some kind of mass or shared Heart Demon. On the battlefield for years, without hope of seeing home or resting or eating good food, we’ve all snapped mentally. Or maybe we’ve finally encountered a new kind of foe within Abaddon – the kind that can twist our minds and show us illusions.”

“Obviously,” said a third, as if there were no other explanation. “But what you’ve failed to notice is the special attention they’re paying to Kaemon. As long as the commander is convinced, he can convince the others that this is all real, and soon we will all fall.”

“So we all know what we must do?”

“Naturally we have to awaken the others to the reality of the situation, but do so without arousing suspicion. If we try to rescue the commander we’ll be caught, since they are paying extra attention to him. Instead, we must first convince the others that this is all an illusion.”

“It won’t be an easy task. All of this feels too real.”

“Of course it won’t be easy. But heroes never get the easy tasks. For the sake of our comrades, we mustn’t give up!”

“Yes, for our comrades. We must pretend to give in to the illusion, but secretly resist it while awakening others to the truth.”

With grim determination, the group dispersed so as to not arouse any suspicions, off to carry out their holy duty.

Fenrir, who had been standing right beside them the whole time, only shook his head derisively. But just as it was about to leave, he had a random thought. It had been a long time since Fenrir had done anything else but sulk, yet now finally it was tempted to do something else.

Maybe it was because Fenrir was stuck here, alongside two other friends. Eventually, he could not resist.

Fenrir quickly ran outside to the wall, where Little Blue and Sunny were pretending to be soldiers, taking their first ever outing from the Inn very seriously.

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